Violence exposure and burnout in healthcare sector: Mediating role of work ability

Background: One of the most difficult problems faced by health care professionals is experiencing verbal and physical abuse from patients and their family members. Some studies have shown that health care workers, es-pecially nurses, are up to 16 times more likely to be subject to violence than other workers. Aims: The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between exposure to violence, work ability and burnout. Methods: Data were collected through a questionnaire to investigate health care workers’ exposure to violence (Violent Incident Form), burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory) and work ability (Work Ability Index). A sample of 300 nurses was obtained for the study. Results: A total of 36% of nurses indicated that they had been a victim of violence in the past 12 months. The data analysis highlighted highly significant differences in work ability, emotional exhaustion and depersonalization between health care workers who had been victims of violence and those who had not experienced violence. Finally, work ability was shown to have a mediating effect on emotional exhaustion (indirect effect: b = 2.7, BCa CI: 1.37–4.33) and depersonalization (indirect effect: b = 1.1, BCa CI: 0.48–1.87). Discussion: This study is one of the first to consider the mediation effect of work ability between workplace violence experienced and burnout in the healthcare sector; it reports the complexity and severity of the consequences of workplace violence in this sector

Workaholism, intensive smartphone use, and the sleep-wake cycle: A multiple mediation analysis

Recent contributions have reported sleep disorders as one of the health impairment outcomes of workaholism. A possible factor affecting the sleep-wake cycle might be the intensive use of smartphones. The current study aimed to explore the role of intensive smartphone use in the relationship between workaholism and the sleep-wake cycle. Two serial multiple mediation models were tested on a sample of 418 employees, who filled self-report questionnaires measuring workaholism, use of smartphones, sleep quality and daytime sleepiness, using conditional process analysis for testing direct and indirect effects. Results supported our hypotheses regarding two serial multiple mediation models-that intensive smartphone use and poor sleep quality mediated the relationship between workaholism and daytime sleepiness, and that smartphone use and daytime sleepiness mediated the relationship between workaholism and poor quality of sleep. Although the use of a cross-sectional design and the snowball technique for collecting data can be considered as possible limitations, the current study is one of the first to document the potential detrimental role of the intensive smartphone use on the workaholism-sleep disorders relationship

Attitude towards drug therapy in a Community Mental Health Center evaluated by the Drug Attitude Inventory

Introduction: Negative attitude towards drug therapy can foster limited adherence to treatment, which remains one of the biggest obstacles for implementing effective treatments, especially long term. Purposes: The purposes of the study were 1) to evaluate the attitude towards drug therapy among a representative sample of patients treated in a community psychiatric service using 30-item Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI-30); 2) to evaluate the DAI-30 dimensions, applying factorial analysis; and 3) to highlight the socio-demographic and clinical variables correlated to DAI-30 score and factors. Methods: The DAI was administered, over a 7-month period, to all patients treated in our psychiatric outpatient services who agreed to participate in this study and provided their informed consent. Data were statistically analyzed. Results: With a response rate of 63.3%, 164 females and 136 males completed the DAI-30 with an average score of 14.24 (±10.46 SD), indicating moderately positive attitude towards drug therapy. The analysis of DAI-30 internal consistency confirmed its reliability (Cronbach’s alpha=0.84). Our factorial analysis highlighted three factors: Factor 1 (Cronbach’s alpha=0.81), composed of 7 items which indicate positive, trustful attitude; Factor 2 (Cronbach’s alpha=0.78), composed of 5 items indicating negative attitude of suspiciousness; and Factor 3 (Cronbach’s alpha=0.66), composed of 4 items suggesting defensive and control attitude towards drug therapy. Discussion: Among the selected variables, “monotherapy” and “total number of hospitalizations” were negatively correlated to the final score of DAI-30, whereas being “married” was positively correlated to it, in a statistically significant way, using the multiple linear regression model. These correlations suggest that positive attitude towards drug therapy could be reinforced by the condition of being married and reduced by relapses with hospitalization, as literature highlighted, and, paradoxically, by a monotherapy, which could suggest a sort of psychological dependence on therapy and, indirectly, on psychiatric service, potentially correlated to the long-term treatments of our patients

Age Diversity Climate Affecting Individual‐Level Work‐Related Outcomes

The present study answers the call for more studies to investigate the age diversity climate’s effect on individual‐level outcomes. Building on the social identity approach and social exchange theory, we surveyed 110 Italian employees aged between 18 and 61 years old (M = 46.10, SD = 10.02) and investigated the role of age diversity climate in predicting intentions to quit (H1), job‐related wellbeing (H2), and work engagement (H3). Our findings confirmed the hypotheses (H1 and H2), showing the added effect of age diversity climate over and above age, job tenure, role clarity, job demands, job control, perceived support, and perceived job and organizational fit. In fact, age diversity climate accounted for a significant increase in the variance explained for two of the three hypothesized models (i.e., intentions to quit and job‐related wellbeing, but not work engagement). To conclude, this study contributes to the existing literature by showing the age diversity climate’s predictive value for turnover intentions and job‐related wellbeing, and corroborating the importance of supporting age diversity through a variety of Human Resources Management strategies

Association between adiposity after diagnosis of prostate cancer and mortality: systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE To explore the associations between adiposity indices, assessed at or after a diagnosis of prostate cancer, and mortality. DESIGN Systematic review and meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES PubMed and Embase, from inception to 16 November 2022. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES Cohort studies or randomised controlled trials of men with a diagnosis of prostate cancer that investigated the associations between adiposity (body mass index, waist and hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, and subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue) after diagnosis and mortality outcomes. A modified version of the risk of bias for nutrition observational studies tool was used to assess risk of bias. RESULTS 79 studies were identified that investigated adiposity indices after a diagnosis of prostate cancer in relation to mortality. No randomised controlled trials were found. A non-linear dose-response meta-analysis indicated a J shaped association between body mass index and all-cause mortality (33910 men, 11095 deaths, 17 studies). The highest rate of all-cause mortality was found at the lowest and upper range of the distribution: 11-23% higher rate for a body mass index of 17-21and 4-43% higher rate for a body mass index of 30-40. The association between body mass index and mortality specific to prostate cancer was flat until body mass index reached 26- 27, and then increased linearly by 8-66% for a body mass index of 30-40 (33137 men, 2947 deaths, 13 studies), but the 95% confidence intervals were wide. These associations did not differ in most predefined subgroups by study design, number of deaths, anthropometric assessment, follow-up time, geographical location, prostate cancer risk group, and adjustment variables. No associations were found in meta-analyses between 10cm increases in waist circumference and all-cause mortality or mortality specific to prostate cancer, but only three studies were available. The few studies with data on change in weight, waist-to-hip ratio, and subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue reported conflicting results. CONCLUSIONS This review suggests that patients with prostate cancer might benefit from maintaining a healthy weight and avoiding obesity. Future studies should investigate adiposity across different stages of cancer survivorship and use various parameters for distribution of adipose tissue

A Comparative Review of Electrolytes for Organic-Material-Based Energy-Storage Devices Employing Solid Electrodes and Redox Fluids

Electrolyte chemistry is critical for any energy‐storage device. Low‐cost and sustainable rechargeable batteries based on organic redox‐active materials are of great interest to tackle resource and performance limitations of current batteries with metal‐based active materials. Organic active materials can be used not only as solid electrodes in the classic lithium‐ion battery (LIB) setup, but also as redox fluids in redox‐flow batteries (RFBs). Accordingly, they have suitability for mobile and stationary applications, respectively. Herein, different types of electrolytes, recent advances for designing better performing electrolytes, and remaining scientific challenges are discussed and summarized. Due to different configurations and requirements between LIBs and RFBs, the similarities and differences for choosing suitable electrolytes are discussed. Both general and specific strategies for promoting the utilization of organic active materials are covered.So solid storage : The use of organic redox‐active materials is a new tendency for rechargeable batteries, either as traditional solid‐state electrode materials in lithium‐ion batteries or as dissolved redox fluidic species in liquid electrolytes for redox flow batteries. The performance‐limiting scenarios and some illuminating improvements by formulating electrolytes are reviewed

Clinical, magnetic resonance imaging, and histopathologic features of hypothalamic neuronal hamartoma in a young vizsla

Hypothalamic hamartomas (HH) are rare, tumor-like malformations thatoccurduring fetal development and are present at birth. They differ from neoplasms since they are not autonomous and they grow in proportion to normal brain growth, and consequently their relative size to the rest of the brain is the same for the lifetime of the patient. Hamartomas are non-progressive lesions and do not expand, spread or metastasize to other locations. In canine nervous system, vascular, neuronal and peripheral nerve fibers hamartomas have been described; to our knowledge, this is the first report describing the MRI features of a hypothalamic neuronal hamartoma in a dog

The Pictet-Spengler reaction updates its habits

The Pictet-Spengler reaction (P-S) is one of the most direct, efficient, and variable synthetic method for the construction of privileged pharmacophores such as tetrahydroisoquinolines (THIQs), tetrahydro-β-carbolines (THBCs), and polyheterocyclic frameworks. In the lustro (five-year period) following its centenary birthday, the P-S reaction did not exit the stage but it came up again on limelight with new features. This review focuses on the interesting results achieved in this period (2011–2015), analyzing the versatility of this reaction. Classic P-S was reported in the total synthesis of complex alkaloids, in combination with chiral catalysts as well as for the generation of libraries of compounds in medicinal chemistry. The P-S has been used also in tandem reactions, with the sequences including ring closing metathesis, isomerization, Michael addition, and Gold- or Brønsted acid-catalyzed N-acyliminium cyclization. Moreover, the combination of P-S reaction with Ugi multicomponent reaction has been exploited for the construction of highly complex polycyclic architectures in few steps and high yields. The P-S reaction has also been successfully employed in solid-phase synthesis, affording products with different structures, including peptidomimetics, synthetic heterocycles, and natural compounds. Finally, the enzymatic version of P-S has been reported for biosynthesis, biotransformations, and bioconjugations

MOLECULAR CHARACTERISATION OF A NOVEL ADP-RIBOSYLATING PUTATIVE TOXIN OF NEISSERIA MENINGITIDIS

Molecular characterisation of a novel ADP-ribosylating putative toxin of Neisseria meningitidis VEGGIi D, *BALDUCCI E, MASIGNANI V, DI MARCELLO F, SAVINO S, ARICO’ B, COMANDUCCI M, PIZZA M, RAPPUOLI R IRIS, Chiron SpA, Via Fiorentina 1, 53100 Siena Italy; *Dipartimento Scienze morfologiche e Biochimiche Comparate, Università degli Studi di Camerino, Camerino, Italy Session: Surface antigens Introduction: By computer analysis on the Neisseria meningitidis (serogroup B, MC 58 strain) genome sequence, a protein with a feature similar to known bacterial ADP-ribosylating toxins (CT produced by Vibrio cholerae, LT by Escherichia coli and PT by Bordetella pertussis) has been identified. Enzymatic assay has shown that this protein (NM-ADPRT) possesses both NAD glycohydrolase and ADP-ribosyltransferase activity. In this study we describe the identification of the putative catalytic residues, their site-directed mutagenesis, and the resulting activity of the mutants. Materials and methods: The novel NM-ADPRT and the correspondent mutants, were expressed in E. coli as C-terminus His-tag protein fusions. Site-directed mutagenesis was performed using the Multi Site-Directed Mutagenesis Kit (QuikChange). Recombinant NM-ADPRT forms were purified from E. coli in their soluble form by metal chelate affinity chromatography. Both the wild-type and the mutants were assayed for their ADP-ribosylation and NAD-glycohydolase activites, using [adenine –U-14C] NAD and agmatine as ADP-ribose acceptor. Antisera against NM-ADPRT and the mutant derivatives were obtained by immunization of CD1 mice. 20μg of each recombinant protein were given i.p. together with CFA for the first dose and IFA for the second (day 21) and the third (day 35) booster doses. Blood sample were taken on days 34 and 49. Immune sera were used in western blot and tested in a bactericidal assay. Results and discussion: On the basis of sequence homology of NM-ADPRT with LT, CT and PT we have identified the putative residues involved in enzymatic activity. These residues have been changed by site-directed mutagenesis and the purified mutant toxins have been tested for both ADP-ribosylating and NAD-glycohydrolase activities. Interestingly, some of the mutants show reduced or abolished enzymatic activity indicating that the identified residues play a role in catalysis. Antisera against the wild-type and mutant toxins have bactericidal activity. The titers induced by two mutants were higher than those induced by the wild-type form. These data suggest that the mutations introduced could influence not only the enzymatic activity but also the in vivo stability of the toxin. Conclusion: A novel ADP-ribosyltransferase has been identified in meningococcus B. Catalytic residues have been predicted by sequence homology and their role in catalysis has been confirmed by site-directed mutagenesis. These molecules are also able to induce a bactericidal response