Search

Influencing behavioral patterns through primary prevention, possibly addressing more risk factors at a time, is the most effective means to tackle cardiovascular diseases. Many interdisciplinary prevention activities have been coordinated by community nurses outside of specialist centers, resulting in a more effective control of risk factors. Our study aims at describing the impact of an 18-month prevention and promotion, interdisciplinary intervention on lifestyle habits and cardiovascular risk. From December 2018 to May 2020, patients were recruited by 4 General Practitioners (GPs) in the Roman neighborhood of Torresina and received nutritional, physical and psychological counselling to learn healthy lifestyles. Until May 2020 patients had to self-manage their new healthy habits, but during this phase the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic broke out. Patients were assessed at baseline, 6, 12 and 18 months by a nutritionist, a physiotherapist, a psychologist, the 4 GPs and community nurses, and the cardiovascular risk score (CRS) was estimated at every examination. 76 patients were included, with a mean age of 54,6 years. Mean CRS showed a significant reduction between baseline and 12 months (from 4.9 to 3.8, p < 0.001), but this trend was not maintained at 18 months. As for variables included in the calculation of the cardiovascular risk score, both total cholesterol and systolic blood pressure significantly decreased at 6 months of follow up (respectively, from 211.1 to 192 (p < 0.001) and from 133.1 to 123.1(p < 0.001)). Nontheless, the reduction was maintained in the remaining points in time only for systolic blood pressure. Our interdisciplinary educational intervention in a primary care setting resulted in a CRS improvement at 12 months, but this changes where not maintained at 18 months. Community nurses were facilitators in improving health outcomes and patient's satisfaction in the described primary care setting. Key messages

Background Cardiovascular diseases represent a significant public health issue, and the promotion of healthy lifestyles plays a major role in their prevention. Good adherence to the Mediterranean diet has a protective effect on cardiovascular health and may reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Our prospective study aimed to evaluate the impact of educational lifestyle interventions on cardiovascular risk parameters and the improvement in adherence to the Mediterranean diet of the involved population. Methods Participants have been recruited by General Practitioners in Torresina neighborhood in Rome. From December 2018 to June 2020, 41 patients were involved in nutritional, psychological, and physical activity meetings by a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals. In particular, a nutritionist provided information to patients on balanced nutrition, considering the Mediterranean diet as a dietary model. Information on lifestyle, dietary habits and physical activity, anthropometric data and laboratory measurements were collected at baseline and after 12 months. The variations of the evaluated parameters were analyzed by paired t-test e Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results The analysis showed statistically significant decreases in weight (p = 0.03) and BMI (p = 0.02), as well as in systolic (p < 0.001) and diastolic (p = 0.001) blood pressure and in total (p = 0.02) and LDL (p = 0.01) cholesterol level. Results also showed an improvement in the adherence to the Mediterranean diet (p = 0.001): the frequency of consumption of fruits and vegetables, legumes, cereals and fish has increased significantly, while the consumption of meat, milk and dairy products and alcohol decreased. Conclusions This study highlights that a multidisciplinary educational program can be effective in improving healthy habits and in reducing cardiovascular risk factors, supporting its implementation in primary prevention at the community level. Key messages • Promoting healthy lifestyle through primary prevention and health promotion actions is critical to reduce the onset of cardiovascular diseases. • A population-based multidisciplinary educational intervention may be effective in improving adherence to a healthy, balanced diet and decreasing cardiovascular risk factors.

Background Coping styles are the ways in which people deal with different stressor situations. Coping strategies can be categorized into three types: task-oriented, emotion-oriented, and avoidance-oriented. Several studies showed a strong relationship between coping styles and cardiovascular diseases. The aim of the study was to evaluate how much the SARS-CoV-2 national lockdown has impacted the coping strategies on behaviors for cardiovascular prevention. Methods 62 participants from Rome were recruited to assess the impact of prevention and promotion of health on Individual Cardiovascular Risk. The Coping Inventory to Stressful Situations (CISS, Endler & Parker, 1990) is a self-report questionnaire that measures the three strategies of coping. Behaviors dealing with cardiovascular prevention were evaluated at the beginning of the observation period, and after 6, 12, and 18 months. During 12 (February 2020) and 18 months (July 2020) the SARS-CoV-2 national lockdown enabled us to inquire into coping strategies in stressful situations and cardiovascular risk factors. Results The Pearson correlation analysis was used to assess the existence of a correlation between coping strategies and the variation of cardiovascular risk factors and alcohol consumption at 12 and 18 months. Interestingly, results showed relations between Emotional-oriented (r = 0.26 p < 0.05) and Task-oriented (r = -0.33 p < 0.01) coping styles and Differential Cardiovascular Risk Reduction (DCRR). Furthermore, a positive relation between Task-oriented (r = 0.34 p < 0.01) coping style and Differential Alcohol Consumption (DAC) was observed. Conclusions We found that the DCRR relates to the Emotional- and Task-oriented coping styles, while DAC is associated with the Task-oriented coping style. The strength of our study consists in the territorial and multidisciplinary dimension of the project, the main critical issue is represented by the small size of the patient sample. Key messages A relationship can be described between Differential Cardiovascular Risk Reduction and Emotional- and Task-oriented coping styles. There is a relationship between Differential Alcohol Consumption and the Task-oriented coping style.

Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) are one of the main causes of death and morbidity worldwide. To reduce the risk of occurrence it is necessary to promote a healthy lifestyle and consider health as a collective benefit. This study aims to evaluate how the implementation of preventive interventions and health promotion could reduce the impact of CVDs on the involved population. This prospective study started 1 year ago and will last 18 months (July 2020). Participants have been recruited in General Practice clinic in Torresina neighbourhood in Rome. The intervention was a full year of multidisciplinary meetings scheduled with general practitioners, community nurses, dedicated professionals (nutritionist, physiotherapist, psychologist) and outdoor events with a coach to promote group physical activity, assisted by the use of social networks. Anthropometric data, blood chemistry tests and information about lifestyle, nutritional habits and physical activity were collected at time 0 and every 2-month follow-up and, additionally, the individual cardiovascular risk score (CVRS) was calculated. After 12 and up to 18 months, instead, the self-management ability of a correct lifestyle will be evaluated on the basis of the measured outcomes. Statistical analysis was performed using a paired t test with Jamovi software. The sample size was 62 patients, 50% male with an average age of 54.6 years (±7.8). During the analyzed period there was a reduction in the percentage of smokers from 30.6% at baseline to 22.6% after 12 months. The baseline CVRS was 4.9% (±6.3). At 12 months the CVRS significantly decreased to 3.8% (±4.0) (p Multidisciplinary interventions resulted in a significant reduction of CVRS and cholesterol levels during the study period. Further studies are necessary to evaluate our approach. Key messages Cardiovascular Diseases are the main causes of deaths among the population, so primary prevention through tailored educational interventions is fundamental. A multidisciplinary approach has proven to be effective in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and the level of cholesterol.

Thermal springs are natural environments present all over the world and their use represents a social-economical resource with an impact on sanus per aquam (SPA) medical and wellness applications. Physical-chemical and microbiological balances characterize these ecological niches and their knowledge is essential to define water properties and support appropriate management. This study is a pilot application of a larger research project, involving metagenomics and aimed to fingerprint springs and map SPA biodiversity. Waters and their deposits were collected in six thermal springs from the Lazio region in Italy. The phylogenic microbial profiles performed by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) analysis showed a clear separation between different springs. Statistical analyses revealed correlations between the abundance of specific bacteria and environmental variables. Temperature, Sodium and H2S levels appear to play a key role in influencing the microbiota. The extension of this model to other springs will contribute to characterize and map the microbial community in thermal springs, allowing associations with chemical-physical factors. Biodiversity is a still underestimated property of thermal springs and a key element in several SPA applications. The Atlas progress is shedding light on biotic and abiotic components in these ecological niches, opening further perspectives for supporting appropriate use and management of thermal waters.

The gas-phase dissociative electron attachment spectra of di-tert-butylperoxide (DBP) and the antimalarial polycyclic peroxides artemisinin and b-artemether are presented for the first time. The total anion currents measured at the walls of the collision chamber and the mass selected anion currents are reported in the 0-6 eV energy range. Electron attachment to DBP produces an intense current, peaking at 1.3 eV, due to the C4H9O- negative fragment, in line with the strongly O-O antibonding character of the singly occupied orbital of the parent molecular anion and the small (if any) thermodynamic energy threshold predicted by B3LYP calculations for the formation of this anion fragment. A five times less intense signal, with m/e = 57 and a maximum at 0.7 eV, is also observed. The calculations exclude that this signal can be associated with the C4H9- negative fragment, whereas support its assignment to the C3H5O- species, generated by simultaneous dissociation and loss of a methane molecule from the parent molecular anion. In DBP, artemisinin, and b-artemether, currents corresponding to the parent molecular anion are not detected, indicating that its survival time is shorter than the time required (about 10-6 s) to pass through the mass filter. In the latter two compounds, where simple O-O bond breaking does not generate separate fragments, the anion currents are much weaker than in DBP and the maximum total anion current peaks at zero energy.

BACKGROUND: It is well established that parity and use of oral contraceptives reduce the risk of ovarian cancer, but the associations with other reproductive variables are less clear. METHODS: We examined the associations of oral contraceptive use and reproductive factors with ovarian cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Among 327 396 eligible women, 878 developed ovarian cancer over an average of 9 years. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using Cox proportional hazard models stratified by centre and age, and adjusted for smoking status, body mass index, unilateral ovariectomy, simple hysterectomy, menopausal hormone therapy, and mutually adjusted for age at menarche, age at menopause, number of full-term pregnancies and duration of oral contraceptive use. RESULTS: Women who used oral contraceptives for 10 or more years had a significant 45% (HR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.41-0.75) lower risk compared with users of 1 year or less (P-trend, 52 vs

Non-empirical calculations using the outer valence Green function (OVGF) approach, which incorporates the main portion of electron correlation and reorganization effects, are reported for the vertical ionization potentials of tria-, penta- and hepta-fulvene, tria-, pentatria-, penta- and heptapenta-fulvalene, spiropentadiene, spiroheptatriene and spirononatetraene. The results provide an overall interpretation of the salient features in the photoelectron spectra.

The low-lying electronic excited states of H2Se and H2Te, accessed by multiphoton absorption, have been investigated at ab initio level according to quantum electrodynamical formalisms, by utilising RPA vertical transition energies and amplitudes. The spectral observables associated with absorption of two, three and four photons with identical frequency and polarisation have been evaluated. The molecular response to concerted absorption of two and three photons from two tunable laser beams under various polarisation situations has been investigated as a function of the photon frequencies.

The association between osteopetrosis and renal acidosis is not accidental, but represents a well-known syndrome with autosomal recessive transmission, due to carbonic anhydrase II(CA II) deficiency. The disease is extremely rare (only few reports in the literature). The diagnosis is confirmed by CA II erythrocyte assay. However, this finding is not essential when the clinical picture is complete, as in the case reported in this paper, which presents a patient with osteopetrosis, proximal tubular acidosis, intracranial calcifications, psychomotor retardation and short stature. Prenatal diagnosis will rely on the genetic study of DNA by molecular probes, since it is already well-known that the coding gene for CA II is on the long arm of chromosome 8 (8q22).

The three contributions (Fermi-contact, orbital-dipole, and spin-dipole) to the chalcogen-carbon coupling constants of selenophene, tellurophene and a number of their derivatives have been examined by SCF-INDO perturbation theory calculations. All three types of spin-spin interaction are important and, in particular, the direct coupling is controlled by the orbital-dipole and Fermi-contact terms. Correlative arguments and theoretical calculations have been used to predict the sign and order of magnitude of the n J( 33 S 17 O  1 H 13 C ) coupling contants of the congener systems thiophene and furan.

SOS‐CI calculations at ab initio level according to Nakatsuji’s formalism, considering all the singly excited configurations and at the same time introducing doubly excited configurations in a restricted way, are presented for the isotropic and anisotropic components of the indirect nuclear spin–spin coupling tensors of directly bonded nuclei in N2H4, P2H4, PH2NH2, B2H4, BH2NH2, BH2PH2, B2H6, BH3NH3, and BH3PH3. Full tensor matrices were calculated taking into account all the spin interaction operators, including the usually neglected ‘‘diamagnetic’’ orbital term. The relative importance of the various interaction mechanisms for J and ΔJ as well as the effects of dihedral angle rotation around the NN, PP, and PN bonds and of the pyramidization of nitrogen in PH2NH2 were examined.

Comparative SCF-INDO-FPT calculations have been carried out for the n J (PC) couplings of phosphorins and the 1 J (PP) couplings of phosphines with the sp and spd basis sets and taking into account the Fermi contact, orbital-dipole, and spin-dipole interaction terms. The couplings obtained with both basis sets correlate satisfactorily with observation, account for the angular dependence of the 1 J (PP) coupling, and provide the same elucidation of the electronic origin of the various couplings. These results indicate therefore that the restricted sp basis set can be confidently used to investigate the couplings of compounds containing di- and tricoordinated phosphorous. The importance of all three interaction mechanisms for interpreting the n J (PX) couplings is stressed.

Electric dipole moments have been determined in benzene at 25 and 45 °C for bis(5-nitro-2-pyridyl) sulphide (compound 1) and 2-pyridyl-(5-nitro-2-pyridyl) sulphide (compound 2) and interpreted in terms of molecular conformations. It was found that compound 1 exists in an equilibrium mixture of three twisted conformers (± 36 ° out of the CSC plane), which corresponds to the N,N-inside; N,N-outside; N-inside, N-outside; orientations of the pyridine rings. The analysis for compound 2 suggests that a single skew conformation, where the pyNO 2 group lies on the CSC plane with the N atom inside, exists in solution.

Nonempirical calculations using the equations-of-motion approach, which includes the main portion of electron correlation effects, are reported for the one-bond coupling constants in the three-membered rings borirane, cyclopropane, azirane, oxirane, silirane, phosphirane, and thiirane and related double-bond analogs. The important overall result is that the 1 J (CC) and 1 J (CC) constants are spread over broad ranges, much wider in the case of the double-bond species, with a nearly regular increase with the electronegativity of the central heteroatom. For the boron cycles the smallest 1 J (CC)'s are predicted, with 1 J (CC) surprisingly lower than 1 J (CC). This exceptional pattern is accounted for in terms of the peculiar electronic structure of these rings formed by the electron-deficient B atom. The 1 J (Heteroatom-C), 1 J (Heteroatom-H) and 1 J (CH) couplings correlate correctly with the available experimental data.

Multiphoton absorption properties of H2S, transition probability coefficients and polarisation ratios are studied at ab initio level according to quantum electrodynamical methods, by employing RPA vertical excitation energies and transition moments and taking the random molecular orientation into account. The spectral observables associated with absorption of two, three and four photons with identical frequency and polarisation for the low-lying singlet excited states are reported. The concerted absorption of two or three photons with various polarisations from two laser beams is investigated as a function of the photon energies. The magnitude and direction of the electrochromic effects induced by a static external electric field on the molecular two-photon spectral properties are also analysed.

The equations‐of‐motion (EOM) method, developed by Rowe and by Shibuya and McKoy as an approach to calculating excitation energies and transition amplitudes relative to a correlated ground state directly, has been extended to the calculation of the indirect nuclear spin–spin coupling tensors. The theoretical values, calculated at ab initio level taking into account all the four electron–nucleus interactions, of a series of saturated and unsaturated molecules, CH4, C2H6, C2H4, C2H2, CN−, HCN, HNC, and HCNH+, correlate satisfactorily with the available experimental data and with corresponding CHF–CI results. The EOM formalism may be therefore a convenient alternative to the time‐consuming CHF–CI procedures in order to get reasonable reproduction of the J tensors, even for molecules which suffer from UHF triplet instability in single configuration CHF calculations.

The two‐photon absorption properties of trans‐1,3‐butadiene have been calculated at an ab initio level employing RPA vertical excitation energies and transition moments and taking the random molecular orientation into account. For single‐beam two‐photon absorption with every possible combination of photon polarization the transition probability coefficients and polarization ratios for the low‐lying 1Ag and 1Bg final states are reported. The strongest two‐photon absorptivity is predicted under excitation from linearly polarized photons for 1Ag states and from circularly polarized photons for 1Bg states. The polarization ratios take sizably different values for the various 1Ag states. The case of concerted absorption of two photons with various polarizations from two laser beams has also been investigated exhaustively as a function of the photon frequencies.

The spin distribution and g-factors have been calculated for a number of dithiin cation radicals. The s-spin densities on sulphur calculated by the open-shell unrestricted INDO method both with and without annihilation of the quartet component have been correlated satisfactorily with the observed 33S hyperfine splittings. The g-factors calculated according to the Stone theory by an open-shell restricted version of the INDO method are found in good agreement with observation; their deviation from the free-spin comes from the large spin density localized on the sulphur atoms and the small excitation energy from the ‘NB’ sulphur orbitals to the odd MO. Comparative calculations with the sp and spd basis sets demonstrate the modest effect of the 3d(S) orbitals on the considered physical constants of the dithiin cations.

The low-lying electronic excited states of H2O, accessed by multiphoton absorption, have been investigated at the ab initio level utilising RPA vertical transition energies and amplitudes obtained with a large Gaussian-type-orbital basis set and performing appropriate rotational averages in order to take random orientation of the molecules into account. The transition probability coefficients and polarisation ratios for two-, three- and four-photon single-frequency absorption from plane polarised, circularly polarised and unpolarised light have been calculated. The molecular response to simultaneous concerted absorption of two and three photons from two laser beams under various polarisation conditions has also been examined as a function of the laser frequencies.

Coupled‐Hartree–Fock and equations‐of‐motion calculations at ab initio level for the boron–boron and boron–proton indirect nuclear spin–spin coupling constants in a representative series of polyboranes (B2H6, B2H4, B2H−7, B3H−8, B4H10, and B5H9) are presented. The boron–hydrogen–boron coupling constant is very sensitive to molecular structure and shows neither a unique sign nor a constancy of absolute value. It is found to be negative in B2H6. On the other hand, the coupling constant for a two‐center two‐electron boron–boron bond is predicted to be invariably positive in sign. Results show that the positive sign must also be attributed to 1J(BH), irrespective of the bridged or normal nature of the boron–hydrogen bond.

In this paper we document the possible performances of the equations‐of‐motion method for predicting second‐order magnetic properties (indirect nuclear spin–spin coupling tensors, nuclear screening tensors, and magnetic susceptibilities). Nonempirical calculations for a series of molecules containing conjugated or cumulated multiple bonds and most of them suffering from UHF triplet instability are reported. In spite of the limitation of the 631G** basis set used, the results fit reasonably well with the main features of the experimental data in all cases but some geminal J’s and the σ’s in diacetylene. Inclusion of the (2p‐2h) interactions brings the theoretical results to a closer agreement with observation. Effects of electron correlation at (1p‐1h) and (1p‐1h) +(2p‐2h) levels of approximation are analyzed by comparison with corresponding results obtained by standard CHF procedures. They are found to be of remarkable importance for the paramagnetic component of σ and χ and for the Fermi‐contact contribu...

The three contributions (Fermi-contact, orbital-dipole, and spin-dipole) to the P-C couplings of phosphorin and two of its methylated derivatives, benzo(b)phosphorin and benzo(c)phosphorin, are examined by SCF-INDO-FPT calculations. An important overall result is that the orbital-dipole and spin-dipole terms are quite important and make decisive contributions compared to the Fermi-contact term. In particular, the orbital term provides the principal contribution to 1 J (P-C), white 2 J and 3 J (P-C) are controlled by the spin-dipole interactions and so behave also the long-range couplings over more than three bonds. Furthermore, theory predicts 1 J , 2 J (P-C, syn ) and 4 J negative while 2 J (P-C, anti ), 3 J and 5 J positive. The absolute values and internal trend of couplings in phosphorin are accounted for correctly and there is some evidence of the correctness of the predicted signs. Analogies and difference between N-C and P-C couplings of aza- and phospha-aromatic congener systems are examined.

The most probable conformation of the isomeric thienylpyrroles has been investigated using the HOFFMANN’S variant of the Extended HÜCKEL Theory. Planar syn conformation is predicted slightly more stable than anti for 2,2′-, 2,3′-, and 3,2′-isomers, while the 3,3′-isomer is predicted to have anti conformation slightly more stable than syn. For the two energetically most favourable conformations of each molecule the charge distribution and dipole moment have been calculated using the CNDO/2 method. The relative stability of these compounds has been also discussed.

The diamagnetic spin‐orbit contribution to the nuclear spin–spin coupling constants of water has been calculated employing SCF wave functions of increasing accuracy. The results demonstrate that this term is small in the case of direct O–H average coupling constants. On the other hand, a significant contribution (≂−7 Hz) to geminal H–H coupling constant is found. The theoretical results are slightly affected by the characteristics of the basis set employed in the calculations.

Comparative calculations by the self-consistent perturbed INDO method on thiophene and by the unrestricted HF INDO method on the 2-thenyl radical show that satisfactory reproduction of nuclear spin coupling constants and hyperfine coupling constants for sulphur heterocyclics can be obtained by considering the sp interaction only.

The three contributions (Fermi-contact, orbital-dipole, and spin-dipole) to the chalcogen-carbon coupling constants of selenophene, tellurophene and a number of their derivatives have been examined by SCF-INDO perturbation theory calculations. All three types of spin-spin interaction are important and, in particular, the direct coupling is controlled by the orbital-dipole and Fermi-contact terms. Correlative arguments and theoretical calculations have been used to predict the sign and order of magnitude of the n J( 33 S 17 O  1 H 13 C ) coupling contants of the congener systems thiophene and furan.

In this paper we document the possible performances of the equations‐of‐motion method for predicting second‐order magnetic properties (indirect nuclear spin–spin coupling tensors, nuclear screening tensors, and magnetic susceptibilities). Nonempirical calculations for a series of molecules containing conjugated or cumulated multiple bonds and most of them suffering from UHF triplet instability are reported. In spite of the limitation of the 631G** basis set used, the results fit reasonably well with the main features of the experimental data in all cases but some geminal J’s and the σ’s in diacetylene. Inclusion of the (2p‐2h) interactions brings the theoretical results to a closer agreement with observation. Effects of electron correlation at (1p‐1h) and (1p‐1h) +(2p‐2h) levels of approximation are analyzed by comparison with corresponding results obtained by standard CHF procedures. They are found to be of remarkable importance for the paramagnetic component of σ and χ and for the Fermi‐contact contribu...

The two‐photon absorption properties of trans‐1,3‐butadiene have been calculated at an ab initio level employing RPA vertical excitation energies and transition moments and taking the random molecular orientation into account. For single‐beam two‐photon absorption with every possible combination of photon polarization the transition probability coefficients and polarization ratios for the low‐lying 1Ag and 1Bg final states are reported. The strongest two‐photon absorptivity is predicted under excitation from linearly polarized photons for 1Ag states and from circularly polarized photons for 1Bg states. The polarization ratios take sizably different values for the various 1Ag states. The case of concerted absorption of two photons with various polarizations from two laser beams has also been investigated exhaustively as a function of the photon frequencies.