Alcohol and Nicotine Use among Adolescents: An Observational Study in a Sicilian Cohort of High School Students

In recent years, the mode of alcoholic intake known as binge drinking (BD) has become a common practice, especially among adolescents who, due to socio-environmental motives, tend to reach a rapid state of drunkenness. This drunkeness leads to alterations in brain areas responsible for executive functions and cognitive processes, as well as to the genesis of factors that predispose to lasting addiction. Likewise, nicotine leads to a comparable degree of addiction. On this basis, the aim of this research was to evaluate, on a cohort of 349 high school students (15-17 years old) in the province of Palermo, the following: (I) the drinking model of alcoholic beverages; (II) the use of nicotine and the degree of dependence; (III) the correlation between the consumption of alcoholic beverages and the use of nicotine. We employed the AUDIT-C test and the Fagerstrom test, two valid and standard instruments, in order to assess alcohol and nicotine use, respectively. Statistical analysis of the data showed that male and female students consumed alcohol prominently in a BD mode (77.2%, audit score (AS) 3.497, confidence interval (CI) 3.206-3.788; 69.6%, AS 2.793, CI 2.412-3.274) and nicotine (41.5%, Fagerstrom score (FS) 3.882, CI 3.519-4.245; 28%, FS 3.286, CI 2.547-4.024). Furthermore, a positive correlation between alcohol consumption and nicotine use was found for male (r = 0.6798, p < 0.0001) and female (r = 0.6572, p < 0.0001) students. This study provided further insights into the use of legal substances of abuse in adolescents, evidencing the obvious need for the promotion of specific school educational programs aimed at the wellbeing of youth populations

“Golden” Tomato Consumption Ameliorates Metabolic Syndrome: A Focus on the Redox Balance in the High-Fat-Diet-Fed Rat

Tomato fruits defined as “golden” refer to a food product harvested at an incomplete ripening stage with respect to red tomatoes at full maturation. The aim of this study is to explore the putative influence of “golden tomato” (GT) on Metabolic Syndrome (MetS), especially focusing on the effects on redox homeostasis. Firstly, the differential chemical properties of the GT food matrix were characterized in terms of phytonutrient composition and antioxidant capacities with respect to red tomato (RT). Later, we assessed the biochemical, nutraceutical and eventually disease-modifying potential of GT in vivo in the high-fat-diet rat model of MetS. Our data revealed that GT oral supplementation is able to counterbalance MetS-induced biometric and metabolic modifications. Noteworthy is that this nutritional supplementation proved to reduce plasma oxidant status and improve the endogenous antioxidant barriers, assessed by strong systemic biomarkers. Furthermore, consistently with the reduction of hepatic reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) levels, treatment with GT markedly reduced the HFD-induced increase in hepatic lipid peroxidation and hepatic steatosis. This research elucidates the importance of food supplementation with GT in the prevention and management of MetS

La riforma italiana della tassazione delle imprese e i suoi effetti sulle decisioni di investimento

The Italian Budget Law for the year 2008 introduces a business tax reform, which is inspired to an analogous reform established in Germany in the same year, with the aim of making the corporate taxation system more attractive for capital flows and capable of enhancing firms’ investment activities. The paper focuses on the latter issue and addresses the analysis of the potential effects of the diverse measures adopted with the reform on the dynamics of corporate investments. The essay is organised as follows. In the first section a review of the innovations introduced with the reform is provided; the second paragraph discusses the major elements of the reform’s rationale; in the third section we analyse the effects of the main novelties through a simulation based on firm level data derived by the last two waves of the Capitalia Survey on manufacturing companies covering the period 1998-2003. Finally, in order to further analyse the potential impact of the reform on firms’ decisions, paragraph four presents the results of econometric estimates of the functions of financial debts and corporate investments, which take into account the effects of proper fiscal variables.

Sport, Inclusione e Matematica: studio di caso in una scuola secondaria di I grado

La realizzazione dell’attività didattica, che andremo a descrivere, si colloca nell'ambito del progetto SIM (Sport, Inclusione, Matematica). Tale progetto è una sperimentazione didattica promossa dal gruppo di ricerca di Didattica della Matematica del Dipartimento di Matematica dell’Università di Salerno e realizzata dai docenti dell’Istituto Comprensivo “Picentia” di Pontecagnano (SA). Il progetto si colloca nella cornice teorica dell’Enattivismo: l’azione è la chiave di volta dell’insegnamento; non si può pensare all’insegnamento da un punto di vista esclusivo, che sia quello dell’insegnante o quello dell’alunno, esso dev’essere interpretato come un percorso da fare insieme, di mutuo arricchimento, in cui l’insegnante non è l’esperto che trasmette concetti ma colui che dirige l’azione degli studenti (Damiano, 1993). È necessaria una nuova interpretazione dell’apprendimento, in cui l’alunno che apprende può essere paragonato allo scienziato che scopre: l’azione è a carico del soggetto, alla didattica è demandato il compito di ricreare gli ambienti adeguati per favorirlo, rispettando le sue caratteristiche personali e le sue tappe di sviluppo. (Bruner, 2009

Sport, Inclusione e Matematica: studio di caso in una scuola secondaria di I grado

La realizzazione dell’attività didattica, che andremo a descrivere, si colloca nell'ambito del progetto SIM (Sport, Inclusione, Matematica). Tale progetto è una sperimentazione didattica promossa dal gruppo di ricerca di Didattica della Matematica del Dipartimento di Matematica dell’Università di Salerno e realizzata dai docenti dell’Istituto Comprensivo “Picentia” di Pontecagnano (SA). Il progetto si colloca nella cornice teorica dell’Enattivismo: l’azione è la chiave di volta dell’insegnamento; non si può pensare all’insegnamento da un punto di vista esclusivo, che sia quello dell’insegnante o quello dell’alunno, esso dev’essere interpretato come un percorso da fare insieme, di mutuo arricchimento, in cui l’insegnante non è l’esperto che trasmette concetti ma colui che dirige l’azione degli studenti (Damiano, 1993). È necessaria una nuova interpretazione dell’apprendimento, in cui l’alunno che apprende può essere paragonato allo scienziato che scopre: l’azione è a carico del soggetto, alla didattica è demandato il compito di ricreare gli ambienti adeguati per favorirlo, rispettando le sue caratteristiche personali e le sue tappe di sviluppo. (Bruner, 2009

Effects of size and location of regions of interest examined by use of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography on renal perfusion variables of dogs

OBJECTIVE To determine effects of the size and location of regions of interest (ROIs) in the renal cortex of unsedated dogs on renal perfusion variables determined by use of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS). ANIMALS 12 client-owned adult (1.5 to 2 years old) Labrador Retrievers (8 males and 4 females; mean ± SD body weight, 27 ± 1.6 kg). PROCEDURES Each dog received 2 bolus injections of sulfur hexafluoride during CEUS. Three small oval ROIs (area of each ROI, 0.11 cm(2)) located in a row with a distance of 1 mm between adjacent ROIs and 1 large oval ROI (area, 1 cm(2)) that encompassed the 3 smaller ROIs were manually drawn in the renal cortex. The ROIs were located at a depth of 1.5 to 2.0 cm in the near field of the renal cortex. Software analysis of time-intensity curves within each ROI was used to identify peak enhancement, time to peak enhancement, regional blood flow, and mean transit time. RESULTS The location and size of the ROIs of unsedated dogs did not cause significant differences in the mean values of the renal perfusion variables. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE The development of CEUS has provided a unique means for visually examining and quantifying tissue perfusion. Results of this study indicated that it was possible to use small or large ROIs during renal CEUS to evaluate renal perfusion in dogs