Feeling connected to nature: validation of the connectedness to nature scale in the Italian context.

Environmental issues are at the center of the political and cultural debate, representing one of the greatest challenges of our century. Sustainability and pro-environmental conducts are recognized as increasingly urgent to address the decay of ecosystems. To support the acquisition of attitudes that give greater consideration to environmental issues, experiencing a sense of connection with nature has been acknowledged in psychology as a particularly relevant individual component. Among the most commonly used scales in Anglo-Saxon context to analyses this feeling is the Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS) assessing the emotional and experiential bond between humans and nature. To examine the reliability and validity of this scale in the Italian context, a study including 271 Italian adults (44,3% female; 55% males; Mean age = 34.70; SD = 13.584; age-range = 18-65 years) was conducted to establish evidence supporting the internal consistency of the CNS, as well as its ability to measure convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis showed that CNS in Italian has a single-factor structure as reported in the original version by Mayer and Frantz. Furthermore, as expected, positive correlations were observed between the CNS and pro-environmental attitudes and negative correlations with civic moral disengagement. Finally, as assumed, the CNS positively correlated with mental well-being. A broad vision of this study concerns the idea that individuals who have a stronger connection with nature are likely to exhibit reduced tendencies to cause harm to it.

Long-Term Use of Silybum marianum fruit extract Contributes to Homeostasis in Acne-Prone Skin-A 12-Month Follow-Up International "Real Life" Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Homeostasis in the differentiation programme of sebaceous stem cells has been identified as a key step in comedogenesis and should be a target for acne-prone skin care. OBJECTIVE: To report on a multicentre, year-long/real-life use study of a patented natural product containing S. marianum fruit extract proven to modulate molecular actors in the initial steps of comedogenesis. METHODS: An open-label multicentric international study, with a 12 month follow-up, included 54 teenage and young adult subjects with mild to moderate facial acne. The study was aimed at reproducing a real-life use context. RESULTS: Total lesion count mean was 88.3 at inclusion. There was a sustained, highly significant decrease over the months of clinical lesion counts (45.6% improvement after 6 months and 59.6% at 12 months) and on other efficacy markers, associated with a significant decrease in global microcomedone quantity on cyanoacrylate superficial skin surface biopsies. Importantly, the study protocol allowed the dermatologist to prescribe, if needed as in real life, any of the acne drugs registered in the acne guidelines. The exposure to these acne drugs during the whole year was calculated as a percentage of S. marianum fruit extract/352 days of use and happened to be very limited at less than 4%, which indicates a marginal contribution to the sustained clinical improvement. (Oral and local acne treatments: Lymecycline 1.46%; Doxycycline 0.24%; Adapalene 0.16% or gel association with Benzoyl peroxide 1.17%; Clindamycin 0.04%; Benzoyl peroxide 1.5%; Erythromycin 0.75%). The tolerance with daily S. marianum fruit extract long-term use was good. LIMITATIONS: The association with routine prescription acne drugs when needed, even if limited, does not allow a full evaluation of the intrinsic quantitative efficacy of S. marianum fruit extract in lesion reduction. CONCLUSION: This open, real-life, year-long multicentre study confirms a previous 48-week proof of concept study and qualifies the use of S. marianum fruit extract as a "field-dermo cosmetic" contributing to homeostasis of acne-prone skin in association with acne drugs.

Autonomic cardiovascular alterations as therapeutic targets in chronic kidney disease.

PURPOSE: The present paper will review the impact of different therapeutic interventions on the autonomic dysfunction characterizing chronic renal failure. METHODS: We reviewed the results of the studies carried out in the last few years examining the effects of standard pharmacologic treatment, hemodialysis, kidney transplantation, renal nerve ablation and carotid baroreceptor stimulation on parasympathetic and sympathetic control of the cardiovascular system in patients with renal failure. RESULTS: Drugs acting on the renin-angiotensin system as well as central sympatholytic agents have been documented to improve autonomic cardiovascular control. This has also been shown for hemodialysis, although with more heterogeneous results related to the type of dialytic procedure adopted. Kidney transplantation, in contrast, particularly when performed together with the surgical removal of the native diseased kidneys, has been shown to cause profound sympathoinhibitory effects. Finally, a small amount of promising data are available on the potential favorable autonomic effects (particularly the sympathetic ones) of renal nerve ablation and carotid baroreceptor stimulation in chronic kidney disease. CONCLUSIONS: Further studies are needed to clarify several aspects of the autonomic responses to therapeutic interventions in chronic renal disease. These include (1) the potential to normalize sympathetic activity in uremic patients by the various therapeutic approaches and (2) the definition of the degree of sympathetic deactivation to be achieved during treatment.

Limited reliability of heart rate as a sympathetic marker in chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is characterized by a pronounced sympathetic overactivity as documented by the marked increase in muscle sympathetic nerve traffic (MSNA) and in plasma norepinephrine reported in this condition. Whether and to what extent in CKD heart rate (HR) reflects the adrenergic overdrive remains undefined. It is also undefined the relative validity of the different adrenergic markers in reflecting renal dysfunction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 82 CKD patients, aged 58.4 ±â€Š1.1 years (mean ±â€ŠSEM), we measured resting clinic blood pressure, HR (EKG), venous NE (HPLC) and MSNA (microneurography). The same measurements were made in 24 age-matched healthy controls. RESULTS: HR was significantly greater in CKD than in controls (74.0 ±â€Š1.1 versus 68.2 ±â€Š1.8 bpm, P < 0.02) and significantly directly related to the elevated plasma norepinephrine and MSNA values (r = 0.22 and 0.39, P < 0.05 and <0.0003, respectively). Both MSNA and plasma norepinephrine were significantly and inversely related to the estimated glomerular filtration rate. The correlation did not achieve statistical significance for HR. Similar results were obtained examining the relationships with left ventricular mass index. CONCLUSION: Our data show that in CKD not only peripheral but also cardiac sympathetic drive is markedly enhanced and HR can be regarded as a marker of the adrenergic overdrive characterizing this condition. The reliability of HR as sympathetic marker appears to be limited, however, this variable being unable to closely reflect, at variance from MSNA and plasma norepinephrine, the interindividual differences in renal dysfunction and the accompanying structural cardiovascular alterations.