A snapshot of Physical Education in Italian primary schools: assessing the resources available for an instrument of health promotion

Background: Regular physical activity is crucial in preventing chronic diseases. International health authorities recommend that children and adolescents engage in at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day to achieve health benefits. Offering regular exercise opportunities to young people can promote the development of healthy lifestyles. In 2021, a new regulation introduced up to two compulsory hours of Physical Education per week in Italy and established that Physical Education should be entrusted to adequately trained teachers. The present study aimed to assess, from the perspective of the new teachers, the resources available for Physical Education in Italian primary schools. Methods: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted among primary school Physical Education teachers during the year 2022-2023. Their opinion about the school resources were analyzed in light of their demographic characteristics and work experience. Results: Out of the 118 participating teachers, 96 (81.3%) reported the presence of a gym in their school. Participants expressed satisfaction with the size and windows of the gym, particularly for the schools of the North, as well as the adequacy of outdoor spaces. However, lower levels of satisfaction for locker rooms and gym small equipment emerged, especially among those teachers with less work experience. Conclusions: The introduction of the Physical Education teacher figure in Italian primary schools was an important step for health promotion in our country. However, some aspects related to the structural resources should be considered in future policies

Mechanisms underlying the anti-tumoral effects of Citrus Bergamia juice.

Based on the growing deal of data concerning the biological activity of flavonoid-rich natural products, the aim of the present study was to explore in vitro the potential anti-tumoral activity of Citrus Bergamia (bergamot) juice (BJ), determining its molecular interaction with cancer cells. Here we show that BJ reduced growth rate of different cancer cell lines, with the maximal growth inhibition observed in neuroblastoma cells (SH-SY5Y) after 72 hs of exposure to 5% BJ. The SH-SY5Y antiproliferative effect elicited by BJ was not due to a cytotoxic action and it did not induce apoptosis. Instead, BJ stimulated the arrest in the G1 phase of cell cycle and determined a modification in cellular morphology, causing a marked increase of detached cells. The inhibition of adhesive capacity on different physiologic substrates and on endothelial cells monolayer were correlated with an impairment of actin filaments, a reduction in the expression of the active form of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) that in turn caused inhibition of cell migration. In parallel, BJ seemed to hinder the association between the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) and FAK. Our data suggest a mechanisms through which BJ can inhibit important molecular pathways related to cancer-associated aggressive phenotype and offer new suggestions for further studies on the role of BJ in cancer treatment

Correction: Mechanisms Underlying the Anti-Tumoral Effects of Citrus bergamia Juice.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0061484.]

The Impact of Workplace Violence on Headache and Sleep Problems in Nurses

Workplace violence (WV) is a significant occupational hazard for nurses. Previous studies have shown that WV has a reciprocal relationship with occupational stress. Headaches and sleep problems are early neuropsychological signs of distress. This cross-sectional study aims to ascertain the frequency of physical or verbal assaults on nurses and to study the association of WV with headaches and sleep problems. During their regular medical examination in the workplace, 550 nurses and nursing assistants (105 males, 19.1%; mean age 48.02 +/- 9.98 years) were asked to fill in a standardized questionnaire containing the Violent Incident Form (VIF) concerning the episodes of violence experienced, the Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) regarding headaches, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Inventory (PSQI) on sleep quality. Occupational stress was measured using the Effort/Reward Imbalance questionnaire (ERI). Physical and non-physical violence experienced in the previous year was reported by 7.5% and 17.5% of workers, respectively. In the univariate logistic regression models, the workers who experienced violence had an increased risk of headaches and sleep problems. After adjusting for sex, age, job type, and ERI, the relationship between physical violence and headaches remained significant (adjusted odds ratio aOR = 2.25; confidence interval CI95% = 1.11; 4.57). All forms of WV were significantly associated with poor sleep in a multivariate logistic regression model adjusted for sex, age, job type, and ERI (aOR = 2.35 CI95% = 1.44; 3.85). WV was also associated with the impact of headaches and with sleep quality. WV prevention may reduce the frequency of lasting psychoneurological symptoms, such as headaches and poor sleep quality, that interfere with the ability to work

COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test as Screening Strategy at Points of Entry: Experience in Lazio Region, Central Italy, August–October 2020

COVID-19 pandemic is a dramatic health, social and economic global challenge. There is urgent need to maximize testing capacity. Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) represent good candidates for point-of-care and mass surveillance testing to rapidly identify SARS-CoV-2-infected people, counterbalancing lower sensitivity vs. gold standard molecular tests with fast results and possible recurrent testing. We describe the results obtained with the testing algorithm implemented at points of entry (airports and ports) in the Lazio Region (Italy), using the STANDARD F COVID-19 Antigen Fluorescence ImmunoAssay (FIA), followed by molecular confirmation of FIA-positive samples. From mid-August to mid-October 2020, 73,643 RAT were reported to the Regional Surveillance Information System for travelers at points of entry in Lazio Region. Of these, 1176 (1.6%) were FIA-positive, and the proportion of RT-PCR-confirmed samples was 40.5%. Our data show that the probability of confirmation was directly dependent from the semi-quantitative FIA results. In addition, the molecularly confirmed samples were those with high levels of virus and that were actually harboring infectious virus. These results support public health strategies based on early mass screening campaigns by RAT in settings where molecular testing is not feasible or easily accessible, such as points of entry. This approach would contribute to promptly controlling viral spread through travel, which is now of particular concern due to the spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants

Contributions from ADBIS 2018 Workshops

International audienceThe ADBIS conferences provide an international forum for the presentation of research on database theory, development of advanced DBMS technologies, and their applications. The 22nd edition of ADBIS, held on September 2–5, 2018, in Budapest, Hungary, includes six thematic workshops collecting contributions from various domains representing new trends in the broad research areas of databases and information systems

Cytotoxic effect of BJ.

<p>(A) Cytotoxic action of increasing concentrations of BJ (1–5%) was determined in SH-SY5Y, PC12 and WI-38 cells by trypan blue dye exclusion test. The assays were performed for 24, 48 and 72 hs and expressed as % of cell death. Data are the mean ± SEM of three independent experiments. Results display that BJ did not induced cytotoxicity neither in normal nor in tumoral cells. (B) Assessment of DNA damage in SH-SY5Y cells exposed to BJ performed by comet assay. In the panel are reported the images captured by fluorescence microscopy after 24 (on the left), 48 (in the middle) and 72 hs (on the right) of treatment. A representative experiment that was replicated three times with similar results is shown. The images display the round and intact nucleus observed in both BJ-treated and untreated cells, suggesting the lack of genotoxicity by BJ. HDNA: % head DNA. Nuclei were visualized by fluorescence microscopy at a magnification of 400x.</p

Evaluation of apoptosis on the SH-SY5Y cells exposed to BJ.

<p>(A) Cytofluorimetric evaluation of apoptosis; representative Annexin V <i>versus</i> PI dot plot analyses of SH-SY5Y cells treated with BJ for 72 hs. (B) Mean percentage of events in each quarter (Q) of cytofluorimetric analyses: Q3 contains the vital cells, Q4 the cells in early apoptosis, Q2 the cells in late apoptosis and Q1 the necrotic cells. The FACS analysis presented is representative of three different experiments. (C) Analysis of caspase-3 and caspase-9 expression in SH-SY5Y cells treated for 72 hs with BJ or etoposide (eto). Lower molecular weight bands of caspases represent the active form. Data show the lack of apoptosis after 72 hs of exposure to BJ.</p

Effect of BJ on cell proliferation.

<p>PC-12 (A), MDA-MB231 (B), PC3 (C), WI-38 (D) and SH-SY5Y (E) cells were incubated with bergamot juice (from 0.5 to 5%) for 24, 48 and 72 hs and assayed by MTT test. Results are expressed as percentage of absorbance respect to control cells (100%). Analysis of the SH-SY5Y proliferation was performed also by cell count assays (F). Experimental data showed that, although with different extent, BJ reduced growth rate of several cell lines, with the maximal effect in the SH-SY5Y. The results are expressed as means ± SEM from at least three independent experiments performed in eightplicate (MTT test) or in triplicate (cell counting). *P<0.05 <i>vs</i> ctrl; **P<0.01 <i>vs</i> ctrl; ***P<0.001 <i>vs</i> ctrl, BJ 0.5 and 1%; °P<0.05 <i>vs</i> BJ 2.5%; ^∧P<0.05 <i>vs</i> BJ 1%.</p