Human variation in the shape of the birth canal is significant and geographically structured.

The human birth canal shows a tight fit with the size of the neonate, which can lead to obstetric complications. This is not the case in other apes, and has been explained as the outcome of conflicting evolutionary pressures for bipedal locomotion and parturition of a highly encephalized fetus. Despite the suggested evolutionary constraints on the female pelvis, we show that women are, in fact, extremely variable in the shape of the bony birth canal, with human populations having differently shaped pelvic canals. Neutral evolution through genetic drift and differential migration are largely responsible for the observed pattern of morphological diversity, which correlates well with neutral genetic diversity. Climatic adaptation might have played a role, albeit a minor one, with populations from colder regions showing a more transversally oval shape of the canal inlet. The significant extent of canal shape variation among women from different regions of the world has important implications for modern obstetric practice in multi-ethnic societies, as modern medical understanding has been largely developed on studies of European women

Passive smoking indicators in Italy: does the gross domestic product matter?

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to analyse the correlation between regional values of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and passive smoking in Italy. METHODS: The outcome measures were smoking ban respect in public places, workplaces and at home, derived from the PASSI surveillance for the period 2011⁻2017. The explanatory variable was GDP per capita. The statistical analysis was carried out using bivariate and linear regression analyses, taking into consideration two different periods, Years 2011⁻2014 and 2014⁻2017. RESULTS: GDP is showed to be positively correlated with smoking ban respect in public places (r = 0.779 p < 0.001; r = 0.723 p < 0.001 in the two periods, respectively), as well as smoking ban respect in the workplace (r = 0.662 p = 0.001; r = 0.603 p = 0.004) and no smoking at home adherence (r = 0.424 p = 0.056; r = 0.362 p = 0.107). In multiple linear regression GDP is significantly associated to smoking ban respect in public places (adjusted β = 0.730 p < 0.001; β = 0.698 p < 0.001 in the two periods, respectively), smoking ban in workplaces (adjusted β = 0.525 p = 0.020; β = 0.570 p = 0.009) and no smoking at home (adjusted β = 0.332 p = 0.070; β = 0.362 p = 0.052). CONCLUSIONS: Smoking ban is more respected in Regions with higher GDP. For a better health promotion, systematic vigilance and sanctions should be maintained and strengthened, particularly in regions with low compliance with smoking bans

Comparative ergonomic evaluation of the hand-pieces of three instrument series for root planning

Introduction: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are the most frequent cause of disability in the working population, exceeding accidental trauma in frequency. The risk of developing work-related upper limb disorders (WURLDs) is high among dental hygienists and the most frequently affected are elderly subjects and women. Since such disorders can have a negative effect on the working life and on the quality of life, it is of vital importance to put in place preventive measures. Aim: To make a comparative analysis of the hand-pieces of three different manual instruments used for root planning. Materials and Methods: To evaluate the physical characteristics (section, diameter, external surface, weight) of the hand-pieces of three series of instruments for root planning, twentynine dental hygienists students were videoed while working clinically. They were also interviewed using a specific questionnaire to determine subjective preferences in terms of perceived efficacy, safety, comfort and general acceptability of the hand-piece used. Results: Lightness, full-cylindrical section with larger- diameter ends, and coating with anti-slip silicone are the most appreciated characteristics of a handpiece. Conclusions: Ergonomic analyses of manual instruments are not frequent in the dental field, and the literature reports no guidelines to guide selection of the type of hand-piece of manual instruments. The data gathered may help manufacturers in designing new manual instruments, and guiding professionals in their selection

Il “paziente inglese”: La responsabilità penale nel settore sanitario nel Regno Unito

RiassuntoIl contributo traccia, innanzitutto, una breve panoramica dell’evoluzione e dell’assetto attuale del sistema sanitario nel Regno Unito, al fine di evidenziarne le indubbie peculiarità rispetto a quello nostrano. Successivamente l’attenzione è rivolta alla disciplina della malpractice in ambito civilerisarcitorio e, soprattutto, penale. La disamina, allora, condurrà alla conclusione che la forte limitazione della medical liability che si registra, in entrambe le suddette proiezioni, in questo Paese possa influire negativamente sui livelli qualitativi e l’efficienza del NHS, che non risultano particolarmente elevati. L’obiettivo del saggio è quello di fornire, dunque, spunti di riflessione in ordine all’opportunità, rispetto all’esigenza di tutelare la sicurezza delle cure, di riforme che in Italia da tempo molti invocano ai fini di un sensibile ridimensionamento della responsabilità penale degli operatori sanitari (specie facendo ricorso al paradigma della “colpa grave”) o, in linea opposta, in ordine all’introduzione di una responsabilità da reato della struttura sanitaria, per eventi avversi occorsi al paziente, prevista, per l’appunto, nel Regno Unito.AbstractFirst, the paper develops a brief overview of the evolution and current structure of the NHS, to highlight its undoubted peculiarities compared to ours. Subsequently, attention is paid to the consequences of malpractice in the civil-compensatory and, above all, criminal fields. This to highlight how the strong limitation of medical liability that is recorded, in both projections, in this Country can affect the quality levels and efficiency of the healthcare offer. The objective, then, is also to provide elements in the perspective of evaluating the opportunity, with respect to the need to protect the safety of treatments, of reforms that many in Italy have long been calling for the purpose of significantly reducing the criminal liability of healthcare workers (especially through the paradigm of gross negligence), or, instead, to introduce corporate liability for malpractice

In Vitro Reconstructed Human Epithelial Models for Microbial Infection Research: Why Do We Need them?

In the last 50 years, the Replacement, Reduction and Refinement principles have become a framework for conducting high quality academic, pre-clinical, clinical and industrial research experimentation studies, in order to respond to the European Union legislative demand of alternatives to animal-based experimentation, often difficult to translate to human applications, expensive and not ethically approved. Thanks to the improvement of cellular isolation protocols, culture and co-culture conditions, together with the increased clinical demand, several novel in vitro three-dimensional tissue engineered human epithelial models, able to create sophisticate pre-clinical tests and produce results more reliable than the traditional bi-dimensional flat cell culture systems, have been developing also for microbial infection research purposes

Laboratorio de materiales cerámicos estructurales. División cerámicos-INTEMA

Se presentan la localización geográfica, organización,actividades y facilidades de la División Cerámicos del INTEMA y, en particular, del Laboratorio de materiales cerámicos estructurales. Se incluyen las principales líneas de investigación: cerámicos para electrónica, biocerámicos, cerámicos estructurales, mecanoquímica, recubrimientos.Fil: Camerucci, Maria Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Tomba Martinez, Analia Gladys. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Cavalieri, Ana Lia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; Argentin

Screening of Indigenous Microorganisms as Potential Biofertilisers for Periurban Horticulture Areas

In Buenos Aires periurban area, horticultural practices are one of the most important activities. Pesticides and fertilisers are used without any control to cover the farmers´ needs, obtaining high crop yields at short terms and modifying soil ecosystem in the long term. The aim of this work was to isolate indigenous strains from periurban horticultural units with pesticide degrading capacity and to evaluate their plant growth-promoting properties in order to design biofertilisers to be applied in the restoration of these exploited soils. After the screening, eight strains were isolated and identified. They showed not only the capacity to produce indole-3- acetic acid, to fix nitrogen, to secrete siderophores and to solubilise calcium phosphate but also tolerated the mixture of pesticides usually used for horticultural practices. By their behaviour in mixed cultures and plant growth-promoting properties, these autochthonous isolates represent a promising alternative as biofertilisers according to soil type and activity.Fil: Querejeta, Giselle Andrea. Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento. Instituto de Ciencias. Área de Química; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Rossi, Leticia. Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento. Instituto de Ciencias. Área de Química; ArgentinaFil: Monroy, Andrea Micaela. Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento. Instituto de Ciencias. Área de Química; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Raiger Iustman, Laura Judith. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Biológica; ArgentinaFil: Vullo, Diana Lia. Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento. Instituto de Ciencias. Área de Química; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Nano-topography and functionalization with the synthetic peptoid GN2-Npm9 as a strategy for antibacterial and biocompatible titanium implants

In recent years, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have attracted great interest in scientific research, especially for biomedical applications such as drug delivery and orthopedic applications. Since they are readily degradable in the physiological environment, scientific research has recently been trying to make AMPs more stable. Peptoids are synthetic N-substituted glycine oligomers that mimic the structure of peptides. They have a structure that does not allow proteolytic degradation, which makes them more stable while maintaining microbial activity. This structure also brings many advantages to the molecule, such as greater diversity and specificity, making it more suitable for biological applications. For the first time, a synthesized peptoid (GN2-Npm9) was used to functionalize a nanometric chemically pre-treated (CT) titanium surface for bone-contact implant applications. A preliminary characterization of the functionalized surfaces was performed using the contact angle measurements and zeta potential titration curves. These preliminary analyses confirmed the presence of the peptoid and its adsorption on CT. The functionalized surface had a hydrophilic behaviour (contact angle = 30°) but the hydrophobic tryptophan-like residues were also exposed. An electrostatic interaction between the lysine residue of GN2-Npm9 and the surface allowed a chemisorption mechanism. The biological characterization of the CT_GN2-Nmp9 surfaces demonstrated the ability to prevent surface colonization and biofilm formation by the pathogens Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus epidermidis thus showing a broad-range activity. The cytocompatibility was confirmed by human mesenchymal stem cells. Finally, a bacteria-cells co-culture model was applied to demonstrate the selective bioactivity of the CT_GN2-Nmp9 surface that was able to preserve colonizing cells adhered to the device surface from bacterial infection

Stress detection in computer users from keyboard and mouse dynamics

Detecting stress in computer users, while technically challenging, is of the utmost importance in the workplace, especially now that remote working scenarios are becoming ubiquitous. In this context, cost-effective, subject-independent systems are needed that can be embedded in consumer devices and classify users' stress in a reliable and unobtrusive fashion. Leveraging keyboard and mouse dynamics is particularly appealing in this context as it exploits readily available sensors. However, available studies are mostly performed in laboratory conditions, and there is a lack of on-field investigations in closer-to-real-world settings. In this study, keyboard and mouse data from 62 volunteers were experimentally collected in-the-wild using a purpose-built Web application, designed to induce stress by asking each subject to perform 8 computer tasks under different stressful conditions. The application of Multiple Instance Learning (MIL) to Random Forest (RF) classification allowed the devised system to successfully distinguish 3 stress-level classes from keyboard (76% accuracy) and mouse (63% accuracy) data. Classifiers were further evaluated via confusion matrix, precision, recall, and F1-score