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Aims To examine the moderating role of caregiver preparedness on the association between stroke survivors' depression and stroke-specific quality of life dimensions. Methods and results We used a multilevel modelling approach to analyse trajectories of change in the eight Stroke Impact Scale 3.0 subscales [i.e. strength, communication, mobility, activities of daily living (ADL)/instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), memory, emotion, hand function, participation] using Hierarchical Linear Modeling. Caregiver preparedness significantly moderated the association between survivor depressive symptoms and survivor communication (B = −0.95, P < 0.01), mobility (B = −0.60, P < 0.05), and ADL/IADL (B = −0.73, P < 0.01) at baseline; linear change for strength (B = 0.83, P < 0.05) and communication (B = 0.66, P < 0.05); and quadratic change for strength (B = −0.19, P < 0.01). Although caregiver preparedness did not significantly moderate the association between survivor depressive symptoms and strength at baseline, there was a significant moderating effect for change over time. Higher levels of caregiver preparedness were significantly associated with higher survivor scores of emotion, hand function, and participation at baseline. Conclusions Including immediate caregivers in the care process, through a psycho-educational training, would mean having better-prepared caregivers and consequently more-healthy stroke survivors. Given that preparedness includes coping with stress, responding and managing emergencies, assessing help and information may require tailored interventions aimed at improving the caregivers' skills and knowledge about stroke survivors' management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the relationship between the Normans in southern Italy and in Outremer, offering a new analysis of the early history of the principality of Antioch through the perspective of Hauteville kin relations and models of conquest and rule across the Mediterranean. By analysing the composition of the Hauteville expedition during the First Crusade, and comparing its patterns of behaviour with those of the family in southern Italy, this essay highlights the similarities between the crusader contingent and other Hauteville enterprises. It then investigates enduring similarities and links between Hauteville frontier zones either side of the sea, and the contextual solutions for succession in Antioch found by the Hautevilles, concluding the discussion with the breakdown of ties between southern Italy and Outremer following Roger II's final claim to Antioch. This offers a new perspective on the long-standing issue of southern Norman participation in the crusader movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planktonic foraminifera were studied in the upper Albian to Cenomanian sedimentary sequence of the Monte Petrano and Le Brecce stratigraphic sections located in the Umbria-Marche Basin (central Italy), and of Hole 547A and Site 545 drilled by the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) on the Mazagan Plateau (offshore Morocco, northeast Atlantic Ocean). Biostratigraphic results allow the identification of a stratigraphically ordered sequence of bioevents that have proved to be reliable for regional and interregional correlations, from older to younger: the lowest occurrences (LOs) of Th. appenninica, Pl. buxtorfi, Pa. libyca, Th. brotzeni in the Albian, and the LOs of Th. globotruncanoides, Th. greenhornensis and Rt. cushmani in the Cenomanian sediments. We remark the difficulty in the identification of the Th. reicheli Zone used in the Tethyan biozonation because of the rarity and absence of the species in many low to mid- latitude pelagic sequences. To overcome the problem, we use the Th. greenhornensis Zone defined as the stratigraphic interval between the lowest occurrence (LO) of Th. greenhornensis and the LO of Rt. cushmani. The LO of Th. greenhornensis is a solid bioevent with the nominal species characterized by a wide geographic distribution and occurring close to the LO of Th. reicheli where the latter species is present. The studied stratigraphic sections are compared with the coeval Mont Risou section in the Vocontian Basin and the record from Blake Nose in the western North Atlantic to verify the correlation and synchronicity of biostratigraphic and chemostratigraphic events including the Oceanic Anoxic Events 1d (OAE1d) and the Mid Cenomanian Event (MCE). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bottaccione section (Umbria-Marche Basin, central Italy) was analyzed for calcareous nannofossil and planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy across the Santonian-Campanian boundary interval to achieve a high-resolution and updated zonation directly calibrated with magnetostratigraphy. Several calcareous plankton events were detected, including zonal markers and additional potential biohorizons. The base of magnetochron C33r, proposed for placement of the base of the Campanian, lies between the first occurrence of Aspidolithus parcus parcus and the last occurrence of Dicarinella asymetrica in the Bottaccione section. The literature survey indicates that these events were found in the Santonian-Campanian boundary interval at supraregional scale and, may be used to confidently approximate the base of the Campanian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The Arda and Stirone marine successions (Italy) represent key sections for the early Pleistocene; they were deposited continuously within a frame of climate change, recording the Calabrian cooling as testified by the occurrence of the "northern guests," such as the bivalve Arctica islandica. In addition, although the first occurrence of A. islandica in the Mediterranean Sea was used as the main criterion to mark the former Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary, the age of this bioevent was never well constrained. Here, we describe the Stirone depositional environment and constrain for the first time the section age using calcareous nannofossil and foraminifera biostratigraphy. We also correlate the Arda and Stirone sections using complementary biostratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic data. Our results indicate that A. islandica first occurred in both the successions slightly below the top of the CNPL7 biozone (dated at 1.71 Ma). Comparisons with other lower Pleistocene Mediterranean marine successions indicate that the stratigraphically lowest level where A. islandica first occurred in the Mediterranean Sea is in the Arda and Stirone sections; these environments satisfied the ecological requirements for the establishment and the proliferation of the species, which only subsequently (late Calabrian) has been retrieved in southern Italy and other areas of the Mediterranean Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The benthic foraminiferal assemblages from the upper Albian-lower Cenomanian interval of the Scaglia Bianca Formation in the Monte Petrano (MP) and Le Brecce (LB) sections (Umbria–Marche Basin; Italy) provide a detailed record of the faunal changes across the Oceanic Anoxic Event 1d (OAE 1d). Fluctuations in abundance, diversity, and species composition reflect variations in bottom-water oxygenation and organic carbon fluxes. Benthic foraminifera are integrated with planktonic foraminifera, calcareous nannofossils, and geochemical proxies to reconstruct the bottom and surface water conditions across the OAE 1d in the Umbria–Marche Basin. The pre-OAE 1d interval was characterized by benthic foraminifera that thrived under stable mesotrophic condition in bottom waters. In surface waters, planktonic foraminifera indicate dominant mesotrophic conditions in agreement with calcareous nannofossil assemblages suggesting a regime of higher fertility under cooler conditions. During the OAE 1d interval, benthic foraminifera display an increase in the abundance of infaunal taxa, suggesting mesotrophic conditions in bottom waters. Nevertheless, within the Pialli Level, the six laminated black-to-dark grey shale horizons (MP1/LB1 to MP6/LB6), benthic foraminifera are absent or highly impoverished (MP1, MP2, MP4, MP6, LB5, LB6), suggesting hypoxic/anoxic conditions in bottom waters. Planktonic foraminifera in this interval reflect mesotrophic to oligotrophic conditions under the presence of an expanded mixed layer and deeper thermocline in the surface waters. Calcareous nannofossils record warm conditions and lower fertility starting just prior to and across the OAE 1d. However, higher values of fertility are recorded in the black-to-dark grey shales MP3/LB3, MP4/LB4 and MP5/LB5 of the Pialli Level. The post-OAE 1d interval is marked by an increase in the diversity of benthic foraminifera, indicating a restoration of the oxygen conditions in a continuous mesotrophic regime in bottom waters. The surface waters experienced oligotrophic conditions based on the planktonic and calcareous nannofossils. A minor discrepancy between benthic foraminifera and geochemical reconstruction of oxygenation levels of bottom waters was recorded, especially in the Pialli Level. The benthic microfaunas appear to be very sensitive to very short-term oxygen depletion at the seafloor when geochemical proxies suggest temporary suboxia. This might indicate that very rapid redox changes are not resolved by bulk elemental data. Otherwise, benthic foraminifera might be much more responsive to very low concentrations of oxygen in bottom waters and temporarily disappear under strong suboxia before reaching fully anoxic conditions. • Albian-Cenomanian interval in the western Tethys (Umbria–Marche Basin, Italy). • High-resolution study of the benthic foraminiferal assemblages through the OAE 1d. • The Pialli Level displays a decrease in the abundance of benthic foraminifera. • Lower bathyal depositional setting inferred by benthic foraminifera. • Paleoceanographic changes in bottom and surface waters across the OAE 1d. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Taranto basin is a shallow water marine system in the South of Italy characterized by the presence of a lagoon environment together with a semi-enclosed bay connected to the Ionian Sea. This marine system experienced over the last few decades strong biochemical pollution and environmental degradation, and it is considered a hotspot study site for economic, ecological and scientific reasons. The aim of this study was to examine, on an annual temporal scale and with high spatial resolution, the main hydrodynamical processes and transport scales of the system by means of a 3D finite element numerical model application, adopting the most realistic forcing available. The model allowed us to assess the role played by baroclinic terms in the basin circulation, describing its estuarine nature. In particular, the main features of water circulation, salinity and temperature distribution, water renewal time and bottom stress were investigated. Our results allowed us to equate this system dynamic to that of a weakly stratified estuary, identifying the main driving sources of this mechanism. The vertical stratification over the whole year was proved to be stable, leading to a dual circulation flowing out on the surface, mainly through Porta Napoli channel, and inflowing on the bottom mainly through Navigabile channel. This process was responsible also for the renewal time faster on the bottom of the Mar Piccolo basin than the surface. Due to the great importance of the Taranto basin for what concerns sediment pollution, also the effect of currents in terms of bottom stress was investigated, leading to the conclusion that only in the inlets area the values of bottom stress can be high enough to cause erosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enthusiastic search for mythical hero figures became an almost universal phenomenon in the nineteenth century, a fundamental element of what is known as the ‘politics of the past’. The Risorgimento is no exception. Hero cults enabled the socialization of Italians to the new language of politics and the religion of the nation. Particularly well suited to representations across a variety of media, and often romanticized in historical narratives, stylized and sanctified, national heroes are also attractive to the information and entertainment industries. The invention of a pantheon of national heroes both intersected and, in some ways, anticipated the process ofpeopolizationof contemporary public figures which would fully impose itself beginning in 1848. An authentic nineteenth-century invention, the representation of Francesco Ferrucci (aka Ferruccio, 1489–1530) as the ‘last Italian’ appeared not only in historiography and literary novels, and the picture galleries of collectors, but also in popular magazines and illustrated journals. Participant in a larger nineteenth-century European cultural trend that saw many battlegrounds converted into tourist destinations, also Gavinana (seat of the battle in which Ferruccio died) became such a destination. The cult of the hero and the media construction of Gavinana as a national memorial were adapted to suit a shifting political and social environment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper investigates the magnetostratigraphy of the ~750 m-thick Costa Grande Member (lower Miocene) from the Castagnola Basin of NW Italy, which represents the turbidite fill of a structurally confined basin where flow ponding resulted in a complete record of deposition from diverse sediment gravity flow types. The magnetostratigraphic profile of the Costa Grande Mb was correlated to the Geomagnetic Polarity Timescale using a well-established statistical method devised to be applied to sedimentary successions with steady accumulation rate. The results of the correlation exercise, validated with the available biostratigraphy, indicate an early Miocene age (from Chron C6AAr.3r to C6Bn.2n) between 21.7 and 22.3 Ma. The obtained age model was then used to calculate accumulation rates and frequencies of small volume and low-density vs. large volume and high-density gravity flows over an estimated 650 kyr time span. Results show that low-density flows contributed at a constant pace of 545 m Myr−1 to sediment accumulation, depositing relatively thin-bedded turbidites with a minimum recurrence time of 1.7 kyr, whereas the high-density flows, which are at least four times less frequent, are clustered in the stratigraphy, and become more abundant up-section. We also show that the minimum sediment volumes discharged by high-density flows suggest triggering by submarine failures whose recurrence and magnitude were probably not random. Lastly, we propose that the statistical method used in this study to correlate the Costa Grande Mb magnetostratigraphy to the GPTS provides best results when the products of episodic but voluminous depositional events are carefully identified and removed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims at investigating the trends of the concentrations of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and phosphorous in the Lagoon of Venice, Italy, in the last 35 years. The trend analysis of ammonia nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen and reactive phosphorus (RP) yielded rather different results. The decrease in ammonia nitrogen concentration, in particular, in the basin influenced by severe industrial discharges, is accurately described by a negative exponential model. The nitrate concentration did not show significant interannual trends, while wide seasonal variations have been detected. Reactive phosphorus concentration increased until the end of the 1970s at the stations close to the industrial area as well as in those influenced by river discharges and by sewages of the city of Venice. The sudden decrease that followed was most likely related with environmental policies, namely the improvement of wastewater purification treatments and the regulation of phosphorus use in detergents. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Arda and Stirone marine successions (Italy) represent key-sections for the lower Pleistocene, as they deposited continuously within a frame of climate change, recording the Calabrian cooling as testified by the occurrence of the "northern guests" Arctica islandica, Hyalinea balthica and Neogloboquadrina pachyderma left-coiled. Despite its historical importance in the past, when the first occurrence of A. islandica in the Mediterranean Sea was used as the main criterion to mark the former Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary, the age of this bioevent was never well constrained. Here, we describe the Stirone depositional environment and constrain for the first time the section age using calcareous nannofossils and foraminifera biostratigraphy; we correlate the Arda and Stirone sections, complementing biostratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic data. Our results indicate that A. islandica first occurred in both the successions slightly below the top of the CNPL7 biozone (dated at 1.71 Ma). The comparison with other lower Pleistocene Mediterranean marine successions indicates that the stratigraphically lowest level where A. islandica first occurred in the Mediterranean Sea is in the Arda and Stirone sections; these environments satisfied the ecological requirements for the establishment and the proliferation of the species, which only subsequently colonized southern Italy and other areas of the Mediterranean Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Depression and quality of life (QOL) have an interdependent and transactional nature in stroke survivor-caregiver dyads. While the strong relationship between depression and physical and emotional QOL in stroke survivor-caregiver dyads is well known, it is less clear if this relationship is moderated by caregiver preparedness, which could easily be targeted with interventions. In this study, we examined the moderating role of caregiver preparedness on the association between depression and QOL in stroke survivor-caregiver dyads., Methods: We used a longitudinal design with follow-ups every 3 months over a 1-year period. Considering the nonindependent nature of the data (survivors and their caregivers), we used multilevel modeling to analyze data at the dyad level. We implemented 4 longitudinal dyadic moderation models (one for each QOL domain: physical, psychological, social, and environmental) using hierarchical linear modeling., Results: A sample of 222 stroke survivor-caregiver dyads was analyzed. Stroke survivors were older ( M =70.8, SD=11.9) than their caregivers ( M =52.4, SD=13.1). Stroke survivors predominantly had an ischemic stroke, equally distributed by site. Caregivers were primarily female (66%), with a medium to high educational level (57%). Caregiver preparedness significantly moderated the association between survivor depression and survivor psychological ( B =0.56, P <0.01) and environmental ( B =0.58, P <0.01) QOL at baseline and social QOL over time ( B =0.24, P <0.05). Similarly, caregiver preparedness significantly moderated the association between caregiver depression and caregiver physical ( B =0.25, P <0.01) and environmental ( B =0.18, P <0.05) QOL over time., Conclusions: Caregiver preparedness has a positive influence on both members of the dyad. Assessment of stroke-caregiver preparedness could be helpful to motivate clinicians to develop and implement interventions for stroke survivor-caregiver dyads.

Introduction: The clinical reasoning is a process in which nurses collect ideas, process information, they come to understand the problem or the patient's situation by planning and implementing interventions, evaluating the results., Study Design: The aim of this study is to perform linguistic and cultural validation for the Italian context of the Nurse Clinical Reasoning Scale (NCRS)., Methods: Transcultural adaptation to develop the Italian version of the questionnaire was carried out following the guidelines proposed by Beaton and collaborators in 2000., Results: The results showed that the Italian version of the instrument is reliable both showing a good internal consistency (Cronbach's Alpha = 0.90), and a good stability (ICC = 0.90; CI = 0.87-0.92) and can be proposed as an interesting means of evaluating nursing students in the course of clinical placements and nurses in their daily clinical practice., Conclusions: Having tools available in Italian promotes the implementation of new research projects in various areas, such as health, in order to ensure the centrality of the patient in the care process.

Tidal inlets are extremely dynamic environments that are often strongly modified by anthropogenic intervention. In this study, we describe the rapid evolution of a highly human-impacted tidal inlet, studied through repeated high-resolution multibeam surveys and geomorphometric analysis. We document the rapid change induced by new hard coastal structures built to protect the historical city of Venice (Italy). A new breakwater erected between 2011 and 2013 induced the formation of large scour holes with the consequent erosion of about 170 · 103 ± 15.6% m3 of sediment until 2016. The construction of a new island in the middle of the inlet and the restriction of the inlet channel caused a general change of the inlet sedimentary regime from depositional to erosive with a net sediment loss of about 612 · 103 ± 42.7% m3, a reduction of the dune field area by more than 50% in about five years, and a coarsening in the sediment distribution. Our results give new insight on the tidal inlet resilience to changes, distinguishing two different phases in its recent evolution: (i) a very rapid response (from 2011 to 2013) of the seafloor morphology with scour-hole erosion at the new breakwater tips at a rate of about 45⋅103 m3/year and the disappearing of dune fields at a rate of 104⋅103 m2/year; and (ii) a general slowdown of the erosive processes from 2013 to 2016. Nevertheless, the erosion continues at the breakwater, though at a reduced rate, possibly representing a threat to the hard structure. In view of global mean sea level rise and consequent proliferation of hard structures along the coast all over the world, the combined use of very high resolution multibeam surveys and repeatable geomorphometric analysis proposed in this study will be crucial for the monitoring and future management of coastal environments., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction: The university educational sphere has many dilemmas. The question of sufficient knowledge and skills for students to acquire abilities to provide care in different clinical setting is one important dilemma., Aim: To measure the level of competencies by nursing students and its application in different clinical environments., Methods: Nursing students of two Italian universities participated in the research. Data collection took place April to July 2015 using the Nurse Competence Scale. The Strengthening Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology Guidelines was used to describe the study. Pearson's chi-square test, Student's t test, and regression tests were used for statistical analysis., Results: The questionnaire response rate was 87.27% (n = 698). Most of the nursing students assessed their level of competency as 'good' and evaluated themselves as more competent than their actual nursing role. Students also appraised themselves as competent either via their clinical practices accomplished or in the therapeutic interventions., Conclusion: This study shows that the self-evaluation of the competencies acquired by nursing students in clinical settings in Latium and Abruzzo is of a good standard. This study also affirms that NCS is a valuable and reliable tool to measure clinical competencies in different clinical settings.