Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on perinatal mental health (Riseup-PPD-COVID-19): protocol for an international prospective cohort study

Background: Corona Virus Disease 19 (COVID-19) is a new pandemic, declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organization, which could have negative consequences for pregnant and postpartum women. The scarce evidence published to date suggests that perinatal mental health has deteriorated since the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the few studies published so far have some limitations, such as a cross-sectional design and the omission of important factors for the understanding of perinatal mental health, including governmental restriction measures and healthcare practices implemented at the maternity hospitals. Within the Riseup-PPD COST Action, a study is underway to assess the impact of COVID-19 in perinatal mental health. The primary objectives are to (1) evaluate changes in perinatal mental health outcomes; and (2) determine the risk and protective factors for perinatal mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, we will compare the results between the countries participating in the study. Methods: This is an international prospective cohort study, with a baseline and three follow-up assessments over a six-month period. It is being carried out in 11 European countries (Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Israel, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom), Argentina, Brazil and Chile. The sample consists of adult pregnant and postpartum women (with infants up to 6 months of age). The assessment includes measures on COVID-19 epidemiology and public health measures (Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker dataset), Coronavirus Perinatal Experiences (COPE questionnaires), psychological distress (BSI-18), depression (EPDS), anxiety (GAD-7) and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSD checklist for DSM-V). Discussion: This study will provide important information for understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on perinatal mental health and well-being, including the identification of potential risk and protective factors by implementing predictive models using machine learning techniques. The findings will help policymakers develop suitable guidelines and prevention strategies for perinatal mental health and contribute to designing tailored mental health interventions. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04595123.The project is part of the COST Action Riseup-PPD CA 18138 and was supported by COST under COST Action Riseup-PPD CA18138; also, by the Spanish Ministry of Health, the Institute of Health Carlos III, and the European Regional Development Fund «Una manera de hacer Europa» by the Prevention and Health Promotion Research Network ‘redIAPP’ (RD16/0007). Raquel Costa is supported by the FSE and FCT under an individual Post-Doctoral Grant SFRH/BPD/117597/2016. Rena Bina and Drorit Levy received funding from the Bar-Ilan Dangoor Centre for Personalized Medicine, Israel. Ana Mesquita is supported from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and from EU through the European Social Fund and from the Human Potential Operational Program - IF/00750/2015. Ana Osório received financial support from CAPES/Proex no. 0653/2018 and CAPES/PrInt grant no. 88887.310343/2018-00.The funders of the study had no role in the study design or the writing the protocol. The corresponding author had final responsibility for the decision to submit for publication

Azole assisted C-H bond activation promoted by an osmium-polyhydride: Discerning between N and NH

This is an open access article published under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) License.The capacity of the hexahydride complex OsH6(PiPr3)2 (1) to discern between the nitrogen atom and the NH unit in the azole assisted aryl C−H bond activation has been investigated. Complex 1 reacts with 2-phenylimidazole to give OsH3{κ2-C,N-(C6H4-imidazole)}(PiPr3)2 (2), which has been characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis. The structure proves the higher affinity of the metal center for the N atom in the presence of the NH unit, which remains unchanged, and reveals that in the solid state the molecules of this complex form infinite chains by means of intermolecular asymmetric 3-center bifurcated dihydrogen bonds. In solution, 1HDOSY NMR experiments suggest that the association degree decreases as the temperature increases. The fused six-membered ring of benzimidazole weakens the NH bond, enhancing its reactivity. As a consequence, complex 1 cannot discern between the N atom and the NH unit of 2-phenylbenzimidazole. Thus, the treatment of 1 with this substrate leads to a mixture of OsH3{κ2-C,N-(C6H4-benzimidazole)}(PiPr3)2 (3) and the dinuclear species (PiPr3)2H3Os(C6H4-benzimidazolate)OsH(η2-H2)(PiPr3)2 (4). The latter is the result of a N-assisted ortho-C−H bond activation of the phenyl group promoted by 0.5 equiv of 1 and the N−H bond activation promoted by the remaining 0.5 equiv of hexahydride 1 along with the agostic coordination of the remaining ortho-C−H bond to the metal center of the unsaturated fragment OsH(η 2-H2)(PiPr3)2. The comparison of the redox properties of 3 and 4 suggests that the interaction between the metal centers in the dinuclear compound is negligible. The replacement of the NH group of the azoles by a sulfur atom does not modify the behavior of the substrates. Thus, the reactions of 1 with 2-phenylthiazole and 2-phenylbenzothiazole afford OsH3{κ 2-C,N-(C6H4-thiazole)}(PiPr3)2 (5) and OsH3{κ2-C,N-(C6H4-benzothiazole)}(PiPr3)2 (6). In turn, complexes 2, 3, 5, and 6 are phosphorescent.Financial support from the Spanish MINECO and FEDER (Projects CTQ2013-46459-C2-01-P to M.A.S., CTQ2014-52799-P to M.A.E., CTQ2013-44303-P to I.F., CTQ2014-54071-P to A.L., and CTQ2014-51912-REDC, the DGA (E35), and the European Social Fund (FSE) is acknowledged.Peer Reviewe

Toolkit per la valutazione delle abilità sociali ed emotive a scuola

Il progetto “Learning to Be: Development of Practices and Methodologies for Assessing Social, Emotional and Health Skills within Education Systems”, cofinanziato dal programma Erasmus+ dell’Unione europea, è un progetto sperimentale che coinvolge differenti Istituti ed Enti di ricerca che si occupano di istruzione ed educazione appartenenti a sette Paesi Europei: Finlandia, Italia, Lettonia, Lituania, Portogallo, Slovenia e Spagna. Il progetto, di durata triennale (febbraio 2017 - gennaio 2020), è volto a sperimentare metodologie di insegnamento e strumenti per la valutazione delle competenze socio-emotive negli studenti a scuola, al fine di comprendere come queste abilità possano essere supportate e promosse nei contesti educativi. “Learning to Be” si basa sul principio che la valutazione a scuola possa andare oltre le pure conoscenze nozionistiche e la performance scolastica, includendo, al contrario, pratiche educative che permettano, in particolare, l’osservazione dello sviluppo personale e delle abilità sociali e emotive. Pertanto, tale volume propone e descrive metodologie pratiche che possono essere utilizzate dai docenti e dagli studenti in classe al fine di sostenere gli aspetti sociali ed emotivi dell’apprendimento, promuovendo uno sviluppo sano della personalità e incoraggiando la costruzione di relazioni positive a scuola. Questo Toolkit, pensato per i docenti di scuola primaria e secondaria di I grado, delinea i principi fondamentali per una pratica efficace dell’apprendimento socio-emotivo a scuola e fornisce tecniche pratiche per valutare le competenze socio-emotive degli studenti in classe, oltre che per facilitare e sostenere ulteriori apprendimenti. Pur non avendo l’obiettivo di fornire un quadro completo rispetto alle conoscenze e agli studi inerenti l’apprendimento socio-emotivo, ha altresì lo scopo di supportare i docenti nel migliorare le pratiche educative connesse alla valutazione a scuola. Crediamo che sia importante che tutti coloro che si occupano di educazione con bambini e giovani possano avere una formazione circa lo sviluppo emotivo e sociale, per comprendere in che modo questi aspetti impattino anche sull’apprendimento a scuola. Il titolo originale del progetto “Learning to Be” (“imparare ad essere”) è un augurio affinché questo progetto sia di aiuto per gli studenti e per i docenti nel loro percorso di crescita, per “imparare ad essere” felici e responsabili nei confronti degli altri

Selective meta-C-H bond activation of substituted 1,3-chlorobenzenes promoted by an osmium pyridyl complex

Ethylene displaces both the acetone and phosphine ligands of [OsTp{κ1C-HNC5H3Me}(κ1- OCMe2)(PiPr3)]BF4 (2; Tp = hydrydotris(pyrazolyl)borate). The reaction takes place by stages. Initially the replacement of acetone gives the mono(olefin) derivative [OsTp{κ 1-C-[HNC5H3Me]}(η2-CH 2=CH2)(PiPr3)]BF4 (3). The substitution of the phosphine occurs at 120 °C and leads to the bis(olefin) complex [OsTp{κ1-C[HNC5H 3Me]}(η2-CH2=CH2) 2]BF4 (4). The NH wingtip of 3 and 4 undergoes deprotonation with tert-butoxide to afford the corresponding pyridyl compounds [OsTp{κ1-C[NC5H3Me]}(η2- CH2=CH2)(PiPr3)] (5) and [OsTp{κ1-C[NC5H3Me]}(η2- CH2=CH2)2] (6). At 60 °C, the solvents chloro-3-fluorobenzene, 1,3-dichlorobenzene, and 3-chlorotoluene displace the pyridyl ligand of 6 to yield the haloaryl derivatives [OsTp(3,5-C 6H3ClX)(η2-CH2=CH 2)2] (X = F (7), Cl (8), Me (9)) as a result of the selective meta-C-H bond activation of the haloarenes. © 2014 American Chemical Society.Financial support from the Spanish MINECO (Projects CTQ2011-23459 and Consolider Ingenio 2010 (CSD2007-00006)), the DGA (E35), and the European Social Fund (FSE) is acknowledged.Peer Reviewe

Chelated Assisted Metal-Mediated N–H Bond Activation of β‑Lactams: Preparation of Irida‑, Rhoda‑, Osma‑, and Ruthenatrinems

2-Azetidinones substituted with pyridine (<b>2a</b>), quinoline (<b>2b</b>), isoquinoline (<b>2c</b>), imidazole (<b>2d</b>), and benzimidazole (<b>2e</b>) at the 4-position of the four-membered ring have been prepared in order to synthesize tribactams containing a transition metal and its associated ligands, L_<i>n</i>M, at the 2-position of the tricyclic skeleton. The developed procedure is compatible with a wide range of transition-metal starting complexes. Thus, the iridium and rhodium dimers [M­(η⁵-C₅Me₅)­Cl₂]₂ react with <b>2a</b>–<b>e</b>, in the presence of sodium acetate, to afford irida- and rhodatrinems (<b>1a</b>–<b>j</b>) containing the half-sandwich d⁶ metal fragments M­(η⁵-C₅Me₅)Cl (M = Ir, Rh). The reactions of [M­(μ-OMe)­(η⁴-COD)]₂ (M = Ir, Rh) with <b>2a</b> lead to irida- and rhodatrinems (<b>1k</b>,<b>l</b>) with the d⁸ moieties M­(η⁴-COD). The coordination sphere and oxidation state of the metal center in these compounds can be modified, without affecting the 2-azetidinone backbone, by means of substitution and oxidative addition reactions. As a proof of concept, metallatrinems with the M­(CO)₂ (M = Ir (<b>1m</b>), Rh (<b>1n</b>)) and Ir­(Me)­I­(CO)₂ (<b>1o</b>) units are also reported. Osmatrinems <b>1p</b>,<b>q</b> containing the d⁴ metal fragment OsH₃(PⁱPr₃)₂ have been obtained starting from the d² hexahydride OsH₆(PⁱPr₃)₂, by reaction with <b>2a</b>,<b>b</b>, whereas the treatment of the tetrahydroborate complexes MH­(η²-H₂BH₂)­(CO)­(PⁱPr₃)₂ (M = Os, Ru) with <b>2a</b> yields osma- and ruthenatrinems (<b>1r</b>,<b>s</b>) containing six-coordinate bis­(phosphine) d⁶ metal fragments. The IR stretching frequency of the lactamic carbonyl, the bent angle between the five- and four-membered rings of the tricycle, and the N–CO bond length in the lactamic ring are clearly infuenced by the L_<i>n</i>M fragment