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Introduction Due to the aging workforce, it will become even more common for organizations to count, among their employees, women who are dealing with menopause. To date, no knowledge is available regarding the work ability among menopausal women. With this view, the aim of the present study was to identify work-related psychosocial factors associated with work ability in a sample of menopausal working women. Methods A self-report questionnaire was administered to 1069 menopausal women employed as administrative officers in the Italian public sector. The study design was cross-sectional. Results Work ability was found to be negatively associated with family-work conflict (β = -0.21, p = 0.0001) and positively associated with health-oriented organizational climate (β = 0.12, p = 0.0001), job autonomy (β = 0.08, p= 0.006), and skill discretion (β = 0.08, p= 0.048). Conversely, work ability did not show significant associations with job demands, flexible working hours, and social support. Discussion From a practical point of view, our study identifies various areas of intervention that could foster job sustainability during menopause. In particular, our findings suggest that, to improve women's job sustainability across their entire work-life span, it may be crucial to develop organizational policies, training, and activities specifically dedicated to sustaining menopausal women's well-being.

Background: The rapid spread of COVID-19 has generated anxiety and concerns among the whole population, by also affecting people’s working life quality. Although several studies underlined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the healthcare sector, very few studies investigated the consequences in the occupational sectors with low risk of contagion. Method: 220 full-time in-presence workers of the manufacturing sector agreed to participate in a study of cross-sectional design during September and October 2020. Data were collected by means of a self-reported questionnaire conceived to investigate the constructs of the COVID-19 concerns, both the personal contribution and the supervisor support to workplace safety, the organizational commitment to safety, and finally, the level of workers’ exhaustion. Results: This study highlights that COVID-19 concerns represent a significant source of stress since it is significantly associated to higher levels of exhaustion among workers. Furthermore, the findings show the relevance of resources related to employee’s personal contribution to safety management as well as the role of climate variables. Conclusions: These results promote knowledge on the role of COVID-19 concerns in affecting psychological wellbeing at work, as well as the impact of both individual and job-related resources that may prevent exhaustion at work. Finally, the present findings also have implications for organizations and the maintenance of their commitment to safety.

Work ability (WA) is an important construct in the occupational health field. Over the years, various WA detection tools have been developed, and a new one is: Work Ability Personal Radar (WA-PR), capable of investigating all the dimensions that define the complexity of WA. The WA-PR was born in the Finnish context, however recently it has also been validated elsewhere. In light of literature on WA assessment tools, our goal is to contribute to the validation of the WA-PR in the Italian context.Data were collected using a self-reported questionnaire administered to 405 workers in the chemical industrial sector.Results show that the WA-PR correlate with WAI and with other constructs conceptually related to work ability: need for recovery, stress and general health.Data analysis confirms that the WA-PR is a useful and reliable tool for evaluating work ability in Italian context.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, universities worldwide have provided continuity to research and teaching through mandatory work from home. Taking into account the specificities of the Italian academic environment and using the Job Demand-Resource-Recovery model, the present study provides, through an online survey, for the first time a description of the experiences of a large sample of academics (N = 2365) and technical and administrative staff (N = 4086) working in Italian universities. The study analyzes the main differences between genders, roles or work areas, in terms of some job demands, recovery experiences, and outcomes, all important dimensions to achieve goals 3, 4, and 5 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The results support the reflections on gender equality measures in universities and provide a general framework useful for further in-depth analysis and development of measures in order to improve well-being (SDG 3), quality of education (SDG 4), and gender equality (SDG 5).

Solar light can be used by semiconductor nanocrystals as a free and largely available source of energy to transform air pollutants into non-volatile less harmful chemicals. The efficiency of this process can be enhanced by doping the semiconductor with carbon-based materials, such as graphene. Nevertheless, such an increased activity has been reported (i) for nanocomposite photocatalysts produced on the research laboratory scale, (ii) analyzing their performance as self-standing photocatalysts and not after incorporation into “real” matrixes (e.g. building materials) and (iii) typically using model target pollutants instead of “real” hazardous ones. Here we describe the large-scale preparation of two series of carbon based photocatalysts starting from commercial materials and we demonstrate their superior photocatalytic activity in degrading important air pollutants as nitrogen oxides, compared to undoped photocatalysts. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by NOx abatement adopting the continuous flow procedure and the apparatus reported in the Italian standard UNI 11,247. Best performing materials were incorporated into two different inorganic matrixes (cement and lime). In both cases, the superior photocatalytic performances were maintained. An improvement up to 42±7% of the photocatalytic activity was measured in the case of a cement sample for a carbon-doped photocatalyst with respect to bare TiO2 . The materials were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, high resolution powder X-ray diffraction (HR-PXRD), high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM) energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and micro-Raman.

Photogeneration of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) finds applications in fields as different as nanomedicine, art preservation, air and water depollution and surface decontamination. Here we present photocatalytic nanoparticles (NP) that are active only at acidic pH while they do not show relevant ROS photo-generation at neutral pH. This dual responsivity (to light and pH) is achieved by stabilizing the surface of TiO2 NP with a specific organic shell during the synthesis and it is peculiar of the achieved core shell-structure, as demonstrated by comparison with commercial photocatalytic TiO2 NP. For the investigation of the photocatalytic activity, we developed two methods that allow real time detection of the process preventing any kind of artifact arising from post-treatments and delayed analysis. The reversibility of the pH response was also demonstrated as well as the selective photo-killing of cancer cells at acidic pH.

Solar light-activated photocatalyst nanoparticles (NPs) are promising environment-friendly low cost tools for water decontamination, but their dispersion in the environment must be minimized. Here, we propose the incorporation of TiO2-NPs (also in combination with graphene platelets) into highly biocompatible hydrogels as a promising approach for the production of photoactive materials for water treatment. We also propose a convenient fluorescence-based method to investigate the hydrogel photocatalytic activity in real time with a conventional fluorimeter. Kinetics analysis of the degradation profile of a target fluorescent model pollutant demonstrates that fast degradation occurs in the matrix bulk. Fluorescence anisotropy proved that small pollutant molecules diffuse freely in the hydrogel. Rheological and scanning electron microscopy characterization showed that the TiO2-NP incorporation does not significantly alter the hydrogel mechanical and morphological properties.

Although previous evidence suggests an association between work ability and burnout, no study has been specifically dedicated at establishing which is the directionality of the relationship between these two important constructs either in educational or in other occupational contexts. Studies shedding light on the directionality of this relationship are essential, as their results may address organizational management and occupational health practitioners in choosing the most proper interventions capable of early interrupting a possible loss spiral initiated by decreased work ability or increased burnout. In view of that, the aim of the present study was to examine the cross-lagged association between work ability and burnout (i.e., exhaustion, enthusiasm toward the job, and cynicism) at a distance of one year. In total, 349 early childhood educators completed a self-report questionnaire at two-time points. Data analyses were performed employing cross-lagged structural equation model (SEM). The findings indicated that work ability positively predicts enthusiasm toward the job and negatively predicts exhaustion. Conversely, work ability did not significantly affect cynicism. Moreover, none of the three-burnout sub-dimensions were found to significantly affect work ability measured at one years of distance. The main contribution of the present study was to have clarified the directionality of the association between work ability and burnout and to have identified the burnout sub-dimensions specifically affected by work ability. From a practical point of view, the present study highlighted the importance of investing in promoting work ability in order to prevent job burnout.

University organizational contexts have been changing significantly in recent years, and academic staff are expected to manage larger workloads at an increased pace. This can threaten their well-being and exacerbate work-related stress—possibly creating negative impacts on their mental and physical states. Surprisingly, academic occupational psychological health is still rarely studied. By referring to the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) conceptual model, this study aimed to analyze the relationship between university teachers’ well-being and job demands and resources, with a particular focus on the role of the relationship with students. Specifically, 550 associate and full professors were studied to determine the impact of job characteristics, quality of relationships in the work environment, and negative and positive relations with students regarding emotional exhaustion and work engagement. Hierarchical multiple regression models allowed us to highlight the fact that emotional exhaustion was positively and significantly associated with workload, conflicts with colleagues, and requests from students, and it was negatively associated with work meaning. Work engagement was positively and significantly associated with work meaning and social support from students. Our study points out that the flexible and renowned JD-R model can successfully be used to analyze the occupational psychological health of academics. Further, our study underscores the fact that, among job demands and resources, the often-neglected relations with external users (the students) can play an important role in university teachers’ perceptions of exhaustion and engagement.

(1) Background: The increasing presence of employed women undergoing menopause has stimulated a growing corpus of research highlighting the complex relationship between menopause and work. Nevertheless, little is known regarding the mechanism by which menopause affects work ability and work-related well-being. In order to fill this gap in the literature, the present study examines whether and how menopausal symptoms affect the relationship between job demands, work ability, and exhaustion. (2) Method: In total, 1069 menopausal women, employed as administrative officers in a public organization, filled out a self-report questionnaire. A moderated mediation analysis was carried out using the latent moderated structural (LMS) equation. (3) Findings: The findings of this analysis indicate that the indirect effect of work ability on the relationship between job demands and exhaustion is influenced by the exacerbating effect of menopausal symptoms on the relationship between job demands and work ability. Moreover, the conditional effect confirmed that women with high menopausal symptoms receive more exposure to the negative effects of job demands on work ability compared to women with low menopausal symptoms. (4) Conclusion: The present findings may help in addressing interventions to prevent negative outcomes for menopausal women and their organizations.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led the worldwide healthcare system to a severe crisis in which personnel paid the major costs. Many studies were promptly dedicated to the physical and psychological consequences of the COVID-19 exposure among healthcare employees, whereas the research on the other working populations has been substantially ignored. To bridge the current lack of knowledge about safe behaviors related to the risk of COVID-19 contagion at work, the aim of the study was to validate a new tool, the SAPH@W (Safety at Work), to assess workers’ perceptions of safety. Methods: A total of 1085 participants, employed in several organizations sited across areas with different levels of risk of contagion, completed an online questionnaire. To test the SAPH@W validity and measurement invariance, the research sample was randomly divided in two. Results: In the first sub-sample, Confirmatory Factor Analysis demonstrated the adequacy of the SAPH@W factorial structure. In the second sub-sample, multi-group Confirmatory Factor Analysis revealed that the SAPH@W was invariant across gender, ecological risk level, and type of occupation (in-person vs. remote working). Conclusions: The study evidenced the psychometric properties of the SAPH@W, a brief tool to monitor workers’ experiences and safety perceptions regarding the COVID-19 risk in any organisational setting.

Objective The COVID-19 pandemic made working from home (WFH) the new way of working. This study investigates the impact that family-work conflict, social isolation, distracting environment, job autonomy, and self-leadership have on employees' productivity, work engagement, and stress experienced when WFH during the pandemic. Methods This cross-sectional study analyzed data collected through an online questionnaire completed by 209 employees WFH during the pandemic. The assumptions were tested using hierarchical linear regression. Results Employees' family-work conflict and social isolation were negatively related, while self-leadership and autonomy were positively related, to WFH productivity and WFH engagement. Family-work conflict and social isolation were negatively related to WFH stress, which was not affected by autonomy and self-leadership. Conclusion Individual- and work-related aspects both hinder and facilitate WFH during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Background: Compared to healthcare workers and teleworkers, occupational wellbeing of employees who continued or suddenly returned to work during the COVID-19 pandemic have received less attention thus far. Using the Job Demand–Resource model as a framework, the present study aimed at evaluating the role of job demands and job and personal resources in affecting emotional exhaustion among university administrative staff. Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed data collected through an online questionnaire completed by 364 administrative employees that continued working in presence (WP) and 1578 that continued working blended (WB), namely, partly remotely and partly in presence. Results: Among job demands, quantitative job demand overloads and perceived risk of being infected were positively associated with higher levels of emotional exhaustion. Among job resources, colleague support was significantly associated with lower emotional exhaustion for both WB and WP, whereas supervisor support and fatigue management were salient only for WB. Among personal resources, personal contribution in managing COVID-19-related risk at work emerged as a protective factor for emotional exhaustion. Conclusion: Insights for the development of targeted preventive measure for a more psychologically safe and productive return to work can be derived from these results.

The funeral and mortuary sector, including funeral homes, cemeteries and crematoria, is a largely neglected sector in regard to the study of occupational factors that can affect the quality of working life. The present study aimed at overcoming this gap by investigating job demands and resources that may affect burnout levels. Data were collected through a self-report questionnaire involving funeral industry employees (N = 229) from cemetery, morgues, crematoria and funeral agencies in a Northern Italian region. The survey was cross-sectional and non-randomized. Results reveal that among job demands, stigma consciousness, supervisor incivility and work-to-family negative spillover significantly affect levels of burnout, whereas meaningfulness of work and family-to-work positive spillover may represent relevant resources to counter the onset of burnout. The results of this study contribute to new insights into the psychosocial working conditions that affect occupational wellbeing among the funeral industry sector by also giving insight into how to promote resources to prevent burnout.

Carboxyl-functionalized graphene platelets (GP) and graphene oxide (GO) sheets were added to a commercial aqueous adhesive dispersion of thermoplastic polyurethane (TP) (Idrotex 200 from FacGB s.r.l.). For both additives, the weight percentage was of industrial interest, 0.01 and 10.1 wt %. The addition of GP/GO was carried out in a simple and scalable-up process that can be applied to other materials and additives. Mechanical, peel tests were applied on polyurethane strips (75 mm long, IS mm wide, and 1.5 mm thick) prepared cutting extruded sheets obtained using Estane 58091, a 70D aromatic polyester-based TP. The tests with 0.01 wt % of GP showed statistically significant higher forces at first failure and maximum forces with respect to the pristine adhesive. Sample characterization was carried out with scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and thermal analysis. A mechanism is suggested for the improved performance of the low-dose GP adhesive.

In recent years, the average age of workers has risen. Because of that, work ability is reducing in many sectors, especially in a public context. Given the above, it is necessary to investigate the individual and organisational resources that can play a role in the protection of work ability. This study investigates the work ability of administrative workers, examines selection, optimisation, and compensation (SOC) as a form of mediation between job control and work ability, and explores the relationship of job control, age, work ability, and SOC strategies via moderated mediation models. The findings indicate that job control, SOC strategies, and age correlate to work ability, but the effect of these factors is different. Job control and SOC strategies are positively related to work ability, and job control positively relates to the use of optimisation and compensation. However, only optimisation and compensation strategies mediate the association between job control and work ability. Finally, age moderates the effect of job control on work ability. The findings suggest that interventions, such as SOC training, promotion, and job control, may help to sustain work ability among elderly administrative workers.

Background Despite the growing presence of menopausal women in workplaces, studies aimed at exploring the link between menopausal symptoms and job well-being are scarce. In the interest of addressing this gap, the present study aimed to explore whether menopausal symptoms might contribute to increased levels of burnout and whether this relationship can be moderated by social or personal resources. Method The study design was cross-sectional and non-randomized. Ninety-four menopausal nurses completed a self-report questionnaire including scales aimed at measuring menopausal symptoms, burnout, social (i.e., support from superiors and colleagues) and personal (i.e., self-efficacy, resilience, and optimism) resources. Moderated regression analyses were performed to test study hypotheses. Results Whereas menopausal symptoms were associated significantly with emotional exhaustion, no social or personal resources were found to moderate this relationship. Regarding depersonalization, our study indicated that it was affected by menopausal symptoms only among nurses who reported low social support (from superiors and colleagues), optimism, and resilience. Conclusion The present study highlights the importance of organizations that employ a growing number of menopausal women to seek solutions at the individual and social levels that help these women deal with their menopausal transition while working.

Item does not contain fulltext We investigate the photocatalytic performance of composites prepared in a one-step process by liquid-phase exfoliation of graphite in the presence of TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) at atmospheric pressure and in water, without heating or adding any surfactant, and starting from low-cost commercial reagents. These show enhanced photocatalytic activity, degrading up to 40% more pollutants with respect to the starting TiO2-NPs, in the case of a model dye target, and up to 70% more pollutants in the case of nitrogen oxides. In order to understand the photo-physical mechanisms underlying this enhancement, we investigate the photo-generation of reactive species (trapped holes and electrons) by ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy. We observe an electron transfer process from TiO2 to the graphite flakes within the first picoseconds of the relaxation dynamics, which causes the decrease of the charge recombination rate, and increases the efficiency of the reactive species photo-production.

BackgroundPast studies in the teaching context provided evidence of the role of mindfulness-based intervention in improving occupational wellbeing. This study aims to increase the extant knowledge by testing the mechanism that links teachers' mindfulness at work to occupational wellbeing. Rooted in the job demand-resource model, the mindfulness trait is conceptualized as a personal resource that has the ability to impact and interact with job demands and resources, specifically workload stress appraisal and perceived meaningfulness of work, in affecting teachers' burnout.MethodsA sample of primary, middle, and secondary school teachers (N = 605) completed a questionnaire that aimed to assess teachers' mindfulness trait and the measures of the quality of occupational life in the school context. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to test the model fit indices; further analyses were performed to test the hypotheses about mediation and moderation effects.ResultsThe CFA showed good model fit indices. Further analyses highlighted that teachers' mindfulness is negatively associated with workload stress appraisal and that positively influenced work meaning, in turn mediating the relationship between mindfulness and burnout. Finally, mindfulness moderated the effect of workload stress appraisal on burnout.ConclusionsRooted in the job demand-resource model, this study emphasizes an underrepresented personal resource, that is, the mindfulness trait at work, and the links that favor its impact on burnout. Practical and future research implications are also discussed.

The aim of the study is to identify relationships between levels of burnout in a sample of Italian teachers in middle school and the quality of the classroom relational climate experienced from their students. Method: analysis identified three different teachers’ burnout profiles, defined as “Enthusiastic”, “Exhausted-Indifferent” and “Exhausted-Guilty”. ANOVA showed that were significant differences in the quality of classroom relational climate perceived by students. The Enthusiastic group was associated with better levels regarding the students’ perception about teachers support and, concerning student-peers relationship, better support and mutual respect.The results are consistent with literature that underlines how burned-out teachers experience more difficult and conflictive relationship with their students. Moreover, it emerges how deficiencies in relational experience could impact not only on the student-teacher relationship, but also on the quality of student-peer interactions.

Introduction The aging of workers generally implies an increased number of workers with health problems or psychological diseases because of the growing distance between personal resources and job demands; the first may decrease, while the second are stable. In the preschool setting, the demands remain constant because children are always aged 0-3 years, while the preschool teacher's personal resources decrease with age. It is, therefore, necessary to propose multilevel interventions aimed at supporting work sustainability and workers' resources. Method This study involved twenty-seven preschools (324 teachers with an average age of 48.7 years): the control group included seventeen schools (190 teachers with an average age of 48.5 years), five schools were assigned to experimental group one (69 teachers with an average age of 48.8), and five schools were assigned to experimental group two (65 teachers with an average age of 49.1). In this context, we proposed two protocols of multilevel intervention comprising three solutions; two of these were common to both experimental groups: psychological counseling and psychosocial intervention. The third solution differed between groups: environmental redefinition (for group one); gymnastic and vocal hygiene (for group two). We hypothesized that the interventions improve teachers' work abilities, increase well-being, and decrease stress and burnout. Furthermore we hypothesized that there would be an improvement in the organizational climate of trust and in social job resources. Results Data analysis showed that the interventions were effective. In particular, the experimental groups reported significant decreases in psychological exhaustion (EG2: s = -1.48; p = .00), indolence (EG1: s = -1.36; p = .00), and stress (EG2: s = -0.94; p = .00). Furthermore, the experimental groups significantly increased their enthusiasm towards work (EG2: s = 1.21; p = .01), vertical trust (EG1: s = 0.54; p = .01), and the perception of coworker social support (EG2: s = 0.54; p = .01). The protocol that involved the GC2 was particularly effective. Conclusions These results demonstrate the effectiveness of the intervention in a particular job setting (preschool classroom), emphasizing the need for implementing solutions aimed at supporting workers' well-being, especially in light of an aging workforce.

Interpersonal relationship require sophisticated competences of cohabitation. However, the availability of training tools to develop conflict management skills is limited and problematic. The prisoner's dilemma game (PDG), the most widely known example of game theory, a nonzero-sum game, has been used, in higher education, to provide students with an opportunity of active learning and for understanding counterintuitive concepts. It creates a condition of emotive, moral and decisional conflict in and between agents. This paper presents a case-study in higher education in which PDG was proposed to enhance organizational competences for conflict management, according to the psychoanalytic approach to organizational studies. The study aims to explore: (1) the significant characteristics of PDG used in an affective-emotional key in higher education; (2) the learning outcomes that PDG enables to activate in the participants in relation to the development of organizational skills for conflict management. Twenty students' reflective journals were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings indicated that PDG is perceived as a useful device in students' learning experience, which is appreciated in relation to its concreteness, intensity and debriefing phase. Learning outcomes allow new meanings about conflict, by emphasizing its defensive, automatic and interpersonal dimension. This paper contributes to the understanding of PDG as a tool to develop competences in dealing with the challenges of conflict management, since it seems to favor the overcoming of the individualistic stereotype in conflict representation by highlighting the interdependence of social interaction.

AIM: To examine the relationship of co-worker incivility with organisational efficiency, workload and intention to leave in nursing samples from two different countries, the USA and Italy. BACKGROUND: Organisational efficiency has received little attention as a possible correlate of co-worker incivility in the nursing management literature. Studies on co-worker incivility have primarily been carried out in North America and no cross- national studies are available. METHOD: Data were collected by a self-report questionnaire involving nurses from the USA (n = 341) and Italy (n = 313). FINDINGS: Organisational efficiency was negatively associated with workload, co-worker incivility and intention to leave in both samples. The path from co-worker incivility to intention to leave was also positive and significant in both samples. Workload was positively associated with co-worker incivility and intention to leave in the US sample, but not in the Italian sample. CONCLUSION: The present study suggests that organisational efficiency is central to understanding both co-worker incivility and intention to leave among nurses. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Nurse administrators should adopt interventions aimed at fostering organisational efficiency in an effort to reduce nurse co-worker incivility.

Purpose Concerns about change, a measure of the perception about future losses owing to organizational change, have received scarce attention within the organizational change literature. This study aims to address some relevant questions still unexplored regarding, the relationship between concerns about change and employees’ burnout and work engagement. Moreover, it evaluates the buffering role of social support namely, that of colleagues and superiors, during the anticipation stage of an organizational change process. Design/methodology/approach Six hundred and thirty-two employees of an administrative public sector filled out a self-reporting questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using hierarchical moderated regression to show direct and moderating effects. Findings Results suggest that concerns about change, measured during the anticipation stage of an organizational change process, relate to higher burnout and lower work engagement. Social support significantly affects the relationship between concerns and outcomes. Originality/value Overall, the study shows the role exerted from concerns about change in affecting employees’ wellbeing as the early stage of the organizational change process, providing scholars and practitioners in human resources management with new insight regarding the importance of support from colleagues and supervisor to sustain successful change implementation and employees’ wellbeing.

Objective: Demographic changes involving western countries and later retirements due to the recent pension reforms induce a gradual aging of the workforce. This imply an increasing number of workers with health problems and a decreasing of ability to work. In this direction, the present study aims at examining the role of job and personal resources between age and work ability within nurses. Method: The study was cross-sectional and not randomized; data were collected by a self-report questionnaire during a multi-center survey conducted in two Italian hospitals in 2016. In this way, 333 nurses were reached. Results: Multiple linear regression showed that age is significantly and negatively associated to work ability, and that job resources (e.g., decision authority and meaning of work) and personal resources (e.g., hope and resilience) moderate the relationship between age and work ability. Discussion: These results highlight that investing in work and personal resources to support WA is even more relevant for those professions where high physical effort is required.

Background Based on the conservation of resource (COR) theory by Hobfoll, the aim of the present study was to test whether the relationships among relational demands, work meaning, and intention to leave vary as a function of the presence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Method The study was cross-sectional and non-randomized. Analyses were carried out on a dataset consisting of 429 preschool teachers, who filled out a self-report questionnaire. Of them, 238 reported a MSD diagnosis and 191 were free form MSDs. Results As expected, among those who reported MSDs, relational demands were significantly associated to intention to leave, and this relationship was mediated by work meaning; moreover, among those free from MSDs, no significant paths among the three variables were found. Conclusion In general, results showed that suffering from MSDs impairs workers’ ability to face to relational demands, thus activating a spiral that encompasses diminished work meaning and intention to leave. Practical implications of results will be discussed in the paper.

Fluorescence bioimaging is a non-invasive technique that permits to investigate living organism in real time with high tridimensional resolution. Properly engineered fluorescent (or photoluminescent) nanoparticles promise to surpass conventional fluorescent molecular probes as contrast agent. Photoluminescent semiconductor quantum dots show, for example, enhanced brightness and photostability. Concerns arising from the toxic metal content of quantum dots prompted the search for alternative inorganic nanoparticles with similar properties but less hazardous. Gold is almost unanimously considered to be highly tolerated by living organism and the environment. Nevertheless, although photoluminescence of gold nanocluster is known by decades, brightness of these nanoparticles has typically reported to be low, mostly because of the poor photoluminescence quantum yield (< 1 %). Different approaches have been proposed to enhance this poor quantum yield aiming to achieve ultra-bright gold nanoparticles with features superior to conventional dyes. Here most relevant and recent results in this direction are summarized and critically discussed.

open 11 no Nome progetto: Graphene Flagship Photo-switching of the NIR emission of gold nanoparticles (GNP) upon photo-isomerization of azobenzene ligands, bound to the surface, is demonstrated. Photophysical results confirm the occurrence of an excitation energy transfer process from the ligands to the GNP that produces sensitized NIR emission. Because of this process, the excitation efficiency of the gold core, upon excitation of the ligands, is much higher for the trans form than for the cis one, and t→c photo-isomerization causes a relevant decrease of the GNP NIR emission. As a consequence, photo-isomerization can be monitored by ratiometric detection of the NIR emission upon dual excitation. The photo-isomerization process was followed in real-time through the simultaneous detection of absorbance and luminescence changes using a dedicated setup. Surprisingly, the photo-isomerization rate of the ligands, bound to the GNP surface, was the same as measured for the chromophores in solution. This outcome demonstrated that excitation energy transfer to gold assists photo-isomerization, rather than competing with it. These results pave the road to the development of new, NIR-emitting, stimuli-responsive nanomaterials for theranostics. partially_open embargoed_20170812 Bonacchi, Sara; Cantelli, Andrea; Battistelli, Giulia; Guidetti, Gloria; Calvaresi, Matteo; Manzi, Jeannette; Gabrielli, Luca; Ramadori, Federico; Gambarin, Alessandro; Mancin, Fabrizio; Montalti, Marco Bonacchi, Sara; Cantelli, Andrea; Battistelli, Giulia; Guidetti, Gloria; Calvaresi, Matteo; Manzi, Jeannette; Gabrielli, Luca; Ramadori, Federico; Gambarin, Alessandro; Mancin, Fabrizio; Montalti, Marco

Most methods used for the characterization of graphene produced by liquid phase exfoliation require the deposition of the liquid sample on a substrate and subsequent drying. Because of this or other post-synthetic treatments, the reliability of the data in describing the actual features of the graphene particles in the pristine solution becomes questionable. Hence there is a need for new methods that permit the study of graphene directly in solution. Fluorescence imaging is at present the most convenient and sensitive method to visualize nanosized objects in solution. Here we report the development of a new method for visualizing and tracking exfoliated graphene directly in solution using a conventional set-up for fluorescence microscopy. We functionalized a fluorescent surfactant typically used for exfoliating graphite in aqueous phase (Pluronic P123) with two different fluorophores, in order to make graphene detectable by fluorescence microscopy. The photophysical interactions between the fluorescent surfactant and graphene were investigated at the bulk level. Finally, fluorescence microscopy allowed us to track the carbon particles produced and to identify two different populations of particles with sizes of 265 ± 25 and 1100 ± 200 nm respectively. The correlation of these results with TEM and DLS data is discussed.

Teaching is a stressful occupation, one of the professions with the highest levels of mental health problems. Some studies suggested that this may be due to professional isolation, high levels of emotional labour and main stressors may include disciplinary problems, low salaries, disagreement with colleagues or with parents. Few instruments have been validated specifically for assessing teachers stress, morale and school organisational climate: the School Organisational Health Questionnaire (SOHQ: Hart et al., 2000 ) is the main one, whose properties of the Italian version are here presented (337 teachers in Italy filled out a self report questionnaire including the SOHQ scales).