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More than 20 years have passed since the publication of Pianta (2001) on the quality of the teacher-student relationship. Since then, several attempts have been made to elaborate theoretically the concept of teacher-student relationship quality and to provide empirical evidence of the impact that good teacher-student relationship quality might have on academic achievement, student psychological adjustment, and classroom climate. The teacher has been recognized as a “psychological parent” and defined as a secure base and safe heaven, following attachment theory (Verschueren and Koomen, 2012, 2021; Prino et al., 2022; Spilt et al., 2022). Several studies have shown that a relationship with the teacher characterized by affection, closeness, and respect predicts more favorable developmental outcomes and better adjustment to the classroom context in any school setting (Roorda et al., 2011, 2017; Longobardi et al., 2019, 2021; Lin et al., 2022). However, after 20 years, we saw the need to synthesize the current literature on the topic of teacher-learner relationship quality and to promote a collection of studies that provide new insights, ideas, and reflections to advance the research field and overcome current limitations.In this Research Topic, 16 publications were collected from different parts of the world. The Research Topic includes two literature reviews, several empirical works, some of which aim to develop and validate instruments to measure the quality of the teacher-student relationship, and others to promote new knowledge about the effects and mechanisms of action of the quality of the teacher-learner relationship on the psychological development and adjustment processes of children and adolescents. In addition, the Research Topic includes a contribution on possible intervention strategies on the quality of teacher-student relationship.

Although teacher effectiveness plays a critical role in the learning process, little is known about its conceptualization and assessment, particularly in higher education (HE). This review aims to fill this gap by (a) listing the literature on teacher effectiveness, (b) identifying the instruments that have been used to assess teacher effectiveness (HE), and (c) highlighting the most effective teaching approaches based on the relevant literature. The selection process considered studies published since 1990 and conducted in higher education contexts with students. The research articles measured instructional processes and faculty effectiveness in terms of student outcomes, focusing on student achievement and student satisfaction. In reviewing the international research, special attention was paid to Southeastern Europe and Greece in particular. After a thorough review, the analysis revealed 26 studies. The results show that there is no universal definition of effective higher education teaching. Effective teaching may manifest itself in high scores on student performance assessments or in rewarding classroom interactions. Based on this principle, the way teacher effectiveness is defined is closely linked to proposed solutions in educational policy. Furthermore, research has shown that student-centered teaching styles are perceived by students as more effective, engaging, and performance-enhancing. However, several studies have not clarified why different teachers use different teaching styles in similar contexts. This review represents a step forward in our understanding of teacher effectiveness in HE. Nonetheless, effective teaching strategies could be better conceptualized through future research aimed at assessing the contextual nature of teaching along with student perceptions of effectiveness and expectations for an effective classroom climate. Copyright © 2022 Mastrokoukou, Kaliris, Donche, Chauliac, Karagiannopoulou, Christodoulides and Longobardi.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a fungal toxin of critical concern for food safety both for human health and several animal species, also representing a cancer threat to humans. Curcumin (CURC) is a natural polyphenol that has anti-apoptotic, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the cytoprotective effect of CURC against OTA-induced nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity through the study of the nitrosative stress, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage. Sprague Dawley rats were daily treated with CURC (100 mg/kg b.w.), OTA (0.5 mg/kg b.w), or CURC with OTA by oral gavage for 14 days. Our results demonstrated that OTA exposure was associated with significant increase of pro-inflammatory and DNA oxidative-damage biomarkers. Moreover, OTA induced the inducible nitric oxide synthase, (iNOS) resulting in increased nitric oxide (NO) levels both in kidney and liver. The co-treatment OTA + CURC counteracted the harmful effects of chronic OTA treatment by regulating inflammation, reducing NO levels and oxidative DNA damage in kidney and liver tissues. Histology revealed that OTA + CURC treatment determinates mainly an Iba1+ macrophagic infiltration with fewer CD3+ T-lymphocytes in the tissues. In conclusion, we evidenced that CURC exerted cytoprotective and antioxidant activities against OTA-induced toxicity in rats.

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have revolutionized the treatment of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). However, continued use of these inhibitors has contributed to the increase in clinical resistance and the persistence of resistant leukemic stem cells (LSCs). So, there is an urgent need to introduce additional targeted and selective therapies to eradicate quiescent LSCs, and to avoid the relapse and disease progression. Here, we focused on emerging BCR-ABL targeted and non-BCR-ABL targeted drugs employed in clinical trials and on alternative CML treatments, including antioxidants, oncolytic virus, engineered exosomes, and natural products obtained from marine organisms that could pave the way for new therapeutic approaches for CML patients.

A study about the risk perception from exposure to environmental radiation, in particular to radon gas, through an online survey has been carried out. The rationale has been the definition of the concepts of risk and danger and the analysis of the European and Italian legislative context regarding information on exposure to ionizing radiation. Two test populations were involved: general and student population. The results showed that the perceived risk is different from the real risk and that the knowledge of the issue is related to the level of education and the cultural background. Furthermore, the influence of dissemination activities and educational projects with high schools on the level of knowledge of gas radon is evident.

Most research finds socio-psychological aspects and the organism-environment relationship crucial in the onset of stress-related phenomena; equally important is the subject’s evaluation of stimuli. The Burnout syndrome is defined as a psychological state perceived as emotive breakdown and sense of depersonalization, featuring decreased effectiveness at work and a lower evaluation of one’s performance. At school, the most significant widespread stressors are issues in managing student behavior. However, in the literature few works treat stress and burnout as a specific function of the teacher-pupil relationship. This research will highlight the significant correlations existing between burnout, self-efficacy, students’ academic performance and the quality of pupil-teacher relationships. 37 primary-school teachers in north-west Italy were involved (age range: 27-57 yrs; M=44.76 yrs; SD=8.38 yrs). Tools used were a specially designed socio-personal questionnaire, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (M.B.I.) and the Classroom and School Context Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale (CSC-TSES), while teachers’ perception of the relationship with their pupils was investigated with STRS (Italian adaptation). Preliminary analysis reveals mutual influence between teachers' self-efficacy levels and degree of burnout; Conflict is the only dimension correlating significantly with burnout levels and self-efficacy in class management ability

none 28 no BACKGROUND: The study aimed to subtype patients with schizophrenia on the basis of social cognition (SC), and to identify cut-offs that best discriminate among subtypes in 809 out-patients recruited in the context of the Italian Network for Research on Psychoses. METHOD: A two-step cluster analysis of The Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT), the Facial Emotion Identification Test and Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test scores was performed. Classification and regression tree analysis was used to identify the cut-offs of variables that best discriminated among clusters. RESULTS: We identified three clusters, characterized by unimpaired (42%), impaired (50.4%) and very impaired (7.5%) SC. Three theory-of-mind domains were more important for the cluster definition as compared with emotion perception and emotional intelligence. Patients more able to understand simple sarcasm (⩾14 for TASIT-SS) were very likely to belong to the unimpaired SC cluster. Compared with patients in the impaired SC cluster, those in the very impaired SC cluster performed significantly worse in lie scenes (TASIT-LI

Il presente lavoro riporta i risultati di una analisi del modo con cui i docenti della scuola italiana si rappresentano la consulenza psicologica rivolta al mondo scolasti- co. La ricerca ha adottato 829 insegnanti delle scuole primarie, superiori di primo e di secondo grado del Nord, Centro e Sud Italia a cui è stato proposto un questionario predisposto ad hoc, concernente diverse dimensioni del mondo scolastico e della funzione psicologica. Le risposte ottenute sono state sottoposte ad una procedura di analisi multidimensionale (Analisi delle Corrispondenze Multiple e Analisi dei Cluster), che ha portato ad enucleare uno Spazio Simbolico generato da due strutture latenti di senso e 5 differenti Immagini della Consulenza, ciascuna delle quali indi- cativa di uno specifico modo di connotare la funzione psicologica scolastica.

Una vez configuradas las convicciones de eficacia como los principales predictores del éxito organizativo (Stajcovic & Luthans, 1998) y reconocido el concepto de autoeficacia percibida como un sistema de creencias determinantes (Caprara, 2001) que sirve de apoyo y de moderador a las acciones que la persona efectúa (Bandura,1999), este trabajo ofrece una visión del modo en el que 829 docentes, en 9 regiones italianas, perciben y describen su propia eficacia en la función formativa. Con la ayuda de la escala de “Autoeficacia de clase y escolar percibida” (CSC scale) de I.A. Friedmann y E. Kass (2002) y con la realización del análisis factorial de los principales componentes que han permitido verificar la percepción de los profesores en relación con su propia experiencia en la enseñanza, de manera separada sobre la base de la gestión de la clase y de la situación escolar en su conjunto, emerge que los docentes se consideran más eficaces en la relación diádica con los alumnos que con los actores y acciones educativas generales de la vida escolar, incluso demostrando niveles de eficacia más bien altos respecto a ambas escalas. Se han realizado análisis detallados de la percepción de la autoeficacia con el objetivo de comprobar el papel que juegan algunas variables socio-culturales y demográficas destancando diferencias significativas respecto a la pertenencia al nivel escolar y al área regional, lo que ha inducido a la verificación de la hipótesis de una influencia ejercitada por variables de contexto más que por variables inherentes a factores personales.

Backgrond: The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation among biomarkers, pathological response and clinical outcomes in patients (pts) with rectal cancer submitted to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. Methods: Pts entering the study had rectal adenocarcinoma, uT3/4N-/+ or uT2N-/+ with inferior location. Chemotherapy consisted of oxaliplatin 60 mg/m2 weekly infusion IV for 6 times and 5-luorouracil 225 mg/m2/die continuos infusion IV d 1-38. Radiotherapy eas delivered up to a dose of 50.4 Gy in daily fractions of 1.8 Gy d 1-38. Rectal surgery with TME was performed 6-8 weeks after neoadjuvant treatment. Immunohistochemical determination of Ki67, p53, bcl2, TS, EGFR, MLH1 and MSH2 was performed in pretreatment biopsy and operative specimen. Results: Between March 2002 and May 2005, 32 pts had completed neoadjuvant therapy and surgery. Pt characteristics: 24 (75%) men and 8 (25%) women; median age 64 (33-80) years; stage uT2-M0 3 (9.4%) pts, uT3N-M0 14 (43.8%), uT3+M0 10 (31.2%), uT3NXM0 2 (6.2%), uT4N+M0 3 (9.4%). Surgery consisted of abdominal-perineal amputation 12 (37.5%) and low-anterior resection in 17 (53.1%) pts, with negative circumferential resection margins in 86.2%. Laparoscopic local excision was performed in 3 (9.4%) pts. Pathological down-staging occured in 18 (56.2%) pts, including 7 (21.9%) pT0N0, with sphincter preservation in 40%. Tumor regression Grade (TRG) (according to Mandard) evaluation of operative specimen was: 7 TRG1, 11 TRG2, 11 TRG3 and 3 TRG4. Expression mean value in pretreatment biopsy and operative specimen was: Ki67 88.8% and 31.7%; p53 49.7% and 40.7%; TS 12.6% and 10.0%; MLH1 89.7% and 76.4%; MSH2 84.3% and 72.2%. The evaluation of biomarker profile in operative specimen of TRG2 pts vs TRG3-4 showed: Ki67 16.6% vs 46.2% (p=0.03); TS 4.5% vs 12.9% (ns); MSH2 82.3% vs 65.6% (ns); p53 52.3% vs 34.8% (ns). Median DFS was 19 (3-35 months. At a median follow-up of 22 (5-41) months, 100% of TRG1 pts, 90.9% of TRG2, 73.3% of TRG3-4 had no-evidence of disease relapse. Conclusions: These preliminary results suggest a correlation between Ki67 and pathological response in rectal cancer pts treated with neoadjvant therapy. Moreover, DFS appears to be related to TRG.