Luoghi di affezione

Economic literature devotes very little space to the final stages of the production/distribution/consumption cycle. Even schools of accounting and business administration do not pay much attention to small-scale distribution, local retailers and various forms of trade in public areas. The author of this paper analyses the relations of proximity established in this type of transactions, where ethical motivations are coupled with aesthetic needs

Luoghi di affezione

Economic literature devotes very little space to the final stages of the production/distribution/consumption cycle. Even schools of accounting and business administration do not pay much attention to small-scale distribution, local retailers and various forms of trade in public areas. The author of this paper analyses the relations of proximity established in this type of transactions, where ethical motivations are coupled with aesthetic needs

Headache in Workers: A Matched Case-Control Study

A case-control study including 446 workers reporting headaches (cases; 136 males and 310 females, mean age 46.71 ± 10.84 years) and 446 age- and sex-matched colleagues without headaches (controls; mean age 45.44 ± 10.13) was conducted in the second half of 2020 in a sample drawn from socio health and commercial services companies to investigate the association of headache with lifestyle, metabolic, and work-related factors. Workers suffering from headache reported higher body weight (OR: 1.92, 95% CI: 1.46-2.53, p < 0.001), higher blood cholesterol (OR: 2.01, 95% CI: 1.46-2.77, p < 0.001), triglyceride (OR: 2.01, 95% CI: 1.20-3.35, p < 0.01), blood glucose (OR: 1.91, 95% CI: 1.16-3.24, p < 0.01), and blood pressure levels (OR: 1.76, 95% CI: 1.23-2.52, p < 0.01). In the year preceding the survey, cases had experienced a higher frequency of workplace violence (OR: 2.29, 95% CI: 1.25-4.20, p < 0.01 for physical aggression, OR: 2.22, 95% CI: 1.45-3.41, p < 0.001 for threat, OR: 2.74, 95% CI: 1.72-4.38, p < 0.001 for harassment) and were more frequently distressed (effort/reward ratio > 1) (OR: 1.82, 95% CI: 1.39-2.40, p < 0.001) than the controls. Compared to the controls, cases also had higher scores on anxiety and depression scales, lower scores on happiness, and lower levels of sleep quality (p < 0.001). The association of headaches with metabolic and mental health problems suggests that monitoring headaches in the workplace could help to identify workers at risk of impairment

Perturbation of specific transcripts in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in breast cancer: a case control pilot study

Introduction: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common type of diagnosed cancer worldwide and the leading cause of cancer death in women and it is the second most frequent cancer-causing mortality for women worldwide. Peripheral blood-based biopsy for BC could be a promising tool for risk prediction and diagnosis. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the gene expression profile of PBMCs in Italian patients with BC. Methods: In this case-control pilot study, we isolated PBMCs from 22 BC patients and 21 healthy controls and evaluated the expression of a panel of 52 target genes related to BC or circadian rhythm by a customized TaqMan Open Array Real-Time PCR panel. Results: Among the differentially expressed genes, 22 remained unchanged. These unchanged genes are mainly involved in cellular processes, including the circadian clock, cellular responses to stress/stimuli, the immune system, signal transduction, and metabolism. We found a total of 30 significantly de-regulated genes. In particular, 8 genes, including PARP6, IGFR1, EZH2, VEGFA, NOTCH1, CD44, BCAR1, and CD24A, resulted significantly down-regulated in patients with BC compared to Controls, while 22 genes were significantly up-regulated in BCs patients compared to Controls. We found several already reported BC-associated genes up-regulated in PBMCs of our BC patients, but FOXO3, ARNTL, and ADAM17 emerged as the most strongly up-regulated. The enrichment pathways analysis highlight that de-regulated genes are mainly involved in the regulation of gene expression and transcription, signal transduction, and immune system response. Discussion: The results of our pilot study demonstrated that the evaluation of PBMC gene signature could be a valuable tool for primary prevention and early diagnosis of BC in several high-risk settings, thus reducing the global mortality associated with this tumour. Take-home message: Non-invasive screening programs, particularly those adopted in workplaces, may have a great impact on early diagnosis and good prognosis for BC. Our study provided proof of concept that the development of a screening test based on PBMC-derived gene expression biomarkers could be a viable route

Feasibility of a Stop Smoking Program for Healthcare Workers in an Italian Hospital: Econometric Analysis in a Total Worker Health® Approach

Background: Over 20% of healthcare workers (HCWs) are active smokers. Smoking is a targeted issue for workplace health promotion (WHP) programs. Objective: Our study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the Stop Smoking Promotion (SSP) intervention, a 6-hour training course for HCWs, which took place from May 2018 to July 2019. Methods: We compared HCWs who successfully quit smoking (n = 15) to those who did not (n = 25) in terms of Sickness Absence Days (SADs). Moreover, we conducted an econometric analysis by calculating the return on investment and implementing a break-even analysis. Findings: Among the 40 enrolled workers, a success rate of 37.5% was observed after a span of over two years from the SSP intervention (with nurses and physicians showed the best success rate). Overall, participants showed a noticeable absenteeism reduction after the SSP intervention, with a reduction rate of 85.0% in a one-year period. The estimated ROI for the hospital was 1.90, and the break-even point was 7.85. In other words, the organization nearly doubled its profit from the investment, and the success of at least eight participants balanced costs and profits. Conclusion: Our pilot study confirms that WHP programs are simple and cost-saving tools which may help improve control over the smoking pandemic in healthcare settings

Dai "polacchi" agli swapping parties. Luoghi, percorsi e pratiche di riuso dell'abbigliamento usato

Second-hand clothing market is considered a good consumption practice where social links hare more important than the goods in themselves. Second-hand apparel markets are places where people meet and places of diversity. The way clothes arrive to second-hand markets is complex and not alwais clear. But good innovation experiences and the attention to traditional practices, such as barter of donation, are becoming more and more relevant, in particular on Internet exchange markets

Il ruolo sociale e la biografia degli oggetti

Objects have a social life and contribute to the production of reality. Through mutual socialization with things, people build their own style, their own personality. The social status of objects, however, has a transitory nature. Their cultural biography - with the various steps leading to a possible reuse - is intertwined with people's lives. Re-use, in particular, helps to re-contextualize the status of objects