La coscienza di Stamina

Dopo vivacissisimi dibattiti e diverse decisioni giudiziarie, il Parlamento irlandese ha approvato nel luglio 2013 la legge sull'aborto Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act (2013) che però non ha fatto cessare le discussioni né sopito le inquietudini. Il contributo, supportato da un'ampia documentazione, si muove contemporaneamente su tre piani: vengono esaminati i profili giuridici (costituzionali, referendari, legislativi e giurisprudenziali) della storia dell'aborto in Irlanda, evidenziando gli aspetti che rendono peculiare la vicenda irlandese rispetto a quella degli altri Paesi europei; affronta la questione dello statuto giuridico dell'embrione umano nell'ordinamento irlandese sia nell'ambito dell'aborto, sia in quello della fecondazione artificiale (diffusa nella prassi e legittimata dalla giurisprudenza); offre interpretazioni e prospettive concrete per tutelare la vita umana sin dal momento della fecondazione in un contesto che, invece, tende a sottrarre la protezione nei primi 14 giorni di vita dell'embrione umano. One of us, l'iniziativa dei cittadini europei, promossa sulla base del Trattato di Lisbona, si presenta come una straordinaria occasione per svolgere un ruolo di contenimento delle possibili derive negative della legge recentemente approvata e per mantenere nella società la consapevolezza che la dignità umana è uguale per tutti gli esseri umani, così tutti, sin dal concepimento, sono titolari del diritto alla vita. I cittadini irlandesi potrebbero confermare con la vastità delle adesioni a "Uno di noi" la stessa volontà manifestata nei referendum del 1983, del 1997 e del 2002: "lo Stato riconosce il diritto alla vita del bambino che deve nascere". ---------- After several lively debates and judicial decisions, the Irish parliament passed a law on abortion in July 2013 Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act (2013) which, however, has not put an end to the discussion or calmed anxieties. The contribution, supported by extensive documentation, moves simultaneously on three levels: 1. examining the legal aspects (constitutional, referendums, legislation and judicial decisions) of abortion's history in Ireland highlighting those that make that history unique compared to other European countries; 2. dealing with the question of the legal status of the human embryo into the Irish legal system regarding both abortion, and artificial insemination (widely practiced and legitimized by law); 3. offers interpretations and concrete prospects for protecting human life from the moment of fertilization in a context which, however, tends to deprive human life of protection in the first 14 days of life. One of us, the European citizens' initiative, promoted on the basis of the Treaty of Lisbon, is presented as an extraordinary opportunity to play a role in limiting the possible negative tendencies of the law recently passed and to maintain awareness in society that human dignity is the same for all human beings. So everyone, from conception, is entitled to the right to life. In particular, One of us gives Irish citizens the great chance to confirm the same desire expressed in the referenda of 1983, 1992 and 2002 – "The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn child" – by signing in great numbers the "One of Us" citizen's initiative

Ecotoxicological Investigation in Three Model Species Exposed to Elutriates of Marine Sediments Inoculated With Bioplastics

The aim of this study was to evaluate a set of ecotoxicity biotests on three marine model species exposed to elutriates of marine sediments inoculated with the biodegradable plastic Mater-Bi or with cellulose. The sediments were incubated at 28°C and tested after 6 months, when clear signs of degradation were visible in the exposed samples, and after 12 months, when the samples had completely disappeared. The model organisms selected for the study were the unicellular algae Dunaliella tertiolecta, the sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus) and sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) juveniles. The unicellular algae and sea urchins were used to determine the toxicological endpoint of growth inhibition and embryotoxicity, respectively, and the sea bass juveniles were tested to evaluate sublethal effect endpoints using lipid peroxidation and genotoxicity biomarkers. Elutriates of sediment inoculated with Mater-Bi for 6 and 12 months showed an absence of toxic effects in all of the model organisms exposed in this study. The Mater-Bi degradation process did not generate or transfer into the elutriates toxic substances that could cause alterations in the growth of D. tertiolecta, in the P. lividus embryo-toxicity assay or in the sensitive biomarker responses of the fish D. labrax. The tested species are considered to be representatives of different levels of the marine trophic chain. The results obtained in this study suggest that the ecotoxicological approach applied may be suitable for investigating the environmental impact of the degradation of bioplastics in marine sediments

Sandwich panel with lattice core for aircraft anti-ice system made by Selective Laser Melting

Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology offers the possibility to build strong and light components with complex structures, as lattice, optimizing the strength/mass ratio. The goal of this work is the characterization of an innovative sandwich panel with trabecular core made by Selective Laser Melting (SLM), used as heat exchanger for many industrial applications, for example in aerospace field [1]. In this case study, the panel is integrated into the leading edges of aircraft wings and acts as hot air anti-icing system and, at the same time, as impact absorber (Figure 1). The system, due to its lightness and shape, leads to the optimization of the heat exchange, the improvement of the thermal efficiency, and the reduction of fuel use and gas emission. A set of experimental and numerical tests is conducted on lattice specimens through a Design of Experiment (DOE). Different design parameters were varied to understand how they affect the mechanical and thermal behavior: six different cell shapes (Figure 2), varying cell size and volume fraction, were tested. The same experimental program is carried out for two different metal alloys: AlSi10Mg and Ti6Al4V. Mechanical tests involve compression test on single core and on the whole panel, flexural and impact test. Further analisys on failure mechanism is carried out by observation with Optical Microscope. Thermal behavior of the system is also investigated by preliminary thermal simulations, whose results are validated by experimental measuraments of the temperature gradients on the external surface. [1] C. Ferro et al., Technologies, 2017, 5, 35; doi:10.3390/technologies502003

Antiplasmodial Effects of a few Selected Natural Flavonoids and their Modulation of Artemisinin Activity

The direct antiplasmodial effects of five structurally-related flavonoids, namely quercetin, rutin, eriodictyol, eriodictyolchalcone and catechin, were analyzed in vitro on P. falciparum. Notably, all these flavonoids, with the only exception of rutin, caused relevant inhibition of P. falciparum growth when given at 1 mM concentration. In addition, they were found to affect greatly the potent antiplasmodial activity of artemisinin, leading to significant additive and even synergistic effects. In particular, quercetin induced a pronounced synergistic effect. The observed synergisms might be conveniently exploited to design new and/or more effective combination therapies

Application of hydrogen peroxide as an innovative method of treatment for Legionella control in a hospitalwater network

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of hydrogen peroxide (HP) use as a disinfectant in the hospital water network for the control of Legionella spp. colonization. Methods: Following the detection of high levels of Legionella contamination in a 136-bed general hospital water network, an HP treatment of the hot water supply (25 mg/L) was adopted. During a period of 34 months, the effectiveness of HP on Legionella colonization was assessed. Legionella was isolated in accordance with ISO-11731 and identification was carried out by sequencing of the mip gene. Results: Before HP treatment, L. pneumophila sg 2-15 was isolated in all sites with a mean count of 9950±8279 cfu/L. After one-month of HP treatment, we observed the disappearance of L. pneumophila 2-15, however other Legionella species previously not seen were found; Legionella pneumophila 1 was isolated in one out of four sampling sites (2000 cfu/L) and other non-pneumophila species were present in all sites (mean load 3000±2887 cfu/L). Starting from September 2013, HP treatment was modified by adding food-grade polyphosphates, and in the following months, we observed a progressive reduction of the mean load of all species (p < 0.05), resulting in substantial disappearance of Legionella colonization. Conclusion: Hydrogen peroxide demonstrated good efficacy in controlling Legionella. Although in the initial phases of treatment it appeared unable to eliminate all Legionella species, by maintaining HP levels at 25 mg/L and adding food-grade polyphosphates, a progressive and complete control of colonization was obtained

The Culturable Mycobiota of Sediments and Associated Microplastics: From a Harbor to a Marine Protected Area, a Comparative Study

Fungi are an essential component of marine ecosystems, although little is known about their global distribution and underwater diversity, especially in sediments. Microplastics (MPs) are widespread contaminants worldwide and threaten the organisms present in the oceans. In this study, we investigated the fungal abundance and diversity in sediments, as well as the MPs, of three sites with different anthropogenic impacts in the Mediterranean Sea: the harbor of Livorno, the marine protected area "Secche della Meloria"; and an intermediate point, respectively. A total of 1526 isolates were cultured and identified using a polyphasic approach. For many of the fungal species this is the first record in a marine environment. A comparison with the mycobiota associated with the sediments and MPs underlined a "substrate specificity", highlighting the complexity of MP-associated fungal assemblages, potentially leading to altered microbial activities and hence changes in ecosystem functions. A further driving force that acts on the fungal communities associated with sediments and MPs is sampling sites with different anthropogenic impacts

Guidelines on the management of abdominal aortic aneurysms: updates from the Italian Society of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery (SICVE)

The objective of these Guidelines was to revise and update the previous 2016 Italian Guidelines on Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Disease, in accordance with the National Guidelines System (SNLG), to guide every practitioner toward the most correct management pathway for this pathology. The methodology applied in this update was the GRADE-SIGN version methodology, following the instructions of the AGREE quality of reporting checklist as well. The first methodological step was the formulation of clinical questions structured according to the PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome) model according to which the Recommendations were issued. Then, systematic reviews of the Literature were carried out for each PICO question or for homogeneous groups of questions, followed by the selection of the articles and the assessment of the methodological quality for each of them using qualitative checklists. Finally, a Considered Judgment form was filled in for each clinical question, in which the features of the evidence as a whole are assessed to establish the transition from the level of evidence to the direction and strength of the recommendations. These guidelines outline the correct management of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm in terms of screening and surveillance. Medical management and indication for surgery are discussed, as well as preoperative assessment regarding patients' background and surgical risk evaluation. Once the indication for surgery has been established, the options for traditional open and endovascular surgery are described and compared, focusing specifically on patients with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms as well. Finally, indications for early and late postoperative follow-up are explained. The most recent evidence in the Literature has been able to confirm and possibly modify the previous recommendations updating them, likewise to propose new recommendations on prospectively relevant topics

Many Labs 5:Testing pre-data collection peer review as an intervention to increase replicability

Replication studies in psychological science sometimes fail to reproduce prior findings. If these studies use methods that are unfaithful to the original study or ineffective in eliciting the phenomenon of interest, then a failure to replicate may be a failure of the protocol rather than a challenge to the original finding. Formal pre-data-collection peer review by experts may address shortcomings and increase replicability rates. We selected 10 replication studies from the Reproducibility Project: Psychology (RP:P; Open Science Collaboration, 2015) for which the original authors had expressed concerns about the replication designs before data collection; only one of these studies had yielded a statistically significant effect (p < .05). Commenters suggested that lack of adherence to expert review and low-powered tests were the reasons that most of these RP:P studies failed to replicate the original effects. We revised the replication protocols and received formal peer review prior to conducting new replication studies. We administered the RP:P and revised protocols in multiple laboratories (median number of laboratories per original study = 6.5, range = 3?9; median total sample = 1,279.5, range = 276?3,512) for high-powered tests of each original finding with both protocols. Overall, following the preregistered analysis plan, we found that the revised protocols produced effect sizes similar to those of the RP:P protocols (?r = .002 or .014, depending on analytic approach). The median effect size for the revised protocols (r = .05) was similar to that of the RP:P protocols (r = .04) and the original RP:P replications (r = .11), and smaller than that of the original studies (r = .37). Analysis of the cumulative evidence across the original studies and the corresponding three replication attempts provided very precise estimates of the 10 tested effects and indicated that their effect sizes (median r = .07, range = .00?.15) were 78% smaller, on average, than the original effect sizes (median r = .37, range = .19?.50)