On the Aesthetics of Environmental Data.The Work of Forensic Architecture between Forms of Reporting and Artistic Practice

In the framework of theoretical analyses proposed by stud-ies of the “geographies of the Anthropocene”, attention is fo-cused on the representation of territories in the convergen-ces between media, technologies and digital cartography. This aesthetic approach finds favourable ground in protest movements which remain as yet unexamined in any depth. Among these, Forensic Architecture – the University of Lon-don’s whistleblower research centre at Goldsmiths, founded in 2010 – stands out. Composed mainly of scientists, archi-tects, journalists and filmmakers, the team carries out rig-orous mapping of environmental data which focuses on im-aging as a diagnostic practice, analysing the environmental situation, transforming the way in which data is visualised in civic practice through artistic and performative initia-tives, and expanding the canonical boundaries of the frui-tion of forensic art. This paper aims to focus attention on the practices of Forensic Architecture, whose work is regularly shown in international art or architecture exhibitions, and its reuse of images which find form in denunciation and collec-tive awareness. The article will also examine the audiovisual products documenting a decade of research in the territories of Palestine: “Counter-forensics in Palestine” (2012-2022)

The ambivalent role of the institution in the history of child and adolescent psychiatry: a case study of the Hawthorn Centre in Michigan, USA

Historians have examined the role of psychiatric institutions in the USA and addressed whether this form of care helped or harmed patients (depending on the perspective of the time period, historical actors, and historians). But the story for children\u27s mental institutions was different. At the time when adult institutions were in decline, children\u27s mental hospitals were expanding. Parents and advocates clamoured for more beds and more services. The decrease in facilities for children was more due to economic factors than ideological opposition. This paper explores a case study of a hospital in Michigan as a window into the different characteristics of the discussion of psychiatric care for children

L'immagine audiovisiva traduce e rilegge la società della videosorveglianza

La ricerca mira a indagare la rilevanza della pratica e degli apparati di videosorveglianza nelle narrazioni audiovisive contemporanee, focalizzando l’attenzione su questioni e nodi concettuali che caratterizzano la fase recente del dibattito scientifico, che si è intensificato e ha acquistato sempre maggiore rilevanza a partire dall’attentato dell’11 settembre 2001. Il lavoro di ricerca, di vocazione multidisciplinare, a partire dalla rilettura del progetto panottico proposta da Michel Foucault, tratteggia le reciproche interrelazioni tra il dibattito scientifico promosso dai Surveillance Studies Centre e dal Visual Culture, e il sempre più diffuso e pervasivo impianto mediatico. Sebbene si inseriscano riferimenti e analisi a testi documentari o pratiche visuali, il corpus comprende per lo più forme di narrazione finzionale, composte sia da film, sia da serie televisive. Lo studio ha avuto inizio da casi ritenuti ‘sintomatici’ per la letteratura scientifica in merito al tema quali Minority Report (Steven Spielberg, 2002) o Panic Room (David Fincher, 2002). Le produzioni prese in esame sono state analizzate con l’intento di porre in tensione ordini di scala spaziale e configurazioni sensibili quali le modalità di figurazione dei corpi, assoggettati a una tracciabilità sempre più invasiva, con intento di individuare assi strutturali di una possibile organizzazione sistemica delle produzioni audiovisive

Criteri di buona governance in Leader: l\u2019autovalutazione dei Gruppi di Azione Locale

l principale obiettivo di questo lavoro \ue8 proporre una metodologia per l\u2019autovalutazione della capacit\ue0 del Gruppi di Azione Locale (Gal) di elaborare e gestire una strategia locale Leader secondo principi di buona governance. L\u2019approccio proposto, inizialmente sviluppato e testato in via preliminare con tecniche di ricerca qualitativa \ue8 qui perfezionato e integrato con il Common Assessment Framework (Caf), un modello di autovalutazione in uso da tempo presso organizzazioni pubbliche in Europa. Il sistema proposto si basa su un set d\u2019indicatori specifici di prestazione (performance) e di percezione del Gal capaci di correlare i principali elementi di una buona governance alle specificit\ue0 dell\u2019approccio Leader. Questo strumento pu\uf2 contribuire a migliorare l\u2019attivit\ue0 di monitoraggio gestionale e indirizzare criticamente le attivit\ue0 del Gal

Procedural pain management in Italy: learning from a nationwide survery involving centers of the Italian Association of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology

Procedural pain is an important aspect of care in pediatrics, and particularly in pediatric oncology where children often consider this to be the most painful experience during their illness. Best recommended practice to control procedural pain includes both sedative-analgesic administration and non-pharmacological treatments, practiced in an adequate and pleasant setting by skilled staff. A nationwide survey has been conducted among the Italian Centers of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology to register operators' awareness on procedural pain, state of the art procedural pain management, operators' opinions about pain control in their center, and possible barriers impeding sedation-analgesia administration. Based on indications in the literature, we discuss the results of the survey to highlight critical issues and suggest future directions for improvement. Future objectives will be to overcome differences depending on size, improve operators' beliefs about the complexity of pain experience, and promote a global approach to procedural pain

The opinion of clinical staff regarding painfulness of procedures in pediatric hematology-oncology: an Italian survey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Beliefs of caregivers about patient's pain have been shown to influence assessment and treatment of children's pain, now considered an essential part of cancer treatment. Painful procedures in hematology-oncology are frequently referred by children as the most painful experiences during illness. Aim of this study was to evaluate professionals' beliefs about painfulness of invasive procedures repeatedly performed in Pediatric Hemato-Oncology Units.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Physicians, nurses, psychologists and directors working in Hemato-Oncology Units of the Italian Association of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology (AIEOP) were involved in a wide-nation survey. The survey was based on an anonymous questionnaire investigating beliefs of operators about painfulness of invasive procedures (lumbar puncture, bone marrow aspirate and bone marrow biopsy) and level of pain management.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Twenty-four directors, 120 physicians, 248 nurses and 22 psychologists responded to the questionnaire. The score assigned to the procedural pain on a 0-10 scale was higher than 5 in 77% of the operators for lumbar puncture, 97.5% for bone marrow aspiration, and 99.5% for bone marrow biopsy. The scores assigned by nurses differed statistically from those of the physicians and directors for the pain caused by lumbar puncture and bone marrow aspiration. Measures adopted for procedural pain control were generally considered good.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Invasive diagnostic-therapeutic procedures performed in Italian Pediatric Hemato-Oncology Units are considered painful by all the caregivers involved. Pain management is generally considered good. Aprioristically opinions about pain depend on invasiveness of the procedure and on the professional role.</p

Incidence, Risk Factors and Outcome of Pre-engraftment Gram-Negative Bacteremia after Allogeneic and Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: An Italian Prospective Multicenter Survey

Background Gram-negative bacteremia (GNB) is a major cause of illness and death after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), and updated epidemiological investigation is advisable. Methods We prospectively evaluated the epidemiology of pre-engraftment GNB in 1118 allogeneic HSCTs (allo-HSCTs) and 1625 autologous HSCTs (auto-HSCTs) among 54 transplant centers during 2014 (SIGNB-GITMO-AMCLI study). Using logistic regression methods. we identified risk factors for GNB and evaluated the impact of GNB on the 4-month overall-survival after transplant. Results The cumulative incidence of pre-engraftment GNB was 17.3% in allo-HSCT and 9% in auto-HSCT. Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the most common isolates. By multivariate analysis, variables associated with GNB were a diagnosis of acute leukemia, a transplant from a HLA-mismatched donor and from cord blood, older age, and duration of severe neutropenia in allo-HSCT, and a diagnosis of lymphoma, older age, and no antibacterial prophylaxis in auto-HSCT. A pretransplant infection by a resistant pathogen was significantly associated with an increased risk of posttransplant infection by the same microorganism in allo-HSCT. Colonization by resistant gram-negative bacteria was significantly associated with an increased rate of infection by the same pathogen in both transplant procedures. GNB was independently associated with increased mortality at 4 months both in allo-HSCT (hazard ratio, 2.13; 95% confidence interval, 1.45-3.13; P &lt;.001) and auto-HSCT (2.43; 1.22-4.84; P =.01). Conclusions Pre-engraftment GNB is an independent factor associated with increased mortality rate at 4 months after auto-HSCT and allo-HSCT. Previous infectious history and colonization monitoring represent major indicators of GNB. Clinical Trials registration NCT02088840

Serum Albumin Is Inversely Associated With Portal Vein Thrombosis in Cirrhosis

We analyzed whether serum albumin is independently associated with portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in liver cirrhosis (LC) and if a biologic plausibility exists. This study was divided into three parts. In part 1 (retrospective analysis), 753 consecutive patients with LC with ultrasound-detected PVT were retrospectively analyzed. In part 2, 112 patients with LC and 56 matched controls were entered in the cross-sectional study. In part 3, 5 patients with cirrhosis were entered in the in vivo study and 4 healthy subjects (HSs) were entered in the in vitro study to explore if albumin may affect platelet activation by modulating oxidative stress. In the 753 patients with LC, the prevalence of PVT was 16.7%; logistic analysis showed that only age (odds ratio [OR], 1.024; P = 0.012) and serum albumin (OR, -0.422; P = 0.0001) significantly predicted patients with PVT. Analyzing the 112 patients with LC and controls, soluble clusters of differentiation (CD)40-ligand (P = 0.0238), soluble Nox2-derived peptide (sNox2-dp; P &lt; 0.0001), and urinary excretion of isoprostanes (P = 0.0078) were higher in patients with LC. In LC, albumin was correlated with sCD4OL (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient [r(s)], -0.33; P &lt; 0.001), sNox2-dp (r(s), -0.57; P &lt; 0.0001), and urinary excretion of isoprostanes (r(s), -0.48; P &lt; 0.0001) levels. The in vivo study showed a progressive decrease in platelet aggregation, sNox2-dp, and urinary 8-iso prostaglandin F2 alpha-III formation 2 hours and 3 days after albumin infusion. Finally, platelet aggregation, sNox2-dp, and isoprostane formation significantly decreased in platelets from HSs incubated with scalar concentrations of albumin. Conclusion: Low serum albumin in LC is associated with PVT, suggesting that albumin could be a modulator of the hemostatic system through interference with mechanisms regulating platelet activation

International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Probiotics.

Position statement: The International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) provides an objective and critical review of the mechanisms and use of probiotic supplementation to optimize the health, performance, and recovery of athletes. Based on the current available literature, the conclusions of the ISSN are as follows: 1)Probiotics are live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host (FAO/WHO).2)Probiotic administration has been linked to a multitude of health benefits, with gut and immune health being the most researched applications.3)Despite the existence of shared, core mechanisms for probiotic function, health benefits of probiotics are strain- and dose-dependent.4)Athletes have varying gut microbiota compositions that appear to reflect the activity level of the host in comparison to sedentary people, with the differences linked primarily to the volume of exercise and amount of protein consumption. Whether differences in gut microbiota composition affect probiotic efficacy is unknown.5)The main function of the gut is to digest food and absorb nutrients. In athletic populations, certain probiotics strains can increase absorption of key nutrients such as amino acids from protein, and affect the pharmacology and physiological properties of multiple food components.6)Immune depression in athletes worsens with excessive training load, psychological stress, disturbed sleep, and environmental extremes, all of which can contribute to an increased risk of respiratory tract infections. In certain situations, including exposure to crowds, foreign travel and poor hygiene at home, and training or competition venues, athletes' exposure to pathogens may be elevated leading to increased rates of infections. Approximately 70% of the immune system is located in the gut and probiotic supplementation has been shown to promote a healthy immune response. In an athletic population, specific probiotic strains can reduce the number of episodes, severity and duration of upper respiratory tract infections.7)Intense, prolonged exercise, especially in the heat, has been shown to increase gut permeability which potentially can result in systemic toxemia. Specific probiotic strains can improve the integrity of the gut-barrier function in athletes.8)Administration of selected anti-inflammatory probiotic strains have been linked to improved recovery from muscle-damaging exercise.9)The minimal effective dose and method of administration (potency per serving, single vs. split dose, delivery form) of a specific probiotic strain depends on validation studies for this particular strain. Products that contain probiotics must include the genus, species, and strain of each live microorganism on its label as well as the total estimated quantity of each probiotic strain at the end of the product's shelf life, as measured by colony forming units (CFU) or live cells.10)Preclinical and early human research has shown potential probiotic benefits relevant to an athletic population that include improved body composition and lean body mass, normalizing age-related declines in testosterone levels, reductions in cortisol levels indicating improved responses to a physical or mental stressor, reduction of exercise-induced lactate, and increased neurotransmitter synthesis, cognition and mood. However, these potential benefits require validation in more rigorous human studies and in an athletic population

L'immagine audiovisiva traduce e rilegge la società della videosorveglianza

La ricerca mira a indagare la rilevanza della pratica e degli apparati di videosorveglianza nelle narrazioni audiovisive contemporanee, focalizzando l’attenzione su questioni e nodi concettuali che caratterizzano la fase recente del dibattito scientifico, che si è intensificato e ha acquistato sempre maggiore rilevanza a partire dall’attentato dell’11 settembre 2001. Il lavoro di ricerca, di vocazione multidisciplinare, a partire dalla rilettura del progetto panottico proposta da Michel Foucault, tratteggia le reciproche interrelazioni tra il dibattito scientifico promosso dai Surveillance Studies Centre e dal Visual Culture, e il sempre più diffuso e pervasivo impianto mediatico. Sebbene si inseriscano riferimenti e analisi a testi documentari o pratiche visuali, il corpus comprende per lo più forme di narrazione finzionale, composte sia da film, sia da serie televisive. Lo studio ha avuto inizio da casi ritenuti ‘sintomatici’ per la letteratura scientifica in merito al tema quali Minority Report (Steven Spielberg, 2002) o Panic Room (David Fincher, 2002). Le produzioni prese in esame sono state analizzate con l’intento di porre in tensione ordini di scala spaziale e configurazioni sensibili quali le modalità di figurazione dei corpi, assoggettati a una tracciabilità sempre più invasiva, con intento di individuare assi strutturali di una possibile organizzazione sistemica delle produzioni audiovisive.The research aims to investigate the relevance of the practice and videosurveillance equipment in contemporary audiovisual narratives, focusing attention on issues and conceptual issues that characterize the recent phase of the scientific debate, which has intensified and acquired even more importance starting from the September 11, 2001. The research work, of multidisciplinare vocation, starting from the rereading of the panoptic project proposed by Michel Foucault, outlines the mutual interrelations between the scientific debate promoted by the Surveillance Studies Center, the Visual Culture, and the always more widespread and pervasive media system. Although references and analysis are inserted in documentary texts or visual practices, the corpus includes mostly forms of fictional narration, composed of both films and television series. The study began examining cases considered 'symptomatic' for scientific literature on the topic such as Minority Report (Steven Spielberg, 2002) or Panic Room (David Fincher, 2002). The observed productions were analyzed with the intent to energize orders of spatial scale and sensitive configurations such as the way to make bodies appear, subjected to an increasingly invasive traceability, with the intent to identify structural axes of a possible systemic organization of audiovisual productions