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Courses including lab- or experiential-based learning may shy away from an online lab format. Using an empirically driven approach, an online research methods in psychology lab section was developed and compared to a face-to-face lab section. Results indicated that there were no differences in student knowledge regarding the American Psychological Association style and in the quality of the term papers (as evaluated by independent coders). Although students did not know whether they would be in a face-to-face or online lab when they enrolled, at the end of the semester, students expressed a preference for the style of lab in which they were enrolled. Recommendations for presenting labs or experiential learning content in an online format are discussed.

Background: Two biomarkers, the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), have been shown to be indicative of systemic inflammation and predictive of mortality in general population. We aimed to assess the association of NLR and PLR, with risk of death in HIV-infected subjects when also taking account of HIV-related factors.Methods: We conducted a multicenter Italian cohort study from 2000 to 2012 including HIV-infected subjects naïve at antiretroviral treatment. The associations of NLR and PLR with all-cause mortality were tested by univariate and multivariate analyses using both time independent and dependent Cox proportional hazard models. We also fitted models with a cubic-spline for PLR and NLR to evaluate the possible non-linear relationship between biomarkers values and risk of death.Results: Eight-thousand and two hundred thirty patients (73.1% males) with a mean age of 38.4 years (SD 10.1) were enrolled. During a median follow-up of 3.9 years, 539 patients died. PLR < 100 and ≥ 200, as compared to PLR of 100-200, and NLR ≥ 2, as compared to < 2, were associated with risk of death at both univariate and multivariate analyses. Using multivariate models with restricted cubic-splines, we found a linear relationship of increasing risk of death with increasing values for NRL over 1.1, and an U-shape curve for PLR, with higher mortality risk for values higher or lower than 120.Conclusions: Our data suggest that NLR and PLR can reflect the severity of the underlying systemic disturbance of the inflammatory process and coagulation leading to augmented mortality in HIV positive subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: We investigated the association between persistent low-level viraemia, measured as viraemia copy-years (VCY), and all-cause mortality.Methods: We included 3271 HIV-infected patients who initiated their first combined ART (cART) during 1998-2012 enrolled in the multicentre Italian MASTER cohort. VCY was defined as the area under the curve of plasma viral load (pVL) and expressed in log10 copies · years/mL. VCY was evaluated from cART initiation until the end of follow-up [VCY-overall (VCY-o)], and stratified into before [VCY-early (VCY-e)] and after [VCY-late (VCY-l)] the eighth month from starting cART, and as the ratio of VCY-l to follow-up duration (VCY-l/FUD).Results: The risk of death increased of about 40% for higher than the median levels of VCY-o and VCY-e. Compared with subjects with permanently suppressed pVL after the eighth month from starting cART, mortality increased by 70% for those with VCY-l ≥3 log10 copies·years/mL, and by about 20-fold for those with VCY-l/FUD ≥2.3 log10 copies/mL. Patients who maintained low levels of VCY-l (<3 log10 copies · years/mL) or VCY-l/FUD (<2.3 log10 copies/mL) had a risk of death similar to patients with permanently suppressed pVL. CD4 cell count at baseline was predictive of high risk of death only in subjects with VCY-l ≥3 log10 copies · years/mL.Conclusions: The risk of death did not increase in HIV-infected patients with low levels of VCY-l compared with patients with permanent virological suppression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The increase in life expectancy of HIV-infected patients has driven increased costs due to life-long HIV treatment and concurrent age-related comorbidities. This population-based study aimed to investigate the burden of chronic diseases and health costs for HIV+ subjects compared to the general population living in Brescia Local health Agency (LHA) over a 12-year period.Methods: LHA database recorded diagnoses, deaths, drug prescriptions and health resource utilization for all residents during 2003-2014. We estimated HIV prevalence and incidence, HIV-related mortality as well as prevalence of chronic diseases in HIV+ subjects. Observed/expected ratio of chronic diseases was calculated by indirect standardization with the general population as reference. Direct cost of HIV care and determinants were estimates across the period.Results: HIV prevalence increased from 220 to 307 per 100 000 person-years while incidence decreased from 16.1 to 10.8 per 100 000 person-years from 2003 to 2014. Prevalence of most comorbidities increased over time but it reduced significantly (annual mean change - 0.7 %) when adjusting for age and gender. Observed to expected ratio for each chronic disease in HIV+ subjects decreased over time. Cost of HIV+ cures increased (+25 %) mainly due to cost for drugs (+50 %) but it stabilized in recent years. CD4+ cell count at the time of diagnosis was an important predictor of cost for HIV management.Conclusions: Expenditures for HIV-infection are driven mainly by drugs cost and they have increased overtime. However, our findings suggest that spending on public health for HIV care can improve prognosis of HIV-infected patients, reduce transmission of HIV infection and reduce the global burden of chronic diseases, leading to a reduction of HIV global cost in the medium-long time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQs) are valuable research tools in nutritional epidemiology. This study aimed to develop and validate a new semi-quantitative FFQ, specifically designed for the Italian population and best fitted for self-administration. During the development process, we adapted to Italian needs the validated FFQ proposed by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, revising food items, food frequency scale, portion sizes, and time frame. To assess the validity of the proposed FFQ, we compared the estimated daily intake using FFQ with the mean of 3-day food diaries and one 24-hour recall (considered as reference method). The validation process was conducted among a cohort of 51 healthy subjects enrolled in a clinical trial. Four statistical tests were applied on 23 estimated nutrient intakes. Spearman's coefficients ranged from 0.223 (sodium) to 0.748 (alcohol) and were good (≥0.50) and acceptable (0.20-0.49) for 7 and 16 nutrients, respectively. Cross classification showed a good agreement (≥50% in the same tertile or ≤10% in the opposite tertile) for 7 nutrients. The weighted Cohen's kappa values indicated an acceptable outcome (0.20-0.60) for 13 nutrients. Bland Altman plots did not show heteroscedasticity in the error terms, despite the presence of a bias. Our study provided a new Italian semi-quantitative FFQ for self-administration with an acceptable validation level. Its definitive release requires additional refinements and efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recent data support the hypothesis that genetic damage occurring early in life during childhood can play an important role in the development of chronic diseases in adulthood, including cancer.Objectives: The objective of this paper, part of the MAPEC_LIFE project, is to describe the frequency of micronuclei and meta-nuclear alterations in exfoliated buccal cells of 6-8year-old Italian children recruited in five Italian towns (i.e., Brescia, Torino, Pisa, Perugia and Lecce) with different air pollution levels.Methods: About 200 children per town were recruited from primary schools. Biological samples were collected twice from the same children, in two different seasons (winter 2014-15 and late spring 2015). Cytogenetic damage was evaluated by the buccal micronucleus cytome assay.Results: Overall,n = 1046 children represent the final cohort of the MAPEC_LIFE study. On the whole, the results showed a higher mean MN frequency in winter (0.42 ± 0.54‰) than late-spring (0.22 ± 0.34‰). MN frequency observed among the five Italian towns showed a trend that follows broadly the levels of air pollution in Italy: the highest MN frequency was observed in Brescia during both seasons, the lowest in Lecce (winter) and Perugia (late-spring).Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, the number of recruited children included in the analysis (n = 1046) is the highest compared to previous studies evaluating the frequency of MN in exfoliated buccal cells so far. MN frequency was associated with winter season and living in towns at various levels of air pollution, suggesting an important role of this exposure in determining early cytogenetic effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]