Editorial: management of intangible assets among non-profit organizations: challenges and peculiarities

Editorial on the Research Topi

RETRACTED: Ehlers-Danlos syndrome caused by the c.934C>T, p. Arg312Cys mutation in COL1A1 gene: an Italian family without cardiovascular events

n/

Effectiveness of a video lesson for the correct use in an emergency of the automated external defibrillator (AED)

Background and aim of the work: Every year around 275 thousand people in Europe and 420 thousand in the United States are affected by sudden cardiac arrest. Early electrical defibrillation before the arrival of emergency services can improve survival. Training the population to use the AED is essential. The training method currently in use is the BLSD course, which limits training to a population cohort and may not be enough to meet the requirements of the proposed Law no. 1839/2019. This study aims to verify the effectiveness of an online course that illustrates the practical use of the AED to a population of laypeople. Methods: An observational study was conducted to compare a lay population undergoing the view of a video spot and a cohort of people who had participated in BLSD Category A courses. The performances of the two groups were measured immediately after the course and 6 months later. Results: Overall, the video lesson reported positive results. Six months later the skills were partially retained. The cohort that followed the video lesson showed significant deterioration in the ability to correctly position the pads and in safety. Conclusions: Although improved through significant reinforcements, the video spot represents a valid alternative training method for spreading defibrillation with public access and could facilitate the culture of defibrillation as required by the new Italian law proposal

Burden of disease from exposure to secondhand smoke in children in Europe

Background Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure at home and fetal SHS exposure during pregnancy are a major cause of disease among children. The aim of this study is quantifying the burden of disease due to SHS exposure in children and in pregnancy in 2006–2017 for the 28 European Union (EU) countries. Methods Exposure to SHS was estimated using a multiple imputation procedure based on the Eurobarometer surveys, and SHS exposure burden was estimated with the comparative risk assessment method using meta-analytical relative risks. Data on deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were collected from National statistics and from the Global Burden of Disease Study. Results Exposure to SHS and its attributable burden stalled in 2006–2017; in pregnant women, SHS exposure was 19.8% in 2006, 19.1% in 2010, and 21.0% in 2017; in children it was 10.1% in 2006, 9.6% in 2010, and 12.1% in 2017. In 2017, 35,633 DALYs among children were attributable to SHS exposure in the EU, mainly due to low birth weight. Conclusions Comprehensive smoking bans up to 2010 contributed to reduce SHS exposure and its burden in children immediately after their implementation; however, SHS exposure still occurs, and in 2017, its burden in children was still relevant

Burden of disease attributable to second-hand smoke exposure: a systematic review

Our aim was to provide a systematic review of studies on the burden of disease due to second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure, reviewing methods, exposure assessment, diseases causally linked to SHS, health outcomes, and estimates available to date. A literature review of studies on the burden of disease from SHS exposure, available in PubMed and SCOPUS, published 2007–2018 in English language, was carried out following the PRISMA recommendations. Overall, 588 studies were first identified, and 94 were eligible. Seventy-two studies were included in the systematic review. Most of them were based on the comparative risk assessment approach, assessing SHS exposure using mainly surveys on exposure at home/workplaces. Diseases more frequently studied were: lung cancer, ischemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and breast cancer in adults; lower respiratory tract infection, otitis media, asthma, sudden infant death syndrome and low birth weight in children. The SHS exposure assessment and the reported population attributable fractions (PAF) were largely heterogeneous. As an example, the PAF from lung cancer varied between 0.6% and 20.5%. Moreover, PAF were estimated applying relative risks and SHS exposures with no consistent definitions or with different age classes. The research gap on the SHS exposure burden is shrinking. However, estimates are not yet available for a number of countries, particularly the Middle Eastern and African countries, and not all diseases with the strongest evidence of causation, such as sudden infant death syndrome, have been explored. Moreover, in some cases the applied methodology revealed relatively low quality of data

Exposure to secondhand and thirdhand smoke in private vehicles: Measurements in air and dust samples

Background: This study aimed to estimate airborne nicotine concentrations and nicotine, cotinine, and tobaccospecific nitrosamines (TSNAs) in settled dust from private cars in Spain and the UK. Methods: We measured vapor-phase nicotine concentrations in a convenience sample of 45 private cars from Spain (N = 30) and the UK (N = 15) in 2017-2018. We recruited non-smoking drivers (n = 20), smoking drivers who do not smoke inside the car (n = 15), and smoking drivers who smoke inside (n = 10). Nicotine, cotinine, and three TSNAs (NNK, NNN, NNA) were also measured in settled dust in a random subsample (n = 20). We computed medians and interquartile ranges (IQR) of secondhand smoke (SHS) and thirdhand smoke (THS) compounds according to the drivers' profile. Results: 24-h samples yielded median airborne nicotine concentrations below the limit of quantification (LOQ) (IQR

Intangible assets and performance in nonprofit organizations: a systematic literature review

Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) promote citizens’ participation in community life through several different kinds of organizations: some more informal (such as associations and volunteering groups), others more formal or public (such as charities and foundations). This heterogeneity, as well as the well-known peculiarities of NPOs when compared to profit and public ones, poses new challenges to their management. In the constant need to find balance between financial constraints and social value, a main resource for NPOs is the management of intangible assets, such as knowledge, positive relationships within the organization and with users, external image, loyalty and commitment, and so on. From the literature on for-profit organizations, it is well known that proper management of intangible assets improves an organization’s sustainable competitive advantage, not only by enhancing its members’ affiliation and commitment but even by enhancing their productivity. This is particularly relevant when taking into account the main role of volunteers in the third sector. Volunteers, indeed, show different job attitudes and organizational behaviors than paid employees, as their membership and accountability are less formalized and they frequently lack a proper teamwork, due to the high volunteer turnover. At the same time, from the managers point of view, managing volunteers and paid workers require higher skills and competencies than managing human resources in for-profit organizations. Developing these reflections and considerations, we aim to conduct a systematic literature review on the association between intangible assets and performance in NPOs. The literature will be conducted following the indications from the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. It provides an evidence-based minimum set of items to be included in the review, as well as a workflow to properly manage and choose the papers to be included. The authors conducted the research using EBSCO, ProQuest, and Scopus databases

Exposure to second-hand smoke at work in the European Union, 2006 - 2014

Background After the classification of second-hand smoke (SHS) as a known human pulmonary carcinogen by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), most Countries of the European Union (EU) introduced smoking ban at workplaces and public places. Main aim of this study was to study trend of SHS exposure at work, 2006-2014. Methods Figures were collected in four cross-sectional surveys representative of population of each EU Country. Surveys were conducted in 2006, 2010, 2012, 2014 (Eurobarometer 66.2, 72.3, 77.1, 82.4) in all 28 EU Countries. The question on SHS exposure at work was recorded in bogh smokers and non-smokers: “How long are you exposed to tobacco smoke at your workplace?” Possible answers were: 5 hours a day; Never or almost never; don't know, In the 2012 and 2014 surveys a new category was added: “occasionally exposed”. Results Prevalence of exposure to SHS at work decreased by 69% from 2006 to 2014 (Figure 1). The drop was recorded since 2010 for exposures for ≥1 hour per day, whereas the exposure to < 1 hour per day dropped in the 2012 survey. In 2012 and 2014 17% of participants reported to be exposed occasionally, not on a daily basis. Occasional exposure at work was not recorded in previous surveys. Figures of SHS exposure for each EU Country will be presented reporting also the year of implementation of smoking ban per each Country. [Figure 1: SHS exposure ≥1 hour/day ] Conclusions SHS exposure at work dropped in 28 EU Countries after the implementation of nationwide smoking bans

Representation of intellectual capital’s components amongst Italian social enterprises

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the representation that senior managers of Italian social enterprises have about their organization’s intellectual capital (IC), precisely about the human capital, relational capital and organizational capital. Design/methodology/approach – This paper used a qualitative approach. A total of 81 senior managers were interviewed individually. Interview data were analyzed using different techniques of content analysis, particularly by using the T-Lab software (analysis of word occurrence and co-word mapping, analysis of Markovian sequences). Findings – Findings confirm the divide between theory and practice of IC. The representation of the IC dimensions is rather different from the definition that is found in the academic literature. Limited awareness about IC components and their generative power of knowledge determines a limited exploitation of the social enterprises’ organizational knowledge. Research limitations/implications – The group reached is limited to Italy and is not statistically representative of all Italian social enterprises. Practical implications – Social enterprises are crucial in the development and well-being of societies. However, the findings suggest that many social enterprises managers are not fully aware of the importance of IC and how it may create value for their organizations. This paper stresses that senior managers of social enterprises need to, through various methods, have a better understanding of IC management and knowledge creation if they are to fully utilise the potential of IC in their organizations for survival and growth. Originality/value – This is the first attempt to explore the perception of IC’s components among social enterprises, which represent an important development of non-profit organizations

RETRACTED: Ehlers-Danlos syndrome caused by the c.934C&gt;T, p. Arg312Cys mutation in COL1A1 gene: an Italian family without cardiovascular events

The article entitled “Ehlers-Danlos syndrome caused by the c.934C&gt;T, p. Arg312Cys mutation in COL1A1 gene: an Italian family without cardiovascular events” has been retracted because the description and characterization of the disease in a family may have been previously published. Upon publication of this article we were notified by an author of a study appearing in 2016 in another journal claiming that characteristics and symptoms of the family described closely matched their study, and that the two studies describe the same family. Whereas constituent family members appearing in both articles were not identical (differing by one member), symptoms and diagnoses of each family proband appeared to be consistent in both studies, leading to the editors’ conclusion that it is likely that the same family was being described in two separate articles.The corresponding author of the article in Dermatology Online Journal was informed of this incident, and responded with the assertion that they were unaware of the study published in 2016, and provided no additional information. They further requested that their article be retracted. In light of the available information and author’s request, the editors of Dermatology Online Journal have retracted this article.The original article was published on July15, 2018 and corrected on September 15, 2018.The original article was published on July15, 2018 and corrected on September 15, 2018