IL TRANSLANGUAGING PER IL SUCCESSO ACCADEMICO. OSSERVAZIONI SU STRATEGIE MONOLINGUI E PLURILINGUI DEGLI STUDENTI INTERNAZIONALI

L’impostazione monolingue dell’istruzione è responsabile della scarsa valorizzazione del plurilinguismo come risorsa utile per l’apprendimento. Le competenze nella lingua d’istruzione sono le sole considerate, e al solo rafforzamento di questa si rivolgono tipicamente le azioni di rinforzo. La relazione esplora un possibile approccio alternativo, ispirato dal translanguaging, che valorizza le pratiche plurilingui come espressioni dinamiche e flessibili dell’intero potenziale comunicativo. Una sperimentazione in cui studenti plurilingui svolgono collaborativamente attività accademiche ricorrendo al solo italiano vs. a tutto il loro repertorio permetterà di illustrare strategie monolingui e plurilingui di accesso alla comprensione ed alla produzione scritta di testi di studio, traendone spunti didattici.   Translanguaging for academic success. Observations on monolingual and multilingual strategies of international students The monolingual approach to education is responsible for the low level of multilingualism as a useful resource for learning. Competence in the language of instruction is the only one considered, and reinforcement actions are typically aimed at strengthening it. This report explores a possible alternative approach, inspired by translanguaging, which values multilingual practices as dynamic and flexible expressions of one’s entire communicative potential. An experience where multilingual students collaboratively carried out academic activities using only Italian rather than their repertoires will illustrate monolingual and multilingual strategies for access to comprehension and written production of study texts, and the lessons learned

Efficacy of ozonated water as a PS in photodynamic therapy: A tool for dental caries management? An in vitro study

Background: The most prevalent noncommunicable disease in the world is dental caries; and when it is not adequately treated, it is usually associated with tooth loss or severe dental lesions. In fact, expensive care or tooth extraction may be necessary due to the negative effects dental caries have on general health. This is due to its frequent pain and secondary bacterial infections. The aim of this study was to investigate the activity of ozonated water as such and in combination with appropriate light radiation so as to perform a photodynamic treatment (PDT) against the cariogenic bacterium Streptococcus mutans. Design and methods: This work has been performed in vitro by using an S. mutans strain mainly structured in a biofilm status, reproducing the natural condition of the tooth infection. The ozone was tested at three different concentrations by using a commercial device able to generate different O3 formulations in water. The PDT treatment requires an appropriate light wavelength, evaluated in this work through the UV-Vis adsorption spectrum of the ozonated water. Results: The obtained results suggested an effective and synergic property of O3 and light at 460–470nm against this microorganism. The most antibiofilm activity was observed using a concentration of ozone of 0.06mg/L alone as well as with PDT treatment. Conclusions: The results are encouraging for additional research and in vitro/in vivo fresh experimental investigations to perform an exhaustive antimicrobial treatment protocol against the S. mutans tooth infection

The association between periodontal disease and serum biomarkers levels in haemodialysis patients: a narrative review

The vast majority of studies has demonstrated that periodontal infection promotes significant systemic inflammatory status. The specific effects of these systemic alterations in response to periodontal inflammation have been comprehensively described and appear to be highly stereotyped, and it is well known the pathophysiological mechanism related to immune functioning linking periodontitis and pathologies such as diabetes or cardiovascular diseases, adverse pregnancy outcomes, and rheumatoid arthritis. More recently, it has been proposed that this association could be extended to consider periodontal infection as trigger to complications in maintenance haemodialysis (HD) patients through the establishment of inflammatory status in association to impaired nutritional status, emphasizing the role of periodontal infection in increase of C-reactive protein serum marker, a notably predictor of the cardiovascular risk. The aim of this narrative review was to summarize the currently literature evidence that has developed around the potential impact of periodontal inflammatory status on serum nutritional and inflammatory biomarkers concentration monitoring the severity of systemic conditions in HD patients, in which cardiovascular events and malnutrition are the most common causes of mortality and morbidity. Methods: an electronic PubMed, Google Scholar and Cochrane database search complemented by a manual search of the bibliographies cited in all identified articles was performed between 2012 and 2019. The inclusion criteria were: all types of articles, articles published in PubMed, , Google Scholar and Cochrane and related only to humans. The exclusion criteria were: articles for which full text was not available, were not in English, or were grey literature. Keywords set: hemodialisys serum markers and periodontitis have been combined through the use of Mesh search. The terms then inserted in Pubmed were “serum markers”, “hemodialisys”, “periodontal disease” OR “periodontal infection” OR “periodontal inflammation”. Results: thirteen articles were identified. Studies currently available on the impact of periodontitis on the serum markers level in HD patients are analogous. Results confirmed the impact of subclinical inflammation related to periodontitis on C-reactive protein and albumin serum levels, supporting the emerging hypothesis of relationship between periodontal infection and HD status. Conclusions: although many studies have suggested that the inflammatory cytokines release may play a key role in several clinical alterations related to HD maintenance, further studies are needed to investigate the long-term consequences of chronic inflammation caused by periodontitis. There is a paucity of data concerning to the impact of periodontal disease on maintenance hemodialysis patients and about mechanisms involved

Mouthwash Based on Ozonated Olive Oil in Caries Prevention: A Preliminary In-Vitro Study

(1) Background: Ozone (O3) proved to oxidize organic and inorganic compounds, and its efficacy against bacteria, viruses and fungi plasma membranes was of interest. Ozone vehicle can be a gaseous form, ozonated water or ozonized oil. The aim of this in-vitro study was to evaluate the efficacy of ozonated olive oil against Streptococcus mutans. (2) Methods: Two different commercial mouthwashes were tested: Ialozon Blu (IB) (Gemavip, Cagliari, Italy), with ozonated olive oil, and Ialozon Rose (IR) (Gemavip, Cagliari, Italy), with ozonated olive oil, hyaluronic acid and vitamin E. All formulates were analyzed in a dilution range from 2- to 256-folds in saline solution, as to reproduce the salivary dilution. Streptococcus mutans CIP103220 strain was used for the antimicrobial susceptibility test, and the Kirby-Bauer inhibition method was performed to evaluate the Minimum Inhibitory (MIC), Minimum Bactericidal (MBC), and Minimum Biofilm Inhibitory Concentration (MBIC). (3) Results: Both formulates showed the same antimicrobial activity. MIC, MBC, and MBIC were observed for dilution factors of 1/32, 1/8 and 1/8, respectively. The mean value of inhibition zone diameter was 16.5 mm for IB, and 18 mm for IR. (4) Conclusions: The results suggested that ozonized olive oil formulates were able to inactivate Streptococcus mutans avoiding the salivary dilution effect in the oral cavity

Correlazione tra alitosi e trattamento ortodontico? Questioni di corretti stili di igiene orale. Case report

Nel trattamento delle malocclusioni, la terapia ortodontica fissa è la più suffragata (Fig. 1a). Anche se uno degli obiettivi del trattamento ortodontico in soggetti con malocclusioni è migliorare oltre che la funzione anche la salute parodontale, la terapia stessa può provocare una maggiore incidenza di infiammazioni con conseguente sanguinamento gengivale, recessioni e la ritenzione di placca1. Poiché la rugosità superficiale e l’energia libera di superficie sono correlati con l’accumulo di placca2, la presenza di un dispositivo ortodontico aumenta tale deposito con conseguente infiammazione gengivale in soggetti con malocclusione3. È ben documentato che il trattamento ortodontico con apparecchi fissi si accompagni a un aumentato rischio di gengiviti dovuto all’accumulo di placca batterica attorno agli attacchi2,3 (Figg. 1b-1d). L’alitosi di origine orale è associata con il metabolismo microbico sul dorso lingua, nella saliva e nella placca dentale4 (Figg. 2a-2b); dunque l’intensità dell’alito cattivo è significativamente associata con la quantità di composti volatili endorali contenenti solfuro. Questi composti sono prodotti da batteri gram-negativi orali che metabolizzano aminoacidi presenti nella dieta e producono gas, come solfuro di idrogeno (H2S)5. Ci sono generalmente tre metodi accettati per la valutazione del cattivo odore orale: misurazione organolettica, gas cromatografia (GC) e monitoraggio solfuro portatile6. Studi hanno dimostrato la correlazione a breve termine del cattivo odore orale nella terapia ortodontica fissa, mentre effetti a lungo termine non sono ancora stati documentati7-10

Evaluation of salivary matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-8) in periodontal patients undergoing non-surgical periodontal therapy and mouthwash based on ozonated olive oil: a randomized clinical trial

Background: Extracellular matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play a pivotal role in the damage to the periodontal tissue in patients with periodontitis. Scaling and root planning (SRP) attempt to control the plaque amount and consequentially reduce the bacterial load. Non-surgical periodontal treatment could be integrated with drug therapy and physiotherapy procedures such as ozone therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate in a cohort of patients with a diagnosis of periodontitis: (1) the efficacy of non-surgical periodontal therapy assisted by the use of ozonated olive oil-based mouthwash on salivary metalloproteinase (MMP-8) and (2) the reduction of periodontal indices. Methods: Ninety-six subjects with a diagnosis of periodontitis were enrolled in this study and randomly assigned to the study group (SRP + mouthwash) or control group (SRP). The study duration was 3 months. Data on MMP-8, plaque index (PI), bleeding on probing (BoP) and probing pocket depth (PPD) were recorded at T0, T1 (14 days), T2 (1 month) and T3 (6 months). Group differences were assessed using Student’s t-test for independent samples. Results: A significant improvement in PI, BoP, PPD and salivary MMP-8 levels was observed in both groups. An analysis of differences in relative changes of indices revealed the efficacy of ozonated olive oil in decreasing MMP-8 level. Simultaneously, it slowed the decrease of BoP index. Conclusions: Scaling and root plaining with the aid of ozonated olive oil mouthwash were found to be more effective on salivary MMP-8 reduction than scaling and root plaining alone

Efficient reduction in shape parameter space dimension for ship propeller blade design

In this work, we present the results of a ship propeller design optimization campaign carried out in the framework of the research project PRELICA, funded by the Friuli Venezia Giulia regional government. The main idea of this work is to operate on a multidisciplinary level to identify propeller shapes that lead to reduced tip vortex-induced pressure and increased efficiency without altering the thrust. First, a specific tool for the bottom-up construction of parameterized propeller blade geometries has been developed. The algorithm proposed operates with a user defined number of arbitrary shaped or NACA airfoil sections, and employs arbitrary degree NURBS to represent the chord, pitch, skew and rake distribution as a function of the blade radial coordinate. The control points of such curves have been modified to generate, in a fully automated way, a family of blade geometries depending on as many as 20 shape parameters. Such geometries have then been used to carry out potential flow simulations with the Boundary Element Method based software PROCAL. Given the high number of parameters considered, such a preliminary stage allowed for a fast evaluation of the performance of several hundreds of shapes. In addition, the data obtained from the potential flow simulation allowed for the application of a parameter space reduction methodology based on active subspaces (AS) property, which suggested that the main propeller performance indices are, at a first but rather accurate approximation, only depending on a single parameter which is a linear combination of all the original geometric ones. AS analysis has also been used to carry out a constrained optimization exploiting response surface method in the reduced parameter space, and a sensitivity analysis based on such surrogate model. The few selected shapes were finally used to set up high fidelity RANS simulations and select an optimal shape

Phototherapy and tailored brushing method. Personalized oral care in patients with facial and dental trauma. A report of a case

Abstract: (1) Background: Traumatic dental injuries are frequent in children and young adults. The facial structures involved in dental trauma may include soft tissues of the face and mouth, bone and dental structures. Dental trauma often results in augmented dental anxiety. Phototherapy can improve stress and pain control thereby improving compliance in young patients with the necessary dental treatments, after dental trauma has occurred. (2) Methods: Phototherapy was performed to enable soft tissue healing. The Tailored Brushing Method (TBM), a personalized approach for at-home oral hygiene procedures, was also utilized, with the aim of improving biofilm control in traumatized patients. (3) Results: The approach hereafter presented made it possible to obtain subjective control of anxiety and pain documented on a visual analog scale (VAS) due to the innovative use of photobiomodulation. In addition, for the first time, the TBM was adapted to the needs of a patient with facial trauma and illustrated. (4) Conclusions: Phototherapy and TBM were found to be effective in the combined treatment of soft tissue wounds and in the oral care of the traumatized patien

Hepatitis B virus recurrence after liver transplantation: An old tale or a clear and present danger?

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) recurrence after liver transplantation (LT) has been described more than 50 years ago. Similarly, to other clinical conditions, in which impairment of host immune defense favors viral replication, early reports described in details recurrence and reactivation of HBV in liver transplant recipients. The evidence of a possible, severe, clinical evolution of HBV reappearance in a significant percentage of these patients, allowed to consider, for some years, HBV positivity a contraindication for LT. Moving from the old to the new millennium this picture has changed dramatically. Several studies contributed to establish efficient prophylactic protocols for HBV recurrence and with the advent of more potent anti-viral drugs an increased control of infection was achieved in transplanted patients as well as in the general immune-competent HBV population. Success obtained in the last decade led some authors to the conclusion that HBV is now to consider just as a "mere nuisance". However, with regard to HBV and LT, outstanding issues are still on the table: (1) A standard HBV prophylaxis protocol after transplant has not yet been clearly defined; (2) The evidence of HBV resistant strains to the most potent antiviral agents is claiming for a new generation of drugs; and (3) The possibility of prophylaxis withdrawal in some patients has been demonstrated, but reliable methods for their selection are still lacking. The evolution of LT for HBV is examined in detail in this review together with the description of the strategies adopted to prevent HBV recurrence and their pros and cons