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The world, society and education are constantly evolving, and to respond to these changes, the main governmental institutions have been proposing different global strategies to focus efforts in the same direction. Currently, the United Nations and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) have presented a series of indicators that could help to minimise the environmental, economic and social instability we are experiencing. In this sense, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has been described as a fundamental factor. Specifically, in previous work, we argued that physical education (PE) could be a good tool to contribute to SDGs. Based on this, no research analysing the voices of Physical Education Teachers (PET) on how this contribution could be made has been identified in previous literature. Therefore, the objectives of this research are: (1) to analyse the voices and opinions of active PETs in terms of the knowledge they have about Sustainable Development (SD); (2) to determine their opinions about the contribution that PE could make to SDGs; and finally, (3) to identify the challenges and limitations of pedagogical action of SD in PE. For this purpose, a qualitative analysis through a semi-structured interview with 41 active PETs was carried out. The main findings will be presented and discussed around four themes: (a) agreement on the concept of sustainability; (b) PE can contribute to the achievement of SDGs; (c) ambiguity in applying SDGs to PE lessons; and (d) teachers’ constraints on how to implement SDGs in PE. It seems to indicate that PETs do not have a multidimensional vision of sustainable development. While they recognise the potential of PE to contribute to SDGs through awareness raising and student learning, they point to its pedagogical and formative constraints as the main barriers to being able to contribute. They pointed to a lack of knowledge on how to do so, guidelines on how to integrate ESD, lack of involvement, shortage of time or resources in school physical education.

Lysophosphatidic acid species (LPA) are lipid bioactive signaling molecules that have been recently implicated in the modulation of emotional and motivational behaviors. The present study investigates the consequences of either genetic deletion or pharmacological blockade of lysophosphatidic acid receptor-1 (LPA1) in alcohol consumption.The experiments were performed in alcohol-drinking animals by using LPA1-null mice and administering the LPA1 receptor antagonist Ki16425 in both mice and rats.In the two-bottle free choice paradigm, the LPA1-null mice preferred the alcohol more than their wild-type counterparts. Whereas the male LPA1-null mice displayed this higher preference at all doses tested, the female LPA1-null mice only consumed more alcohol at 6% concentration. The male LPA1-null mice were then further characterized, showing a notably increased ethanol drinking after a deprivation period and a reduced sleep time after acute ethanol administration. In addition, LPA1-null mice were more anxious than the wild-type mice in the elevated plus maze test. For the pharmacological experiments, the acute administration of the antagonist Ki16425 consistently increased ethanol consumption in both wild-type mice and rats; while it did not modulate alcohol drinking in the LPA1-null mice and lacked intrinsic rewarding properties and locomotor effects in a conditioned place preference paradigm. In addition, LPA1-null mice exhibited a marked reduction on the expression of glutamate-transmission-related genes in the prefrontal cortex similar to those described in alcohol-exposed rodents.Results suggest a relevant role for the LPA/LPA1 signaling system in alcoholism. In addition, the LPA1-null mice emerge as a new model for genetic vulnerability to excessive alcohol drinking. The pharmacological manipulation of LPA1 receptor arises as a new target for the study and treatment of alcoholism.

Plogging, a practice that combines outdoor exercise with waste collection, is a novel alternative to physical activity; therefore, it has not been extensively studied in the scientific literature yet. The aim of this research is to analyse whether students’ environmental attitudes are affected by a 6-week intervention based on plogging. A total of 143 students (mean age 15.58 ± 3.28) participated in the study. A pre-post design with control and experimental group was carried out. To assess attitudes, a diagnostic questionnaire of attitudes towards the environment in secondary school students was used. The instrument is composed of five factors (motivation, participation, communication, environment and education). To measure the effect of the intervention, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was performed. The results showed that the experimental group significantly improved in factors such as motivation and environmental awareness. These results contribute to increasing research on the integration of sustainability in Physical Education.

Various spinal cord stimulation (SCS) modes are used in the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain disorders. Conventional (Con) and Burst-SCS are hypothesized to exert analgesic effects through different stimulation-induced mechanisms. Preclinical electrophysiological findings suggest that stimulation intensity is correlated with the effectiveness of Burst-SCS. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the relation between amplitude (charge per second) and behavioral effects in a rat model of chronic neuropathic pain, for both Conventional Spinal Cord Stimulation (Con-SCS) and biphasic Burst-SCS.Animals (n = 12 rats) received a unilateral partial sciatic nerve ligation, after which they were implanted with quadripolar electrodes in the epidural space at thoracic level 13. Mechanical hypersensitivity was assessed using paw withdrawal thresholds (WTs) to von Frey monofilaments, at various SCS intensities (amplitudes) and multiple time points during 60 minutes of stimulation and 30 minutes post stimulation.Increasing amplitude was shown to improve the efficacy of Con-SCS, whereas the efficacy of Burst-SCS showed a non-monotonic relation with amplitude. Con-SCS at 66% MT (n = 5) and Burst-SCS at 50% MT (n = 6) were found to be equally effective in normalizing mechanical hypersensitivity. However, in the assessed time period Burst-SCS required significantly more mean charge per second to do so (p < 0.01). When applied at comparable mean charge per second, Con-SCS resulted in a superior behavioral outcome (p < 0.01), compared with Burst-SCS.Biphasic Burst-SCS requires significantly more mean charge per second in order to achieve similar pain relief, as compared with Con-SCS, in an experimental model of chronic neuropathic pain.

Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) is an ethanol metabolite and EtG is used as a biomarker of alcohol drinking. EtG can be detected in the blood and in several biological matrices including urine, hair and nails. Alcohol consumption during pregnancy is a strong risk factor for fetus health so in the recent years different strategies to reveal alcohol use have been planning including the use of screening questionnaires as the AUDIT-C, T-ACE and TWEAK. The present study aims to investigate in pregnant women the specificity and predictive value of the AUDIT-C, T-ACE and TWEAK plus a food diary in use in Sapienza University Hospital compared with the results of urine EtG measurement. Seventy pregnant women were enrolled and examined. Urine samples were provided by pregnant women immediately after the interviews. EtG determinations were performed by Enzyme Immunoassay with a cut-off established at 100ng/mL. Data show that 34.28% of the enrolled pregnant women overcame the EtG cut off. No direct correlation was found between EtG data and the alcohol screening interviews showing lower levels of alcohol consumption, although T-ACE revealed the same at risk percentage. However, a significant concordance was observed with food diary data and T-ACE only in patients with higher EtG urinary concentration. This study provides clinical evidence that the diagnosis of maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy only based on indirect methods, such as questionnaires and food diary, may significantly underestimate alcohol use.

Although much is known about factors influencing short-term implementation, little is known about what factors are relevant for the long-term sustainment of innovations. In the Dutch National Quality Improvement Program for Palliative Care, innovations were implemented in 76 implementation projects.To give insight into the sustainment strategies used and factors facilitating and hindering sustainment.Online questionnaire with prestructured and open questions sent to the contact persons for 76 implementation projects, 2-6.5 years after the start.Information was gathered on 63 implementation projects (response 83%). Most projects took place in home care, general practices, and/or nursing homes. Sustainment was attained in 60% of the implementation projects. Six often applied strategies were statistically significantly related to sustainment: 1) realizing coherence between the innovation and the strategic policy of the organization; 2) arranging to have a specific professional responsible for the use of the innovation; 3) integrating the innovation into the organization's broader palliative care policy; 4) arranging accessibility of the innovation; 5) involving management in the implementation project; and 6) giving regular feedback about the implementation. In three-quarters of the projects, barriers and facilitators were encountered relating to characteristics of the care organizations, such as employee turnover and ratification of the project by the management.Applying the six strategies enhances sustainment. The organization plays a decisive role in the sustainment of innovations in palliative care. Engaging the management team in implementation projects from early onset is of utmost importance.

Abstract Since children are far more vulnerable than adults to the effects of air pollution and spend about a third of their day in school, strict control of indoor environments in educational buildings is paramount to properly identify, manage and mitigate putative environmental risks for children. In this context, this work aimed to provide a holistic view on the outcomes obtained from the national ARIA project, which was focused on broadening the knowledge on the effects on children’s health of the exposure to schools’ indoor air. In particular, this work performed a comprehensive investigation of the indoor air quality (IAQ) in 20 public primary schools located in Porto (Northern Region, Portugal). This paper presents the results of the investigation along with the recently published main outcomes of ARIA on (1) the characteristics of the environment surrounding the surveyed buildings, and (2) the school’s environment-related health effects in school-age children from the studied classrooms. The investigation consisted in an extensive assessment plan conducted in 71 classrooms to assess temperature, relative humidity, carbon monoxide and dioxide, particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10, and ultrafine particles), nitrogen dioxide, ozone, volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, airborne fungi, bacteria and endotoxins, and investigate their respective sources, during the cold seasons of 2014–2015. A series of studies was also launched to investigate school environment-related health detriments in 916 children. The results showed that comfort and ventilation issues and/or indoor pollutant levels that exceeded recommended limits were found in a substantial number of the classrooms surveyed. The high density of occupants, deficient ventilation, soil characteristics, presence of indoor pollution sources (e.g. classroom materials and consumer products) and outdoor pollution were some of the factors that seemed to explain the high air stuffiness and/or indoor pollution load identified in classrooms. In fact, some of indoor pollutants detected, even at low exposure levels, were associated with the development of respiratory symptoms in school-age children. Moreover, results from this work have also shown that the characteristics of the environment surrounding the schools, namely the presence of green spaces and species richness, can be major determinants of respiratory health among school-age children. Overall, the body of evidence generated from the ARIA project can support new evidence-based perspectives for promotion of health in educational buildings.