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Smoking is very common among adolescents; nowadays, young people start smoking very early, before being 15 years old. Effective primary prevention interventions are needed to contrast tobacco use in young age. For these reasons, the section of Milan of the Italian League for the Fight Against Cancer has developed Specchio Riflesso (SR), an innovative intervention based on the social theatre methodology and aimed at promoting preadolescents’ self-reflection on their identity and their role within a group and facilitating their critical reflection toward tobacco smoking. Aim of this contribution was to evaluate its effectiveness. One hundred and ninety-one students were involved in SR, consisting of two sessions in the first class and two sessions in the second class of the secondary school. Positive and negative emotions and attitudes toward smoking, and self-efficacy to resist peer pressure and to express opinions have been assessed trough questionnaires. A group of 324 preadolescents not involved in SR has been compared to the experimental group undergoing intervention. Results attest the efficacy of SR to diminish the attractiveness of cigarettes, by counteracting the formation of positive emotions and attitudes toward smoking and promoting higher assertiveness and self-efficacy to express opinions. To sum up, SR is an effective intervention to prevent tobacco use in secondary school.

Smoking is very common among adolescents; nowadays, young people start smoking very early, before being 15 years old. Effective primary prevention interventions are needed to contrast tobacco use in young age. For these reasons, the section of Milan of the Italian League for the Fight Against Cancer has developed Specchio Riflesso (SR), an innovative intervention based on the social theatre methodology and aimed at promoting preadolescents’ self-reflection on their identity and their role within a group and facilitating their critical reflection toward tobacco smoking. Aim of this contribution was to evaluate its effectiveness. One hundred and ninety-one students were involved in SR, consisting of two sessions in the first class and two sessions in the second class of the secondary school. Positive and negative emotions and attitudes toward smoking, and self-efficacy to resist peer pressure and to express opinions have been assessed trough questionnaires. A group of 324 preadolescents not involved in SR has been compared to the experimental group undergoing intervention. Results attest the efficacy of SR to diminish the attractiveness of cigarettes, by counteracting the formation of positive emotions and attitudes toward smoking and promoting higher assertiveness and self-efficacy to express opinions. To sum up, SR is an effective intervention to prevent tobacco use in secondary school.

Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) represent a group of rare lysosomal storage disorders, with a heterogeneous clinical presentation in terms of inheritance (autosomal and X-linked recessive), age of onset (infants, children, and adults), systemic and cardiac manifestations (mild to severe disease forms). Evidence-based recommendations on the diagnosis and management of cardiovascular disease in MPS are scarce. GICEM (Gruppo Italiano Cardiologi Esperti Malattie Metaboliche) is a group of cardiologists, cardiac surgeons and pediatricians with a specific expertise in metabolic diseases including MPS. In this paper, we report our experience and recommendations on the diagnosis and management of cardiovascular aspects in MPS, with a tailored approach based on current evidence, and taking into account MPS phenotype (particularly, I, II, IVa, VI), age at presentation, and severity of systemic and cardiac manifestations.

Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) represent a group of rare lysosomal storage disorders, with a heterogeneous clinical presentation in terms of inheritance (autosomal and X-linked recessive), age of onset (infants, children, and adults), systemic and cardiac manifestations (mild to severe disease forms). Evidence-based recommendations on the diagnosis and management of cardiovascular disease in MPS are scarce. GICEM (Gruppo Italiano Cardiologi Esperti Malattie Metaboliche) is a group of cardiologists, cardiac surgeons and pediatricians with a specific expertise in metabolic diseases including MPS. In this paper, we report our experience and recommendations on the diagnosis and management of cardiovascular aspects in MPS, with a tailored approach based on current evidence, and taking into account MPS phenotype (particularly, I, II, IVa, VI), age at presentation, and severity of systemic and cardiac manifestations.

Moneta e Credito, V. 2, N. 5 (1949)

Le piante sono un sistema di espressione competitivo rispetto ai sistemi tradizionali di espressione eterologa basati su cellule batteriche, di insetto o di mammifero, in quanto permettono una notevole riduzione dei costi per la produzione su larga scala, la possibilità di scalabilità, la biosicurezza ed il loro impiego risulta garantire la sostenibilità ed il rispetto ambientale. Specialmente in campo vaccinologico, gli organismi vegetali sono stati largamente impiegati negli ultimi decenni come biofabbrica per la produzione di antigeni o per la replicazione di virus vegetali chimerici, utilizzati come carrier di peptidi immunogenici. I virus vegetali presentano infatti dimensioni adatte per le applicazioni nanotecnologiche e risultano essere uniformi dal punto di vista strutturale, robusti, biodegradabili e facili da produrre. Viste queste promettenti potenzialità, nella prima parte del progetto di dottorato è stato sviluppato, caratterizzato ed ottimizzato il sistema di nanoparticelle basate sul virus vegetale TBSV, che può essere funzionalizzato a livello genetico e/o chimico per modificare la superficie esterna delle nanoparticelle virali (VNPs) e può essere sfruttato per l’intrappolamento di piccole molecole all’interno delle cavità interne delle VNPs. La caratterizzazione a livello bio-fisico mediante AFM ha messo in luce inoltre l’enorme stabilità e resistenza alla frattura delle VNPs, evidenziando la loro potenzialità come nanocontenitori. Inoltre tale piattaforma si è dimostrata molto promettente per applicazioni di carattere biomedico, volte allo sviluppo di strategie sostenibili per il controllo della leishmaniosi canina. Innanzitutto le VNPs chimeriche (CVNPs) esponenti sulla superficie esterna dei virioni il peptide chimerico costituito dalla fusione di entrambe le porzioni immunogeniche selezionate dalla glicoproteina GP63, in combinazione con l’adiuvante BCG o in forma aggregata, sono state in grado di sviluppare una risposta immunitaria, correlabile con un probabile stato di protezione nei topi vaccinati. Infine sono state realizzate CVNPs esponenti sulla superficie esterna peptidi antimicrobici con attività leishmanicida, che dovrebbero agire direttamente sull’agente eziologico della malattia, causandone la morte. Plants are a competitive system compared to traditional suspension culture based technologies such as mammalian, microbial and insect cells, because they are safe, scalable and economic and their use guarantees sustainability and environmental compatibility. During the last decades, especially for vaccine design, plants have been employed as biofactories for the production of antigens or for the replication of chimeric plant virus nanoparticles (CVNPs) used as carriers of peptide immunogens. Plant viruses bear proper dimensions for nanoscale applications and are structurally uniform, biodegradable, robust and easy to produce. For these reasons, at the beginning, the development, characterization and optimization of a TBSV based nanovector have been realized. This multivalent platform can be functionalized genetically and/or chemically in order to modify the external surface of virions or can be used for the encapsulation of small molecules in the internal cavity of VNPs. The analyses conducted using an Atomic Force Microscopy have demonstrated that TBSV-VNPs are highly stable and can be permanently deformed without fracture, underlining their potentiality as nanocontainers. Moreover, this system has been very promising for biomedical applications concerning the development of sustainable control strategies for canine leishmaniasis. CVNPs displaying a chimeric peptide constituted by the fusion of two heterologous peptides derived from GP63 metalloprotease, crosslinked or administered with BCG adjuvant, have been able to induce immune responses, suggesting a possible vaccine protection in mice. CVNPs displaying antimicrobial peptides with leishmanicidal activity have been also realized to be employed for direct Leishmania protozoa inactivation. Dottorato di ricerca in Scienze e tecnologie per la gestione forestale e ambientale

Nella gioiosa celebrazione dell’ottantesimo compleanno del prof. Claudio Desinan mi è particolarmente gradito partecipare all’evento con il seguente contributo che dedico alla sua persona di pedagogista, testimone della memoria storica del gruppo triestino, sostenitore dei valori della famiglia, della persona e dell’educazione. Con esso intendo soprattutto esprimergli profonda gratitudine per la fedele amicizia con mio marito Duilio Gasparini, un sentimento questo che egli ha saputo diffondere sempre attorno a sé, verso colleghi e collaboratori. Inoltre mi propongo, nella seconda parte di questo scritto, di presentare una strategia pedagogica e didattica di consolidata esperienza, maturata poco per volta nella scuola dell’infanzia di Rimini, nella quale ho svolto attività di insegnante e di dirigente per lunghi anni. Si tratta di una strategia nata nella letteratura degli anni Settanta e perfezionata progressivamente nel tempo, che ha segnato profondamente la mia pratica educativa e che, a mio avviso, non ha perso il suo valore e può dire ancora qualcosa alle giovani generazioni di educatrici.