Effects of respiratory exercises in sleep bruxism and associated obstructive sleep apnea: a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to assess the effects of respiratory exercises (inspiratory and expiratory) in individuals with sleep bruxism (SB) and associated obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Methods: This is a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial including individuals with SB and associated respiratory events in OSA. Respiratory physical therapy was performed using inspiratory (Threshold® IMT), expiratory (Threshold® PEP) muscle training, and compared with a placebo group.

Efficacy of DNA Vaccines in Protecting Rainbow Trout against VHS and IHN under Intensive Farming Conditions.

Despite the negative impact of viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) and infectious hematopoietic necrosis (IHN) on European rainbow trout farming, no vaccines are commercially available in Europe. DNA vaccines are protective under experimental conditions, but testing under intensive farming conditions remains uninvestigated. Two DNA vaccines encoding the glycoproteins (G) of recent Italian VHSV and IHNV isolates were developed and tested for potency and safety under experimental conditions.

Tips to avoid weak scientific English.

In the present issue of Acta Biomedica is published a contribution of Rago V on "Scientific writing like a native English-speaker: tips for Italian researchers". The Author, over the past years, has collaborated with Italian researchers and has generally noticed that their English  status is relatively weak. Therefore, he gives "tips or dritte that do not always refer to incorrect English, but rather to weak scientific English" (1).

Foreword: Research in times of pandemic COVID-19.

Editorial.

A two-week summer program promoting physical activity: quality of life assessment in Italian children.

Physical activity (PA) can be associated with better health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This study aimed to assess HRQoL before and after a two-week summer program promoting PA in Italian school-aged children. Participants were recruited during the 2017 (Parma, Italy), from June to July.

WHO Declares COVID-19 a Pandemic.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020, has declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a global pandemic (1). At a news briefing , WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, noted that over the past 2 weeks, the number of cases outside China increased 13-fold and the number of countries with cases increased threefold.

Clinical utility of beta-hydroxybutyrate measurement in the management of physiological ketosis at home in children under 5.

Aim: To verify the possible advantages of 3- β-hydroxybutyrate (3HB) measurement compared to urinary assay of ketones during an intercurrent disease managed at home.

Methods: Twelve Pediatricians were asked to enroll at least 4 patients aged 3 to 5 years, affected by an intercurrent illness and showing at least one of symptoms reliable to ketosis. Recruited patients were submitted to the simultaneous assay of 3HB in capillary blood and ketones in urine at 3 (T3) and 6 hours (T6) from the first measurement (T0).

Disturbed eating behavior in pre-teen and teenage girls and boys with type 1 diabetes.

Aim: To investigate Disturbed Eating Behavior (DEB) and eating patterns in the context of a teenage population with T1D.

Methods: DEB was investigated using Eating Disorder Examination (EDE) test by a psychologist. Questions regarding insulin dosage manipulation or omission to obtain decrease in weight were added.

Could infantile interactive drawing technique be useful to promote the communication between children with Type-1 diabetes and pediatric team?

Aim: to finding what young patients with type-1 diabetes (T1D) knows about their body and also on their illness in perspective to tailor educational interventions to their real ability to understand.

Methods: the present study involved 68 children with T1D , 5 to 14 years old with a duration of diabetes ranging from 2 to 6 years and a total HbA1c mean value of 7.96±0.

Diabetic ketoacidosis at the onset of Type 1 diabetes in young children Is it time to launch a tailored campaign for DKA prevention in children <5 years?

Aim: To analyze clinical characteristics associated with the occurrence of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) at the onset of type 1 diabetes (T1D) in children aged <5 years in order to identify early signs or symptoms useful to prevent DKA appearance.

Methods: Data of patients  with newly diagnosed TID aged <5 years (Group 1) and 6-10 years old  (Group 2) coming from the province of Parma were collected in the period 2012-2016.

Results: Mild/moderate ketoacidosis at diabetes diagnosis occurred more frequently in Group 1 than in Group 2 patients (p<0.

Effectiveness of a tailored medical support to overcome the barriers to education, treatment and good metabolic control in children with type-1 diabetes from ethnic minorities.

Aim: To analyze the effectiveness of a tailored medical support to help children from ethnic minorities to achieve the same good metabolic control of autochthonous peers with type-1 diabetes (T1D).

Methods: Children <10 years of age belonging to ethnic minority (EM) families (Group 1) were compared with autochthonous peers (Group 2) who received the diagnosis of T1D in 2014-2016. The Protocol for minorities included other than the standard protocol: booklets translated in ethnic minority languages; weekly visits at home or at school; family-guides; clinic visits supported by professional interpreters.

A new Journal section on Health System's Research: purpose and rationale.

N/A.

Spontaneous Dissemination in Neighboring Provinces of DKA Prevention Campaign Successfully Launched in Nineties in Parma's Province.

Aim: to investigate how much effectiveness of the historical campaign of DKA prevention at T1D diagnosis has survived in Parma's province where this was launched in Nineties, and how much it has spontaneously spread in the neighboring provinces.

Method: children aged 6-14 years with newly diagnosed TID coming from province of Parma (Group 1) and from two other nearby provinces (Group 2)  were investigated. Clinical and laboratory data were retrospectively collected from medical files of each patient and included age, gender, capillary pH, serum bicarbonate, 3-beta-hydroxybutyrate (3HB), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) at the time of admittance from 1st January 2012 and 31 December 2016.

Editorial.

None.

Letter from the Editor.

N/A.

Giocampus school: a "learning through playing" approach to deliver nutritional education to children.

To improve nutritional knowledge of children, single-group educational interventions with pre/post knowledge assessment were performed in primary schools in Parma, Italy, participating to the Giocampus Program. A total of 8165 children (8-11 years old) of 3rd, 4th and 5th grades of primary school were involved in 3 hours per class nutritional lessons, with specifically designed games and activities for each school grade. To evaluate children learning, a questionnaire was administered before and after three months of educational intervention.

A hand-made supplementary food for malnourished children.

We tested the possibility to prepare a hyperproteic and hyperenergetic supplementary food for malnutrition rehabilitation in children starting from available ingredients in popular markets in Sierra Leone. Twelve residents in Paediatrics from University of Parma, Italy, prepared in a hospital near the capital Freetown with modest technology a mixture of peanut flour, palm oil, milk powder, sugar and vitamins to which they gave the name of "Parma pap". Three hundred and thirty-two malnourished children (mean age 14±6.

"GIOCAMPUS" - An effective school-based intervention for breakfast promotion and overweight risk reduction.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a campaign promoting breakfast in primary school-children from the city of Parma, Italy, where 22 % of peer school-children had reported in 2005 to  skip breakfast. Two groups of children were interviewed by a multiple choice questionnaire on their breakfast habits. Group 1 counted only the children who  underwent the intensive campaign (n.

Sulfonylurea-responsive neonatal diabetes mellitus diagnosed through molecular genetics in two children and in one adult after a long period of insulin treatment.

A permanent neonatal diabetes mellitus has finally been diagnosed through molecular genetics in two children and one adult after 9 to 35 years of uninterrupted insulin treatment. These patients developed diabetes before 6 months of age and were autoantibody negative. In one boy, a mutation in the KCNJ11 gene was identified at 9 years of age.

Children with type 1-diabetes from ethnic minorities: vulnerable patients needing a tailored medical support.

Background And Aim: Newly diagnosed children with type 1 diabetes from ethnic minorities are a growing presence in outpatient pediatric clinics, and are reported as a group at risk of poor metabolic control. In the present study we investigated the barriers affecting chances of minority diabetic children to achieve the same metabolic targets of native peers with type 1 diabetes.

Materials And Methods: The study investigated 35 children from ethnic minorities (group 1) admitted to the Children University Hospital of Parma, Italy, from 1st January 2000 to December 31st, 2011, and data concerning current age, gender, ethnicity, age at diabetes onset, HbA1c, DKA severity degree at diagnosis, insulin therapy, annual number of out patient clinic visits, number of admissions for acute decompensation, and treatment cost.

Metabolic outcomes in young children with type 1 diabetes differ between treatment centers: the Hvidoere Study in Young Children 2009.

Objective: To investigate whether center differences in glycemic control are present in prepubertal children <11 yr with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Research Design And Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 18 pediatric centers worldwide. All children, <11 y with a diabetes duration ≥12 months were invited to participate.

Differences between ethnic minority and native children in breakfast habits.

Aim of this study was to investigate the breakfast habits in a cohort of school ethnic minority (EM) children admitted to a summer sport school (SSS) in order to evaluate the possible differences with their Italian peers (IP). One hundred-seventy-nine children aged 6-14 years were interviewed through a questionnaire about breakfast behaviors and nutrition habits. The results were compared with those obtained in a randomized sample of 179 Italian peers (IP) attending the same SSS.

Physical activity and sedentary lifestyle in children with type 1 diabetes: a multicentre Italian study.

Background: Regular Physical Activity (RPA) is one of the cornerstones of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) therapy, but conflicting results are reported in the literature.

Aim: To compare (RPA) and Sedentary Lifestyle (SL) among children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and healthy peers.

Subjects And Methods: Seven Italian paediatric diabetes centres enrolled 129 children with T1D and 214 healthy peers who were interviewed by a telephone questionnaire on physical activity level, sedentary lifestyle and clinical data.