The Role of High School Physical Activity Experience in College Students’ Physical Activity Motivation

International Journal of Exercise Science 7(2) : 98-109, 2014. This study tested the role of past physical activity mode in predicting physical activity motivation of first year college students. Consistent with self-determination theory, perceived competence and autonomy were expected to mediate the relationships of specific types of physical activity engaged in during high school to autonomous motivation for physical activity in college. College students (N = 124; Mage= 18.42, SD = 0.51) completed an online questionnaire that assessed frequency of engagement in different modes of physical activity during their final year of high school (i.e., competitive sport, recreational sport, aerobic exercise, resistance exercise, organized activities and recreational activities) and current perceptions of competence and autonomy and autonomous motivation for physical activity in college. Path analysis results showed that feelings of competence and autonomy mediated the relationships of past engagement in competitive sport and resistance exercise to current autonomous motivation for physical activity. Competitive sport involvement positively predicted both perceived competence and autonomy, whereas resistance exercise positively predicted perceived competence. Results supported self-determination theory and suggest that creating more opportunities for students to stay involved in competitive sport and engage in resistance exercise may be important for sustaining physical activity behaviours in college

Discrimination between effects induced by microbial activity and water-rock interactions under hydrothermal conditions according to REE behaviour

Rare earth elements (REE) were investigated in siliceous stromatolites forming in the Specchio di Venere Lake on Pantelleria Island. Chondrite-normalised patterns show significant La enrichments and Eu depletions suggesting that fluids involved in stromatolite growth experienced strong rock-water interactions under hydrothermal conditions. At the same time, enrichments in heavy REE (HREE) with respect to intermediate REE (MREE) suggest that hydrothermal fluids interacted with microbial mats during deposition of the stromatolites. The above-mentioned features suggest that rock-water interactions and bacterial activity were simultaneously recorded in the REE patterns of stromatolites, and can be discriminated in terms of amplitudes of the La anomaly, and the HREE/MREE ratio

Shallow fluid circulation at Vulcano Island (Aeolian Islands, Italy): a possibile trigger for flank instability?

The crater of “La Fossa” at Vulcano Island (Aeolian Islands, Italy) since the last eruption, occurred in 1890, is characterized by an intense fumarolic activity. The main fumarolic field is located on the north flank of the inner crater, whereas the release of water vapour from soil spans all over the entire vent, including the sea-facing slopes. The steepest slopes of La Fossa crater have been interested during the last 20 years by instability phenomena, the most important of which was a landslide detached from the sea-facing NE flank in 1988, during the most significant volcanic unrest that affected Vulcano Island in recent times. The search for a possible link between volcanic activity and landslides has been the object of several recent studies, carried out since 2004 within the research activities promoted by the Italian Civil Protection Department, mainly focused on the role played by space and time variability of the fumarolic activity as a possible trigger for flank instability. The triggering mechanisms should be linked to the circulation of water of volcanic origin, deriving from the underground condensation of vapour, able to modify the geo-technical parameters of the volcanic products and/or to create detachment surfaces over which or from which landslides could be generated. The spatial extension of the water vapour release from the soil, with specific reference to the slopes affected in the past by mass movements, has been reconstructed by ground-based and airborne remote-sensed thermal surveys. Once located, a network of continuous monitoring stations has been installed on the main soil thermal anomalies, collecting data of temperature at different depths and suction, with the aim of ascertaining the existence of variations in the water content of the soil due to endogenous sources. The preliminary data acquired show a good correlation between soil temperature and suction, highlighting how their variations seems to be directly linked to the activity level of the volcanic system and, at least, confirming the possible role of water deriving from condensation of volcanic vapour as a trigger for slope instability

Benefici e svantaggi delle eparine a basso peso molecolare

Premesse e Scopo dello studio: Le eparine a basso peso molecolare vengono utilizzate per la prevenzione e il trattamento della coagula- zione del sangue, l’obiettivo è quello di ridurre al minimo gli effetti collaterali in seguito alla somministrazione delle varie molecole. Metodi e Risultati: L’analisi stata effettuata presso il Dipartimento di Chirurgia Generale e di Urgenza dell’A.O. Ospedali riuniti Villa Sofia - Cervello, su un campione di circa 80 pazienti con età compresa tra i 35-80 anni, 50 sono di sesso femminile e 30 sono di sesso maschile, sono stati riscontrati dall'osservazione effettuata i seguenti effetti collaterali: per quanto riguarda la Parnaparina e la Bemiparina sanguinamento delle gengive durante il lavaggio dei denti maggiormente in soggetti anziani (3 donne); mestruazioni particolarmente abbondanti (7 donne); eccessiva perdita di sangue per tagli o piccole ferite (5 donne e 5 uomini); ematomi in sede d'inezione (in tutti i pazienti osservati). Conclusioni: Dalle analisi finali possiamo dedurre che la Parnaparina e la Bemiparina svolgono un’intensa e rapida dissoluzione di trombi che possono essersi formati nelle arterie o nelle vene mentre con la Nadroparina e con l’Enoxaparina non abbiamo mai osservato variazioni dell'A.P. E della P.T.T

C4BQ0: a genetic marker of familial HCV-related liver cirrhosis.

Source Department of Medicine and Pneumology, V Cervello Hospital, Via Trabucco 180, 90146 Palermo, Italy. [email protected] Abstract BACKGROUND AND METHODS: Host may have a role in the evolution of chronic HCV liver disease. We performed two cross-sectional prospective studies to evaluate the prevalence of cirrhosis in first degree relatives of patients with cirrhosis and the role of two major histocompatibility complex class III alleles BF and C4 versus HCV as risk factors for familial clustering. FINDINGS: Ninety-three (18.6%) of 500 patients with cirrhosis had at least one cirrhotic first degree relative as compared to 13 (2.6%) of 500 controls, (OR 7.38; CI 4.21-12.9). C4BQ0 was significantly more frequent in the 93 cirrhotic patients than in 93 cirrhotic controls without familiarity (Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium: chi2 5.76, P = 0.016) and in 20 families with versus 20 without aggregation of HCV related cirrhosis (29.2% versus 11.3%, P = 0.001); the association C4BQ0-HCV was found almost only in cirrhotic patients with a family history of liver cirrhosis. CONCLUSIONS: Our studies support the value of C4BQ0 as a risk indicator of familial HCV related cirrhosis

New cost-effective technologies applied to the study of the glacier melting influence on physical and biological processes in Kongsfjorden area (Svalbard)

The Arctic region is greatly affected by climate change, with evident alterations in both physical and biological processes: temperatures are changing at a rate that is twice the global average and phytoplankton productivity is directly affected by ice melting. Continuous monitoring of this ecosystem is fundamental to gain greater understanding of the impact of changes on the natural environment, but the Global Ocean Observing System only provides partial coverage in these extreme areas, which are particularly difficult to reach. Technological progress in oceanographic measurement capabilities is indispensable for the implementation of marine observatories, especially in these remote regions. In recent years, autonomous systems and cost-effective technologies have proved to be valuable for increasing spatial and temporal coverage of data. This is the case with the innovative ArLoC (Arctic Low-Cost) probe, which was designed and developed for easy integration into various types of platforms, enabling continuous measurement of temperature, pressure and fluorescence of chlorophyll a. This work reports on the results of two scientific campaigns carried out in Kongsfjorden (Svalbard Islands) in 2018 in the framework of the UVASS (Unmanned Vehicles for Autonomous Sensing and Sampling) research project. The ArLoC probe was integrated onboard the PROTEUS (Portable RObotic TEchnology for Unmanned Surveys) unmanned semi-submersible vehicle and this allowed us to collect important data in the stretches of sea near tidewater glacier fronts. The acquired data showed several significant effects of glacier melting such as: high temperature and salinity gradients, which cause considerable variations in water mass stratification, and an increase in turbidity and the chlorophyll a concentration, which directly affects primary productivity and the trophic chain. During the surveys, ArLoC proved to be an easy-to-integrate, very reliable instrument, which permitted high spatial resolution investigation of ecological processes during glacier melting as never studied before

Prognostic indicators of successful endoscopic sclerotherapy for prevention of rebleeding from oesophageal varices in cirrhosis: a long-term cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Although band ligation is now recommended for prevention of rebleeding from oesophageal varices in cirrhosis, sclerotherapy is still widely used. Patients submitted to chronic sclerotherapy undergo several endoscopies and experience a large number of serious complications. However, long-term outcome is poorly defined. AIMS: To assess the clinical course and prognostic indicators of patients undergoing chronic sclerotherapy for prevention of variceal rebleeding as a basis for future evaluation of long-term band ligation outcome. METHODS: Prospective cohort study; prognostic analysis by the Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: A total of 218 consecutive cirrhotic patients (37 Child class A, 154 B, 27 C) were enrolled in the study Varices were obliterated in 139 (64%) patients in a mean of 5 (+/-2.6) sessions and recurred in 58/139 (41.7%) within one year. A total of 132 (60%) patients experienced 283 rebleeding episodes and 73 (33%) died. Bleeding from oesophageal ulcers was the most serious complication causing 14% of all rebleeding episodes. Significant prognostic indicators of sclerotherapy outcome were: Child-Pugh class for variceal obliteration; gastric varices and platelet count for recurrence of varices; failure to obliterate varices, variceal size and gastric varices for rebleeding; blood urea nitrogen and failure to obliterate varices for death. Presence of gastric varices was the only prognostic indicator for death in the 79 patients not achieving variceal obliteration. A mean of 10 endoscopies and of 6 hospital admissions were needed per each patient with an estimated cost of US dollars 7154 per patient during the first two years of therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Sclerotherapy is a very demanding and costly treatment, and is associated with frequent and serious side-effects. The probability of treatment failure is significantly higher in Child C patients with gastric varices. Alternative treatments should be considered for these patients

Safety and effectiveness of gemcitabine for the treatment of classic Kaposi’s sarcoma without visceral involvement

Background: Classic Kaposi’s sarcoma (CKS) is a rare, multifocal, endothelial cell neoplasm that typically occurs in elderly people with previous infection by human herpes virus-8. Prospective trials are rare, and the choice of drugs relies on prospective trials performed on HIV-associated Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS). Pegylated liposomal anthracyclines and taxanes are considered the standard first- and second-line chemotherapy, respectively. Despite the indolent biologic behavior, the natural history is characterized by recurrent disease. This condition of chronic administration of cytotoxic drugs is often associated with immediate/long-term adverse events. Methods: This was an observational, retrospective study to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of gemcitabine in patients with CKS. From January 2016 to September 2021, the patients were treated with gemcitabine 1000 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8, with cycles repeated every 21 days. The treatment was administered as first or second line. Results: Twenty-seven (27) patients were included in the study. Twenty-one (21) out 27 patients (77.8%) achieved a partial response (PR), including 8 patients with major response (MR) (29.6%) and 13 patients with minor response (mR) (48.2%); 2 (7.4%) showed a complete response (CR), 3 (11.1%) a stable disease (SD), and 1 (3.7%) a progressive disease (PD). Tumor responses were generally rapid, with a median time to first response of 4 weeks (range, 3–12 weeks). Patients who responded had disease improvement with flattening of the skin lesions, decrease in the number of lesions, and substantial reduction in tumor-associated complications. Median duration of response was 19.2 months. Common adverse events were grades 1/2 thrombocytopenia, and grade 1 noninfectious fever. No patient discontinued treatment as a result of adverse events. Conclusion: Our study showed that gemcitabine is effective and well tolerated, acts rapidly on cutaneous lesions, and allows substantial symptom palliation, without dose-limiting toxicity. Gemcitabine represents a safe and effective option for the treatment of CKS

Prevalence and Spectrum of Germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 Variants of Uncertain Significance in Breast/Ovarian Cancer: Mysterious Signals From the Genome

About 10–20% of breast/ovarian (BC/OC) cancer patients undergoing germline BRCA1/2 genetic testing have been shown to harbor Variants of Uncertain Significance (VUSs). Since little is known about the prevalence of germline BRCA1/2 VUS in Southern Italy, our study aimed at describing the spectrum of these variants detected in BC/OC patients in order to improve the identification of potentially high-risk BRCA variants helpful in patient clinical management. Eight hundred and seventy-four BC or OC patients, enrolled from October 2016 to December 2020 at the “Sicilian Regional Center for the Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Rare and Heredo-Familial Tumors” of University Hospital Policlinico “P. Giaccone” of Palermo, were genetically tested for germline BRCA1/2 variants through Next-Generation Sequencing analysis. The mutational screening showed that 639 (73.1%) out of 874 patients were BRCA-w.t., whereas 67 (7.7%) were carriers of germline BRCA1/2 VUSs, and 168 (19.2%) harbored germline BRCA1/2 pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants. Our analysis revealed the presence of 59 different VUSs detected in 67 patients, 46 of which were affected by BC and 21 by OC. Twenty-one (35.6%) out of 59 variants were located on BRCA1 gene, whereas 38 (64.4%) on BRCA2. We detected six alterations in BRCA1 and two in BRCA2 with unclear interpretation of clinical significance. Familial anamnesis of a patient harboring the BRCA1-c.3367G>T suggests for this variant a potential of pathogenicity, therefore it should be carefully investigated. Understanding clinical significance of germline BRCA1/2 VUS could improve, in future, the identification of potentially high-risk variants useful for clinical management of BC or OC patients and family members