Dismenorrea in donne lavoratrici dell'industria

La dismenorrea è una delle più comuni indisposizioni nelle donne. La frequenza varia in differenti lavori, probabilmente ciò è dovuto alla differenza nei gruppi di popolazione studiati. In alcune industrie Norvegesi, con molto personale femminile, l’inabilità periodica al lavoro dovuto ai fastidi mestruali è stato un problema di una certa importanza e la domanda è sorta nel caso in cui l’assenza è medicalmente giustificata nella visione di un moderno trattamento ormonale. Per avvicinarci al problema abbiamo pianificato di esaminare l’evento dei fastidi mestruali, particolarmente la dismenorrea, tra il personale femminile in alcune industrie Italiane in quello che appariva essere un problema. I soggetti esaminati erano impiegati di una compagnia elettrica-tecnica e di una industria tessile. Un questionario preparato da una infermiera dell’industria, è stato compilato da donne in età mestruale che erano state visitate per esami medici periodici e di pre-assunzione tra il 2002-2003. Ogni donna assistita soffriva di dolore, e quando tutti i sintomi erano considerati il 61% aveva mensilmente disturbi che ovviamente riducevano la loro capacità sul lavoro. Visto che il 9% delle donne assumevano estroprogestinici, che riducevano o eliminavano la dismenorrea, la vera prevalenza potrebbe essere leggermente superiore. Circa il 30% delle donne erano confinate a letto. Circa il 30% si assentava dal lavoro, il che illustra la grandezza del problema sia medico che economico

Fluxes and fate of particulate mercury in a contaminated coastal environment (Gulf of Trieste, northern Adriatic Sea)

As the result of historical mining activity in Idrija (western Slovenia), mercury (Hg) contamination in the Gulf of Trieste (northern Adriatic Sea) still represents an environmental issue of great concern for the local authorities. The element has been conveyed into the marine-coastal area by the Isonzo/Soča River freshwater inputs for centuries, mainly in association with the suspended particulate matter (SPM) during periods of medium-high discharge often corresponding to river plume events. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of Hg bound to SPM (particulate Hg, PHg) in the coastal water twentyfive years after the mine closure and to assess sedimentary Hg fluxes in the northernmost sector of the Gulf, a shallow and sheltered embayment where the accumulation of fine sediments is promoted Sediment traps were placed both at the surface and at bottom water layers at four different sites and settling particles accumulated into each trap were collected approximately every 15 days during 6 sampling campaigns. In terms of grain size composition, the SPM consisted predominantly of silt (77.7 ± 10.1 %) and differences were observed among sites, water layers and sampling campaigns Concentrations of PHg were consistent with previous studies focused on the sediment compartment and ranged overall between 0.61 and 6.87 μg g-1 showing slightly higher values at the bottom (1.50 ± 0.52 and 2.31 ± 1.58 μg g-1 in surface and bottom water layers, respectively) most likely due to resuspension of fine particles enriched in Hg from bottom sediments. The estimated daily Hg fluxes associated with settling particles showed a notable variability, up to an order of magnitude, both in the surface water layer (3.07 – 94.6 μg m-2 d-1) and at the bottom (11.3 – 245 μg m-2 d-1) Moreover, a significant correlation (r = 0.762) was observed between Hg and SPM daily fluxes thus confirming that, still nowadays, periods of high PHg concentrations in the water column as well as of Hg sedimentary fluxes at the sea bottom roughly corresponds to higher SPM inputs from the Isonzo River

The Problem of Inertia in Friedmann Universes

In this paper we study the origin of inertia in a curved spacetime, particularly the spatially flat, open and closed Friedmann universes. This is done using Sciama's law of inertial induction, which is based on Mach's principle, and expresses the analogy between the retarded far fields of electrodynamics and those of gravitation. After obtaining covariant expressions for electromagnetic fields due to an accelerating point charge in Friedmann models, we adopt Sciama's law to obtain the inertial force on an accelerating mass $m$ by integrating over the contributions from all the matter in the universe. The resulting inertial force has the form $F = -kma$, where $k < 1$ depends on the choice of the cosmological parameters such as $\Omega_{M}$, $\Omega_{\Lambda}$, and $\Omega_{R}$ and is also red-shift dependent.Comment: 10 page

The impact of career insight in the relation with social networks and career self-management: Preliminary evidences from the Italian contamination lab

Universities are developing more education initiatives to increase the entrepreneurial mindset of students to enhance the social sustainability and self-employment. Young people should work to increase their managerial and soft skills in order to face the process of innovation and change. This exploratory study identifies some features of the participants in the first edition of the contamination laboratory (CLab) of the University of Salento (Lecce, Italy) whose mission is to develop creativity, soft skills and entrepreneurial mindset. In particular, it aims to investigate the relationship between career insight, social network and career self-management in a sample of University's students during a training course organized according to the basic principles of Entrepreneurship Education. Data collection is carried out before and after the project. Results highlighted that there are significant differences before and after the course attendance in terms of personal and professional growth. These preliminary results present innovative aspects. From a theoretical point of view, the study laid the groundwork for future research in employability and entrepreneurial skills topics. About the practical implications, the study can provide some suggestions to promote and plan sustainable interventions in order to encourage young entrepreneurship and employability

Gravitational waveforms from the evaporating ACO cosmic string loop

The linearly polarized gravitational waveforms from a certain type of rotating, evaporating cosmic string - the Allen-Casper-Ottewill loop - are constructed and plotted over the lifetime of the loop. The formulas for the waveforms are simple and exact, and describe waves which attenuate self-similarly, with the amplitude and period of the waves falling off linearly with time.Comment: 30 pages, 16 figure

MeV Right-handed Neutrinos and Dark Matter

We consider the possibility of having a MeV right-handed neutrino as a dark matter constituent. The initial reason for this study was the 511 keV spectral line observed by the satellite experiment INTEGRAL: could it be due to an interaction between dark matter and baryons? Independently of this, we find a number of constraints on the assumed right-handed interactions. They arise in particular from the measurements by solar neutrino experiments. We come to the conclusion that such particles interactions are possible, and could reproduce the peculiar angular distribution, but not the rate of the INTEGRAL signal. However, we stress that solar neutrino experiments are susceptible to provide further constraints in the future.Comment: 7 pages, figure 1 changed, added reference

Retrieval of magnetic medical microrobots from the bloodstream

Untethered magnetic microrobots hold the potential to penetrate hard-to-reach areas of the human body and to perform therapy in a controlled way. In the past decade, impressive advancements have been made in this field but the clinical adoption of magnetoresponsive microrobots is still hampered by safety issues. A tool appointed for magnetic microrobots retrieval within body fluids could enable a real paradigm change, fostering their clinical translation.By starting from the general problem to retrieve magnetic microrobots injected into the bloodstream, the authors introduce a magnetic capture model that allows to design retrieval tools for magnetic cores of different diameters (down to 10 nm) and in different environmental conditions (fluid speed up to 7 cms-1). The model robustness is demonstrated by the design and testing of a retrieval catheter. In its optimal configuration, the catheter includes 27 magnets and fits a 12 F catheter. The model provides a good prediction of capture efficiency for 250 nm magnetic particles (experimental data: 77.6%, model prediction: 65%) and a very good prediction for 500 nm particles (experimental data: 93.6%, model prediction: 94%). The results support the proposed model-based design approach, which can be extended to retrieve other magnetoresponsive agents from body compartments

Emergency contraception: unresolved clinical, ethical and legal quandaries still linger

Emergency contraception (EC) has been prescribed for decades, in order to lessen the risk of unplanned and unwanted pregnancy following unprotected intercourse, ordinary contraceptive failure, or rape. EC and the linked aspect of unintended pregnancy undoubtedly constitute highly relevant public health issues, in that they involve women's self-determination, reproductive freedom and family planning. Most European countries regulate EC access quite effectively, with solid information campaigns and supply mechanisms, based on various recommendations from international institutions herein examined. However, there is still disagreement on whether EC drugs should be available without a physician's prescription and on the reimbursement policies that should be implemented. In addition, the rights of health care professionals who object to EC on conscience grounds have been subject to considerable legal and ethical scrutiny, in light of their potential to damage patients who need EC drugs in a timely fashion. Ultimately, reproductive health, freedom and conscience-based refusal on the part of operators are elements that have proven extremely hard to reconcile; hence, it is essential to strike a reasonable balance for the sake of everyone's rights and well-being

SELF-EFFICACY AND WORK PERFORMANCE: THE ROLE OF JOB CRAFTING IN MIDDLE-AGE WORKERS

In the last years, the scientific interest on job crafting within the Job demands-resources theory has been increased. The paper aimed to examine the role of job crafting in the relationship between self-efficacy and performance at work. Based on Job demands-resources theory, we hypothesized that employees with higher levels of self-efficacy would be most likely to make proactively changes in their own jobs in order to perform well. Specifically, we hypothesized that job crafting may mediate the positive effects between self-efficacy and work performance and organizational citizenship behaviours. Participants were 361 employees of different Italian organizations. Results from SEM showed the positive effect of self-efficacy on job crafting, work performance, and organizational citizenship behaviours. Furthermore, job crafting partially mediated the relationship between self-efficacy and work performance and totally mediated the relationship between self-efficacy and organizational citizenship behaviours. Findings suggest that job crafting can play a crucial role in the influence of personal resources, as self-efficacy, and the performance at work. Findings suggest that job crafting can play a crucial role in the influence of personal resources, as self-efficacy, and the performance at work

Triple Experiment Spectrum of the Sunyaev-Zeldovich Effect in the Coma Cluster: H_0

The Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) effect was previously measured in the Coma cluster by the Owens Valley Radio Observatory and Millimeter and IR Testa Grigia Observatory experiments and recently also with the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe satellite. We assess the consistency of these results and their implications on the feasibility of high-frequency SZ work with ground-based telescopes. The unique data set from the combined measurements at six frequency bands is jointly analyzed, resulting in a best-fit value for the Thomson optical depth at the cluster center, tau_{0}=(5.35 \pm 0.67) 10^{-3}. The combined X-ray and SZ determined properties of the gas are used to determine the Hubble constant. For isothermal gas with a \beta density profile we derive H_0 = 84 \pm 26 km/(s\cdot Mpc); the (1\sigma) error includes only observational SZ and X-ray uncertainties.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figur