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Introduction : The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has deeply revolutionized our lives and consequently the management of patients, specifically ones with severe asthma. Objective : A survey was conducted to evaluate the effects on adherence, exacerbations and quality of life in patients with severe asthma during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Methods : 100 severe asthma patients, who accepted to participate to the survey, were asked to respond to different questionnaires in order to assess asthma symptoms (Asthma Control Test - ACT, and Asthma Control Quality - ACQ) and rino-sinusal ones (Sino-nasal outcome test - SNOT-22). Results : 31 out of 100 patients reported worsening of respiratory symptoms requiring a step-up in therapy dosage or frequency during the observational period; however, exacerbation rate was very low. Only 17 (17%) of the 100 participants experienced a severe asthma exacerbation. Moreover, there was no confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 in this population. Conclusion : Patients with severe asthma did not show higher rates of exacerbations during the pandemic outbreak as well as no increased risk of contracting COVID-19 infection or developing the disease. Self-administration of biological drugs could be useful to maintain high rates of adherence to therapy, and, at the same time, to decrease the risk of exacerbations or Intensive Care Unit (ICU) room access.

Response surface modeling (RSM) was used to optimize temperature and oxygen concentration during malaxation for obtaining high quality extra virgin olive oils (EVOOs). With this aim, those chemical variables closely related to EVOO quality, such as the phenolic and the volatile compounds, have been previously analyzed and selected. It is widely known that the presence of these substances in EVOOs is highly dependent on genetic, agronomic, and technological aspects. Based on these data, the two parameters were optimized during malaxation of olive pastes of four important Italian cultivars using some phenols and volatile compounds as markers; the optimal temperatures and oxygen levels, obtained by RSM, were as follows for each cultivar: 33.5 °C and 54 kPa of oxygen (Peranzana), 32 °C and 21.3 kPa (Ogliarola), 25 °C and 21.3 kPa (Coratina), and 33 °C and 21.3 kPa (Itrana). These results indicate the necessity to optimize these malaxing parameters for other olive cultivars.

Objective: Several theorists have hypothesized that stressful situations may trigger abnormal eating and even eating disorders in predisposed people. The purpose of this study was to assess whether a stressful situation would reveal an association between perfectionism and low self-esteem, and measures of eating disorder symptoms in male high school students., Method: A sample of 61 male high school students completed the Eating Disorder Inventory, the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, and the Self Liking and Competence Scale three times: on an average school day, on the day of an exam and on the day the subjects received the results of that exam. Linear regression analysis was carried out to verify whether the dimensions of perfectionism were associated with the measures of eating disorders., Results: Interoceptive awareness was associated with 'Bulimia' only during the stressful situation and with 'Drive for thinness' both in stress and non stress situations. Other results were contradictory and difficult to interpret., Discussion: The results suggest that in nonclinical male individuals stress might bring out a previously absent association between some psychological predisposing factors for eating disorders and an actual desire or plan for ED related thoughts and behaviours. Such a finding suggests that stress may stimulate behaviours related to eating disorders in a predisposed personality. A central role may be played by interoceptive awareness in male subjects.