The North Italian Longitudinal Study Assessing the Mental Health Effects of SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic on Health Care Workers-Part I: Study Design and Psychometric Structural Validity of the HSE Indicator Tool and Work Satisfaction Scale

Literature on the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the mental health of Health Care Workers (HCWs) is mostly based on cross-sectional surveys. We designed a longitudinal study to assess work-related stress and mental health before and after the pandemic onset in a university-hospital in Lombardia region, Italy. We report on sample representativeness and structural validity of questionnaires assessing work stress (HSE Indicator Tool, HSE-IT) and work satisfaction (WS), which were not validated in the HCWs population. n = 1287 HCWs from 67 hospital wards/offices were invited to an online survey in summer 2019 (pre-COVID-19 wave) and again during winter 2020 (COVID-19 wave). Selected hospital wards/offices did not differ from the remaining wards for turn-over and down-sizing rates, overload, sick leaves, and night shifts (Wilcoxon rank tests p-values > 0.05). Participation rates were 70% (n = 805) and 60% (n = 431) in the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 waves, respectively. Socio-demographic and work-related characteristics did not impact data completeness nor participation to the COVID-19 wave. While confirming a 7-component structure for HSE-IT, we identified a new factor related to participation in work organization. A one-factor model for WS had satisfactory fit. Our longitudinal study based on a representative sample and adopting validated questionnaires is well-suited to elucidate the role of work conditions on the development of mental health disorders in HCWs

Novel insights in health-promoting properties of sweet cherries

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Pregnancy and neonatal outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection discovered at the time of delivery: a tertiary center experience in North Italy

Objectives: Although the knowledge on SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy has greatly improved, there is still a lack of information on its role in the later stages of gestation. The aim of this study is to investigate whether SARS-CoV-2 discovered at delivery is associated with any obstetric or neonatal complications. Methods: A retrospective case-control study was conducted at Department of Obstetrics, University Hospital Maggiore della Carità, Novara, Italy, from March 2020 to March 2023. Pregnant women admitted were tested for SARS-CoV-2. 168 women resulted positive at the time of delivery; the women were asymptomatic or paucisymptomatic. 170 negative women were selected as controls, selecting, for each SARS-CoV-2 positive patient, the patient who gave birth right before, if negative. Demographic and anamnestic characteristics, pregnancy, labor, and neonatal outcomes were evaluated. Results: SARS-CoV-2 positive patients were more likely to have gestational diabetes (13.7 vs. 5.3 %) and required less frequently intrapartum analgesia (11.3 vs. 27 %) and labor augmentation (7.3 vs. 16.5 %). Post-partum hemorrhage rate was lower (13.7 vs. 22.9 %) and a shorter length of first and second stage of labor occurred. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups regarding the mode of delivery and neonatal outcomes. Conclusions: SARS-CoV-2 positive patients have shorter labor length and a lower incidence of postpartum hemorrhage. Fewer obstetric interventions, as well as less use of intrapartum analgesia and oxytocin, could explain these findings. Moreover, gestational diabetes could increase susceptibility to infection. SARS-CoV-2 infection discovered at the time of delivery in asymptomatic or paucisymptomatic patients does not appear to increase the rate of cesarean delivery or other obstetric complications, and neonatal outcomes have not worsened

Effects of Sweet Cherry Polyphenols on Enhanced Osteoclastogenesis Associated With Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity is associated with the development of severe comorbidities, such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and increased risk of osteopenia/osteoporosis and fractures. The status of low-grade inflammation associated to obesity can be reversed through an enhanced physical activity and by consumption of food enrich of anti-inflammatory compounds, such as omega-3 fatty acids and polyphenols. The aim of this study was to deepen the mechanisms of bone impairment in obese children and adolescents through the evaluation of the osteoclastogenic potential of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and the assessment of the serum levels of RANKL and osteoprotegerin (OPG). Furthermore, we aimed to evaluate the in vitro effects of polyphenol cherry extracts on osteoclastogenesis, as possible dietary treatment to improve bone health in obese subjects. High RANKL levels were measured in obese with respect to controls (115.48 ± 35.20 pg/ml vs. 87.18 ± 17.82 pg/ml; p < 0.01), while OPG levels were significantly reduced in obese than controls (378.02 ± 61.15 pg/ml vs. 436.75 ± 95.53 pg/ml, respectively, p < 0.01). Lower Ad-SoS- and BTT Z-scores were measured in obese compared to controls (p < 0.05). A significant elevated number of multinucleated TRAP+ osteoclasts (OCs) were observed in the un-stimulated cultures of obese subjects compared to the controls. Interestingly, obese subjects displayed a higher percentage of CD14+/CD16+ than controls. Furthermore, in the mRNA extracts of obese subjects we detected a 2.5- and 2-fold increase of TNFα and RANKL transcripts compared to controls, respectively. Each extract of sweet cherries determined a dose-dependent reduction in the formation of multinucleated TRAP+ OCs. Consistently, 24 h treatment of obese PBMCs with sweet cherry extracts from the three cultivars resulted in a significant reduction of the expression of TNFα. In conclusion, the bone impairment in obese children and adolescents is sustained by a spontaneous osteoclastogenesis that can be inhibited in vitro by the polyphenol content of sweet cherries. Thus, our study opens future perspectives for the use of sweet cherry extracts, appropriately formulated as nutraceutical food, as preventive in healthy children and therapeutic in obese ones

Predicting needlestick and sharps injuries in nursing students: Development of the SNNIP scale

© 2020 The Authors. Nursing Open published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Aim: To develop an instrument to investigate knowledge and predictive factors of needlestick and sharps injuries (NSIs) in nursing students during clinical placements. Design: Instrument development and cross-sectional study for psychometric testing. Methods: A self-administered instrument including demographic data, injury epidemiology and predictive factors of NSIs was developed between October 2018–January 2019. Content validity was assessed by a panel of experts. The instrument's factor structure and discriminant validity were explored using principal components analysis. The STROBE guidelines were followed. Results: Evidence of content validity was found (S-CVI 0.75; I-CVI 0.50–1.00). A three-factor structure was shown by exploratory factor analysis. Of the 238 participants, 39% had been injured at least once, of which 67.3% in the second year. Higher perceptions of “personal exposure” (4.06, SD 3.78) were reported by third-year students. Higher scores for “perceived benefits” of preventive behaviours (13.6, SD 1.46) were reported by second-year students

Il ruolo della donna nell'economia: parità di genere e sviluppo economico

La parità di genere in ogni sua forma è ormai un argomento costantemente dibattuto ai giorni nostri ma non per questo largamente riconosciuto soprattutto su alcuni aspetti quali l’ambito economico e più precisamente quello lavorativo. Nella vita lavorativa della donna si intrecciano principi, idee e pregiudizi che la riguardano ormai da secoli e radicati nella società stessa. L’obiettivo del lavoro di tesi è quello di analizzare l’evoluzione storica del ruolo della donna che da un soggetto naturalmente diverso rispetto all’uomo con il tempo diventa un tassello importante nella strada verso lo sviluppo. Gender equality in all its forms is now a constantly debated topic today but not for this widely recognized especially on some aspects such as the economic sphere and more precisely the working one. In a woman's working life, principles, ideas and prejudices that have affected it for centuries and are rooted in society itself. The goal of the thesis work is to analyze the historical evolution of the role of the woman who gives a subject naturally different from man over time becomes an important piece in the road to development

Leadership of organizational change toward an integrated model of leadership for corporate responsibility and sustainable development: A process model of corporate responsibility beyond management innovation

Purpose - The literature on corporate responsibility (CR) increasingly recognizes the importance of leadership in support of organizational change. This is particularly the case when CR provides the basis for the business contribution to sustainable development, which is understood to involve organizational and social innovation leading to change. The paper draws on theoretical and empirical studies to examine leadership for CR as a particular example of management innovation. Design/methodology/approach - The paper develops a model of leadership for CR as the business contribution to sustainable development by confronting and integrating the literatures on management innovation and leadership for CR. The proposed model is consistent with the direction, alignment, commitment (DAC) framework that fosters a culture of organizational leadership relevant to the specific case of business and sustainable development. Findings - The process model described in the paper connects leadership in organizational change with literature on management innovation. The paper draws on theoretical and empirically grounded literature on management, corporate responsibility and organizational psychology. It puts forward a sequence of mechanisms that contribute to successful change and discusses how they are linked. This sequence provides a process model of leadership practices for CR as the business contribution to sustainable development viewed as a particular form of management innovation, which involves the advancement of leadership practices for CR as organizational and social change. Research limitations/implications - The model is useful as a reference to practice and as a basis for leadership development. In terms of theory the model needs to be more thoroughly tested in empirical settings to understand better the interdependencies between leadership practices for CR and management innovation. Originality/value - This process model is the first attempt to develop a comprehensive understanding of CR in a management innovation framework. In doing this it moves beyond the recent focus on leadership skills and competences of individuals. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Learning Goal Orientation and cultural diversity: Unveiling the impact across generational cohorts

Importance and Key Contribution. Though research on learning goal orientation (LGO) abounds in developmental and education literature, research on its content and meaning in the workplace is comparatively limited. The purpose of this study was to address these neglected areas by analyzing the influence of generational groups and national culture (e.g., performance orientation) on LGO in the managerial population. We found support that the youngest generation of managers in our sample had the highest LGO. Moreover, with a multilevel framework national culture is a cross-level moderator; there is a tendency for managers in younger generations in performance oriented countries to be higher in LGO than managers in younger generations in low performance oriented countries. This is one of the first studies to provide evidence of LGO in the workplace and in a managerial population across countries

Testing the homogeneity hypothesis of personality: Replication and extension across European countries, industry sectors and organizations

This paper builds on previous studies testing the homogeneity hypothesis of personality as presented in seminal works in the field. Using a sample of 2,745 managers from 165 organizations operating in 51 sectors, spanning 30 European countries, we explore the Attraction‐Selection‐Attrition (ASA) framework in European organizations, and examine managerial personality variability within and between: (1) organizations; (2) industry sectors; and (3) European countries. To explore personality, the Myers‐Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was used and the hypotheses tested with Bayesian Multilevel analysis, along with the within‐group interrater reliability statistic (rWG) and average deviation from the mean (ADM) agreement indices. Results revealed significant variance in personality between organizations and countries – but not within sectors. Evaluation of within group agreement revealed that agreement in personality profiles within organizations is relatively low (10–39%); the agreement is higher within countries (56–68%) and within industry sectors (30–63%). The results reveal that perhaps organizations are not as homogeneous as previously suggested. Earlier cautions about the consequences of Attraction‐Selection‐Attrition yielding relative homogeneity are discussed as unnecessary, and complementary fit is suggested. This is the first study to empirically test within group agreement across levels