Surveillance of paediatric exposures to liquid laundry detergent pods in Italy

Objective To analyse paediatric exposures to pod and traditional laundry detergents in Italy and changes in exposure trends. Methods Analyses of a series of patients aged <5 years and exposed to laundry detergents between September 2010 and June 2015, identified by the National Poison Control in Milan. Results In comparison with patients exposed to traditional laundry detergents (n=1150), a higher proportion of those exposed to pods (n=1649) were managed in hospital (68% vs 42%), had clinical effects (75% vs 22%) and moderate/high severity outcomes (13% vs <1%). Exposure rates were stable over time for traditional detergents (average 0.65 cases/day), but an abrupt decline in major company pods was seen in December 2012, 4 months after the introduction of opaque outer packaging (from 1.03 to 0.36 cases/day and from 1.88 to 0.86 cases/million units sold). The odds of clinical effects was higher for exposure to pods than for traditional detergents (OR=10.8; 95% CI 9.0 to 12.9). Among patients exposed to pods, the odds of moderate/high severity outcomes was four times higher for children aged <1 years than for the other age groups (OR=3.9; 95% CI 2.2 to 7.0). Ten children exposed to laundry detergent pods had high severity outcomes while no children exposed to traditional laundry detergents developed high severity effects. Conclusions The study confirms that exposure to laundry detergent pods is more dangerous than exposure to traditional detergents. In Italy, 4 months after the introduction of opaque outer packaging by a major company, product-specific exposure rates decreased sharply, suggesting that reducing visibility of laundry detergent pods may be an effective preventive measure. Further efforts are needed to improve safety

Digital divide, skills and perceptions on smart working in Italy: From necessity to opportunity

Abstract This is a pioneering study on how smart working could influence the way of working in Italy. The COVID19 pandemic is making workers discover opportunities that should have been seized 30 years ago. Once the emergency is over, the world and working methods will never be the same. The Coronavirus emergency has accelerated a reflection on smart working to govern the necessary changes in the organization of work also in the medium term. For this reason, the aim of the present research was to carry out a survey on smart working on the entire Italian national territory. Although the study is a pilot study, the survey results are encouraging giving the opportunity to reflect and define strategies. For this reason, is imaginable and desirable that further relevant national initiatives will be started during the year to investigate needs, define good practices on smart working and promote this "new" way to work

Integración de técnicas de análisis de dominio con especificaciones RSL

Los métodos formales han alcanzado un uso más masivo en la construcción de sistemas reales, ya que ayudan a aumentar la calidad del software y la fiabilidad. Las especificaciones formales pueden ser usadas a lo largo de todo el ciclo de vida del desarrollo de software y también este desarrollo puede ser automatizado por medio de herramientas de amplia variedad y propósito como model checking, verificación, animación, generación de datos para testing, como también refinamiento de especificaciones a implementaciones. Cuando las especificaciones se usan en etapas iniciales del proceso, se ayuda a revelar ambigüedades, omisiones, inconsistencias, errores o interpretaciones erróneas que podrían ser detectados durante pruebas costosas y en las fases de depuración. Sin embargo, las especificaciones formales no son muy familiares para los stakeholders, cuya participación activa es crucial en los primeros estados del proceso de desarrollo de software para entender y comunicar un problema. Estas actividades son especialmente útiles en el análisis de dominio, pues su primera etapa consiste en capturar el conocimiento de un dominio en particular, lo que hace necesario disponer de un modelo que sea comprensible por los ingenieros de software y expertos del dominio. Para contribuir a reducir esta brecha, se trabaja en la integración de una fase de análisis de dominio con el método formal de desarrollo de software RAISE, a fin de especificar una familia de sistemas para producir aplicaciones cualitativas y fiables en un dominio, promover la reutilización temprana y reducción de los costos de desarrollo.Facultad de Informátic

Depression and adult neurogenesis: Positive effects of the antidepressant fluoxetine and of physical exercise

Of wide interest for health is the relation existing between depression, a very common psychological illness, accompanied by anxiety and reduced ability to concentrate, and adult neurogenesis. We will focus on two neurogenic stimuli, fluoxetine and physical exercise, both endowed with the ability to activate adult neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, known to be required for learning and memory, and both able to counteract depression. Fluoxetine belongs to the class of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants, which represent the most used pharmacological therapy; physical exercise has also been shown to effectively counteract depression symptoms in rodents as well as in humans. While there is evidence that the antidepressant effect of fluoxetine requires its pro-neurogenic action, exerted by promoting proliferation, differentiation and survival of progenitor cells of the hippocampus, on the other hand fluoxetine exerts also neurogenesis-independent antidepressant effects by influencing the plasticity of the new neurons generated. Similarly, the antidepressant action of running also correlates with an increase of hippocampal neurogenesis and plasticity, although the gene pathways involved are only partially coincident with those of fluoxetine, such as those involved in serotonin metabolism and synapse formation. We further discuss how extra-neurogenic actions are also suggested by the fact that, unlike running, fluoxetine is unable to stimulate neurogenesis during aging, but still displays antidepressant effects. Moreover, in specific conditions, fluoxetine or running activate not only progenitor but also stem cells, which normally are not stimulated; this fact reveals how stem cells have a long-term, hidden ability to self-renew and, more generally, that neurogenesis is subject to complex controls that may play a role in depression, such as the type of neurogenic stimulus or the state of the local niche. Finally, we discuss how fluoxetine or running are effective in counteracting depression originated from stress or neurodegenerative diseases

A Consumer Perspective on Mobile Market Evolution

In 2007 (Mazzoni, Castaldi, Addeo) we performed a wide research on consumer behavior in the Italian mobile communication market. Using a multidimensional segmentation approach, we identified three consumer clusters according to lifestyles, mobile phone use motivations and product attributes. One of the most interesting finding was that two clusters out of three were characterized by a minor propensity to an integrated and service-oriented use of mobile communication. In other words, some consumers conceived mobile phone not only as a simple communication devices, but more like a technologically advanced multipurpose tool. In mid-2000s Italian mobile companies and operators tried to push mobile communication market toward an integrated use, mostly relying on videophone communication. Although videophone communication had a very low impact on mobile market, integrated and service oriented use of cellular phones are becoming more and more the pillars of mobile communication market. Considering that the mobile communication market changes quickly under the spur of many technological innovations, new challenges or opportunities stem from the exploitation of innovations in mobile devices. The service economy (Fuchs, 1968; Gustafsson & Johnson, 2003), that implies the shift of manufacturers from goods selling to services delivering, is one of those challenges for mobile industry. Mainly since 2007, with the iPhone introduction, the “servitization” (Vandermerwe & Rada, 1988) has been an extending trend (Neely, 2007) among the mobile phones suppliers as they try to mix in their offerings either good and service, integrating phone devices with increasing software and applications. In a supplier perspective, this shift has an important impact on economical aspects, in term of cash-flows growth, or additional revenues - those streaming from selling more complementary services for products. Nevertheless, servitization also brings implications in the operation management, in the innovation strategy and compels providers to revise their business model also. But what is happening in the consumer perspective? A mass-market product like the mobile phone becomes extremely customizable by the complementary services that can be integrated into it: software updating allows customers to entail the mobile phone functionality on their unique needs. Analyzing the consumer perspective through the adoption of a behavior model above outlined (Mazzoni, 1995) and already applied and tested into the exploration of mobile market (Mazzoni, Castaldi, Addeo, 2007), this chapter aims - through a literature review - to understand how changes in the offerings can affect the three dimensions: lifestyles, use motivations and product attributes. Particularly, if shifts in product attributes are clear and evident, the chapter aims to consider the impact in the way in which customer’s expectations, needs and use of mobile phones are transforming

Terminal differentiation of adult hippocampal progenitor cells is a step functionally dissociable from proliferation and is controlled by Tis21, Id3 and NeuroD2

Cell proliferation and differentiation are interdependent processes. Here, we have asked to what extent the two processes of neural progenitor cell amplification and differentiation are functionally separated. Thus, we analyzed whether it is possible to rescue a defect of terminal differentiation in progenitor cells of the dentate gyrus, where new neurons are generated throughout life, by inducing their proliferation and/or their differentiation with different stimuli appropriately timed. As a model we used the Tis21 knockout mouse, whose dentate gyrus neurons, as demonstrated by us and others, have an intrinsic defect of terminal differentiation. We first tested the effect of two proliferative as well as differentiative neurogenic stimuli, one pharmacological (fluoxetine), the other cognitive (the Morris water maze (MWM) training). Both effectively enhanced the number of new dentate gyrus neurons produced, and fluoxetine also reduced the S-phase length of Tis21 knockout dentate gyrus progenitor cells and increased the rate of differentiation of control cells, but neither factor enhanced the defective rate of differentiation. In contrast, the defect of terminal differentiation was fully rescued by in vivo infection of proliferating dentate gyrus progenitor cells with retroviruses either silencing Id3, an inhibitor of neural differentiation, or expressing NeuroD2, a proneural gene expressed in terminally differentiated dentate gyrus neurons. This is the first demonstration that NeuroD2 or the silencing of Id3 can activate the differentiation of dentate gyrus neurons, complementing a defect of differentiation. It also highlights how the rate of differentiation of dentate gyrus neurons is regulated genetically at several levels and that a neurogenic stimulus for amplification of neural stem/progenitor cells may not be sufficient in itself to modify this rat

Técnicas de reuso dentro de la Ingeniería del Dominio

La mayoría de los métodos de desarrollo, incluyendo los métodos orientados a objetos, no incluyen actividades y técnicas de reuso bien definidas. A menos que las actividades del reuso sean parte integral y natural del proceso de desarrollo es probable que el reuso no se practique en los proyectos de software. El reuso debe ser planificado con el comienzo del planning en los estados muy tempranos del proceso de desarrollo. Dejar el reuso como una actividad del final del proceso es un error común. Una clave para maximizar los beneficios del reuso es pensar en ‘grande’ Pensar ´grande´, en términos de ‘grandes’ componentes, es decir no simplemente reusar una función sino reusar subsistemas completos y arquitecturas enteras, así como también significa pensar en términos del reuso en altos niveles de abstracciones de software, por ejemplo reuso de diseño en vez de reuso de código. Generalmente, reusar código es lo primero en que se piensa y lo que se practica.Eje: Análisis de RequerimientosRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Técnicas de reuso dentro de la Ingeniería del Dominio

La mayoría de los métodos de desarrollo, incluyendo los métodos orientados a objetos, no incluyen actividades y técnicas de reuso bien definidas. A menos que las actividades del reuso sean parte integral y natural del proceso de desarrollo es probable que el reuso no se practique en los proyectos de software. El reuso debe ser planificado con el comienzo del planning en los estados muy tempranos del proceso de desarrollo. Dejar el reuso como una actividad del final del proceso es un error común. Una clave para maximizar los beneficios del reuso es pensar en ‘grande’ Pensar ´grande´, en términos de ‘grandes’ componentes, es decir no simplemente reusar una función sino reusar subsistemas completos y arquitecturas enteras, así como también significa pensar en términos del reuso en altos niveles de abstracciones de software, por ejemplo reuso de diseño en vez de reuso de código. Generalmente, reusar código es lo primero en que se piensa y lo que se practica.Eje: Análisis de RequerimientosRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Carbon Amendments Influence Composition and Functional Capacities of Indigenous Soil Microbiomes

Soil nutrient amendments are recognized for their potential to improve microbial activity and biomass in the soil. However, the specific selective impacts of carbon amendments on indigenous microbiomes and their metabolic functions in agricultural soils remain poorly understood. We investigated the changes in soil chemical characteristics and phenotypes of Streptomyces communities following carbon amendments to soil. Mesocosms were established with soil from two field sites varying in soil organic matter content (low organic matter, LOM; high organic matter, HOM), that were amended at intervals over nine months with low or high dose solutions of glucose, fructose, malic acid, a mixture of these compounds, or water only (non-amended control). Significant shifts in soil chemical characteristics and antibiotic inhibitory capacities of indigenous Streptomyces were observed in response to carbon additions. All high dose carbon amendments consistently increased soil total carbon, while amendments with malic acid decreased soil pH. In LOM soils, higher frequencies of Streptomyces inhibitory phenotypes of the two plant pathogens, Streptomyces scabies and Fusarium oxysporum, were observed in response to soil carbon additions. Additionally, to determine if shifts in Streptomyces functional characteristics correlated with microbiome composition, we investigated whether shifts in functional characteristics of soil Streptomyces correlated with composition of soil bacterial communities, analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Regardless of dose, community composition differed significantly among carbon-amended and non-amended soils from both sites. Carbon type and dose had significant effects on bacterial community composition in both LOM and HOM soils. Relationships among microbial community richness (observed species number), diversity, and soil characteristics varied among soils from different sites. These results suggest that manipulation of soil resource availability has the potential to selectively modify the functional capacities of soil microbiomes, and specifically to enhance pathogen inhibitory populations of high value to agricultural systems