Effect of COVID-19 isolation measures on physical activity of children and their parents, and role of the family environment: a cross-sectional study

Background. The rigorous isolation measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic seriously impacted children’s lifestyles. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out to collect and analyze information about physical activity habits of children and their parents during the social distancing period resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods. An online questionnaire was administered to 363 families (507 children aged 5-13) recruited by convenience sampling, asking for physical activity type and frequency before, during, and after the lockdown period (9th March - May 3rd 2020), education, outdoor spaces, and children’s weight gain perception. Results. Results show a remarkable decrease in children’s physical activity during lockdown (88.9 vs 39.8% active children) associated with older age and low availability of outdoor spaces (p<0.001). Parents’ physical activity was related to educational level, and a slight but significant correlation between parents’ education and children’s physical activity was found, especially with father’s university degree (p<0.05). Active mothers significantly influenced children’s physical activity during the lockdown, especially if not engaged in smart working. The return to an active lifestyle by children did not reach previous levels (75.9% active children) and was directly related to parent’s physical activity. Finally, the risk of weight gain was lower in active children during the lockdown (OR = 0.46; p<0.001). Conclusions. This work highlights the importance of physical activity during a pandemic event to prevent the risk of gaining weight, and underlines the relevance of the entire family system as a source of promotion of healthy behaviors in children

Efficacia di alcuni disinfettanti in acque destinate al consumo umano

Comunicazione a convegn

Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation in tap water contaminated by Aspergillus spp.

We investigated the effect of ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVI) from a low-pressure mercury lamp on several pathogenic Aspergillus spp. including A. flavipes, A. flavus, A. fumigatus, A. glaucus, A. nidulans, A. niger, A. terreus, A. ustus and A. versicolor suspended in tap water under laboratory-scale conditions. It was shown that within 10 s of exposure, time species such as A. glaucus, A. niudulans and A. ustus were completely inactivated, while 40 s were needed for the elimination of all the species tested. A. flavus and A. niger were found to be less susceptible than other species. Based on these results we conclude that UV disinfection could effectively inactivate Aspergillus spp. in tap water. Such disinfection could be used to reduce potential exposure of high-risk patients to fungal aerosols, particularly in hospital settings, where point-of-use (POU) UV light devices could be installed to provide safe water at a very low cost