Actividad física y calidad de vida por parte de los pacientes de la atención primaria de la ciudad de Terrassa (Physical activity and quality of life by patients of primare care of the city of Terrassa)

En el artículo se describen y analizan los resultados de un estudio realizado para investigar la relación entre la práctica físico-deportiva y la calidad de vida percibida (CVP). La muestra del estudio estuvo integrada por un colectivo de ciudadanos (968), pacientes de Atención Primaria, entrevistados mientras se encontraban en las salas de espera, de cuatro Centros de Atención Primaria (CAP) de la ciudad de Terrassa. Los objetivos del estudio fueron: 1) Evaluar la relación entre la percepción de calidad de vida y la actividad físico-deportiva; 2) Verificar si, en tal percepción, hay diferencias significativas entre hombres y mujeres. Las conclusiones fueron las siguientes: Existe una percepción mejor de la calidad de vida entre los usuarios que realizan actividad físico-deportiva que entre los pacientes sedentarios, sea la actividad moderada o intensa. Las mujeres que realizan actividad físico-deportiva mejoran su percepción de Calidad de Vida en mayor grado que los hombres. Las mujeres mejoran su CVP en el ámbito social y los hombres en el ámbito físico, por lo que la práctica deportiva es una fuente de la socialización de las mujeres. Abstract. The article describes and analyzes the results of a study carried out to investigate the relationship between physical-sports practice and perceived quality of life (QOL). The study sample was made up of a group of citizens (968), Primary Care patients, interviewed while they were in the waiting rooms of four Primary Care Centers (CAP) in the city of Terrassa. The objectives of the study were: 1) To evaluate the relationship between the perception of quality of life and physical-sports activity; 2) Verify if, in such perception, there are significant differences between men and women. The conclusions were as follows: There is a better perception of the quality of life among users who perform physical-sports activity than among sedentary patients, be it moderate or intense activity. Women who perform physical-sports activity improve their perception of Quality of Life to a greater degree than men. Women improve their CVP in the social sphere and men in the physical sphere, so sports practice is a source of women's socialization.

Human communities living in the central Campania Plain during eruptions of Vesuvius and Campi Flegrei

Archaeological and volcanological studies have revealed that eruptions of Neapolitan volcanoes have conditioned human settlement patterns since prehistoric times. The occurrence of high intensity explosive eruptions, interspersed with long periods of quiescence, has characterized the last 10 ka of activity of these volcanoes. Geoarchaeological studies, carried out in advance of investigations for the construction of the Rome-Naples and the new Naples-Bari railway lines, have made possible a detailed reconstruction of human presence in the central part of the Campania Plain up to the coastal strip, between the late Neolithic and the late Bronze Age. The examined chronological interval includes sequences of pyroclastic deposits erupted by both Campi Flegrei and Somma-Vesuvius, and paleosols with evidence of anthropic frequentation. Altogether, the geoarchaeological data have provided a detailed picture of human settlement and activities through time with a particular focus on a long period of quiescence of the two volcanoes and also during their intense activity.

Materials and Tools across Volcanoes: Exploitation of Georesources in Piano dei Cardoni (Ustica, Italy) during Prehistory

The paper aims at merging the first results from the analyses of the georesources exploited in the site of Piano dei Cardoni (Ustica island, Italy) during the Neolithic phases of its occupation (Middle-Late Neolithic, 4.7-4.2 ka cal BC). Grinding tools consist of a very varied typology of local volcanic rocks, easy to collect and available very close to the investigated site. A selection of shapes and lithology is applied to reach the best performance of the tools. The elevated number of grinders, pestles, mortars testify to an intense activity of food/plant processing in the site. The absence of chert or obsidian resources on the island pushed the human communities to import such raw materials from the Aeolian islands and probably from the north-western area of Palermo. Pumice is collected on the same island, probably due to the local availability and its good quality. Similarly, local clay resources are used for the manufacture of ceramics, mostly burnished and incised wares. Ustica was therefore almost autonomous for the exploitation of resources, with volcanic rocks readily available in abundance and with the most significant exception being chert and obsidian. This last one probably imported and worked on the island and then moved towards North-Western Sicily.

The first mathematics textbook printed in Moldavia. Elementi aritmetice arătate firești (Iași, 1795)

The first mathematics textbook printed in Moldavia (Iași, 1795) was not sufficiently examined, although the translation offers us valuable information on the Italian influence on the Romanian language and a precious linguistic material as regards both the configuration of the Romanian literary language in Moldavia at the end of the 18th century and the constitution of mathematical terminology. The linguistic material excerpted reflects phonetic and morphologic norms specific of the author’s dialect, sometimes going beyond the criteria illustrated by the local tradition, especially in the morphosyntax field. The lack of a terminological tradition is to be observed in the high number of un-adapted terms, semantic loans and old terms. Amfilohie’s intense activity of translating from Italian (the scholar being a genuine forerunner of the Italianate movement in Moldavia) is proof of the depths of the cultural contacts with the western world, resulting in the intensification of the renewing of the Romanian vocabulary by assimilating Latin-Romance borrowings in general and Italian ones, in particular.

A Sublime Opportunity: The Dynamics of Transitioning Cometary Bodies and the Feasibility of In Situ Observations of the Evolution of Their Activity

The compositional and morphological evolution of minor bodies in the solar system is primarily driven by the evolution of their heliocentric distances, as the level of incident solar radiation regulates cometary activity. We investigate the dynamical transfer of Centaurs into the inner solar system, facilitated by mean motion resonances with Jupiter and Saturn. The recently discovered object P/2019 LD2 will transition from the Centaur region to the inner solar system in 2063. In order to contextualize LD2, we perform N-body simulations of a population of Centaurs and Jupiter-family comets. Objects between Jupiter and Saturn with Tisserand parameter T J ∼ 3 are transferred onto orbits with perihelia q < 4 au within the next 1000 yr with notably high efficiency. Our simulations show that there may be additional LD2-like objects transitioning into the inner solar system in the near future, all of which have low ΔV with respect to Jupiter. We calculate the distribution of orbital elements resulting from a single Jovian encounter and show that objects with initial perihelia close to Jupiter are efficiently scattered to q < 4 au. Moreover, approximately 55% of the transitioning objects in our simulated population experience at least one Jovian encounter prior to reaching q < 4 au. We demonstrate that a spacecraft stationed near Jupiter would be well positioned to rendezvous, orbit-match, and accompany LD2 into the inner solar system, providing an opportunity to observe the onset of intense activity in a pristine comet in situ. Finally, we discuss the prospect of identifying additional targets for similar measurements with forthcoming observational facilities.

The DAMA25 Study: Feasibility of a Lifestyle Intervention Programme for Cancer Risk Reduction in Young Italian Women with Breast Cancer Family History

Background: Diet and physical activity (PA) can modulate sporadic and possibly familial breast cancer (BC) risk. The DAMA25 study is a single-arm 12-month intervention aimed to modify dietary and PA habits in healthy young Italian women with a positive BC family history, categorized as having intermediate or high genetic risk according to NICE (National Institute for Health and Cancer Excellence) guidelines. Methods: Participants, aged 25–49 years, were asked to adopt a diet mainly based on plant-based foods and to increase moderate daily activities combined with 1 h/week of more intense activity. Cooking lessons, collective walks, educational sessions, brochures, booklets and online materials were implemented. Dietary, PA habits and anthropometry were collected at baseline and at the end of the intervention. Changes on dietary, lifestyle habits and anthropometry were evaluated by GLM adjusted for weight reduction counselling aimed to participant with a BMI ≥ 25, age and baseline values of each variable. Results: Out of 237 eligible women 107 (45.2%) agreed to participate and among them 98 (91.6%) completed the intervention. The adherence rate of the intervention was 77.8%. We observed a reduction in red and processed meat (p < 0.0001) and cakes consumption (p < 0.0001). Consumption of whole grain bread (p < 0.001), leafy vegetables (p = 0.01) and olive oil (p = 0.04) increased. We observed an increase in moderate (p < 0.0001) and more intense (p < 0.0001) recreational activities, an average 1.4 kg weight loss (p = 0.005), a reduction of waist circumference (p < 0.001) and fat mass (p = 0.015). Conclusions: The DAMA25 study shows that it is feasible an intervention to improve in the short-term dietary and PA habits and anthropometry in women with high BC familial risk.

Impact of Light at Night Is Phase Dependent: A Study on Migratory Redheaded Bunting (Emberiza bruniceps)

Artificial light at night (LAN) alters the physiology and behavior of an organism; however, very little is known about phase-dependent effects of LAN, particularly, in night migratory songbirds. Therefore, in this study, we investigated whether the effects of LAN on daily activity and photoperiodic responses in the Palearctic Indian migratory songbird, redheaded buntings (Emberiza bruniceps), is dependent on the different phases of the night. Male buntings maintained under short photoperiod (8L:16D; L = 100 lux, D &lt; 0.1 lux) in individual activity cages were exposed to LAN (2 lux) for 6 weeks either in 4 h bin given at the different phases of 16 h night (early, mid, or late at ZT 08–12, ZT 14–18, or ZT 20–24, respectively; n = 9 each group) or throughout 16 h night (all night light, n = 6, ZT 08–24, the time of lights ON was considered as Zeitgeber time 0, ZT 0). A group (n = 6) with no LAN served as control. The results showed that LAN at the different phases of night induced differential effects as shown by an intense activity during the night, altered melatonin and temperature rhythms, and showed an increase in body mass and body fattening, food intake, and gonadal size. Midnight light exposure has a greater impact on migration and reproduction linked phenotypes, which is similar to the ones that received light throughout the night. The highlights of this study are that (i) LAN impacts day-night activity behavior, (ii) its continuity with the day alters the perception of day length, (iii) birds showed differential sensitivity to LAN in a phase-dependent manner, (iv) the direction of placing LAN affects the daily responses, e.g., LAN in the early night was “accepted” as extended dusk but the late night was considered as early dawn, and (v) midnight LAN was most effective and induced similar responses as continuous LAN. Overall, LAN induces long day responses in short days and shows differential sensitivity of the different phases of the night toward the light. This information may be valuable in adopting a part-night lighting approach to help reduce the physiological burden, such as early migration and reproduction, of artificial lighting on the nocturnal migrants.

Nitric Oxide Signaling in the Auditory Pathway

Nitric oxide (NO) is of fundamental importance in regulating immune, cardiovascular, reproductive, neuromuscular, and nervous system function. It is rapidly synthesized and cannot be confined, it is highly reactive, so its lifetime is measured in seconds. These distinctive properties (contrasting with classical neurotransmitters and neuromodulators) give rise to the concept of NO as a “volume transmitter,” where it is generated from an active source, diffuses to interact with proteins and receptors within a sphere of influence or volume, but limited in distance and time by its short half-life. In the auditory system, the neuronal NO-synthetizing enzyme, nNOS, is highly expressed and tightly coupled to postsynaptic calcium influx at excitatory synapses. This provides a powerful activity-dependent control of postsynaptic intrinsic excitability via cGMP generation, protein kinase G activation and modulation of voltage-gated conductances. NO may also regulate vesicle mobility via retrograde signaling. This Mini Review focuses on the auditory system, but highlights general mechanisms by which NO mediates neuronal intrinsic plasticity and synaptic transmission. The dependence of NO generation on synaptic and sound-evoked activity has important local modulatory actions and NO serves as a “volume transmitter” in the auditory brainstem. It also has potentially destructive consequences during intense activity or on spill-over from other NO sources during pathological conditions, when aberrant signaling may interfere with the precisely timed and tonotopically organized auditory system.

A set of instruments to study commercial organization staffʼs leadership qualities

Introduction. Intense activity of commercial organizations in the conditions of constant social changes, competition, and social tension, which were caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, necessitates the development of leadership qualities and skills in the staff of commercial organizations.Aim. To determine a set of instruments to assess commercial organization staffʼs leadership qualities.Results. The set of diagnostic instruments proposed by the author to study commercial organization staff's leadership qualities aims to assess staff's basic leadership qualities, which relate to staffʼs abillity to manage and administer the commercial organization, and the staff's special leadership qualities, whichinclude staffʼs abilities to directly lead in commercial organizations and are made up of staffʼs innovative-creative, partnership, emotion-regulating, and gender-relevant abilities.Conclusions. The set of diagnostic instruments presented in the article and designed to study commercial organization staffʼs leadership qualities can be helpful for organizational psychologists to counsel commercial organizations on the problem of staff's leadership development.