Azienda Mobilità e Trasporti

BackgroundA spectrum of adverse events overlapping with Post-acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) occurs in some patients following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination including small fiber neuropathy (SFN) and cognitive symptoms.AimsAccruing information regarding disease course and immune response imbalances in these patients.MethodsWe studied 71 previously healthy patients with neurological symptoms following SARS-CoV-vaccination. All had negative neurological workup for central/peripheral involvement (MR, EMG/EN). Cutaneous biopsy (21pts.) and peripheral blood sampling (20pts) were performed for anti-idiotype Ab analysis (ACE-2,NRP-1) (ELISA, IF) and for Flowcytometric analysis.ResultsParesthesia, cognitive impairment and autonomic symptoms agreed with SFN international definition. Comparative differences included abrupt onset, presence of simultaneous diverse paresthesia across multiple body regions frequently affecting the facial and cervical regions (44%) and the trunk (26%), associated to dysautonomia. Median time from vaccination to symptom manifestation was 3 days (mean ± SD: 8.76 ± 17.4 days). Symptom severity was still high (5.9 ± 1.9 mean+SD) at the time of evaluation and sampling, (382 ± 133 days from onset. Reduced small fiber density was observed in 19/21 biopsies. Anti-ACE-2 antibodies in 9/71pts. (12%) and 4/19 (21%) vaccinated HD sera and NRP-1 reactivity in 14/71 (20%) patient and 1/19 (5%) HD sera were not significantly increased. Peripheral NKG2D+CD8+ and NKG2D+DNAM-1+CD4+ T-cells were increased. Circulating inflammatory CD34+ cells were increased and generated in vitro a prevalence of NKG2D+DNAM-1+ T-cells.ConclusionPASC-vac SFN is associated with persistent immune imbalances common to other immune-mediated diseases. Additional effort to identify immune mechanisms unleashing PASC-vac SFN will contribute to modulate future early interventions for these patients and refine vaccine design.

low-quantity or degraded samples are often studied in forensic genetics. Therefore, it is important to efficiently obtain all the available DNA from the biological sample analyzed to provide the most reliable results. This is particularly challenging in bone marrow processing due to its hydrophobic molecular structure, as for other lipid-rich tissues, especially if rancid. In fact, during adipose tissue decomposition, the putrefaction of fatty acids can in some instances give a compact cerous consistency to the lipidic tissue, hardly susceptible to the nucleic acid extraction mechanisms. According to environmental circumstances, this condition is notably observable in submerged bodies or in putrefied bone marrow. Thus, this study is focused on developing an optimized nucleic acids extraction protocol for putrefied bone marrow. genetic analyses were performed on putrefied yellow bone marrow collected from 20 human femora recovered from bodies in different decomposition stages. The optimized method was developed by integrating additional steps, reagents and time intervals on a silica-based column commercial kit. This strategy was compared in DNA yield to a standard extraction protocol, represented by the same commercial kit, but following the manufacturer's directions. Both these strategies were tested in nucleic acid isolation efficiency by performing DNA typing, including real-time PCR quantification, Short Tandem Repeats (STR) amplification and fragments analysis steps. The analytical parameters evaluated were allele count, DNA concentration (ng/µL) and Degradation Index (DI). for allele count and DNA concentration parameters, the optimized protocol showed clear and significant qualitative and quantitative improvements compared with the standard protocol, supporting its potential applicability in forensic casework and laying the foundation for future studies. prior to appropriate laboratory internal validation, the optimized protocol can be used for tough lipid-rich tissues processing without the need to purchase a dedicated system and using a same commercial kit routinely adopted for other forensic genetics matrices.

This study explores how nursing students address patients' fundamental needs during their internships, identifying key processes and challenges. The Fundamentals of Care framework emphasizes a holistic, person-centered approach to nursing by addressing patients' physical, psychosocial and relational needs. However, its integration into nursing education remains limited, with a stronger focus on technical competencies rather than fundamental care. Qualitative descriptive study. The study was conducted within the FoC-Form project in northern Italy. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with first- and second-year nursing students following their internships. Thematic analysis was applied to identify emerging themes and patterns. Four themes emerged: personal resources, care dynamics, contextual features and characteristics of the internship program. Students highlighted the importance of time management, relational aspects and mentoring in delivering fundamental care. Differences between first- and second-year students wereobserved in their clinical reasoning and approach to patient-centered care. Organizational factors such as workload and staffing also influenced their ability to meet fundamental needs. This study highlighted the critical role of mentorship and organizational support in fostering the integration of the Fundamentals of Care framework in nursing practice. Findings suggest the need for curriculum enhancements that balance technical training with the relational and holistic aspects of patient care. Nursing leadership should prioritize creating supportive environments that facilitate fundamental care practices.

Abstract Every insulating material has to meet the double requirement of thermal performance and durability. While the conductivity grants a proper thermal resistance, durability represents a crucial planning aspect to assess the long-term building performance from the point of view of costs and environmental impact. Differently from traditional insulators, the recent nanotechnological mortars claim to provide dramatic insulating performances and there is no consolidated evidence about both reliable thermal performance (e.g. CE marking, ETA, third party laboratory tests) and durability. The present paper compares the durability and thermal performance of two different scenarios by means of the heat low meter approach: a stone wall covered with nanotechnological insulating mortar and a brick wall insulated with polystyrene. The thermal conductance of the former case shows a difference between measured and self-declared values of about +500% after the end of the installation cycle. Two years later, the conductance almost doubles, showing very poor thermal performance and durability, against the not representative, self-declared values. In the latter case, the wall thermal conductance after about 30 years is still aligned with the original design performed in 1995, showing very good durability of the performance declared in the original, standard compliant design dating back to the time.

Alcohol consumption represents the leading cause of death and disability under the age of 24. Among the most frequent physical problems there is certainly musculoskeletal damage. This creates problems in carrying out physical activity and sports. The aim of this narrative review is to assess the size of the problem of alcohol consumption and sport, the motivations and possible solutions. This narrative review is based on a detailed analysis of the scientific literature published before June 30th, 2024 (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar). In sporting contexts there is a higher consumption of alcoholic beverages than in the general population. Alcohol is used during moments of socialization or during the celebration of some event or anniversary. Through sponsorship, alcohol is associated with success, beauty and even health. Alcohol consumption is not compatible with sporting activities. It reduces its positive effects and limits its quality. Moreover, alcohol induces muscle, bone and brain damage. Sports clubs have a duty to address the alcohol problem. It is mandatory, on the one hand, early identification of athletes who have risky alcohol consumption and on the other, promoting education initiatives on correct lifestyles with the involvement of the community to which they belong. It is also appropriate promote with force laws that prohibit the association of alcohol consumption to sport.

The accurate detection of several physiological milestones, such as maximal fat oxidation (MFO), is an important factor for cycling performance and for programming effective and individualised training. However, the procedure to identify the MFO is often too complex and expensive. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technology provides a noninvasive measurement that can be used to detect different physiological variables. The aim of this study was to assess the validity of utilising the muscular oxygen saturation visualisation methodology for the identification of the MFO point in trained cyclists. Twenty-two recreational endurance-trained cyclists (19 men and 3 women; age: 27.9±5.4years; body mass: 69.7±7.1kg and VO2max: 60.3±7.0mL/kg/min) performed a submaximal and maximal exhaustion test. All the data were collected on a single day. The validity of the visualisation methodology for the maximal fat oxidation point was analysed against a gas analyser. The detection of maximal fat oxidation (MFO) using the methodology and device employed does not appear to accurately specify the precise point at which MFO occurs (bias=90±218s and LOA=429s). However, our results indicate that it may be a valid technique for identifying the MFO zone; biases were HR=4.7±11.9bpm, VO2=1.49±5.7mL/kg/min and power=19.5±31.2W, whereas the concordance coefficients were 0.783, 0.243 and 0.170, respectively. It is not possible to detect MFO using NIRS device. However, it is possible to detect a general zone in which MFO occurs.

Violence against healthcare workers is an escalating public health concern, affecting the quality of care, and causing significant psychological and physical effects on healthcare professionals. This study analysed the trend in aggressions in healthcare settings in the pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic periods. An observational descriptive study was conducted to analyse reports of violence against healthcare workers from January 2018 to June 2023 at a Local Health Authority "ASL3" in the Liguria region of Italy. The study considered variables such as the severity of aggression, professional category involved, and location of incident. Episodes of violence were classified according to severity by means of a colour-coded system. We used multinomial logistic regression to examine any associations between the pandemic phase and the various factors, while controlling for relevant variables. The number of reported aggressions rose from 48 in 2018 to 90 in 2022, with a partial count of 35 in the first half of 2023. The pandemic phase saw a rise in incidents classified as Green codes, which accounted for 58.3%, and a significant involvement of District Services. The post-pandemic phase showed a reversion to pre-pandemic levels but with an increase in Yellow codes (5.6%). Nurses were the most frequent victims, with figures ranging from 50.8% to 95.6% over the years. The Emergency Department and Psychiatric Services emerged as the most critical settings of aggressions, with incidents recorded in these areas constituting over half of the total number. However, an increase in violence was also recorded in district healthcare settings during the post-pandemic phase. There is an urgent need for comprehensive strategies for the prevention of violence in healthcare settings. The increasing trend in violence, especially during the pandemic, necessitates integrated approaches that encompass training, psychological support, security policies, and a strong organizational culture to promote safety and respect. Protecting healthcare workers is crucial to their wellbeing and the quality of healthcare delivery.

This paper reports on the Hackathon Sessions organised at the Polar Data Forum IV (PDF IV) (20–24 September 2021), during which 351 participants from 50 different countries discussed collaboratively about the latest developments in polar data management. The 4th edition of the PDF hosted lively discussions on (i) best practices for polar data management, (ii) data policy, (ii) documenting data flows into aggregators, (iv) data interoperability, (v) polar federated search, (vi) semantics and vocabularies, (vii) Virtual Research Environments (VREs), and (viii) new polar technologies. This paper provides an overview of the organisational aspects of PDF IV and summarises the polar data objectives and outcomes by describing the conclusions drawn from the Hackathon Sessions.

The coastal marine area hosts among the most productive ecosystems in the world, in terms of biomass and species richness. These ecosystems’ natural capital stocks provide essential flows of resources for the environment and human life. The distribution of natural capital (NC) and environmental flows (ENFL) characterizing the coastal marine habitats of Ligurian Sea, a biodiversity hotspot in the Mediterranean region, were assessed to define their current state. The study area was divided into 43 functional spatial sections, defined as “biomarine units”. In each biomarine unit natural capital and environmental flows were estimated using data on benthic and fish biomass. Emergy analysis, a thermodynamics-based methodology that expresses the costs in terms of resources incurred by nature to maintain the ecological processes of the marine coastal habitats, was then applied to assess the natural capital and the environmental flows in biophysical terms (solar emergy joules, sej), and using appropriate conversion factors, in monetary terms (emergy euro, em€). The monetary equivalents facilitate understanding for stakeholders and pave the way for the inclusion of marine resources value in socioeconomic and political contexts. The total value of natural capital for the Ligurian coastal and marine area is 2.11 billion em€, while for environmental flows, it is 1.43 billion em€ a−1. Greater values belong to units included within the boundaries of protected areas, proving the efficiency of the protection measures taken. These values represent a reference point and shall be kept constant to preserve natural capital and to ensure services provisioning at least at the current level. This work identify a method useful to monitor the status of natural capital value and environmental flows along Ligurian coast, which can be helpful to stakeholders and policymakers for better monitoring and management of the area.