New life to Italian university anatomical collections: desire to give value and open museological issues. Cases compared

The anatomical museums are one of the most difficult categories of museums to deal with because the issues addressed and the stored materials are complex to communicate and often not suitable for all audiences. The history of medicine teaches us that the knowledge of our body is a fascinating topic that continues to be the subject of study and research. The Italian anatomical museums are mostly university property, often closed and with specimens in urgent need of restoration. Their rooms still house important collections of human biological samples, dry or in liquid, collected between the eighteenth and twentieth century: a historical heritage that testifies to the evolution of medical science and provides a searchable archive of biological and genetic data. The curator of such a museum must confront many issues \u2013 museological, legislative and ethical \u2013 many of which are unclear and incomplete. This article provides an overview of museological issues in the anatomical area in order to offer ideas and visions, from a comparison of three different examples: the Museum of Human Anatomy of the University of Pavia, the Museum of Pathological Anatomy at the University of Padua and the Gordon Museum of Pathology in London

Rights to the front Child Rights-based pedagogies in early childhood degrees

As critical pedagogues committed to social justice, in this paper we discuss the theoretical opportunities and challenges of two pedagogical models for the teaching and learning of Children’s Rights on early childhood education and care degrees. Our discussion stems from the exploration and analysis of and reflection on the educational cultures, relations and dynamics which inform both our teaching and research practice. In the paper, we analyse the different layers of experiences of both students and educators as co-constructors of pedagogy in the two curricula presented. Through a process of thematic synthesis analysis of the salient features of each curriculum, this paper proposes four shared areas of pedagogical dilemmas. These dilemmas are explored and discussed in relation to their impact to the learning and teaching of Children’s Rights on early childhood education & care degree programmes. Drawing on our empirical research and pedagogical reflections, we then propose four aspirational pedagogical features to achieve transformative Children’s Rights Education in early childhood education & care degrees

Outside the dyad: An Ethnographic Journey Beyond Attachment, with African-Caribbean Families in London

For over one hundred years, Western Psychology has been preoccupied with developing an understanding of the dyad par excellence: mother and child. This thesis explores the cultural validity of attachment theory and the concept of the dyad in families of African Caribbean heritage in London, UK. This is developed through the juxtaposition of an ethnography of emic perspectives and experiences of Caribbean families in London, and a series of semi-structured interviews and group discussions with practitioners from fields of relevance. The thematic analysis of the data collected puts forward conflicting interpretations, between practitioners and families, on three common themes: the meaning of being Caribbean, family bonds, and attitudes towards society. The discussion of these three themes, and divergent perspectives of participants, indicates that the key tenets of attachment theory (maternal sensitivity, quality of care and stability of attachment) are not representative of the experiences and perspectives presented by the families. Considering these results, I formulate a possible alternative theoretical framework to represent and theorise dynamics in Caribbean families: fluctuant attachment. Whilst this new framework, based on three themes identified by families as central to their experiences, wishes to limit stereotypical interpretations of family bonds; it fails to recognise children’s role in these relations. In my conclusion, following a Foucaldian deconstruction of attachment theory, I argue for the necessity for Childhood Studies to be a field of critical theory, based on children’s rights, and to develop new theoretical frameworks that recognise children as active agents

Evidence of a low-temperature dynamical transition in concentrated microgels

A low-temperature dynamical transition has been reported in several proteins. We provide the first observation of a `protein-like' dynamical transition in nonbiological aqueous environments. To this aim we exploit the popular colloidal system of poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAM) microgels, extending their investigation to unprecedentedly high concentrations. Owing to the heterogeneous architecture of the microgels, water crystallization is avoided in concentrated samples, allowing us to monitor atomic dynamics at low temperatures. By elastic incoherent neutron scattering and molecular dynamics simulations, we find that a dynamical transition occurs at a temperature $T_d\sim250$~K, independently from PNIPAM mass fraction. However, the transition is smeared out on approaching dry conditions. The quantitative agreement between experiments and simulations provides evidence that the transition occurs simultaneously for PNIPAM and water dynamics. The similarity of these results with hydrated protein powders suggests that the dynamical transition is a generic feature in complex macromolecular systems, independently from their biological function

Small-angle neutron scattering and Molecular Dynamics structural study of gelling DNA nanostars

DNA oligomers with properly designed sequences self-assemble into well defined constructs. Here, we exploit this methodology to produce bulk quantities of tetravalent DNA nanostars (each one composed by 196 nucleotides) and to explore the structural signatures of their aggregation process. We report small-angle neutron scattering experiments focused on the evaluation of both the form factor and the temperature evolution of the scattered intensity at a nano star concentration where the system forms a tetravalent equilibrium gel. We also perform molecular dynamics simulations of one isolated tetramer to evaluate the form factor theoretically, without resorting to any approximate shape. The numerical form factor is found to be in very good agreement with the experimental one. Simulations predict an essentially temperature independent form factor, offering the possibility to extract the effective structure factor and its evolution during the equilibrium gelation.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Reliability of knee extensor neuromuscular structure and function and functional tests’ performance

Introduction The aim of this study was to evaluate the intra and inter-rater and inter-analyzer reliability of neuromuscular variables and functional tests. Methods Cross-sectional crossover design. Two independent raters and analyzers evaluated twenty-two healthy subjects. Knee-extensor strength was assessed from three maximal voluntary isometric contractions. Muscle activation was obtained from the vastus lateralis (VL), rectus femoris (RF), and vastus medialis (VM) muscles. VL and RF muscles’ architecture [fascicle length (FL), pennation angle (PA), muscle thickness (MT)] was obtained at rest by ultrasound. The time from five sit-to-stand (STS) trials, and the distance from the 6-min walk test (6MWT) were obtained. Intraclass correlation coefficient was determined and classified as strong (r = 0.75–1.00), moderate (r = 0.40–0.74), and weak (r < 0.40). Strong intra-rater reliability values were observed for strength (r = 0.97), muscle activation [VL (r = 0.91); RF (r = 0.92); VM (r = 0.80)], VL [FL (r = 0.90); PA (r = 0.94); MT (r = 0.99)] and RF [MT (r = 0.85)] muscle architecture, STS (r = 0.95), and 6MWT (r = 0.98). Inter-rater reliability also presented strong values for strength (r = 0.97), muscle activation [VL (r = 0.94); RF (r = 0.79); VM (r = 0.78)], muscle architecture VL [PA (r = 0.81) and MT (r = 0.88)] and RF [MT (r = 0.80)], STS (r = 0.93), and 6MWT (r = 0.98). A moderate correlation VL muscle architecture [FL (r = 0.69)]. Inter-analyzer muscle architecture reliability presented strong VL [FL (r = 0.77); PA (r = 0.76); MT (r = 0.91)] and RF [MT (r = 0.99)]. Conclusion The high intra and inter-rater and inter-analyzer reliability values for most variables is evidence that they can be used for clinical evaluation. Muscle architecture might need a longer training period by different raters and analyzers to increase reliability

Covid-19 And Rheumatic Autoimmune Systemic Diseases: Role of Pre-Existing Lung Involvement and Ongoing Treatments

The Covid-19 pandemic may have a deleterious impact on patients with autoimmune systemic diseases (ASD) due to their deep immune-system alterations

Shedding light on typical species : implications for habitat monitoring

Habitat monitoring in Europe is regulated by Article 17 of the Habitats Directive, which suggests the use of typical species to assess habitat conservation status. Yet, the Directive uses the term “typical” species but does not provide a definition, either for its use in reporting or for its use in impact assessments. To address the issue, an online workshop was organized by the Italian Society for Vegetation Science (SISV) to shed light on the diversity of perspectives regarding the different concepts of typical species, and to discuss the possible implications for habitat monitoring. To this aim, we inquired 73 people with a very different degree of expertise in the field of vegetation science by means of a tailored survey composed of six questions. We analysed the data using Pearson's Chi-squared test to verify that the answers diverged from a random distribution and checked the effect of the degree of experience of the surveyees on the results. We found that most of the surveyees agreed on the use of the phytosociological method for habitat monitoring and of the diagnostic and characteristic species to evaluate the structural and functional conservation status of habitats. With this contribution, we shed light on the meaning of “typical” species in the context of habitat monitoring

Geographical heterogeneity of clinical and serological phenotypes of systemic sclerosis observed at tertiary referral centres. The experience of the Italian SIR-SPRING registry and review of the world literature

Introduction: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is characterized by a complex etiopathogenesis encompassing both host genetic and environmental -infectious/toxic- factors responsible for altered fibrogenesis and diffuse microangiopathy. A wide spectrum of clinical phenotypes may be observed in patients' populations from different geographical areas. We investigated the prevalence of specific clinical and serological phenotypes in patients with definite SSc enrolled at tertiary referral centres in different Italian geographical macro-areas. The observed findings were compared with those reported in the world literature.Materials and methods: The clinical features of 1538 patients (161 M, 10.5%; mean age 59.8 +/- 26.9 yrs.; mean disease duration 8.9 +/- 7.7 yrs) with definite SSc recruited in 38 tertiary referral centres of the SPRING (Systemic sclerosis Progression INvestiGation Group) registry promoted by Italian Society of Rheumatology (SIR) were obtained and clustered according to Italian geographical macroareas.Results: Patients living in Southern Italy were characterized by more severe clinical and/or serological SSc phenotypes compared to those in Northern and Central Italy; namely, they show increased percentages of diffuse cutaneous SSc, digital ulcers, sicca syndrome, muscle involvement, arthritis, cardiopulmonary symptoms, interstitial lung involvement at HRCT, as well increased prevalence of serum anti-Scl70 autoantibodies. In the same SSc population immunusppressive drugs were frequently employed. The review of the literature underlined the geographical heterogeneity of SSc phenotypes, even if the observed findings are scarcely comparable due to the variability of methodological approaches.Conclusion: The phenotypical differences among SSc patients' subgroups from Italian macro-areas might be correlated to genetic/environmental co-factors, and possibly to a not equally distributed national network of information and healthcare facilities