570 research outputs found
TRACE ELEMENTS IN INFANT MILK
No full textIntroduction: When breast feeding is not possible, infant formulas are often used as substitutes for human milk and play an indispensable role in infant nutrition. These substitutes are specially manufactured and fortified with micronutrients such as vitamin, trace and mineral elements, essential to satisfy the nutritional requirements of infant. Although trace elements play an important role in infants’ growth and development, their amount in formula composition has received very little attention, since recent research on such food has focused mainly on protein and energy content. We aimed to determine the levels of various essential (Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Se, Cr) and toxic (Cd, Pb) elements in a representative sample of infant starting (0-6 months) formulas consumed in Italy, in order to increase the knowledge on infant exposure to trace elements and to compare the results with standard recommended values. Formula milk concentrations of the investigated elements were also compared with those obtained in a sample of mother’s milk.
Materials and methods: The mineral content of the commercially available milk-based infant formulas consumed in Italy together with 5 human milk samples were investigated. We included starting infant cow’s milk, powder and liquid formulas and we excluded products not officially on sale in Italy. Dry powder milk samples were reconstituted according to the manufacturer's instructions, using distilled water to avoid any external contamination. The levels of elements were determined by ICP-MS after microwave digestion. For the precision and accuracy of the method, a standard reference material (BCR 063R: whole milk powder) was analyzed.
Results: The levels of essential elements were within min/max of recommended values established by European directives. Fe, Zn and Mn were significantly higher in all investigated formulas than in breast milk. Particularly, concentrations of Mn from formula varied from 15 up to 40 times the concentration of breast milk. Concentrations of Pb and Cd were detected in some infant formulas, although none in amounts that could represent a health hazard for the consumer, while they were not detected in human milk.
Conclusion: The results of this study highlight two important aspects: the presence in infants formulas, although at low levels, of toxic elements such as lead and cadmium, which in our opinion should be absent in food products, and the excessive fortification of essential elements such as Fe, Zn, Mn in infant formulas in comparison to breast milk. Growing evidence of negative effects on cognitive development from excessive Fe and Mn intake suggests, in line with other researchers, a deep consideration on the real need to fortify commercial human-milk substitutes to such high concentrations, since infants are characterized by higher absorption and less effective excretion of dietary elements compared to adult
Il fascino dell'antico: i cucchiai argentei di S. Canziano d'Isonzo e la coppa di Francesco Toso Borella
No full textSi sono presi in esame i cucchiai argentei rinvenuti a San Canziano d'Isonzo, ora perduti, di cui l'abate Cortinovis fornisce un dettagliato disegno ripreso in seguito dal Garrucci. Si è inoltre al proposito presa in considerazione la produzione dell'industria vetraria muranese della seconda metà dell' '800, rinvenendo nella coppa decorata da Francesco Toso Borella l'utilizzo del repertorio figurativo inciso sui cucchiai argentei
Correction to: Size‐Dependent Enforcement, Tax Evasion and Dimensional Trap
Get PDFThe article “Size‐Dependent Enforcement, Tax Evasion and Dimensional Trap”, written by Raffaella Coppier, Elisabetta Michetti and Luisa Scaccia, was originally published electronically on the publisher’s internet portal on 05 July 2023 without open access. With the author(s)’ decision to opt for Open Choice the copyright of the article changed on 24 February 2024 to © The Author(s) 2024 and the article is forthwith distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made
Lifestyle and food habits changes after migration: a focus on immigrant women in Modena (Italy)
No full textBackground: This study aimed to explore post-migration lifestyle and weight changes in a sample of migrant women recruited in Modena, Italy. Taking into account the importance of the perceived personal susceptibility in improving prevention and treatment seeking behaviors, we further investigated women’s self-recognition of overweight/obesity. We also examined the changes in self-perceived quality of life after the arrival in Modena.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 97 female migrants visiting a family counseling in Modena. Socio-demographic information, post-migration changes in lifestyle, dietary habits and selfperceived
quality of life were obtained by administering an anonymous questionnaire, created ad hoc with expert consultation and previously tested in a pilot study. Thereafter blood pressure, height and weight were measured.
Results: More than half of the sample met criteria for overweight/obesity and 58% reported a weight increase after the arrival in Italy. The increased risk of weight gain after migration was significantly associated with
women age, lower education level, African ethnicity and post-migration increased consumption of cheese and snacks/sweets. After applying a conditional multiple logistic regression, ethnicity, age and increased
post-migration cheese consumption remained the main predictors of weight gain. More than half of subjects with BMI ≥25 Kg/m2 were not aware of their own overweight or obesity. Such weight underestimation was
more common in African migrants than in other ethnicities. Findings about the perceived quality of life showed an overall improved economic situation, although more than half of women revealed deterioration
in their social relationships after migration.
Conclusions: Our results are important to identify the gaps in the current migrant populations’ health promotion in Modena and suggest that strategies to support female migrants to reinforce good dietary patterns
may be the key in preventing unhealthy weight gain. Indeed, understanding immigrant women’s culture, beliefs and traditions of their country of origin, as well as food acculturation, is essential to improve the
efficiency of these interventions
Trace elements in starter infant formula: dietary intake and safety assessment
No full textThe aim of this study was to investigate the concentrations of five essential (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu and Se) and four non-essential/toxic elements (Cr, Cd, Ni and Pb) in 35 different starter infant formulas (0-6 months) sold in Italy. In addition, a safety assessment of these trace elements was carried out, by comparing the estimated daily intake (EDI) with the adequate intake (AI) and the provisional tolerable daily intake (PTDI), with a view to provide information on the metal distribution patterns and health risk to infants arising from the consumption of these products. The concentrations were determined by using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry after microwave digestion. The concentrations expressed in geometric mean ± geometric standard deviation of Fe (6.17 ± 1.61 mg/L), Zn (6.21 ± 1.31 mg/L), Cu (416.4 ± 1.21 μg/L), Mn (121.5 ± 1.85 μg/L) and Se (13.27 ± 1.67 μg/L) were within legal limits. In spite of this, the mean EDIs of Fe (4.81 mg/day) and Mn (94.75 μg/day) were many times higher than the recommended AI, especially for Mn. Chromium, Ni, Cd and Pb concentrations were not detectable in 11, 37, 57 and 66% of the samples, respectively. Considering the overall sample, the GM ± GSD of these elements were 4.80 ± 5.35 μg/L for Cr, 1.02 ± 11.65 μg/L for Ni, 0.21 ± 14.83 μg/L for Cd and 0.14 ± 17.13 μg/L for Pb. The mean EDIs were far below the respective PTDI. When the safety assessment was based on the 75° percentile level of each elements, all EDIs remained well below the PTDI, with the exception of Cd, whose EDI approached (74.7%), albeit remaining below the PTDI. In conclusion, our results and the increased awareness on the potential risks of excessive Mn and Fe for infants support that an urgent scientific-based definition of the appropriated levels of fortification in formulas is required. Moreover, regular monitoring of all the stages of production of infant formulas is essential in order to limit toxic metal contamination
Elisabetta I come Cinzia: Una regina e il suo oceano
Get PDFThe defeat of the Spanish Armada in the Channel in 1588 turned ‘a weak and feeble woman’ into one of the most relevant characters of late 16th-century European history: Elizabeth I, the Tudor Queen, was considered a semi-divine creature whom the myth, by comparing her to Moon goddesses like Diana and Cinthia, had made known as Semper Eadem.
The identification of the queen with Cinthia became more and more evident after the events occurred in 1588, when she was hailed as the moon goddess par excellence in a series of texts written by her contemporaries. It was in that period, the last decades of the 16th century, that Sir Walter Ralegh, courtier, poet and seaman, wrote The Poems to Cynthia: a collection of short poems where Elizabeth I, the lady of the seas, is addressed as his beloved. The role of Elizabeth as Cinthia is evident above all in Ralegh’s Last Book of the Ocean to Cynthia, an unfinished poem where the author, desperate for being in disgrace, appeals to her clemency and addresses her as the empress of the ocean.La sconfitta della flotta spagnola nelle acque della Manica nel 1588 trasformò una donna sola e fragile in una delle figure più rilevanti della storia europea di fine XVI secolo: Elisabetta I Tudor divenne per i suoi sudditi una creatura semidivina che il mito, accostandola alle divinità lunari Diana e Cinzia, avrebbe consegnato alla Storia come Semper Eadem.
Pur essendo evidente già nei primi tempi del suo regno, l’identificazione della sovrana con Cinzia, la dea che governa i mari e i corsi d’acqua, si fa ancora più evidente dopo il 1588, quando si assiste ad una fioritura di testi che esaltano Elisabetta I come la dea lunare per eccellenza.
Sempre in quegli anni di fine XVI secolo, Sir Walter Ralegh compone The Poems to Cynthia: letterato, cortigiano e uomo di mare, Ralegh dedicherà il suo amore ad Elisabetta come Cinzia, signora dei mari. Il legame tra Elisabetta e l’oceano è soprattutto evidente in Last Book of the Ocean to Cynthia, un poemetto incompiuto in cui il poeta, caduto in disgrazia, riunisce sotto il nome di Cinzia, la donna e la regina, l’amante e la dea, trasformando così Elisabetta in dea e imperatrice dei mari
Elisabetta I come Cinzia. Una regina e il suo oceano.
Get PDFLa sconfitta della flotta spagnola nelle acque della Manica nel 1588 trasformò una donna sola e fragile in una delle figure più rilevanti della storia europea di fine XVI secolo: Elisabetta I Tudor divenne per i suoi sudditi una creatura semidivina che il mito, accostandola alle divinità lunari Diana e Cinzia, avrebbe consegnato alla Storia come Semper Eadem. Pur essendo evidente già nei primi tempi del suo regno, l’identificazione della sovrana con Cinzia, la dea che governa i mari e i corsi d’acqua, si fa ancora più evidente dopo il 1588, quando si assiste ad una fioritura di testi che esaltano Elisabetta I come la dea lunare per eccellenza. Sempre in quegli anni di fine XVI secolo, Sir Walter Raleigh compone ‘The Poems to Cynthia’: letterato, cortigiano e uomo di mare, Raleigh dedicherà il suo amore ad Elisabetta come Cinzia, signora dei mari. Il legame tra Elisabetta e l’oceano è soprattutto evidente in ‘Last Book of the Ocean to Cynthia’, un poemetto incompiuto in cui il poeta, caduto in disgrazia, riunisce sotto il nome di Cinzia, la donna e la regina, l’amante e la dea, trasformando così Elisabetta in dea e imperatrice dei mari.The defeat of the Spanish Armada in the Channel in 1588 turned ‘a weak and feeble woman’ into one of the most relevant characters of late 16th-century European history: Elizabeth I, the Tudor Queen, was considered a semi-divine creature whom the myth, by comparing her to Moon goddesses like Diana and Cinthia, had made known as Semper Eadem. The identification of the queen with Cinthia became more and more evident after the events occurred in 1588, when she was hailed as the moon goddess par excellence in a series of texts written by her contemporaries. It was in that period, the last decades of the 16th century, that Sir Walter Raleigh, courtier, poet and seaman, wrote ‘The Poems to Cynthia’: a collection of short poems where Elizabeth I, the lady of the seas, is addressed as his beloved. The role of Elizabeth as Cinthia is evident above all in Raleigh’s ‘Last Book of the Ocean to Cynthia’, an unfinished poem where the author, desperate for being in disgrace, appeals to her clemency and addresses her as the empress of the ocean
Praxiphanes of Mytilene (called 'of Rhodes'). The Sources, Text and Translation
No full textNuova edizione dei frammenti di Prassifane di MItilene, detto di Rodi, con traduzione e note. Prassifane era uno dei filosofi di età ellenistica implicato in ruoli anche pubblici in merito ai quali abbiamo segnali di onori ricevuti (cittadinanza e prossenia). I frammenti superstiti permettono di ricostruire la personalità di un filosofo peripatetico, allievo di Teofrasto, che pur avendo acquisito fama come 'primo grammatico' ed essersi occupato di critica letteraria, di poeti, di poetica e di 'storia', non lasciò da parte interessi di etica e probabilmente di fisica. Importante la sua attività a Rodi, nel pieno III sec. a.C., in un periodo nel quale l'isola rivestì un ruolo particolarmente rilevante dal punto di vista politico, economico e culturale per il mondo ellenico.New Critical Edition of the sources related to Praxiphanes of Mytilene, called of Rhodes' (3rd BC), a Peripatetic philosopher, pupil of Theophrastus, whose entire works are lost. The new collection of fragments shows that he was a philosopher involved in public life, called 'first grammarian' and author of works on literary critics, on poetics, on poets, on history, on ethics and physics. He lived and worked in Rhodes in a special period when this island was an important economic, political and cultural centre of the Hellenic world
Embodied Environmental and Social Impacts: A Regionalised Sectoral Method for Low-Carbon Construction Materials in Italy
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Open AccessArticle
Embodied Environmental and Social Impacts: A Regionalised Sectoral Method for Low-Carbon Construction Materials in Italy
by Elisabetta Palumbo 1,* andFrancesco Pomponi 2ORCID
1
Department of Engineering and Applied Science (DISA), University of Bergamo, 24129 Bergamo, Italy
2
York School of Architecture, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2025, 17(21), 9797; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17219797
Submission received: 25 September 2025 / Revised: 26 October 2025 / Accepted: 28 October 2025 / Published: 3 November 2025
(This article belongs to the Topic Construction Project Management and Infrastructure Sustainability)
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Abstract
The decarbonisation of the built environment has increased reliance on Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (E-LCA) to evaluate the impacts of construction materials. However, social aspects—particularly those affecting workers—remain underexplored. This study presents a regionalised approach to support socially and environmentally informed decision-making in the Italian construction sector. For this purpose, we have integrated worker health and safety indicators into the E-LCA of two representative building products assessed across key life cycle stages. These indicators are incorporated into the evaluation of Global Warming Potential (GWP), thus serving as a decision-support tool during the design phase. From a design perspective, the aim is to promote a broader understanding of sustainability—encompassing both environmental and social dimensions—within building projects. Methodologically, the contribution is twofold. First, it addresses the current gap in context-specific data on the critical indicator of worker health and safety in the construction sector, an essential requirement for robust and scientifically recognised S-LCA studies. To this end, the study develops a regionalised scoring system based on publicly available occupational health and safety data from the Italian National Accident Database (INAIL), disaggregated by sector and region. Second, we propose a framework to combine these social indicators with LCA-based environmental impact metrics, which remain central to building-scale E-LCA. It is clear that no single region performs best, while a critical need for multi-criteria decision-making in sustainable design is evident
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