Oriana Motta - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Oriana Motta

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 2022

Background: It is common knowledge that first responders are among the helping professionals most... more Background: It is common knowledge that first responders are among the helping professionals most at risk of burnout and psychological vulnerability. During the COVID-19 pandemic, their mental health has been subjected to various risk factors. Methods: Data on socio-demographic characteristics, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and psychological vulnerability (SCL-90-R) were obtained from 228 subjects (55.3% female; M age = 45.23, SD = 13.14) grouped on the basis of their actual involvement during the emergency phases (82% First Responders and 18% Second Responders). Results: First responders exceeded the MBI clinical cut-off, while SRs did not (χ² ≥ 0.5); specifically, EE = 89.8%, DP = 85.8%, and PA = 82.1%. The FR group showed a higher mean in the global severity index (GSI = 49.37) than did the SRs (=43.95), and the FR group exceeded the clinical cut-off in the SCL-90-R scales of SOM (51.06), ANX (52.40), and PHOB (53.60), while the SF group did so only for the PHOB scale (50.41). The MBI dimensions correlated significantly (p = 0.05) with all investigated clinical scales of the SCL-90-R. Conclusions: Emergency situations expose first responders to specific risk factors related to work performance and relational aspects, which contribute to increased psychological vulnerability and burnout.

Vaccines, 2021

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the psychological factors of health perception, mis... more The objectives of this study were to evaluate the psychological factors of health perception, mistrust, anxiety, fear, and indecision of Italians vaccinated against COVID-19, and conduct an analysis of the relationships between these factors and other variables: sex, vaccine priority ministerial categories, and the type and dose of vaccine. The participants included 1564 subjects who joined the vaccination campaign at the COVID-19 Vaccination Center in Salerno, Italy. A survey was conducted in the reference period March-April 2021 using a brief anamnestic questionnaire. In addition, the following standardized scales were used: the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y) and the Short Form Health Survey (SF-12). The results showed that, in terms of the type of vaccine received, the interviewees felt more confident in having received the Comirnaty (Pfizer-BioNTech, 23.5%) and Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca, 18.6%) vaccines-feeling less tense (2.1%; Vaxzevria (Astra-Zeneca) = 3.2%), frightened (1%; Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) = 1.4%), not at all nervous (61.1%; Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca), 43.6%), and not at all/undecided (67.9%; Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca), 58.6%). Regarding the mood and psychological states considered at the different vaccine administration times, other important differences emerged as the interviewees reported higher levels of tension, nervousness, and fear during the first phase of vaccine administration. Specifically, 40.7% (second dose, 32.7%) felt somewhat tense at the first dose, 26.4% felt frightened (second dose, 21.8%), and 33.8% felt nervous (second dose, 26.8%). The perceived state of health also increased at the end of the vaccination cycle, as, at the second dose, 15.4% of the sample reported an evaluation of "excellent" (first dose, 12.4%).

Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics, 2004

In the last years many endeavors have been made in order to extend the catalytic properties of gr... more In the last years many endeavors have been made in order to extend the catalytic properties of group 4 metallocenes to a larger number of metal complexes.1 Among these, post-metallocene catalysts based on octahedral group 4 complexes represent one of the most successful ...

In this work we present a new synthetic route to obtain elastomeric polypropylene with high molec... more In this work we present a new synthetic route to obtain elastomeric polypropylene with high molecular weight and narrow molecular weight distribution, in the presence of TiCl 2 (2-OC 6 H 4 OCH 3 ) 2 and methylaluminoxane catalytic system. Moreover we focused on investigating the thermal, mechanical and rheological properties of the ELPP and its solvent fractions. The results demonstrate that the polymers exhibit high ultimate extension and excellent elastic recovery, due to the presence of microcrystalline domains dispersed in the amorphous phase. The elastic and viscous response has been found to depend upon the molecular weight, which changes with the polymerization temperature. q

Saturated and unsaturated alcohols are efficiently converted into the corresponding ketones and e... more Saturated and unsaturated alcohols are efficiently converted into the corresponding ketones and epoxy-alcohols by treatment with organic aluminium compounds/t-butyl hydroperoxide systems. In this paper, we have exploited the possibility of using some commercial aluminium alkyls as catalysts for oxidation reactions. Then, since we observed that the increase of alkyls hindrance on aluminium enhances the conversion toward oxidated products, we found of interest to synthesize a more hindered aluminium based compound. The catalytic performance of this latter compound toward oxidation reactions of allylic alcohols was tested and it was found that it is the most attractive both in terms of yield and time of reaction.

Macromolecular Rapid Communications, 2002

AIChE Journal, 2015

Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a halogenated aliphatic organic compound frequently detected as pollut... more Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a halogenated aliphatic organic compound frequently detected as pollutant in soils and ground water. To study the fate of TCE in water and to devise effective remediation strategies, a series of advection-diffusion (dispersion) models, where the diffusion coefficient of TCE (D TCE ) is an important parameter, have been developed. However, D TCE in water has never been experimentally determined and only theoretical values (' 1310 25 cm 2 s 21 at 258C) are present in the literature. A new method based on the Taylor dispersion technique, which allows to measure D TCE in a broad range of temperature and, in principle, in any solvent is presented. At 258C D TCE 5 8:1660:06310 26 cm 2 s 21 and the value increases almost linearly with the temperature, while, in the limit of the experimental error, is independent from [TCE] for dilute solutions. From the temperature dependence of D TCE , it was possible to calculate the specific TCE fitting constant in the well-known Wilke and Chang theoretical relation and the activation energy of the diffusion process through the Arrhenius plot. V C 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 00: 000-000, 2015

Journal of Cultural Heritage, 2009

Understanding the chemical and physical alteration in archaeological bones, occurred after burial... more Understanding the chemical and physical alteration in archaeological bones, occurred after burial, is very interesting for researchers. In this paper, we present a study on the diagenetic alteration of human archaeological bony tissues from Paestum (South Italy), by combining complementary spectroscopic techniques, such as solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), infrared spectroscopy (IR), and X-ray diffraction. In particular, 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance-cross polarization-magic angle spinning ( 13 C NMR CP-MAS) spectroscopy allows to identify and discriminate the adsorbed calcite, that is a diagenetic contaminant, from the structural one of apatite and 1 H NMR-MAS spectroscopy shows how the degradation of organic phase of collagen is related to the time. The NMR data are combined with crystalline index, measured by X-ray diffraction, and with the splitting factor obtained by infrared spectroscopy. Moreover, the evaluation of the relative content of biogenic structural carbonate and of diagenetic fluorine is reported.

Water, 2013

Perchlorate is regarded as an emerging persistent inorganic contaminant. It is widely known that ... more Perchlorate is regarded as an emerging persistent inorganic contaminant. It is widely known that perchlorate is an endocrine disruptor as it competitively inhibits iodide transport in the thyroid gland. As drinking water is the major source of human exposure to perchlorate, its occurrence in commercially available bottled waters purchased in different regions of Italy was investigated. Perchlorate was measured using the rapid, sensitive, and selective LC-ESI-MS/MS (liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry) method by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) of the transition 98.8→82.8, which corresponds to the loss of one oxygen atom in the perchlorate ion (ClO 4 − →ClO 3 − ). The chlorine isotope ratio ( 35 Cl/ 37 Cl) was used as a confirmation tool. The limit of quantification (LOQ) for this method was 5 ng/L, and the recovery ranged from 94% to 108%. Perchlorate was detected in 44 of the 62 drinking waters tested, with concentrations ranging from <5 to 75 ng/L. These values are similar in magnitude to those reported in drinking water from the USA and do not pose an immediate health concern.

Macromolecules, 2003

Complexes of ZrCl4 incorporating neutral donors such as THF and Et2O activated by methylaluminoxa... more Complexes of ZrCl4 incorporating neutral donors such as THF and Et2O activated by methylaluminoxane have been found to be active homogeneous catalytic systems for the polymerization of ethylene. They also promote the propylene and styrene polymerization with high degree of iso-and syndiotacticity, respectively. The different behaviors in propylene and styrene polymerization using methylalumoxane containing different amounts of Al(CH3)3 with respect to isotactic propylene and syndiotactic styrene polymerization of these compounds suggest that the presence of neutral Lewis bases on the metal center plays a crucial role on the stereoselectivity of polymerization reaction. Figure 4. Quaternary and methylenic carbons regions in 13 C NMR spectra of samples of runs 21 and 23. D Proto et al. Macromolecules

Journal of Infection, 2009

Helicobacter pylori; 13 C-urea breath test; Isotope ratio mass spectrometry; Non-dispersive infra... more Helicobacter pylori; 13 C-urea breath test; Isotope ratio mass spectrometry; Non-dispersive infrared spectroscopy; Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy Summary Objectives: The objective of this work was to assess the reliability of a newly developed FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy) technique for 13 C-urea breath test in the non-invasive diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection, in comparison to those currently used, isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) and non-dispersive isotope-selective infrared spectrometry (NDIRS). This new methodology is based on the use of a very less expensive and sophisticated FTIR than IRMS and NDIRS. Materials and Methods: Sixty patients (male and female, aged between 15e70 years) with dyspeptic symptoms, like the epigastric pain, were tested for H. pylori infection using 13 C-urea breath test. Triplicate breath samples were collected before and 30 min after drinking the test solution (75 mg 13 C-urea dissolved in 200 ml 0.1 M citric acid). Analysis of d 13 C were conducted in parallel by means of IRMS, NDIRS and FTIR in order to compare the results. Results: Delta-over-baseline values were over 5& in 18 patients, ranging from 8.81 to 60.88& for IRMS measurements, from 7.2 to 61.2& for NDIRS and from 7.7 to 61.2& for FTIR measurements. The remaining 42 subjects had values well below the 5& cut-off. The results of the baseline-corrected 13 CO 2 exhalation values between FTIR and IRMS/NDIRS were in good agreement. Conclusions: The newly developed FTIR methodology has been demonstrated to be a reliable and accurate analytical tool, low cost and easy-to-operate, which permits a highly specific measurement of 13 C enrichment in breath samples. As IRMS and NDIRS it allows to adequately discriminate between infected and non-infected subjects.

International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 2009

Atactic polystyrene, one of the most widely used chemical products, was subjected to novel chemic... more Atactic polystyrene, one of the most widely used chemical products, was subjected to novel chemically oxidative treatments able to trigger a great variety of physical and chemical changes in the polymer's chains. The oxidized polystyrene samples, when analyzed with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) clearly showed the formation of carbonyl groups and hydroxyl groups, which increased with the increase in the strength of chemically oxidative treatments.

Atmospheric Environment, 2013

Il presente documento viene fornito attraverso il servizio NILDE dalla Biblioteca fornitrice, nel... more Il presente documento viene fornito attraverso il servizio NILDE dalla Biblioteca fornitrice, nel rispetto della vigente normativa sul Diritto d'Autore (Legge n.633 del 22/4/1941 e successive modifiche e integrazioni) e delle clausole contrattuali in essere con il titolare dei diritti di proprietà intellettuale.

A 1-year monitoring experiment of the Sarno River basin was conducted during 2008 to evaluate the... more A 1-year monitoring experiment of the Sarno River basin was conducted during 2008 to evaluate the overall quality of the water over time and to compare the results with those obtained previously. The physico-chemical and microbiological characteristics of the water course had not changed appreciably with respect to previous determinations, thus emphasizing the major contribution of untreated urban wastewater to the overall pollution of the river. Moreover, attention was paid to the perchlorate ion, one of the so-called emerging contaminants, which is widespread in natural environments and is known to have adverse effects on the human thyroid gland. Over the entire monitoring program, we did not find appreciable levels of perchlorate, although the particular environmental condition could support its development. Thus, a dedicated study was designed to assess the presence of bacteria that can reasonably reduce perchlorate levels. By enrichment and molecular procedures, we identified ␣and ␤-Proteobacteria strains, classified by 16S rDNA sequences as Dechlorospirillum sp. and Dechlorosoma sp., respectively. Further physiologic characterization and the presence of the alpha subunit gene (pcrA) of the perchlorate reductase in both strains confirmed the presence in the river of viable and active perchlorate dissimilatory bacteria.

Polymer Degradation and Stability, 2002

The kinetics of the isothermal degradation of three high thermally stable aromatic polyetherketon... more The kinetics of the isothermal degradation of three high thermally stable aromatic polyetherketones was studied by both a longterm (about 3 years) experiment at a temperature (270 C) largely lower than the temperatures of fusion, and a set of short-term experiments at temperatures near the temperatures of fusion. An induction period was observed at 270 C, followed by two degradation stages, the first with an exponential increase of the weight loss rate (V) as a function of heating time (t) and the final one showing constant weight loss rate. Short-term experiments showed similar behaviour, but no induction period was observed. The equations V=V o Â2 t and V=K at various temperatures were determined for the exponential and linear degradation stages, respectively. The e-folding time increased with temperature according to Arrhenius-type equations, by which the apparent activation energy values for degradation could be determined. The results are discussed and indicate that the kinetic parameters of degradation change with temperature. #