Rituali civici a Siena in età medievale. Ipotesi sulla processione dei ceri e dei censi come elemento aggregante della compagine territoriale (secoli XII-XIV)

Sulla base di numerosi riferimenti documentari, il saggio analizza l'evoluzione e i vari significati della processione dell'offerta di ceri e censi alla cattedrale senese in età basso medievale, valutandone gli aspetti antropologici

La cathédrale comme « produit du terroir ». Ressources naturelles et matières premières dans la construction de la cathédrale de Sienne : choix et approvisionnements (xiiie-xive siècles)

Cette contribution entend révéler les liens étroits entre le chantier de la cathédrale de Sienne et les ressources naturelles ou les matières premières des espaces qui entourent la cité. À l’état brut ou semi-travaillé, la pierre, la chaux, le plâtre, l’argile, les marbres et le travertin, le sable, l’eau, le bois et différents métaux furent utilisés pour la réalisation d’un édifice monumental qui, sur le plan de la culture matérielle, peut apparaître comme « un produit du terroir ».This article discusses the close links that existed between the construction site of the cathedral of Sienna and the natural resources and raw materials out of the nearby countryside. Stone, lime, gypsum, clay, different kinds of marble, travertine, sand, water, wood and many metals were used as raw or half-worked material for the erection of a monumental edifice which, in terms of material culture, can be analysed as a “product from the terroir”

Accounting and the management of internal interdependencies: 14th century archival sources from the Comune of Siena

The aim of this study is to explore the role that accounting systems effectively played in managing the internal relationships among the various administrative bodies of the Comune (City State) of Siena in the 14th century. This period was characterized by an ever increasing need to monitor economic activities, a need perceived by the Comune with regard to all those who were entrusted with the management of public funds. In particular, in 1358 an office was created specifically to review the accounts of the camarlenghi (who were in charge of the management of public funds) nominated by the Comune of Siena. The office was originally staffed by three temporary Riveditori (auditors) and later by a permanent commission of Regolatori (regulators). On the basis of archival sources, so abundant on 14th century Siena, this paper analyses the changing relationships among the various administrative bodies of the Comune, in particular detail the Gabella generale and the Biccherna (which were the offices in charge of managing the main cash inflows and outflows pertaining to the administration of the Comune) and the activities of the Regolatori. By interpreting accounting systems as a set of rules (i.e., the formalised statements of procedures), roles (the network of social positions), and routines (the practices habitually in use), the present study shows that, since the Middle Ages, accounting has played a central role in the management of internal interdependencies and in the construction of organisational order. In the case of the Comune in the 14th century, accounting practices were capable of regulating, legitimising and balancing relations of power, dependency and autonomy among the different bodies of the same organisation

Impact assessment of an educational course on vaccinations in a population of medical students

The inadequate formation and knowledge about vaccinations of healthcare workers, including doctors, has certainly contributed to the spread of the vaccine hesitancy in recent years. Therefore, it is essential to improve the level of knowledge of future doctors so that they can deal with any hesitation within the population in order to increase the vaccination coverage. The aim of the study is to evaluate the impact of a course about vaccination on the knowledge of medical students. In order to evaluate the efficacy of a certain lecture about vaccinations on medical students, they were asked to complete an anonymous questionnaire before and after the seminar. The two questionnaires contained the same 10 questions regarding knowledge and attitudes about vaccines. Only the students who had attended the lecture were allowed to complete the post-lecture questionnaire. The students could fulfil the questionnaires through the learning management system (LMS) called ‘Moodle’. A descriptive statistical analysis of the data collected through the comparative evaluation of the answers before and after the seminar was performed. The seminar aroused much interest among the students: 100 of them completed the pre-lecture questionnaire and 81 of them completed the post-lecture questionnaire. The results show a positive impact of the seminar, especially about some specific themes: knowledge of the students on the indication of the MPR vaccine strongly improved after the seminar, the number of students who would recommend vaccination for pertussis and influenza during pregnancy increased by 37% and 19% respectively after the seminar, and those aware of the need for Herpes Zoster vaccination over the age of 65 increased by 22%. For future doctors, a thorough knowledge about vaccinations is increasingly required in order to deal with vaccine hesitancy. It is, therefore, important for them to get the opportunity to develop a mastery over these topics. An extracurricular seminar about vaccines, provided in the second half of the course of study, can have a highly positive impact and could stimulate the future healthcare personnel to improve their knowledge on vaccination

IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF AN EDUCATION COURSE ON VACCINATIONS IN A POPULATION OF PREGNANT WOMEN

BackgroundAlthough benefits of vaccinations have been extensively demonstrated, poor knowledge of the population has resulted in non-optimal vaccine coverage as a result of the hesitancy and negative perception of many parents toward vaccination. Materials and MethodsTo assess the impact of a course on the knowledge and attitudes of future mothers on vaccination, 214 pregnant women participated in a research project undertaken at the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department of the Careggi University Hospital in Florence (Italy). This involved completion of anonymous questionnaires administered before and after the intervention. A descriptive and statistical analysis was carried out on the results of the collected data by performing comparative evaluations of the responses obtained before and after the intervention. ResultsThere was good adherence to the initiative (98%): the sample population was initially not hostile to vaccines, albeit poorly or insufficiently informed (43%). The educational intervention had a positive impact, especially as a vaccine information tool and for correctly addressing the vaccine hesitancy. After the intervention, women who considered their level of knowledge about vaccines as poor or insufficient were reduced by 30% and the "hesitant" ones were reduced with respect to all aspects of the study, especially about the decision to be vaccinated during pregnancy. ConclusionsHesitancy finds its roots in the absence of accurate information. Healthcare professionals need to improve their communication skills. Competent education delivered during pregnancy, when women are more receptive, may have a highly positive impact. These observations will have to be considered in the planning of delivery preparation courses

EVN observations of H2O masers towards high-mass star forming regions

We have conducted Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations of the 22.2 GHz water masers towards three massive star forming regions. With three observing epochs, few distinct maser features were detected for each source. For features persistent in time, accurate values of the proper motions are derived. A preliminary analysis indicates that the kinematics traced by water masers is consistent with expanding motions, possibly driven by wide-angle winds

Multi-Maser VLBI structure of the high-mass SFR G16.59-0.05

In the following we summarize our results based on multi-epoch, phase referenced, Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations of maser associations towards the high-mass Star Forming Region (SFR) G16.59-0.05. We observed H2O 22.2 GHz (4 epochs) and OH 1.6 GHz (1 epoch) masers using the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), and 3 epochs of CH3OH 6.7 GHz masers with the European VLBI Network (EVN). This source is part of a sample that we are studying aiming to better constraint the process of Massive Star Formation (MSF). Maser emission in high-mass SFRs is associated with the earliest evolutionary stages of massive star formation (e.g. [3]). In particular, different maser species appear to trace distinct environments (e.g. [6]). Using single-epoch VLBI observations it is possible to derive the absolute position and the line of sight (L.O.S.) velocity of the maser spots. Furthermore, multi-epoch VLBI experiments allow us to derive the proper motion of such spots, i.e. to determine the 3-D kinematics of the innermost gas around the associated Young Stellar Objects (YSOs). The synergy between interferometric observations of thermal lines and VLBI observations of maser transitions allows us to investigate the SFR environment on scales ranging from the parsec scale to a few AU

Predictors of Influenza Vaccination Uptake and the Role of Health Literacy among Health and Social Care Volunteers in the Province of Prato (Italy)

Annual influenza vaccination is recommended for volunteers involved in primary health and social services. Little is known about the volunteers’ adhesion to influenza vaccination recommendations. The aim of this study was to assess influenza vaccination determinants among a group of volunteers who provided essential activities during the first SARS-CoV-2 pandemic wave in the province of Prato, Tuscany (Italy) and to evaluate the role of health literacy in influencing vaccination determinants. Method: In this cross-sectional study, the predictors of influenza vaccination uptake were assessed through the administration of a questionnaire. Variables significantly associated with influenza vaccination uptake were included in five multivariate logistic regression models through a backward stepwise procedure. Results: Among the 502 enrolled volunteers, 24.3% reported being vaccinated in the 2019–2020 season. Vaccination uptake was 48.8% in participants aged 65 years or older and 15.7% in those aged 64 years or younger. Considering the whole sample in the final model of multivariate logistic regression analysis, the predictors of influenza vaccination uptake were age (OR = 1.05; 95% CI = 1.03–1.07), presence of heart diseases (OR = 2.98; 95% CI = 1.24–7.19), pulmonary diseases (OR = 6.18; 95% CI = 2.01–19.04) and having undergone surgery under general anesthesia in the prior year (OR = 3.14; 95% CI = 1.23–8.06). In the multivariate model considering only participants with a sufficient level of health literacy (HL), none of these predictors resulted in significant associations with vaccination uptake, except for age (OR= 1.04; 95% CI = 1.02–1.07). Conclusions: Our findings revealed a very low influenza vaccination uptake among volunteers, suggesting the need to increase awareness in this at-risk group by means of a better communication approach

Towards coordinated site monitoring and common strategies for mitigation of Radio Frequency Interference at the Italian radio telescopes

We present a project to implement a national common strategy for the mitigation of the steadily deteriorating Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) situation at the Italian radio telescopes. The project involves the Medicina, Noto, and Sardinia dish antennas and comprised the definition of a coordinated plan for site monitoring as well as the implementation of state-of-the-art hardware and software tools for RFI mitigation. Coordinated monitoring of frequency bands up to 40 GHz has been performed by means of continuous observations and dedicated measurement campaigns with fixed stations and mobile laboratories. Measurements were executed on the frequency bands allocated to the radio astronomy and space research service for shared or exclusive use and on the wider ones employed by the current and under-development receivers at the telescopes. Results of the monitoring campaigns provide a reference scenario useful to evaluate the evolution of the interference situation at the telescopes sites and a case series to test and improve the hardware and software tools we conceived to counteract radio frequency interference. We developed a multi-purpose digital backend for high spectral and time resolution observations over large bandwidths. Observational results demonstrate that the spectrometer robustness and sensitivity enable the efficient detection and analysis of interfering signals in radio astronomical data. A prototype off-line software tool for interference detection and flagging has been also implemented. This package is capable to handle the huge amount of data delivered by the most modern instrumentation on board of the Italian radio telecsopes, like dense focal plane arrays, and its modularity easen the integration of new algorithms and the re-usability in different contexts or telescopes.Comment: 39 pages, 10 Figures and 7 Tables. INAF Technical Report n. 149 (2022). http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12386/3208