Estudo do equilíbrio sólido-líquido de soluções de açúcares utilizando COSMO-SAC

Neste trabalho foi avaliada a utilização do modelo termodinâmico COSMO-SAC (COnductor-like Screening MOdel Segment Activity Coefficient) para a predição do equilíbrio sólido-líquido de sistemas contendo os seguintes açúcares: frutose, glicose, sacarose e xilose em soluções aquosas e em diferentes solventes. A eficácia da predição da solubilidade foi avaliada através da comparação dos resultados calculados com dados experimentais. Também foi avaliada a influência da entalpia e da temperatura de fusão e da variação da capacidade calorífica do sistema ( Cp) na determinação da solubilidade. Os resultados obtidos variaram dependendo do sistema avaliado, sendo encontrados erros entre 66,4 % e 10,1 % para a solubilidade dos açúcares sem o termo Cp e de 24,4% a 4,91% quando considerada a adição do termo Cp na equação da solubilidade. Conclui-se que, apesar dos elevados erros para alguns sistemas, o modelo preditivo COSMO-SAC conseguiu representar qualitativamente os dados experimentais e possui a grande vantagem de ser altamente preditivo e não necessitar ajustes de parâmetros para cada sistema. Assim, o modelo COSMO-SAC é muito útil para casos onde apenas se possui o conhecimento das substâncias envolvidas

Long-term impact of Global Health educational experiences in Rome. An attempt of measurement

Background Global health education (GHE) is spreading in Europe and in other parts of the world. Since 2008, Sapienza University of Rome has offered activities to medical and other health profession students related to global health (GH), which is grounded in the theory of social determinants of health and inspired by social justice. The educational activities included elective courses as well as community and service-learning experiences, referred to as GH gyms. This study attempts to measure the long-term impact of these educational experiences, especially to demonstrate their influence on the perceived social responsibility of future health professionals. Methods A questionnaire was elaborated and tested on a small sample of participants. It was sent to participants by e-mail. Quantitative results were analysed through descriptive statistics and qualitative answers were carefully read and classified. Results A total of 758 students from different faculties took part to the educational experiences. Only 488 e-mail addresses were available. One hundred and five (21.5%) questionnaires were returned. Participation in GH gyms was perceived to have had a higher influence on future professional and personal choices, when compared to participation in elective GH courses. Conclusions The study shows that consideration of health and social issues related with inequities in health and the use of interactive teaching methodologies had important effects on social responsibility of a large number of students. As there could be a selection bias among respondents, more research is needed to understand the impact of GH educational experiences. The inclusion of global health education in health and social curricula and the use of interactive methodologies with a correct evaluation of results are the indications that emerge from this research, together with the necessity of a strong involvement of students, professors and the whole academic reality

Medical education: an Italian contribution to the discussion on global health education

Abstract Background In Italy an important contribution to the spread of global health education (GHE) grew from the establishment and work of the Italian Network for Global Health Education (INGHE). INGHE gave a national shared definition of global health (GH), grounded in the theory of determinants of health, inspired by a vision of social justice, and committed to reduce health inequities. The aim of this article is to share with the international community INGHE’s point of view on Medical Education. Methods To express its view of medical education at the national level, INGHE established a dedicated commission, which elaborated a first draft of the document and then shared and discussed it with all other members. Results INGHE elaborated a paper where it explained the need to change medical education in order to prepare future health professionals for the challenges of the globalized and unequal world. In this article the authors summarize the experience of INGHE and share with the international community its document. Conclusions The authors believe it is necessary now, more than ever, to insert this new approach to health at social and academic levels. Students should play a fundamental role in the spread of GHE, and activities related with GHE could be considered an important part of the third mission of universities to promote social justice

Food knowledge depends upon the integrity of both sensory and functional properties: a VBM, TBSS and DTI tractography study

Food constitutes a fuel of life for human beings. It is therefore of chief importance that their recognition system readily identifies the most relevant properties of food by drawing on semantic memory. One of the most relevant properties to be considered is the level of processing impressed by humans on food. We hypothesized that recognition of raw food capitalizes on sensory properties and that of transformed food on functional properties, consistently with the hypothesis of a sensory-functional organization of semantic knowledge. To test this hypothesis, patients with Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia, primary progressive aphasia, and healthy controls performed lexical-semantic tasks with food (raw and transformed) and non-food (living and nonliving) stimuli. Correlations between task performance and local grey matter concentration (VBM) and white matter fractional anisotropy (TBSS) led to two main findings. First, recognition of raw food and living things implicated occipital cortices, typically involved in processing sensory information and, second, recognition of processed food and nonliving things implicated the middle temporal gyrus and surrounding white matter tracts, regions that have been associated with functional properties. In conclusion, the present study confirms and extends the hypothesis of a sensory and a functional organization of semantic knowledge

Effect of performance improvement programs on compliance with sepsis bundles and mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

none8noSeveral reports suggest that implementation of the Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) guidelines is associated with mortality reduction in sepsis. However, adherence to the guideline-based resuscitation and management sepsis bundles is still poor.Damiani, Elisa; Donati, Abele; Serafini, Giulia; Rinaldi, Laura; Adrario, Erica; Pelaia, Paolo; Busani, Stefano; Girardis, MassimoDamiani, Elisa; Donati, Abele; Serafini, Giulia; Rinaldi, Laura; Adrario, Erica; Pelaia, Paolo; Busani, Stefano; Girardis, Massim

Exploring the complex relationships between coping strategies, locus of control and self-esteem with psychopathology: structural equation modeling with a special focus on clinical high-risk of psychosis.

Abstract Background Coping strategies, competence, and locus of control (LOC) beliefs are important predictors of mental health (MH). However, research into their complex interactions has produced mixed results. Our study investigated them further in the previously unexplored context of clinical high-risk (CHR) of psychosis. Methods We tested six alternative structural equation models in a community sample (N = 523), hypothesizing a mediating role of coping and treating CHR symptoms as (i) an additional mediator or (ii) a specific outcome. Our measurement model included two latent factors of MH: (1) psychopathology (PP), consisting of presence of mental disorders, global and psychosocial functioning, and (2) self-rated health (SRH) status. Results In the model with the best Akaike Information Criterion and the latent factors as outcome variables, maladaptive coping completely mediated the impact of maladaptive LOC on PP and SRH. Additionally, CHR symptoms partially mediated the effect of maladaptive coping on PP and SRH in the community sample, as long as sex was not entered into the model. In the clinical sample (N = 371), the model did not support a mediation by CHR symptoms, despite significant pathways with both coping and MH outcomes; further, competence beliefs directly impacted SRH. Conclusions Coping strategies are an important intervention target for MH promotion, especially in the community. In clinical populations, interventions focusing on coping strategies may improve CHR symptoms, thus potentially supporting better MH, especially SRH. Additionally, due to their mostly cascading effects on MH, improving competence and LOC beliefs may also promote psychological well-being

Occurrence of Rickettsia felis in dog and cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) from Italy

Rickettsia felis is an obligate intracellular bacterium belonging to the spotted fever group, suspected to cause a murine typhus-like illness in humans, with a cosmopolitan distribution. This study was designed to estimate presence and occurrence of this pathogen in fleas collected from dogs and cats in different areas of Italy. Two species of fleas were identified, Ctenocephalides felis (80.3%) and Ctenocephalides canis (19.7%)