11 research outputs found
Building solidarity through comparative lived experiences of post-conflict: Reflections on two days of dialogue
Occasions for in-depth dialogue among
academics in times of conflict are rare.
Drawing upon such a dialogue between
Syrian academics and international
counterparts from contexts undergoing
conflict or grappling with post-conflict
legacies, we identity seven dominant
themes that emerged from these
discussions and reflect on participantsâ
strategic insights and mutual support, in
addition to highlighting the consciousness
that was raised around the agency,
limitations, complicity and intergenerational
legacies borne by academics and the
academy in crisis contexts
Shift work and serum 25-OH vitamin D status among factory workers in Northern Italy : cross-sectional study
Low levels of vitamin D are related to muscle weakness, poor balance, and higher risk of falls, and can therefore have a major impact on performance and safety at work. Little knowledge exists on the association between work environment and vitamin D status. This study evaluates vitamin D status in shift workers. In this cross-sectional study, led during early springtime, 96 male shift workers at an engineering factory in Northern Italy, and 100 male daily workers operating nearby, participated. 25-OH vitamin D concentration, anthropometric indexes, fasting glycemia and triglycerides were detected. 51 shift workers underwent anamnesis collection on lifestyle and habits and determination of heel bone mineral density. Vitamin D levels were lower in shift workers than daily ones (13.4\ub15.3 ng/mL versus 21.9\ub110.7 ng/mL, p<0.001). Linear regression analysis adjusted for age, body mass index and smoking habits confirms a statistically significant association between shift work and vitamin D levels (p<0.0001). An association trend between cigarette smoking and low vitamin D values was found. No significant association was detected between the heel bone mineral density values and vitamin D levels or smoking habits. In conclusion, this cross-sectional study highlights the high prevalence of vitamin D deficit among shift workers compared with daily ones
Nutritional and oxidative status in occupational obese subjects
Nutritional status, referred to meat and vegetable food consumption, is related to folate and B12 vitamin levels; hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) is due to folate and B12 vitamin-methionine metabolism imbalance, which can lead to oxidative stress, OS (imbalance between reactive oxygen species, ROS, and total antioxidant capacity, TAC). Possible early vitamin B12 (B12) deficiency can be highlighted by holotranscobalamin (HoloTC, bioactive cobalamin fraction) assay. Erythrocyte folate is a biomarker of 2- to 3-month folate storage. To evaluate nutritional status and OS we conducted an observational study on 118 occupational obese subjects (34M/84F, aged 16-69, median 46.5 years; BMI 26.5-54.1, median 33.3 kg/m2) without previous cardiovascular disease. Serum TAC and ROS (spectrophotometry, Diacron International, Italy), serum B12 and HoloTC, serum and erythrocyte folate, plasma Hcy (immunoenzymatic, AxSYM, Abbott Diagnostics, USA), lipid panel and inflammatory parameters by routine methods. All subjects showed adequate serum and erythrocyte folate levels, but HoloTC values revealed cobalamin deficiency in 30% of cases not congruent with B 12 concentrations, low only in 10%. 43% of cases showed mild HHcy (>10.5 Όmol/L; median 12.44 Όmol/L, IQR 11.2-16.2). OS was found by normal mean TAC values (370.5 micromolHClO/mL, 340-405; n.v. > 350) but increased mean ROS concentrations (386 CarrU, 337-434; n.v. 250-300) in 93% of subjects. Normal folate and B12 vitamin levels revealed a good nutritional status in our occupational obese subjects. The presence of Oxidative Stress, due to imbalance between ROS and TAC and mild hyperhomocysteinemia may heighten the obesity-related cardiovascular risk. © 2010 Springer-Verlag
Valutazione degli effetti neurotossici e nefrotossici conseguenti all'esposizioone a lungo termine a mercurio metallico dei lavoratori addetti agli impianti cloro-soda
âNeeds Mustâ? Critical reflections on the implications of the Covid19 âpivot onlineâ for equity in higher education
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TOLERANCE OF AMBIGUITY AND CREATIVITY IN ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN STUDIO
Critical Discourse Analysis: Definition, Approaches, Relation to Pragmatics, Critique, and Trends
This chapter introduces the transdisciplinary research movement of critical discourse analysis (CDA) beginning with its definition and recent examples of CDA work. In addition, approaches to CDA such as the dialectical relational (Fairclough), sociocognitive (van Dijk), discourse historical (Wodak), social actors (van Leeuwen), and the Foucauldian dispositive analysis (Jager and Maier) are outlined, as well as the complex relation of CDA to pragmatics. Next, the chapter provides a brief mention of the extensive critique of CDA, the creation of critical discourse studies (CDS), and new trends in CDA, including positive discourse analysis (PDA), CDA with multimodality, CDA and cognitive linguistics, critical applied linguistics, and other areas (rhetoric, education, anthropology/ethnography, sociolinguistics, culture, feminism/gender, and corpus studies). It ends with new directions aiming towards social action for social justice