Advancements in Design Research

"In October 1998, on the occasion of the first conference on design education, Richard Buchanan, then Director of The School of Design at Carnegie Mellon University, envisioned doctoral education in Design as a ""neoteric enterprise"", aimed at finding novel ways of addressing the new problems, ""thereby creating a new body of learning and knowledge"". Twenty years after, these words can still be shared: the new problems affecting our globalised, bewildered and worried society are growing in numbers and in complexity, and novel ways of sorting them out are more sought-after than ever. The present book is part of a series that, since 2017, documents the production of the Politecnico di Milano Design Programme, presenting a summary of the doctoral theses defended each year. Eleven essays are here gathered into four sections: Design Education; Collaborative Processes; Cultural and Creative Companies; Technology for Social Change. In the variety of the researched topics, a common trait can be found in the continuous need of updated ways of addressing complex problems. It is such need that drives the evolving boundaries of design research forward, not just within our Doctoral Programme, but within all the national and international Doctoral Programmes in Design we are acquainted with.

Advancements in Design Research

"In October 1998, on the occasion of the first conference on design education, Richard Buchanan, then Director of The School of Design at Carnegie Mellon University, envisioned doctoral education in Design as a ""neoteric enterprise"", aimed at finding novel ways of addressing the new problems, ""thereby creating a new body of learning and knowledge"". Twenty years after, these words can still be shared: the new problems affecting our globalised, bewildered and worried society are growing in numbers and in complexity, and novel ways of sorting them out are more sought-after than ever. The present book is part of a series that, since 2017, documents the production of the Politecnico di Milano Design Programme, presenting a summary of the doctoral theses defended each year. Eleven essays are here gathered into four sections: Design Education; Collaborative Processes; Cultural and Creative Companies; Technology for Social Change. In the variety of the researched topics, a common trait can be found in the continuous need of updated ways of addressing complex problems. It is such need that drives the evolving boundaries of design research forward, not just within our Doctoral Programme, but within all the national and international Doctoral Programmes in Design we are acquainted with.

Adipocentric origin of the common cardiometabolic complications of obesity in the young up to the very old: pathophysiology and new therapeutic opportunities

Obesity is a multifactorial chronic disease characterized by an excess of adipose tissue, affecting people of all ages. In the last 40 years, the incidence of overweight and obesity almost tripled worldwide. The accumulation of “visceral” adipose tissue increases with aging, leading to several cardio-metabolic consequences: from increased blood pressure to overt arterial hypertension, from insulin-resistance to overt type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), dyslipidemia, chronic kidney disease (CKD), and obstructive sleep apnea. The increasing use of innovative drugs, namely glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP1-RA) and sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2-i), is changing the management of obesity and its related cardiovascular complications significantly. These drugs, first considered only for T2DM treatment, are now used in overweight patients with visceral adiposity or obese patients, as obesity is no longer just a risk factor but a critical condition at the basis of common metabolic, cardiovascular, and renal diseases. An adipocentric vision and approach should become the cornerstone of visceral overweight and obesity integrated management and treatment, reducing and avoiding the onset of obesity-related multiple risk factors and their clinical complications. According to recent progress in basic and clinical research on adiposity, this narrative review aims to contribute to a novel clinical approach focusing on pathophysiological and therapeutic insights

Safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in patients on dialysis: a multicentre cohort study in Italy

Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines in patients undergoing haemodialysis in Italy compared to the general population.Methods In this cohort study, 118 dialysis centres from 18 Italian Regions participated. Individuals older than 16 years on dialysis treatment for at least 3 months, who provided informed consent were included. We collected demographic and clinical information, as well as data on vaccination status, hospitalisations, access to intensive care units and adverse events. We calculated the incidence, hospitalisation, mortality, and fatality rates in the vaccinated dialysis cohort, adjusted for several covariates. The incidence rates of infection in the dialysis cohort and the general population were compared through Standardised Incidence Rate Ratio.Results The study included 6555 patients vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 infection according to the schedule recommended in Italy. Between March 2021 and May 2022, there were 1096 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection, with an incidence rate after completion of the three-dose vaccination cycle of 37.7 cases per 100 person-years. Compared to the general population, we observed a 14% reduction in the risk of infection for patients who received three vaccine doses (Standardised Incidence Rate Ratio: 0.86; 95% Confidence Interval: 0.81-0.91), whereas no statistically significant differences were found for COVID-19-related hospitalisations, intensive care unit admissions or death. No safety signals emerged from the reported adverse events.Conclusions The vaccination program against SARS-CoV-2 in the haemodialysis population showed an effectiveness and safety profile comparable to that seen in the general population