91 research outputs found
Thyroid hormone (T3) and TRbeta agonist GC-1 inhibit/reverse nonalcoholic fatty liver in rats
No full textFASEB J. 2008 Aug;22(8):2981-9. Epub 2008 Apr 23.
Thyroid hormone (T3) and TRbeta agonist GC-1 inhibit/reverse nonalcoholic fatty liver in rats.
Perra A, Simbula G, Simbula M, Pibiri M, Kowalik MA, Sulas P, Cocco MT, Ledda-Columbano GM, Columbano A.
SourceDepartment of Toxicology, Oncology and Molecular Pathology Unit, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
Abstract
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is the most common noninfectious liver disease in clinical practice, and there is an increasing need for new therapeutic approaches for the treatment of this liver disease. Here, we examined the effect of the thyroid hormone triiodothyronine (T3) and the agonist of the thyroid hormone receptor beta isoform (TRbeta), GC-1, on fatty liver and steatohepatitis induced in rodents by a choline-methionine deficient (CMD) diet. Male Fischer 344 rats fed a CMD diet for 1 wk developed a marked fatty liver and mild hepatitis. Concurrent administration of T3 resulted in a complete prevention of the fatty change associated with increased fatty acid mitochondrial and peroxisomal beta-oxidation. To investigate whether T3 could also reverse fully established fatty liver, rats were fed a CMD diet for 10 wk and then cofed T3 for 1 wk. Coadministration of T3 resulted in a complete regression of liver steatosis associated with a decrease of lipid peroxidation, cyclooxygenase-2 expression, and activation of phospho-STAT3 and phospho-SAPK/JNK. Finally, additional experiments showed that GC-1, which has no significant side effects on heart rate, prevented and reverted CMD-induced fat accumulation, and ameliorated steatohepatitis. These results indicate that TR agonists have the potential to inhibit or reverse hepatic steatosis induced by a nutritional model.
PMID:18434432[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE
Smartphone-based interventions for employees’ well-being promotion: a systematic review
No full textOccupational Psychology faces challenges concerning the promotion of employees’ well-being and health. The use of emergent technologies (e.g. smart-phone) has revealed new opportunities to deliver effective, cheap and early interventions. By following the international PRISMA statement guidelines, this systematic review aims to bring together workplace smartphone-based interventions, targeting employees’ well-being and psycho-physical health, to address the lack of studies focused on workplace settings. Results were drawn from 31 quantitative and qualitative studies, testing smartphone applications. The authors extracted multiple information for each article: focus, target, theoretical background, users’ engagement and study design. Findings show the lack of theoretical background, reliable study design and the prevalence of physical health interventions. Moreover, our review identifies the importance of users’ engagement for an intervention’s effectiveness. It is relevant to design specific mHealth interventions, to provide employees with the skills to cope with and manage work-stress and enhance their general health and well-being
New Technologies in the Workplace: Can Personal and Organizational Variables Affect the Employees’ Intention to Use a Work-Stress Management App?
No full textOrganizations are interested in finding new and more effective ways to promote the well-being of their workers, to help their workers manage work-related stress. New technologies (e.g., smartphones) are cheaper, allow more workers to be reached, and guarantee their anonymity. However, not all employees agree on the use of new technological interventions for the promotion of well-being. Consequently, organizations need to investigate technological acceptance before introducing these tools. By considering the technology acceptance model (TAM) framework, we investigate both the influence of workers’ perceived usefulness and ease of use on their intentions to use apps that help them managing work stress. Moreover, we contribute to the extension of this model by considering both personal (i.e., self-efficacy, personal innovativeness) and organizational (i.e., organizational support for innovation) variables. Our research involved 251 participants who completed an online self-report questionnaire. The results confirm the central hypothesis of the TAM and the influence of other variables that could influence acceptance of new technologies, such as apps that help manage work stress, and the intentions to use them. These results could help organizations ensure technological acceptance and usage by their workers, increasing the effectiveness of new technologies and interventions to promote well-being
Introduzione, al volume Identità cittadine ed élites politiche e economiche in Sardegna tra XIII e XV secolo, coautori P. F. Simbula e A. Soddu
No full textIntroducing mobile apps to promote the well-being of German and Italian university students. A cross-national application of the Technology Acceptance Model
No full textStress represents a significant risk factor for several psychophysical diseases among college students, such as depression and anxiety, which may undermine their academic functioning, resulting in high drop rates from college. Nevertheless, university services for mental health promotion are typically underutilized. As a result, professionals and authorities strive to find new ways to address students' mental health needs. In this view, mobile apps seem appropriate for well-being promotion interventions. Drawing on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which is the most widely used theory on users' intention to use technologies, we assumed that perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) would be positively related to intention to use (INT), and PEOU would be positively related to PU among both Italian and German university students. To test our hypotheses, we replicated the same cross-sectional study in Italy (n = 255) and Germany (n = 228) with university students. Although we found partial scalar invariance of the TAM dimensions across the two nations, our predictions were only partially confirmed: PEOU was positively related to PU in the Italian sample only. Overall, this study is one of the first empirical attempts to compare TAM cross-nationally within the European context and it contributes to the small but increasing body of research investigating students’ acceptance of smartphone-based interventions for stress management and well-being promotion. Understanding mobile health acceptance could help universities increase students’ chances of adopting the proposed services, considering the factors influencing this choice
Videoconference fatigue : validation of the Italian translated Zoom Exhaustion and Fatigue Scale (ZEFS)
No full textBackgroundThe global COVID-19 pandemic prompted widespread lockdowns as governments sought to contain the spread of the virus and minimize fatalities. Measures such as the stay-at-home orders imposed in Italy and the suspension of non-essential economic activities disrupted work and education worldwide. Telework, previously used by only one in five workers, gained prominence, albeit unevenly across countries. The surge in telework required the extensive use of video conferencing platforms. However, prolonged use of these platforms led to 'Zoom fatigue', characterized by mental fatigue and exhaustion.ObjectivesThe aim of this study is to validate the Zoom Exhaustion & Fatigue Scale (ZEFS) in its Italian version, examining its relationship with videoconferencing characteristics, and outcomes such as emotional exhaustion, sleep problems, and technostress.MethodThe study included a sample of 372 workers (50% female) who held video conferences at least once a week. They were asked to complete an online self-report questionnaire.ResultsThe results confirmed the original structure of the scale and identified a second-order factor and the five dimensions of Zoom fatigue, namely general fatigue, visual fatigue, social fatigue, emotional fatigue, and motivational fatigue. In addition, Zoom fatigue was positively correlated with sleep problems, emotional exhaustion, techno-stressors, frequency of video conferences and burstiness, and negatively correlated with attitudes toward video conferences, confirming the construct validity of the ZEFS.ConclusionsThe present study suggests that the Italian version of the ZEFS is a psychometrically sound measure for assessing Zoom fatigue in the Italian working population. The practical implications are discussed
Linking agricultural practices to lizard trophic behaviour: An ecological approach
No full text: Among intensive agricultural practices, pesticides, mowing, and heavy agricultural machineries have become an important tool to maximize harvesting and secure animal husbandry. However, they are also cause of agricultural ecosystem decline, often leading to degradation of key micro-habitat features for many species, higher predation risk and lower food availability. We investigated the diet and foraging ecology of the Italian wall lizard in agricultural areas to determine whether different management practices (conventional, organic, and control) can affect (i) the structure of the trophic niche of the species; (ii) prey diversity, the degree of individual specialization, and the overall population feeding strategy; (iii) lizards' health status. Faecal pellets were collected for diet composition analyses, while prey diversity in the environment was estimated by placing adhesive traps. Lizards' body condition did not differ among management type although males from control field resulted slightly larger than those from conventional and organic areas. The species showed a generalist (conventional and organic areas) and mixed (control area) feeding strategy with a preference for coleopterans. Although a different prey diversity was found in control areas compared to organic and conventional ones, diet composition and the importance of specific food items was similar among management types. This may suggest that management activities may have affected the overall prey availability and indirectly influenced lizard trophic behaviour. Our study provides a comprehensive knowledge on the feeding ecology of P. siculus in managed habitats, which may have useful implications for the overall conservation of lizards in agricultural environments
Editorial: Current status of and future directions for assessing technology acceptance for digital (mental) health interventions
No full textEditorial on the Research Topic
Current status of and future directions for assessing technology
acceptance for digital (mental) health intervention
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