What works for promoting health at school: Improving programs against the substance abuse

The school is one of the most important contexts for carrying out health promotion programs related to the abuse of substances. Over the years, methods and intervention models have changed a great deal, both in relation to the evolution of health goals and to the role played by experts, students, parents, and teachers. We would like to offer a different perspective on health promotion at school by discussing the weaknesses and strengths of the most used methods, in order to identify the appropriate methodology, based on recent evidence research findings. We used Scopus as database for reviewing existing literature. The evolution in the methodology of health promotion programs can be synthesized through a sequence of three phases, from the 1960s to the present day

Elettroni di Bloch: un esempio di quantizzazione non regolare

Gli elettroni in un potenziale periodico nel limite termodinamico hanno uno spettro del momento periodico, con autofunzioni dell'energia quasi-periodiche consistentemente col teorema di Bloch. Tale momento pertanto non può essere descritto da un operatore autoaggiunto che obbedisca in modo "regolare" le regole di commutazione di Heisenberg, in quanto solo funzioni del momento periodiche sono ammissibili. La tesi discute come si possa descrivere questa problematica in modo matematicamente consistente.ope

Combining clinical interventions for carers of people with intellectual disabilities: a systematic review of combined interventions for carers of people with developmental disabilities, and a realist evaluation of a combined acceptance and commitment therapy and positive behaviour support intervention for carers of children with intellectual disabilities

BACKGROUND: A systematic review was conducted to examine whether combined Applied behaviour analysis (ABA) and Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are effective in increasing the psychological wellbeing and quality of life of carers of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and to determine whether combined interventions achieve more positive results than interventions delivered alone. METHODS: Using the Ovid search software, systematic searches of Ovid MEDLINE, APA PsychInfo, and Embase were conducted in November 2020. The review included studies that combined ABA and MBIs in interventions with both paid and unpaid carers, working and living in any setting, and caring for people of any ages. RESULTS: Thirteen studies involving 322 paid care staff and 195 parents of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities were included. Seven studies examined staff caring for adults, while the remaining six studies focussed on parents caring for their children (under 18 years old). Studies varied considerably in terms of design, sample size, diagnosis, and methodological quality. Within the context of these limitations, results tentatively suggest that combined ABA and MBI interventions are effective in decreasing carer stress and challenging behaviour, and that they can be more cost-effective than ABA interventions delivered alone. CONCLUSION: While there is emerging evidence that combined ABA and MBI interventions are beneficial to carer wellbeing, it is not possible to draw firm conclusions on the basis of the existing literature. Future studies should aim at evaluating the effectiveness of combined interventions further using high quality randomized controlled trials

Climate resilience of the top ten wheat producers in the Mediterranean and the Middle East

Wheat is the main staple crop and an important commodity in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. These are among the few areas in the world where the climate is suitable for growing durum wheat but also are among the most rapidly warming ones, according to the available scenarios of climate projections. How much food security and market stability in the Mediterranean and the Middle East, both depending on wheat production and its interannual variability, are going to be compromised by global warming is an overarching question. To contribute in addressing it, we use a recently established indicator to quantify crop production climate resilience. We present a methodological framework allowing to compute the annual production resilience indicator from nonstationary time series. We apply this approach on the wheat production of the 10 most important producers in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Our findings shows that if no adaptation will take place, wheat production reliability in the Mediterranean and the Middle East will be threatened by climate change already at 1.5 °C global warming. Average climaterelated wheat production losses will exceed the worst past event even if the 2 °C mitigation target is met. These results call for urgent action on adaptation to climate change and support further efforts for mitigation, fully consistently with the Paris Agreement recommendations.Fil: Zampieri, Matteo. Joint Research Centre; ItaliaFil: Toreti, Andrea. Joint Research Centre; ItaliaFil: Ceglar, Andrej. Joint Research Centre; ItaliaFil: Naumann, Gustavo. Joint Research Centre; Italia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Turco, Marco. Universidad de Murcia; EspañaFil: Tebaldi, Claudia. Joint Global Change Research Institute; Itali

Influence of two conservative preparation designs on the internal fit of CAD/CAM overlays

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Neuropsychiatric performance and treatment of hepatitis C with direct-acting antivirals: a prospective study

Background: Since direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) have been approved for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, a small series of patients with new-onset neuropsychiatric alterations have been referred to us. We therefore set out to study neuropsychiatric function in relation to DAAs prospectively. Methods: Ten patients with cirrhosis and 12 post-liver transplant (post-LT) patients were enrolled. All underwent wake electroencephalography (EEG) and a neuropsychological evaluation (paper and pencil battery, simple/choice reaction times, working memory task) at baseline, at the end of treatment with DAAs and after 6 months. At the same time points, full blood count, liver/kidney function tests, quantitative HCV RNA, ammonia and immunosuppressant drug levels were obtained, as appropriate. Results: Patients with cirrhosis were significantly older than post-LT patients (65\ub112 vs 55\ub17 years; P<0.05). Neuropsychological performance and wake EEG were comparable in the two groups at baseline. At the end of a course of treatment with DAAs, a significant slowing in choice reaction times and in the EEG (increased relative delta power) was observed in patients with cirrhosis, which resolved after 6 months. In contrast, no significant changes over time were observed in the neuropsychiatric performance of post-LT patients. No significant associations were observed between neuropsychiatric performance and stand-alone/combined laboratory variables. Conclusion: Some degree of neuropsychiatric impairment was observed in relation to treatment with DAAs in patients with cirrhosis, but not in post-LT patients, suggesting that the former may be sensitive to mild DAA neurotoxicity

Resistance of endodontically treated roots restored with different fibre post systems with or without post space preparation: in vitro analysis and SEM investigation.

Aim: To compare the mechanical resistance to fracture of two conical post systems placed with no preparation of the root canal with that of double taper fibre posts seated in endodontically treated single roots after standard post space preparation using dedicated drills. Methodology: Thirty fibre posts with double (G1, n = 10, DT Light Post) and single taper (G2, n = 10, SurgiPost Multiconical; G3, n = 10, Tech ES Endoshape) were luted with self-adhesive cement in endodontically treated single roots using different post space preparation techniques. The bonded posts were experimentally loaded until failure and the maximum load to fracture was registered. Fracture patterns were qualitatively evaluated and SEM analysis was performed to assess the quality of endodontic treatments and cementation. Data were statistically analysed by means of one-way ANOVA. Results: The mean maximum load to fracture was 165.05 23.46 N in G1, 151.52 16.23 N in G2 and 129.09 15.25 N in G3. Statistically significant differences were pointed out between G1 and G3 (p < 0.01) and G2 and G3 (p < 0.05). No root fractures were evidenced. SEM analyses showed slightly thicker cement ayers at the apical and middle thirds of single taper posts (G2 and G3). Conclusions: DT Light Post and SurgiPost Multiconical fibre posts showed similar properties in terms of mechanical resistance to fracture and higher than those of Tech ES Endoshape. Unrestorable root fractures did not occur with any of the tested posts

Production and characterization of CSSI003 (2961) human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) carrying a novel puntiform mutation in RAI1 gene, Causative of Smith–Magenis syndrome

Smith-Magenis syndrome (SMS) is a complex genetic disorder characterized by developmental delay, behavioural problems and circadian rhythm dysregulation. About 90% of SMS cases are due to a 17p11.2 deletion containing retinoic acid induced1 (RAI1) gene, 10% are due to heterozygousmutations affecting RAI1 coding region. Little is known about RAI1 role

Copy number variations in healthy subjects. Case study: iPSC line CSSi005-A (3544) production from an individual with variation in 15q13.3 chromosome duplicating gene CHRNA7

CHRNA7, encoding the neuronal alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (a7nAChR), is highly expressed in the brain, particularly in the hippocampus. It is situated in the 15q13.3 chromosome region, frequently associated with a Copy Number Variation (CNV), which causes its duplication or deletion. The clinical significance of CHRNA7 duplications is unknown so far, but there are several research data suggesting that they may be pathogenic, with reduced penetrance. We have produced an iPS cell line from a single healthy donor's fibroblasts carrying a 15q13.3 CNV, including CHRNA7 in order to study the exact role of this CNV during the neurodevelopment

Antibacterial-Nanocomposite Bone Filler Based on Silver Nanoparticles and Polysaccharides

Injectable bone fillers represent an attractive strategy for the treatment of bone defects. These injectable materials should be biocompatible, capable of supporting cell growth and possibly able to exert antibacterial effects. In this work, nanocomposite microbeads based on alginate, chitlac, hydroxyapatite and silver nanoparticles were prepared and characterized. The dried microbeads displayed a rapid swelling in contact with simulated body fluid and maintained their integrity for more than 30\ua0days. The evaluation of silver leakage from the microbeads showed that the antibacterial metal is slowly released in saline solution, with less than 6% of silver released after 1\ua0week. Antibacterial tests proved that the microbeads displayed bactericidal effects toward S. aureus, P. aeruginosa and S. epidermidis and were also able to damage pre-formed bacterial biofilms. On the other hand, the microbeads did not exert any cytotoxic effect towards osteoblast-like cells. After characterization of the bioactive microbeads, a possible means to embed them in a fluid medium was explored in order to obtain an injectable paste. Upon suspension of the particles in alginate solution or alginate/hyaluronic acid mixtures, a homogenous and time-stable paste was obtained. Mechanical tests enabled to quantify the extrusion forces from surgical syringes, pointing out the proper injectability of the material. This novel antibacterial bone-filler appears as a promising material for the treatment of bone defects, in particular when possible infections could compromise the bone-healing process