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The online sexual offender: what we know to date.

INTRODUCTION Online grooming is an active communicative entrapment network involving a wide range of techniques. The interactions that groomers have with minors online are complex. The purpose of the present literature review was to contribute to the existing knowledge base regarding online sex offender typologies, predatory tactics and techniques. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION We conducted a review of the current literature by an initial database research of papers published since 1990. Three independent reviewers selected relevant articles, initially based on title and abstract analysis, then by full text in order to make a final determination. After the final selection, a total of 21 articles were reviewed. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS Overall, abundant data describing both groomer characteristics and grooming strategies are available in the literature, with authors attempting to analyze and adapt these to ever-complex models. However, the various models often feel redundant, determining a certain difficulty in understanding which would be the most suitable model to apply, making comparing data from different studies oftentimes troublesome. CONCLUSIONS In our opinion, it would be desirable to reach a consensus on fewer univocally-interpretable models that would be easier to adopt as preventive tools against online grooming, in combination with other strategies. The present study may provide parents and guardians with information useful for keeping their youth safer while online, as well as data that may assist in the development of policy recommendations and prevention strategies, overall aiming to reduce the phenomenon of online grooming.

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International Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents (IPAQ A): reliability of an Italian version.

BACKGROUND Recently a new version of International Physical Activity Questionnaire was performed for adolescent (IPAQ-A), but there is no Italian version yet. The aim of the study is to examine the test-retest reliability of an Italian version of short IPAQ-A. METHODS A sample of 10- to 18-year-old children and adolescents was considered. The IPAQ questionnaires were administered twice, the second time two days after the first administration. Test-retest reliability and internal reliability of the questionnaire were determined using ICC and Cronbach's α, respectively. RESULTS Two hundred and seventy-seven questionnaires were collected. The response rate was 97% but 57% of the sample completed all the items in the questionnaire. Forty-three percent of the students have not completed all the items and its age distribution shown that 93.5% was in 10-13 years old. Overall internal reliability (Cronbach's α=0.84) and test-retest reliability for 16 out of 23 items (ICC>0.70) were high. CONCLUSIONS The study presents missing and unreasonably values. However, the study underlines pros and cons of the IPAQ-A: high reliability and feasibility to measure the physical activity especially in adolescent aged 14-18 years; the IPAQ-A needs of attention and it hasn't to leave it to the self-compilation but give support especially in the youngers.

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Psychological wellbeing in parents of children with phenylketonuria and association with treatment adherence.

BACKGROUND Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a rare metabolic disorder that leads to severe neurological abnormalities unless early treated with a strict phenylalanine (Phe)-restricted diet. The parents' involvement in PKU management is crucial and could lead to psychological distress; however, few studies have explored the parents' psychological wellbeing. The study aimed to: 1) evaluate the presence of psychological distress and impaired quality of life among parents of children with PKU, assessing the impact of the diagnosis and the impact of the treatment management; 2) explore the associations between parents' psychological outcomes and their children's blood-Phe levels. METHODS One hundred thirty-eight parents of patients with PKU (who need a Phe-restricted diet) and with a mild form (mild hyperphenylalaninemia-MHP, with no diet indication) filled-out self-report psychological questionnaires; Phe-levels of children with PKU were retrieved. RESULTS Parents of children with PKU did not report higher levels of psychological distress neither compared with the normative scores nor with parents of children with MHP. Optimal Phe-levels were associated with a higher number of parents' depressive complaints, with a lower tendency to express anger feelings, with a lower social functioning, and a higher mental health. CONCLUSIONS Parents of children with PKU showed a good psychological adaptation to their children's disease and treatment. Findings highlighted associations between parents' psychological wellbeing and their children's adherence to diet. Interestingly, an optimal adherence to the diet of their children was associated with parental low social functioning, a higher tendency to control the anger expression, and greater somatic depressive symptoms.

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Camel milk: a possible alternative for children with cow's milk allergy?

BACKGROUND Cow's milk protein allergy (CwMPA) is the most common food allergy during early childhood and its therapy consists in the elimination of cow's milk proteins (CwMP) from the diet and the introduction of alternative formulas. Evidence about clinical use of camel's milk (CM) in CwMPA in children is scarce. The aim of this study was to determine the entity of cross-sensitization between CM and CwM in children with CwMPA. METHODS This prospective study was performed in children affected by CwMPA. We evaluated skin prick tests (SPT) for CwM, CwMP (alpha-lactalbumin [ALA], beta-lactoglobulin [BLG] and casein [CAS]) and CM and serum levels of CwM, ALA, BLG, CAS-sIgE. RESULTS Sixty-seven children with CwMPA were included in this study: twenty-one resulted SPT+ to CM. Mean wheal diameters towards raw CwM, ALA, BLG and CAS resulted significantly larger in the CM SPT+ group than in the CM SPT- group (P<0.02). Likewise, mean IgE titers against CwM, ALA and CAS were significantly higher in the CM SPT+ group than in the CM SPT-group (P<0.01). The mean wheal diameter towards raw CwM was significantly larger than that towards CM (P<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS This study confirms the presence of cross-sensitization between CwM and CM that remains lower if compared to other mammalian milks. Small wheals at the SPT towards CwM antigens together with low IgE titers against them could work as predictors in selecting patients that are expected to have negative CM SPT and then could be fed with CM with lower risks of allergic reactions.

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Relationship between sleep quality and rhinitis in children: role of medical treatment with isotonic and hypertonic salines.

BACKGROUND The nose represents the port of entry, the first part of the upper airway and accounts for 50% of its total resistance. Many authors identified rhinitis as relevant factor affecting quality of life, and sleep habits of sufferers and their caregiver's, particularly between 4-17 years old children. Both allergic rhinitis and non-allergic rhinitis may represent an important risk for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in children. We evaluated the quality of sleep and the role of nasal irrigations with saline solutions in children with sign and symptoms of rhinitis. METHODS An observational retrospective study was conducted on 58 children aged 3-6 years old receiving diagnosis of rhinitis according to clinical and amnestic evaluation. All recruited children were screened before medical topic treatment with the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire test in order to evaluate the sleep habits and after isotonic and hypertonic saline nasal irrigation for six months. One-Way ANOVA was used for statistical analysis of the results. RESULTS Forty-nine of 58 recruited children reached the follow-up control after six months of medical treatment. Mean score at Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire before and after medical treatments was respectively 0.39 and 0.28. One-Way ANOVA test showed a significant statistical difference (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Nasal topic decongestant may be used only for short-term treatments, and they do not seem to have long-term results. Topic corticosteroids may be used for long term treatment and their correlations with OSA seem to have different results. This study aims to attracting the attention of pediatricians on the importance of nasal topic saline solutions irrigations in children with rhinitis in improving HRQoL decreasing snoring and apneas and so daytime symptoms.

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Factors associated with thyroid dysfunction in children with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND This study aimed to investigate the possible factors associated with thyroid dysfunction (TD) in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). METHODS Eighty-seven children with T1DM were evaluated in terms of their clinical profile as well as tested for pancreatic and thyroid antibodies. Thyroid function was tested at baseline and 10 days after treatment onset. RESULTS Thyroid dysfunction was present in 13 (14.9%) patients after correction of acute metabolic disorders. The prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism (10.3%) was found to be higher than that of clinical hypothyroidism (3.4%) and clinical hyperthyroidism (1.2%). Both pancreatic and thyroid antibody were detected positive in TD patients, which was significantly different from that with euthyroidism (P<0.01, P<0.05). The frequency of TD family history was significantly higher in subjects with TD rather than with euthyroidism (P<0.01). The levels of free and total triiodothyronine, free and total thyroxine were in the hypothyroid range at the time of admission, all of which increased to normal range after 10 days of therapy in 32 DKA children (P=0.02 and P<0.01). There was a significant correlation between pH and free triiodothyronine levels (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS TD is related to family factors, autoimmunity, and acute metabolic stress in the T1DM and regular thyroid screening should be performed.

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More than words: methodological potentials of graphical elicitation with parents of preterm infants.

BACKGROUND Word-based tools, such as interviews, can only partially provide access to the lived experience of parents of preterm infants. This study explores the lived experience of parents of preterm infants between 3 and 6 months after discharge by means of visual method (i.e., graphical elicitation). METHODS A qualitative study with graphic elicitation analysis was used to assess the lived experience of four parental couples of very preterm infants in a home-based session occurred between 3 and 6 months after Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) discharge. RESULTS The use of graphical elicitation revealed three dimensions of the experience of being parents of preterm infants: 1) different use of time-lining elements suggested a different involvement of cognitive and/or emotional coping mechanisms in facing the unexpected birth and NICU stay; 2) the explicit or implicit use of emotional graphical elements and words was suggestive of different degrees of openness to disclose their experience; 3) the role of textual elements in support or substitution of graphical elements indicated different levels of integration of cognitive and emotional representations. CONCLUSIONS The use of visual methods holds the potentials for revealing specific aspects of the parental experience of preterm birth and NICU stay. The clinical implications of this approach are further discussed with reference to its potential implementation within parental support intervention.

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Duration of topical therapy in the maintenance of atopic dermatitis remission in paediatric age.

BACKGROUND Topical corticosteroids (TCS) are the first-choice treatment for atopic dermatitis (AD) flares. In literature there are clear advice about the potency, dosage and frequency of application of TCS, but there are no shared indications about duration of the treatment during a flare. The aim of the study is to demonstrate if the use of a steroid cream for less than or 5 days, could be equal or more effective than the application for more than 5 days during a flare episode, in keeping a remission state of AD. METHODS The study population (N.=122) was selected according to the following inclusion criteria: at least one specialist allergological and dermatological examination in the period November 2015 to February 2017, age between 1 and 11 years; mild to moderate atopic dermatitis. All patients were given a standardized telephone questionnaire, which concerns on multiple aspects: parents' self-reported perceptions of the severity of their child's condition; actual use of emollients, moisturizers and steroid creams; number of consecutive days of using of topical steroid cream during an exacerbation of AD; average number of AD exacerbations per month in the last year; total number of AD exacerbations in the last year. RESULTS Data from 96 patients was examined. We classified three groups of patients from data collected: group 1 (N.=40): use of TCS for ≤5 consecutive days during an exacerbation event of AD; group 2 (N.=12): use of TCS for >5 consecutive days during an exacerbation event of AD; group 3 (N.=44): nonuse of TCS or use of TCS with a different posology. We found a further subgroup in group 3 (3a, N.=27) with patients using only emollient creme in AD management. In group 1, 27 patients (67.5%) did not show a good AD control; on the contrary, 13 patients (27.5%) reported a good AD control. In group 2, 4 patients (25%) did not show a good AD control; on the contrary, 8 patients (75%) reported a good AD control. By comparing the data obtained in the presence of good AD control, the difference between the percentages obtained was found to be statistically significant (P=0.034). CONCLUSIONS The results obtained show that a therapeutic pattern based on the use of TCS for a duration of more than 5 consecutive days during an episode of AD exacerbation is more efficient than the proposed alternative therapeutic scheme in the maintenance of AD remission.

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Salbutamol combined with budesonide in treatment of pediatric bronchial asthma and its effect on eosinophils

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to investigate and discuss the salbutamol combined with budesonide in treatment of pediatric bronchial asthma (BA) and its effect on eosinophils (EOS). METHODS Ninety-eight BA children admitted and treated in our hospital from July 2016 to June 2017 were collected and divided into control group (N.=49) and observation group (N.=49) according to random number table. The children in control group were treated with budesonide and those in observation group were treated with salbutamol combined with budesonide. The clinical efficacy, pulmonary functions and levels of T-lymphocyte subsets (including cluster of differentiation 3 (CD3)+, CD4+, CD8+ and CD4+/CD8+) in the immune system between two groups were compared after the treatment; the levels of eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) and eotaxin in the children were compared before the treatment and at 1, 4 and 8 weeks after the treatment; the changes in EOS counts in blood and induced sputum of the children before and after the treatment were compared, and the EOS apoptosis rate was compared at 1, 4 and 8 weeks after the treatment. RESULTS The effective rate of treatment in observation group was significantly higher than that in control group (P<0.05). After the treatment, the indexes of pulmonary function in observation group were obviously better than those in control group (P<0.05). Compared with those in control group, the levels of CD3+, CD4+ and CD4+/CD8+ of the children in observation group were elevated remarkably, while the CD8+ level was lowered (P<0.05). The levels of ECP and eotaxin in the two groups were decreased after the treatment compared with those before the treatment, and the levels in observation group were superior to those in control group (P<0.05). After the treatment, the EOS counts of both groups of children were lower than those before the treatment, and the decrease in observation group was more notable than that in control group. At 1, 4 and 8 weeks after the treatment, the EOS apoptosis rate in observation group was obviously higher than that in control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS The treatment of salbutamol combined with budesonide for pediatric BA has significant therapeutic effects; it can restore the pulmonary functions rapidly and improve the immunity of the lung, reduce the levels of eotaxin, ECP and EOS of the child patients and promote EOS apoptosis.

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A structured therapeutic education program for children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes: an analysis of the efficacy of the "Pediatric Education for Diabetes" project.

Background Therapeutic education for Type 1 Diabetes involves the process of transmitting knowledge and developing the skills and behavior required to treat the disease. guidelines agree on stressing the importance of therapeutic educational intervention in teaching self-management skills to children and adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). This study presents the results of the Pediatric Education for Type 1 Diabetes (PED) project, specifically designed for children and adolescents aged 6 to 16, and structured on guidelines indications, as part of a broader clinical-educational intervention for Type 1 diabetes. Methods 24 patients with Type 1 diabetes (mean age: 12,13 y; SD = 1.48 y; range 9- 14) were studied in a 12-month PED structured project followed by a educational summer camp. All the activities were designed and organized by a multidisciplinary team (dietitian, pediatric diabetologist, nurse, psychologist and adult diabetologist). Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C), knowledge about Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) (self-monitoring and nutrition), self- management (self-monitoring, nutrition and flexibility of medical treatment), and were used as outcome measures. Results Data suggest that the PED had a positive impact on all the targeted levels indicated for recommended care. Conclusions The results of this study seem to confirm the effectiveness in altering the three levels of knowing, know-how and wellbeing required to optimize the quality of life of young patients with Type 1 diabetes. In addition, the proposed model, where a pediatric diabetologist always cooperates with an adult diabetologist, seems to be a permanent solution to the transitional gap widely discussed in the literature.

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