55 research outputs found
The appropriate counseling on prenatal screening test for foreign women in Emilia-Romagna
No full textObjective: The increase in the migratory phenomenon entails the need to adapt obstetric care to the population which includes foreign pregnant women. In this context, it emerged a little adherence to the prenatal screening test among foreign women compared to Italian women, which is assumed to be attributable to an inadequate counseling. This study aims to evaluate midwife's perception of the counseling effectiveness in foreign women for the combined test and subsequently assess its adequacy through an external evaluation. Methods: this is a cross-sectional study conducted from September to November 2019. An ad hoc questionnaire was administered to midwives working in the territorial district of the Emilia-Romagna Region, investigating their counseling skills. Then an external evaluation of the counseling was conducted by observing the interview between the midwives and the patients (N = 10), to analyze its appropriateness. Results: Seventy-five midwives completed the questionnaire with a positive response rate of 57.2%. In general, 69.3% of midwives are satisfied with the training received from the regional course, but 85% found many difficulties in counseling foreign women. The 14% of midwives state that they always have the cultural and linguistic mediator available and 44% of them state that they use brochures translated into several foreign languages. In the interviews observed, the counseling to foreign women was found to be shorter and more limited than that provided to Italian women. Conclusions: Most of the consulting midwives declare that they feel prepared to perform a correct prenatal counseling also for foreign women, but the external evaluation of the interviews, and the regional data on adherence to the antenatal screening of foreign women, show many critical points. It becomes necessary to carry out further studies that investigate not only the counseling skills of midwives, but also the needs of assisted women about prenatal diagnosis
Valutazione dello stock di carbonio di suoli forestali del Friuli V.G. (NE Italy)
No full textLe emissioni di gas prodotte dalle attività antropiche, in particolare CO2, sono concause del riscaldamento climatico. I suoli rappresentano uno dei principali serbatoi di carbonio su scala globale, e giocano un ruolo fondamentale nel ciclo del carbonio, il quale è uno dei processi chiave che regolano i cambiamenti climatici. I suoli forestali sono particolarmente ricchi di materia organica se confrontati con i suoli agricoli, e rappresentano un fondamentale serbatoio per il sequestro della CO2 atmosferica. In questo studio sono stati valutati gli stock di carbonio nella parte superficiale di suolo (episolum umifero) sotto diverse coperture forestali nel NE Italia. I profili di suolo sono stati esaminati al fine di classificarne le forme di humus, e sono stati prelevati dei campioni di topsoil per le analisi chimico-fisiche. I valori di carbonio organico totale, ottenuti in laboratorio, sono stati utilizzati per stimare gli stock di carbonio delle stazioni esaminate. I boschi di latifoglie e il prato da sfalcio mostrano le forme di humus più attive (Amphimus e Mull) e gli stock di carbonio inferiori, viceversa, la pecceta presenta la forma di humus meno attiva (Moder) e il valore di carbon stock più elevato, evidenziando così una netta correlazione tra coperture vegetali, forme di humus e stock di carbonio
Simulation of a flash-flood event over the Adriatic Sea with a high-resolution atmosphere–ocean–wave coupled system
No full textOn the morning of September 26, 2007, a heavy precipitation event (HPE) affected the Venice lagoon and the neighbouring coastal zone of the Adriatic Sea, with 6-h accumulated rainfall summing up to about 360 mm in the area between the Venetian mainland, Padua and Chioggia. The event was triggered and maintained by the uplift over a convergence line between northeasterly flow from the Alps and southeasterly winds from the Adriatic Sea. Hindcast modelling experiments, using standalone atmospheric models, failed to capture the spatial distribution, maximum intensity and timing of the HPE. Here we analyze the event by means of an atmosphere-wave-ocean coupled numerical approach. The combined use of convection permitting models with grid spacing of 1 km, high-resolution sea surface temperature (SST) fields, and the consistent treatment of marine boundary layer fluxes in all the numerical model components are crucial to provide a realistic simulation of the event. Inaccurate representations of the SST affect the wind magnitude and, through this, the intensity, location and time evolution of the convergence zone, thus affecting the HPE prediction. © 2021, The Author(s)
Morus alba and Morus nigra: a study on the properties and possible usage as functional food
No full textopenMorus alba e Morus nigra, il gelso bianco e il gelso nero, sono due specie appartenenti alla famiglia delle Moraceae. Le foglie e i frutti sono ricchi di composti attivi a livello biologico, da secoli vengono utilizzati dalle medicine tradizionali. Studi attuali hanno dimostrato che i composti presenti sono responsabili delle proprietà benefiche della pianta. In particolare dell’effetto antiossidante e di regolazione del metabolismo dei lipidi. I frutti sono inoltre molto versatili, si possono ottenere sciroppi, marmellate ed estratti. Le foglie possono essere utilizzate per fare del tè. Sono quindi degli ottimi ingredienti per futuri cibi funzionali.Morus alba e Morus nigra, white and black mulberry, are two species from the Moraceae family. The leaves and the fruits are rich in bioactive compounds at a biological level, since centuries agp they have been used in traditional medicines. Recent studies demonstrated that the compound found in the plant are responsible for the benefical properties. In particular, of the antioxidant and lipid metabolism regulator capability. Even more, the fruits are very versatile, sirups, jams and extract can be obtained from them. The leaves can be used to make teas. Consequentially, they are optimal ingredients for functional foods
Cancer screenings among sexual and gender minorities by midwives' point of view
No full textBACKGROUND: Although women belonging to sexual and gender minorities are more at risk of gynecological and breast cancer, pieces of evidence have been provided that this population finds hardships getting involved in cancer screening programs. This happens because they tend to avoid clinical settings because of fear of discrimination, heteronormative assumptions, heterosexism, classism and homophobic slurs by healthcare professionals. On the other hand, medical programs that allow healthcare providers to have experience with LGBTQ people are scarce and there are no specific tools to assess sexual cancer risks in this population.METHODS: Studies included were obtained searching MEDLINE with keywords "lesbians", "queer women", "trans women", "LGBTQ women", "cervical cancer screening", "pap test", "oncology screening", "mammogram" and "prevention". 1577 papers were found. After filtering for species, sex, language and time range, 820 papers were left. The number of works included was 24 after title screening and 20 after abstract screening and full-text screening.CONCLUSIONS: More research will be needed to develop tools with an inclusive, non-judgmental and open language capable of engaging the LGBTQ community. Cancer screening programs involve a large variety of healthcare providers including midwives. Midwives are multifaceted healthcare professionals whose large competence spectrum includes a variety of knowledge and skills going from antenatal care to education and research and they may efficiently provide cancer screenings. Midwives have been asking for more specialistic roles and calling for specific instruction to face the complex and ever-changing reality
Breastfeeding promotion and support: a quality improvement study
No full textBackground. Breastfeeding success is determined by early skin to skin contact, early
initiation of breastfeeding, rooming-in, baby-led breastfeeding, creation of a favorable
environment, specific training of health professionals, and continuity of care.
Objective. To investigate the women’s satisfaction regarding the care and support re-
ceived in the first days after childbirth.
Material and Methods. A questionnaire of 24 items was administered to mothers be-
fore discharge, from May to September 2019 at the University Hospital of Modena.
Results. The predictive variables of exclusive breastfeeding were the delivery mode, age
at birth and parity. The multivariate analysis showed that a high satisfaction score was
associated with vaginal birth (OR=2.63, p=0.005), rooming-in during the hospitalization
(OR=8.64, p<0.001), the skin to skin contact (OR=6.61, p=0.001) and the first latch-on
within 1 hour after birth (OR=3.00, p=0.02).
Conclusions. Mothers’ satisfaction is one of the important factors of positive experience
during hospital stay and of better health outcomes
AdriE: a high-resolution ocean model ensemble for the Adriatic Sea under severe climate change conditions
No full textThe Adriatic Sea (eastern Mediterranean Basin) is traditionally considered a natural laboratory for studying a number of oceanographic processes of global interest, including coastal dynamics, dense water formation, and thermohaline circulation. More recently, the intensification of the effects of climate change and the increasing awareness of its possible consequences on the natural and socio-economic assets of the Adriatic Basin have opened new research questions and reframed most of the existing ones into a multi-decadal timescale. In this perspective, a description of the possible evolution of the physical oceanographic processes is one of the key requirements for addressing the multi-disciplinary challenges set by climate change, but up to now it has not been possible to combine, for this basin, a sufficiently high resolution in the process description with an estimate of the uncertainty associated with the predictions.
This work presents an ensemble modelling approach (AdriE – Adriatic Sea Ensemble) for the kilometre-scale description of hydrodynamics in the Adriatic Sea in an end-of-century time frame. Addressing 3D circulation and thermohaline dynamics within the Regional Ocean Modelling System (ROMS), the ensemble consists of six climate runs encompassing the period from 1987 to 2100 in a severe RCP8.5 scenario forced by the SMHI-RCA4 regional climate model, driven by as many different CMIP5 general climate models made available within the EURO-CORDEX initiative. The climate ensemble is flanked by a dedicated evaluation run for the 1987–2010 period, in which SMHI-RCA4 has been driven by reanalysis fields approximating the best available boundary conditions, thus isolating the intrinsic sources of uncertainty in the RCA4–ROMS modelling chain. In order to allow a direct comparison, the assessment of the model skills in the evaluation run borrows, as far as possible, data and approaches used for the evaluation of a recent kilometre-scale, multi-decadal modelling effort for this region. The model performances are mostly aligned with the state-of-the-art reference. In particular, good results in describing the main features of marine heatwaves and cold spells, such as timing, intensity, and interannual variability, indicate that the AdriE ensemble can effectively be used for studies on the occurrence and effects of thermal extremes in the basin. Future projections suggest an increase in temperature and salinity at upper and intermediate depths, resulting in an overall decrease in water density and possibly in deep ventilation rates. Projected variations are stronger in summer and autumn, and in these seasons the ensemble range is larger than the spatial variability of the quantities and occasionally comparable with the intensity of the climate signal, highlighting the importance of an ensemble approach to treat the climate variability at this timescale. The dataset presented in this study, which can be used for the analysis of coastal and continental margin processes of general interest, is fully available upon request to the corresponding author, and monthly averages of the main quantities are available for each run on a dedicated Zenodo repository
Self-efficacy in breastfeeding support: A research on italian midwifery students
No full textBackground and aim of the study: Maternal breastmilk represents the best nourishment for the newborn baby during its first six months, as it offers several benefits for the health and well-being of babies and mothers. In order to promote, protect and support effectively mother and child during breastfeeding, it is essential for midwives to be properly educated and to acquire highly professionalizing skills. This study aimed to evaluate the level of self-efficacy of the students attending the Degree Course of Midwifery, regarding the support of mother and child in breastfeeding. Method: A questionnaire of 37 items (Blackmanet al, 2015) validated in Italian by Mazzeo Melchionda (2019), was sent on-line to students of ten different Midwifery Degree Courses to assess their level of self-efficacy regarding the management of breastfeeding. Statistical analysis was carried out using statistic software R3.4.3 (The Foundation for Statistical Computing). Results: 158 questionnaires were collected from ten Italian Midwifery Degree Courses. The areas in which students showed a high level of self-efficacy in managing breastfeeding include: the benefits of breastfeeding; the child’s tendency to take the breast within an hour from childbirth and the relevance of skin to skin contact and rooming-in. Low levels of self-efficacy concerned the comfortably breastfeeding in public places and avoiding giving formula to the baby in its first six weeks of life. Conclusions: Generally the students attending Midwifery Degree Courses show a high level of self-efficacy in assisting mothers during breastfeeding and they prove to have a good knowledge of the benefits of breastfeeding to improve the health of mothers and their children. (www.actabiomedica.it)
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