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The aim of the present study is to perform a longitudinal Italian validation of the scale and to adapt it to the nursing education contest.Research on emotional labor has shown that the roles played by surface acting and deep acting are still uncertain. To overcome this gap, scholars suggest observing emotional labor through the lens of the emotional regulation theory. Andela and her colleagues developed a fine grained instrument, which differentiates attentional deployment, cognitive re-evaluation and expressive suppression, emotional amplification and emotional dissonance.To fulfill our aim, a longitudinal study was performed in an Italian University.The adapted scale was administered to 168 nursing students across the three years of attendance in the course.Our results confirm the five-factor structure, and the instrument shows good psychometrical properties.Having shown satisfactory psychometric properties, this scale can be considered a useful instrument to assess those emotional elements of clinical practice, which are important for the assurance of education quality to the under graduated nursing students.

The volatile fraction of food, also called the food volatilome, is increasingly used to develop new fingerprinting approaches. The characterization of the food volatilome is important to achieve desired flavor profiles in food production processes, or to differentiate different products, with winemaking being one popular area of interest. In the present research, headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS SPME) coupled to flow-modulated comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (FM GC×GC-TOFMS) was used to characterize geographical-based differences in the volatilome of five white "Grillo" wines (of Sicilian origin), comprising the five sample classes. All wines were produced with the same vinification method in 2019. To minimize the influence of minor bottle-to-bottle differences, three bottles of the same wine were randomly selected, and three samples were collected per bottle, resulting in nine sample replicates per wine. Particular emphasis was devoted to the operational conditions of a novel low duty cycle flow modulator. A fast FM GC×GC-TOFMS method with a modulation period of 700 ms and a re-injection period of 80 ms was developed. Following, the instrumental software was exploited to identify class-distinguishing analytes in the dataset via tile-based Fisher ratio analysis (i.e., ChromaTOF Tile). A tile size of 10 modulations (7 s) on the first dimension and 45 spectra (300 ms) on the second dimension was used to encompass average peak widths and to account for minor retention time shifting. Off-line software was used to apply an ANOVA test. A p-value of 0.01 was applied in order to select the most important class-distinguishing analytes, which were input to principal component analysis (PCA). The PCA scores plot showed distinct clustering of the wines according to geographical origin, although the loadings revealed that only a few analytes were necessary to differentiate the wines. However, a comprehensive flavor profile assessment underscored the importance of all the information output by the ChromaTOF Tile software.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has proven to be an imminent threat to public health, intensifying the need for novel therapeutics. Previous evidence suggests that cannabinoids harbour potent antibacterial activity. In this study, a group of previously inaccessible phytocannabinoids and synthetic analogues were examined for potential antibacterial activity. The minimum inhibitory concentrations and dynamics of bacterial inhibition, determined through resazurin reduction and time-kill assays, revealed the potent antibacterial activity of the phytocannabinoids against gram-positive antibiotic-resistant bacterial species, including MRSA. One phytocannabinoid, cannabichromenic acid (CBCA), demonstrated faster and more potent bactericidal activity than vancomycin, the currently recommended antibiotic for the treatment of MRSA infections. Such bactericidal activity was sustained against low-and high-dose inoculums as well as exponential- and stationary-phase MRSA cells. Further, mammalian cell viability was maintained in the presence of CBCA. Finally, microscopic evaluation suggests that CBCA may function through the degradation of the bacterial lipid membrane and alteration of the bacterial nucleoid. The results of the current study provide encouraging evidence that cannabinoids may serve as a previously unrecognised resource for the generation of novel antibiotics active against MRSA.

Biofouling is the undesired settlement of submerged surfaces by marine micro- and macro-organisms such as algae, bacteria, barnacles, diatoms and seaweeds. This phenomenon has annoying effects among which on aquaculture systems and oceanographic sensors, it also causes severe problems on shipping and leisure vessels for marine industries due to corrosion and hydrodynamic drag, which leads to elevated fuel consumption and higher maintenance costs [1]. In order to reduce both economic and environmental penalties, the principal strategy for opposing marine fouling is to use biocide-containing paints, but the environmental concerns and legislation are driving science and technology towards non-biocidal solutions based solely on physico-chemical and materials properties of coatings. From this point of view, advances in nanotechnology and recent knowledge of marine biology and chemistry are improving significant impact on the development of a new generation of surface designs 'bioinspired' by the nature [2]. One approach to the research and the development of novel coatings is to create a 'deterrent' surface that inhibits the original attachment of the settling stages of microorganisms. Recently, a broad research has been realized on newer anti-fouling technologies using fluoropolymers [3]. In this regards, sol-gel technique can be an interesting tool in the treatment of materials to convey new properties to surfaces. The hybrid organic-inorganic materials used, exhibit the properties of both phases, contributing for example to the setup of anti-fouling and fouling release coatings. In this research, the examined procedure consists of the co-condensation of silane coupling agents with epoxide and amine tail-groups, (3-Glycidyloxypropyl)-trimethoxysilane (GPTMS) and (3-Aminopropyl)-triethoxysilane (APTES), respectively, mixed with two perfluorosilane precursors, namely glycidyl-2,2,3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,9,9-hexadecafluorononylether and trimethoxy-(3,3,3-trifluoropropyl)-silane, either individually or together. This synthetic method allows to obtain stable hydrophobic, non-toxic, anti-fouling and fouling release coatings that were tested to study their morphology and chemical structure by different physical-chemical techniques. The fouling release properties were evaluated through test on treated glass slides in different microbial suspension in seawater-based medium per 24 h at room temperature. During tests, each suspension was held in constant agitation to imitate the regular motion of seawater, and the settlement of cells on bare degreased glass slides is compared with that resulting on the treated slides. The synthetized fluorinated coatings demonstrate good antimicrobial activities and low adhesive properties, no biocidal effects were observed in the studied microorganisms.

Geopolymers are inorganic materials that form long-range, covalently bonded, networks; they are materials similar to ceramics, whose components are mainly aluminum and silicates Any inorganic source of silica and alumina, dissolved in the alkaline solution, acts as a precursor of geopolymers and therefore lends itself to geopolymerization. The type of clay most commonly used in the synthesis of geopolymers is based on kaolinite. A green method to implement these properties consists of incorporation of coupling silane agents5 and organic fillers during the geopolymerization process. The methods of functionalization of the geopolymers shown in this work are: (i) the treatment of the geopolymeric surface, post-drying, through the application of the sol-gel directly on the monolith, for a modification of the surface properties; (ii) the pretreatment of the geopolymeric mixture, through the addition of the alkoxysilane which can induce a homogeneous consolidation of the molecular structure, implementing the properties of the entire monolith. In this work we show the design and development of hybrid coating sol-gel formulations to apply on geopolymer surface to improve characteristics such as mechanical strength6, chemical inertness, heat resistance and porosity for possible use in the restoration and conservation of cultural heritage. The surface treatment is carried out using different alkoxysilanes7, which differ according to the length of the hydrocarbon chain and the presence of halogen atoms or epoxy groups. Hydrophobicity and antifouling tests were performed on these formulations.

Introduction. Healthcare associated infections (HAIs) are a cause of high morbidity, disability and reduced quality of life, as well as mortality and rising costs for health systems. Preventing the HAI risk by planning and implementing effective preventive strategies is important to safeguard patient health. Methods. The study aimed to evaluate the presence of procedures and protocols for infection control, to assess the adhesion to the different aspects of hand hygiene (HH) and hand washing technique by healthcare workers in six ICUs. An observational study was conducted in six ICUs. In each ICU, the adherence by health care workers to both hand hygiene practices and standard precautions was assessed, as well as the presence of procedures and written protocols. Results. The findings showed that in all the involved ICUs, 73 of 142 required protocols and procedures were available. Specifically, 59 of 79 were available for general measure of risk control, 12 of 15 for hand hygiene, and 24 of 48 for standard precautions and isolation measures. Also, the results showed highly variable levels of adherence to the best hygiene practices in all the ICUs involved in the study, with compliance rates ranging from 3% to 100%, and 73 of 142 required protocols were available at the study time. Conclusions. Overall, the involved ICUs showed low levels of adherence to best hygiene practices. This suggests the need to implement immediate strategies for infection control in the ICUs. A multidisciplinary intervention could be effective in preventing and control the HAI risk., Journal of Preventive Medicine and Hygiene, Vol 58, No 3 (2017): 2017583

Turnover represents a problematic phenomenon due to both staff management and costs related to the quality of care. Turnover is quite studied in other Countries, but it is still little studied in Italy. The aim of this study was to analyzing psychosocial factors related to intention to leave the hospital, by using theoretical models from literature and applying them in the health context. The study involved 1295 nurses from North-Italy. The results showed that intention to leave may be considered the most direct predictor of turnover behavior. In fact, the demand for mobility to another hospital was requested by nurses with high level of intention to leave. Among examined individual and organizational characteristics, we found that young nurses with high education had higher turnover intention than old nurses. Moreover, nurses with high level of intention to leave not only perceived a low affective commitment to the unit, but also a low quality of relationship with both supersiors and physicians. The findings have important implications for both nurses and hospitals by helping to promote effective work environments, thus reducing turnover intention.

Introduzione. La ritenzione degli infermieri è una sfida per i Dirigenti e i Coordinatori infermieristici e gli infermieri all’inizio della carriera professionale e lavorativa rappresentano un gruppo particolarmente instabile, infatti l'anzianità di servizio è inversamente correlata con la probabilità di turnover. Comprendere le ragioni per cui dichiarano di voler lasciare l’ospedale in cui sono inseriti è essenziale per poterli trattenere. Obiettivo. Esplorare i fattori che influenzano l'intenzione di turnover dall'ospedale degli infermieri con anzianità lavorativa ≤3 anni. In particolare analizzare la relazione tra intenzione a lasciare e soddisfazione lavorativa, senso di appartenenza all’organizzazione, coinvolgimento lavorativo, percezione di competenza professionale e di supporto da parte dell'organizzazione. Metodo. È stato somministrato a tutti gli infermieri di 3 ospedali del Nord Italia un questionario che indagava la loro percezione rispetto alla soddisfazione lavorativa, al senso di appartenenza all’organizzazione, al coinvolgimento lavorativo, alla competenza professionale e al supporto da parte dell'organizzazione secondo una scala di disaccordo/accordo da 1 a 5. Risultati. Il 34.4% degli infermieri con anzianità lavorativa ≤ 3 anni ha intenzione di lasciare l’ospedale entro 1 anno, il 43.8% di questi ha già inoltrato domanda di trasferimento (ad un altro ospedale).Gli infermieri che hanno intenzione di lasciare sono prevalentemente maschi, con un contratto a tempo indeterminato ed abitano ad una distanza maggiore di 30 km dalla sede lavorativa. Inoltre sono meno soddisfatti per il lavoro, il rapporto con i colleghi, il Coordinatore e il personale medico, si percepiscono meno competenti, meno legati al proprio reparto e meno supportati dall’organizzazione. Conclusioni. Lo studio indica il bisogno di migliorare la soddisfazione lavorativa e il senso di attaccamento al reparto dei giovani infermieri per trattenerli nell’ospedale.

Physico-chemical, chemical and biological parameters collected in water column during a multidisciplinary cruise in the Gulf of Manfredonia (October 2002) are reported. Two coastal and offshore systems with different biochemical and physical characteristics were highlighted by spatial distribution of observed parameters. The coastal system is characterised by low salinity, and high ammonium and chlorophyll-a concentrations. The offshore system exhibits a well defined isopicnal gradient and high nitrate values localised below the picnocline.

Patient's Charter was introduced in Italy in the last decade with the aim of increasing community participation to the quality of health care. The Charter with reference to primary care services, should include information about the admission and standards of service that people can expect to receive. The purpose of the study was to assess, on the basis of a series of indicators, the presence of differences among different organisational model of Local Health Unit Districts. As regards Prevention Department, the association between quality indicators and geographic location was studied. We evaluated 112 Charters, 49.3% on the total amount of Italian Local Health Unit (LHU) that were issued during the period 1996-1998, using a data form with multiple choice questions. 104 out of 112 Charters showed quality items for Districts and Prevention Departments. Significant differences among the different groups of district organization model were shown for three indicators (waiting time, administrative details and chief in charge) respectively in General Practitioner area and in Psychiatric one. As regards Prevention Departments, no association was shown between geographic area and frequency of quality indicators, although a trend of higher frequence was found in Northern Area versus Central Area and Southern one. This study emphasizes the fact that data drawn from Patient's Charter can show the impact of different organisational and geographic conditions on quality of healthcare.