688 research outputs found
Epidemiology, prevention and control of oral diseases in pediatric subjects
Caries and periodontal diseases are a neglected epidemic by millions of
Italians who suffer unnecessarily from them. Both diseases are preventable
and the combination of high prevalence, high morbidity and relative inattention
from the National Health Service (NHS), makes caries and periodontal
disease a significant public health problem. In this perspective, the World
Health Organization and the University of Milan have promoted a national
epidemiological study aimed at a sample of 4, 6 and 12-years-old students
from schools in the North, Central and South of Italy. The study provides for
the administration of a questionnaire to parents and a dental examination
carried out at school by dentists trained by the WHO.
In our town the epidemiological study planning and the survey were carried
out by professors of the School of Specialization in "Pediatric Dentistry"
(Prof. G. Giuliana and Prof. G. Pizzo) supported by specialist dentists from
the same School, calibrated according to the WHO methodology.
The survey was carried out between 2017 and 2019 involving 2701 children
attending schools in the 8 districts of the town.
The parents were sent a letter which explained the nature of the survey
and contained a pre-printed form for the issue of informed consent to participate
in the survey with a questionnaire regarding the family nuclear, the
oral hygiene and eating habits of the minor and the child's previous dental
experiences.
The ICDAS (International Caries Detection and Assessment System) was
used to detect the prevalence of carious lesions. The dentist used for each
child visited a dental mirror and the CPI (Community Periodontal Index)
index for periodontal assessment.
Preliminary results showed that 25.3% of 12-years-old students had gingival
bleeding and 41.1% had tartar.
The caries index (ICDAS) shows us that as early as 4 years, 20% of children
have initial carious lesions, 37% have dentine caries and that 34.38%
have highly destructive caries.
At 12 years, 34.95% had initial carious lesions, 46% had cavities that already
affected dentin and that 42.44% had highly destructive cavities.
The exigence to implement a program of prevention / early treatment of
caries/gingivitis in pediatric subjects living in Palermo, since the first months
of child's life, was born from the data analysis. The project "Un sorriso per
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tutti i bambini", carried out at the U.O. of "Pediatric Dentistry" of Policlinico
Paolo Giaccone in Palermo, was therefore finalised in order to
1) improve efficiency and effectiveness in the promotion of the oral health
of minors, through the creation of a preventive / assistance route of significant
social health impact;
2) assess the effectiveness of the preventive methodologies adopte
Parental perceptions of parent-therapist alliance and adolescent self-disclosure on the perceived efficacy of adolescent psychotherapy treatment
This quantitative study explored the impact of parental perceptions of adolescent therapy disclosures on parental perceptions of therapy and therapist. Questions examined were (1) whether parental perceptions of their adolescent\u27s therapy disclosures, parent-reported closeness, and parent-reported warmth differ as a function of adolescent age and parent gender and (2) if parent-therapist alliance ratings, parent-reported closeness, and parent-reported warmth were associated with parental perceptions of treatment efficacy, and if perceived disclosures moderated this association. Participants were 42 parents who had adolescents (ages 12 to 18) who attended outpatient psychotherapy for a minimum of 6 weeks. Demographic information and perceptions of adolescent therapy disclosures, treatment efficacy, therapeutic alliance, closeness, and warmth were reported in an anonymous online survey. Fathers perceived more closeness with older adolescents than younger adolescents. Therapeutic alliance was significantly associated with treatment efficacy for parents of both genders; disclosure moderated this association when therapeutic alliance was low. Findings indicate gender differences in parental perceptions of parent-adolescent relationships, and suggest adolescent disclosures moderate how parents form perceptions of therapy. Findings have implications for how social workers working with adolescents can balance the facilitation of a client\u27s autonomy with the parental involvement that is so crucial to the therapeutic process
Daytime sensible heat flux estimation over heterogeneous surfaces using multitemporal landâsurface temperature observations
Equations based on surface renewal (SR) analysis to estimate the sensible heat flux (H) require as input the mean ramp amplitude and period observed in the rampâlike pattern of the air temperature measured at high frequency. A SRâbased method to estimate sensible heat flux (HSRâLST) requiring only lowâfrequency measurements of the air temperature, horizontal mean wind speed, and landâsurface temperature as input was derived and tested under unstable conditions over a heterogeneous canopy (olive grove). HSRâLST assumes that the mean ramp amplitude can be inferred from the difference between landâsurface temperature and mean air temperature through a linear relationship and that the ramp frequency is related to a wind shear scale characteristic of the canopy flow. The landâsurface temperature was retrieved by integrating in situ sensing measures of thermal infrared energy emitted by the surface. The performance of HSRâLST was analyzed against flux tower measurements collected at two heights (close to and well above the canopy top). Crucial parameters involved in HSRâLST, which define the above mentioned linear relationship, were explained using the canopy height and the land surface temperature observed at sunrise and sunset. Although the olive grove can behave as either an isothermal or anisothermal surface, HSRâLST performed close to H measured using the eddy covariance and the Bowen ratio energy balance methods. Root mean square differences between HSRâLST and measured H were of about 55 W mâ2. Thus, by using multitemporal thermal acquisitions, HSRâLST appears to bypass inconsistency between land surface temperature and the mean aerodynamic temperature. The oneâsource bulk transfer formulation for estimating H performed reliable after calibration against the eddy covariance method. After calibration, the latter performed similar to the proposed SRâLST method.This research was funded by project CGL2012â37416âC04â01 and CGL2015â65627âC3â1âR (Ministerio de Ciencia y InnovaciĂłn of Spain), CEI Iberus, 2014 (Proyecto financiado por el Ministerio de EducaciĂłn en el marco del Programa Campus de Excelencia Internacional of Spain), and Ayuda para estancias en centros extranjeros (Ministerio de EducaciĂłn, Cultura y Deporte of Spain)
Coastal zone water quality: Calibration of a water-turbidity equation for MODIS data
A nephelometric turbidity algorithm has been specifically calibrated for coastal waters in Sicily. To this purpose, intensive field campaigns were performed in July, August and September 2008. Measurements were collected in situ in three different gulfs. Statistical analysis suggests that field data should be spatially grouped but temporally separated; hence, new calibration parameters have been proposed. Turbidity retrieved by applying the algorithm using literature coefficients and the ones calibrated in situ are shown and compared. The comparison demonstrated that a specific calibration was necessary for quantitatively monitoring turbidity in Sicilian gulfs
The classification of submerged vegetation using hyperspectral MIVIS data
The aim of this research is to use hyperspectral MIVIS data to map the Posidonia oceanica prairies in a coastal
lagoon (Stagnone di Marsala). It is approximately 12 km long and 2 km wide and is linked to the open sea by
two shallow openings. This environment is characterised by prairies of phanerogams, the most common of which
is Posidonia oceanica, an ideal habitat for numerous species of fish, molluscs and crustaceans. A knowledge of
the distribution of submerged vegetation is useful to monitor the health of the lagoon. In order to classify the
MIVIS imagery, the attenuation effects of the water column have been removed from the signal using Lyzengaâs
technique. A comparison between classifications using indices obtained using band pairs from only the first
spectrometer, and using band pairs of the first and second spectrometers, shows that the best classification is obtained
from some indices derived from the first spectrometer. Field controls carried out in July 2002 were used
to determine the training sites for the supervised classification. Twelve classes of bottom coverage were obtained
from the classification, of which four are homogeneous and eight are mixed coverage. The methodology applied
demonstrates that hyperspectral sensors can be used to effectively map submerged vegetation in shallow waters
Assessing actual evapotranspiration in irrigation districts using Landsat TM images and SEBAL model: Potential uses for irrigation monitoring
Satellite imagery allows the observation of large land stretches and the acquisition of worthwhile information that can be used efficaciously in agro-hydrologic systems. On the other hand, remotely sensed data coupled with energy balance models represent reliable tools to estimate actual evapotranspiration (ET).
Objective of the research was to propose a methodology to estimate ET by using Landsat TM images and surface energy balance, thus allowing the monitoring of current irrigation practices and/or possible vegetation stress.
The proposed methodology was applied in an irrigation district managed by \u201cConsorzio di Bonifica Agrigento 3\u201d, Castelvetrano, Sicily (Italy), in which water is distributed by a pressurized distribution network operating on-turn.
Satellite information retrieved by a set of Landsat TM images allowed to implement the surface energy balance model (SEBAL) in order to map the spatial distribution of instantaneous ET over two main crops (olives and grapevines), during irrigation seasons (from May to September) 2009 and 2010. These instantaneous values were then up-scaled to daily values based on the hypothesis of self-preservation of evaporative fraction. Finally, daily acquisitions were used to derive ET within longer time intervals, by assuming the by assuming proportionality to temporal dynamics of the reference evapotranspiration (ET0) computed using standard ground meteo-data.
With reference to the acquisition days, the comparison between SEBAL outputs and maximum daily crop evapotranspiration (ETc) estimated with the FAO 56 approach, showed notable stress levels for both the investigated crops, except for the images acquired in May, when significant rainfall occurred in both years. Moreover, measurements of eddy covariance fluxes collected by a tower located in the district within an olive orchard, evidenced the general reliability of daily ET retrieved by the model and consequently the validity of the self-preservation hypothesis applied to upscale instantaneous ET. Even if the applied methodology can be considered a valuable tool to monitor irrigation practices, the availability of cloud-free satellite images, as well as the temporal frequency of sensing, are critical issues for the proposed applications
A Review of Selected Applications of GNSS CORS and Related Experiences at the University of Palermo (Italy)
Services from the Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) of the Global Navigation
Satellite System (GNSS) provide data and insights to a range of research areas such as physical
sciences, engineering, earth and planetary sciences, computer science, and environmental science.
Even though these fields are varied, they are all linked through the GNSS operational application.
GNSS CORS have historically been deployed for three-dimensional positioning but also for the
establishment of local and global reference systems and the measurement of ionospheric and tropospheric
errors. In addition to these studies, CORS is uncovering new, emerging scientific applications.
These include real-time monitoring of land subsidence via network real-time kinematics (NRTK) or
precise point positioning (PPP), structural health monitoring (SHM), earthquake and volcanology
monitoring, GNSS reflectometry (GNSS-R) for mapping soil moisture content, precision farming with
affordable receivers, and zenith total delay to aid hydrology and meteorology. The flexibility of CORS
infrastructure and services has paved the way for new research areas. The aim of this study is to
present a curated selection of scientific papers on prevalent topics such as network monitoring, reference
frames, and structure monitoring (like dams), along with an evaluation of CORS performance.
Concurrently, it reports on the scientific endeavours undertaken by the Geomatics Research Group at
the University of Palermo in the realm of GNSS CORS over the past 15 years
Using very high resolution (VHR) imagery within a GEOBIA framework for gully mapping: An application to the Calhoun Critical Zone Observatory
Gully erosion is a form of accelerated erosion that may affect soil productivity, restrict land use, and lead to an increase of risk to infrastructure. Accurate mapping of these landforms can be difficult because of the presence of dense canopy and/or the wide spatial extent of some gullies. Even where possible, mapping of gullies through conventional field surveying can be an intensive and expensive activity. The recent widespread availability of very high resolution (VHR) imagery has led to remarkable growth in the availability of terrain information, thus providing a basis for the development of new methodologies for analyzing Earthâs surfaces. This work aims to develop a geographic object-based image analysis to detect and map gullies based on VHR imagery. A 1-meter resolution LIDAR DEM is used to identify gullies. The tool has been calibrated for two relatively large gullies surveyed in the Calhoun Critical Zone Observatory (CCZO) area in the southeastern United States. The developed procedure has been applied and tested on a greater area, corresponding to the Holcombeâs Branch watershed within the CCZO. Results have been compared to previous works conducted over the same area, demonstrating the consistency of the developed procedure
Behavioural disorders in children and adolescents: A conceptual review about the therapeutic alliance with family and school
Aim: In disruptive behavioral disorders, given the wide range of symptomatic manifestations and the complexity of the sociofamiliar contexts in which they develop, it is now proven that more visible and more stable results can be achieved over time through multimodal and multidimensional interventions. These are accomplished through the integration of psychotherapeutic interventions for the child and parents, counseling interventions for all the various practitioners who come into contact with the child in school, sports, and social settings, through the possibility of organizing multiple settings in patient can be followed by several health professionals such as child and adolescent neuropsychiatrist, neuropsychomotricist, occupation therapist, psychologist
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