Objectives: To update surveillance data on antimicrobial susceptibility of Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolated in Greece with information for the years 2005 to 2008, and analyze changes occurred from the ...previous 4-year period. Methods: Annual antimicrobial susceptibility rates, susceptibility patterns, and serovars of 635 gonococci isolated in 2005 to 2008 were determined and compared to respective data concerning the gonococcal sample of 2001 to 2004. Genetic similarity of the isolates in phenotypic clusters was investigated by pulsed field gel electrophoresis. Epidemiologie information was also considered. Results: Despite a reduction in the isolation frequency of penicillinase-producing strains (3.9% vs. 11.6% in the previous period), the rates of resistance and intermediate susceptibility increased for penicillin, as well as for tetracycline, erythromycin, and chloramphenicol, leaving very small proportions of isolates sensitive to these agents (4.3%, 12.8%, 10.2%, and 3.6%, respectively). Resistance to fluoroquinolones increased from 11.3% in 2004 up to 63% in 2008, and strongly correlated with multidrug-resistant isolates of Bropyst serovar, accounting for 72.6% of the quinolone-resistant strains isolated during the last 4 years. All isolates were susceptible to spectinomycin and only 2 exceeded susceptibility breakpoints set for cefotaxime, exhibiting MICs 0.75 to 1μg/mL. These latter isolates, however, belonged to a cluster of strains with decreased susceptibility to cephalosporins (CDS, cefotaxime MICs ≥0.25 μg/mL) that emerged in late 2006 and increased in frequency up to 20.7% through 2008. Notably, CDS isolates were also quinolone-resistant and multiresistant, further contributing to the increasing rates of quinolone and multidrug resistance in the Greek gonococcal sample. Conclusions: Antimicrobial susceptibility figures of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Greece are worsening due to changes in the synthesis of gonococcal population, resulting from high endemicity rates of multidrug-resistant strains.
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BFBNIB, NMLJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM, UPUK
Therapeutic options for gonococcal infection are nowadays limited due to the spread of gonococci resistant to a wide variety of antimicrobials. The dramatic increments in the rates of ...quinolone-resistant gonococci and the current shortage of spectinomycin leave the newer cephalosporins as the last safe choice among the drugs that are currently recommended as first-line treatment. Therefore, increasing reports of reduced in vitro activities of expanded-spectrum cephalosporins against Neisseria gonorrhoeae are of serious concern. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
This study aimed to assess the applicability of the Teachers' Resilience Scale (TRS) among Greek and Polish teachers and explore whether nationality and sociodemographic factors influence ...teachers' engagement with resilience protective factors. A total of 1622 teachers participated, providing TRS responses and sociodemographic information. Greek and Polish teachers exhibited similar assessments of protective factors, except for Social Competence and Peer Support, where Greek teachers scored higher. Greek teachers also reported higher overall resilience scores than Polish teachers. Gender differences were observed, with women scoring higher in Personal Competencies and Persistence than men. Marital status influenced Social Skills and Peer Support and Family Cohesion, favoring those married and/or in relationships. Additionally, teachers in primary and secondary education reported higher scores in Personal Competencies and Persistence compared to kindergarten teachers. These findings contribute to understanding how individuals and social groups, despite facing diverse adversities, tend to employ similar strategies to bolster and safeguard their resilience.
Practitioner Points
Teachers' Resilience Scale is invariant in both Greek and Polish samples.
Greek and Polish teachers differ in their perceived overall resilience, but, in terms of their resilience protective factors, they differ only in the Social Competence and Peer Support dimension.
Significant differences regarding the sociodemographic characteristics were found.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Objective
This study aimed to explore the role of family resilience in the relationship between parents' psychological stress and their perceptions of children's emotional and behavioral symptoms ...during the COVID‐19 lockdown in Italy.
Background
The COVID‐19 lockdown threatened the well‐being of parents, with a potentially cascading effect on children's adjustment. However, the negative impact of parents' stress on children's well‐being may be attenuated in resilient families.
Method
During the Italian lockdown, an online survey was administered to 649 parents of at least one child aged between 5 and 17 years. Respondents completed the survey themselves and their child(ren). The Perceived Stress Scale, the Walsh Family Resilience Questionnaire, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire were administered to parents.
Results
Results show that family resilience is a key mechanism in the association of parents' perceived stress with their perceptions of children's emotional symptoms, prosocial behavior, and hyperactivity and that only parents' marital status moderates this relationship.
Conclusion
The intervening role of family resilience emphasizes the need to empower parents and families during the pandemic crisis.
Implications
By strengthening family resilience, family resources maybe strengthened to meet new challenges more effectively.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, ODKLJ, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Hypoglycemia represents one of the most frequent metabolic disturbances of the neonate, associated with increased morbidity and mortality, especially if left untreated or diagnosed after the ...establishment of brain damage. The aim of this study was to review and compare the recommendations from the most recently published influential guidelines on the diagnosis, screening, prevention and management of this common neonatal complication. Therefore, a descriptive review of the guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the British Association of Perinatal Medicine (BAPM), the European Foundation for the Care of the Newborn Infants (EFCNI), the Queensland Clinical Guidelines-Australia (AUS), the Canadian Pediatric Society (CPS) and the Pediatric Endocrine Society (PES) on neonatal hypoglycemia was carried out. There is a consensus among the reviewed guidelines on the risk factors, the clinical signs and symptoms of NH, and the main preventive strategies. Additionally, the importance of early recognition of at-risk infants, timely identification of NH and prompt initiation of treatment in optimizing the outcomes of hypoglycemic neonates are universally highlighted. All medical societies, except PES, recommend screening for NH in asymptomatic high-risk and symptomatic newborn infants, but they do not provide consistent screening approaches. Moreover, the reviewed guidelines point out that the diagnosis of NH should be confirmed by laboratory methods of BGL measurement, although treatment should not be delayed until the results become available. The definition of NH lacks uniformity and it is generally agreed that a single BG value cannot accurately define this clinical entity. Therefore, all medical societies support the use of operational thresholds for the management of NH, although discrepancies exist regarding the recommended cut-off values, the optimal treatment and surveillance strategies of both symptomatic and asymptomatic hypoglycemic neonates as well as the treatment targets. Over the past several decades, ΝH has remained an issue of keen debate as it is a preventable cause of brain injury and neurodevelopmental impairment; however, there is no clear definition or consistent treatment policies. Thus, the establishment of specific diagnostic criteria and uniform protocols for the management of this common biochemical disorder is of paramount importance as it will hopefully allow for the early identification of infants at risk, the establishment of efficient preventive measures, the optimal treatment in the first hours of a neonate's life and, subsequently, the improvement of neonatal outcomes.
Introduction. International literature indicates that self-efficacy and resilience are interrelat-ed and they both predict teachers' burnout and stress. In order to better understand their ...inter-twining relationship, the present study was conducted to test the hypothesis that resilience mediates the effect of efficacy beliefs to burnout and stress. Method. Participants were 636 Greek primary education teachers. The Multidimensional Teacher Resilience Scale (MTRS; Mansfield & Wosnitza, 2015), the Maslach Burnout Inven-tory (Maslach & Jackson, 1986), the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) and the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983) were used to collect the data. All scales were adapted to Greek and tested for their psychomet-ric properties. Results. The results partially confirmed our hypothesis showing that three of the resilience subscales, Social-Professional Resilience, Adaptability and Motivational Resilience, partially mediated the relationship of self-efficacy with burnout and stress. Out of the four resilience subscales, Emotional Resilience was found to fully mediate in the above relationship and had the strongest predictive power over burnout and stress. Discussion and Conclusion. The findings are discussed in light of recent evidence in the field and their implications for practice and future research are pointed out.
This study aimed at comparing the psychometric properties of three measures of burnout administered in 320 Greek primary school teachers, namely the Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach and Jackson ...1982), the Burnout Measure (Pines and Aronson 1988) and the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (Kristensen et al. 2005). Confirmatory factor analysis tested a three-factor solution for each inventory, consistent to the respective theory. Results yielded a reasonably good model fit for the MBI, and merely acceptable model fit for the BM and the CBI. Overall the findings suggest that the MBI is more appropriate instrument for assessing teachers' burnout compared to the MB and the CBI, which presented not so well-defined inner structure and highly correlated subscales.
Η ψυχική ανθεκτικότητα των εκπαιδευτικών είναι εξαιρετικά σημαντική για την λειτουργικότητά τους. Ωστόσο, υπάρχουν ελάχιστες κλίμακες για τη μέτρησή της που να απευθύνονται ειδικά στους ...εκπαιδευτικούς, οι οποίες μάλιστα δεν περιλαμβάνουν πολλούς από τους σημαντικούς προστατευτικούς παράγοντες. Για τον λόγο αυτό, με βάση σχετικά ποιοτικά δεδομένα που συλλέχθηκαν σε προηγούμενη μελέτη, η παρούσα έρευνα σχεδιάστηκε με σκοπό την κατασκευή και την αξιολόγηση μιας πιο ολοκληρωμένης κλίμακας για τη μέτρηση των ατομικών και περιβαλλοντικών προστατευτικών παραγόντων της ψυχικής ανθεκτικότητας των εκπαιδευτικών. Στην έρευνα συμμετείχαν 407 εκπαιδευτικοί της πρωτοβάθμιας εκπαίδευσης. Για τον έλεγχο της συγκλίνουσας εγκυρότητας της νέας κλίμακας χρησιμοποιήθηκαν τα εργαλεία Multidimensional Teachers’ Resilience Scale (Mansfield & Wosnitza, 2015) και Τeachers’ Resilience Scale (Daniilidou & Platsidou, 2018). Ο έλεγχος της διακρίνουσας εγκυρότητας έγινε με το Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach & Jackson, 1986) και το Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001). Μέσα από μια σειρά παραγοντικών αναλύσεων και αναλύσεων με τη θεωρία απόκρισης στοιχείου με τη χρήση ενός μοντέλου βαθμιαίας απάντησης, καταλήξαμε στην τελική εκδοχή της Κλίμακας Προστατευτικών Παραγόντων της Ψυχικής Ανθεκτικότητας των Εκπαιδευτικών (ΚΠΠ-ΨΑΕ), η οποία περιλαμβάνει 29 δηλώσεις και αξιολογεί έξι προστατευτικούς παράγοντες: τις Αξίες και πεποιθήσεις, τη Συναισθηματική και συμπεριφορική επάρκεια, τη Σωματική ευεξία, τις Σχέσεις εντός σχολικού πλαισίου, τις Σχέσεις εκτός σχολικού πλαισίου και το Νομοθετικό πλαίσιο. Ο έλεγχος των ψυχομετρικών ιδιοτήτων καθώς και της διακρίνουσας και συγκλίνουσας εγκυρότητας της νέας κλίμακας έδειξαν ότι μπορεί να αξιοποιηθεί με ασφάλεια σε μελλοντικές έρευνες της ψυχικής ανθεκτικότητας των εκπαιδευτικών.
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