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Globigerina bollii Cita and Premoli Silva was described from the historical Langhian-type section in Langhe, Piedmont (Italy). Due to its peculiar compact morphology, it was set apart from all the other globigerinids typical of the coeval Mediterranean fauna, and it was only reported for a short and limited stratigraphic range. The taxon became a first-order marker for the local biostratigraphy with its own Globigerina bollii Zone within the Langhian stage. However, the species was later synonymised with Globigerina falconensis Blow, ending its use in biostratigraphic schemes, and it was no longer utilised by authors working in the Mediterranean area and Paratethys. We present a reassessment of Globigerina bollii, showing for the first time a full collection of high-quality scanning electron and optical microscope images of the type series of specimens and a comparative study with Mediterranean individuals from the Langhian of the Cretaccio Section (Italy) and extra-Mediterranean individuals from Ocean Drilling Program Site 747 in the Kerguelen Plateau (Indian Ocean). The stratigraphic ranges of all the occurrences cited in the scientific literature from 1960 to the present day and all the references including images of the taxon are compiled. We compare G. bollii to other four-chambered morphospecies inhabiting the oceans during the Miocene, providing a detailed discussion of their morphological differences, which allows us to retain G. bollii as a valid taxon and to disclaim its synonymy with Globigerina falconensis. Our taxonomical observations also allow us to reassign Globigerina bollii to the genus Globoturborotalita, due to its strong affinities with other members of that genus, such as G. eolabiacrassata Spezzaferri and Coxall, and G. ouachitaensis (Howe and Wallace). We present a direct visual comparison with the other representatives of middle Miocene globoturborotaliids. An additional comparison is also discussed with Globigerina bollii lentiana Rögl, a species endemic in the Paratethys. We conclude that the presence of G. bollii in the Mediterranean Basin during such a confined stratigraphic interval (Mediterranean Subzone MMi4c–MMi4d), might be a palaeogeographical indicator of the intermittent opening of the eastern gateway with the Paratethys, affecting the Mediterranean faunas during the Langhian and their migration from oceanic realms into the Paratethys and Mediterranean.

Abstract Healthcare-acquired infections (HCAI) represent a major health problem worldwide. Stroke and dementia are considered risk factors for HCAI. Preliminary data suggest that use of antipsychotic drugs also increase the risk for HCAI. Here, we performed a retrospective study aimed at investigating the major risk and protective factors for HCAI in a cohort of elderly subjects hospitalized at an Italian tertiary Neurology Clinics. We included all patients with age ≥ 65 years hospitalized at Neurology Clinics of National Institute on Ageing, Ancona, Italy from 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2021. For each patient, the following data were collected: age, sex, use of medical devices, comorbidities, use of antipsychotic medications, development of HCAI. We included 1543 patients (41.4% males; median age 85 years [80–89]). According to multivariable analysis, age, stroke, duration of urinary catheter placement (for all p

Abstract Purpose In COVID‐19 era, all forms of access of patients to the sleep units should be reduced as much as possible when implementing telemedicine. In the field of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) therapy with positive airway pressure (PAP) devices, telemedicine includes the use of built‐in software (BIS) and storage of PAPs and remote‐controlled data (BISrc data) that are processed and transmitted daily to sleep units. We compared two methods of evaluating the final residual severity of OSA patients in home PAP titration: BISrc data versus nocturnal portable multichannel monitoring (PM) data in PAP (reference method) and to verify whether the efficacy PAP therapy guided by BISrc data was clinically adequate. Methods We conducted a real‐life prospective study in newly diagnosed patients with OSA. Patients used an auto‐adjusting positive airway pressure (AirSense 10 ResMed) with a pulse oximeter that allows daily transfer of BISrc data (apnea hypopnea index [AHI] and SaO2) and remote changes in ventilator setting. Once the PAP titration was completed, the pressure value or ranges were kept constant for 3 days and home PM was repeated. Results There were 41 patients with moderate to severe OSA who completed the study. When considering AHI only, the diagnostic accuracy of BISrc on the third day was equal to 97.5%; when considering AHI > 10/h, ODI > 10/h, and SaO2

This music score was submitted for the Kaleidoscope 2020 Call for Scores, an open access collaboration with the UCLA Music Library.

Most peer mentoring studies have focused on outcomes for mentees. This investigation examines seventh- and eighth-grade youth mentors' roles in providing support and companionship to younger peer mentees. Group concept mapping (GCM) explored youth mentors' reflections on the connections and relationships made through a peer mentoring program, 2 to 4 years after participating in the program. Results showed three key concepts: (a) Communication Skills, (b) Relationships With Mentees, and (c) Connections With School and Staff. Mentors noted their improved communication skills with mentees and improved interpersonal relations with fellow mentors and school staff. Implications and future research are discussed.

Educators take special interest in engaging students in school-based social programming to foster their social and academic success. In this study, the authors investigated how educators conceptualized the youth mentoring experience. Elementary school educators engaged in group concept mapping and interpreted data provided by former youth mentors from an elementary peer mentoring program. Results identified four key concepts: (a) Skills Mentors Learned in the Peer Mentoring Program, (b) Mentors' Relationships with School and Staff, (c) Mentors' Experiences in the Peer Mentoring Program, and (d) Mentors' Relationships with Mentees. Educators' feedback provided additional stakeholder insights to inform future programming.

IntroductionPhotosynthetic organisms respond to nitrogen (N) deprivation with the slowdown of photosynthesis and electron transport resulting in the balance the carbon (C)/N ratio. Under this extreme condition, organisms trigger complex mechanisms to keep growing using different N sources and recycling N containing molecules. In particular, phytoplankton are able to uptake L-arginine (L-Arg) as an organic N source. L-Arg can be assimilated mainly by the arginase, arginine deimidase, arginine decarboxylase or L-amino oxidase pathways.ResultsWe analyzed the effect of different N sources on the growth of the green algae Ostreococcus tauri. N starvation caused an inhibition of culture growth and a decrease in chlorophyll content. The addition of L-Arg to an N-deprived medium promotes a sustained growth rate of O. tauri culture and the increase of chlorophyll levels. The transcript level of genes involved in N uptake and metabolism were increased in N-starved condition while the addition of L-Arg as the sole N source reduced their induction. Since the O. tauri genome lacks the classical pathways to metabolize L-Arg, another enzyme/s may be responsible for L-Arg catabolism. Previously, we characterized the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) enzyme from O. tauri (OtNOS) which oxidizes L-Arg producing nitric oxide (NO) and citrulline. The NOS inhibitor L-NAME blocks the effect promoted by L-Arg on N-deprived O. tauri growth. Besides, NO level increased in O. tauri cells growing in L-Arg containing medium, suggesting the participation of OtNOS enzyme in L-Arg metabolism during N starvation.DiscussionOur hypothesis suggests that, after NOS-dependent Arg degradation, non-enzymatic oxidation of NO produces N oxides (mainly NO2-) that are re-incorporated to the N primary metabolism. As expected, N deprivation increases the lipid content in Ostreococcus. The addition of L-Arg or NO2- as the sole N sources showed a similar increase in lipid content to N deprivation. In summary, our results demonstrate that L-Arg is able to function as N source in Ostreococcus. The evidences on an alternative pathway of N supply and metabolism in a photosynthetic microorganism are discussed. These results could also allow the development of biotechnological tools for increasing lipid production for industry.

In this mixed methods case study, we investigated the benefits of being a youth mentor to younger peers as part of the Fourth R: Uniting Our Nations Peer Mentoring Program for Indigenous youth. Data were collected from 11 youth mentors via interviews and returned to them for interpretation and meaning-making through a statement sorting and rating activity as part of a group concept mapping procedure. The group concept mapping revealed three themes: (a) Cultural Connections, (b) Benefits to Self, and (c) Relationships with Family and Friends. Implications for programming are discussed and the benefit of group concept mapping as a culturally appropriate methodology is highlighted.

Tectonic, paleoenvironmental, and paleoclimatic unstable conditions preceding the onset of the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) highly affected marine life. Changes in calcareous plankton association are overall registered in the Mediterranean. They consist of a general transition from abundant and well-diversified planktonic associations to strictly oligotypic assemblages that precede their total disappearance at the onset of evaporitic precipitation. In this work, an accurate quantitative analysis of calcareous plankton, both foraminifers and nannofossils, has been carried out in the Torrente Vaccarizzo Section of Sicily (southern Italy). The aim is to independently define a chronostratigraphic pattern of bioevents preceding the MSC in the absence of magnetostratigraphic or radiometric constraints. The fluctuating abundance of the genus Orbulina fits well with the 100 ky Eccentricity maxima, and it is successfully applied to build an astronomically calibrated age-model for the section. On this basis, all the biohorizons have been recalibrated and discussed with regard to the previous literature. Abundant influxes of selected species demonstrated to be of local significance since they are highly affected by paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic conditions. A chronological sequence of foraminifer and nannofossil events marks the onset of the MSC with a derived age of 5.957 My, which agrees well with previous findings from other Mediterranean sections. This methodology and the new biostratigraphic events may be useful for future studies on pre-evaporitic successions of the Mediterranean.

A c. 31 m thick section straddling the fossil find of an Early Pliocene baleen whale (“Brunella”, hereafter), made in 2007 in the sedimentary fill of the Middle Ombrone Basin of Tuscany, is investigated for depositional age and environment combining palaeomagnetic, micropalaeontological (Foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils) and sedimentary facies analyses. Resting unconformably onto Late Miocene continental deposits, the Early Pliocene marine deposits include, from bottom to top, a coarse-grained wave-winnowing lag, the few metres-thick fossiliferous sandstone bedset from which Brunella was unearthed, and several metres of clays. The stratigraphic organisation of these deposits indicate deposition in a deepening upward inner shelf environment. Successful isolation of characteristic remanent magnetisation and calcareous nannofossil content indicate the investigated marine section was deposited during the interval of polarity Chron C3n.2n corresponding to the basal part of the Mediterranean nannofossil zone MNN13 (between Helicosphaera sellii Base common and the Amaurolithus primus Top) and allow estimating the depositional age of Brunella to c. 4.6 Ma. Sedimentary facies, benthic Foraminifera association and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility characterising the deposits that embedded Brunella suggest deposition above the fair-weather base level.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disabling psychiatric condition with a worldwide prevalence between 6% and 9%, and more common in the female than in the male sex. The aim of this paper is to review and comment on the different factors that might explain the discrepancies in the pharmacological management of women and men. The available literature shows that there exists a vulnerability of women to develop PTSD that may depend on neurobiological as well as environmental/cultural factors. These variables might influence the clinical picture, the outcome and the response to specific treatments, given their consequences on the pharmacokinetics of commonly prescribed drugs. Women suffering from PTSD are more prone to consult and receive more prescriptions of psychotropic drugs than men. However, it is evident that the particular stages of a women's life such as pregnancy or breastfeeding might require a specific evaluation and care. It is necessary to explore the pharmacokinetics of compounds highlighting sex-related differences, and their safety during pregnancy and lactation. Taking care of differences between women and men should represent a main focus of research, while being a primary target towards a really tailored pharmacological treatment of PTSD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]