Healthcare workers (HCWs) were at increased risk for mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic, with prior data suggesting women may be particularly vulnerable. Our global mental health study aimed to examine factors associated with gender differences in psychological distress and depressive symptoms among HCWs during COVID-19. Across 22 countries in South America, Europe, Asia and Africa, 32,410 HCWs participated in the COVID-19 HEalth caRe wOrkErS (HEROES) study between March 2020 and February 2021. They completed the General Health Questionnaire-12, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and questions about pandemic-relevant exposures. Consistently across countries, women reported elevated mental health problems compared to men. Women also reported increased COVID-19-relevant stressors, including insufficient personal protective equipment and less support from colleagues, while men reported increased contact with COVID-19 patients. At the country level, HCWs in countries with higher gender inequality reported less mental health problems. Higher COVID-19 mortality rates were associated with increased psychological distress merely among women. Our findings suggest that among HCWs, women may have been disproportionately exposed to COVID-19-relevant stressors at the individual and country level. This highlights the importance of considering gender in emergency response efforts to safeguard women’s well-being and ensure healthcare system preparedness during future public health crises.

Objective – Many different factors, both related to the individual and illness (“intrinsic” factors) and to the environment (“extrinsic” factors), contribute in different ways to the development of disability. Basing on data of literature, this review focuses the main “intrinsic” factors predicting disability in schizophrenia. Method – A systematic search on Mediline of all papers published during the period 1965-2001 was performed, using “schizophrenia”, “outcome”, “psychosocial outcome”, “social disability” and “social adjustment” as key words. Only papers reporting specifically data about predictive factors and psychosocial outcome variables were considered; prospective follow-up studies were considered, but retrospective and cross-sectional studies were also taken into account when data deriving from prospective studies were inconsistent. Results – Male sex predicts a higher disability among demographic factors; lower social and occupational adjustment are premorbid personality factors associated with higher disability; among factors related to illness, younger age at onset of illess, “nuclear”, “non paranoid” and in particular “deficit” forms of schizophrenia seem to predict more disability. The latter seems to be predicted also by higher levels of negative symptoms and neuropsychological deficits ; the role of depressive symptoms seems to be less supported by follow-up data; a continuous course of the illness predicts more disability, although some evidences show a progressive reduction of disability, at least in the long term. Conclusions – Disability shows a largely autonomous course respect to symptoms and has to be considered an independent parameter of outcome. Few intrinsic factors show a predictive role also in the long term.

Antidepressants are currently the treatment of choice for major depressive disorder (MDD). Nevertheless, a high percentage of patients do not respond to a first-line antidepressant drug, and combination treatments and augmentation strategies increase the risk of side effects. Moreover, a significant proportion of patients are treatment-resistant. In the last 30 years, a number of studies have sought to establish whether exercise could be regarded as an alternative to antidepressants, but so far no specific analysis has examined the efficacy of exercise as an adjunctive treatment in combination with antidepressants. We carried out a systematic review to evaluate the effectiveness of exercise as an adjunctive treatment with antidepressants on depression.

A search of relevant papers was carried out in PubMed/Medline, Google Scholar, and Scopus with the following keywords: “exercise,” “physical activity,” “physical fitness,” “depressive disorder,” “depression,” “depressive symptoms,” “add-on,” “augmentation,” “adjunction,” and “combined therapy.” Twenty-two full-text articles were retrieved by the search. Among the 13 papers that fulfilled our inclusion criteria, we found methodological weaknesses in the majority. However, the included studies showed a strong effectiveness of exercise combined with antidepressants.

Further analyses and higher quality studies are needed; nevertheless, as we have focused on a particular intervention (exercise in adjunction to antidepressants) that better reflects clinical practice, we can hypothesize that this strategy could be appropriately and safely translated into real-world practice.

Objective – The aim of the study was to investigate the attitudes in the decision making process for admitting patients compulsorily under the Italian Law 180/78. Setting – A group of psychiatrists (n=81) working in the area of Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy). Main outcome measures – Three case–vignettes describing different hypothetical clinical situations: 1) a man with depression and psychotic symptoms; 2) a woman with a possible first episode of psychosis; and 3) a man with a history of substance abuse and bipolar disorder. Each vignette was followed by a list of 11 factors reported in the literature as important in the decision to admit compulsorily (current mental state, severity of the disease, dangerousness to self or others, psychiatric history, likely response of the mental state to the medical treatment, age and gender of the patient, owning a home, occupational status, social support available). Psychiatrists were asked: a) whether they would admit the patient compulsorily; and b) to rate 11 factors from the most to the least important in their decision.

Using standardized interviews 374 subjects randomly selected among people living in two villages in a mining district in Sardinia (Italy), were studied. Of these, 57 subjects (15·2%) were identified as ‘cases’. Ten per cent of the sample was affected by a depressive syndrome and 4% by an anxiety disorder. Females were significantly more at risk for anxiety disorders, while a trend towards a major risk for depression emerged among middle-aged and elderly people. Of the sample 9·8% were taking benzodiazepines, with a significant over representation of females. Depressed subjects took benzodiazepines more frequently than anxious subjects, while the use of antidepressants was negligible.

Epitaxial diamond films were deposited on polished single crystal Ib type HPHT diamond plates of (100) orientation by microwave CVD. The epilayers were used for the fabrication of surface channel MESFET structures having sub-micrometer gate length in the range 200-800 nm. Realized devices show maximum drain current and trasconductance values of about 190 mA/mm and 80 mS/mm, respectively, for MESFETs having 200 nm gate length. RF performance evaluation gave cut off frequency of about 14 GHz and maximum oscillation frequency of more than 26 GHz for the same device geometry.

Following recent works that report a non linear dependence of the lattice parameter versus composition in some semiconductor alloys the InGaAs/InP system has been investigated. The lattice parameter and the composition of InGaAs/InP lattice matched heterostructures have been independently determined by measuring the high resolution X-ray diffraction profile and the absorption of the X-ray beam diffracted from the InP substrate. In contrast with previous results that stated a linear dependence of the lattice parameter with composition, a 6% larger In content in the InGaAs/InP lattice matched alloy is found. Such result has been confirmed by the analysis of the X-ray fluorescence induced by an electron beam on the layer and on standards made of InAs and GaAs fine ground crystals. The result is in good agreement with the predictions of models based on the elasticity theory applied on a microscopic scale.

Deposition of thin films of Co- and Mn- oxides as well as of their mixtures with ZrO2 have been carried out by MOCVD using Co(C5H5)2, Mn(C5F6HO2)2(THF)2and (C5Hs)2Zr(CH3)2as precursors. XRD and XPS analyses of the obtained deposits are reported. Introduction of water vapor into the reactor chamber during the flow of the precursors improved their decomposition efficiency and the quality of the films.