How socio-institutional contexts and cultural worldviews relate to COVID-19 acceptance rates: A representative study in Italy

Rationale Despite its importance to counter the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccination has raised hesitation in large segments of the population. This hesitation makes it important to understand the mechanisms underlying vaccine acceptance. To this end, the study adopts the Semiotic Cultural Psychology Theory, holding that social behaviors – and therefore, vaccination acceptance – depend on the cultural meanings in terms of which people interpret the social world. Objective The study aims at estimating the impact a) of the way people interpret the socio-institutional context of the pandemic and b) of the underlying cultural worldviews on vaccine acceptance. More particularly, the study tested the three following hypotheses. a) The meanings grounding the interpretation of the socio-institutional framework – that is, trust in institutions and political values – are an antecedent of vaccination acceptance. b) The impact of these meanings is moderated by the cultural worldviews (operationalized as symbolic universes). And c), the magnitude of the symbolic universes’ moderator effect depends on the uncertainty to which the respondent is exposed. The exposure to uncertainty was estimated in terms of socioeconomic status – the lower the status, the high the exposure to uncertainty. Methods An Italian representative sample (N = 3020) completed a questionnaire, measuring vaccination acceptance, the meanings attributed to the socio-institutional context – that is, political values and trust in institutions – and symbolic universes. Results The findings were consistent with the hypotheses. a) Structural equation modelling proved that vaccine acceptance was predicted by trust in institutions. b) Multigroup analysis revealed that symbolic universes moderated the correlation between trust in institutions and vaccine acceptance. And c), the moderation effect of symbolic universes proved to occur only in the segment of lower socio-economic status (i.e., the group exposed to higher uncertainty). Conclusions Vaccination acceptance is not only a medical issue; it is also dependent upon the rationalization of the socio-institutional context. Implications for the promotion of vaccination acceptance are discussed

Processing and Quality Guidelines for Organic Food Processing

ForewordThese guidelines on quality and processing of organic foods have been prepared as part of the Core Organic Plus funded project “SusOrganic - Development of quality standards and optimi-sed processing methods for organic produce”. They intend to support actors in the organic food processing sector to simultaneously increase resource efficiency and product quality of their produce by providing deeper insights in raw material, process and product relevant aspects. The main focus of the presented work lies on the preservation of fruits, herbs, vegetables, fish and meat by the means of drying and chilling/freezing. THE AIMS OF THESE GUIDELINES ARE TO PROVIDE THE PROCESSORS WITH: • Drying related aspects • A deeper understanding for naturally occurring heterogeneities in raw materials and their impact on drying characteristics • Information on the impact of pre-treatment and holding time between preparation and drying on the resulting product quality • Information on the impact of drying and the related process settings on product quality • Information on improved drying strategies and process control concepts • Best practice examples for processing • Best practice based on LCA and LCCA • Food drying and related food logistics • Chilling and Freezing related aspects • General aspects of superchilling • Superchilling for organic meat and fish • Effects of freezing and freezing rate on organic fruit

The ALLgorithMM: How to define the hemodilution of bone marrow samples in lymphoproliferative diseases

IntroductionMinimal residual disease (MRD) is commonly assessed in bone marrow (BM) aspirate. However, sample quality can impair the MRD measurement, leading to underestimated residual cells and to false negative results. To define a reliable and reproducible method for the assessment of BM hemodilution, several flow cytometry (FC) strategies for hemodilution evaluation have been compared. MethodsFor each BM sample, cells populations with a well-known distribution in BM and peripheral blood - e.g., mast cells (MC), immature (IG) and mature granulocytes (N) - have been studied by FC and quantified alongside the BM differential count. ResultsThe frequencies of cells' populations were correlated to the IG/N ratio, highlighting a mild correlation with MCs and erythroblasts (R=0.25 and R=0.38 respectively, with p-value=0.0006 and 0.0000052), whereas no significant correlation was found with B or T-cells. The mild correlation between IG/N, erythroblasts and MCs supported the combined use of these parameters to evaluate BM hemodilution, hence the optimization of the ALLgorithMM. Once validated, the ALLgorithMM was employed to evaluate the dilution status of BM samples in the context of MRD assessment. Overall, we found that 32% of FC and 52% of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) analyses were MRD negative in samples resulted hemodiluted (HD) or at least mildly hemodiluted (mHD). ConclusionsThe high frequency of MRD-negative results in both HD and mHD samples implies the presence of possible false negative MRD measurements, impairing the correct assessment of patients' response to therapy and highlighs the importance to evaluate BM hemodilution

Efficacy and safety of immunotherapy added to standard-of-care therapy for newly diagnosed Multiple Myeloma patients eligible to high-dose chemotherapy

Lo scenario terapeutico del Mieloma Multiplo (MM) si è ampiamente evoluto nelle ultime decadi con l’introduzione di un numero sempre maggiore di combinazioni di nuovi farmaci molto efficaci. In tal contesto, spicca Daratumumab (dara), grazie ai suoi dati di efficacia e di sicurezza dimostrati sia nel setting del paziente ricaduto/refrattario che di nuova diagnosi. Lo scopo del presente studio è quello di aggiungere dati circa la combinazione di dara con la terapia standard nel contesto di un programma trapiantologico per pazienti di nuova diagnosi candidabili alla chemioterapia ad alte dosi, con un particolare focus sull’impatto dell’anticorpo monoclonale sulla raccolta delle cellule staminali (PBSC). Sono stati analizzati 41 pazienti trattati presso il nostro centro nell’ambito di due studi clinici (EMN17 e EMN18). Con un follow-up mediano pari a 19 mesi, dara aggiunto alla terapia standard ha dimostrato un’ottima efficacia, in termini di risposte profonde e sopravvivenza libera da malattia, ed un buon profilo di sicurezza, senza tossicità aggiuntive o inaspettate. Inoltre, nello studio registrativo CASSIOPEIA dara non ha avuto un impatto negativo sulla raccolta delle PBSC; infatti, nei pazienti sottoposti a dara il numero il numero mediano di PBSC raccolte è risultato inferiore e questi hanno necessitato più frequentemente di Plerixafor, senza, tuttavia, modifiche nell’iter trapiantologico rispetto al gruppo di controllo. Analogamente, nella nostra analisi i pazienti del gruppo dara hanno utilizzato maggiormente Plerixafor ed è emerso come questi possano beneficiare da un dosaggio maggiore di Ciclofosfamide mobilizzante (3 g/mq rispetto 2 g/mq). Durante lo svolgimento del presente progetto dara è stato approvato in pratica clinica prima in Europa (2020) e poi in Italia (2021). Il presente studio ha confermato come dara aggiunto ad un regime di induzione Bortezomib-based rappresenti un nuovo standard of care per i pazienti con MM di nuova diagnosi eleggibili alla chemioterapia ad alte dosi.The therapeutic scenario of Multiple Myeloma (MM) patients has dramatically evolved in the last decades, due to the increasing availability of novel drug-based combinations. Particularly, Daratumumab (dara) showed great results in terms of efficacy and safety, that led to its approval in clinical practice. The purpose of this study is to add data about dara in combination with the standard of care (SOC) for newly diagnosed MM patients eligible to high-dose chemotherapy, with a particular focus on its impact on the collection of stem cells. We retrospectively analyzed 41 patients treated at our center into two clinical trials (EMN17 and EMN18). With a median follow-up of 19 months, the addition of dara to the SOC confirmed a clinical benefit in terms of deep responses (≥VGPR) and progression free survival (PFS), without additional or unexpected toxicities. Moreover, in the literature dara does not seem to have an impact on the collection of stem cells. Specifically, in the CASSIOPEIA pivotal trial, the median number of collected stem cells was lower for patients who were treated with dara than those in the control group, with a greater need to use Plerixafor. Despite this, no differences in terms of successful transplantation emerged between the two groups. Similarly, in our analysis, patients who were treated with dara required more frequently the use of Plerixafor and they could have a benefit in terms of number of collected stem cells from a higher dosage of mobilizing chemotherapy (2 vs 3 grams per square meter). During the development of this project, dara has been approved in clinical practice in Europe (2020) and, very recently, in Italy (2021). The present study confirmed that dara added to bortezomib-base induction regimens represents a new SOC for newly diagnosed MM patients eligible to high-dose chemotherapy

Metalli autarchici. Uso e sperimentazione dei metalli non ferrosi nell’architettura italiana tra gli anni ’20 e ’40 del Novecento

Le architetture realizzate tra gli anni venti e quaranta del XX secolo si caratterizzano per la varietà dei materiali di finitura e di rivestimento utilizzati; l’utilizzo di materiali specifici, talvolta originati dalla commistione della tradizione artigiana con la sperimentazione industriale, ha originato una casistica vastissima di prodotti di rivestimento e di finitura, oggi totalmente in disuso e scarsamente compresi e conosciuti. Le innovazioni nel campo dei materiali per l’architettura si diffondono e si alimentano sollecitati anche dall’esaltata politica di autarchia promossa dal governo fascista. L’intervento diretto del regime stimolò una generale sperimentazione nei settori produttivi dell’industria italiana, incentivando la produzione di ‘materiali nuovi’, realizzati ricorrendo a materie prime di origine esclusivamente nazionale.Architectures built between the twenties and forties of the twentieth century are characterized by the variety of finishing and coating materials used. The trials of new materials and the use of specific products, nowadays totally abandoned and hardly understood and known, are also encouraged by the fanatical autarchy policy imposed by the fascist government. The intervention of the regime stimulates experimentation in the productive sectors of Italian industry, encouraging the prevalent use of domestic origin raw materials. The intention to pursue a genuine scientific-technical nationalism is already explicit in the 1926 economic plan; thus, the protectionist policy began well before the League of Nations sanctions due to the invasion of Ethiopia (1935). The designers, motivated by Sindacato Nazionale Fascista Architetti, put all their effort for the “fully self-sufficient project”, using national raw materials, innovating their usage, and experiencing substitutes and surrogates materials directly during the construction phase. In this period, therefore, we can find new products for surface finishing of buildings, reassembled panels and composite materials. We also notice an increasing use of non-ferrous metals in the buildings facades and finishings (section bars, window and door fixtures, railings, gratings, etc.). If iron was to be saved as non-self-sufficient material, another metal, aluminum, could, indeed should, be used without any parsimony; Italy was in fact rich in minerals from which it could be extracted industrially. Between WWI and WWII, aluminous alloys became, even in architectural applications, symbol of the industrial soul and modernity of the country, reminding the most advanced aeronautical, automotive and shipbuilding technologies

Waste management in Forlì-Cesena province: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Forlì incinerator

This work assesses the environmental impact of a municipal solid waste incinerator with energy recovery situated in Forlì-Cesena province (Emilia-Romagna region, Italy). The methodology used is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This plant, opened in 2008, is able to submit 120000 t/year of waste. It uses dry flue gas abatement equipment, composed of a couple of fabric filters and lime and activated carbon spraying. It also includes a cogeneration plant, i.e. it simultaneously generates heat and power by a heat engine. As the plant tries to produce as few residues as possible, and it recovers a significant amount of energy, it already applies the best technologies available in waste treatment. This is why this study focuses mainly on the fate of the solid residues produced during incineration

Per un atlante dei serramenti storici in Emilia [Towards an atlas of historical window and door frames in Emilia]

I serramenti storici in area emiliana sono qui documentati attraverso la scelta di alcune porte interne e finestre/portefinestre: queste sono fra le componenti più delicate dell’edilizia storica, che spesso vanno perdute. Gli esempi sono tratti dal Palazzo Avogli Trotti di Ferrara e dal Castello di Bianello, in provincia di Reggio Emilia, e costituiscono una prima rassegna per un auspicabile atlante, inteso come strumento per la comprensione degli aspetti costruttivi e produttivi dei serramenti storici.The historical fixtures in the Emilia area are here documented by selecting some internal doors and windows/glazed doors: these are the most fragile components of historical construction, and often are lost. The examples focus on the Palazzo Avogli Trotti, in Ferrara, and the Castle of Bianello, nearby Reggio Emilia, and constitute a first review looking for an atlas, intended as a tool to comprehend the construction and the production features of historical windows

La Sesta edizione del Premio Domus Restauro e Conservazione: Sessione Opere realizzate

Una innovativa sintesi tra tradizione locale e linguaggio contemporaneo nel rispetto dei principî conservativi che regolano l’intervento sulle preesistenzeAn innovative combination between local tradition and contemporary language, respecting the conservative principles of restoratio