Religion and Child Death in Ireland's Industrial Capital: Belfast 1911

Ireland is often seen as an outlier within the western world in terms of demographic behavior. As a society it has also been noted for its religious fervor, including religious division, at least until fairly recently. Might there be connections historically between these two spheres? One intriguing area of enquiry relates to possible links between religious denomination and child mortality. We explore this possibility using individual-level data from the household schedules of the Irish Census of 1911. The study area is Belfast, Ireland's leading industrial city, which allows for a wide range of occupational and social class differences. Combining regression techniques and the mortality index proposed by Preston and Haines (1991), we seek to tease out the relationship between child mortality and religious affiliation while controlling for a range of other explanatory variables. We show that religious identity is clearly associated with different infant and child mortality outcomes. Of the three major religious denominations, Catholics suffered the most from high infant mortality, Church of Ireland (Anglican) families were only a little better off, while the largest Protestant denomination, the Presbyterians, had the best infant mortality outcomes. These differences were related, in the main, to the varying socioeconomic composition of the three major religious denominations but religious affiliation also mattered in its own right

Characterization of Composites Manufactured Through Reshaping of EoL Thermoplastic Polymers Reinforced with Recycled Carbon Fibers

This article investigates if and at what extent a recycling process based on grinding, melting and re-shaping of recycled carbon fibers reinforced thermoplastic polymers (rCFRPs) can affect their physical, mechanical and thermal properties. The aim is to establish if they can be taken into consideration in the manufacturing of new composite materials in different sectors: automotive, marine, sporting goods, etc. Composites materials were submitted to the measurement of the fibers length they are composed of, and then analyzed by means of tensile and impact tests and a dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). All the characterizations were performed to both initial and recycled composites and, in some cases, they were replied also after the intermediate accelerated aging. Characterization performed confirmed that, as expected, the recycling process affects the properties of the composites, but in different manners and to a different extent when different polymers are involved. Tensile and impact tests pointed out that the polypropylene based composites showed a less stiff and a more brittle behaviour after the recycling process and the DMA confirmed this evidence, highlighting in addition a more viscous behavior of the polymer after the recycling. Conversely, the polyamide 6 based composites increased their stiffness and ductility after the recycling. For all the composites the tensile strength dropped, confirming the weakening of the materials

An Overview of Ecological Indicators of Fish to Evaluate the Anthropogenic Pressures in Aquatic Ecosystems: From Traditional to Innovative DNA-Based Approaches

In order to halt the loss of global biodiversity and considering the United Nations Decade for Ocean Conservation Agenda, increasing efforts to improve biomonitoring programs and assessment of ecosystem health are needed. Aquatic environments are among the most complex to monitor, requiring an array of tools to assess their status and to define conservation targets. Although several parameters need to be considered for a comprehensive ecological status assessment, it is important to identify easy-to-apply high-resolution monitoring methods. Shifts in fish composition and abundance are often good indicators of ecosystem health status in relation to anthropogenic activities. However, traditional monitoring methods are strictly related to the habitat under study and cannot be applied universally. This review summarizes the importance of ecological indicators for aquatic environments subjected to anthropogenic stressors, with a particular focus on fish communities and transitional water ecosystems. We describe the main characteristics of both traditional and novel methods for fish monitoring, highlighting their advantages and shortcomings in an attempt to identify simple and reliable ways for a correct evaluation of the dynamics of aquatic ecosystems

Health-related quality of life burden in scleroderma patients treated with two different intravenous iloprost regimens

Systemic sclerosis (SSc)-related Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) and digital ulcers (DU) can impair health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The aim of our study was to estimate HRQoL in SSc patients treated with two different intravenous (IV) iloprost (ILO) regimens and in patients not treated with IV ILO. 96 consecutive SSc patients were enrolled in a pragmatic, prospective and non-randomized study, and divided into 3 groups: not requiring therapy with IV ILO (N=52), IV ILO once monthly (N=24) or IV ILO for 5 consecutive days every 3 months (N=20). Patients were followed up for three months. We assessed HRQoL using the generic preference-based questionnaire EQ-5D-5L. We conducted multiple regression analyses to estimate, in each treatment group, the mean general health (GH) and the mean utility index of the EQ-5D-5L, adjusting for possible confounders. The mean adjusted utility index and GH score, after three months' follow-up, were not different in the three groups: IV ILO was able to make patients requiring IV ILO similar to those not requiring it. Moreover, there was no difference in this model between the two ILO regimens (1 day monthly vs 5 consecutive days every 3 months). The two different IV ILO regimens (the most appropriate regimen was decided according to patients' characteristics and needs) were able to stabilize HRQoL in RP secondary to SSc non-adequately controlled by oral therapy

Fotemustine plus etoposide, cytarabine and melphalan (FEAM) as a new conditioning regimen for lymphoma patients undergoing auto-SCT: A multicenter feasibility study

BEAM is a widely used conditioning regimen for relapsed/refractory lymphoma patients undergoing auto-SCT. We conducted a multicenter study with an alternative regimen (fotemustine plus etoposide, cytarabine and melphalan (FEAM)) in which BCNU was substituted by the chloroethylnitrosourea fotemustine (FTM). Eighty-four patients with relapsed/refractory Hodgkin's (n20) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (n64) were conditioned with a FEAM regimen (FTM 150 mg/m 2 on days -7, -6, etoposide 200 mg/m 2 and cytarabine 400 mg/m 2 on days -5, -4, -3, -2 and melphalan 140 mg/m 2 on day -1). Patients were evaluated for toxicity and engraftment parameters. Median times to neutrophil (500 × 10 9 /l) and plt (20 000 × 10 9 /l) engraftment were 11 and 13 days, respectively. Grade 3 mucositis occurred in 19 patients (23%), while G3 nausea/vomiting and G3 diarrhea were observed in 13 (15%) and 6 (7%) patients, respectively. No severe hepatic, renal or pulmonary toxicity was detected. Seven patients (7%) experienced G4 mucositis, while no other G4 toxicities or unexpected adverse events of any grade were recorded. Transplant-related mortality was 2.4%. We conclude that a FEAM regimen is feasible and safe. Although toxicity and engraftment times compared favorably with BEAM, longer follow-up is needed to evaluate fully its efficacy and long-term safety. © 2010 Macmillan Publishers Limited All rights reserved

Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillator (WCD) in Italy: results from the nationwide multicenter registry WEAR-ITA

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. BACKGROUND The Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillators (WCD) has been used extensively in Italy since 2015, following long years of experience in other countries. This technology provides temporary protection from Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) for patients with an evolving risk profile that may not yet be eligible for an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD). Collecting national data on use of the device can help build a picture that will enable an understanding on how to use the WCD appropriately in the future. PURPOSE Our purpose has been to investigate WCD usage on a nationwide level. This is in terms of target population, average wear time, patient compliance, diagnosed and treated arrhythmic events and patient outcome once they stopped wearing the device. METHODS WEAR-ITA is a nationwide, multi-centre retrospective observational project. Patient data was retrospectively collected from the Italian hospitals that agreed to take part in the data collection for all patients fitted with a WCD between April 2015 to May 2018. All data refers to the range from the first day of wear until the end of use. RESULTS We collected data for 411 patients from 15 (75%) Italian regions. WCD use among the different regions was heterogeneous with a median of 0.5 (0.2-1.2) WCD wore/105 inhabitants. The mean age of the population was 55(±14) and the majority of patients were male (79%). Main WCD indication was non-ischemic cardiomyopathy with reduced ejection fraction (51%), ischemic etiology with severe systolic dysfunction (31%), uncertain or unidentified diagnosis (10%) that then revealed to be predominantly channelopathies or myocarditis and after ICD extraction (8%). Patients wore the WCD for a median of 59 (33-90) days and the median daily weartime was 23 (22,7-23,8) hours. In 15 patients (4%), the WCD recorded non sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT), 10 patients (2%) had hemodynamically well-tolerated sustained VT not needing a shock. 8 patients (2%) received effective appropriate shocks. Time to episodes were respectively 61 (14-61) days for non-sustained VT and 28 (19-70) days for VT/VF. 2 patients (0.5%) received inappropriate shocks for sinus tachycardia and atrial fibrillation (AF) respectively. WCD recorded new onset of supra ventricular tachycardia episodes in 12 patients (3%) and of atrial fibrillation (AF) in 7 patients (2%). 7 patients (2%) died while wearing WCD; none of them from SCD. At the end of the WCD use, 195 patients (47%) did not receive an ICD while 209 patients (51%)were implanted. CONCLUSIONS WCD is an effective therapy for the treatment of SCD with a very low complication rates. The indication and penetration in Italy is quite heterogeneous. The patient's compliance is high over time. The incidence of appropriate shock is not negligible; only half of patients, who wore WCD, received an ICD. There is however still a requirement to conduct further randomized trials to understand which patients could most benefit from the use of WCD. Abstract Figure. Wereable Cardioverter Defibrillato