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Abstract The Covid-19 pandemic has triggered a rapid and unprecedented transformation of global educational systems. The research community has uncovered important impacts of the pandemic on education worldwide, including detrimental effects on student learning, a decline in the well-being of teachers and students, and the exacerbation of educational disparities. Within this context, the Response to Education Disruption Survey (REDS) database stands out as one of the first large-scale international surveys specifically designed to examine the disruption caused by Covid-19 in education. This database serves as an initial step towards providing a more comprehensive understanding of the worldwide effects of the pandemic on education. The relevance of this database has inspired the creation of this special issue, collecting six studies that analyse the consequences of Covid-19 using REDS data.

Abstract Background This paper investigates how the COVID-19 school closure has affected the gender gap in grade-8 students' performance and what are the drivers behind this. By analysing four different countries (i.e., the Russian Federation, Slovenia, Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates), the paper represents the first study addressing the issue from a comparative perspective. Methods The study uses data from the Responses to Educational Disruption Survey (REDS) survey, which comprises international comparable data on how students approached remote learning during the COVID-19 disruption. The extent of the gender gap is estimated by employing an ordered logit model, while the Karlson-Holm-Breen (KHB) decomposition method is used to analyse the different potential channels that could account for the gender gap during COVID-19. Results The empirical results reveal that, during the COVID-19 school closure, girls tended to perceive changes in their learnings less favourably than boys, both in terms of improvement in self-perceived learning and self-reported improvement in grades—with odds of a more affirmative response between 20 and 25% lower for girls relative to boys. The main drivers explaining this gender gap are physical activity and psychological distress of students during the COVID-19 disruption, as well as the perceived family climate. Conclusions The paper shows systematic gender differences in how students perceived their educational outcomes changed due to the COVID-19 disruption, providing evidence on the factors driving these differences. The findings could be employed to design policy actions aimed at increasing gender equality in education.

Small colon impaction can result in accumulation of ingesta, gas, and fluid orally to the impaction site in horses. Large colon tympany, which is caused by ingesta fermentation, can be a predisposing factor for intestinal displacement. The aim of this study is to report the history, clinical, and surgical findings of horses and ponies referred for abdominal pain not responsive to drugs where a right dorsal displacement (RDD) or large colon volvulus (LCV), together with a small colon faecalith (SCF), were diagnosed during surgery. This study included a total of five horses and five ponies. Based on clinical features, ultrasonographic examination, and rectal palpation, an initial suspected diagnosis of RDD, LCV or severe large colon and caecum distension was made in all clinical cases. Due to the lack of response to medical treatment or worsening of colic symptoms, surgery was performed in all horses: diagnosis of RDD or LCV was made and a SCF was incidentally detected in all cases. While exploratory laparotomy was carried out in all the patients for the presence of a large colon issue, it was probably subsequent to an obstruction of the small colon caused by the presence of an SCF, which is generally difficult to diagnose. This study reported the presence of SCF as a possible cause of secondary RDD or LCV in horses and ponies that, to the authors’ knowledge, has never been reported.

The disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic generated an unprecedented situation, in which digital learning, in the form of Emergency Remote Teaching, was the only possible form of schooling. Italy soon decided to close schools as a measure to counter the spread of the virus. Although the Ministry of Education suggested general guidelines, school principals and teachers were autonomous in deciding how to best organise their educational activities. The first objective of our study is to identify subgroups of teachers, based on the use of digital tools during the Covid-19 emergency. Secondly, we explore how subgroups differ in terms of teachers' satisfaction and students' performance. To this end, we integrate information from an ad hoc survey completed by 1,407 primary and lower secondary teachers in Italy, with the students' standardised test scores provided by INVALSI. Data have been analysed through a 3-step latent class analysis. The findings reveal that one third of the teachers showed resistance to the use of digital technologies and focused mainly on asynchronous teaching. Teachers that used a broader set of digital instruments, instead, were more satisfied with their teaching practices. A more articulated use of technology for teaching activities was also positively associated with higher students' performance in 2021.

The occurrence of colic could be influenced by the characteristics of a population, geographical area, and feeding management. The aim of this study was to report the short-term postoperative complications and survival rates and to identify factors that might affect the outcome of horses that underwent colic surgery in three Italian surgical referral centres. Data of horses subjected to colic surgery in three referral centres (2018–2021) were analysed. Comparisons of the outcomes were performed using a Mann–Whitney or a Chi square test. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and multivariable logistic regression analysis were used for parameters that were significant in the previous univariate analysis. The goodness-of-fit of the model was assessed using the Akike information criterion (AIC). Significance was defined as p < 0.05, and odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated as percentages. A total of 451 horses were included. The survival rate was 68.5% of all of the horses that underwent colic surgery and 80% of the horses surviving anaesthesia. Age, BCS, PCV and TPP before and after surgery, amount of reflux, type of disease, type of lesion, duration of surgery, surgeon’s experience, and amount of intra- and postoperative fluids administered influenced the probability of short-term survival. The multivariate analysis revealed that PCV at arrival, TPP after surgery, and BCS had the highest predictive power. This is the first multicentre study in Italy. The results of this study may help surgeons to inform owners regarding the prognosis of colic surgery.

This paper investigates the determinants of mathematics performance by gender, exploiting a multilevel random forest approach. OECD PISA 2018 data from 28 European countries are employed to explore the performance of male and female students as a function of students’ family characteristics, their attitudes towards education, and class and school environment. Results show that the gender gap in favour of boys persists in most European countries. However, teacher and school practices like fostering student reading and creating a cooperative environment allow mitigating the influence of family background in countries without gender gap. Policy implications to foster performance equality are provided.

Teratoma is a rare germ cell testicular cancer composed of cells that are not normally present in the site where it originates. These tumors are rarely described in horses, where they may develop due to cryptorchidism. Teratomas consist of cells originating from different germinal layers, arising from germinal multi-potential cells with differentiation defects, and can simultaneously contain several tissues from two or more embryonic layers. Testicular teratomas are described in horses, cats, dogs, wild boars, bulls, and humans. In the rare descriptions found in literature of testicular teratoma in stallions, they occur frequently in cryptorchid testicles, as a consequence of congenital neoplasm. To our knowledge there is no other report of a dentigerous equine teratoma in a stallion. We describe here a successful laparoscopic removal of a testicular teratoma and its clinic-pathological features.

Nephrosplenic space (NSS) ablation has been demonstrated to be an effective technique for prevention of left dorsal displacement of the large colon and multiple laparoscopic techniques, among which ablation with mesh or with a barbed suture, have been proposed. Our objective was to compare two laparoscopic techniques for closure of the NSS in twenty-eight horses diagnosed with nephrosplenic entrapment. Medical records of horses that had laparoscopic NSS ablation in two referral centers between 2017–2019 were retrieved. Duration of surgery, complications, and short- and long-term follow-up information were collected and compared. Costs were also calculated and compared. All horses met the inclusion criteria: 9 had NSS ablation with a mesh implant (group M), 19 with barbed suture material (group B). One horse in group B had recurrent colic after discharge. At control laparoscopy after 5 months, the NSS resulted in still not being ablated because of a failure of the suture. In group M, three horses had recurrent colic. One was successfully treated medically, one died of unknown causes and the third required a second laparoscopic suturing at 3–6 months because of failure of the mesh implant. The mean time of surgery and costs were lower in group B compared to group M. The barbed suture technique was faster, more cost-effective and had a lower complication rate than the mesh implant.

Background: Equine grass sickness (EGS) has been reported in several European and extra-European countries. Despite this, no scientific paper about clinical cases of EGS in Italy has been published. EGS is a disease affecting almost exclusively horses kept on pasture, characterized by clinical signs related to lesions in autonomic nervous system (ANS), particularly in the enteric nervous system (ENS). According to clinical presentation, acute, subacute and chornic syndromes can be observed, with various sympthoms including dullness, anorexia, dysphagia, drooling of saliva, tachycardia, ptosis, patchy sweating and muscle fasciculations. In horses affected by acute forms, mild to moderate abdominal pain and large volumes of nasogastric reflux can be observed. The etiology is still speculative and many hypothesis have been proposed to explain the pathogenesis. Case presentation: The present study describes four cases of EGS (one subacute and three chronic forms) occurred in Central Italy during early spring. In all the cases included in the study, the prognosis was poor and the horses were euthanized. The diagnosis was confirmed by histological examination of ANS or ENS. In two cases, in vivo diagnosis was obtained by histological examination of enteric bioptic samples collected during laparoscopy. Conclusions: EGS in Italy could be underdiagnosed and incidence understimated. Greater awareness should be applied in Italy for the inclusion of EGS in differential diagnosis for horses presenting clinical signs of abdominal pain associated or not with gastric reflux and muscular fasciculation. All the cases in this study concerned horses kept in the same pasture, confirming a possible premise-linked and management-linked factors on the ethiopathogenesis of EGS. The age of horses ranged from 2 to 6 years, that is consistent with the risk factor age for EGS (from 2 to 7 years of age). Previous suspected EGS diagnosis in the same livestock and recent cool dry weather were considered additional potential risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]