The results show that, when treated only by medical therapy, the HB V subjects showed no significant age difference in relation to the achievement of a HB Grade III (100% in the over 65, 80% in the under 65), whilst, in the HB IV subjects, the younger population showed a better recovery, with 89% of a good recovery (HB I or II). In the patients who received the combined protocol, a better recovery rate was found, both in HB IV and V subjects, and the younger population could reach a good recovery in 90% of HB V cases in respect to the older population (50%).

Background Quality of working life is the result of many factors inherent in the workplace environment, especially in terms of exposure to psychosocial risks. Objectives The purpose of this study is to assess the quality of life with special attention to gender differences. Methods The HSE-IT questionnaire and the WHO-5 Well-Being Index were administered to a group of workers (74 males and 33 females). The authors also used Cronbach's alpha test to assess the internal consistency of both questionnaires and the Mann–Whitney test to evaluate the significance of gender differences in both questionnaires. Results The HSE-IT highlighted the existence of work-related stress in all the population with a critical perception regarding the domain “Relationships.” Furthermore, gender analysis highlighted the presence of two additional domains in the female population: “Demand” (p = 0,002) and “Support from Managers” (p = 0,287). The WHO-5 highlighted a well-being level below the standard cut-off point with a significant gender difference (p = 0.009) for males (18, SD = 6) as compared to females (14, SD = 6,4). Cronbach's alpha values indicated a high level of internal consistency for both of our scales. Conclusions The risk assessment of quality of working life should take into due account the individual characteristics of workers, with special attention to gender.

It is widely recognised that for vertebrate species, personalities vary along an axis with extremes represented by ‘proactive’ and ‘reactive‘ individuals. The aim of this study was to verify whether there is a relationship between personality and disease vulnerability in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) exposed to an intensely stressful situation such as entering a shelter. Twenty-eight shelter dogs participated in the study. The ethogram consisted of approximately 100 behavioural patterns. Behavioural observations of dogs in their new environment, a Novel Object and a T-maze test were used to evaluate the personality of the dogs captured as strays and entering the shelter. A blood sample from each dog was obtained at admission into the shelter and after a month to evaluate their immunological state. Based on PCA analyses of observational combined with experimental data, the dogs were ordered along the boldness-shyness axis, with the first being the boldest. Excluding one (the 6th), the first 10 dogs showed an improved health status: absence of disease symptoms during the 30 days of monitoring and improved immunological parameters; the opposite was found for shy dogs. The results of this research seem to confirm findings in other vertebrate species, i.e., bold and shy dog vulnerability to diseases might be different, especially when they must cope with a stressful and highly infectious environment such as a dog shelter.

Questions How can the conservation status of Mediterranean coastal dunes be assessed? What is the effect of disturbance factors on it? Location Tyrrhenian coast of Central Italy. Methods Vegetation releves along 164 transects lying perpendicular to the shoreline along the Tyrrhenian coast of Central Italy were used to identify the presence of dune habitats by means of TWINSPAN classification and detrended correspondence analysis. Multiple correspondence analysis was used to analyse relationship between habitats and disturbance factors. The resulting Burt's table was used to build an index (habitat-disturbance, HDi) for analysing this relationship. Based on HDi values, a correspondence analysis (CA) between presence/absence of habitats and disturbances was performed. The overall plant species diversity of dunes was measured with NHDUNE, a modified version of the Shannon index. Multi-way ANOVA procedure was used to investigate effect of single disturbance factors and their interactive effect on NHDUNE. Results Classification and ordination procedures identified four sequential habitats moving from the shoreline to inland: annual vegetation on drift lines characterized by Cakile maritima; embryonic shifting dunes dominated by Elymus farctus; shifting dunes with Ammophila arenaria subsp. australis; back dune grasslands characterized by Ononis variegata. CA showed that disturbance factors influence dune habitats differently. In particular, the Cakile community had a negative relationship with beach tourism and mechanical cleaning; the Elymus community had a positive relationship with beach tourism and mechanical cleaning and a negative relationship with erosion and bathing establishments; the Ammophila community had a negative relationship with mechanical cleaning and bathing establishments and a positive relationship with dune cross-trampling; and the Ononis community had a negative relationship with bathing establishment. According to multi-way ANOVA, single disturbance factors can have different effects on plant species diversity as measured by NHDUNE. However, the overall effect is negative, with erosion as a single factor and the combination of mechanical cleaning and bathing establishments significantly lowering the plant diversity of coastal dune systems. Conclusions The proposed method allows a fast and replicable evaluation of the effects of disturbance factors on the conservation status of Mediterranean coastal dunes, providing the information necessary for development of conservation strategies focusing on a single habitat or on the overall dune system

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