Cigarette butts (CBs), one of the most common litter items found on beaches, represent a still unexplored environmental hazard. This study aimed at a multidisciplinary characterization of their ...toxicological risks on marine organisms integrating chemical analyses of released compounds with a wide panel of biological responses, such as ecotoxicological bioassays on species of different trophic positions, molecular responses in an ex vivo model (Precision-Cut Tissue Slices, PCTS of mussels digestive glands), bioavailability and cellular biomarkers in mussels exposed to CBs in laboratory experiments. Trace metals, aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, nicotine and cotinine were released in artificial seawater after 24 h which determined a significant inhibition of bacterial bioluminescence, oyster embryo development and growth in different algal species. Modulation of peroxisomal proliferation and antioxidant gene expression was observed in mussels PCTS, while the in vivo exposure determined accumulation of chemicals and significant alterations of immune system, antioxidant and neurotoxic responses, peroxisomal proliferation and genotoxic damage. Using a quantitative Weight of Evidence model, the risks of CBs to the marine environment were summarized, highlighting the importance of integrating chemical analyses, batteries of ecotoxicological bioassays, molecular and cellular biomarkers to assess the impact of these hazardous materials on marine environment.
Religious architectural heritage is largely widespread on the Italian territory and it is subject to several kind of risks, particularly concentrated in Italy. Exposure to risks, worsened by underuse ...and lack of maintenance of these buildings lead to the necessary development of conservation, reuse and transformation strategies in order to preserve this heritage in a safety state. In this perspective, this contribution presents first results of a research project conducted by Politecnico di Torino, which developed a tool for vulnerability and risk rapid analysis of the ecclesiastical religious heritage. This method assumes large and systematic knowledge about the aforementioned heritage. It can be used for decision support and planning of interventions and activities by heritage managing bodies in order to optimize strategies by considering territorial, safety and architectural suitability. Although the proposed method can not be applied to the heritage of religious orders and congregations, due to the lack of an official census, this contribution allows to design new scenarios of research and reflections to be conducted in future studies in the field of reuse and transformation of religious heritage.
The term voice hearing (VH) refers to the experience of hearing voices in the absence of corresponding external stimuli and is considered a hallucinatory experience. According to the Diagnostic and ...Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association APA, 2013), hallucinations are perception-like experiences that occur without an external stimulus. They are vivid and clear, with the full force and impact of normal perceptions, and not under voluntary control. Specifically, auditory hallucinations involve the perception of sound, most frequently of voices (i.e., auditory verbal hallucinations- AVHs) but sometimes of clicks or other noises, that are not restricted to the period of awakening or the onset of sleep. AVHs are usually experienced as voices, whether familiar or unfamiliar, that are perceived as distinct from the individual's own thoughts.
Present and past industrial activities in coastal areas have left us a legacy of contamination and habitat degradation with potential implications for human health. Here, we investigated a coastal ...marine area enclosed in a Site of National Interest (SNI) of the central-western Adriatic (Mediterranean Sea), where priority actions of environmental remediation are required by governmental laws due the high environmental and human risk, and that is off-limits to any human activity since 2002. In particular, our investigation was focused on an area located in front of a chemical industry dismissed more than 3 decades ago. We report that the concentrations of heavy-metal and organic contaminants in the investigated sediments were generally lower than those expected to induce detrimental biological effects. Meiofaunal abundance, biomass and community structure changed among stations, but regardless of the distance from the abandoned industrial plant. Taxa richness within the SNI did not change significantly compared to the controls and the lack of some taxa in the SNI transects was not due to the contamination of the SNI area. The results of this study suggest a natural recovery of the marine area over 2 decades of restrictions on human activities, including fishing and shipping bans. If the hypothesis of the natural recovery of this SNI will be further confirmed by other studies, the plans for the identification and monitoring of the most polluted areas in Italy should necessarily be redefined also in the light of the Water Framework, the Marine Strategy Framework and the Environmental Quality Standard Directives.
Vibration-based monitoring techniques are currently used for damage assessment especially in monumental structures. In fact, dynamic tests allow investigation of structural behaviour of the building ...system through minimally invasive actions, which is important when preservation of the integrity of historical buildings is required. The Sanctuary of Vicoforte (Cuneo, Italy) has great architectural significance and contains the largest masonry oval dome in the world (axes 37.15 m × 24.80 m). The first dynamic campaign on this monumental building was performed in 2008. During this campaign, ambient vibrations could be measured in a limited portion of the oval dome, hence a first dynamic characterization was accomplished thanks to a recursive model-driven procedure. Some of the identified values were considered uncertain because the setups that were not able to fully capture the global behaviour. In 2015, a permanent dynamic monitoring system was installed on the dome-drum area of the building through Optimal Sensor Placement (OSP) procedures. New ambient response data were analysed in order to better define the dynamic properties of the structure as a whole, considering possible dynamic interactions. The most recent identification sessions, while retrieving and confirming the main results obtained in 2008, also supply elements that could not be appreciated in the first dynamic campaign. In any event, the Basilica’s dynamic characterization requires very complex data processing and modelling operations due to the presence of dynamic interaction both with the soil and with other elements of the structure, and because of uncertainties about mass and material properties. This paper summarises the process that has finally led to the dynamic characterization of this stunning architectural structure.
Education and health are two inseparable aspects of a single dynamic which aims to support and increase the physical and mental well-being of children and young people. Children must be guaranteed ...two rights: the right to study and the right to health. Schools capable of reconciling these two fundamental needs are represented by school in hospital and home schooling. Thanks to this flexible teaching method, it is possible to support the child and his or her family during hospitalization, and to prevent consequences such as school failure and dropout. Hospitalization is always a traumatic event for children, in which white coats are unknown figures, perceived all the more threatening the younger the child: a threat to one’s integrity, loss of autonomy, distorted perception of time, loss of confidence, and a sense of abandonment. Therefore, it is important to create a communicative basis that facilitates the child’s adaptation to the new hospital environment and establishes continuity during this period of time. Teachers play a significant role within the context of such difficulties. They need to understand patients’ emotions and act as a bridge between the small inpatient room of the child and the outside world. In this article we examined: (1) the School in Hospital and the reasons why it is a valid resource for the psychophysical rehabilitation of the student in a hospital; (2) the role of the teacher in hospital and the difficult context in which the teacher has to work; and (3) how the school in hospital was challenged by the SARS-CoV2 pandemic.
Background
No definitive treatment exists to effectively restore function in patients with persistent post‐infectious olfactory dysfunction (OD). Corticosteroids have been considered as a therapeutic ...option in post‐infectious OD but their benefit in COVID‐19‐related OD remains unexplored. We aim to determine the role of the combination of corticosteroids plus olfactory training (OT) in improving persistent COVID‐19‐related OD.
Methods
A multicenter real‐life cohort study was conducted between December 2020 and April 2022 on patients with reported COVID‐19‐related OD. Only patients with confirmed OD at Sniffin' Sticks (S'S) and those who attended their 6‐month follow‐up were included. Patients were started on a combined treatment of corticosteroids and OT. Patients refusing corticosteroids or not doing any treatment formed the control groups. Visual analogue scale (VAS) for sense of smell and SNOT‐22 were used to assess patients reported symptoms.
Results
Sixty‐seven subjects with reported COVID‐19‐related OD were initially seen. Normosmic patients at S'S (n = 14) and those not attending their follow‐up (n = 9) were excluded. Of the 44 patients included in the analysis, 19 patients had the combined treatment (group A), 16 patients refused to take corticosteroids and did the OT alone (group B) whereas 9 patients did not do any treatment (group C). An improvement of threshold + discrimination + identification (TDI) score (p = .01) and VAS for smell (p = .01) was found in group A whereas only the TDI score improved in group B (p = .04). Presence of comorbidities, age, sex (male), and length of OD negatively influenced olfactory recovery.
Conclusions
Our study confirms the importance of OT in long‐term OD suggesting that the addition of corticosteroids may give a benefit in terms of patient's perceived olfaction.
Level of Evidence
2b
No definitive treatment exists to effectively restore function in patients with persistent post‐infectious olfactory dysfunction(OD). Corticosteroids have been considered as a therapeutic option in post‐infectious OD but their benefit in COVID‐19‐related OD remains unexplored. Our study confirms the importance of OT in long‐term OD suggesting that the addition of corticosteroids may give a benefit in term of patient's perceived olfaction.
The architectural process, from the concept to the actual building itself, is a long sequence of compromises, reconsiderations and unexpected events that require mediation strategies and the ...balancing of the attitudes of the architects. The relationship between the client and the designer represents a significant part of the architectural process as it has a considerable influence on the end result. This study investigates episodes of formal negotiation between the architect Francesco Berarducci (Rome, 1924-92) and the client of the San Valentino church in the Olympic Village in Rome (promoted in 1960). It examines archival documents such as letters, sketches and drawings of the cross correspondence between Berarducci and the priest. The aim is to investigate the involvement of the religious client in the decision-making process, resulting in the final consistency of the church, and to individuate the mediation strategies at the base of the professional skill of Berarducci.
(1) Background: Several types of hearing aids are available for the rehabilitation of vestibular-schwannoma (VS)-related hearing loss. There is a lack of recently published papers regarding this ...theme. The aim of the present work is to organize current knowledge. (2) Methods: A review of the literature regarding the topics “vestibular schwannoma”, “hearing loss”, and “hearing aid” was performed. Nineteen studies were thus considered. (3) Results: Conventional hearing aids, contralateral routing of signal (CROS) aids, bone anchored hearing aids (BAHA), and others are available options for hearing rehabilitation in VS patients. The speech discrimination score (SDS) is considered the best measure to assess candidacy for rehabilitation with hearing aids. The best hearing rehabilitative conditions in VS patients when using conventional hearing aid devices are a mild−moderate hearing loss degree with good word recognition (more than 50% SDS). CROS-Aid and BAHA are reported to be beneficial. CROS-Aid expands on the area of receiving hearing. BAHA aids use direct bone-conduction stimulation. Unfortunately, there are no available studies focused specifically on VS patients that compare CROS and BAHA technologies. (4) Conclusions: Hearing aids, CROS, and BAHA are viable options for rehabilitating hearing impairment in VS, but require an accurate case-by-case audiological evaluation for rehabilitating hearing impairment in VS. Further studies are needed to prove if what is currently known about similar hearing illnesses can be confirmed, particularly in the case of VS.
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