Approaches to Sustainable Development in Contemporary Museology

Sustainable development has become a leading value of the 21st century society. Throsby’s and Hutter’s recent studies on inter and intra-generational equity, diversity maintenance and interdependence have demonstrated that sustainability values promote a different perspective on cultural institutions. Particularly, they incite to reorganize the production and consumption patterns, and rethink about the construction of meanings in permanent displays. The paper wants to explore how sustainability principles are an approach to develop a “sustainable museology”, which cares about making visitors more critic and aware of the political, sociological, epistemological and cultural implications that lay behind the making of exhibitions. Museums undertaking a sustainable development of their narrative making processes overpass the Foucauldian idea of art museums as heterotopy, (space of otherness), and approach that of archétopy. This model offers rooms to rethink about narratives as stakeholders’ collective processes capable to “meet the needs of the present without compromising those of the future generations”, as stated in the “Brundtland Commision” Report of 1987. The last display done by the Berlin Neue Nationalgalerie is analysed as a case-study for archétopy. Il paper analizza il concetto di sostenibilità nelle politiche governative dei musei d’arte. Lo studio osserva tale valore da un punto di vista sia teorico che pratico e cita l’esempio dei grandi musei europei, facendo più volte riferimento al caso della Tate Modern di Londra. Se da un lato l’argomento è esplicitamente collegato ai musei d’arte in quanto essi operano per la sostenibilità del bene comune, dall’altro i musei europei hanno basato le proprie politiche culturali adottando il così detto approccio “three bottom” già intrapreso dalle grandi aziende e dalle business companies. Tale approccio si basa sull’elaborazione di politiche attente alla sostenibilità ambientale, economica e sociale che i musei scelgono di adottare per incrementare i propri finanziamenti. Ne risulta che l’attenzione alla sostenibilità delle politiche governative di un museo è legata a questioni economiche piuttosto che culturali. Tuttavia, la sostenibilità delle politiche culturali nei musei d’arte moderna risiede non solo nel seguire strategie economiche e ambientali, ma principalmente nel creare iniziative che offrano nuove prospettive curatoriali e idee manageriali. Il modello di museo attento alla sostenibilità delle proprie politiche oltrepassa la nozione foucauldiana che il museo d’arte sia “eterotopia”, e cioè spazio dove l’arte viene presentata come un fenomeno che accade lontano dalla realtà. Al contrario, tale modello agisce come “archetopia”, ovvero come luogo in cui l’elaborazione di decisioni, narrative e significati legati alla collezione e alla storia dell’arte coinvolge tutti gli stakeholders (curatori, visitatori e trustees) sin dal principio (archè) del processo creativo

Treatment with anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibodies in pregnant and postpartum women: first experiences in Florence, Italy

PURPOSE: Pregnant and postpartum women are at increased risk of developing severe COVID-19. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are now widely used in high-income countries to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 outpatients at risk for developing severe disease. Very few data are available on the use of mAbs in special populations, including pregnant and postpartum women. Here we present our early experience with mAbs in these two populations. METHODS: Electronic records of pregnant and postpartum women treated with mAbs at Careggi University Hospital, Florence, were retrieved. Relevant data were extracted (age, presence of risk factors for COVID-19, oxygen support, mAb type, gestational age, and pregnancy status). When available, outcomes at 28 days after administration were also included. RESULTS: From March 1st to September 30th 2021, eight pregnant and two postpartum women have been treated with mAbs at our center. The median age was 31 years (IQR 30–33.5, range 29–38), median gestational age was 24 weeks. Seven patients had additional risk factors. According to the Italian disposition, all patients received casirivimab/imdevimab, with five receiving a 2.4 mg dose and five receiving a 8 g dose. Eight patients improved. One developed myocarditis, considered a COVID-19 complication. Another required a transient increase of low flow oxygen support before improving and being discharged. At a 28 days follow-up, all patients were clinically recovered. We did not observe mAbs related adverse events. CONCLUSION: Although preliminary data should be interpreted with caution, it is remarkable how mAbs were well tolerated by pregnant women with COVID-19. Further data on mAbs in this special population should be collected but the use of mAbs in pregnant and postpartum patients should be considered. Even thus oral antivirals are becoming available, they are not recommended in pregnant and postpartum women. This population may specifically benefit from treatment with last generation mAbs

Parenchymal Cavitations in Pulmonary Tuberculosis: Comparison between Lung Ultrasound, Chest X-ray and Computed Tomography

This article aims to detect lung cavitations using lung ultrasound (LUS) in a cohort of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) and correlate the findings with chest computed tomography (CT) and chest X-ray (CXR) to obtain LUS diagnostic sensitivity. Patients with suspected TB were enrolled after being evaluated with CXR and chest CT. A blinded radiologist performed LUS within 3 days after admission at the Infectious Diseases Department. Finally, 82 patients were enrolled in this study. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) confirmed TB in 58/82 (71%). Chest CT showed pulmonary cavitations in 38/82 (43.6%; 32 TB patients and 6 non-TB ones), LUS in 15/82 (18.3%; 11 TB patients and 4 non-TB ones) and CXR in 27/82 (33%; 23 TB patients and 4 non-TB ones). Twelve patients with multiple cavitations were detected with CT and only one with LUS. LUS sensitivity was 39.5%, specificity 100%, PPV 100% and NPV 65.7%. CXR sensitivity was 68.4% and specificity 97.8%. No false positive cases were found. LUS sensitivity was rather low, as many cavitated consolidations did not reach the pleural surface. Aerated cavitations could be detected with LUS with relative confidence, highlighting a thin air crescent sign towards the pleural surface within a hypoechoic area of consolidation, easily distinguishable from a dynamic or static air bronchogram

Emerging Infectious Diseases in Pregnant Women in a Non-Endemic Area: Almost One Out of Four Is at Risk

We report the results of a targeted testing strategy for five emerging infectious diseases (Chagas disease, human T-lymphotropic virus 1 infection, malaria, schistosomiasis, and Zika virus infection) in pregnant women accessing an Italian referral centre for infectious diseases in pregnancy for unrelated reasons. The strategy is based on a quick five-question questionnaire which allows the identification of pregnant women at risk who should be tested for a specific disease. One hundred and three (24%) out of 429 pregnant women evaluated in a 20 month period were at risk for at least one emerging infectious disease. Three (2.9%, all from sub-Saharan Africa) out of 103 at-risk women resulted in being affected (one case of Plasmodium falciparum malaria, two cases of schistosomiasis) and were appropriately managed. Prevalence of emerging infectious disease was particularly high in pregnant women from Africa (three out of 25 pregnant women tested, 12%). The proposed strategy could be used by health care professionals managing pregnant women in non-endemic setting, to identify those at risk for one of the five infection which could benefit for a targeted test and treatment

Emerging Infectious Diseases in Pregnant Women in a Non-Endemic Area: Almost One Out of Four Is at Risk

We report the results of a targeted testing strategy for five emerging infectious diseases (Chagas disease, human T-lymphotropic virus 1 infection, malaria, schistosomiasis, and Zika virus infection) in pregnant women accessing an Italian referral centre for infectious diseases in pregnancy for unrelated reasons. The strategy is based on a quick five-question questionnaire which allows the identification of pregnant women at risk who should be tested for a specific disease. One hundred and three (24%) out of 429 pregnant women evaluated in a 20 month period were at risk for at least one emerging infectious disease. Three (2.9%, all from sub-Saharan Africa) out of 103 at-risk women resulted in being affected (one case of Plasmodium falciparum malaria, two cases of schistosomiasis) and were appropriately managed. Prevalence of emerging infectious disease was particularly high in pregnant women from Africa (three out of 25 pregnant women tested, 12%). The proposed strategy could be used by health care professionals managing pregnant women in non-endemic setting, to identify those at risk for one of the five infection which could benefit for a targeted test and treatment