“That’s the only place where you can get this information today!” An exploratory study on Parenting WhatsApp Groups with a sample of Italian parents

open3noThis paper studies Parenting WhatsApp Groups (PWGs) as interactional loci parents can join to be involved in their children’s academic life, building on the quantitative and qualitative results of an online survey administered to a sample of 302 Italian parents recruited through convenience sampling. First, PWGs are positioned within the broader literature on offline/online parent involvement, parents’ peer interaction via social media, and technological peculiarities of WhatsApp. Second, quantitative results from a binary logistic regression are reported to explore possible predictors of PWG’s membership among our sample, as well as quantitative and qualitative findings investigating parents’ perceptions/opinions of and experience with PWGs. Finally, limitations, future directions, and implications of this study are discussed.openDavide Cino, Alessandra Gigli, Silvia DemozziDavide Cino, Alessandra Gigli, Silvia Demozz

Role of magnetic resonance imaging in the detection and characterization of solid pancreatic nodules: an update

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is the most common malignant tumor of the pancreas. The remaining pancreatic tumors are a diverse group of pancreatic neoplasms that comprises cystic pancreatic neoplasms, endocrine tumors and other uncommon pancreatic tumors. Due to the excellent soft tissue contrast resolution, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is frequently able to readily separate cystic from noncystic tumors. Cystic tumors are often easy to diagnose with MRI; however, noncystic non-adenocarcinoma tumors may show a wide spectrum of imaging features, which can potentially mimic ductal adenocarcinoma. MRI is a reliable technique for the characterization of pancreatic lesions. The implementation of novel motion-resistant pulse sequences and respiratory gating techniques, as well as the recognized benefits of MR cholangiopancreatography, make MRI a very accurate examination for the evaluation of pancreatic masses. MRI has the distinctive ability of non-invasive assessment of the pancreatic ducts, pancreatic parenchyma, neighbouring soft tissues, and vascular network in one examination. MRI can identify different characteristics of various solid pancreatic lesions, potentially allowing the differentiation of adenocarcinoma from other benign and malignant entities. In this review we describe the MRI protocols and MRI characteristics of various solid pancreatic lesions. Recognition of these characteristics may establish the right diagnosis or at least narrow the differential diagnosis, thus avoiding unnecessary tests or procedures and permitting better management

Malati di guerra: un laboratorio didattico di educazione alla pace

Not availabl

Magnetic resonance imaging tumor regression shrinkage patterns after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced breast cancer: correlation with tumor biological subtypes and pathological response after therapy

The objective of this study is to analyze magnetic resonance imaging shrinkage pattern of tumor regression after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and to evaluate its relationship with biological subtypes and pathological response. We reviewed the magnetic resonance imaging studies of 51 patients with single mass-enhancing lesions (performed at time 0 and at the II and last cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy). Tumors were classified as Luminal A, Luminal B, HER2+, and Triple Negative based on biological and immunohistochemical analysis after core needle biopsy. We classified shrinkage pattern, based on tumor regression morphology on magnetic resonance imaging at the II cycle, as concentric, nodular, and mixed. We assigned a numeric score (0: none; 1: low; 2: medium; 3: high) to the enhancement intensity decrease. Pathological response on the surgical specimen was classified as complete (grade 5), partial (grades 4-3), and non-response (grades 1-2) according to Miller and Payne system. Fisher test was used to relate shrinkage pattern with biological subtypes and final pathological response. Seventeen patients achieved complete response, 25 partial response, and 9 non-response. A total of 13 lesions showed nodular pattern, 20 concentric, and 18 mixed. We found an association between concentric pattern and HER2+ (p < 0.001) and mixed pattern and Luminal A lesions (p < 0.001). We observed a statistical significant correlation between concentric pattern and complete response (p < 0.001) and between mixed pattern and non-response (p = 0.005). Enhancement intensity decrease 3 was associated with complete response (p < 0.001). Shrinkage pattern and enhancement intensity decrease may serve as early response indicators after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Shrinkage pattern correlates with tumor biological subtypes

Educazione sanitaria sugli effetti della guerra: progetto pilota di comunicazione scientifica nelle scuole

Deaths and injuries are the most immediate effects of war, but war also causes living conditions to fall below minimum levels, favours the spread of disease and makes health interventions difficult. Thus the first victims of modern war are civilians. A communication project aimed at raising awareness among youth on the effects of conflicts on the health conditions of the population has been developed. Three case studies have been identified: acute emergency (Darfur), chronic conflict (Palestine), historic conflict (Vietnam) - collecting scientific documentation on the health effects of war in these countries. Three school modules have been developed, providing the students with extracurricular scientific tools for dealing with the subject "war and health". This document describes the implementation of the modules on a class of secondary school and offers suggestions for further implementations by epidemiologists and teachers

Role of galectin-3 combined with multi-detector contrast enhanced computed tomography in predicting disease recurrence in patients with ovarian cancer

Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is an endogenous β-galactoside-binding lectin, playing an important role in the pathogenesis of multiple malignancies. Aim of the study was to evaluate in a group of patients treated for ovarian cancer (EOC), the role of Gal-3 combined with multi-detector contrast-enhanced computed tomography (MDCT), as predictor of recurrence disease. Seventeen follow-up patients with recurrent ovarian cancer and 13 follow-up patients with stable ovarian disease, who performed MDCT at one-year follow-up after cytoreductive treatment, were enrolled. Serum Gal-3 concentrations were determined by using ELISA method. Twenty healthy controls were included in the analysis. Two radiologist blinded to patients status, reviewed MDCT exams, recording the following signs of disease recurrence: local tumor spread, enlarged lymph-nodes, carcinomatosis implants and metastases. We calculated the respective threshold values of Gal- 3 identified by ROC curve analysis for each imaging findings related to disease recurrence : lymphoadenopathies 92.45 ng/ml (AUC: 0.81, Se=91% Spe=73%), carcinomatosis 85.95 ng/ml (AUC:0.93 Se= 93.7%, Spe=92.8%), local tumor spread 99.05 (AUC:0.90, Se=100%, Spe=73% ) and metastasis 99.05ng/ml (AUC :0,78, Se=100% , Spe=70%). A significant correlation between high Gal-3 serum levels and presence of local tumor spread (n=11/17, p:0.001), carcinomatosis (n=16/17, p:0.00), lymphoadenopathies (n=15/17, p:0.00) and metastasis (n=11/17, p:0.003) related with recurrence disease was observed. Patients with recurrence of ovarian cancer presents higher Gal-3 values compared to women with stable diseases. Gal-3 combined to CECT should be used to improve the monitoring of EOC patients

Potentially Toxic Elements in Ultramafic Soils: A Study from Metamorphic Ophiolites of the Voltri Massif (Western Alps, Italy)

Ultramafic soils are characterized by severe edaphic conditions induced by a low content of essential nutrients, an adverse Ca/Mg ratio, a low water-holding capacity, and high contents of geogenic potentially toxic elements (PTEs), in particular Cr, Ni, and Co. These metals commonly exceed the content limits set by environmental agencies and governments, representing serious environmental risks for ecosystems and human health. In alpine environments, ultramafic soils are characterized by modest thickness and poor horizon differentiation. Several studies on ultramafic soils have shown that their properties may be directly related to the characteristics of the parent rocks, but most of these studies deal with soil chemistry, metal availability, isotopic composition, and pedological characterization. The aim of this research is to investigate how much the geotectonic characteristics of ultramafic bedrocks, such as the degree of serpentinization, metamorphic imprint, and deformation, may affect the mineralogical and chemical variations of ultramafic soils, including the occurrence and potential mobility of the PTEs. Using a multiscale and multi-analytical approach, we fully characterize the properties and mineralogical composition of soil profiles with different ultramafic parent rocks, i.e., partially serpentinized peridotite, massive serpentinites, and foliated serpentinites, sampled within the Voltri Massif High Pressure\u2013 Low Temperature (HP\u2013LT) metaophiolite (Western Alps, Italy). Our results, related to soils located at comparable latitude, altitude, landscape position, and pedological environment, outline that the degree of serpentinization, the metamorphic imprint, and the deformation history of the ultramafic parent rocks are key factors influencing soil evolution, mineralogy, and chemistry, as well as PTEs distribution and mobility. Moreover, this study shows that the high content of Cr, Ni, and Co in the studied ultramafic soils has to be considered of geogenic origin and highlights the need for new approaches and methods to obtain indications on the potential contamination of natural or anthropogenic soils

Primary and authigenic minerals in serpentine soils under temperate climate conditions: source or trap for potentially toxic elements (PTEs)

In this study, we have analysed the mineralogy and the crystal chemistry of serpentine soils from ultramafic rocks of the metaophiolitic Voltri Massif (Liguria, Italy), in order to determine the primary and authigenic mineral species controlling the distribution and the mobility of PTEs during pedogenic processes. These serpentine soils were characterised by PTEs contents commonly exceeding the concentration limits laid down by environmental agencies, particularly for Cr (1200-2500 mg/kg) and Ni (1000-4200 mg/kg). With these hazardous PTEs concentrations, the knowledge of the distribution of PTEs-bearing minerals is of paramount importance for understanding their origin and their fate during the development of serpentine soil profiles and can allow to evaluate their effective bioavailability. All the studied soil profiles were restricted in depth (10-50 cm) and showed a low degree of maturity with weakly developed A-C horizons. Soil samples were subdivided into three aliquots in order to separate the soil skeleton (2 mm-63 \u3bc m) from the silt (63-2 \u3bc m) and clay fraction (<2 \u3bc m). Quantitative mineralogical analyses were performed in all aliquots by using XRPD data collected with synchrotron sources at the MCX beamline (ELETTRA - Synchrotron, Trieste, Italy) and refined with EXP-GUI GSAS software. Trace metals were determined with energy and wavelength electron microscopy. The mineralogy of the coarse and silty fractions was closely related to bedrock mineralogy. The following minerals were detected in decreasing order of abundance: antigorite, chlorite, tremolite, magnetite, Cr-rich spinel, chrysotile, ilmenite, clinopyroxenes, olivine. Allochthonous quartz and albite were always present as minor to trace constituents. The clay fraction was mainly composed by Fe-oxides and -oxyhydroxides (mainly hematite and goethite) with subordinate amounts of mixed-layer clay minerals (chlorite-smectite, chlorite-vermiculite). These authigenic secondary minerals were characterised by poor crystallinity, intimate intergrowths, and fine-scale heterogeneities. PTEs were hosted mainly in the residual primary minerals deriving from the underlying parent material and subordinately in secondary authigenic phases. Cr was mainly contained within spinels (magnetite, Cr-magnetite, ferrichromite, picotite, and hercynite), antigorite, diopside and augite. Nonnegligible amounts of Cr was also present in authigenic hematite (up to 0.1 wt%) and goethite (up to 0.15 wt%). The main Ni-bearing minerals were olivine and antigorite but significant Ni concentration was also detected in authigenic hematite (up to 2.8 wt%) and goethite (up to 4.2 wt%) which thus represented effective traps for Ni leached through mineral weathering to the soils solution. These results are the preliminary step for the evaluation of the role of mineral species in controlling the PTEs mobility during the evolution of serpentine soil profiles. Quantitative mineralogical data will be further used to perform mass balance calculations as well as to interpret and model the results of batch leaching experiments that will be conducted on the different soil fractions

Stark Effect in Perovskite/TiO2Solar Cells: Evidence of Local Interfacial Order

n/

La alianza educativa escuela/familia y los grupos de chat de padres: una mirada a la situación italiana

The call for collaboration between the school and the family is a constant of many educational centers, however, its meaning is rarely defined and not always the measures adopted to support it at the pragmatic level are adequate, registering from both sides problematic situations of des-alliance. In this contribution, the coordinates of the educational alliance are analyzed, highlighting the latest advances and prefiguring resolution scenarios from a theoretical and methodological point of view. In particular, the most adressed topic that appears with more and more force in the dynamics between families and educational and school services: The use of the progenitors of new communication technologies. These new forms of relationship, although they have positive aspects, are characterized by a communication little filtered, very immediate and, often, emotional, having an impact on the educational relationship, generating more problems and urging the need for a type of project-action from the educational institutions.La llamada a la colaboración entre escuela y familia es una constante de muchos centros educativos, sin embargo, raramente se define su significado y no siempre las medidas de apoyo pragmático son adecuadas, registrándose desde ambas partes situaciones problemáticas de des-alianza. En esta contribución se analizan las coordenadas de la alianza educativa destacando los últimos avances y prefigurando escenarios de resolución desde un punto de vista teórico y metodológico. En particular, se aborda una temática que se presenta cada vez con más fuerza en las dinámicas entre familias y centros educativos: se trata del uso por parte de los progenitores de las nuevas tecnologías de comunicación. Estas nuevas formas de relación, aunque tienen aspectos positivos, se caracterizan por una comunicación poco filtrada, muy inmediata y, a menudo, emocional, repercutiendo a la relación educativa, generando más problemas y haciendo urgente algún tipo de proyecto-acción por parte de las instituciones educativas