Results of the COVID-19 mental health international for the general population (COMET-G) study.

INTRODUCTION: There are few published empirical data on the effects of COVID-19 on mental health, and until now, there is no large international study. MATERIAL AND METHODS: During the COVID-19 pandemic, an online questionnaire gathered data from 55,589 participants from 40 countries (64.85% females aged 35.80 ± 13.61; 34.05% males aged 34.90±13.29 and 1.10% other aged 31.64±13.15). Distress and probable depression were identified with the use of a previously developed cut-off and algorithm respectively. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Descriptive statistics were calculated. Chi-square tests, multiple forward stepwise linear regression analyses and Factorial Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) tested relations among variables. RESULTS: Probable depression was detected in 17.80% and distress in 16.71%. A significant percentage reported a deterioration in mental state, family dynamics and everyday lifestyle. Persons with a history of mental disorders had higher rates of current depression (31.82% vs. 13.07%). At least half of participants were accepting (at least to a moderate degree) a non-bizarre conspiracy. The highest Relative Risk (RR) to develop depression was associated with history of Bipolar disorder and self-harm/attempts (RR = 5.88). Suicidality was not increased in persons without a history of any mental disorder. Based on these results a model was developed. CONCLUSIONS: The final model revealed multiple vulnerabilities and an interplay leading from simple anxiety to probable depression and suicidality through distress. This could be of practical utility since many of these factors are modifiable. Future research and interventions should specifically focus on them

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Scuole in rete

Prefazione di Angelo Raffaele Meo; Introduzione di Giulio Occhin

Spectrally selective absorber coating from transition metal complex for efficient photothermal conversion

Copper–manganese oxide (CuMnOx) thin films are proposed as efficient and thermally stable selective solar absorbers. The coatings were deposited on aluminum, stainless steel, and glass substrates by dip-coating method from the alcoholic solution of the Cu and Mn nitrate. An organic filmogen was introduced in order to get better adherence with the substrate hence to get uniform films even for larger substrates. The coated films were dried and subsequently heat-treated at 500 C. X-ray diffraction spectra of the annealed film showed the formation of pure Cu–Mn oxide spinel structure (Cu1.5Mn1.5O4) in the film. FTIR spectra show complete removal of the organic species after thermal treatment at 500 C. The solar absorptance and thermal emittance were calculated from the hemispherical reflectance spectra in the UV/Vis/NIR and IR range, respectively. The maximum visible absorptance with minimizing the infrared thermal emittance was optimized by controlling the thickness of the films, choosing substrates, and introducing a SiO2 overlayer

Surface engineering on natural stone through TiO2 photocatalytic coatings

The application of semiconductor photocatalytic films on natural stone has been investigated for surface protection and selfcleaning. Sol Gel and hydrothermal processes were used to synthesize TiO2 sols with enhanced photocatalytic activity and without the need of thermal curing of the coated surface. The stone was a local (apulian) carbonatic sedimentary and porous stone. Films and powders prepared from the TiO2 sols were studied using x-ray diffraction to evaluate the microstructural evolution and identify rutile and anatase phases. A morphological and physical characterization was carried on the coated stone to establish the coating adhesion and the changes of aspect, colour and hydric behaviour. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by dye degradation rate under UV irradiation measuring the color change with a colorimeter. The hydrothermal process proved to be effective for obtaining photocatalytic surfaces with selfcleaning and antipollution properties. With no need of high temperature post cure treatments the hydrothermal TiO2 nanostructured sols look ideal candidate for coating application on architectural materials including natural stone

A New Entity of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Driven By Epigenetic and Somatic Dis-Regulation of Uncx, a Novel Homeobox Transcription Factor Gene

We describe a new AML entity, occurring in 30% of de novo acute myeloid leukemia, due to structural and epigenetic deregulation of the UNCX homeobox (HB) gene. By molecular approaches, we identified a M5 AML patient with a t(7;10)(p22;p14) translocation as the sole cytogenetic anomaly and showing ectopic expression of UNCX (7p22.3), which encode for a transcription factor involved in somitogenesis and neurogenesis. Since UNCX was never reported in association with cancer but only with common myeloid cell proliferation and regulation of cell differentiation, we decided to investigate its contribution to leukemogenesis. We observed UNCX ectopic expression in 32.3% (20/62) and in 8% (6/75) of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients and cell lines, respectively. Notably, retroviral-mediated UNCX transfer in CD34+ HSCs induced a slow-down in their proliferation and differentiation and transduced cells showed a lower growth rate but a higher percentage of CD34+ stem cells in liquid culture than controls. Additionally, UNCX infected cells displayed a decrease of MAP2K1 proliferation marker but increase of KLF4, HOXA10, and CCNA1, associated with impaired differentiation and pluripotency. Similarly, UNCX-positive patients revealed alteration of gene pathways involved in proliferation, cell cycle control and hematopoiesis. Since HB genes encode for transcription factors showing a crucial role in normal hematopoiesis and in leukemogenesis, we focused our attention on the role of altered UNCX expression level. Of note, its murine ortholog, (Uncx) was previously described as embedded within a low-methylated regions (≤ 10%) called "canyon" and dysregulated in murine hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) as a consequence of altered methylation at canyons edges (borders) due to Dnmt3a inactivation. In our hands, UNCX activation was accompanied by methylation changes at both its canyon borders, clearly indicating an epigenetic regulation of this gene, although not induced by DNMT3A mutations. Clinical parameters and correlation with response to therapy will be presented. Taken together, our results indicate that more than 30% of de novo AML have a novel entity with a putative leukemogenic role of UNCX, whose activation may be ascribed to epigenetic regulators. Acknowledgments: MG, CP, GS, and AP(2) and this work was supported by ELN, AIL, AIRC, progetto Regione-Università 2010-12 (L. Bolondi), Fondazione del Monte di Bologna e Ravenna, FP7 NGS-PTL project. CTS, GD and AL are supported by Associazione Italiana Ricerca sul Cancro (AIRC) funding

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Characteristics of patients with hypertensive crises recruited in the multicenter Italian study.

<p>Data are either means ± standard deviation or geometric means and interquartile range.</p