Long term environmental variability modulates the epigenetics of maternal traits of kelp crabs in the coast of Chile.

The methylation of DNA is an environmentally inducible epigenetic mechanism reflecting the short-term ecological and environmental background of populations. Marine invertebrate populations, which spread along a latitudinal cline, are particularly suitable for profiling DNA methylation, due to the heterogenous environmental conditions experienced. We used the MSAP (Methylation Sensitive Amplified Polymorphism) technique to investigate the natural variation in DNA methylation of different female's tissues (muscle, gonads, and gills) and early-stage eggs from five populations of the kelp crab Taliepus dentatus, distributed along a latitudinal cline in the coast of Chile.

Affective temperament and mood spectrum symptoms in workers suffering from work-related stress disorders.

Introduction: Adjustment Disorders (AD) which develop in response to work-related stressors represent a model of psychiatric occupational disease. Major Depressive Episodes (MDE) although often associated to work-related stressors are unlikely recognized by insurance institutes as occupational diseases. Affective temperament and mood spectrum symptoms are possible factors of vulnerability to stress.

Do Autistic Traits Correlate with Post-Traumatic Stress and Mood Spectrum Symptoms among Workers Complaining of Occupational Stress?

The adult autism subthreshold spectrum model appears to be a useful tool for detecting possible vulnerability factors in order to develop mental disorders in the contest of work-related stress. The aim of the present study is to analyze the relationship between autism, mood, and post-traumatic spectrum in a cohort of subjects complaining of work-related stress before the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors carried out a retrospective investigation of both medical records and self-assessment tools of a sample of subjects evaluated at the Occupational Health Department of a University hospital in central Italy.

Quarantine and Mental Health Challenges for Occupational Medicine: The Case Report of a Nurse Infected With SARS-CoV-2.

This case study draws attention to the psychosocial difficulties that emerged in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in relation to the remote management of subjects with psychiatric vulnerabilities following exposure to prolonged quarantine. The case involves a 56-year-old hospital nurse, followed by the Occupational Health Department of a major university hospital in central Italy for mood instability in the context of a cyclothymic temperament. She was quarantined for occupationally acquired COVID-19 and remained positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) via swab test for more than 2 months between March and May 2020.

Heart rate variability, serum cortisol levels and temperament in a sample of workers exposed to occupational stress: a preliminary report.

Work-related stress is an emerging risk for psychiatric occupational disorders including Adjustment Disorders (AD). The aim of this study was to investigate in workers exposed to occupational stress suffering from AD about putative indices of stress and mental health resilience such as serum cortisol (seC) levels, Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and affective temperaments. We consecutively recruited 15 male and 15 female AD patients between workers evaluated for occupational stress at an Italian Occupational Medicine Unit.

Work and social functioning in frontline healthcare workers during the covid-19 pandemic in Italy: role of acute post-traumatic stress, depressive and anxiety symptoms.

Background: Evidence highlights healthcare workers (HCWs) facing outbreaks, particularly the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, are at increased risk of negative mental health outcomes, particularly post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), anxiety and depression. Data from previous outbreaks highlighted the risk for a negative impact on HCWs' social and occupational functioning, but scant data have investigated this issue in the framework of the covid-19 pandemic. A number of effective interventions have been proposed to support mental health and well-being of HCWs in emerging infectious outbreaks, but it is important to acknowledge the differential impact of mental disorders on different dimensions of functioning.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome prevalence and work ability in a sample of healthcare workers exposed to occupational stress.

Objective: Occupational stress represents a significant precipitating factor in different diseases but its role in Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) needs to be clarified. The present cross-sectional study aimed at investigating the prevalence of IBS diagnosis in a sample of health workers and exploring the potential relationships between IBS, work-related stress levels and work ability.

Methods: 653 health workers undergoing periodical occupational health surveillance at the Occupational and Preventive Medicine Unit of a major University Hospital in central Italy, were consecutively recruited and screened for IBS diagnosis, according to ROMA IV criteria.

Validation of the Italian version of the peritraumatic distress inventory: validity, reliability and factor analysis in a sample of healthcare workers.

: Peritraumatic distress as assessed by the (PDI), has been consistently shown to predict the development of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after the exposure to a potentially traumatizing event. : The present study aims to validate the Italian version of the PDI in a sample of Healthcare Workers (HCWs) exposed to COVID-19 related potentially traumatizing events. : = 265 HCWs who repeatedly experienced the deaths of patients during COVID-19 emergency in Italy, were enrolled from the Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana (Pisa, Italy).

Mental health of Health Care Workers (HCWs): a review of organizational interventions put in place by local institutions to cope with new psychosocial challenges resulting from COVID-19.

The COVID-19 outbreak has been associated with significant occupational stressors and challenges for healthcare workers (HCWs) including the risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Many reports from all over the world have already found that HCWs have significant levels of self-reported anxiety, depression and even symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Therefore, supporting mental health of HCWs is a crucial part of the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sudden and persistent dysphonia within the framework of COVID-19: The case report of a nurse.

In December 2019, clusters of atypical pneumonia with unknown etiology emerged in the city of Wuhan in China. In early January 2020, the Center for Disease Control in China announced that it was identified a new coronavirus, first tentatively named 2019-nCoV and officially named SARS-CoV-2 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. On February 11, 2020 the WHO identified the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 as COVID-19 (COronaVIrus Disease-19 based on the year of appearance).

Professional Quality of Life and Mental Health Outcomes among Health Care Workers Exposed to Sars-Cov-2 (Covid-19).

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic spreading worldwide, and Italy represented the first European country involved. Healthcare workers (HCWs) facing COVID-19 pandemic represented an at-risk population for new psychosocial COVID-19 strain and consequent mental health symptoms. The aim of the present study was to identify the possible impact of working contextual and personal variables (age, gender, working position, years of experience, proximity to infected patients) on professional quality of life, represented by compassion satisfaction (CS), burnout, and secondary traumatization (ST), in HCWs facing COVID-19 emergency.

Post-traumatic stress symptoms in an Italian cohort of subjects complaining occupational stress.

Objective: Work-related stress presents a significant impact on work performance and physical health. It has been associated with the onset of a multitude of symptoms. The main aim of this investigation is to better understand the impact of post-traumatic stress symptomatology, using a specific self-assessment questionnaire, in subjects experiencing occupational stress with the rationale to address the variegated symptoms expressed by this particular population in a post-traumatic dimensional perspective.

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Unlabelled: «Mental disability management within occupational health surveillance».

Introduction:: The management of workers with mental disability is a current topic of great interest. The aim of the article is to report the experience of managing cases of employees with mental disabilities in an Italian university hospital and to describe the preventive measures adopted and the therapeutic programs carried out.

Characterization and evaluation of the performance of different calcium and magnesium salts as excipients for direct compression.

The performance of a series of inorganic salts as direct compression excipients was systematically evaluated. The physical-chemical and technological properties of the different salts were investigated in terms of crystalline/amorphous state, morphology, granulometry, apparent/tapped density, specific surface area, flowability, compressibility, dilution and distribution coefficients. To achieve a comprehensive evaluation of the performance of the different salts, the data obtained by the various analyses were normalized, giving a score to each excipient for each evaluated property/parameter.

Plasma Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) and serum cortisol levels in a sample of workers exposed to occupational stress and suffering from Adjustment Disorders.

Introduction: Decreased plasma BDNF (pBDNF) levels have been proposed as a biomarker in illness phases of mood disorders. Serum cortisol (seC) levels are an index of energy mobilization and stress. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate pBDNF and seC levels in workers exposed to occupational stress and suffering from Adjustment Disorders (AD) compared to healthy workers.

A mobile app for patients with Pompe disease and its possible clinical applications.

In recent years, the potential of smart technology to provide innovative solutions for disease management has raised high expectations for patients' and healthcare professionals' community. We developed a mobile app, called AIGkit, specifically designed for adult patients with Pompe disease, with the aim to help them manage the burden of illness-related factors, and also to provide clinicians with continuous tracking of each patient in real-time and ambient conditions of everyday life. We present the AIGkit as an innovative approach exploiting cutting-edge technology to improve quality of care and research into neuromuscular disorders.

Disruption of sleep-wake continuum in myotonic dystrophy type 1: Beyond conventional sleep staging.

Sleep disruption and excessive daytime sleepiness are well recognised symptoms in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), where a central dysfunction of sleep-wake regulation may play a pivotal role. Few studies evaluated sleep macrostructure in DM1, but none investigated more refined sleep variables. Eight DM1 patients (6 male, aged 20-50 years) and 10 healthy controls (7 male, aged 22-67 years) underwent nocturnal polysomnography and multiple sleep latency test.

The proposal of a clinical protocol to assess central and peripheral fatigue in myotonic dystrophy type 1.

DM1 is an autosomal-dominant disorder characterized by muscle weakness, myotonia, and multisystemic involvement. According to current literature fatigue and daytime sleepiness are among the main symptoms of DM1. Oxidative stress has been proposed to be one of the pathogenic factors of fatigue consequent to DM1.

Hard ways towards adulthood: the transition phase in young people with myotonic dystrophy.

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), also called Steinert's disease, is a genetic multisystem disorder that has raised, in the last years, high interest because of the high variable clinical spectrum and related disability. Children with myotonic dystrophy are affected by behavioural problems and intellectual disability, finally impacting on their degree of engagement in family, work and social activities. The transition phase, representing the process of moving from adolescence to adulthood, can be severely affected by growing up with a neuromuscular disorder, with significant impact on patient's and families' quality of life.

New talitrids from South Africa (Amphipoda, Senticaudata, Talitroidea, Talitridae) with notes on their ecology.

Based on new talitrid amphipod collections from South Africa one new genus, Capeorchestia gen. nov., and one new species, Africorchestia meridionalis sp.

Relationship between neuropsychological impairment and grey and white matter changes in adult-onset myotonic dystrophy type 1.

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) has a wide phenotypic spectrum and potentially may affect central nervous system with mild to severe involvement. Our aim was to investigate grey matter (GM) and white matter (WM) structural alterations in a sample of adult-onset DM1 patients and to evaluate relationship with clinical and cognitive variables. Thirty DM1 patients underwent neuropsychological investigation and 3T-MRI protocol.

Disease awareness in myotonic dystrophy type 1: an observational cross-sectional study.

Background: Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (Steinert's disease or DM1), the most common form of autosomal dominant muscular dystrophy in adults, is a multisystem disorder, affecting skeletal muscle as well as eyes, heart, gastrointestinal tract, endocrine system, and central nervous system, finally responsible of increasing disabilities and secondary social consequences. To date, DM1-related brain involvement represents a challenging field of research. It is well known that DM1 patients frequently present neuropsychological disturbances and psychiatric comorbidities among which reduced awareness of disease burden and its progression, also defined as anosognosia, is common in clinical practice, this leading to secondary misattribution of symptoms, delay in timely diagnostic procedures and low compliance to treatment.

Work-related stress disorders: variability in clinical expression and pitfalls in psychiatric diagnosis.

Background: Putative occupational stress-related psychiatric disorders are Adjustment Disorders (AD) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Mood Disorders (MD) are not excluded but are unlikely to be identified as occupational diseases. The differential diagnosis between AD and MD is not easy and is based on strict categorical criteria.

Contrasting environments shape thermal physiology across the spatial range of the sandhopper Talorchestia capensis.

Integrating thermal physiology and species range extent can contribute to a better understanding of the likely effects of climate change on natural populations. Generally, broadly distributed species show variation in thermal physiology between populations. Within their distributional ranges, populations at the edges are assumed to experience more challenging environments than central populations (fundamental niche breadth hypothesis).

Temperature Effects on Reproductive Allocation in the Sandhopper Talorchestia capensis.

In invertebrates, environmental temperature may induce mothers to invest differently in the early development of their offspring. In ectotherms, temperature affects offspring phenotype so that colder mothers produce larger eggs. However, developmental mode and maternal size also contribute to the determination of optimal offspring size.