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Background Student mobility programmes aim to enhance academic competence and personal growth. However, non-academic reasons are decisive for students’ decisions not to participate in exchange programmes abroad. Short exchange programmes are becoming increasingly popular among both institutions and students, addressing some of the non-academic reasons to not participate in exchange programmes. The aim of the study was to gain insight into nursing students’ motivation for, and experiences from, participating in a short-term exchange programme focused on mass casualty incidents. Method A qualitative study was conducted using focus group interviews with 30 nursing students from Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy. The data were analysed using content analysis. Results Three main categories were identified. These were “motivation”, “learning experiences” and “barriers and coping”. The two main motivational factors identified were the academic subject of mass casualty and the opportunity to experience international encounters. The learning experiences encompassed perspectives on nursing, cooperation and teamwork along with measurable academic outcomes related to the learning outcomes of the blended intensive programme. The participants expressed language and communication challenges and professional discrepancies as barriers in the learning process. Nevertheless, they also reported a feeling of coping and achievement after completing the programme and provided insights into various aspects of the learning climate during the blended intensive programme. Conclusions Driven by students’ academic interest and motivation for international encountering, the BIP demonstrated educational and personal benefits, emphasizing the potential value of short-term international programmes in nursing education. The programme fostered important competencies such as emergency preparedness, intercultural communication and interprofessional collaboration. Coping with language barriers and professional discrepancies contributed to personal and professional growth.

Background Specific Learning Disorders (SLDs) are neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by persistent difficulties in reading, writing, and mathematics despite adequate intellectual abilities. Understanding the lived experiences of nursing student with SLDs is essential to developing inclusive educational strategies that promote both academic success and patient safety. Aim This qualitative meta-synthesis explored and interpreted the lived experiences of undergraduate nursing students with SLDs throughout their academic pathways. Methods Following the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for qualitative evidence synthesis and reported in accordance with the ENTREQ guidelines, a comprehensive literature search was conducted across PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, EMBASE, and ERIC. Methodological quality of the included studies was appraised using the CASP checklist, while data analysis and thematic synthesis were conducted following the framework proposed by Sandelowski and Barroso. Results Twelve qualitative studies published between 2003 and 2021 met the inclusion criteria. Eight core themes emerged: (1) the impact of SLD on learning; (2) compensatory strategies; (3) disclosure experiences; (4) types of support received; (5) metacognitive awareness; (6) acceptance of one’s condition; (7) theoretical learning; and (8) expectations regarding the work environment. SLDs influenced nursing students’ learning by affecting clinical performance, emotional stability, and self-confidence. To manage these challenges, students adopted compensatory strategies such as taking extra time, using organizational tools, and relying on digital supports. Disclosure experiences were shaped by stigma, patient-safety concerns, and tutors’ attitudes. Support from tutors, peers, services, and families proved essential, while metacognitive awareness helped students recognize their strengths and regulate their learning. Theoretical difficulties were generally manageable, and students tended to prefer predictable, slower-paced work environments, perceiving high-intensity settings as less compatible with their needs. Conclusion Findings highlight the need for Universities to implement inclusive policies in both classroom and clinical settings. Further research is needed to evaluate interventions that strengthen students’ self-awareness, metacognitive skills, and learning regulation. Longitudinal and mixed-method studies are also required to understand how students’ experiences and coping strategies evolve throughout their academic trajectory and during the transition to professional practice. Additionally, evaluating training programmes for tutors and educators could provide valuable evidence on how inclusive teaching and mentorship practices influence academic success and professional development in students with SLDs. Graphical Abstract

(1) Background: The globally promoted vaccination campaign has been shown to be the solution for the COVID-19 pandemic, reducing transmission, hospitalisation and the need for intensive care. Although several studies have examined the experiences of healthcare workers during the pandemic, few studies have investigated healthcare student experiences. The aim of this study is to explore the lived experience of third-year nursing students during the COVID-19 vaccination campaign. (2) Methods: A phenomenological qualitative method was adopted. The researchers selected third-year students undertaking a bachelor’s nursing degree who took part in the COVID-19 vaccination campaign at a high-volume vaccination centre in the period from May to August 2021. (3) Results: Thirteen students were included in the study. Three themes and twelve subthemes emerged from the study. The themes were: a challenging experience; it is not as easy as it seems; a learning experience worth living; and teamwork and trust leading to professional development. (4) Conclusions: Participation in the vaccination campaign was a novelty for students in their degree program. Students emphasized the positive aspects of having the opportunity to participate in the vaccination campaign and help the entire community in the fight against COVID-19.

COVID-19 is characterised by respiratory symptoms, which deteriorate into respiratory failure in a substantial proportion of cases, requiring intensive care in up to a third of patients admitted to hospital. Analysis of the pathological features in the lung tissues of patients who have died with COVID-19 could help us to understand the disease pathogenesis and clinical outcomes. We systematically analysed lung tissue samples from 38 patients who died from COVID-19 in two hospitals in northern Italy between Feb 29 and March 24, 2020. The most representative areas identified at macroscopic examination were selected, and tissue blocks (median seven, range five to nine) were taken from each lung and fixed in 10% buffered formalin for at least 48 h. Tissues were assessed with use of haematoxylin and eosin staining, immunohistochemical staining for inflammatory infiltrate and cellular components (including staining with antibodies against CD68, CD3, CD45, CD61, TTF1, p40, and Ki-67), and electron microscopy to identify virion localisation. All cases showed features of the exudative and proliferative phases of diffuse alveolar damage, which included capillary congestion (in all cases), necrosis of pneumocytes (in all cases), hyaline membranes (in 33 cases), interstitial and intra-alveolar oedema (in 37 cases), type 2 pneumocyte hyperplasia (in all cases), squamous metaplasia with atypia (in 21 cases), and platelet–fibrin thrombi (in 33 cases). The inflammatory infiltrate, observed in all cases, was largely composed of macrophages in the alveolar lumina (in 24 cases) and lymphocytes in the interstitium (in 31 cases). Electron microscopy revealed that viral particles were predominantly located in the pneumocytes. The predominant pattern of lung lesions in patients with COVID-19 patients is diffuse alveolar damage, as described in patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronaviruses. Hyaline membrane formation and pneumocyte atypical hyperplasia are frequent. Importantly, the presence of platelet–fibrin thrombi in small arterial vessels is consistent with coagulopathy, which appears to be common in patients with COVID-19 and should be one of the main targets of therapy. None.

Animal conservation relies on assessing the distribution and habitat use of species, but for endangered/elusive animals this can prove difficult. The Monk Seal,  Monachus monachus , is one of the world's most endangered species of pinniped, and the only one endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. During recent decades, direct observations have been few and scattered, making it difficult to determine its distribution away from the Aegean Sea (core distribution area of the post-decline relict population). This study relies on environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis to detect the presence of the Monk Seal in 135 samples collected in 120 locations of the central/western Mediterranean Sea, spanning about 1500 km longitudinally and 1000 km latitudinally. A recently described species-specific qPCR assay was used on marine-water samples, mostly collected during 2021 by a Citizen Science (CS) project. Positive detections occurred throughout the longitudinal range, including the westernmost surveyed area (Balearic archipelago). The distribution of the positive detections indicated six “hotspots”, mostly overlapping with historical Monk Seal sites, suggesting that habitat-specific characteristics play a fundamental role. We applied single-season occupancy models to correct for detection probability and to assess the importance of site-specific characteristics. The distance from small islets and protected (or access-restricted) areas was correlated negatively with the detection probability. This novel molecular approach, applied here for the first time in an extensive CS study, proved its potential as a tool for monitoring the distribution of this endangered/elusive species.

We provide here a first-hand description of the coseismic surface effects caused by the Mw 6.4 Petrinja earthquake that hit central Croatia on 29 December 2020. This was one of the strongest seismic events that occurred in Croatia in the last two centuries. Field surveys in the epicentral area allowed us to observe and map primary coseismic effects, including geometry and kinematics of surface faulting, as well as secondary effects, such as liquefaction, sinkholes and landslides. The resulting dataset consists of homogeneous georeferenced records identifying 222 observation points, each of which contains a minimum of 5 to a maximum of 14 numeric and string fields of relevant information. The earthquake caused surface faulting defining a typical ‘conjugate’ fault pattern characterized by Y and X shears, tension cracks (T fractures), and compression structures (P shears) within a ca. 10 km wide (across strike), NW–SE striking right-lateral strike-slip shear zone (i.e., the Petrinja Fault Zone, PFZ). We believe that the results of the field survey provide fundamental information to improve the interpretation of seismological, GPS and InSAR data of this earthquake. Moreover, the data related to the surface faulting may impact future studies focused on earthquake processes in active strike-slip settings, integrating the estimates of slip amount and distribution in assessing the hazard associated with capable transcurrent faults.

PurposeThe PRESTIGIO Registry was established in 2017 to collect clinical, virological and immunological monitoring data from people living with HIV (PLWH) with documented four-class drug resistance (4DR). Key research purposes include the evaluation of residual susceptibility to specific antiretrovirals and the validation of treatment and monitoring strategies in this population.ParticipantsThe PRESTIGIO Registry collects annual plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cell samples and demographic, clinical, virological, treatment and laboratory data from PLWH followed at 39 Italian clinical centres and characterised by intermediate-to-high genotypic resistance to ≥1 nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, ≥1 non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, ≥1 protease inhibitors, plus either intermediate-to-high genotypic resistance to ≥1 integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs) or history of virological failure to an INSTI-containing regimen. To date, 229 people have been recorded in the cohort. Most of the data are collected from the date of the first evidence of 4DR (baseline), with some prebaseline information obtained retrospectively. Samples are collected from the date of enrollment in the registry.Findings to dateThe open-ended cohort has been used to assess (1) prognosis in terms of survival or development of AIDS-related or non-AIDS-related clinical events; (2) long-term efficacy and safety of different antiretroviral regimens and (3) virological and immunological factors predictive of clinical outcome and treatment efficacy, especially through analysis of plasma and cell samples.Future plansThe registry can provide new knowledge on how to implement an integrated approach to study PLWH with documented resistance to the four main antiretroviral classes, a population with a limited number of individuals characterised by a high degree of frailty and complexity in therapeutic management. Given the scheduled annual updates of PLWH data, the researchers who collaborate in the registry can send study proposals at any time to the steering committee of the registry, which evaluates every 3 months whether the research studies can be conducted on data and biosamples from the registry and whether they are aimed at a better understanding of a specific health condition, the emergence of comorbidities or the effect of potential treatments or experimental drugs that may have an impact on disease progression and quality of life. Finally, the research studies should aim to be inclusive, innovative and in touch with the communities and society as a whole.Trial registration numberNCT04098315.

Eating disorders (EDs) are syndromes with a multifactorial etiopathogenesis, involving childhood traumatic experiences, as well as biological factors. Human microbiome has been hypothesised to play a fundamental role, impacting on emotion regulation, as well as with eating behaviours through its metabolites such as short chain fatty acids (SCFAs). The present study investigated the interactions between psychopathology of EDs, the gut microbiome and SCFAs resulting from bacterial community metabolic activities in a population of 47 patients with Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder and in healthy controls (HCs). Bacterial gut microbiota composition differences were found between subjects with EDs and HCs, especially in association with different pathological behaviours (binge-purge vs restricting). A mediation model of early trauma and ED-specific psychopathology linked reduction of microbial diversity to a typical microbiota-derived metabolite such as butyric acid. A possible interpretation for this model might be that childhood trauma represents a risk factor for gut dysbiosis and for a stable modification of mechanisms responsible for SCFAs production, and that this dysfunctional community is inherited in the passage from childhood to adulthood. These findings might open the way to novel interventions of butyric acid-like compounds as well as faecal transplant.

SARS-CoV-2 symptoms are non-specific and can range from asymptomatic presentation to severe pneumonia. Asymptomatic subjects carrying SARS-CoV-2 often remain undiagnosed and it is still debated whether they develop immunoglobulins (Ig) and how long they persist. The aim of this study was to investigate the development and persistence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in asymptomatic subjects infected by the virus. This follow-up study was performed on the 31 asymptomatic subjects who presented a positive nasal swab or serology against SARS-CoV-2 (Ig against Spike-RBD) in the first part of the UNICORN study (March 2020) aimed at attesting previous or current contacts with the virus in the personnel of the University of Milan. Eight weeks after the first Ig measure, these subjects were invited to donate a second blood sample for testing serum antibodies (IgM, IgG and total antibodies) and to fill-in a structured questionnaire. About 80% of asymptomatic subjects did not present circulating immunoglobulins against SARS-CoV-2 after 8 weeks from a positive nasal swab against the virus. Moreover, in more than 40% of these subjects, no Ig against SARS-CoV-2 were detected at any time. Finally, about two third of subjects with immunoglobulins at baseline did not present IgG against SARS-CoV-2 after 8 weeks. The majority of subjects who developed an asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection do not present antibodies against the RBD-spike protein after 8 weeks of follow-up. These data should be taken into account for the interpretation of the serological evidences on SARS-CoV-2 that are emerging nowadays.