Prevalence and Risk by Age and Sex of Sleep Dysregulation and Depressive Episodes in Bipolar and Depressive Disorders in a Community Survey in Sardinia, Italy

Background/Objectives: Sleep disturbances often accompany mood disorders and persistent insomnia after mood symptoms have resolved may be a marker of poor outcome. The association between sleep symptoms and mood disorders seems to change with age and sex. This study aims to assess the frequency of depressive episodes and sleep disorders in the general population through an agile screening questionnaire and to evaluate the association of depressive episodes and sleep symptoms by sex and age categories. Methods: 774 women and 728 men from Sardinia aged > 16 years old were enrolled. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was administered through a computer-assisted telephonic interview. Results: The frequency of depressive episodes was double in women (10.6% vs. 4.4%; p < 0.0001), with the highest values in women > 75 yo (17.4%). The frequency of sleep dysregulation was double in women (18.7% vs. 9.6%; p < 0.0001), with the highest values in women > 75 yo (35.9%) and the lowest in the group of men > 75 yo. The group of young males showed the lowest frequency of depressive episodes (1.4%) and a frequency of sleep dysregulation (9.1%) similar to that of the other groups of age and sex. Sleep dysregulation without depressive episodes presented a higher distribution in the elderly, both in males (20.7%) and in females (18.5%). No significative differences were found across sex and age groups in the distribution of depressive episodes without sleep dysregulation. Conclusions: The use of an agile screener such as PHQ9 in the general population and/or in populations at risk can be a valuable tool in finding those individuals in whom sleep dysregulation may represent an early warning signal, one that may be thoroughly evaluated to identify and treat possible sleep disorders early

Microporous Organic Polymers: Synthesis, Characterization, and Applications

The presence of a certain degree of porosity in polymers is a feature that provides them with unique properties and with opportunities to be exploited in a number of technologically important applications [...

Enhancing the emotional and social skills of the youth to promote their wellbeing and positive development: a systematic review of universal school-based randomized controlled trials

Background: The acquisition of social and emotional skills is associated with positive youth development, character education, healthy lifestyle behaviours, reduction in depression and anxiety, conduct disorders, violence, bullying, conflict, and anger. School-based interventions aimed to enhance these skills go beyond a problem-focused approach to embrace a more positive view of health; they could also improve the youth's wellbeing. Aim: To describe the main features and to establish the effectiveness of universal school-based RCTs for children and the youth, aimed to promote their psychosocial wellbeing, positive development, healthy lifestyle behaviours and/or academic performance by improving their emotional and social skills. Methods: Systematic review by searching for relevant papers in PubMed/Medline with the following key words: "mental health" OR "wellbeing" OR "health promotion" OR "emotional learning" OR "social learning" OR "emotional and social learning" OR "positive youth development" OR "life skills" OR "life skills training" AND "school". Interval was set from January 2000 to April 2014. Results: 1,984 papers were identified through the search. Out of them 22 RCTs were included. While most interventions were characterized by a whole-school approach and SAFE practices, few studies only used standardized measures to assess outcomes, or had collected follow-up data after ≥ 6 months. The results of all these trials were examined and discussed. Conclusion: Universal school-based RCTs to enhance emotional and social skills showed controversial findings, due to some methodological issues mainly. Nevertheless they show promising outcomes that are relatively far-reaching for children and youth wellbeing and therefore are important in the real worl

Virtual Reality Cognitive Remediation in Older Adults with Bipolar Disorder: The Effects on Cognitive Performance and Depression in a Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction: Dementia, depression, and cardiovascular disease are major public health concerns for older adults, requiring early intervention. This study investigates whether a virtual reality cognitive remediation program (VR-CR) can improve cognitive function and depressive symptoms in older adults, and determines the necessary sample size for future studies. Integrated VR and CR interventions have shown promising outcomes in older adults with neurodegenerative and mental health disorders. Methods: This secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial involves adults aged 58–75 years with bipolar disorder, excluding those with acute episodes, epilepsy, or severe eye diseases. The experimental group received standard treatment plus VR-CR, while the control group received only standard treatment. Results: No baseline differences were found between the experimental and control groups. No significant improvement was observed in the overall cognitive function test (p = 0.897) or in depressive symptoms (p = 0.322). A phase III efficacy study requires a sample size of 28 participants (alpha = 0.05, beta = 0.20). Conclusions: VR-CR can potentially treat depressive symptoms in adults and older adults, but the results support conducting phase III studies to further investigate these outcomes. However, the improvement in cognitive performance in the elderly is less pronounced than in younger individuals

Synthesis and gas permeation properties of tetraoxidethianthrene-based polymers of intrinsic microporosity

A series of nine polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs) derived from different bis-catechol monomers and 2,3,7,8-tetrafluoro-5,5′,10,10′-tetraoxidethianthrene (TOT) were synthesised and tested for their potential use as gas separation membranes. As powders, they demonstrate significant nitrogen adsorption at 77 K allowing apparent BET surface areas ranging from 432-785 m2g−1to be calculated. Six of the polymers were found to be soluble in quinoline facilitating the casting of self-standing films to allow the assessment of their gas separation properties. Spirobifluorene-based polymers exhibited the highest gas permeability, approaching the performance of the archetypalPIM-1, and the data for some are placed close to the 2008 Robeson upper bounds for O2/N2and CO2/CH4. Ageing studies showed a gradual decrease in permeability, accompanied by an increase in selectivity that moved the data more-or-less parallel to the Robeson upper bounds. The two polymers with the lowest and highest gas permeability were both tested over the temperature range 25-55 °C and an enhancement in permeability for all gases, with the exception of CO2, was observed along with decreased selectivity for almost all gas pairs. The latter seems to be due to the simultaneous drop in both diffusivity selectivity and solubility selectivity for all gas pairs, but especially those involving CO2, due to a strong decrease in solubility with increasing temperature. The analysis of the energetic and entropic selectivity provides further insight into the remarkable transport properties of PIMs. Overall, the tetraoxidethianthrene unit proves to be a suitable building block for use in PIM synthesis for applications in gas separation membranes and these PIMs have a one to two orders of magnitude higher permeability than more common polysulfones.</p

Can Virtual Reality Cognitive Remediation in Bipolar Disorder Enhance Specific Skills in Young Adults through Mirror Neuron Activity?—A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction: Impairments in social cognition and cognitive deficits in bipolar disorder (BD) offer insights into the disorder’s progression. Understanding how interventions impact both cognitive and emotional aspects of social cognition is essential. This study examines the effects of virtual reality (VR) cognitive remediation on cognitive skills, stratified by age, in the early stages of the disorder. Methods: A secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) compared the efficacy of VR cognitive remediation on cognitive skills between young adults (≤58 years) and older adults (≥59 years) in the experimental group with BD. Results: The experimental group included 39 participants: 24 ≤ 58 years and 15 ≥ 59 years. Young adults showed greater improvement in the Digit Span Backward (0.37 ± 0.35 vs. 0.07 ± 0.26, F = 9.882, p = 0.020) and Digit Symbol tests (3.84 ± 3.05 vs. 1.16 ± 3.8, F = 5.895, p = 0.020). Older adults improved more in the Frontal Assessment Battery (1.00 ± 0.95 vs. 0.54 ± 0.21, F = 5.295, p = 0.027), Matrix test (0.58 ± 0.35 vs. 0.37 ± 0.26, F = 4.606, p = 0.038), and Test of Tale (0.81 ± 0.36 vs. 0.42 ± 0.38, F = 10.115, p = 0.003). Conclusions: Young adults improved more in complex cognitive tasks, while older adults showed better results in simpler tasks. The effectiveness of VR may be due to hyperstimulation of mirror neurons. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings

European Sustainable Urbanisation through port city Regeneration - Targeted Analysis Final Report

ENSURE (European Sustainable Urbanisation through port city Regeneration) is a targeted analysis aimed at providing better insights into the potential regional impacts of port city regeneration and a better understanding of the appropriate methods and tools. The research involved a comprehensive literature review, a pan-European desktop analysis of port city regeneration in small and medium-sized cities and in-depth case studies in four stakeholder cities, as well as a series of workshops and conferences. The research shows that a main driver for the development of ports in Europe was the industrial revolution and the continued industrial growth until the mid-20th century. Similarly, a retreat from the waterfront became evident during the last part of the century as the deindustrialisation gathered pace, driven by increased global competition, spatial relocation of industry, and technological changes in both industry and transport. Another key aspect was the collapse of socialism in eastern Europe. Many cities in this part of Europe had active ports that became militarised during the Soviet era and later de-militarised as these states transitioned to a new political-economic structure. The desktop research indicated that about a third of small and medium-sized European port cities (48 of 144) show no evidence of regeneration. Some of these cities may be thriving and have no need for regeneration, but there is likely to be a significant latent potential across the European territory

Inflammatory Indices during and after a Randomized Controlled Trial on Exercise in Old Adults: Could Moderate-intensity Exercise be Safe Enough? (Active Elderly and Health – Clinicaltrials.Gov, NCT03858114)

Background: Aging is characterized by a progressive increase in chronic diseases. According to WHO’s guidance, there is a need to develop strategies to monitor, maintain and rehabilitate the health of older people. The present research aims to elucidate whether or not a moderate physical activity intervention in older adults can cause an increase in inflammatory biomarker indices such as C-reactive Protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). It is a valuable tool for promoting health that can be considered tolerable in the over-65 population. Methods: 120 males and females over 65 years of age participated in a randomized controlled trial (RCT NCT03858114) in two groups of 60 individuals of similar size and underwent moderate physical activity or cultural and recreational activities. The exclusion criteria were being younger than 65 years old, being unable to participate in physical activity for medical reasons, and a Body Mass Index of greater than 35. Blood samples from participants were collected for the pre-treatment period (t0), at the end of the study of 12 weeks (t1), and 20 weeks after the end of the study (t2) for measurement of inflammatory indices CRP and ESR. Results: The commonly routine tests for inflammatory reactions (ERS and CPR) showed no change at the end of an RCT on mild-to-moderate exercise. Conclusion: The results on inflammatory indices confirm the safety of this type of intervention and encourage its long-term use and testin

Prior Engagement in Physical Activity Correlates with Enhanced Quality of Life Perceptions among Older Adults during COVID-19 Lockdown

Background: This longitudinal study aimed to evaluate whether prior engagement in a physical exercise program correlated with enhanced perceptions of quality-of-life components among older adults during the COVID-19 lockdown period. Methods: The cohort comprised elderly individuals (aged ≥ 65 years) who had previously partaken in a 12-week randomized controlled trial investigating the effects of a mixed aerobic-anaerobic, moderate-intensity exercise program. Participants' health-related quality of life was assessed using the Short Form Health Survey-12 item (SF-12) at the beginning of the initial trial and, again, one year later during the COVID-19 lockdown. In the exercise group, 44 participants were included, while the control group consisted of 49 participants, with computer-based, double-blind randomization conducted in Cagliari, Italy. The differences in scores for each SF-12 item between the two groups from T0 to T1 were compared using one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni corrections. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27. Results: No statistically significant differences were observed on average by age (exercise group vs. control group 72.20 ± 4.78 vs. 72.91 ± 4.77; F = 0.513, p = 0.476). A decrease from T0 to T1 towards a better score on the SF-12 was observed in the exercise group compared to the control group in item 1 (F = 67.463, p &lt; 0.0001); in item 5 (F = 4.319, p = 0.041); item 8 (F = 4.269, p = 0.041); item 9 (F = 10.761, p = 0.001); item 10 (F = 170.433, p &lt; 0.001); and item 11 (F = 4.075, p = 0.046). Conclusions: The results suggest that participation in a moderate physical exercise program one year prior may have equipped older adults with better coping mechanisms to navigate the stress and isolation imposed by the COVID-19 lockdown, as reflected by their enhanced scores on quality-of-life components pertaining to mental well-being. Exercise may confer a protective effect against the adverse psychological impacts of stressful events like the pandemic, even among older adults with chronic conditions. This study underscores the potential benefits of exercise interventions for promoting quality of life and preventing mood disorders in the elderly population

Reliability and Factor Structure of the Well-Being and Respect for Human Rights Questionnaire in Measuring Caregivers' Perception

Background: This study has investigated perceptions of respect for users' rights among informal caregivers in mental healthcare settings, aligning with the guidelines outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the World Health Organization QualityRights initiative. The study has employed the questionnaire on Well-being at Work and Respect for Human Rights (WWRR) among informal caregivers and tested whether the questionnaire's factor structure among informal caregivers aligns with that of users and health workers. We have hypothesized that informal caregivers prioritize users' needs and rights over the care context's climate. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. The "Well-being at Work and Respect for Human Rights" questionnaire was distributed to 100 caregivers in 4 territorial mental health facilities in Sardinia, Italy. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was utilized to assess the participants' responses. Results: Participants reported high satisfaction with their relatives' treatment, perceiving a high level of respect for human rights among users and healthcare professionals. However, they highlighted insufficient resources for services, particularly the need for additional staff. CFA revealed that a scale with the first five items demonstrated good reliability, convergent validity, and discrimination. Mean scores indicated high satisfaction and perception of respect for human rights across the sample, with no significant differences by age or gender. Conclusion: Satisfaction with users' rights is closely correlated with other factors comprising the notion of organizational well-being within a healthcare service