Progettazione Ecologica delle Infrastrutture di Trasporto

Il sistema dei trasporti odierno non \ue8 sostenibile. Il traffico consuma pi\uf9 energia di quanto siamo in grado di produrre; milioni di veicoli inquinano l\u2019aria ed il suolo con emissioni nocive e rilasciano gas climalteranti nell\u2019atmosfera. Ogni anno il traffico stradale e ferroviario uccide centinaia di milioni di uccelli, mammiferi, rettili, anfibi e invertebrati, deteriorando habitat naturali e culturali di valore attraverso il disturbo e l\u2019inquinamento. Le infrastrutture di trasporto occupano una parte crescente del nostro paesaggio, imponendo barriere ai movimenti di molte -forse gran parte- delle specie terrestri, e facilitano la diffusione delle specie invasive. Complessivamente, gli impatti negativi sono ben studiati e documentati, e possono essere ridotti attraverso adeguate misure di mitigazione e compensazione, ed in parte perfino evitati da una opportuna pianificazione. Nel corso degli ultimi decenni, \ue8 stata raccolta una mole considerevole di conoscenze ed esperienze pratiche sulle diverse opzioni di miglioramento. Per\uf2 non sempre queste acquisizioni sono facilmente accessibili, poich\ue9 possono riguardare progetti locali di singoli ingegneri e progettisti, e raramente vengono pubblicate su riviste scientifiche. IENE, Infra Eco Network Europe, \ue8 stata promossa come rete per costituire un forum di scambio delle conoscenze tra professionisti di diversi paesi e discipline. Dal momento in cui sia i problemi che le soluzioni sono molto simili nell\u2019ambito dei paesi Europei, sarebbe insensato non condividere le esperienze e le risorse disponibili. IENE cerca di fare questo organizzando convegni internazionali periodici, workshop e seminari, coordinando progetti comuni quali l\u2019azione COST 341 ed il suo prodotto, l\u2019Handbook su \u201cwildlife and traffic\u201d pubblicato nel 2003. Per maggiori informazioni \ue8 possibile consultare il sito web www.IENE.info. Dopo il 2003, diversi paesi hanno adottato l\u2019Handbook applicandolo al proprio contesto nazionale. Ma dal momento in cui si stanno sviluppando nuove conoscenze, le linee-guida devono essere revisionate e migliorate. Questo nuovo manuale fornisce una panoramica aggiornata sulle misure di mitigazione e compensazione che possono aiutare a rimediare gli impatti negativi del sistema dei trasporti. Non da ultimo, promuove il potenziale habitat infrastrutturale allo scopo di provvedere agli importanti servizi ecosistemici ed alla protezione della biodiversit\ue0. Inoltre il manuale mostra che l\u2019integrazione di una consapevolezza ecologica nella progettazione delle infrastrutture di trasporto \ue8 pienamente possibile e perfino vantaggiosa dal punto di vista della societ\ue0 umana. Solo un sistema di trasporti ben integrato e bilanciato con i bisogni ambientali, economici e sociali pu\uf2 diventare un futuro punto di riferimento culturale, piuttosto che essere un fardello per le prossime generazioni

School attainments in children with congenital hypothyroidism detected by neonatal screening and treated early in life

Objective: Evaluation of school attainments in children with congenital hypothyroidism (CH) detected by neonatal screening and treated early in life, Patients and methods: Text comprehension, mathematics, reading, writing and verbal and spatial memory, as indices of school learning, were evaluated in nineteen 5- to 10-year-old children with CH attending nursery or elementary school. L-Thyroxine substitution (starting dose 8-10 mu g/kg body weight per day) was initiated at a mean age of 30 +/- 10 days of life, The control group included 298 unaffected children matched with the CH children for age and school grade. Thirty per cent of controls were classmates of CH children. Intelligence quotients (IQ), language performances and motor development were evaluated in CH children at age 5 years, and were related to their school attainments. School performances of CH children were also compared with their neonatal serum thyroxine (T-4) concentration, and with the social-cultural level of the family. Results: Four out of 19 (21%) children with CH, 3 in the nursery and 1 in the elementary school, displayed a generalized learning disorder. Symbol copy, geometric copy phrase repetition, dictation writing and spontaneous writing were particularly defective in nursery school CH children, while orthographic error recognition was defective in elementary school CH children. School learning disorders in CH children were significantly correlated with a borderline-low IQ, poor language performances and a low social-cultural level of the family, but not with motor skills or neonatal T-4 concentration. Conclusion: School attainments of early treated CH children were within the normal range in most affected cases. However, about 20% of CH children, most of them attending nursery school, showed a generalized learning disorder. Low IQ scores and poor language performances at age 5 pears were associated with defective learning, mainly in CH children living in a poor social-cultural environment. In this subset of CH children, prompt initiation of speech and psychomotor rehabilitation therapy is recommended in order to prevent subsequent school learning disorders

Neuropsychological development in a child with early-treated congenital hypothyroidism as compared with her unaffected identical twin.

OBJECTIVE: Neonatal screening for congenital hypothyroidism (CH) prevents the serious neuropsychological features of CH, but the question remains whether intelligence and motor skills of CH children treated early are completely normal. DESIGN: In this report we describe the rare case of two genetically identical twins, only one of whom was affected by CH due to thyroid agenesis. L-Thyroxine (9 microg/kg body weight/day) therapy was initiated at 27 days of age and was adequate throughout the follow-up. METHODS: Neuropsychological evaluation was performed on the twins in parallel from 3 months to 8 years of age. RESULTS: The CH twin (NB) did not show major neuromotor impairments but, compared with the unaffected twin (EB), she had a slight delay in postural/motor achievements and in language development that completely disappeared at 8 years of age. On standardised tests of intelligence, NB was indistinguishable from control children but, compared with her twin, she had lower IQ scores in most testing occasions up to 7 years of age (NB = 108 vs EB = 115). School achievements of NB did not significantly differ from those of her classmates but, compared with her twin, she scored worse in writing, mechanical reading, verbal memory, and possibly in arithmetic. CONCLUSIONS: Because the twins were genetically and phenotypically identical, were raised in the same environment, and received a similar education, it is concluded that hypothyroidism in utero and in the first neonatal month was responsible for the lower neuropsychological achievements of the CH twin. While foetal hypothyroidism is at present unavoidable, earlier diagnosis and initiation of treatment in neonates with CH are important and highly recommended