Anxiety and social support as predictors of student academic motivation during the COVID-19

In this study we examined whether parents’ perceptions of students’ anxiety as well as perceived support from both teachers and classmates were predictive of changes in students’ academic motivation during the first wave of COVID-19. To this end, we used a retrospective pretest-posttest design together with a latent change score model to analyze our data. From April to May of 2020, 394 Portuguese parents of students in grades 1–9 participated in this study. Our results showed that students’ anxiety and teachers’ social support, as perceived by parents, were highly significant predictors of academic motivation changes. Specifically, we found a negative effect of anxiety and a positive effect of teachers’ social support on students’ academic motivation. Our results did not show, however, a significant predictive role of classmates’ social support. This study provides an important contribution to further understand the intrapersonal and interpersonal factors that are associated with the decline of students’ academic motivation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pivotal role of teachers in sustaining students’ academic motivation and other relevant educational implications for the ongoing pandemic are discussed

Laparoscopic Excision of Endometriosis May Require Unilateral Parametrectomy

Nerve-sparing complete excision of endometriosis may not be possible. In these patients, unilateral parametrectomy may be a reasonable alternative management strategy

Parents’ Perceptions of Student Academic Motivation During the COVID-19 Lockdown: A Cross-Country Comparison

The COVID-19 outbreak has ravaged all societal domains, including education. Home confinement, school closures, and distance learning impacted students, teachers, and parents’ lives worldwide. In this study, we aimed to examine the impact of COVID-19-related restrictions on Italian and Portuguese students’ academic motivation as well as investigate the possible buffering role of extracurricular activities. Following a retrospective pretest–posttest design, 567 parents (nItaly = 173, nPortugal = 394) reported on their children’s academic motivation and participation in extracurricular activities (grades 1 to 9).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Is early stage endometrial cancer safely treated by laparoscopy? Complications of a multicenter study and review of recent literature

BACKGROUND: To compare the complications after total laparoscopic hysterectomy (LPS) and abdominal hysterectomy with lymphadenectomy (LPT) for early stage endometrial cancer in a series of 226 women and to assess the disease-free survival and the recurrence rate. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Two hundred and twenty six patients with clinical stage I endometrial cancer were enrolled in a multicenter study and underwent surgical staging consisting of inspecting the intraperitoneal cavity, peritoneal washing, total hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, and in all cases we performed systematic bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy by LPS or LPT approach. RESULTS: One patient of the LPS group had an uretero-vaginal fistula and another patient had an ureteral stricture temporarily treated with a stent. One patient of the LPS group had a bowel perforation due to dense adhesions with the peritoneum under the umbilicus, resolved with a bowel resection and an end-to-end anastomosis. In three patients of the LPS group we observed a vaginal cuff dehiscence and in one case a pelvic lymphocyst was reported. CONCLUSIONS: The low intraoperative and postoperative complications rate, observed in the LPS group, highlights the feasibility, safety and efficacy of this surgical approach. The operating time was longer in the LPS group but the recurrence rate and the complication rate appear similar and not more than what is traditionally expected with the LPT approach, although further studies and cost-benefit analyses are required to determine whether the use of LPS improves the outcome over standard LPT and whether the advantages of this technique could be extended to a larger proportion of patients