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Vittorio Lenzo,1 Alberto Sardella,2 Alessandro Musetti,3 Maria Francesca Freda,4 Daniela Lemmo,4 Elena Vegni,5 Lidia Borghi,5 Giuseppe Plazzi,6,7 Laura Palagini,8,9 Gianluca Castelnuovo,10,11 Roberto Cattivelli,12 Rachele Mariani,13 Giovanni Michelini,14 Tommaso Manari,3 Emanuela Saita,10 Maria C Quattropani,15 Christian Franceschini16 1Department of Social and Educational Sciences of the Mediterranean Area, University for Foreigners “Dante Alighieri” of Reggio Calabria, Reggio, Calabria, Italy; 2Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy; 3Department of Humanities, Social Sciences and Cultural Industries, University of Parma, Parma, Italy; 4Department of Humanistic Studies, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy; 5Department of Health Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy; 6Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy; 7IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy; 8Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Psychiatric Section, University of Pisa, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Pisana (AUOP), Pisa, Italy; 9Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy; 10Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Milan, Milan, Italy; 11Istituto Auxologico Italiano IRCCS, Psychology Research Laboratory, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Verbania, Italy; 12Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy; 13Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Roma, Italy; 14Sigmund Freud University, Milano, Italy; 15Department of Educational Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy; 16Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, ItalyCorrespondence: Vittorio LenzoDepartment of Social and Educational Sciences of the Mediterranean Area, University for Foreigners “Dante Alighieri” of Reggio Calabria, Via del Torrione 95, Reggio Calabria, 89125, ItalyEmail v.lenzo@unidarc.itPurpose: Previous studies showed poor sleep quality during the first Italian lockdown consequent to the quick spread of the virus. Poor sleep quality remained stable during the so-called “second wave”, which started in Autumn 2020. This study aimed to compare sleep quality between the two waves of contagions and to examine the effect of resilience, together with sociodemographic and COVID-related variables, on sleep quality during the second wave.Patients and Methods: A total of 648 participated in this longitudinal study through an online survey during the first lockdown consequent to the COVID-19 and during the second wave. The Medical Outcomes Study—Sleep Scale (MOS-SS) and the Resilience Scale (RS) were administered. Sociodemographic and COVID-related information were also collected.Results: The results showed sleep quality slightly increased in the second wave, even though with a small effect size. Correlational analysis showed that resilience is inversely correlated with sleep quality measured in the two waves. Sleep quality during the second wave was positively correlated with sleep quality in the first lockdown. Likewise, the results of multiple regression revealed that the sleep quality in the first lockdown and resilience were significant predictors of sleep quality during the second wave.Conclusion: These findings highlighted that the prevalence of poor sleepers remained high during the second wave. Together with the sleep quality in the first lockdown, resilience represents an important factor related to sleep quality during the second wave. Interventions to improve sleep quality among the general population should take into account these findings.Keywords: clinical psychology, health, sleep quality, resilience, longitudinal

Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are subclinical forms of psychosis commonly experienced in the general population. The nature of PLEs has yet to be clearly defined, yet mood and sleep disturbances may be two predictors. Sleep disturbance increases paranoia and hallucinations in experimental studies, and insomnia is considered a longitudinal precursor of psychosis. Mood disturbances including depression and mania, which can be induced by insomnia, can also result in psychotic symptoms. However, whether insomnia may predict PLEs via the mediation of mood disturbance has yet to be fully clarified. To advance this field, the aim of this study was to investigate the mediation role of depression and mania symptoms on the relationship between insomnia and PLEs.1.086 community members (28.32±9.04 years, 58.1% females) cross-sectionally completed self-reported measures of insomnia severity, depression/mania symptoms, and PLEs. Bivariate correlations, hierarchical multiple regressions and mediation analyses with bootstrap approach were performed. Insomnia and mood disturbances (depression/mania) were significantly associated with PLEs (β = 0.06, p < .05; β = 0.225, p < .001, respectively). Mediation analysis revealed a significant indirect effect between insomnia and PLEs mediated by mood disturbance through bootstrap approach (β=0.13, se= 0.02, 95% CI: 0.10 - 0.17). Our results support the view of insomnia and mood disturbances as predictors of PLEs in the general population and foster the replication of these findings using longitudinal designs.

BackgroundIn ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary angioplasty (PPCI) the index of microcirculatory resistance (IMR) correlates to the extent of myocardial damage and left ventricular (LV) function recovery. Data on the IMR time-course and impact on clinical outcome in STEMI patients with multi-vessel disease (MVD) are scarce.AimsWe designed a prospective, multicenter clinical trial to assess the infarct-related artery (IRA)-IMR in STEMI patients with MVD undergoing PPCI and to explore its potential in relationship with outcome and LV remodeling.MethodsThe study enrolled 242 STEMI patients with MVD. Both fractional flow reserve (FFR) and IMR of the IRA were assessed after successful PPCI. Then, FFR/IMR measurements were repeated in the IRA at a staged angiography, and FFR-guided angioplasty was performed in non-IRA lesions. The primary endpoint was the composite of cardiovascular death, re-infarction, re-hospitalization for heart failure, resuscitation or appropriate ICD shock at 1-year follow-up.ResultsA significant improvement of IRA-IMR values (from 47.9 to 34.2, p < 0.0001) was observed early after PPCI. Staged FFR-guided angioplasty was performed in 102 non-IRA lesions. We failed to find a correlation between IRA-IMR, clinical events and LV remodeling. Notwithstanding, in patients with anterior STEMI an inverse correlation between initial IMR values and LV function at follow-up was observed.ConclusionAfter successful PPCI, a significant proportion of patients with STEMI and MVD had coronary microvascular dysfunction as assessed by IMR that recovered early after reperfusion. Higher IMR values predicted lack of improvement of LV function only in anterior STEMI.Clinical trial registrationhttps://clinicaltrials.gov/, identifier [NCT 02325973].

Orbital cellulitis is an infection of the soft tissues around the eye. It can cause ischemic optic neuropathy and central retinal artery occlusion due to compression of the optic nerve by swelling in the orbit. It requires emergency treatment due to the high risk of blindness. The majority of cases are caused by infection from festering lesions in adjacent tissues, such as sinusitis, and blood-borne infection from a remote site is rare. In this report, we present a rare case of orbital cellulitis with bacteremia caused by oral Streptococcus pyogenes in a patient with 8┘ periapical edentulism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium-ion-conducting oxide glass electrolytes in the multicomponent systems Li2O–B2O3–SiO2–P2O5-LiX (LiX = Li3N, Li2SO4, Li2CO3, and LiI) were synthesized using a mechanochemical technique. The crystallization temperature and ionic conductivity of multicomponent glasses with added lithium salts or Li3N were evaluated. Because the crystallization temperature is a measure of the ability of glasses to resist crystallization at high temperature, glasses with high conductivity and high crystallization temperature are desirable electrolytes. In this study, the lithium-ion conductivity of the glasses was found to be correlated with the crystallization temperature, and it was difficult to increase both the conductivity and crystallization temperature. The addition of lithium salts (Li2SO4, Li2CO3, and LiI) increased the conductivity but decreased the crystallization temperature. Nitrogen doping by the addition of Li3N improved both these properties of the oxide glass electrolyte. Therefore, oxynitride glasses are desirable electrolytes owing to their thermal stability and lithium-ion conductivity.

This study aims to explore the emotional experiences related to the lockdown during the first pandemic wave, analysing the dreams of the Italian population. Through an online survey spread throughout the country, participants completed the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), the Resilience Scale (RS) and were asked to narrate a dream they had during the lockdown. The dreams were qualitatively analysed through the thematic content analysis. Logistic regression analyses were then conducted to verify the relationship among the categories that emerged and between these categories and the DASS-21 and RS scores. In the dreams 8 categories were identified (Places, Characters, Relationships, Actions, Danger, Death, Processes, and Emotions) composed of specific sub-categories, which seem to compose a sort of narrative structure of the dream. Some sub-categories were found to be predictor of depression and resilience or with exposure to COVID-19. Dreams can be a valid tool both to understand the experiences of the population during the pandemic and to evaluate those at risk of developing distress in clinical practice.

Contextual and individual risk factors of veterinarians' professional quality of life are being debated. Research suggests that attachment styles are relevant predictors of professional quality of life; however, their role in work-related well-being of veterinarians is yet to be ascertained. In the present study, self-report measures on exposure to animal suffering, adult attachment styles, and professional quality of life were administered to 1,445 Italian veterinarians (70% females) aged 24 to 74 years old; sociodemographic information and information on workload were also collected. Female gender, higher levels of ordinary workload, on-call hours per week, exposure to animal suffering, together with fearful and preoccupied attachment styles were significantly associated with lower levels of veterinarians' quality of life. This suggests that work-related factors may combine with individual psychological features in promoting or disadvantaging the professional quality of life of veterinarians. Implications of these findings for promoting veterinarians' quality of life and directions for future research are discussed.

A fragilidade ambiental diz respeito à fragilidade do ambiente em função de qualquer tipo de dano causado pela dinâmica ambiental, seja de forma natural e/ou antrópica, sendo relacionada com a erosão do solo e assoreamento dos rios. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi realizar uma análise da fragilidade ambiental da bacia hidrográfica do ribeirão São Pedro, no município de Santa Rita do Pardo/MS, analisando suas características físicas e o uso da terra e cobertura vegetal. Para tanto, a metodologia consiste em duas etapas: a primeira delas na avaliação das precipitações buscando algumas estações meteorológicas no entorno da bacia hidrográfica, trabalhando em ambiente SIG ArcGis 10. A segunda diz respeito ao manuseio das informações sobre áreas prioritárias e solos, buscou-se dados do SISLA/IMASUL, a declividade, trabalhou-se com o modelo digital de terreno SRTM e para o uso da terra e cobertura vegetal a utilização das imagens de satélite Landsat 8. Com isso, a interpolação dessas informações foi embasada na proposta metodológica de Ross (1994) para a fragilidade ambiental. As classes de fragilidade obtidas são a categoria baixa que se mostrou dominante na bacia, sendo presentes em matas nativas e pastagens, a categoria média e alta, que juntas apresentaram 39,56% da área total da bacia foram encontradas em locais com alto declive, concluindo assim que a bacia hidrográfica necessita da análise de suas características, onde qualquer mudança em um de seus elementos pode alterar a fragilidade do local, prejudicando assim, seus recursos naturais.

Recent literature shows that the Coronovirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has provoked significant changes in dreaming. The current study intends to provide an update about dream variable changes during the second wave of COVID-19. A total of 611 participants completed a web survey from December 2020 to January 2021. Statistical comparisons showed that subjects had lower dream-recall frequency, nightmare frequency, lucid-dream frequency, emotional intensity, and nightmare distress during the second than the first wave of the pandemic. Dreams had a higher negative tone during the second than first wave. We revealed significant differences concerning post-traumatic growth, sleep-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and sleep measures between groups obtained as a function of the changes in the oneiric frequency between the first and second waves. We also found significant correlations between qualitative/emotional dream features and COVID-19-related factors (job change, forced quarantine, having COVID-19 infected relatives/friends, or asking for mental health help). Overall, we found that the second wave affected fewer quantitative features of dream activity and there was less emotional intensity. Moreover, we confirmed the relationship between nightmares and the high risk of PTSD when subjects were grouped as a function of the increasing/decreasing frequency. Finally, our findings are partly coherent with the continuity hypothesis between oneiric and waking experiences.

O objetivo desta pesquisa é avaliar a erosividade da bacia hidrográfca do córrego Moeda, localizada no município de Três Lagoas/MS, abordando a energia potencial erosiva pluviométrica, energia potencial erosiva do relevo e a energia erosiva do transporte de sedimentos em suspensão ao longo das estações de 2014. Para tanto, foi realizada a coleta ao longo de onze pontos de monitoramento das águas, além de analisar as precipitações da estação meteorológica da Fibria-MS Celulose Ltda; bem como, a velocidade de fluxo, vazão e transporte de sedimentos em suspensão. Os resultados obtidos apontam que os índices de erosividade variaram nas classes intermediárias, sendo possível visualizar que as classes alternaram conforme as chuvas e transporte de sedimentos, favorecendo esta variação e apontando índices mais elevados no verão e primavera. A abordagem das metodologias auxiliou na obtenção de um produto detalhado, retratando de forma concreta, a atual situação da área de estudo.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to government measures enforcing isolation in order to mitigate the spread of the virus. Consequently, online activities, including gaming, increased during this challenging period. Thus, it was possible that problematic gaming (PG) patterns also increased. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we estimated the prevalence of PG during the COVID-19 pandemic and examined differences among subpopulations. The evaluation of 38 studies revealed that the overall prevalence of PG during the COVID-19 pandemic was 3.6%. Furthermore, higher PG scores were found in undergraduate and gamer subpopulations, as well as in studies using the Gaming Addiction Scale. Finally, meta-regression analyses suggest that stricter government measures, as identified by the Government Stringency Index, may have contributed to a lower prevalence of PG behaviors. A potential explanation of this finding is that containment measures had a protective function with respect to emotional distress, and thus towards PG; alternatively, it could be that current measures for PG become less precise if an individual's functioning is already impaired due to other reasons, such as COVID-19 restrictions. Further theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of the findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 52-year-old Caucasian woman with essential resistant and refractory hypertension despite optimal medical therapy, including 6 different antihypertensive drugs was referred for the catheter-based renal denervation. Due to unfavourable anatomy because of non-critical fibromuscular dysplasia on the right renal artery, renal denervation of only the left renal artery was performed. Before and after the renal denervation, the patient’s blood pressure was monitored by office measurements and ambulatory blood pressure measurements (ABPM). Before the procedure, the mean office blood pressure was 157/98 mmHg; at ABPM, the mean blood pressure values were 145/94 mmHg. At 6 months of follow-up, the mean office blood pressure was 134/90 mmHg and 121/76 mmHg at ABPM. In latest 12 months of follow-up, office and ABPM blood pressure were 125/80 and 127/80 mmHg respectively. This unique case suggests that unilateral renal denervation may be effective in lowering blood pressure in patients with refractory hypertension and unfavorable renal arteries anatomy.

The study of neural pre-stimulus or "anticipatory" activity opened a new window for understanding how the brain actively constructs the forthcoming reality. Usually, experimental paradigms designed to study anticipatory activity make use of stimuli. The purpose of the present study is to expand the study of neural anticipatory activity upon the temporal occurrence of dichotomic, statistically unpredictable (random) stimuli within an ecological experimental paradigm. To this purpose, we used a simplified driving simulation including two possible, randomly-presented trial types: a car crash end trial and a no car crash end trial. Event Related Potentials (ERP) were extracted -3,000 ms before stimulus onset. We identified a fronto-central negativity starting around 1,000 ms before car crash presentation. By contrast, a whole-scalp distributed positivity characterized the anticipatory activity observed before the end of the trial in the no car crash end condition. The present data are in line with the hypothesis that the brain may also anticipate dichotomic, statistically unpredictable stimuli, relaying onto different pre-stimulus ERP activity. Possible integration with car-smart-systems is also suggested.