150 research outputs found
Gender health and policies: the state of the art from exposure to solutions
Objective. To synthesize the determinants of gender inequalities through a narrative review that: (i) describes gender related var- iables that can create different levels of health; (ii) describes key points that may assist in policy development and its reorientation towards gender differences; (iii) debates potential approaches in understanding gender issues.
Methods. Review of the international literature through online databases (Pubmed), search engines, publications and documents from ?grey literature?. Inclusion criteria: publications from 1997, English language; keywords used: gender based analysis; gender and public policy; women?s health; gender differences; health policy; gender impact assessment. Among the 300 papers retrieved, 55 were selected for relevance.
Results. We performed a narrative synthesis of the included literature, regarding: (i) gender differences and their determi-nants; (ii) elements for the changing; (iii) possible approaches; (iv) gender influences the pursuit of health and health care access through specific variables; (v) health policies can modify these variables only by a minimal percentage. These interventions should guarantee equity and allow efficient resources allocation. The gap between political announce- ments and real policy implementation remains unchanged. (vi) Standard approaches to the topic are not feasible due to the scarcity of a specific literature and the numerous cultural differences.
Conclusions. Gender analysis of policies suggests they can dif- ferently affect women in comparison to men. However, reforms, strategies and interventions introduced in the last two decades, have achieved a limited success towards better gender equality in health. The main aim is to attack the structural sources of gender inequity in the society
Noise reduction in muon tomography for detecting high density objects
The muon tomography technique, based on multiple Coulomb scattering of cosmic
ray muons, has been proposed as a tool to detect the presence of high density
objects inside closed volumes. In this paper a new and innovative method is
presented to handle the density fluctuations (noise) of reconstructed images, a
well known problem of this technique. The effectiveness of our method is
evaluated using experimental data obtained with a muon tomography prototype
located at the Legnaro National Laboratories (LNL) of the Istituto Nazionale di
Fisica Nucleare (INFN). The results reported in this paper, obtained with real
cosmic ray data, show that with appropriate image filtering and muon momentum
classification, the muon tomography technique can detect high density
materials, such as lead, albeit surrounded by light or medium density material,
in short times. A comparison with algorithms published in literature is also
presented
Inflammatory status in pediatric sickle cell disease: Unravelling the role of immune cell subsets
Polymorphism of the Fractalkine Receptor CX3CR1 and Systemic Sclerosis-associated Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
Fractalkine (FKN) and its receptor CX3CR1 are critical mediators in the
vascular and tissue damage of several chronic diseases, including systemic
sclerosis (SSc) and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Interestingly, the V249I
and T280M genetic polymorphisms influence CX3CR1 expression and function. We
investigated whether these polymorphisms are associated with PAH secondary to
SSc. CX3CR1 genotypes were analyzed by PCR and sequencing in 76 patients with
limited SSc and 204 healthy controls. PAH was defined by colorDoppler echocardiography.
Homozygosity for 249II as well as the combined presence of 249II and 280MM were
significantly more frequent in patients with SSc compared to controls (17 vs 6%,
p = 0.0034 and 5 vs 1%, p = 0.0027, respectively). The 249I and 280M alleles were
associated with PAH (odd ratio [OR] 2.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-4.75,
p = 0.028 and OR 7.37, 95%CI: 2.45-24.60, p = 0.0001, respectively). In conclusion,
the increased frequencies of 249I and 280M CX3CR1 alleles in a subgroup of
patients with SSc-associated PAH suggest a role for the fractalkine system in
the pathogenesis of this
condition. Further, the 249I allele might be associated with susceptibility to SSc
L'algoritmo del citoyen Cimordain, Commissaire d\ue8l\ue8gu\ue8 du Comit\ue8 de Salut Public.
Diritto e legge fra fonti di produzione e fonti di cognizione. Appunti problematici sulla moderna teoria della sovranit\ue0
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