INQUINAMENTO INDOOR DA RADON. UNA APPLICAZIONE DELLE RETI BAYESIANE A SUPPORTO DELLA DIAGNOSI

Nel quadro più generale della tematica del controllo della qualità ambientale e più in particolare dell’Indoor Air Quality, la presente relazione riporta lo studio di un fenomeno di inquinamento da radon riguardante la scuola “G. Mancino” di Palermo. Lo spunto viene offerto dal fatto che nel 2005, nel corso di un monitoraggio della radioattività ambientale di Palermo, i tecnici dell’ARPA Sicilia hanno rilevato in questa scuola elementare degli anni ’30, livelli di radon indoor molto superiori ai limiti di legge fissati dal D.Lgs. 241/2000. Nella prima fase, dopo lo studio delle caratteristiche tipologiche e costruttive del plesso e l’acquisizione dei dati di misura pregressi, si è proceduto ad una nuova campagna di monitoraggio rivolta al rilievo di dati e misure sperimentali sulla presenza del radon indoor e dei dati meteoclimatici del contesto specifico. Nella seconda fase è stata formulata una proposta di intervento sostenuta dall’analisi dei meccanismi di inquinamento attraverso modelli di simulazione. In particolare l’approccio metodologico dello studio procede attraverso lo sviluppo di un modello di analisi basato sulle reti bayesiane, rilevatosi uno strumento utile di supporto per la diagnosi e le conseguenti decisioni progettuali, capace di controllare e descrivere fenomeni complessi e di stimare relazioni probabilistiche tra cause ed effetti

Factors influencing the first thousand days of life

The first 1,000 days is a vulnerable phase in which parents, institutions and health professionals should create early interventions for the proper development and promotion of good health

Gut thinking: the gut microbiome and mental health beyond the head

Background: In recent decades, dominant models of mental illness have become increasingly focused on the head, with mental disorders being figured as brain disorders. However, research into the active role that the microbiome-gut-brain axis plays in affecting mood and behaviour may lead to the conclusion that mental health is more than an internalised problem of individual brains. Objective: This article explores the implications of shifting understandings about mental health that have come about through research into links between the gut microbiome and mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. It aims to analyse the different ways that the lines between mind and body and mental and physical health are re-shaped by this research, which is starting to inform clinical and public understanding. Design: As mental health has become a pressing issue of political and public concern it has become increasingly constructed in socio-cultural and personal terms beyond clinical spaces, requiring a conceptual response that exceeds biomedical inquiry. This article argues that an interdisciplinary critical medical humanities approach is well positioned to analyse the impact of microbiome-gut-brain research on conceptions of mind. Results: The entanglement of mind and matter evinced by microbiome-gut-brain axis research potentially provides a different way to conceptualise the physical and social concomitants of mental distress. Conclusion: Mental health is not narrowly located in the head but is assimilated by the physical body and intermingled with the natural world, requiring different methods of research to unfold the meanings and implications of gut thinking for conceptions of human selfhood

Early-onset epileptic encephalopathy caused by a reduced sensitivity of Kv7.2 potassium channels to phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate

Kv7.2 and Kv7.3 subunits underlie the M-current, a neuronal K(+) current characterized by an absolute functional requirement for phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP(2)). Kv7.2 gene mutations cause early-onset neonatal seizures with heterogeneous clinical outcomes, ranging from self-limiting benign familial neonatal seizures to severe early-onset epileptic encephalopathy (Kv7.2-EE). In this study, the biochemical and functional consequences prompted by a recurrent variant (R325G) found independently in four individuals with severe forms of neonatal-onset EE have been investigated. Upon heterologous expression, homomeric Kv7.2 R325G channels were non-functional, despite biotin-capture in Western blots revealed normal plasma membrane subunit expression. Mutant subunits exerted dominant-negative effects when incorporated into heteromeric channels with Kv7.2 and/or Kv7.3 subunits. Increasing cellular PIP(2) levels by co-expression of type 1γ PI(4)P5-kinase (PIP5K) partially recovered homomeric Kv7.2 R325G channel function. Currents carried by heteromeric channels incorporating Kv7.2 R325G subunits were more readily inhibited than wild-type channels upon activation of a voltage-sensitive phosphatase (VSP), and recovered more slowly upon VSP switch-off. These results reveal for the first time that a mutation-induced decrease in current sensitivity to PIP(2) is the primary molecular defect responsible for Kv7.2-EE in individuals carrying the R325G variant, further expanding the range of pathogenetic mechanisms exploitable for personalized treatment of Kv7.2-related epilepsies

Doing time and motion diffractively: Academic life everywhere and all the time

This article offers a diffractive methodological intervention into workplace studies of academic life. In its engagement of a playful, performative research and writing practice the article speaks back to technocratic organisational and sociological workplace ‘time and motion’ studies which centre on the human and rational, and presume a linear teleology of cause and effect. As a counterpoint, we deploy posthumanist new materialist research practices which refuse human-centric approaches and aim to give matter its due. As a means to analyse what comes out of our joint workspaces photo project we produce two ‘passes’ through data – two diffractive experiments which destabilise what normally counts as ‘findings’ and their academic presentation. The article deploys the motif of ‘starting somewhere else’ to signal both our intention to keep data animated, alive and interactive, and to utilise visual and written modes of seriality as enabling constraints which produce a more generative focus on the mundane, emergent, unforeseen, and happenstance in studies of daily working life

Cognitive thought diary in supportive psychology for people undergoing radiotherapy: a feasibility study.

BAC KGROUND: Radiation therapy (RT ) has become one of the most widely-used and efficient treatments for cancer; nevertheless, people who undergo radiotherapy suffer the physical and psychological consequences of this stressful treatment, in addition to the psychosocial distress related to cancer. However, a Radiotherapy Unit is often a place where several patients crowd in from various hospitals with restricted timetables and, for logistic reasons, it is not easy to provide regular psychological sessions for each one. It is important to find a setting that allows us the involvement of the largest number of patients referred to the unit. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the feasibility and the effect of a brief intervention of cognitive-oriented diary on the quality of life, anxiety and depressive symptoms of patients undergoing radiotherapy (RT ), compared to a control group. METH ODS: The sample was constituted of 68 experimental subjects and 78 controls, treated with RT . Both groups were assessed with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS -20), the Hamilton Anxiety and Depression Scale (HA DS) and the EORTC -QLQ at the beginning and at the end of their RT . Experimental subjects were instructed to report emotions and thoughts before attending the RT sessions in a thought diary. RES ULTS : The experimental group showed a good adherence to the diary, a reduction in mean scores of anxiety (P<0.001), depression (P<0.001), and alexithymia (P<0.001) together with an ameliorative effect on quality of life (P<0.014), compared to control group. CONCLUSI ONS: We observed a reduction in alexithymia scores in the experimental group, together with a significant reduction in anxiety and depression symptoms and an improvement in quality of life, with a moderator role of social disparity in treatment adherence. Our outcomes suggest the opportunity to consider the diary an affordable and effective device for psychologists operating in RT units, able to be extended to the majority of patients, in a simple and replicable setting

‘The past was never simply there to begin with and the future is not simply what will unfold’ : a posthumanist performative approach to qualitative longitudinal research

Peer reviewedPostprin

Hunger among Inuit children in Canada

Background and objectives. Inuit populations may be at increased risk for experiencing poor nutrition or hunger due to limited access and availability to food. The prevalence and correlates of parental perceptions of hunger among a nationally representative sample of Inuit children in Canada have not yet been reported. Design. Data are from the 2006 Aboriginal Children&#x0027;s Survey (ACS). Sociodemographic information, dietary behaviours and hunger status were parent-reported via a household interview for Inuit children aged 2&#x2013;5 years (n=1,234). Prevalence of hunger was calculated among Inuit children by sociodemographic factors and by dietary behaviours. In addition, a multivariate logistic regression model was conducted to determine factors associated with parental perception of ever experiencing hunger. Results. The prevalence of Inuit children in Canada aged 2&#x2013;5 years ever experiencing hunger was 24.4%. Children who were reported to have experienced hunger consumed milk and milk products (p&#60;0.001); fish, eggs and meat (p&#60;0.05); fruits (p&#60;0.001); and vegetables (p&#60;0.001) significantly less often than never-hungry children. Fast food and processed foods, soft drinks and juice, and salty snacks, sweets and desserts were consumed as often as never-hungry children (all p&#x003E;0.05). The majority (81%) of Inuit parents/guardians of ever-hungry children sought help from family or friends. Factors associated with an increased likelihood of experiencing hunger include sociodemographic characteristics (such as income and household size), living in an Inuit region and living in a community with cultural activities. Conclusion. About 1 in 4 Inuit children were reported by their parents to have experienced hunger, and hunger was associated with region, sociodemographic and community factors. Future research could further examine the impact of ever experiencing hunger on the health status of Inuit children and their families in Canada