Exploring the Impact of Bio-Based Plasticizers on the Curing Behavior and Material Properties of a Simplified Tire-Tread Compound.

The tire industry needs to become more sustainable to reduce pollution and fight climate change. Replacing fossil ingredients in a tire-tread compound with bio-based alternatives is an approach to create a more sustainable product. For instance, the plasticizer can be replaced, which is a petroleum-based ingredient used in relatively high amounts in the rubber.

Patients' Experience and Satisfaction Regarding the Pre-Operative Shower: The PRODOUCH Multicenter Descriptive Survey.

Patients' experience of the pre-operative shower remains poorly assessed in the literature although it is an essential step in the prevention of surgical site infection. For obese patients, a pre-operative shower could be challenging. The goal was to assess patient satisfaction and experience with the process of pre-operative shower, and the effect of obesity status.

Exploring Social Bonds and Well-Being in Young Adults during and beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: Young adults, aged between 17 and 25 years, experienced a strong impact on both their mental health and well-being due to COVID-19. Indeed, they were simultaneously faced with the normative tasks of their age and stressors associated with the long-lasting COVID-19 pandemic. This study offers further insights into the perceptions of the well-being (stress, anxiety, and depression) and social bonds in young Italian adults during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose in life as an asset for well-being and a protective factor against depression in adolescents.

Purpose in life, which is a central component of the eudaimonic paradigm of well-being, has been sparsely examined in adolescence. This is unfortunate as adolescence is characterised by identity development and is a key period for the onset of mental disorders. To inform future research on well-being and purpose in life in adolescents, we drew factors from several fields of research, including mental health and psychological factors, and explored which factors were most strongly associated with purpose in life.

Imagine All the People: A Guided Internet-Based Imagery Training to Increase Assertiveness among University Students-Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

The importance of communication skills for well-being and self-realization is widely accepted. Despite that, research on assertiveness and assertiveness training has declined significantly in recent decades. Consequently, traditional training does not consider the most recent novel technologies used to spread psychological interventions.

Entangled States Are Harder to Transfer than Product States.

The distribution of entangled states is a key task of utmost importance for many quantum information processing protocols. A commonly adopted setup for distributing quantum states envisages the creation of the state in one location, which is then sent to (possibly different) distant receivers through some quantum channels. While it is undoubted and, perhaps, intuitively expected that the distribution of entangled quantum states is less efficient than that of product states, a thorough quantification of this inefficiency (namely, of the difference between the quantum-state transfer fidelity for entangled and factorized states) has not been performed.

Tendency in Pulmonary Aspergillosis Investigation during the COVID-19 Era: What Is Changing?

Aspergillosis is a disease caused by , and invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) is the most common invasive fungal infection leading to death in severely immuno-compromised patients. The literature reports co-infections in patients with COVID-19 (CAPA). Diagnosing CAPA clinically is complex since the symptoms are non-specific, and performing a bronchoscopy is difficult.

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Introduction : At least one preoperative shower is recommended to avoid surgical site infection. Caregivers must explain the showering technique, help the patient if necessary, and assess skin cleanliness after showering.Context : Showering may be more difficult for obese patients because of inadequate equipment and difficulties moving, as well as insufficient explanation regarding the showering technique and an insufficient skin cleanliness assessment from caregivers.

NoiBene, a Group Intervention for Promoting Mental Health Among University Students: A Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

University students' mental health has become a public health issue since increasingly students report high levels of psychological distress. Mental health difficulties influence students' lives, such as academic performance, relationships satisfaction, and quality of life. Moreover, different kinds of obstacles often hinder help-seeking behavior.

Anaclitic-sociotropic and introjective-autonomic personality dimensions and depressive symptoms: a systematic review.

Sociotropy (anaclitic) and autonomy (introjective) are conceptualised as two personality dimensions that confer vulnerability to depression. According to Blatt and Beck's theories, sociotropic individuals exhibit distinctive patterns of symptoms such as prominent anxiety, depressed mood, helplessness, crying and somatic concerns, while self-critical ones seem to exhibit a pattern of symptoms including prominent guilt, hopelessness, feelings of failure and worthlessness and other cognitive symptoms.This systematic review was performed with the aim of investigating whether and to what extent psychological dimensions of anaclitic-sociotropic and introjective-autonomy are related to a specific core of depressive symptoms.

The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Italian University Students' Mental Health: Changes across the Waves.

To reduce the spread of COVID-19, the Italian government imposed a rigid lockdown and, for a whole year, continued to declare stringent rules to curb the community spread. This study provides an overview of university students' symptomatology and help-seeking behaviour before and during the pandemic. It aims to evaluate the impact of the different phases of the pandemic on students' mental health.

Meiocyte Isolation by INTACT and Meiotic Transcriptome Analysis in .

Isolation of nuclei tagged in specific cell types (INTACT) is a method developed to isolate cell-type-specific nuclei that are tagged through biotin labeling of a nuclear targeting fusion (NTF) protein. In our work, INTACT was used to capture nuclei of meiocytes and to generate a meiotic transcriptome in . Using the promoter of recombinase to label meiotic nuclei, we generated transgenic plants carrying along with biotin ligase enzyme () under the constitutive () promoter.

Effectiveness of NoiBene: A Web-based programme to promote psychological well-being and prevent psychological distress in university students.

Mental health problems are very common among university students. NoiBene is an evidence-based intervention for the promotion of well-being and the prevention of psychological distress among university students. NoiBene was tested in two studies.

Insights into epigenetic landscape of recombination-free regions.

Genome architecture is shaped by gene-rich and repeat-rich regions also known as euchromatin and heterochromatin, respectively. Under normal conditions, the repeat-containing regions undergo little or no meiotic crossover (CO) recombination. COs within repeats are risky for the genome integrity.

Mitochondrial and lipogenic effects of vitamin D on differentiating and proliferating human keratinocytes.

Even in cells that are resistant to the differentiating effects of vitamin D, the activated vitamin D receptor (VDR) can downregulate the mitochondrial respiratory chain and sustain cell growth through enhancing the activity of biosynthetic pathways. The aim of this study was to investigate whether vitamin D is effective also in modulating mitochondria and biosynthetic metabolism of differentiating cells. We compared the effect of vitamin D on two cellular models: the primary human keratinocytes, differentiating and sensitive to the genomic action of VDR, and the human keratinocyte cell line HaCaT, characterized by a rapid growth and resistance to vitamin D.

[The "Smoke-free hospital" project: prevalence of smokers in a large hospital in Pavia (Italy) from 2006 to 2010].

This study was conducted in the context of the "Smoke-free Hospital" project and its aims were to describe the prevalence of smokers among employees and patients of the Hospital of Pavia from 2006 to 2010, and to evaluate its determinants. The target population was represented by all employees (healthcare and other staff) and patients (inpatients and outpatients) of the Hospital of Pavia. Data collection took place by means of two self-administered and anonymous questionnaires (one for employees and one for patients).

The vitamin D receptor inhibits the respiratory chain, contributing to the metabolic switch that is essential for cancer cell proliferation.

We recently described the mitochondrial localization and import of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) in actively proliferating HaCaT cells for the first time, but its role in the organelle remains unknown. Many metabolic intermediates that support cell growth are provided by the mitochondria; consequently, the identification of proteins that regulate mitochondrial metabolic pathways is of great interest, and we sought to understand whether VDR may modulate these pathways. We genetically silenced VDR in HaCaT cells and studied the effects on cell growth, mitochondrial metabolism and biosynthetic pathways.

Histone deacetylase AtHDA7 is required for female gametophyte and embryo development in Arabidopsis.

Histone modifications are involved in the regulation of many processes in eukaryotic development. In this work, we provide evidence that AtHDA7, a HISTONE DEACETYLASE (HDAC) of the Reduced Potassium Dependency3 (RPD3) superfamily, is crucial for female gametophyte development and embryogenesis in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Silencing of AtHDA7 causes degeneration of micropylar nuclei at the stage of four-nucleate embryo sac and delay in the progression of embryo development, thereby bringing the seed set down in the Athda7-2 mutant.

Mitochondrial translocation of vitamin D receptor is mediated by the permeability transition pore in human keratinocyte cell line.

Background: Vitamin D receptor (VDR) is a well known transcriptional regulator, active as heterodimer in association with coactivators and corepressors. In addition it has been described the extranuclear distribution of the receptor and in particular the recently reported mitochondrial localization in platelets and megakaryocytes is intriguing because it appears to be a common feature of steroid receptors. Whereas for other members of the steroid receptor family the mitochondrial function has been explored, up to now nothing is known about a mitochondrial form of VDR in human proliferating cells.

Quinic acids from Aster caucasicus and from transgenic callus expressing a beta-amyrin synthase.

Several different classes of secondary metabolites, including flavonoids, triterpenoid saponins and quinic acid derivatives, are found in Aster spp. (Fam. Asteraceae).

Histone hyperacetylation affects meiotic recombination and chromosome segregation in Arabidopsis.

In this study, the meiotic role of MEIOTIC CONTROL OF CROSSOVERS1 (MCC1), a GCN5-related histone N-acetyltransferase, is described in Arabidopsis. Analysis of the over-expression mutant obtained by enhancer activation tagging revealed that acetylation of histone H3 increased in male prophase I. MCC1 appeared to be required in meiosis for normal chiasma number and distribution and for chromosome segregation.

Incorporating data link messaging into a multi-function display to support the Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) and the self-separation of general aviation aircraft.

One objective of the Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) Project is to increase the capacity and utilization of small non-towered, non-radar equipped airports by transferring traffic management activities to an automated system and separation responsibilities to general aviation (GA) pilots. This paper describes the development of a research multi-function display (MFD) to support the interaction between pilots and an automated Airport Management Module (AMM). Preliminary results of simulation and flight tests indicate that adding the responsibility of monitoring other traffic for self-separation does not increase pilots' subjective workload levels.

Attention impairment in electrooculographic control of computer functions.

Previous work has demonstrated that computer functions can be controlled by eye movements recorded with the use of vertical and horizontal electrooculography (EOG). In the present study, an attempt was made to show that this newly developed task could be disrupted by dual-task demands and, therefore, would follow conventional principles of multiple-task performance. Fifteen participants performed the eye movement task under two conditions-control and divided attention.

Leiomyoma of the breast: case report and review of the literature.

We describe a case of leiomyoma in the breast in a 48-year-old woman. The main clinical-pathologic features together with the differential diagnosis, and the pertinent literature reviewed.

Organometallic complexes with biological molecules. XVII. Triorganotin(IV) complexes with amoxicillin and ampicillin.

Novel triorganotin(IV) complexes of two beta-lactamic antibiotics, 6-[D-(-)-beta-amino-p-hydroxyphenyl-acetamido]penicillin (=amoxicillin) and 6-[D-(-)-alpha-aminobenzyl]penicillin (=ampicillin), have been synthesized and investigated both in solid and solution states. The complexes corresponded to the general formula R(3)Sn(IV)antib*H(2)O (R=Me, n-Bu, Ph; antib=amox=amoxicillinate or amp=ampicillinate). Structural investigations about configuration in the solid state have been carried out by interpreting experimental IR and 119Sn Mössbauer data.