Haemato-oncology and burnout: an Italian survey

This cross-sectional survey aimed to evaluate the prevalence of burnout and estimated psychiatric disorders among haemato-oncology healthcare professionals in Italy. The aspects of work that respondents perceive as stressful and satisfying have also been examined. The assessments were made using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), General Health Questionnaire and a study-specific questionnaire. Logistic regression models were applied to show associations between different sources of work-related stress and burnout. Three hundred and eighty-seven out of 440 (87.95%) returned their questionnaires. The scores on MBI subscales indicate a high level of emotional exhaustion in 32.2% of the physicians and 31.9% of the nurses; a high level of Depersonalisation in 29.8 and 23.6%, respectively; and a low level of personal accomplishment in 12.4 and 15.3% respectively. The estimated prevalence of psychiatric disorders was 36.4% in physicians and 28.8% in nurses. Statistical analysis confirmed age, sex, personal dissatisfaction, physical tiredness and working with demanding patients to be associated with burnout. In conclusion, haemato-oncology healthcare professionals report a level of burnout and estimated psychiatric morbidity comparable to other oncological areas. Knowledge of the mechanisms of burnout and preventing and dealing with them is therefore a fundamental requirement for the improvement of quality in health services and job satisfaction

The contribution of online reviews for quality evaluation of cultural tourism offers: The experience of italian museums

In the cultural tourism field, there has been an increasing interest in adopting data-driven approaches that are aimed at measuring the service quality dimensions through online reviews. To date, studies measuring quality dimensions in cultural tourism settings through content analysis of online user-generated reviews are mainly based on manual approaches. When the content analysis is automated, these studies do not compare different analytical approaches. Our paper enters this field by comparing two different automated content analysis approaches to evaluate which of the two is more adequate for assessing the quality dimensions through user-generated reviews in an empirical setting of 100 Italian museums. Specifically, we compare a ‘top-down’ content analysis approach that is based on a supervised classification built on policy makers’ guidelines and a ‘bottom-up’ approach that is based on an unsupervised topic model of the online words of reviewers. The resulting museum quality dimensions are compared, showing that the ‘bottom-up’ approach reveals additional quality dimensions compared with those obtained through the ‘top-down’ approach. The misalignment of the results of the ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ approaches to quality evaluation for museums enhances the critical discussion on the contribution that data analytics can offer to support decision making in cultural tourism

Pharmacological research: where we are and what to expect

The chapter describes the pharmacological and the innovative approach for the tretment of pelvic floor dysfunction pain

Zircon typology of magmatic rocks in the Southern Sulcis Complex (SW Sardinia)

Tipologica degli zirconi delle rocce magmatiche nel complesso metamorfico del Sulcis meridionale (Sardegna sud-occidentale). All'interno di un più vasto studio finalizzato ad una migliore definizione del contesto tettonico, petrogenetico e geodinamico del basamento varisico affiorante nel Sulcis meridionale, sono state analizzate alcune popolazioni di zirconi in rocce ignee tramite analisi d'immagine in catodo-luminiscenza, e analisi tipologica. I campioni analizzati sono stati raccolti sia nella F.ne di Bithia, di presunta età precambriana, sia negli Ortogneiss di Capo Spartivento, di età ordoviciana. Lo studio della morfologia delle popolazioni conferma la natura alcalina delle metavulcaniti della f.ne di Bithia e alcalina/subalcalina degli ortogneisses

A preliminary study of chitosan-pentosan polysulfate sodium complex as vaginal sustained drug delivery system in a rare disease treatment

Pentosan polysulphate sodium (PPS) is the only oral medicine (Elmiron®) FDA approved for treating interstitial cystitis (IC), a rare disease results in recurring discomfort, pressure, tenderness, or intense pain in the bladder and pelvic area. The aim of this work was to develop a new therapeutic system, able to deliver PPS directly to vaginal area, by ionotropic gelation between the polyanionic PPS and polycationic chitosan