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Prosodic aspects of cross-linguistic contact are under-researched, especially past contact that has subsequently ceased. In this paper, we investigate declarative and polar question tunes of contemporary Cretan Greek, a regional variety of Greek whose speakers were in contact with Venetian speakers during the four and half centuries of Venetian rule on the island, from 1204 to 1669. The F0 contours of the Cretan tunes and alignment of peaks and troughs of interest with the nuclear vowel are compared to the corresponding tunes in Venetian dialect and Venetian Italian and to those in Athenian (Standard) Greek, which are used as control. The data (1610 declarative utterances and 698 polar questions) were drawn from natural speech corpora based on pragmatic criteria: broad focus for declaratives, broad focus, and information-seeking interpretation for polar questions. The pitch contour shapes of the tunes are modeled using polynomial basis functions, and the F0 alignment points are determined analytically. The results show the robustness of contact effects almost three and a half centuries after regular contact ceased and indicate that the shapes of the F0 contours of Cretan and Venetian declarative and polar question tunes are similar. In addition, Cretan alignment patterns are similar to Venetian and significantly different from Athenian. Insights are gained from research into how long prosodic characteristics may persist in a recipient language—decades or even centuries after the cessation of contact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the aim of providing evidence about doctor-managers' resilience during the Covid-19 pandemic, this study analyzes the characteristics of 114 doctor-managers operating within the Italian National Health Service (NHS). During the emergency, doctor-managers had to show adaptive capacities to deal with unexpected situations and develop new paradigms, procedures, and quick responses to patients' needs. This is in line with resilience, and in this perspective, it is crucial to investigate resilience determinants. The paper, therefore, provides an identikit of the resilient doctor-manager. The research was conducted between November and December 2020. Primary data were collected through an online questionnaire consisting of six sections. Participation was voluntary and anonymous. Data were analyzed using quantitative techniques and employing Stata 16. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was employed to test construct validity and scale reliability. Results show that increasing levels of individual resilience are related to increasing levels of managerial identity. Moreover, physicians' individual resilience has a positive association with commitment, knowledge diffusion, and Evidence-Based Medicine adoption. Finally, physicians' individual resilience has a negative association with their role in the university, their specialty, and their gender. The study suggests some practical implications for healtcare organizations. In general, career paths are decided primarily on competency assessment, while an important role should be devoted to behavioral characteristics. Furthermore, organizations should take care of the levels of individual commitment and encourage professional networking because both help doctor-managers cope with uncertainty. The originality of the study relies on a fresh look at all previous work. There are currently few contributions in the literature to explore and investigate resilience elements in doctor-managers during the pandemic era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected and is still deeply affecting all aspects of public life. World governments have been forced to enact restrictive measures to stem the contagion which have led to a decrease in the movement of people within national territory and to a redirection of health care resources with a suspension of nonurgent procedures. In Italy, a lockdown was imposed from March 9th to May 3rd, 2020. As a result, a significant reduction in the overall operative volume of orthopedic trauma was expected, but it was not possible to predict a similar trend regarding fragility fractures of the proximal femur in the elderly. Methods: The aim of this paper was to examine the impact of COVID-19 on the operating volume for trauma surgeries and to determine how the pandemic affected the management of fragility hip fractures (FHFs) in non-COVID patients at a single Institution. Results: The first result was a statistically significant reduction in the overall operative volume of orthopedic trauma during the period of the first lockdown and an increase in the mean age of patients undergoing surgery, as expected. As regard to the second aim, the incidence of FHFs remained almost unchanged during the periods analysed. The population examined were superimposable in terms of demographics, comorbidities, type of fracture, peri-operative complications, percentage of operations performed within 48 hours from hospitalization and 1-year outcome. Discussion: Our results are in line with those already present in the Literature. Conclusions: Our study revealed a significant impact of the restrictive anticontagion measures on the overall orthopedic surgical volume, but, at the same time, we could affirm that the pandemic did not affect the management of FHFs in non-COVID patients, and their results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Appropriate status epilepticus (SE) management is key to minimize admission to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). We retrospectively describe 115 children admitted to the PICU of the tertiary-care referral hospital of Padova for seizures, SE, and SE-related complications (59% from second-level hospitals, 41% from the referral hospital) and compare SE management among hospitals. Compared with the referral center, in second-level hospitals, anesthetics were more often administered as first/second drug (P <.001), and intubation was more frequent (P <.001). Intubation was significantly associated with SE onset at home (P =.045) and benzodiazepine-associated respiratory depression (P =.044). There was no association between intubation and SE duration, etiology, PICU length of stay, and morbidity at discharge. In conclusion, adherence to treatment protocols on SE management after the first-line drug differs between referral center and second-level hospitals. Lack of association with SE characteristics and patient's outcome suggests PICU admission could be due to inappropriate invasive management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Family and Community Health Nurses (FCHNs) are at a higher risk of experiencing emotional exhaustion and feelings of low personal accomplishment. Higher levels of professional identity may decrease these negative feelings. Its measurement could produce positive effects for FCHNs and the quality of care they offer. Aim: This study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties (validity and reliability) of the Nurses Professional Values Scale-Revised (NPVS-R) on FCHNs in Italy. Research design: A cross-sectional research design was used. Participants and research context: A convenience sample of FCHNs was recruited in an out-of-hospital setting from Italy. A total of 202 nurses were eligible (mean age of 41.11 ± 10.55 years; 78.2% female). Ethical considerations: The study was performed in accordance with the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki. Participants were asked for their consent and were guaranteed anonymity in the information collected. The study was approved by the internal review board of the university. Results: Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) supported a unidimensional factorial structure of the NPVS-R with an adequate fit to the data. Internal consistency reliability was also supported. The construct validity was further reinforced by the concurrent validity results showing a positive and significant correlation of professional identity with job satisfaction. Conclusion: The NPVS-R is a valid and reliable instrument to measure professional identity among FCHNs. It can be used in clinical practice to improve FCHNs' psychological-emotional feelings and quality of care provided, in research to allow comprehensive understanding of professional identity, and in educational settings to monitor the professional identity levels of Family and Community Health Nursing students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to highlight the role and impact of written documents in managing child protection cases concerning immigrant children and their families in Italy. Analyzing documentation through the lens offered by Foucault's notion of writing as a discursive rite oriented toward the reproduction of social norms, we examined, in depth, eight immigrant children's cases that were handled by welfare services. Reports from practitioners such as social workers, youth workers, psychologists, counsellors, and legal advisors were examined to understand how the piling up of documentation, which is supposed to be neutral and unbiased, concurs to continuously redefine the boundaries between cultural inclusion and exclusion and reassert the common definition of normality. Moreover, we offer suggestions for how developing a reflexive attitude toward the use of documents could help practitioners to promote a more culturally sensitive approach to managing child protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Despite nurses representing the largest healthcare professional group, the number is not enough for global health coverage. Understanding Generation Z students' intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, internal and external influences, and beliefs in choosing nursing education is crucial. This knowledge empowers universities to enhance nursing program enrollment through targeted promotion and recruitment strategies. Objective: The aim was to understand why Italian students of Generation Z choose the Nursing Degree Course. Methods: In this pilot study, a cross-sectional design was used. A survey with closed and open answers analyzing demographics, opinions, and motivations among new enrolled nursing students was administered on the first day of the Bachelor of Nursing Degree course. Descriptive statistics were used. Quantitative data were analyzed with Chi-square and ANOVA tests and qualitative data underwent content analysis and coding. Correlation analysis explored relationships between qualitative and quantitative results. Results: Forty first-year students (85% female, average age 22) completed the questionnaire. The choice of the degree pathway, as the first or second option, is influenced by intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, the student's opinions, and family and social influences. Significant positive and negative associations were evidenced. Negative factors affecting choice included location and the responsibility for nursing care, while positive factors included role models, family advice, passion, curiosity for healthcare, the desire to help others, and family influences on decision-making. Conclusions: Among Italian generation Z students, the choice of the nursing degree pathway is influenced by social models, family advice, passion, the desire to help others, and curiosity. Universities should be more proactive in their recruitment and promotion efforts, transforming these events into vibrant meeting points for professionals from diverse nursing specialties. They should also implement robust information policies that highlight career possibilities spanning clinical practice, management, education, and research areas within the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recent immigrants face various difficulties in adjusting to western countries and show a high prevalence of mental disorders. Access to a culturally appropriate community mental health centre (CMHC) is crucial for immigrants (Bhui et al., 2007). The Bologna West Transcultural Psychiatric Team (BoTPT, Tarricone et al., 2009) is one of the first projects in Italy that prioritizes cultural competence care. This paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of this service and to describe what characteristics of patient and psychiatric intervention are related to ‘drop-out’.Method: All migrants who consecutively attended the BoTPT between 1 July 1999 and 30 June 2008 were included and evaluated at first contact and again six months later.Results: After six months we followed up 162 patients; 32 (17.9%) of these had interrupted treatment. Non-Asian origin, a recent history of migration and not receiving social intervention were the strongest predictors of drop-out cases.Conclusion: Psychiatric consultation services to migrants could be made more effective by enhancing: (a) cultural competence, through cultural mediator involvement; and (b) social support from the first psychiatric contact. These two characteristics of psychiatric consultation could be developed from resources ordinarily present in the context of a CMHC and could then become a cost-effective strategy for addressing mental health needs among first-generation immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Italian and American hospitals, in two different periods, have been urged by external circumstances to extensively redesign their quality improvement strategies. This paper, through the use of a survey administered to chief quality officers in both countries, aims to identify commonalities and differences between the two systems and to understand which approaches are effective in improving quality of care. In both countries chief quality officers report quality improvement has become a strategic priority, clinical governance approaches, and tools—such as disease-specific quality improvement projects and clinical pathways—are commonly used, and there is widespread awareness that clinical decision making must be supported by protocols and guidelines. Furthermore, the study clearly outlines the critical importance of adopting a system-wide approach to quality improvement. To this extent Italy seems lagging behind compared to US in fact: (i) responsibilities for different dimensions of quality are spread across different organizational units; (ii) quality improvement strategies do not typically involve administrative staff; and (iii) quality performance measures are not disseminated widely within the organization but are reported primarily to top management. On the other hand, in Italy chief quality officers perceive that the typical hospital organizational structure, which is based on clinical directories, allows better coordination between clinical specialties than in the United States. In both countries, the results of the study show that it is not the single methodology/model that makes the difference but how the different quality improvement strategies and tools interact to each other and how they are coherently embedded with the overall organizational strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the association between human papillomavirus vaccination status and participation in cervical cancer screening (at age 25) by the first cohorts of girls who were offered vaccination at the age of 15 to 16 years in Italy. Methods: Women born in 1993, 1994 and 1995 were invited to participate in cervical cancer screening between 2018 and 2020. We report participation in screening by vaccination status in three large areas, Florence province, Piedmont region and Savona province, where the Consensus Project was carried out. The relative risk of participation among vaccinated (≥2 doses) and unvaccinated women was estimated. Odds ratios (OR) of participation by vaccination status were estimated by logistic regression, adjusted by birthplace and birth cohort. Results: Overall, 34,993 women were invited for screening: 13,006 (37.2%) participated and 10,062 of these agreed to participate in the Consensus intervention study. Among the invited women and screening participants, vaccinated women were 51.0% and 60.6%, respectively. Comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated women, the adjusted OR of screening participation was 1.80 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.72–1.89), 2.17 (95% CI: 1.94–2.42), 1.59 (95% CI: 1.50–1.68) and 1.15 (95% CI: 0.86–1.54) for overall, Florence, Piedmont and Savona, respectively. About 33% of the invited women were unvaccinated and did not participate in screening: 25.8%, 59.5% and 64.2% of women born in Italy, in high migration pressure countries and in advanced development countries, respectively. Conclusions: Screening participation was higher among vaccinated than unvaccinated women. Active policies are needed to reduce inequalities, targeting the unscreened and unvaccinated population, particularly non-native women, to accelerate cervical cancer elimination in Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, most European countries have undergone integration processes through mergers and strategic alliances between healthcare organizations. The present paper examined three cases within the Italian National Health Service in order to determine how different organizations, within differing institutional contexts, govern an healthcare integration process. Furthermore, we explored the possibility that the governance mode, usually seen as alternatives (i.e., merger or alliance), could be considered as a separate step in the development of a more suitable integration process. Multiple case studies were used to compare different integration approaches. Specifically, three cases were considered, of which two were characterized by collaborative processes and the other by a merger. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers involved in the processes.Each case presents different governing modes, structures, and mechanisms for achieving integration. The role played by the institutional context also led to different results with unique advantages and disadvantages.Three main conclusions are discussed: (a) Alliances and mergers can be interpreted as different steps in a path leading to a better integration; (b) The alignment between institutional/political time horizon and the time needed for the organizations to achieve an integration process lead to a better integration; (c) Trust plays an important role in integration process operating at different levels that of institutional and organizational level and that built between people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes neonatal intensive care units (NICU) in Italy using a set of organizational variables identifying management profile. The correlations between variables, and how these are impacted by structural aspects of the department or hospital, are investigated. The research was conducted within the 5-year far-reaching and complex SONAR study run by the Italian Neonatal Network, which maps NICU, monitors outcomes of member centres, defines organizational models, and identifies best practices to improve care quality. Seven variables relating to activities, organization processes, and behaviour models used in the SONAR study were used here to assess NICU. Data from 54 Italian NICUs, 1601 nursing staff, and 643 doctors were used. We identified high levels of variation in NICUs for all aspects of organization. We also identified important opportunities for improvement, especially in the areas of performance measurement, quality improvement, and learning for healthcare staff. In terms of structural characteristics, we identified big differences between NICUs in the north and south of Italy. The findings provide a description of NICUs in Italy and identify a set of variables useful for management in assessing NICU, which are among the most complex and costly operational units in a hospital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Current exercise guidelines recommend women to exercise throughout pregnancy, and the benefits are well documented. Still, there is an increasing decline of exercise levels during pregnancy and a high percentage of them are sedentary. It is well established that individual attitudes and perception of barriers may influence the ability to engage in sufficient amount of exercise. This has, however, not been examined in an Italian pregnant population. Hence, the aims of the present study were to increase knowledge of facilitators and barriers to regular exercise in Italian pregnant women and to report their social support in regard to maternal exercise. Methods: Healthy, pregnant women (n = 513) were allocated from Fatebenefratelli San Giovanni Calibita, a public hospital in Rome, and four antenatal clinics in Rome and Modena. The participants completed a validated self-administrated questionnaire, the Physical Activity Pregnancy Questionnaire, in gestational week 36. In line with current American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists guidelines (2020), participants were categorized as "regular exercisers" (⩾150 min/week) and "not regular exercisers" (< 150 min/week). Results: Only 4.6% of the women engaged in regular physical activity/exercise in the third trimester. "Insufficient time" (54%) were the only barrier negatively associated with exercise. The facilitators "relaxation/recreation" (18%), "prevention of health complaints" (15%), "enjoyment" (10%), and "prevention of gestational weight gain" (4%) were associated with achieving the recommendations of exercise. This study found no association between achieving the recommendations and childhood exercise/having social modeling, or exercising network/milieu (p = 0.294 and p = 0.123). Nevertheless, exercising together with others was a significant predictor for regular maternal exercise (p < 0.001). Most women did not receive any advice on exercise during pregnancy from their doctor or midwife (60.0 %). Yet, those who received such advice were significantly more likely to exercise regularly compared to those who did not (75.0% vs 38.2%; p < 0.001). Conclusion: Italian pregnant women mainly reported internal facilitators for their willingness to participate in regular maternal exercise, while barriers were primarily related to inconveniences (such as insufficient time and difficulty combining with work/studies). The study addresses the positive association between achieving the recommended amount of exercise and social support in terms of exercising with others and getting advice from health professions. Because women respect their doctor and have regular prenatal checkups, this health care setting can play a pivotal role in the initiation and maintenance of exercise behavior during pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores intimate partner violence (IPV) evolution during the lockdown with a sample of 238 women (44% cohabitating and 56% not cohabitating with the perpetrator), attending five antiviolence centers in Italy (June–September 2020). Questions included 12 items on IPV and, for each item, a question about whether violence increased/stayed the same/decreased during lockdown; an indicator of IPV modifications was constructed. Two distinct patterns, confirmed after adjustment for socio-demographic factors, emerged: IPV increased for 28% of cohabitating and decreased for 56% of non-cohabitating women. Such results suggest the efficacy of physical distancing—strictly controlled by the State—in the prevention of IPV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the Pathologic Adaptation Model of community violence exposure, repeated experiences of violence within the community lead youth to accept violence as a normative and legitimate strategy to cope with conflict, thus increasing their involvement in aggressive behaviors. This hypothesis has been under-investigated with reference to bullying at school. Using a person-centered analytical approach (latent profile analysis), this study examines the mediating role of moral disengagement as a type of normalizing cognition about violence, in the relationship between profiles of community violence exposure and perpetration of bullying. Eight hundred and two adolescents (11–18 years; 43.4% girls) from two different urban and societal contexts in Italy (Milan vs. Naples) participated in the study. Four profiles of exposure to community violence emerged. Context site and age influenced belonging to the four profiles. Being moderately exposed to violence, both as a victim and as a witness, was significantly associated with higher levels of moral disengagement and bullying perpetration. Being exposed as a witness and as a victim, and being exposed only as a witness were associated with bullying perpetration via the increase of moral disengagement. These findings support the Pathologic Adaptation Model and indicate that adolescents who experience higher levels of community violence, as a witness or both as a witness and a victim, are more likely to develop morally disengaged beliefs about violence, which in turn would increase the likelihood to perpetrate bullying. Results are also discussed in the context of social diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence of sexual violence against men and boys in many conflict-affected settings is increasingly recognized. Yet relatively little is currently known about the varied forms, sites, and impacts of this violence. Further, scant research on sexual violence against men and boys in displacement contexts has been undertaken to date. To begin to address these knowledge gaps, we undertook a multicountry, qualitative, exploratory study to gain insights into these issues. Study settings and populations were Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh; refugees and migrants who had traveled through Libya residing in Italy; and refugees from eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Somalia, and South Sudan residing in Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya. Methods included 55 semi-structured focus group discussions with 310 refugees and semi-structured key informant interviews with 148 aid workers and human rights experts. Data were thematically analyzed using NVivo 12. Findings suggest that sexual violence against men and boys may not be rare in Myanmar (northern Rakhine state), Libya, eastern DRC, and South Sudan. Frequently reported forms of violence in these settings were genital violence, forced witnessing of sexual violence, and rape. Sites where violence was often reported included border crossings, along the roadside, and during imprisonment. In host countries, forms of sexual violence included sexual abuse of boys, sexual exploitation particularly of adolescents and persons with diverse sexual orientation and gender identity, and rape. Impacts on survivors involved short- and long-term physical, mental, economic, and familial dimensions. These findings aim to inform sexual violence-related prevention, mitigation, and response efforts in humanitarian settings. More research is warranted, including on sexual violence against men and boys in Somalia, sexual violence by family and community members in conflict and displacement settings, sexual exploitation of adolescent boys, and sexual violence including sexual exploitation of persons with diverse sexual orientation and gender identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite the extensive research and intense debate on coercion in psychiatry we have seen in recent years, little is still known about formally voluntarily admitted patients, who experience high levels of perceived coercion during their admission to a psychiatric hospital. Aims: The purpose of the present research was to explore forms of treatment pressure put on patients, not only by clinicians, but also by patients' relatives, during admission to psychiatric hospitals in Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom. Methods: Data were obtained via in-depth, semi-structured interviews with patients (N = 108) diagnosed with various mental disorders (ICD-10: F20–F49) hospitalised in psychiatric inpatient wards. Maximum variation sampling was applied to ensure the inclusion of patients with different socio-demographic and clinical characteristics. The study applied a common methodology to secure comparability and consistency across participating countries. The qualitative data from each country were transcribed verbatim, coded and subjected to theoretical thematic analysis. Results: The results of the analysis confirm that the legal classifications of involuntary and voluntary hospitalisation do not capture the fundamental distinctions between patients who are and are not coerced into treatment. Our findings show that the level of perceived coercion in voluntary patients ranges from 'persuasion' and 'interpersonal leverage' (categorised as treatment pressures) to 'threat', 'someone else's decisions' and 'violence' (categorised as informal coercion). Conclusion: We suggest that the term 'treatment pressures' be applied to techniques for convincing patients to follow a suggested course of treatment by offering advice and support in getting professional help, as well as using emotional arguments based on the personal relationship with the patient. In turn, we propose to reserve the term 'informal coercion' to describe practices for pressuring patients into treatment by threatening them, by making them believe that they have no choice, and by taking away their power to make autonomous decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of psychopathy in the forensic and criminal justice domains is largely due to its robust associations with aggression and violent behavior. Hence, investigators have increasingly been interested in elucidating potential mechanisms linking psychopathy and aggression. Recent research highlighted previously overlooked associations between psychopathy and difficulties in emotion regulation, the process responsible for monitoring, evaluating, and managing one's emotional experience, as well as for guiding behavior under intense emotional arousal. Yet, it remains unclear whether emotion dysregulation may be helpful to explain well-documented associations between psychopathy and aggression. The present study examined whether emotion dysregulation mediated associations (i.e., explained a significant portion of the shared variance) between psychopathy and aggression across community (N = 521) and offender (N = 268) samples. Participants completed self-report measures of psychopathy, emotion dysregulation, trait aggressiveness (i.e., anger, hostility, physical and verbal aggression), as well as reactive and proactive aggression. Across both samples, psychopathy had significant indirect effect on all indices of aggression through emotion dysregulation, with the exception of verbal aggression. These findings support the relevance of emotion regulation for the construct of psychopathy and its maladaptive correlates and highlight the potential relevance of focusing on emotion regulation as a possible target for interventions aimed at reducing aggression among individuals with psychopathic traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Difficulties in mathematics have been described in very preterm children, but their origins are not well understood and may differ from other populations with specific learning disability. Very preterm children, children with learning disability, and typically developing children were compared in mathematics skills, using standardized tools, experimental tasks, and eye-tracker measures. We assessed symbolic and nonsymbolic magnitude comparisons, number knowledge, calculation, as well as cognitive skills of 103 Italian-speaking fourth and fifth graders. Compared to typically developing peers, very preterm children showed delays in number knowledge, slower reaction times in nonsymbolic magnitude comparisons, and an atypical gaze exploration characterized by more and shorter fixations that lacked a target preference. The profile of mathematics skills of very preterm children appeared different from that of children with learning disability. Although both populations showed mainly preserved cognitive skills and slower reaction times in nonsymbolic magnitude comparisons, children with specific learning disability showed more severe impairments in calculation and were slower in symbolic magnitude comparisons, compared to very preterm children. Including eye-tracking measures in preterm follow-up programs and planning tailored interventions are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Advance care planning and advance directives play a key role in the care of life-threatening illnesses such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Aim: The aim of the present study is to explore how the introduction of these features by law improves the experience of end-of-life care. Design: Five focus groups were conducted in Italy 1 year after the new law on advance directives was introduced. Setting/Participants: Purposive sampling was used to recruit 24 health professionals and 23 family caregivers of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, for a total of 47 participants. Results: The thematic analysis, conducted through the use of ATLAS.ti software, identified four thematic areas: best practices, managing difficulties, care relationships and proposals. The results indicated a lack of organization, collaboration and continuity on the part of healthcare services and professionals, a lack of information on palliative care, advance care planning, and advance directives. End-of-life care is often left to the good will of the individual professional. Difficulties can also derive from ethical dilemmas concerning end-of-life decision-making and from a lack of communication and relationships between health professionals, patients and their families. Conclusion: The introduction of advance directives by law has not been sufficient to improve end-of-life care. In order to make legal regulation effective, the organization of healthcare services needs to be improved and clearer procedures have to be implemented and shared with patients and families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Our article aims to investigate changes in the rate of informal care provision, which occurred in Israel and Italy in the last decade. In addition, we analyze typology and magnitude of the main factors contributing to explain the probability of providing informal care. Method: We used data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) at two selected time points (2006/2007 and 2015). Results: The probability of offering social support to elder family members who live outside the household has been trending down substantially over the years. The likelihood of providing unpaid care is significantly higher when one performs volunteer or charitable work and/or engages in leisure activities, and the importance of these two variables has been growing over the years. Discussion: Israel and Italy have experienced over the years a remarkable decline in the share of older adults providing informal care. The article helps to identify which factors have been associated with this phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Personal values influence nursing students' development of professional values, which affect professional outcomes, and how nursing students react to different situations. Personal values can be shaped by different factors, including culture, gender, and age. Aims: To explore personal values held by nursing students, and to verify if and how gender and year of study affect nursing students' personal values. Research design: A multicenter, cross-sectional study was used. Participants and research context: The whole population of nursing undergraduate students available at the time was recruited from eight centers of two Universities, composing a sample of 947 students. Demographic data were collected and it was administered the Portrait Values Questionnaire. Ethical considerations: Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Boards of the University of the participating centers. Findings: The study sample was mainly composed of young (92.6%, n = 877), female (77.3%, n = 732), Italian (95.8%, n = 907), and unmarried (98.6%, n = 934) nursing students. The most important value for nursing students, consistently through the years of nursing school, was Self-transcendence, which has the motivational emphasis on helping others and selflessness. Then, we found that male students had higher levels of Power (p < 0.001) and Achievement (p = 0.031), while female students outscored male students in Benevolence (p = 0.005) and Security (p = 0.006). Year of study showed no statistically significant difference. Discussion: Nursing students express high levels in hetero-directed values. Male nursing students, although they choose a stereotypically feminine profession, outscored females in stereotypical masculine values such as dominance and success. This is the first study that describes the personal value profile of undergraduate nursing students, according to the Theory of Basic Human Values, and it is a starting point for future research. Conclusion: Nursing educators might want to consider the findings from this study while guiding students in developing awareness for their personal values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Handwriting and spelling problems are often associated in dyslexia. However, the nature of their association is still unclear, and most of the existing research in this area is on deep orthographies (mainly English). The extent to which findings are applicable across languages is uncertain. This article examines the effects of script (manuscript/cursive) and orthographic complexity (complex/simple spellings) on the word dictation and word-copying performance of a group of 24 Italian children with dyslexia and handwriting difficulties (DH group, aged 8–10). Their performance was compared with that of a chronologically age–matched group (CA) and a group of younger children matched to the DH group for their handwriting skills (HA: handwriting age group). Children performed two classical handwriting tasks: the alphabet task and a sentence-copy task, and dictation and copy tasks of orthographically complex words and orthographically simple words. Copying was performed in manuscript and cursive. The results show that although the DH group shows a significant deficit in graphomotor processes, orthographic complexity more than the visual-motor characteristics of the task (i.e., script) affects their performance in handwriting. An advantage for cursive script in DH children, but not in the other two groups, emerges from the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cross-sectional study was conducted with a convenience sample (N = 3,093) of Finnish and Italian registered nurses to identify differences related to generation, country, gender, and educational level in their perceptions and opinions about workplace-related dimensions of nursing and their managers' leadership practices. The Multidimensional Nursing Generations Questionnaire (MNGQ) and two subscales of the Transformational Leadership Scale (TLS), "Feedback and Rewards" and "Professional Development," were used as survey tools. Data were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics. Statistically significant (p <.05) generational and country differences emerged in the MNGQ components "Conflicts between generations," "Patient safety view," "Relationships between generations," "Working as a multigenerational team," "Orientation to change," "Intention to leave," and "Flexibility and availability." Generational and country differences also emerged for the two TLS subscales. Generational differences existed between registered nurses of different generations and countries, and should be considered in leading multigenerational nurses' workforces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Undergraduate nursing students have been documented to experience ethical distress during their clinical training and felt poorly supported in discussing the ethical issues they encountered. Research aims: This study was aimed at exploring nursing students' perceived opportunity to discuss ethical issues that emerged during their clinical learning experience and associated factors. Research design: An Italian national cross-sectional study design was performed in 2015–2016. Participants were invited to answer a questionnaire composed of four sections regarding: (1) socio-demographic data, (2) previous clinical learning experiences, (3) current clinical learning experience quality and outcomes, and (4) the opportunity to discuss ethical issues with nurses in the last clinical learning experience (from 0 – 'never' to 3 – 'very much'). Participants and research context: Participants were 9607 undergraduate nursing students who were attending 95 different three-year Italian baccalaureate nursing programmes, located at 27 universities in 15 Italian regions. Ethical considerations: This study was conducted in accordance with the Human Subject Research Ethics Committee guidelines after the research protocol was approved by an ethics committee. Findings: Overall, 4707 (49%) perceived to have discussed ethical issues 'much' or 'very much'; among the remaining, 3683 (38.3%) and 1217 (12.7%) students reported the perception of having discussed, respectively, 'enough' or 'never' ethical issues emerged in the clinical practice. At the multivariate logistic regression analysis explaining 38.1% of the overall variance, the factors promoting ethical discussion were mainly set at the clinical learning environment levels (i.e. increased learning opportunities, self-directed learning, safety and nursing care quality, quality of the tutorial strategies, competences learned and supervision by a clinical nurse). In contrast, being male was associated with a perception of less opportunity to discuss ethical issues. Conclusion: Nursing faculties should assess the clinical environment prerequisites of the settings as a context of student experience before deciding on their accreditation. Moreover, the nursing faculty and nurse managers should also enhance competence with regard to discussing ethical issues with students among clinical nurses by identifying factors that hinder this learning opportunity in daily practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Social workers' occupational health has become a central theme in the psychosocial literature. This study aimed at exploring how specific job demands and psychological well-being are related to work engagement. A sample of 140 Italian social workers was analyzed in accordance with the job demands–resources model. Participants were asked to complete a written questionnaire containing several measurement scales. Findings Multiple regression analyses showed that social workers' psychological well-being was positively related to work engagement. Moderation analyses also indicated that, when psychological well-being was high (vs. low), job demands were associated to higher levels of work engagement, thus highlighting the buffering role of psychological well-being as a specific personal resource. When job demands were high (vs. low), the psychological well-being appeared to be strongly related to lowest levels of work engagement, showing that high job demands could reduce the fostering role of psychological well-being on social workers' work engagement. Applications While administration of job demands may often be difficult in social work contexts, managers should be encouraged, as part of a systemic approach to training, to promote specific measures for improving social workers' psychological well-being as a personal resource for promoting work engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Multiple studies demonstrate substantial utilization of acute hospital care and, potentially excessive, intensive medical and surgical treatments at the end-of-life. Aim: To evaluate the relationship between the use of home and facility-based hospice palliative care for patients dying with cancer and service utilization at the end of life. Design: Retrospective, population-level study using administrative databases. The effect of palliative care was analyzed between coarsened exact matched cohorts and evaluated through a conditional logistic regression model. Setting/participants: The study was conducted on the cohort of 34,357 patients, resident in Emilia-Romagna Region, Italy, admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of metastatic or poor-prognosis cancer during the 6 months before death between January 2013 and December 2015. Results: Patients who received palliative care experienced significantly lower rates of all indicators of aggressive care such as hospital admission (odds ratio (OR) = 0.05, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.04-0.06), emergency department visits (OR = 0.23, 95% CI: 0.21-0.25), intensive care unit stays (OR = 0.29, 95% CI: 0.26-0.32), major operating room procedures (OR = 0.22, 95% CI: 0.21-0.24), and lower in-hospital death (OR = 0.11, 95% CI: 0.10-0.11). This cohort had significantly higher rates of opiate prescriptions (OR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.21-1.33) (p < 0.01 for all comparisons). Conclusion: Use of palliative care at the end of life for cancer patients is associated with a reduction of the use of high-cost, intensive services. Future research is necessary to evaluate the impact of increasing use of palliative care services on other health outcomes. Administrative databases linked at the patient level are a useful data source for assessment of care at the end of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims to provide an overview of experiences of discrimination, harassment, and violence in a sample of Italian transsexuals who have undergone sex-reassignment surgery (SRS). Lack of support for gender transition from family members was also assessed, before and after SRS. Data were collected in the context of a multicentric study (Milan, Florence, and Bari) on SRS outcome. Patients who underwent SRS were contacted and asked to fill out a questionnaire concerning experiences of discrimination, harassment, violence, and crime they might have experienced in previous years. Seventy-two participants took part in the research: 46 were male-to-female (MtF; 64%) and 26 were female-to-male (FtM; 36%). Thirty-six percent of the total sample (with no differences between MtF and FtM) experienced at least one episode of harassment, violence, or discrimination. The workplace was reported to be the social area with the highest risk of discrimination and harassment (22% of participants). Reports of more than one incident of discrimination, harassment, and violence characterized the majority of participants in the MtF sample. Compared with previous studies carried out in other countries, a much larger proportion of participants could count on a supportive family environment before and after transition. Our results show that Italian society at large is prejudiced against transsexuals, but at a more “micro” level, having a trans person as a family member might result in a protective and tolerant attitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study was to compare the EASI system with the standard 12-lead surface electrocardiogram (ECG) for the accuracy in detecting the main electrocardiographic parameters (J point, PR, QT, and QRS) commonly monitored in patients with acute coronary syndromes or heart failure. In this observational comparative study, 253 patients who were consecutively admitted to the coronary care unit with acute coronary syndrome or heart failure were evaluated. In all patients, two complete 12-lead ECGs were acquired simultaneously. A total of 6,072 electrocardiographic leads were compared (3,036 standard and 3,036 EASI). No significant differences were found between the investigate parameters of the two measurement methods, either in patients with acute coronary syndrome or in those with heart failure. This study confirmed the accuracy of the EASI system in monitoring the main ECG parameters in patients admitted to the coronary care unit with acute coronary syndrome or heart failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, teachers in Western countries have developed beliefs and attitudes related to working with students with specific learning disabilities (LD) that may be critical in shaping their educational practices with them; however, their beliefs and attitudes differ across political and geographical contexts and may be influenced by specific contextual circumstances and national legislation. This study examines these issues by comparing beliefs and attitudes among 557 primary school teachers from specific areas of three countries (Italy, Spain, and the United States). Results from this study support the hypothesis that, in general, teachers in these areas are sufficiently well informed about students with LD and are in favor of policies supporting these students' needs. However, substantial differences emerge among countries about the etiology of LD; teachers' and specialists' roles in managing LD students; intervention planning, inclusion, and compensatory provisions; and the range of emotional attitudes that teachers exhibit. These differences have implications for intervention and suggest that efforts should be made to increase collaboration and promotion of common policies across countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The treatment of symptomatic cartilage defects of the patella is particularly challenging, and no gold standard is currently available. Purpose: To evaluate the clinical results of a biphasic cell-free collagen-hydroxyapatite scaffold and to evaluate osteochondral tissue regeneration with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: Thirty-four patients (18 men and 16 women; mean ± SD: age, 30.0 ± 10 years) were treated by scaffold implantation for knee chondral or osteochondral lesions of the patella (area, 2.1 ± 1 cm2). The clinical evaluation was performed prospectively at 12 and 24 months via the IKDC (International Knee Documentation Committee; objective and subjective) and Tegner scores. MRI evaluation was performed at both follow-ups in 18 lesions through the MOCART score (magnetic resonance observation of cartilage repair tissue) and specific subchondral bone parameters. Results: A statistically significant improvement in all the scores was observed at 12- and 24-month follow-up as compared with the basal evaluation. The IKDC subjective score improved from 39.5 ± 14.5 to 61.9 ± 14.5 at 12 months (P > .0005) with a further increase to 67.6 ± 17.4 at 24 months of follow-up (12-24 months, P = .020). The MRI evaluation showed a stable value of the MOCART score between 12 and 24 months, with a complete filling of the cartilage in 87.0% of the lesions, complete integration of the graft in 95.7%, and intact repair tissue surface in 69.6% at final follow-up. The presence of osteophytes or more extensive bony overgrowth was documented in 47.8% of the patients of this series, but no correlation was found between MRI findings and clinical outcome. Conclusion: The implantation of a cell-free collagen-hydroxyapatite osteochondral scaffold provided a clinical improvement at short-term follow-up for the treatment of patellar cartilage defects. Women had lower outcomes, and the need for realignment procedures led to a slower recovery. MRI evaluation showed some abnormal findings with the presence of bone overgrowth, but no correlation has been found with the clinical outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the worse phase of the economic downturn, few social policies resisted to the austerity measures imposed to Italy by the European Union. Among them, the most important is the Wage Supplementation Fund, to protect workers and entrepreneurs from bankruptcy and unemployment. Adopting a realist methodology we studied the social mechanisms which are the roots of some political and administrative choices in that period; the public policy decision making approach gave us a theoretical base. Some main mechanisms have been discovered: technical and economic mechanisms overcame politics, social attitudes pushed political choices, the fear of political and social instability drove all parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of otological complications derived from primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) in adulthood. Methods: Twenty-three patients with diagnosed PCD underwent medical history aimed at recording the presence of ear, nose, and throat manifestations (ENT) and any surgical treatments. The ENT objectivity was annotated, and then patients were subjected to audiometric test, tympanometry, registration of otoacoustic emission, and vestibular evaluation. Results: Otitis media with chronic middle ear effusion (OME) during childhood was reported in 52% of the subjects, no patient had undergone ear surgery, and only 2 patients had an episode of otitis in the last year. Eleven of 23 patients showed normal hearing, 11 had a conductive hearing impairment, and 1 showed a severe sensorineural hearing loss unrelated to the syndrome. The bilateral stapedial reflex was only found in all cases of normoacusia and type A tympanogram, distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) were present in 8 patients, and no patient had vestibular alterations. Conclusion: Our study confirms a very frequent prevalence of OME in PCD during childhood. Careful monitoring of otological complications of the syndrome is always desirable, also given the high presence in adults of other manifestations in the upper airways, such as chronic rhinosinusitis and nasal polyposis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The “weekend (WE) effect” defines the association between WE hospital admissions and higher rate of mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between WE effect and renal transplant recipients (RTRs) using the database of the Emilia-Romagna region (ERR), Italy. We included ERR admissions of RTRs (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification [ICD-9-CM] code V420) between 2000 and 2013. In-hospital mortality, admissions due to cardiovascular events (CVEs), and the Elixhauser score were evaluated on the basis of ICD-9-CM codification. Out of 9063 hospital admissions related to 3648 RTRs (mean age 53 ± 13 years, 62.9% male), 1491 (16.5%) were recorded during the WE. During the follow-up period, 1581 (17.4%) patients deceased and 366 (4%) had CVEs. Length of hospital stay (LOS) was 9.7 ± 12.1 days. Logistic regression analysis showed that only LOS was independently associated with WE admissions (odds ratio: 1594, confidence interval: 1.385-1.833; P < .001). Renal transplant recipients are not exposed to higher risk of adverse outcome during WE admissions. However, WE admissions were characterized by an increased duration of hospitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Stakeholders are people with an interest in a topic. Internationally, stakeholder involvement in palliative care research and health technology assessment requires development. Stakeholder involvement adds value throughout research (from prioritising topics to disseminating findings). Philosophies and understandings about the best ways to involve stakeholders in research differ internationally. Stakeholder involvement took place in seven countries (England, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Poland). Findings informed a project that developed concepts and methods for health technology assessment and applied these to evaluate models of palliative care service delivery. Aims: To report on stakeholder involvement in the INTEGRATE-HTA project and how issues identified informed project development. Design: Using stakeholder consultation or a qualitative research design, as appropriate locally, stakeholders in seven countries acted as 'advisors' to aid researchers' decision making. Thematic analysis was used to identify key issues across countries. Setting/participants: A total of 132 stakeholders (82 professionals and 50 'lay' people) aged ≥18 participated in individual face-to-face or telephone interviews, consultation meetings or focus groups. Results: Different stakeholder involvement methods were used successfully to identify key issues in palliative care. A total of 23 issues common to three or more countries informed decisions about the intervention and comparator of interest, sub questions and specific assessments within the health technology assessment. Conclusion: Stakeholders, including patients and families undergoing palliative care, can inform project decision making using various involvement methods according to the local context. Researchers should consider local understandings about stakeholder involvement as views of appropriate and feasible methods vary. Methods for stakeholder involvement, especially consultation, need further development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Item response theory (IRT) models are the main psychometric approach for the development, evaluation, and refinement of multi-item instruments and scaling of latent traits, whereas multilevel models are the primary statistical method when considering the dependence between person responses when primary units (e.g., students) are nested within clusters (e.g., classes). This article introduces multilevel IRT (MLIRT) modeling, and provides the basic information to conduct, interpret, and report results based on an analysis using MLIRT modeling. The procedures are demonstrated using a sample data set based on the National Institute for the Evaluation of School System survey completed in Italy by fifth-grade students nested in classrooms to assess math achievement. The data and command files (Stata, Mplus, flexMIRT) needed to reproduce all analyses and plots in this article are available as supplemental online materials at http://jea.sagepub.com/supplemental. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ethics is a founding component of the nursing profession; however, nurses sometimes find it difficult to constantly adhere to the required ethical standards. There is limited knowledge about the factors that cause a committed nurse to violate standards; moral disengagement, originally developed by Bandura, is an essential variable to consider. Research objectives: This study aimed at developing and validating a nursing moral disengagement scale and investigated how moral disengagement is associated with counterproductive and citizenship behaviour at work. Research design: The research comprised a qualitative study and a quantitative study, combining a cross-validation approach and a structural equation model. Participants and research context: A total of 60 Italian nurses (63% female) involved in clinical work and enrolled as students in a postgraduate master’s programme took part in the qualitative study. In 2012, the researchers recruited 434 nurses (76% female) from different Italian hospitals using a convenience sampling method to take part in the quantitative study. Ethical considerations: All the organisations involved and the university gave ethical approval; all respondents participated on a voluntary basis and did not receive any form of compensation. Findings: The nursing moral disengagement scale comprised a total of 22 items. Results attested the mono-dimensionality of the scale and its good psychometric properties. In addition, results highlighted a significant association between moral disengagement and both counterproductive and citizenship behaviours. Discussion: Results showed that nurses sometimes resort to moral disengagement in their daily practice, bypassing moral and ethical codes that would normally prevent them from enacting behaviours that violate their norms and protocols. Conclusion: The nursing moral disengagement scale can complement personnel monitoring and assessment procedures already in place and provide additional information to nursing management for designing interventions aimed at increasing compliance with ethical codes by improving the quality of the nurses’ work environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumers tend to misunderstand the physical value of cash money by adopting improper anchors for their judgments (e.g., banknote size and shape, currency denominations, etc.). In a pilot study carried out on a sample of 242 participants (n = 1 16 men; M age = 29.6 year, SD = 10.8), a quantity distortion effect was demonstrated by evaluating consumers' misperceptions of different monetary quantities, either in terms of volume or weight, using banknotes of the same denomination (€50). A threshold value was found, for both volume (€876,324) and weight (€371,779), above (below) which consumers tend to overrate (underrate) monetary amounts. The theoretical and operative implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was aimed to investigate the effects of computerized decision support system in improving the prescription of drugs for cardiovascular prevention. A total of 197 Italian general practitioners were randomly allocated to receive either the alerting computerized decision support system integrated into standard software (intervention arm) or the standard software alone (control arm). Data on 21230 patients with diabetes, 3956 with acute myocardial infarction, and 2158 with stroke were analysed. The proportion of patients prescribed with cardiovascular drugs and days of drug–drug interaction exposure were evaluated. Computerized decision support system significantly increased the proportion of patients with diabetes prescribed with antiplatelet drugs (intervention: +2.7% vs. control: +0.15%; p < 0.001) or lipidlowering drugs (+4.2% vs. +2.8%; p = 0.001). A statistically significant decrease in days of potential interactions has been observed only among patients with stroke (−1.2 vs. −0.5 days/person-year; p = 0.001). In conclusion, computerized decision support system significantly increased the use of recommended cardiovascular drugs in diabetic patients, but it did not influence the exposure to potential interactions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders grouped specific learning disabilities in the single diagnostic category of specific learning disorder (SLD), with specifiers for impairments in reading, written expression, and mathematics. This study aimed at investigating the intellectual profile, assessed with the fourth edition of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV), of 172 children with a diagnosis of SLD, compared to 74 clinical referral controls. WISC-IV intellectual functioning in children with SLD was characterized by a significant discrepancy between general ability and cognitive proficiency (General Ability Index [GAI] > Cognitive Proficiency Index [CPI]), and worse performances on the Similarities, Digit Span, Letter–Number Sequencing, and Coding subtests, supporting models of multiple cognitive deficits at the basis of neurodevelopmental disorders as SLD. GAI was the best and more conservative measure provided by the WISC-IV to identify intellectual functioning in children with SLD, and the intellectual discrepancy between GAI and CPI could be considered a “cognitive sign” for the presence of SLD in a single diagnostic category. Cognitive deficits differed in subtypes of impairment (reading, written expression, and mathematics), supporting their distinction for empirical, educational, and rehabilitative purposes. These findings need further replication in larger samples and in comparison to typically developing children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the association between a target’s perceived humanness and individuals’ willingness to provide help and support in cases of violence against women (VAW), specifically, intimate partner violence (IPV). In an experimental study, undergraduates read a fictitious article from a newspaper describing an IPV episode of a man hitting his wife and accusing her of cheating on him. According to the experimental condition, they then read that the victim either had or had not admitted the infidelity. Participants then judged the victim on an infra-humanization scale and expressed their willingness to provide help and support to the victim herself as if they were a neighbor witnessing the attack. Results showed that a victim admitting an affair with another man (admission condition) elicited lower perceived humanness and lower willingness to provide help than a victim denying such adultery (no admission condition). Moreover, targets’ perceived humanness mediated the effect of contextual features on participants’ willingness to provide help to the victim. Results are discussed in terms of victim blaming, and practical implications for prevention strategies are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Summary.—Understanding the developmental levels of fundamental movement skills has a critical role in the improvement of motor competence in childhood. In this respect, the use of Microsoft Kinect to assess vertical jumping skill and to predict developmental levels in 9- to 12-yr.-old children was evaluated. 41 boys and girls repeated the countermovement jump test three times. Vertical jumping skill levels were categorized using observational records, while kinematic and temporal parameters were estimated using a biomechanical model based on data acquired by the Kinect. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and discriminant analysis verified that the height of the jump and the flight height predict the primary differences in jumping skill developmental levels, and the Kinect-based assessment discriminates these levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the screening programme for cervical cancer and Human Papillomavirus (HPV) in Valcamonica, Italy. It mentions that cytological smear was stained and interpreted for HPV positive women, colposcopy for positive cytologies, and the HPV negative were referred to repeat the test after one year. Results showed that 1633 are HPV positive, 843 are positive to cytology triage, and 356 are persistently positive.

The article discusses a study whose purpose is the Italian validation of the Salford-Scott Nursing Values Questionnaires which is already used in other countries. Topics discussed include the questionnaire's aim of measuring the value direction of nursing contexts, the administration of the questionnaire where students were asked to evaluate indications and elements of the questionnaire and the modification of personal and professional values of nursing students.

Although dyslexia runs in families, several putative risk factors that cannot be immediately identified as genetic predict reading disability. Published studies analyzed one or a few risk factors at a time, with relatively inconsistent results. To assess the contribution of several putative risk factors to the development of dyslexia, we conducted a case-control study of 403 Italian children, 155 with dyslexia, by implementing a stepwise logistic regression applied to the entire sample, and then to boys and girls separately. Younger parental age at child’s birth, lower parental education, and risk of miscarriage significantly increased the odds of belonging to the dyslexia group (19.5% of the variation). These associations were confirmed in the analyses conducted separately by sex, except for parental education, which significantly affected only males. These findings support reading disabilities as a multifactorial disorder and may bear some importance for the prevention and/or early detection of children at heightened risk for dyslexia. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents a study aimed to identified the prognostic accuracy by the general practitioners asking "surprise" questions about their patients. The study is conducted through a prospective cohort method on 42 of 50 randomly select general practitioners in the Bologna area of Italy between December 2011 and February 2012. The results of the study show that when general practitioners use "surprise" questions particularly for patients with cancer, the survival prognosis was high.

The word superiority effect (WSE) has made it possible to demonstrate the automatic activation of lexical-orthographic entries in reading. The observation of this effect is important since it led to experimental support of the main cognitive reading models. These models were mostly developed on English data, hence the verification in different orthography systems is relevant. The present study tested WSE in Italian, a language in which this effect was predicted to be less constant given the highly consistent correspondence between orthography and phonology. Moreover, the presentation of the items in a lateralized visual field condition allowed testing of assumptions about the roles of the right and left hemispheres in written word recognition and, in particular, on the hemispheric lateralization of lexical processing. Two experiments were conducted with undergraduate students who had to recognize a target letter within a word, pseudoword, or nonword. In Experiment 1, prime and probe letters were in the same letter case, while in Experiment 2 they were in different letter cases. Error rates and reaction times were analyzed with mixed models. The results showed a superiority of pseudowords (pseudoword superiority effect; PSE) over illegal strings with no evidence of a clear superiority of words over pseudowords for both left and right visual field presentations. This suggests that in Italian, the sub-lexical route could play a major role in reading and that this route relies on a visual-perceptual orthographic coding concerning familiarity of letter combinations, which is also available to the right hemisphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adopting a multi-informant methodology, the current study examines the relative influence of multiple parental characteristics (civic responsibility, encouragement of civic action, parent-youth closeness) on adolescents’ civic responsibility (local and global). The participants were 384 early and middle adolescents (47.9% male), randomly selected from an Italian city (mean age = 13.6; SD = 1.63), and one parent for each adolescent. The results show a positive association between the parents’ local civic responsibility and the adolescents’ responsibility toward the local community, and between the parents’ global civic responsibility and the adolescents’ responsibility toward societal issues. Moreover, parental encouragement of civic action and parent-youth closeness were positively associated with the adolescents’ civic responsibility. Finally, an interaction between the parents’ local civic responsibility and parent-child closeness was found in which parents’ civic responsibility had stronger influence on youth civic responsibility when the parent-child relationship was characterized by medium or high levels of closeness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study that assessed the efficacy of temporary positive expiratory pressure (TPEP) in patients with lung diseases and chronic mucus hypersecretion. The participants of the trial performed cycles of manually assisted breathing techniques with the addition of temporary positive expiratory pressure, and the control group was treated by manually assisted breathing techniques. Evidence showed that inspiratory capacity was higher in the active than in the control group.

This study examined the internal consistency and construct validity of the Separation Anxiety Assessment Scale for Children in a non-clinical Italian sample of 358 children ages 6 to 10 years. Statistically significant differences were examined by sex and age. Two exploratory factor analyses were carried out: (a) on the symptom sub-dimensions which led to three interpretable factors of Fear of Abandonment and of Physical Illness, Fear of Calamitous Events, Fear of Being Alone and (b) on all Separation Anxiety Assessment Scale for Children items, which led to three interpretable factors: Fear of Abandonment and Safety Signals, Fear of Calamitous Events, and Fear of Being Alone and Left Alone. Preliminary findings for validity were described with the Separation Anxiety Symptoms Inventory for Children and the Italian Fear Schedule for Children (convergent validity). Implications regarding the clinical utility of the Separation Anxiety Assessment Scale for Children are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]