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Field trips enrich learning programs with out-of-school activities that can bring gains in students' academic content knowledge and personal growth. However, they are a source of anxiety for teachers because of the bureaucracy, pedagogy, etc., risks they imply. To address this issue, we propose FieldTripOrganizer, a field trip planner based on the mixed-initiative approach aimed at increasing teachers' autonomy and motivation in designing educational tours. The key aspects of our application are (i) the simultaneous provision of information filtering and automated scheduling support while the user designs the field trip, and (ii) the visual annotation of places and activities to show whether they can be included in the itinerary without violating its time constraints. Different from current tour planners, these functions enable the user to be in full control of the design process, delegating the system to manage difficult and burdensome tasks such as consistency checks and itinerary optimization. We evaluated FieldTripOrganizer in the use case of organizing a science field trip. In a preliminary user study involving 18 science teachers, our application turned up to be superior to a baseline tour planner in both usability and user experience. Moreover, the teachers declared that it was helpful, motivated them, and reduced their anxiety during the design of the field trips.

The closure of schools, social hubs, and extracurricular activities due to lockdown measures imposed to curb the spread of SARS-CoV-2, has increased the risk factors for students' mental health. This cross-sectional study, conducted from March 2020 to March 2021, aimed to estimate socio-emotional, cognitive, and affective disorders and substance use in a sample of first- and second-grade high school students in Northern Italy. This study compared data from 284 Italian students' self-perceptions along with the perceptions of their parents and teachers through a web-based survey. The differences in the perceptions of the three groups (students, parents, and teachers) were analyzed using an analysis of variance test, applying a Bonferroni correction. The X[superscript 2] test was used to assess the comparison between students, parents, and teachers in the substance use questions. The results showed statistically significant differences among the three groups. The most important outcomes were sociality, scholastic performance, extracurricular activity, emotional symptoms, affective disorders (depression and anxiety), and substance use. These findings could be interesting for the promotion of mental health and prevention of psychopathological risks in students.

Background: Hip fracture is a common event in older adults, leading to an increased risk of mortality, disability, and higher healthcare costs. Early in-hospital rehabilitation after surgery within orthogeriatric units may improve outcomes with limited incident complications even in the oldest old. We aimed to determine the prevalence and predictors of non-adherence to early rehabilitation in the orthogeriatric unit of an Italian tertiary hospital and its impact on outcomes and setting at discharge., Methods: Retrospective observational single-centered cohort study. Patients aged ≥ 65 years admitted to the orthogeriatric unit for hip fracture who underwent surgery between April 2019 and October 2020 were considered eligible if able to walk autonomously or with assistance and independent in at least 2 Basic Activities of Daily Living. Along with sociodemographic and geriatric variables, characteristics of surgery and rehabilitation, in-hospital complications and functional outcomes at discharge were collected. The primary outcome was non-adherence to the early in-hospital rehabilitation program., Results: Among 283 older patients (mean age 82.7 years, 28.6% male), non-compliance with physical therapy was assessed in 49 cases (17.3%), characterized by worse pre-fracture clinical, cognitive, and functional status and showing worse outcomes in terms of mobilization at discharge. After multivariable analysis, non-adherence was independently associated with the onset of delirium (OR 5.26, 95%CI 2.46-11.26; p < 0.001) or infections after surgery (OR 3.26, 95%CI 1.54-6.89; p < 0.001) and a systolic blood pressure at admission < 120 mmHg (OR 4.52, 95%CI 1.96-10.43, p < 0.001)., Conclusions: Pre-fracture poor cognitive and functional status, along with lower systolic blood pressure, seem to make some patients more vulnerable to in-hospital complications (mainly delirium and infections) and negatively affect the adherence to physical therapy and, by consequence, clinical outcomes of rehabilitation., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Proximalisation of colon carcinoma has been reported over the course of the last 60 years. Changes in site distribution are receiving increasing attention on account of their implications for screening programmes., Objective: A retrospective observational study to determine whether the site distribution of colorectal carcinoma in Italy has varied in the last years and whether changes have been influenced by age and sex., Methods: Findings of colonscopies conducted at Turin University from 1992 to 2001 were examined. Inclusion criteria were: outpatients, screening, presence of anaemia or gastrointestinal bleeding, weight loss, constipation or changes in evacuation frequency. Exclusion criteria were: uncompleted, surgical endoscopies or conducted for positive flexible sigmoidoscopy, with doubtful findings. Carcinomas and benign polyps were diagnosed histologically. Age, sex, date of examination, nature and location of lesions were recorded. Lesions were classed as carcinoma, and polyps <1 and >/=1 cm. Data were grouped into different year periods and compared with the chi square test. We compared 1992-1993 vs. 2000-2001 and 1992-1996 vs. 1997-2001., Results: Of the 8,132 colonoscopies performed, 7,342 were included in the study. Proximal carcinomas moved from 12.2% in 1992-1993 to 14.9% in 2000-2001 (P = 0.57), proximal polyps rose from 16.6% to 22.1% (P < 0.0001). Furthermore proximal carcinomas moved from 16.5% in 1992-1996 to 14.4% in 1997-2001 (P = 0.48); proximal polyps rose from 18.4% to 27.8% (P < 0.005). In the period 1996-2001 there was higher female prevalence (P = 0.0011) and older age (P = 0.0191)., Discussion: We can suppose that proximalisation of carcinoma has not yet appeared in Italy.

Objectives: To identify prognostic factors that are independently predictive of in-hospital mortality in older patients hospitalized in a medical intensive care unit (MICU)., Design: Prospective cohort study., Setting: A MICU in an Italian university hospital., Participants: Patients aged 65 and older consecutively admitted to the MICU directly from the first-aid unit., Measurements: Upon admission, the following variables were examined: demographics, clinical history (diabetes mellitus, active neoplasm, cognitive impairment, immobilization, pressure ulcers, use of nutritional support, home oxygen therapy), physiopathology (Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II), and cognition/function (activity of daily living (ADL), instrumental activity of daily living (IADL), Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ)). The vital status of the patient at the end of hospitalization was recorded., Results: Over a period of 10 months, 659 patients were recruited (mean age +/- standard deviation = 76.6 +/- 7.5; 352 men and 307 women). There were 97 deaths (14.71%). The following factors proved to be significantly associated with in-hospital mortality: old age, low body mass index (BMI) values, low values of albumin, high scores on APACHE II, functional impairment (ADL, IADL), cognitive impairment (SPMSQ), history of cognitive deterioration, history of confinement to bed, and presence of pressure ulcers. Using multivariate analysis, the following variables were independently predictive of in-hospital mortality: lack of independence in ADLs (P <.001), moderate-to-severe cognitive impairment on SPMSQ (P <.001), score on APACHE II (P =.002), and low BMI values (P =.031)., Conclusion: The prognosis of older patients hospitalized in medical intensive care units depends not only on the acute physiological impairments, but also on a series of preexisting conditions, such as loss of functional independence, severe and moderate cognitive impairment, and low BMI.