REDISCOVERING CULTURAL HERITAGE SITES BY INTERACTIVE 3D EXPLORATION: A PRACTICAL REVIEW OF OPEN-SOURCE WEBGL TOOLS

Georeferenced reconstructions can help understand the dynamic evolution of the urban context surrounding a historical site, supporting decision-making processes in the field of urban planning. The development of web applications that allow the interaction between 2D and 3D products, as well as their exploration, can facilitate virtual inspections and foster collaboration in digitization of interventions and site evolutions over time. The article discusses how virtual scene reconstructions and visits can provide alternatives to traditional in-situ tourism promotion, through digital storytelling solutions for the exploration of sites. The article also describes how 3D storytelling technologies are currently being used for dissemination cultural heritage sites. The case study of the Castello Farnese, an old XVI century heritage site in Piacenza (Italy), test the adoption of two distinct free and open-source JavaScript WebGL, Potree and Cesium, for the rendering of photogrammetric and laser scanning georeferenced scaled products and for the integration of narrative features such as annotations, camera animations, texts, and other multimedia contents. Potentials and limitations of both tools are discussed in detail, highlighting how they can be implemented for enhancing user experience in virtual tour and exploration of 3D products. In order to guarantee replicability for other case studies, source code of the implemented application is shared on GitHub along with its documentation for contributions

Risk of congenital anomalies around a municipal solid waste incinerator: a GIS-based case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Waste incineration releases into the environment toxic substances having a teratogenic potential, but little epidemiologic evidence is available on this topic. We aimed at examining the relation between exposure to the emissions from a municipal solid waste incinerator and risk of birth defects in a northern Italy community, using Geographical Information System (GIS) data to estimate exposure and a population-based case-control study design. By modelling the incinerator emissions, we defined in the GIS three areas of increasing exposure according to predicted dioxins concentrations. We mapped the 228 births and induced abortions with diagnosis of congenital anomalies observed during the 1998-2006 period, together with a corresponding series of control births matched for year and hospital of birth/abortion as well as maternal age, using maternal address in the first three months of pregnancy to geocode cases and controls. RESULTS: Among women residing in the areas with medium and high exposure, prevalence of anomalies in the offspring was substantially comparable to that observed in the control population, nor dose-response relations for any of the major categories of birth defects emerged. Furthermore, odds ratio for congenital anomalies did not decrease during a prolonged shut-down period of the plant. CONCLUSION: Overall, these findings do not lend support to the hypothesis that the environmental contamination occurring around an incineration plant such as that examined in this study may induce major teratogenic effects

A Knowledge, Attitude, and Perception Study on Flu and COVID-19 Vaccination during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Multicentric Italian Survey Insights

In January 2020, Chinese health authorities identified a novel coronavirus strain never before isolated in humans. It quickly spread across the world, and was eventually declared a pandemic, leading to about 310 million confirmed cases and to 5,497,113 deaths (data as of 11 January 2022). Influenza viruses affect millions of people during cold seasons, with high impacts, in terms of mortality and morbidity. Patients with comorbidities are at a higher risk of acquiring severe problems due to COVID-19 and the flu-infections that could impact their underlying clinical conditions. In the present study, knowledge, attitudes, and opinions of the general population regarding COVID-19 and influenza immunization were evaluated. A multicenter, web-based, cross-sectional study was conducted between 10 February and 12 July 2020, during the first wave of SARS-CoV-2 infections among the general population in Italy. A sample of 4116 questionnaires was collected at the end of the study period. Overall, 17.5% of respondents stated that it was unlikely that they would accept a future COVID-19 vaccine (n = 720). Reasons behind vaccine refusal/indecision were mainly a lack of trust in the vaccine (41.1%), the fear of side effects (23.4%), or a lack of perception of susceptibility to the disease (17.1%). More than 50% (53.8%; n = 2214) of the sample participants were willing to receive flu vaccinations in the forthcoming vaccination campaign, but only 28.2% of cases had received it at least once in the previous five seasons. A higher knowledge score about SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 and at least one flu vaccination during previous influenza seasons were significantly associated with the intention to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and influenza. The continuous study of factors, determining vaccination acceptance and hesitancy, is fundamental in the current context, in regard to improve vaccination confidence and adherence rates against vaccine preventable diseases

Phenotype and genotype of 87 patients with Mowat-Wilson syndrome and recommendations for care

Mowat-Wilson syndrome (MWS) is a rare intellectual disability/multiple congenital anomalies syndrome caused by heterozygous mutation of the ZEB2 gene. It is generally underestimated because its rarity and phenotypic variability sometimes make it difficult to recognize. Here, we aimed to better delineate the phenotype, natural history, and genotype-phenotype correlations of MWS.MethodsIn a collaborative study, we analyzed clinical data for 87 patients with molecularly confirmed diagnosis. We described the prevalence of all clinical aspects, including attainment of neurodevelopmental milestones, and compared the data with the various types of underlying ZEB2 pathogenic variations.ResultsAll anthropometric, somatic, and behavioral features reported here outline a variable but highly consistent phenotype. By presenting the most comprehensive evaluation of MWS to date, we define its clinical evolution occurring with age and derive suggestions for patient management. Furthermore, we observe that its severity correlates with the kind of ZEB2 variation involved, ranging from ZEB2 locus deletions, associated with severe phenotypes, to rare nonmissense intragenic mutations predicted to preserve some ZEB2 protein functionality, accompanying milder clinical presentations.ConclusionKnowledge of the phenotypic spectrum of MWS and its correlation with the genotype will improve its detection rate and the prediction of its features, thus improving patient care.GENETICS in MEDICINE advance online publication, 4 January 2018; doi:10.1038/gim.2017.221

Phenotype and genotype of 87 patients with Mowat–Wilson syndrome and recommendations for care

Purpose: Mowat–Wilson syndrome (MWS) is a rare intellectual disability/multiple congenital anomalies syndrome caused by heterozygous mutation of the ZEB2 gene. It is generally underestimated because its rarity and phenotypic variability sometimes make it difficult to recognize. Here, we aimed to better delineate the phenotype, natural history, and genotype–phenotype correlations of MWS. Methods: In a collaborative study, we analyzed clinical data for 87 patients with molecularly confirmed diagnosis. We described the prevalence of all clinical aspects, including attainment of neurodevelopmental milestones, and compared the data with the various types of underlying ZEB2 pathogenic variations. Results: All anthropometric, somatic, and behavioral features reported here outline a variable but highly consistent phenotype. By presenting the most comprehensive evaluati

Esposizione alle emissioni di un inceneritore per rifiuti solidi urbani e rischio di malformazioni congenite.

Abbiamo preso in esame nella città di Reggio Emilia la possibile relazione tra rischio di malformazioni congenite ed emissioni dell’inceneritore per rifiuti solidi urbani, dotato di sistemi avanzati di abbattimento delle emissioni ed in funzione nel 1968 (ad eccezione di un periodo di interruzione da aprile 2002 a giugno 2005). Abbiamo individuato tutti i casi di malformazioni congenite diagnosticati nei nati e negli aborti di donne residenti nel Comune di Reggio Emilia nel periodo 1998-2006, associando a ciascuno di essi un nato sano ‘di controllo’ utilizzando come variabili di appaiamento l’anno ed il centro di nascita unitamente all’età materna. Il territorio municipale è stato suddiviso in tre aree in base alle concentrazioni ambientali di diossine/furani e metalli pesanti emessi dall’inceneritore, assegnando lo status espositivo in base alla residenza materna nel primo trimestre di gravidanza con l’ausilio di metodiche GIS. Abbiamo quindi calcolato i rischi relativi nei diversi gruppi espositivi, anche in relazione al periodo di funzionamento, utilizzando procedure di regressione logistica condizionale ed aggiustando per titolo di studio materno.I risultati, riferiti ad un numero complessivo di 228 casi e 228 controlli, non hanno evidenziato modificazioni significative del rischio nei diversi gruppi espositivi nell’intero periodo considerato, né sono stati in grado di mostrare variazioni nel tempo dei rischi associate al regime di funzionamento dell’impianto di incenerimento. In particolare, il rischio relativo di malformazione congenita nelle residenti nell’area a maggiore esposizione e in quelle con esposizione intermedia, nei confronti della rimanente popolazione municipale, è risultato rispettivamente pari a 0,67 (I.C. al 95% 0,25-1,77) e 1,55 (0,67-3,58) con un P-trend pari a 0,883, senza indicazioni di un decremento del rischio nel periodo di inattività dell’impianto. Queste osservazioni non sembrano nel complesso indicare il verificarsi di effetti teratogeni a seguito dell’esposizione alle emissioni di un inceneritore per rifiuti solidi urbani tecnologicamente avanzato

Residence near power lines and risk of birth defects.

Background and ObjectiveThe adverse effects on human health of electromagnetic fields are still unclear and congenital anomalies are among the outcomes which have been associated to such exposure. We conducted a case-control study to examine the risk of birth defects associated with maternal exposure to electromagnetic fields from high-voltage power lines during pregnancy in a northern Italy community. Methods We identified all cases of congenital malformations diagnosed during the period 1998-2006 in live- and stillbirths and induced abortions to women living in Reggio Emilia. As a control group, we selected at random a healthy newborn for each case, matched for year of birth, maternal age and hospital of birth. We geocoded each mother’s resident address during the first trimester of pregnancy in a GIS (Geographical Information System) project. We also calculated the cutpoints of magnetic field density of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 microtesla (μT) around high-voltage power lines (>132kV) crossing the municipal territory, inputting the corresponding polylines into the GIS to define exposure corridors. We eventually calculated the risk of prevalence of birth defects associated with maternal exposure to magnetic fields from power lines using a conditional logistic regression model and adjusting for some confounding factors.ResultsWe identified 228 cases of birth defects and a corresponding number of control births. Two case and five control mothers had been residing during the first trimester of pregnancy in corridors with magnetic field intensity >0.1 μT. The risk of congenital malformations associated with the maternal residence during the first trimester of pregnancy in the corridors with exposure >0.1 μT was 0.4 (95% CI 0.1-2.3, P = 0.338) after adjustment for maternal age and education. Conclusions These observations do not suggest that exposure to electromagnetic fields during early pregnancy is associated with excess teratogenic risk

Risk of congenital anomalies around a municipal solid waste incinerator

Waste incineration releases into the environment toxic substances having a teratogenic potential, but little epidemiologic evidence is available on this topic. We aimed at examining the relation between exposure to the emissions from a municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) and risk of birth defects in a northern Italy community, using geographical information system (GIS) data to estimate exposure and a population-based case-control study design. By modeling the incinerator emissions, we defined in the GIS three areas of increasing exposure according to predicted dioxins concentrations. We mapped the 228 births and induced abortions with diagnosis of congenital anomalies observed during the 1998-2006 period, together with a corresponding series of control births matched for year and hospital of birth/abortion as well as maternal age, using maternal address in the first 3 months of pregnancy to geocode cases and controls