Radon levels in dwellings and workplaces: a comparison with data from some European countries

Background: According to 2013 European Basic Safety Standards (EU BSS), legal and administrative consequences of having an area declared as radon priority area (RPA) concern workplaces (WP) and public buildings, as well as dwellings (DW). However, RPAs in many cases are defined as higher levels of indoor radon in DW. The reason is that most data are available for DW. So far, indoor radon data for WP (except for schools) and public buildings are scarce. Objective: The objective of this study was to compare indoor radon levels in DW and WP in a given area and to evaluate whether they have different distributions and different average levels. Design: Austria, Finland, Germany, and Italy provided indoor radon data on DW and WP. Data related to WP were aggregated in the same grid, as already done for data on DW, to update the European Indoor Radon Map. Based on 10 km × 10 km grid cells, the same statistics are computed for both datasets. Thus, two structurally equal datasets for each country were generated to be statistically compared. Results and conclusions: Generally, there are numerous indoor radon data on DW than data on WP. Statistical analysis suggests that in all the countries, indoor radon levels – in terms of arithmetic mean (AM) of the natural logarithm-transformed data – in WP and DW are statistically different (P < 0.05), as well as from those referring to schools. The difference in distributions is neither attributable to the effect of geology nor to the effect of different sample sizes. The correlation between aggregated data is positive in the sense that if the mean (over grid cells) radon concentration increases in DW, it increases in WP as well. Compared with DW, in all countries indoor radon levels in WP seem to be statistically different, but the results are not enough to draw final conclusions: on-purpose designed surveys could be a useful tool to better understand this phenomenon

La Rerum Novarum. Il documento-evento dell'insegnamento sociale della Chiesa

Nella ricorrenza del secondo centenario della nascita di Leone XIII e dei centoventi anni dalla pubblicazione della Rerum Novarum, l'omonima rivista, il cui primo numero è uscito nel 2000, con il sottotitolo di Quaderni di studi sociali dell'istituto culturale Leone XIII, riprende le pubblicazioni con un numero doppio, come annali 2010-2011 e in una nuova veste grafica. Sulla base di una ricca e inedita documentazione dell'Archivio segreto vaticano, Carlo Felice Casula ricostruisce la lunga gestazione dell'enciclica leonina e ripercorre, con la sua riconosciuta competenza e con indubbia capacità di sintesi, l'evoluzione dell'insegnamento sociale della Chiesa, da Leone XIII a Giovanni Paolo II. Due giovani studiosi, Federica Cianfriglia e Vittorio V. Alberti, dipingono un quadro di grande interesse sugli echi e sulle polemiche nella stampa italiana dell'epoca suscitati dalla Rerum Novarum. In appendice è ripubblicato un capitolo del notissimo libro di Edoardo Soderini, Il pontificato di Leone XIII, edito da Mondadori nel 1932

A systematic review on gender dysphoria in adolescents and young adults: focus on suicidal and self-harming ideation and behaviours

Abstract Introduction Gender dysphoria (GD) is characterized by the incongruence between one’s experienced and expressed gender and assigned-sex-at-birth; it is associated with clinically significant distress. In recent years, the number of young patients diagnosed with GD has increased considerably. Recent studies reported that GD adolescents present behavioural and emotional problems and internalizing problems. Furthermore, this population shows a prevalence of psychiatric symptoms, like depression and anxiety. Several studies showed high rates of suicidal and non-suicidal self-injurious thoughts and behaviour in GD adolescents. To increase understanding of overall mental health status and potential risks of young people with GD, this systematic review focused on risk of suicide and self-harm gestures. Methods We followed the PRISMA 2020 statement, collecting empirical studies from four electronic databases, i.e., PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, and Web of Science. Results Twenty-one studies on GD and gender nonconforming identity, suicidality, and self-harm in adolescents and young adults met inclusion criteria. Results showed that GD adolescents have more suicidal ideation, life-threatening behaviour, self-injurious thoughts or self-harm than their cisgender peers. Assessment methods were heterogeneous. Conclusion A standardised assessment is needed. Understanding the mental health status of transgender young people could help develop and provide effective clinical pathways and interventions