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ABSTRACT: This study investigates the interplay between plastic and reconstructive surgery patients and their respective caregivers in the Day Surgery Unit of Policlinico Umberto I, Rome, Italy. Utilizing a dual survey approach, we explored the role in patient safety and the challenges faced by caregivers during the perioperative period. This study, conducted at Policlinico Umberto I, covers all surgical procedures from October to December 2023, encompassing skin cancer removal, fat grafting, scar revisions, hand surgeries, and eyelid surgeries. Patient demographics reflect varying age distributions: 18-39 (4.9%), 40-59 (31.7%), 60-75 (34.1%), and over 76 years (29.3%).

Introduction: Pigmented lesions in the oral cavity mucosa, primarily found in African, Asian, and Mediterranean populations, are caused by increased melanin granule production or melanocyte abundance. These lesions typically appear in childhood and increase with age. This study aimed to evaluate, based on the evidence in the literature, the efficacy of diode laser in the treatment of physiological gingival melanosis in terms of clinical and aesthetic variables, based on the patient, compared to conventional surgical therapy such as the scalpel technique. Materials and methods: Electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus) were examined in March 2024, in the last 10 years. We performed a manual screening of the reference lists of potential studies. The risk of bias was measured with the ROBINS tool. Results: The search found 840 publications, but 40 of them were duplicates and were therefore excluded. Titles and abstracts of 800 articles were accessed and 646 were excluded. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, we included 12 studies out of the remaining 154. Data were collected from the selected articles and organized into tables for comparison and study. Conclusions: The diode laser obtained better results in terms of intraoperative bleeding and perception of pain for the patient. However, there were no differences in depigmentation and wound healing intensity. Due to the small research samples and the heterogeneity of the data provided, more studies with a high degree of scientific relevance and with a clear research protocol are needed.

Background: Hemodynamic impact of residual mitral regurgitation (MR) after transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) is not always univocally measured by transesophageal echocardiographic (TEE) assessment alone. When analyzing TEER procedure result, operators often encounter discrepancy between TEE guidance and invasive hemodynamic monitoring. Objectives: This study sought to investigate the role of invasive hemodynamic monitoring during mitral valve TEER procedure on top of TEE guidance. Methods: We analyzed 78 patients with moderate-to-severe or severe MR who underwent TEER. Mitral pulse pressure fraction (MPF) was extracted from intraprocedural continuous left atrial pressure monitoring. Twenty-three patients with the same grade of MR not undergoing TEER were included as a control group. At follow-up, clinical and functional status in the majority of patients undergoing TEER were reassessed by NYHA classification and the 12-item Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ). Results: TEER significantly reduced MR burden on both TEE guidance and invasive hemodynamic monitoring. Post-TEER MPF was significantly reduced compared to both pre-TEER setting (P

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are environmental contaminants that can be found in various food products, including those intended for infants. Due to their potential health risks, it is crucial to develop sensitive analytical methods for the accurate determination of PAHs in infant foods. This study describes the development and validation of a highly sensitive method for the quantification of European PAH markers, namely benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[a]anthracene, chrysene, and benzo[b]fluoranthene, using gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (GC–MS/MS), in baby food samples. The first step was the optimization of the sample preparation procedure, performed using different methods based on the QuEChERS approach, also testing different extraction solvents. Several factors such as extraction efficiency, selectivity, and recovery were evaluated to choose the most effective procedure for sample preparation. Furthermore, the GC–MS/MS method was optimized, evaluating parameters such as linearity, sensitivity, accuracy, and robustness using spiked infant food samples. The method demonstrated excellent linearities with a correlation coefficient higher than 0.999 over a wide concentration range, and limits of detection and limits of quantification in the range 0.019–0.036 μg/kg and 0.06–0.11 μg/kg, respectively. Extraction recoveries were between 73.1 and 110.7%, with relative standard deviations always lower than 8%. These findings are compliant with the indications of the European Commission (Reg. 836/2011). To assess the applicability of the method to official control activities, a survey was conducted on commercially available infant food products. Four markers were determined in commercial samples belonging to different food categories for infants and young children. The outcome of this monitoring showed that PAH contamination, in all samples, was below the quantification limits. In conclusion, the developed GC–MS/MS method provides a highly sensitive and reliable approach for the determination of PAHs in baby foods. The optimized sample preparation, instrumental parameters, and validation results ensure accurate quantification of 4 PAHs even at trace levels. This method could contribute to the assessment of PAH exposure in infants and it could support regulatory efforts to ensure the safety and quality of infant food products with regular monitoring.

This paper delves into the iconography of two friezes adorning the rooms of two palazzi located in the Marca di Ancona, a peripheral region within the Papal States. All the scenes portrayed in the two friezes are inspired by the Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the influence of the illustrations found in the vernacular translations of the Metamorphoses, which were spread around Italy from the end of the 15th century. Additionally, it aims to explore the impact of prints that circulated freely, reproducing models from renowned artists like Michelangelo. These prints disseminated iconographies throughout Italy, making them known even in the provincial areas. The clients used them in an attempt to adapt their taste to the prevailing fashions of the big centers. Meanwhile the artists – unable to rival their counterparts from the centers – were provided with models which, in some instances, they closely adhered to.

Aim: Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) showed increasing survival in oligometastatic patients. Few studies actually depicted oligometastatic disease (OMD) evolution and which patient will remain disease-free and which will rapidly develop a polymetastatic disease (PMD) after SABR. Therefore, apart from the number of active metastases, there are no clues on which proven factor should be considered for prescribing local treatment in OMD. The study aims to identify predictive factors of polymetastatic evolution in lung oligometastatic colorectal cancer patients. Methods: This international Ethical Committee approved trial (Prot. Negrar 2019-ZT) involved 23 Centers and 450 lung oligometastatic patients. Primary end-point was time to the polymetastatic conversion (tPMC). Additionally, oligometastases number and cumulative gross tumor volume (cumGTV) were used as combined predictive factors of tPMC. Oligometastases number was stratified as 1, 2–3, and 4–5; cumGTV was dichotomized to the value of 10 cc. Results: The median tPMC in the overall population was 26 months. Population was classified in the following tPMC risk classes: low-risk (1–3 oligometastases and cumGTV ≤ 10 cc) with median tPMC of 35.1 months; intermediate-risk (1–3 oligometastases and cumGTV > 10 cc), with median tPMC of 13.9 months, and high-risk (4–5 oligometastases, any cumGTV) with median tPMC of 9.4 months (p = 0.000). Conclusion: The present study identified predictive factors of polymetastatic evolution after SABR in lung oligometastatic colorectal cancer. The results demonstrated that the sole metastases number is not sufficient to define the OMD since patients defined oligometastatic from a numerical point of view might rapidly progress to PMD when the cumulative tumor volume is high. A tailored approach in SABR prescription should be pursued considering the expected disease evolution after SABR, with the aim to avoid unnecessary treatment and toxicity in those at high risk of polymetastatic spread, and maximize local treatment in those with a favorable disease evolution.

Theory and research in teachers' interactional styles and authoritative teaching typically posit two factors, including "response" and a second factor featuring some combination of "demand" and "control." Two survey-research projects examined how teachers construe interactional styles, with results suggesting three discrete factors: response, demand, and control. The optimal interactional style is more complex than the formula of high response and high demand/control emphasized in literature in this area.

This contribution aims to analyse a cycle of frescoes at villa Spinola di San Pietro in Genoa. The paintings are attributed to some of the greatest artists who worked in the city in the 1620s and show a continuity of compositional, stylistic and thematic features that were typical of the sixteenth century. This article will also show the importance of Giovanni Andrea dell’Anguillara’s vernacular translation of the Metamorphoses by Ovid to the iconographic programme of the cycle.

Sleep difficulties may be one explanatory factor in the association between depression and insulin resistance; yet, explicit tests of this hypothesis are lacking. We determined if there was an indirect effect of depression symptoms on insulin resistance through sleep duration in adolescents at risk for excess weight gain. We also investigated whether dispositional mindfulness moderated the interconnections among depression, sleep, and insulin resistance. Ninety adolescents (14.2 ± 1.6y; 50% female) at risk for excess weight gain (body mass index [BMI, kg/m.sup.2] z score 1.6 ± 0.6) participated in the cross-sectional, baseline phase of a health behaviors study. Depression was assessed with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale, sleep duration with the Sleep Habits Survey, and mindfulness with the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale. Homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance was determined from fasting insulin and glucose. The product-of-coefficients method was used to test the indirect effect of depression on insulin resistance through sleep duration, accounting for age, sex, BMIz, puberty, and socioeconomic status (SES). Dispositional mindfulness was tested as a moderator of the associations among depression, sleep, and insulin resistance. There was a significant indirect effect of depression on insulin resistance through sleep duration, controlling for age, sex, BMIz, puberty, and SES, 95%CI [0.001, 0.05]. Dispositional mindfulness moderated the association between sleep duration and insulin resistance, such that lower sleep duration related to greater insulin resistance only among adolescents with lower mindfulness (p < .001). Short sleep may be one explanatory factor in the depression-insulin resistance connection in adolescents at risk for excess weight gain. Adolescents with poorer mindfulness and short sleep are at highest risk for insulin resistance, whereas higher mindfulness may be protective., Author(s): Emma L. M. Clark [sup.1] , Lauren D. Gulley [sup.1] [sup.2] , Mark A. Prince [sup.1] [sup.3] , Milena Casamassima [sup.4] , Natalia Sanchez [sup.1] , Virginia Jimenez [sup.1] [...]

Abstract Background and aim The BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genes are associated with an inherited susceptibility to breast cancer with a cumulative risk of 60% in BRCA 1 mutation carriers and of 30% in BRCA 2 mutation carriers. Several lifestyle factors could play a role in determining an individual’s risk of breast cancer. Obesity, changes in body size or unhealthy lifestyle habits such as smoking, alcohol consumption and physical inactivity have been evaluated as possible determinants of breast cancer risk. The aim of this study was to explore the current understanding of the role of harmful lifestyle and obesity or weight change in the development of breast cancer in female carriers of BRCA 1/2 mutations. Methods Articles were identified from MEDLINE in October 2020 utilizing related keywords; they were then read and notes, study participants, measures, data analysis and results were used to write this review. Results Studies with very large case series have been carried out but only few of them have shown consistent results. Additional research would be beneficial to better determine the actual role and impact of such factors.

The institution at which the authors work--Asociación Ex Alumnos del Profesorado en Lenguas Vivas "Juan Ramón Fernández" (AEXALEVI)--is devoted to the teaching of foreign languages, particularly English, and it administers examinations all over Argentina. One central problem the authors identified in their work in the AEXALEVI Teachers' Centre is the compartmentalization of instruction and assessment. Virtual and face-to-face forums with instructors from Buenos Aires and other districts were held for five years, and most of these teachers reported that they generally teach the content of the syllabus as one thing, and they deal with exam training as a separate component in the course design, which is developed close to examination time and not before. However, when the teacher indulges in teaching to the test, the student does not have the chance to develop skills over time. For example, students have been observed rattling off the summary of a story, overtly learned by heart, without ever being able to answer a simple question from the examiner or interact with a peer in a communicative task. Here lies the danger of treating course and exam, and by the same token, teaching/learning and evaluation, as two separate components rather than as an integrated whole. At the Teachers' Centre, the authors designed ways to introduce changes in skill development to help students both improve their speaking ability and perform better on tests. This article describes three techniques which allow students to structure their oral discourse in meaningful ways in order to help teachers in similar contexts: (1) WWW (What You Think; What You Like; What You Do; And Other People, Too); (2) Who, Where, What, and Why, You Can Have a Try!; and (3) Now and Next, I Will Pass This Test! The authors posit that if students learn to conceive of ideas following a strategic organization reinforced by raising awareness, modeling, and anchoring of the techniques by means of rhyme, gestures, movement, and analogy, then their discourse will be framed within the structure provided and away from random oral discourse. The development of oral discourse can occur only over time and requires a consistent approach by the teacher to contextualize work in the classroom, provide opportunities for interaction, and offer assessment on the part of both the teacher and the students.

Glyphosate, the herbicidal ingredient in Roundup products, can persist in soil for months or years, allowing soil invertebrates ample time to encounter and respond to contamination. While Roundup products can negatively impact earthworm (Eisenia fetida) health, they may also provide a direct or indirect food source. In a set of three experiments, we aimed to determine if Roundup Ready-to-Use III provides a nutritional benefit, damages earthworm health, or both. We used cameras and ant-farm-style enclosures to measure how exposure to a commonly used Roundup formulation impacted earthworm foraging speed as measured by the amount of soil displaced per minute. We also assessed whether contamination drove changes in earthworm body mass and stress test survival time. We found that earthworms living in contaminated soil decreased body mass and displaced more soil per minute relative to earthworms living in non-contaminated soil, suggesting that contamination offered no nutritional benefit. Exposure to contamination did not significantly impact earthworm survival time during a stress test, suggesting weak direct toxicity. Exposure to this contaminant drove a decrease in body mass and increase in movement, which outside of the lab might increase the speed of tunnel formation and microbial dispersal, at a cost to the earthworms. The results of these experiments highlight the need to understand the relationship between Roundup formulations, earthworm behavior and health, and the interplay between earthworm behavior and soil health.

Hoarding disorder (HD) is a recently recognized psychiatric condition, now classified under the category of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). It leads to an unwarranted attachment to material possessions, such that the individual is unable to separate themselves from them. There is still a lack of awareness of the critical sociological implications of this disorder, which is too often considered a purely health-related issue. This article endeavors to frame hoarding disorder from a unique socio-criminological and legal perspective, proposing an alternative approach to HD that considers it not only as a mental disorder, but also as a genuine societal issue. We also explore potential avenues for protection, considering both the well-being of individuals with this mental disorder and the communities in which individuals suffering from HD reside. This paper presents a fresh perspective on HD, aiming to delineate its impact and significance as an affliction affecting both individuals and society at large.

Abstract Background The long pentraxin PTX3 is generating great interest given the recent discovery of its involvement in bone metabolism. This study investigates the role of circulating PTX3 as a marker of bone-related phenotypes in patients with osteoporosis (OP) and osteoarthritis (OA). Methods Serum PTX3 levels were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in a total of OP (n=32), OA (n=19) patients and healthy controls (CTR; n=25). ROC curve analysis was carried out to evaluate the potential of PTX3 for the diagnosis of bone-related phenotypes. In addition, the association between PTX3 serum levels and biochemical markers was estimated by Spearman correlation analysis. Results Serum analysis reveals a statistically significant increase of PTX3 levels in OP and OA patients, compared to CTR subjects (**** p