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Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a major health problem, with over one million events every year in Europe. However, there is a paucity of data on the current management in real life, including factors influencing treatment pathways, patient satisfaction, quality of life (QoL), and utilization of health care resources and the corresponding costs. The PREFER in VTE registry has been designed to address this and to understand medical care and needs as well as potential gaps for improvement. Methods/design: The PREFER in VTE registry was a prospective, observational, multicenter study conducted in seven European countries including Austria, France Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK to assess the characteristics and the management of patients with VTE, the use of health care resources, and to provide data to estimate the costs for 12 months treatment following a first-time and/or recurrent VTE diagnosed in hospitals or specialized or primary care centers. In addition, existing anticoagulant treatment patterns, patient pathways, clinical outcomes, treatment satisfaction, and health related QoL were documented. The centers were chosen to reflect the care environment in which patients with VTE are managed in each of the participating countries. Patients were eligible to be enrolled into the registry if they were at least 18 years old, had a symptomatic, objectively confirmed first time or recurrent acute VTE defined as either distal or proximal deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism or both. After the baseline visit at the time of the acute VTE event, further follow-up documentations occurred at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. Follow-up data was collected by either routinely scheduled visits or by telephone calls. Results: Overall, 381 centers participated, which enrolled 3,545 patients during an observational period of 1 year. Conclusion: The PREFER in VTE registry will provide valuable insights into the characteristics of patients with VTE and their acute and mid-term management, as well as into drug utilization and the use of health care resources in acute first-time and/or recurrent VTE across Europe in clinical practice. Trial registration: Registered in DRKS register, ID number: DRKS00004795

The study explored the total, direct and indirect effects of emotion knowledge on adjustment in preschoolers ans examined whether emotion regulation mediated the relationships between emotion knowledge and adjustment (social competence, and behavioral difficulties, such as anxiety–withdrawal and anger–aggression). Two hundred forty children (118 boys and 122 girls) from 3 to 5 years of age (mean age = 4.23, SD = .80) were administered a vocabulary test to check their verbal ability and a measure of emotion knowledge. Teachers filled out two questionnaires about children’s regulation and adjustment variables. A mediation model was tested combined with an assessment of the indirect effects to evaluate whether emotion knowledge may exert an influence on adjustment through the intervention of emotion regulation. Results showed that all conditions for full mediation were met for social competence and anxiety–withdrawal, confirming the mediation role of emotion regulation in the relationship between emotion knowledge and these variables. Moreover, results indicated that emotion knowledge and anger–aggression were not directly associated as they would be in case of full or partial mediation, but they were however indirectly related through a significant linking with emotion regulation. Findings may have potential implications for prevention and intervention programs in family and school contexts, suggesting how early childhood programs targeting emotion knowledge may be especially beneficial to promote social competence and prevent behavioral problems, above all if they include other emotion-related competences, such as emotion regulation, that may be considered the linking mechanism through which emotion knowledge exerts an influence on adjustment.

Nuove poliammidoammine (PAA) funzionalizzate sono state sviluppate per la protezione sostenibile di legno e carta. Esse sono polimeri ecocompatibili, biocompatibili, dotati di un ampio spettro di azione protettiva e attivi a bassa concentrazione. Le PAA sono veicolabili omogeneamente con mezzi acquosi all'interno dei manufatti lignocellulosici dove esercitano soprattutto le azioni deacidificante e biostatica contro batteri, funghi, muffe e insetti. Nel caso di antichi manoscritti possono fissare l'inchiostro ferro-gallico formando complessi insolubili di ferro.

SummaryVenous thromboembolism (VTE) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in Europe. Data from real-world registries are necessary, as clinical trials do not represent the full spectrum of VTE patients seen in clinical practice. We aimed to document the epidemiology, management and outcomes of VTE using data from a large, observational database. PREFER in VTE was an international, non-interventional disease registry conducted between January 2013 and July 2015 in primary and secondary care across seven European countries. Consecutive patients with acute VTE were documented and followed up over 12 months. PREFER in VTE included 3,455 patients with a mean age of 60.8 ± 17.0 years. Overall, 53.0% were male. The majority of patients were assessed in the hospital setting as inpatients or outpatients (78.5%). The diagnosis was deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) in 59.5% and pulmonary embolism (PE) in 40.5%. The most common comorbidities were the various types of cardiovascular disease (excluding hypertension; 45.5%), hypertension (42.3%) and dyslipidaemia (21.1%). Following the index VTE, a large proportion of patients received initial therapy with heparin (73.2%), almost half received a vitamin K antagonist (48.7%) and nearly a quarter received a DOAC (24.5%). Almost a quarter of all presentations were for recurrent VTE, with >80% of previous episodes having occurred more than 12 months prior to baseline. In conclusion, PREFER in VTE has provided contemporary insights into VTE patients and their real-world management, including their baseline characteristics, risk factors, disease history, symptoms and signs, initial therapy and outcomes.

Increased expression of fetal hemoglobin (HbF) may ameliorate the clinical course of hemoglobinopathies. Hydroxyurea (HU) is the only inducer approved for the treatment of these diseases able to stimulate HbF production but patients’ response is highly variable indicating the utility of the identification of pharmacogenomic biomarkers in order to predict pharmacological treatment efficacy. To date few studies to evaluate the role of genetic determinants in HU response have been conducted showing contradictory results. In this study we analyzed BCL11A, GATA-1, KLF-1 genes and γ-globin promoter in 60 alleles from 30 hemoglobinopathies patients under HU treatment to assess the role of these markers in HU response. We did not find any association between these genetic determinants and HU response. Before treatment started, the same patients were analyzed in vitro using liquid erythroid cultures in a test able to predict their response to HU. The results of our analysis confirm the absence of pharmacogenomic biomarker associated to HU response indicating that, the quantification of γ-globin mRNA fold increase remains the only method able to predict in vivo patients response to the drug.

La distribuzione spaziale degli animali nel loro ambiente naturale ha da sempre attratto l’interesse degli studiosi di ecologia animale e dei biologi della conservazione. Infatti, i meccanismi di selezione dell’habitat possono influenzare processi ecologici di base come la regolazione delle popolazioni e l’andamento demografico, che in ultima analisi, possono agire sulla selezione naturale, la variabilità genetica e il flusso genico. Le principali teorie sulla distribuzione spaziale degli animali affermano che la qualità degli habitat è eterogenea e che gli organismi vanno alla ricerca di territori di elevata qualità al fine di ottimizzare la fitness. La ricerca da parte degli animali di habitat di elevata qualità rappresenta il cuore dei primi modelli evolutivi di selezione dell’habitat: i) la Ideal Free Distribution; ii) la Ideal Despotic Distribution e iii) la Ideal Pre- emptive Distribution. Il Grillaio (Falco naumanni) è un rapace coloniale che vive in ambienti pseudosteppici caratterizzati da differenti usi del suolo. Il Grillaio rappresenta un modello appropriato per lo studio delle relazioni specie – habitat a causa del suo ruolo di indicatore biologico per il monitoraggio delle dinamiche di popolazione di uccelli pseudosteppici mediterranei. Le pseudo steppe sono ambienti aperti aridi spesso drasticamente modificati dall’’uomo. Lo status di conservazione del Grillaio è migliorato negli ultimi anni dopo i drammatici declini degli anni ‘50 ma in parecchie parti dell’areale è ancora fluttuante e non consolidato. In questa tesi, ho analizzato alcuni fattori biotici e abiotici che determinano la distribuzione e la probabilità di sopravvivenza di due sub-popolazioni di Grillaio in Sicilia (Italia). Tra i molti fattori analizzati, la dimensione della colonia sembra essere un determinante fondamentale delle dinamiche di popolazione di questo rapace coloniale. Infatti, essa agisce aumentando la sopravvivenza dei pulcini e dei giovani per mezzo di una interazione tra la distanza tra nidi e il numero di conspecifici. D’altra parte, un elevato numero di conspecifici determina una diminuzione della parentela tra pulcini e della fecondità delle coppie. Un altro fattore importante è rappresentato dalla tipologia di habitat il quale, determinando una differente disponibilità alimentare durante la crescita dei pulcini, agisce sul tasso di accrescimento della popolazione. In conclusione, agendo sui fattori che determinano la sopravvivenza, la distribuzione e l’andamento demografico del Grillaio si potrebbero intraprendere le più concrete azioni di conservazione per una corretta gestione della popolazione di Grillaio in Sicilia e nel resto del suo areale. Merging patterns and processes about the way animals should be distributed in and among habitats is a cornerstone of spatial ecology and have always attracted researchers' interest. In fact, the spatial distribution of individuals in their environment can influence several important ecological processes as population demography and size and species interactions. These ecological processes, in turn, could affect evolutionary processes such as natural selection, genetic drift and gene flow. Assuming that habitat quality is heterogeneous and that organisms are looking for high-quality patches to optimize their fitness, animal and plant species may experience distinct habitat types, different development rates, life span, birth and death rates. Population size and growth rate may vary as functions of the relative proportion of different habitat types available. However, natural and anthropogenic drivers can interfere and change the availability of habitats and, as a consequence, the proportion of individuals of a given species in any particular habitat type may be altered. Here, I report the results of a experimental research in which I analyzed some biotic and abiotic factors determining distribution and survival probability of a lesser kestrel population breeding in Sicily (Italy). The lesser kestrel population in Sicily is actually the second largest in Italy and, clumped in two areas of the island, one corresponding to the Gela Plain (South-East of Sicily) and the other around Sicani Mountain (North-West). This species has suffered a dramatic decline in the last century in all of the Mediterranean populations. Only recently, it improved its conservation status turning from "vulnerable" to “least concern” due to aimed conservation actions. The first aim of this thesis (Chapter 1) was to describe and understand the connection between coloniality and fitness of colony members in such big population of lesser kestrel breeding in the South-East of Sicily. Particularly, I was interested in evaluating the singular and the interactive effect of spatial proximity among nests, breeder abundance and reproductive synchrony on eggs and nestlings survival probabilities in order to investigate mechanisms explaining fitness variation in lesser kestrel in particular, and in colonial species in general. Coloniality is, in fact, the result of multiple interacting costs and benefits, which may vary according to species, populations and individuals. Among fitness costs, the depression of genetic diversity enhanced by the inbreeding rates is likely the most dangerous for population permanence. Specifically, for colonial species living in human- modified landscape, the intensification of farming practices, causing the increase of habitat fragmentation and the reduction of dispersal behaviour, could be a potential driver of the reduction of genetic diversity of a species to be taken in consideration. Thus, the second aim of the thesis (Chapter 2) was to study the effects of agricultural intensification (i.e. human disturbance), colony size and spatial isolation on a measure of inbreeding rates, i.e. the relatedness between nestlings belonging to different nests in two lesser kestrel subpopulations. In fact, numerous studies and reviews have linked the decline of many European farmland bird populations since the 1970s, to changes in agricultural practices. Anthropogenic modifications of habitats may in fact reduce the resources available for species, leading to populations decline and extinction. In particular, for colonial species living in farmland areas, the interaction between agricultural intensification and density dependent mechanisms could influence population dynamics through the reduction of food availability. Thus, I used demographic data on lesser kestrels (Chapter 3) to understand the importance of land-use changes and density-dependent mechanisms in their survival probability and fecundity, and provided conservation guidelines to improve habitat suitability for one of the largest Italian populations of this small raptor. In order to explain the results obtained from survival analysis and population growth rate described in Chapter 3, I analyzed in details the land-use related diet of lesser kestrels living in a changing and anthropogenic environment (Chapter 4). Despite the effects of agricultural intensification on lesser kestrel demography, other anthropogenic factors can contribute to determine the status of this species in Sicily. A growing body of literature demonstrates the effects of human-induced global warming on the structure and distribution of populations and communities across taxa. However, most of these effects was analyzed only at a macro-scale level. In order to quantify the combination between factors at different scales of observation and their effects on animal fitness, an increasing calls for integrating micro - and macro-habitat characteristics are compulsory. Secondary-cavity nesters (i.e. birds that use pre-existing cavities or holes to nest) are an excellent model to analyze the potential interactive effects between temperatures recorded at micro – and macro – scale. Specifically, the last aim of the thesis (Chapter 5) was to investigate whether micro-scale temperature was determined not only by temperature at macro-scale but also by biotic (e.g. number of nestlings) and/or abiotic factors (e.g. nest type). I also explored the possibility that this species might attempt to mitigate adverse microenvironments by modifying behavioral and/or life-history traits.

Farmland bird species have suffered dramatic declines in recent decades, especially in Mediterranean areas. The intensification of agricultural practices has led to reduced invertebrate prey, which represent the bulk of the diet of many farmland birds. In this study, we investigated the spatial and temporal variation in the diet of the lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni) during the breeding season, monitored over a five-year period between 2006 and 2013 in the Gela Plain (Sicily). Our aim was to understand whether, and to what extent, farming practices affected the reproductive outputs of this predominantly insectivore bird in order to find a profitable compromise between conservation of farmland birds and farming practices. During our study, lesser kestrel diet varied among farmland habitats, in terms of ingested biomass, prey items/pellet and diet breadth. This has reflected in the reproductive output because colonies characterised by a higher ingested biomass fledged more chicks than the others. The artichoke and grassland fields were found to provide the most beneficial dietary parameters. Unexpectedly, the intensive and high-profit artichoke farming might turn out to be suitable for lesser kestrels. Artichoke fields are chiefly used when abandoned after harvest, providing high prey availability and accessibility for kestrels during the brood raising stage of their breeding season. A mosaic of grassland and artichoke fields can thus be recommended for Mediterranean agricultural areas of the Natura2000 network, in which some intensive farming and lesser kestrels can coexist, if adequately framed in a friendly-to-wildlife agriculture policy. Such a potential optimal trade-off between avian population persistence and economic sustainability for farmers we have found, should be planned in alternative management of agro-ecosystems, enhancing the functioning of trophic chains. For our study area, we suggest at least farmers be: i) informed on the role of predators as biological agents for pest control; ii) granted to reduce the high level of chemicals currently used during cultivation in favour of organic farming; and iii) granted to maintain the artichoke fields until June, following completion of the harvest.

Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) nanocrystals in oleylamine (OLA) and 1-dodecanethiol (1-DDT) solvents were successfully prepared via hot-injection method, to produce inks for the deposition of absorber layers in photovoltaic cells. In this process, 1-DDT acts as a coordinating ligand to control the nucleation and growth of CZTS nanocrystals, whereas lower amounts of OLA promote a homogeneous growth of the grains in the absorber layer. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) revealed both tetragonal and hexagonal phases of CTZS in films obtained after soft thermal treatments (labeled TT0). In particular, 1-DDT is responsible for the formation of a greater percentage of the hexagonal phase (ZnS-wurtzite type) than that formed when only OLA is used. The thermal treatments have been varied from 500 &deg, C to 600 &deg, C for improving crystallization and eliminating secondary phases. Both features are known to promote CZTS thin films with band gap values typical of CZTS (1.5&ndash, 1.6 eV) and suitable resistivity. This study let to compare also the CZTS post-annealing without (TT1) and with sulfur vapor (TT2) in a tubular furnace. Only tetragonal CZTS phase is observed in the XRD pattern of CZTS thin films after TT2. A small presence of localized residues of secondary phases on the same samples was revealed by &mu, Raman measurements. The best values of band gap (1.50 eV) and resistivity (1.05 ohm.cm) were obtained after thermal treatment at 500 &deg, C, which is suitable for absorber layer in photovoltaic application.

Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) nanocrystals (NCs) were produced via hot-injection from metal chloride precursors. A systematic investigation of the influence of synthesis conditions on composition, size and microstructure of CZTS NCs is presented. The results show that the solvent amount (oleylamine) is a key parameter in the synthesis of this quaternary chalcogenide: a low solvent content leads to CZTS NCs with a prominent kesterite phase with the desired composition for use as absorber material in thin film photovoltaic cells. It is also observed that lowering the injection temperature (250 °C) favours formation of CZTS NCs in the wurtzite phase. The effect of different high temperature thermal treatments on the grain growth is also shown: large crystals are obtained with annealing in inert atmosphere, whereas nanocrystalline films are obtained introducing sulphur vapour during the heat treatment. A correlation between the grain dimension and the carbonaceous residues in the final films is investigated. It is shown that the grain growth is hindered by organic residues, amount and nature of which depend on the heat treatment atmosphere. In fact, oleylamine is removed by a complex pyrolytic process, which is affected by the presence of sulphur vapour. The latter favours the stability of oleylamine residuals against its non-oxidative release.

The study was aimed to verify, from a longitudinal perspective, whether perceived peer support would mediate the relationship between attachment and internalizing problems. Longitudinal participants included 482 adolescents (245 boys) aged 14–15 years in Wave 1 and 17–18 years in Wave 2. Participants in Wave 1 completed the Relationship Questionnaire, and those in Wave 2 completed the Social Support Questionnaire and the Youth Self-Report. Results showed that secure attachment positively predicted high levels of 15 perceived peer support and negatively predicted internalizing problems, whereas fearful and preoccupied attachment negatively predicted perceived peer support and positively predicted internalizing problems. The mediation models showed that perceived peer support partially mediated the relationship between secure attachment 20 and internalizing problems as well as between preoccupied attachment and internalizing problems and between fearful attachment and internalizing problems. Our results confirm the role of subjective perception of peer support in contributing to the prediction of internalizing problems beyond attachment styles.

Agricultural intensification is considered the major cause of decline in farmland bird populations, especially in the Mediterranean region. Food shortage increased by the interaction between agricultural intensification and density-dependent mechanisms could influence the population dynamics of colonial birds.Weused demographic data on lesser kestrels (Falco naumanni), a key species of Mediterranean pseudo-steppes, to understand the importance of land-use changes and density-dependent mechanisms in the light of its fluctuating conservation status in the Western Palearctic. Our analysis indicated an important influence of land uses (artichokes, arable and grassland fields) and colony size on kestrel survival rates. The strong habitat effect revealed the unsuitability of intensive arable lands with respect to extensive grasslands for lesser kestrels. Notably, artichokes, a winterintensive crop, proved to be a high-quality habitat as they were associated with survival values equal to those of grassland. This is likely due to prey availability and reveals that non-traditional crops may provide suitable habitats for lesser kestrels. Information theory gave strong support to the negative influence of colony size on fecundity, albeit a small one, for its positive effect on survival probability. The estimated population growth rate was negative for all three habitats, indicating a decline over time and urging conservation actions in all of the areas studied. This decline was much higher in colonies surrounded by arable fields. In sensitivity analyses, ? indicated that adult survivalwas the parameterwith the greatest effect on population growth, followed by survival of fledglings and fecundity. Our study showed howthe costs and benefits of group living interact with agricultural intensification to drive species demography. In addition, we integrated significant information on one of the largest lesser kestrel populations to fine tune the most effective conservation strategy to prevent the collapse of the species in a relevant part of its range., Funding was provided by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (PRIN 2010-2011, 20108 TZKHC)

The purpose of this study was to adopt the Emotions Course (EC) in the Italian context and to examine preliminarily its effectiveness in accelerating the social-emotional competence and reducing maladaptive behaviors in preschool children. The study involved 143 children (73 males and 70 females) aged 3–5 years (M = 4.4 years, SD = .74), divided into two groups: 1) an experimental group (N = 69; 34 males and 35 females), consisting of classes in which teachers realized the EC, integrating it in their usual educational plan; 2) a control group (N = 74; 39 males and 35 females), consisting of classes in which teachers exclusively followed their usual educational plan that did not include the EC. Guided by previous studies (Izard et al. in Early Education and Development 15:407–422, 2004; Izard et al. in Development and Psychopathology 20:369–397 2008a), we hypothesized that, compared to the control condition, in the treatment group the EC would show greater increases in emotion knowledge (Hypothesis 1) and emotion regulation/utilization (Hypothesis 2), and greater increases in social competence along with greater decreases in externalized and internalized behaviors (Hypothesis 3). Results of hierarchical linear modeling analyses confirmed the first two hypotheses and partially supported the third. The results showed that children increased emotion knowledge, emotion regulation/utilization and social competence.

The effects of climate change on animal populations may be shaped by habitat characteristics at both micro- and macro-habitat level, however, empirical studies integrating these two scales of observation are lacking. As analyses of the effects of climate change commonly rely on data from a much larger scale than the microhabitat level organisms are affected at, this mismatch risks hampering progress in developing understanding of the details of the ecological and evolutionary responses of organisms and, ultimately, effective actions to preserve their populations. Cavity nesters, often with a conservation status of concern, are an ideal model because the cavity is a microenvironment potentially different from the macroenvironment but nonetheless inevitably interacting with it. The lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni) is a cavity nester which was until recently classified by as Vulnerable species. Since 2004, for nine years, we collected detailed biotic and abiotic data at both micro- and macro-scales of observation in a kestrel population breeding in the Gela Plain (Italy), a Mediterranean area where high temperatures may reach lethal values for the nest content. We show that macroclimatic features needed to be integrated with both abiotic and biotic factors recorded at a microscale before reliably predicting nest temperatures. Among the nest types used by lesser kestrels, we detected a preferential occupation of the cooler nest types, roof tiles, by early breeders whereas, paradoxically, late breeders nesting with hotter temperatures occupied the overheated nest holes. Not consistent with such a suggested nest selection, the coolest nest type did not host a higher reproductive success than the overheated nests. We discussed our findings in the light of cavity temperatures and nest types deployed within conservation actions assessed by integrating selected factors at different observation scales.

Retroviral vectors are currently the most suitable vehicles for therapeutic gene transfer in hematopoietic stem cells. However, these vectors are known to integrate rather randomly throughout the genome, suffering the so called chromosomal position effects (PE). Such a critical occurrence most probably depends upon the ability of heterochromatin to spread in the inserted vector sequences. Moreover, the use of transgenes imply genotoxicity effects, since the cis-regulatory sequences harbored by the vector can disturb the proper transcription of the resident genes neighboring the integration site, potentially leading to malignant transformation. Due to their enhancer blocker activity, the incorporation of chromatin insulators in flanking position to the transferred unit can reduce the mentioned dangerous effects. Moreover, by acting as barriers to the spread of heterochromatin, chromatin insulators can also mitigate vector silencing. We have previously shown that the sea urchin sns5 chromatin insulator activity is conserved in mouse and human erythroid milieu: it blocks the βglobin-LCR-HS2 enhancer/globin promoter interaction when placed between them. In addition, when placed in flanking location of a γ-retrovirus vector, sns5 impedes PE variegation and improves vector-specific expression following integration in the erythroid genome. Importantly, by binding both erythroid-specific and ubiquitous factors, sns5 favors the accumulation inside the provirus locus of epigenetic marks commonly associated to an euchromatic state (Acuto S. et al., BCMD 2005; D'Apolito D. et al., 2009; Di Caro D. et al., J Mol Biol 2004; Cavalieri V. et al., NAR 2009). In this study we extend these findings, demonstrating that sns5 works as chromatin insulator also when placed in flanking position of a GFP transgene contained in a lentivirus vector (LV-GFP). A large panel of mouse erythroleukemic clones (MELC) was generated after transduction with uninsulated and sns5 -insulated LV-GFP. Individual clones were screened for single vector integrants (by Q-PCR), and for GFP-expression (by cytofluorimetry). Our results shown that the inclusion of the sns5 element in a forward orientation increased the fraction of vector expressing cells (89% for the insulated vector vs 42% for the uninsulated ones). The clonal variegation of expression, assessed as frequency of clones that showed a percentage of GFP-negative cells in the progeny, decreased in clones transduced with the insulated vectors (7.4% vs 13,9%). It has been suggested that chromatin insulators could shape the architecture of topologically independent chromosome domains. High resolution mapping of chromosomal domains in drosophila and higher eukaryotes highlighted that chromatin insulators play a critical role in shaping the architectural genome organization both in a local chromosome environment and in long range chromosomal interaction. Intriguingly, by using the Chromosome Conformation Capture (3C) technology, we demonstrated that the sns5 -flanked LV-GFP integrated at a single copy in the erythroid cell genome is organized into an independent chromatin loop at the integration site. Worth to mention, no looping was detected in the absence of sns5, indicating that the two flanking copies of sns5 are specifically involved in the reorganization of the chromatin structure at the provirus locus. In conclusion our results not only confirm the conserved and striking boundary function of sns5, but also provide a new clue concerning the molecular mechanism that allows this function to occur. On these basis, our findings reassure the use of sns5 to improve both efficacy and safety of lentiviral vectors for gene therapy. This work was funded by the Assessorato Regionale della Salute, Regione Siciliana (PO FESR 4.1.1.1 RIMEDRI) Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

New hybrid materials with no phase separation up to nanometric level were obtained by performing the in situ co-reticulation of an aluminosilicate source (metakaolin), a mixture of dialkylsiloxane oligomers with different degrees of polymerization and an alkaline solution. As supported by SEM and NMR analyses, these hybrid materials are characterized by a highly interpenetrated structure due to the chemical similarity between the components, resulting in excellent physical and mechanical properties compared to neat geopolymers. These promising results represent a further step in developing alternative “low-carbon” binders (as also geopolymers) with improved engineering properties in the concrete technology. The enhanced mechanical properties, along with the high fire resistance, also suggest their utilization for structural applications as heat insulating and heat-resistant panels for the construction industry, and in the production of heat-resistant protective coatings or adhesives for technologically advanced uses. Keywords: Alkali activated cement, Hybrid, SEM, Spectroscopy, Mechanical properties

Objective: the main purpose of this study is to investigate the emotional and temperamental characteristics associated with gambling in Italy and to compare different groups of people on the basis of their risk of gambling: low-risk gamblers, problem gamblers, and pathological gamblers. Particularly, we examined the possible discriminant functions of perception of control, locus of control (whether internal or chance-based; that is, devoted to fate), and emotion-regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression). Method: a total of 251 adult regular gamblers (142 males and 109 females) recruited from different betting and bingo halls completed self-report questionnaires on gambling behaviors, lack of control as temperamental dimension, locus of control and emotional regulation strategies. Results: pathological gamblers, in comparison to low-risk gamblers, had lower levels of internal locus of control and cognitive reappraisal and higher levels of chance locus of control. Results from a discriminant function analysis have underlined the presence of two distinct functions: the former, named “unmanageable and stressful fate,” describes an egosyntonic position to gambling; the latter, named “I’d like to resist,” describes the egodystonic position to gambling. Conclusions: findings suggest considering regular gamblers as a heterogeneous group with respect to their attitudes towards their addiction. This can have important implications for their treatment.

Dispersal and philopatry are fundamental processes influencing the genetic structure and persistence of populations, and might be affected by isolation and habitat perturbation. Habitat degradation induced by human activities could have detrimental consequences on the genetic structure of populations. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the role of human impact in promoting or disrupting the genetic structure. Here, we conducted a genetic analysis using 12 polymorphic microsatellite markers of 70 lesser kestrels Falco naumanni from 10 breeding colonies of two subpopulations in Sicily (southern Italy). Genetic differentiation between the two subpopulations was negligible, and linear distances played no role in the level of genetic relatedness recorded in the two sites. Linear distances between nests also resulted in no effects on the relatedness recorded within and between colonies in the largest subpopulation. Clusters of more-versus less-related individuals resulted when the two-dimensional positions of colonies (i.e., latitude and longitude) were tested as predictors of genetic proximity instead of linear distances. Specifically, analyses of colony features showed colony size and human disturbance as factors negatively affecting the relatedness among chicks from different nests. Regardless of colony size, less-related individuals were born in colonies located in the core of the agricultural plain, where we quantified a higher level of human disturbance. In contrast, more related individuals were in colonies located in the marginal, less disturbed, agricultural area. Given the high philopatry of this species, our results are consistent with disruption of colony fidelity related to intensification of agricultural practices. We discuss the possible implications of long-term effects of genetic variability in small and disturbed colonies on fitness and population viability.

Several factors promote coloniality by enhancing the fitness of colony members. In birds, spatial proximity among nests, breeder abundance and reproductive synchrony have been proposed as primary factors responsible for enhanced colonial defence and foraging success, which, in turn, enhance reproductive success. Whether these factors function synergistically or antagonistically remains, however, an open question due to the absence of an integrated analysis of their effects on fitness. We studied a large population of the Lesser Kestrel, Falco naumanni, a facultative colonial species, breeding in colonies of different sizes in their typical pseudo-steppe habitat. We quantified both the singular and interactive effects of nest distance, breeder abundance and reproductive synchrony on kestrel fitness measured as the time to survival of eggs to hatching and nestlings to fledging. Egg survival increased as reproductive stages became more synchronous with the timing of colony breeding, whereas nestling survival benefited from a higher synchrony with most nests in the entire population. Nestling survival was also positively affected by the interaction between nest distance and breeder abundance. Our results suggest that the presence of additional breeders in the colony is not sufficient per se, to trigger colonial advantages, but instead, that synchronised reproduction among multiple breeding pairs nesting in close spatial proximity is necessary to realise those benefits. Our findings provide a novel perspective for future investigations that explore the mechanisms underlying fitness variation among Lesser Kestrel colonies and group-living species in general.

A multicenter randomized open-label long-term sequential deferiprone–deferoxamine (DFP-DFO) versus DFP alone trial (sequential DFP-DFO) performed in patients with thalassemia major (TM) was retrospectively reanalyzed to assess the variation in the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) [1].