Evidence of an upper ionospheric electric field perturbation correlated with a gamma ray burst.

Earth's atmosphere, whose ionization stability plays a fundamental role for the evolution and endurance of life, is exposed to the effect of cosmic explosions producing high energy Gamma-ray-bursts. Being able to abruptly increase the atmospheric ionization, they might deplete stratospheric ozone on a global scale. During the last decades, an average of more than one Gamma-ray-burst per day were recorded.

Parents' satisfaction of tele-rehabilitation for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The use of tele-rehabilitation in children was limited before the COVID-19 pandemic, due to culture, technology access, regulatory and reimbursement barriers.

Methods: The study was conducted according to the CHERRIES (Checklist for reporting results of internet E-surveys) guidelines in order to provide quantitative and qualitative data about experience of patients with disabilities and their caregivers during Phase 1 of the COVID-19 pandemic, and their level of satisfaction. An online survey was developed using Google Forms and sent via email.

Alcohol-Related Behaviour in Freshmen University Students in Sardinia, Italy.

This study aims to provide a picture of University of Cagliari students' alcohol-related behaviour and to explore factors associated with it. Data were collected by administering a questionnaire to 992 freshmen university students from different programs consisting of twelve closed questions, including three questions from the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test for Consumption (AUDIT-C short form). Three subgroups of alcohol-related behaviour were distinguished (risky drinkers, social drinkers and abstainers).

Medical-surgical management and clinical outcome in cervical abscesses.

Introduction: This study aims at defining through a retrospective evaluation, the clinical parameters affecting the clinical course and consequently the management of patients presenting with cervicofacial abscesses.

Methodology: A total of 394 patients diagnosed with abscess at the University of Sassari Otorhinolaryngology Division between 2009 and 2017 were included; among these, eleven patients were diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis. Personal and clinical parameters including the LRINEC score and the medical and/or surgical treatment used were analyzed for each patient.

Diaphragm paralysis: a case report.

Introduction: Bilateral paralysis of the diaphragm may be an idiopathic clinical condition or associated with several diseases such as trauma, surgery, viral infections, neurologic disorders. The diaphragm is the main respiratory muscle. It is a cupoliform muscle-tendon structure, innervated bilaterally by phrenic nerve, which originates from C3-C5 nerve roots.

Knowledge about cancer screening programmes in Sardinia.

Background: High level of attendance by population is considered a proof of the efficacy in the screening programmes. Public health aims to increase people's attendance to cancer screening. The study aimed at assessing the level of knowledge and awareness about screening of citizens in Cagliari, from June to July 2016.

The Curitiba Statement on Health Promotion and Equity: Italian version and analysis of criticalities.

Background: The Curitiba Statement of health promotion and equity is the main result of the World Conference on International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE - UIPES), held in May 2016 in Curitiba. The Curitiba Statement is the outcome of a participatory process, result of collaboration of all conference participants. The Curitiba Statement represents the continuity from Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion.

[Accurate compiling of the hospital discharge records according to clinicians' perception: critical issues and perspectives].

Objectives: to explore clinicians vision on hospital discharge records in order to identify useful elements to foster a more accurate compiling.

Design: qualitative research with phenomenological approach.

Setting And Participants: participants were selected through purposive sampling among clinicians of two hospitals located in Sardinia; the sample included 76 people (32 medical directors and 44 doctors in training).

Fast Room Temperature Very Low Field-Magnetic Resonance Imaging System Compatible with MagnetoEncephaloGraphy Environment.

In recent years, ultra-low field (ULF)-MRI is being given more and more attention, due to the possibility of integrating ULF-MRI and Magnetoencephalography (MEG) in the same device. Despite the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) reduction, there are several advantages to operating at ULF, including increased tissue contrast, reduced cost and weight of the scanners, the potential to image patients that are not compatible with clinical scanners, and the opportunity to integrate different imaging modalities. The majority of ULF-MRI systems are based, until now, on magnetic field pulsed techniques for increasing SNR, using SQUID based detectors with Larmor frequencies in the kHz range.

Professional competencies in health promotion and public health: what is common and what is specific? Review of the European debate and perspectives for professional development.

According to the Nairobi Call to Action, the growth of practitioners' skills can be favoured by setting accreditation standards and by reorienting professional competencies of current and future health workers. This will make it possible to develop a critical mass of competent practitioners, foster training, and increase visibility of the professional field. Through a review of the literature, the authors offer an overview of competency-based strategies for professional development in health promotion.

Switching ability of over trained movements in a Parkinson's disease rat model.

Patients with Parkinson's disease show unbalanced capability to manage self-paced vs externally driven movements, or automatic-associated movements with respect to the intended voluntary movements. We studied the effect of a selective loss of dopaminergic terminals within the striatum and the execution of a well-learned set-shifting task as revealed using tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity and magnetic resonance imaging in the rat. We found that, both in the externally cued condition, and in the externally-internally driven switching task, the cue-dependent constraints interfered with motor readiness in over training condition.

Developing a competency-based Pan-European Accreditation Framework for Health Promotion.

Background: The CompHP Pan-European Accreditation Framework for Health Promotion was developed as part of the CompHP Project that aimed to develop competency-based standards and an accreditation system for health promotion practice, education, and training in Europe.

Method: A phased, multiple-method approach was employed to facilitate consensus building with key stakeholders in health promotion across Europe. Consultation processes included focus and discussion groups at European and country levels, an online survey, a web-based consultation, and testing in academic and practice settings.

A bottom-up art event gave birth to a process of community empowerment in an Italian village.

Although community participation is a component of community empowerment, it often remains a theoretical exhortation. Reporting experiences which enable people to take control of their lives, can be useful to suggest practical elements for promoting empowerment. This article describes the experience of a Sardinian village (Ulassai), that developed into a community empowerment.

Antonovsky's Sense of Coherence Scale: Cultural Validation of Soc Questionnaire and Socio-Demographic Patterns in an Italian Population.

Background: The theory of salutogenesis entails that the ability to use resources for one's wellbeing is more important than the resources themselves. This ability is referred to as the Sense of Coherence (SOC). This paper present the cross-culturally adapted version of the Italian questionnaire (13 items), and the psychometric and statistical testing of the SOC properties.

Italian registry on long-term intrathecal ziconotide treatment.

Background: Ziconotide is commonly used for intrathecal (IT) therapy of chronic pain, and has been recently indicated as a first-line IT drug. It is also extremely useful for patients intolerant or refractory to the common IT drugs (such as morphine). The literature, excluding registration studies, mostly includes small samples, and gives only fragmentary evidence on the long-term risks and benefits of ziconotide.

Chronic pain therapy and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis impairment.

Opiates and/or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are among the most effective therapies for chronic pain, but their prolonged time of use can affect health conditions through physical and psychological side effects. They include the very common gastrointestinal effects and changes that can induce osteoporosis, depression, impaired cognition and a generally poor quality of life, which per se can induce and maintain a chronic painful condition. For this reason it is becoming imperative to expand our knowledge of the interaction of these substances with body functions apparently not directly involved in nociception and pain, such as neuroendocrine functions.

Lipid metabolism impairment in human gliomas: expression of peroxisomal proteins in human gliomas at different grades of malignancy.

Gliomas are histologically graded by cellularity, cytological atypia, necrosis, mitotic figures, and vascular proliferation, features associated with biologically aggressive behaviour. However, abundant evidence suggests the presence of unrecognized, clinically relevant subclasses of the diffuse gliomas, both in respect to their underlying molecular phenotype and their clinical response to therapy. It is well-known that patient prognosis and therapeutic decisions rely on accurate pathological grading.

A healthy nutrition programme with child 'Cub Scouts'.

This commentary describes the development of the Health Nutrition programme carried out by University of Cagliari with 19 Italian scout groups. In total 353 children between the ages of 6 and 10 participated in the programme. The objectives were to develop children's knowledge on the Mediterranean diet through games.

A novel acquisition-reconstruction algorithm for surface magnetic resonance imaging.

In U-shaped, hand-size magnetic resonance surface scanners, imaging is performed along only one spatial direction, with the application of just one gradient (one-dimensional imaging). Lateral spatial resolution can be obtained by magnet displacement, but, in this case, resolution is very poor (on the order of some millimeters) and cannot be useful for high-resolution imaging applications. In this article, an innovative technique for acquisition and reconstruction of images produced by U-shaped, hand-size MRI surface scanners is presented.

Design of a magnetic localisation system for in-vivo endovascular interventions.

Endovascular catheterisation is performed by an interventional radiologist using fluoroscopic guide and contrast-media. The X-Ray exposure both of the patient and of the operators can induce heavy collateral effects. The present paper describes an innovative magnetic position/orientation indicator capable to drive the endovascular probe during in-vivo medical diagnostic or interventional procedures.

Participative risk communication in an industrial village in Sardinia.

Objective: In Italy the law on industrial risk has emphasised the necessity of building a local information process to answer people's questions on safety and provide greater community participation in risk management. The aim of this research is to analyse the local population's ideas and expectations of a participatory approach in risk management in order to design a risk communication programme based on health promotion principles.

Design, Setting And Participants: The study was carry out in Portoscuso (Italy), an industrial district.

[Genetically modified organisms: European and Italian legislation to protect citizens' health].

Unlabelled: The development of GM foods and organisms has concentrated everyone's attention on the importance of food safety and on protecting citizens' health, and inevitably influenced healthcare policies regarding food safety. Personal ethical beliefs regarding food and in particular, the consumption of foods derived from biotechnology should be taken into account when deciding healthcare policy.

Aim: The aim of this study was to analyse whether European, Italian and Regional legislation meets basic human rights regarding health and the right to choose, based on the precautionary principle.

HLA-DR,DQ and APOE genotypes and gender influence in Sardinian primary progressive MS.

The authors examined the influence of APOE and human leukocyte antigen-DRB1-DQB1 polymorphisms on the course of multiple sclerosis in 871 patients, 773 with relapsing and 98 with primary progressive disease, and 348 control subjects. The risk of the primary progressive course was increased (odds ratio = 6.81, p = 0.