The relationship between knowing sign language and quality of life among Italian people who are deaf : a cross-sectional study

Deafness is a medical condition with important relational implications. This condition could affect well-being and self-esteem and cause social anxiety. Sign language is not only a simple mimic but can be considered as a different kind of communication that could be protective for those who have learned it. However, some people do not use sign language because they think it can be marginalizing. The present study aimed to compare the quality of life (QoL) between people who learned Italian sign language as their first language with those who had never learned it or learned it later. This cross-sectional study involved 182 deaf Italian adults (70.3% females) who were recruited from Ente Nazionale Sordi (ENS) and by the main online deafness groups. The present results suggest that the deaf condition does not seem to significantly affect the dimensions of QoL pertaining to satisfaction and self-esteem, while it could have an effect on preventing high levels of social anxiety and in particular, the group who learned Italian sign language showed significantlyless social anxiety than those who had never learned it

Hopelessness and burnout in Italian healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic: the mediating role of trait emotional intelligence

Objective: The study aims to assess the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers’ work-related stress during the first wave of the pandemic in Italy. The main objective is to investigate the existence of a positive correlation between hopelessness and burnout, assuming that burnout may be  a riskfactor for the development of hopelessness, and to analyze the role thattrait Emotional Intelligence (TEI) and changes in workload could have in this relationship. Furthermore, evaluate any significant differences in burnoutand hopelessness levels in the function of some demographic variables, such as gender, professional profiles, and different working zones of Italy, tobetter understand how the diverse diffusion of the pandemic had affected Italian healthcare workers. Methods: An online survey was used to collect data between April and June,2020, with 562 responses among nurses (52.1%) and physicians (47.9%).Demographics and changes in workload and work conditions were collectedthrough an ad hoc questionnaire. The Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form (TEIQue-SF), The Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), and the Link Burnout Questionnaire (LBQ) were used to assess Trait Emotional Intelligence(TEI), hopelessness, and burnout, respectively. Results: Correlation analysis showed a significant positive relationship betweenhopelessness and each burnout dimension. TEI showed negative correlations both with burnout dimensions and hopelessness. Significant differences in burnout and hopelessness levels emerged as a function of some demographic variables such as gender, professional profiles (nurses or physicians), and different working zone of Italy (northern or southern). Results showed that TEI partially mediated the relationship between hopelessness and every burnout dimension,while the interaction of changes in workload was non-significant.Discussion: The mediating role of TEI in the burnout-hopelessness relationship partly explains the protective role that individual factors had on healthcareworkers mental health. Our findings support the need to integrate considerations on both psychological risk and protective factors into COVID-19 care, including the monitoring of psychological symptoms and social needs, especially among healthcare workers

Hopelessness and Burnout in Italian healthcare workers during Pandemic: the mediating role of emotional intelligence

Objective: The study aims to assess the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers’ work-related stress during the first wave of the pandemic in Italy. The main objective is to investigate the existence of a positive correlation between hopelessness and burnout, assuming that burnout may be a risk factor for the development of hopelessness, and to analyze the role that trait Emotional Intelligence (TEI) and changes in workload could have in this relationship. Furthermore, evaluate any significant differences in burnout and hopelessness levels in the function of some demographic variables, such as gender, professional profiles, and different working zones of Italy, to better understand how the diverse diffusion of pandemic had affected Italian healthcare workers. Methods: An online survey was used to collect data between April and June, 2020, with 562 responses among nurses (52.1%) and physicians (47.9%). Demographics and changes in workload and work conditions were collected through an ad hoc questionnaire. The Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire- Short Form (TEIQue-SF), The Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), and the Link Burnout Questionnaire (LBQ) were used to assess Trait Emotional Intelligence (TEI), hopelessness, and burnout, respectively. Results: Correlation analysis showed a significant positive relationship between hopelessness and each burnout dimension. TEI showed negative correlations both with burnout dimensions and hopelessness. Significant differences in burnout and hopelessness levels emerged as a function of some demographic variables such as gender, professional profiles (nurses or physicians), and different working zone of Italy (northern or southern). Results showed that TEI partially mediated the relationship between hopelessness and every burnout dimension, while the interaction of changes in workload was non-significant. Discussion: The mediating role of TEI in the burnout-hopelessness relationship partly explains the protective role that individual factors had on healthcare workers’ mental health. Our findings support the need to integrate considerations on both psychological risk and protective factors into COVID-19 care, including the monitoring of psychological symptoms and social needs, especially among healthcare workers

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Women's Perinatal Mental Health: Preliminary Data on the Risk of Perinatal Depression/Anxiety from a National Survey in Italy

Increasing evidence suggests that during the COVID-19 pandemic, anxiety and depression during the perinatal period increased. The aim of the study is to estimate the prevalence of risk for both maternal depression and anxiety among women attending 18 healthcare centres in Italy during the SARS-COV-2 pandemic and to investigate the psychosocial risks and protective factors associated. It was divided into a retrospective phase (2019, 2020, and the first nine months of 2021) and a prospective phase (which began in November 2021 and it is still ongoing), which screened 12,479 and 2349 women, respectively, for a total of 14,828 women in the perinatal period. To evaluate the risk of anxiety and depression, the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and an ad hoc form were used to collect sociodemographic variables. In the prospective study, the average age of the women is 31 (range 18-52) years. Results showed that the percentage of women who had EPDS score ≥9 increased from 11.6% in 2019 to 25.5% in the period ranging from November 2021 to April 2022. In logistic regression models, the variables associated with the risk of depression at a level ≤0.01 include having economic problems (OR 2.16) and not being able to rely on support from relatives or friends (OR 2.36). Having the professional status of the housewife is a lower risk (OR 0.52). Those associated with the risk of anxiety include being Italian (OR 2.97), having an education below secondary school level (OR 0.47), having some or many economic problems (OR 2.87), being unable to rely on support from relatives or friends (OR 2.48), and not having attended an antenatal course (OR 1.41). The data from this survey could be useful to determine the impact of the SARS-COV-2 pandemic on women and to establish a screening program with common and uniformly applied criteria which are consistent with national and international women's mental health programs

ABILITÀ DI COORDINAZIONE MOTORIA IN BAMBINI PRETERMINE DI ETÀ PRESCOLARE: UNO STUDIO PILOTA CON IL QUESTIONARIO LITTLE DCD-Q.

Lo studio esamina le caratteristiche motorie in età prescolare (3;0-4;11 anni) di 48 bambini preterminee di 64 nati a termine. Iloro genitori hanno compilato il Little Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (L-DCDQ)che indaga le capacità di coordinazione motoria in contesti di vita quotidiana. Il questionario permette diottenere un punteggio totale (PT) e di tre sotto-scale: “Controllo durante il movimento” (CM), “Controllo fine-motorio” (FM) e “Coordinazione generale” (CG).I risultati indicano differenze significative tra i due gruppia favore dei nati a termine nel PT e nelle sotto-scale FM e CG. Suddividendo i gruppi in due classi d’età,la differenzaè osservabile solo nei bambini di 4 anni.Solo neinati a termineemergono differenze significative tra le due classi di età.I risultati indicherebberonei pretermineridotte abilità di coordinazione motoria rispetto ai bambini nati a termine,evidenti soprattutto a 4 anni

Drawing techniques as tools for the evaluation of scholastic integration and emotional components in primary and secondary school: A cross-sectional study

Introduction: In the last decades, many studies have emphasized emotion’s role in psycho-educational processes during childhood, such as scholastic integration. Emotional variables in childhood can be assessed through projective graphic techniques, as they allow children to use kinetic components of the draws to communicate emotions. Method: 1.757 couple of draws were collected, from primary school children (N = 1.270; F = 643 [50.6%]; Age = 8.6; SD = 1.31) and secondary school children (N = 487; F = 220 [45.2%]; Age = 11.72; SD = 0.70) and from eight schools in Sicily and over 60 different classrooms. The Drawn Stories Technique and the Classroom Draw were used to assess children’s current emotional state and scholastic integration. Results: Pearson’s correlation showed significant relationships between the Drawn Stories Technique and both sex and age. In contrast, Classroom Drawing total score showed a significant relationship with the female sex but no significant relationship with age. Linear regression analysis, including sex and age as independent variables, showed that sex is a significant predictor of Negative Outcomes of the Drawn Stories Technique, while no effect of age was detected. Discussion: These findings showed that adequate attention is needed to the learners’ emotional-affective world that influences their relationships and their vision within the class group. Although the drawing techniques alone seem to be not as such sufficient to explain children’s individual differences in the classroom on the whole, they could be helpful for the teacher to facilitate dialogues with children, modulate didactical materials, and detect and prevent some problems in group class functioning

Hopelessness and Burnout in Italian healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic: the mediating role of trait Emotional Intelligence

Objective: The study aims to assess the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers’ work-related stress during the first wave of the pandemic in Italy. The main objective is to investigate the existence of a positive correlation between hopelessness and burnout, assuming that burnout may be a risk factor for the development of hopelessness, and to analyze the role that trait Emotional Intelligence (TEI) and changes in workload could have in this relationship. Furthermore, evaluate any significant differences in burnout and hopelessness levels in the function of some demographic variables, such as gender, professional profiles, and different working zones of Italy, to better understand how the diverse diffusion of pandemic had affected Italian healthcare workers. Methods: An online survey was used to collect data between April and June, 2020, with 562 responses among nurses (52.1%) and physicians (47.9%). Demographics and changes in workload and work conditions were collected through an ad-hoc questionnaire. The Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form (TEIQue-SF;), The Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), and the Link Burnout Questionnaire (LBQ) were used to assess Trait Emotional Intelligence (TEI), hopelessness, and burnout, respectively. Results: correlation analysis showed a significant positive relationship between hopelessness and each burnout dimension. TEI showed negative correlations both with burnout dimensions and hopelessness. Significant differences in burnout and hopelessness levels emerged as a function of some demographic variables such as gender, professional profiles (nurses or physicians), and different working zone of Italy (northern or southern). Results showed that TEI partially mediated the relationship between hopelessness and every burnout dimension, while the interaction of changes in workload was non- significant. Discussion: The mediating role of TEI in the burnout-hopelessness relationship partly explains the protective role that individual factors had on healthcare workers’ mental health. Our findings support the need to integrate considerations on both psychological risk and protective factors into COVID-19 care, including the monitoring of psychological symptoms and social needs, especially among healthcare workers

Quality of Life and Job Loss during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Mediation by Hopelessness and Moderation by Trait Emotional Intelligence

This study contributes to the knowledge on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic by examining a moderated mediation model in which the impact of job loss over quality of life (QoL) is mediated by hopelessness and moderated by trait emotional intelligence (trait EI). Data were collected from a large nationally representative Italian sample of adult workers (N = 1610), who completed a series of anonymous online questionnaires. Total, direct and indirect effects were estimated through bootstrapped mediated moderation analyses providing 95% bias corrected bootstrap confidence intervals. After controlling for the effects of gender and age range, job loss was found to be negatively associated with QoL, and hopelessness partially mediated such relationship. These relationships were in turn moderated by trait EI. Our study suggests that trait EI levels act as protective factor for a good QoL, mitigating the impact of both job loss and hopelessness over QoL levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. Identifying psychological protective and/or risk factors for a better QoL is crucial for the development of interventions aimed at reducing the emotional impact of the pandemic and of its negative real-life consequences

Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) reared on roasted coffee by-product and Schizochytrium sp. as a sustainable terrestrial ingredient for aquafeeds production

none16noPromoting circularity in the aquaculture sector through the conversion of great amount of organic by-products produced on land is a valuable strategy for a further development of the aquaculture sector. In this regard, insects represent a very promising example of bio-converting organisms; their application in aquafeeds, however, still faces possible limitations because of their lack in polyunsaturated fatty acids and the presence of chitin. The aim of the present study was to apply circularity to Black Soldier Fly (BSF) (Hermetia illucens) culture and to improve the insect's biomass fatty acid composition by culturing them on a land-produced by-product (coffee silverskin) enriched with a 10% Schizochytrium sp. The insect biomass was then used to formulate five fish diets containing 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of insect meal respect to fish meal, respectively. Diets were used for a feeding trial during zebrafish (Danio rerio) larval development (21 days) and a multidisciplinary approach including biometry, histology, gas chromatography, spectroscopy (FTIR), microbiota analyses and molecular biology was applied to better understand fish responses to the new diets. Results showed that the 50% substitution of fish meal with insect meal represented the best compromise between ingredient sustainability and proper fish growth and welfare. Fish fed with higher BSF inclusions (75 and 100%) showed a severe degree of hepatic steatosis, microbiota modification, a higher lipid content (FTIR), fatty acid modification and higher expression of both stress and immune response markers.mixedZarantoniello, Matteo; Zimbelli, Andrea; Randazzo, Basilio; Compagni, Martina Delli; Truzzi, Cristina; Antonucci, Matteo; Riolo, Paola; Loreto, Nino; Osimani, Andrea; Milanović, Vesna; Giorgini, Elisabetta; Cardinaletti, Gloriana; Tulli, Francesca; Cipriani, Renato; Gioacchini, Giorgia; Olivotto, IkeZarantoniello, Matteo; Zimbelli, Andrea; Randazzo, Basilio; Compagni, Martina Delli; Truzzi, Cristina; Antonucci, Matteo; Riolo, Paola; Loreto, Nino; Osimani, Andrea; Milanović, Vesna; Giorgini, Elisabetta; Cardinaletti, Gloriana; Tulli, Francesca; Cipriani, Renato; Gioacchini, Giorgia; Olivotto, Ik