62 research outputs found
Appunti per una storia dello spazio: piazza Tahrir e reti virtuali nell'Egitto della rivoluzione
No full textIl lavoro si presenta come un’analisi della rivoluzione di piazza Tahrir, alla riscoperta della riappropriazione dello spazio della piazza da parte della popolazione, attraverso l’utilizzo combinato dei social network e dei media tradizionali. La prima parte a cura di Mattia Bonfanti analizza il contesto dei 18 giorni di rivoluzione al Cairo. Il mancato ascolto delle istanze democratiche e un contesto politico affetto da cronica corruzione e miopia della classe dirigente egiziana, ha portato allo scoppio della protesta di piazza Tahrir il 25 gennaio 2011, i cui esiti restano a tutt’oggi controversi. La seconda parte a cura di Maria Grazia Montella si delinea come una riflessione sull’exploit dei social media come “ritorno alla fisicità” e riscoperta delle manifestazioni spaziali e fisiche del dissenso. La connessione tra lo spazio virtuale della rete e lo spazio fisico della piazza è storica, politica e culturale e si innesta nelle riflessioni prese in prestito da Lefebvre e Foucault.The work presents an analysis of the Egyptian uprising and of its most known rich place Tahrir Square. The process of re-appropriation of the space of the square through the combined use of social networks and traditional media is traced through the division in two parts. The first one outlines the political context and the eighteen days of the uprising in Cairo. The author identifies the principal causes of the revolution burst in the failure in listening the people’s request for democracy and in the chronic corruption of the government. The second part argues that the massive usage of the social networks has to be seen as a back to the physical, a revival of spatial and physic demonstration of the dissent. The connection between the virtual space of the internet and the real space of the square is historical, political, and cultural and it has to be sought in Foucault and Lefebvre reflections
Predictive Analysis of Healthcare-Associated Blood Stream Infections in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Using Artificial Intelligence: A Single Center Study
No full textBackground: Neonatal infections represent one of the six main types of healthcare-associated infections and have resulted in increasing mortality rates in recent years due to preterm births or problems arising from childbirth. Although advances in obstetrics and technologies have minimized the number of deaths related to birth, different challenges have emerged in identifying the main factors affecting mortality and morbidity. Dataset characterization: We investigated healthcare-associated infections in a cohort of 1203 patients at the level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the “Federico II” University Hospital in Naples from 2016 to 2020 (60 months). Methods: The present paper used statistical analyses and logistic regression to identify an association between healthcare-associated blood stream infection (HABSIs) and the available risk factors in neonates and prevent their spread. We designed a supervised approach to predict whether a patient suffered from HABSI using seven different artificial intelligence models. Results: We analyzed a cohort of 1203 patients and found that birthweight and central line catheterization days were the most important predictors of suffering from HABSI. Conclusions: Our statistical analyses showed that birthweight and central line catheterization days were significant predictors of suffering from HABSI. Patients suffering from HABSI had lower gestational age and birthweight, which led to longer hospitalization and umbilical and central line catheterization days than non-HABSI neonates. The predictive analysis achieved the highest Area Under Curve (AUC), accuracy and F1-macro score in the prediction of HABSIs using Logistic Regression (LR) and Multi-layer Perceptron (MLP) models, which better resolved the imbalanced dataset (65 infected and 1038 healthy)
Organisational and Structural Drivers of Childhood Immunisation in the European Region: A Systematic Review
No full textDespite the implementation of widespread vaccination programs, the European Health Systems continue to experience care challenges attributable to organizational and structural issues. This study aimed to review the available data on aspects within the organizational and structural domains that might impact vaccination coverage. We searched a comprehensive range of databases from 1 January 2007 to 6 July 2021 for studies that reported quantitative or qualitative research on interventions to raise childhood vaccine coverage. Outcome assessments comprised organizational and structural factors that contribute to vaccine concern among pediatric parents, as well as data reported influencing the willingness to vaccinate. To analyze the risk of bias, the Ottawa, JBI’s (Joanna Briggs Institute) critical appraisal tool, and Amstar quality assessment were used accordingly. The inclusion criteria were met by 205 studies across 21 articles. The majority of the studies were conducted in the United Kingdom (6), the European Union (3), and Italy (3). A range of interventions studied in primary healthcare settings has been revealed to improve vaccination coverage rates including parental engagement and personalization, mandatory vaccination policies, program redesign, supply chain design, administering multiple/combination vaccines, improved vaccination timing and intervals, parental education and reminders, surveillance tools and Supplemental Immunisation Activity (SIA), and information model
Membrane assisted propane dehydrogenation: Experimental investigation and mathematical modelling of catalytic reactions
No full textSelective propane dehydrogenation is one of the commercialised technology for the production of propylene. The main drawback of such process is closely linked to the high temperature required to reach a sustainable propane conversion that affects catalyst stability owing to coke formation on the catalyst surface. Accordingly, a periodic regeneration of catalytic bed is required. The simultaneous actions of performing the reaction in the presence of Pd-based membrane and optimization of employed catalyst could lead to a substantial reduction in the operating reaction temperature, decreasing the extent of reactions responsible for coke formation.To this aim a comprehensive study of catalytic behaviour is essential and accordingly a dedicated experimental program is reported for propane dehydrogenation on a Pt-based catalyst, by focusing the attention on the operating conditions compatible with membrane integration. Both activity and stability of the catalyst system was evaluated in the investigated conditions, in addition mathematical models were optimized to effectively describe the system behaviour and the catalyst deactivation
La promozione dell’evidenza scientifica nella partica clinica assistenziale: l’implementazione di linee guida e procedure presso l’Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria “Federico II” di Napoli.
No full textThe application of Lean Six Sigma methodology to reduce the risk of healthcareâassociated infections in surgery departments
No full textNowadays, the monitoring and prevention of healthcare–associated infections (HAIs) is a priority for the healthcare sector. In this article, we report on the application of the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology to reduce the number of patients affected by sentinel bacterial infections who are at risk of HAI. The LSS methodology was applied in the general surgery department by using a multidisciplinary team of both physicians and academics. Data on more than 20 000 patients who underwent a wide range of surgical procedures between January 2011 and December 2014 were collected to conduct the study using the departmental information system. The most prevalent sentinel bacteria were determined among the infected patients. The preintervention (January 2011 to December 2012) and postintervention (January 2013 to December 2014) phases were compared to analyze the effects of the methodology implemented. The methodology allowed the identification of variables that influenced the risk of HAIs and the implementation of corrective actions to improve the care process, thereby reducing the percentage of infected patients. The improved process resulted in a 20% reduction in the average number of hospitalization days between preintervention and control phases, and a decrease in the mean (SD) number of days of hospitalization amounted to 36 (15.68), with a data distribution around 3 σ. The LSS is a helpful strategy that ensures a significant decrease in the number of HAIs in patients undergoing surgical interventions. The implementation of this intervention in the general surgery departments resulted in a significant reduction in both the number of hospitalization days and the number of patients affected by HAIs. This approach, together with other tools for reducing the risk of infection (surveillance, epidemiological guidelines, and training of healthcare personnel), could be applied to redesign and improve a wide range of healthcare processes
Coffee Silverskin: Chemical and Biological Risk Assessment and Health Profile for Its Potential Use in Functional Foods
No full textThe coffee supply chain is characterized by a complex network with many critical and unsustainable points producing a huge amount of waste products. Among these, coffee silverskin (CS), the only by-product of the coffee roasting phase, has an interesting chemical profile that suggests potential use as a food ingredient. However, few data on its safety are available. For this reason, the purpose of the study was to assess the occurrence of chemical and biological contaminants in CS, and the resulting risk due to its potential consumption. Essential, toxic, and rare earth elements, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), process contaminants, ochratoxin A (OTA), and pesticides residues were analyzed in three classes of samples (Coffea arabica CS, Coffea robusta CS, and their blend). Furthermore, total mesophilic bacteria count (TMBC) at 30 °C, Enterobacteriaceae, yeasts, and molds was evaluated. The risk assessment was based upon the hazard index (HI) and lifetime cancer risk (LTCR). In all varieties and blends, rare earth elements, pesticides, process contaminants, OTA, and PAHs were not detected except for chrysene, phenanthrene, and fluoranthene, which were reported at low concentrations only in the arabica CS sample. Among essential and toxic elements, As was usually the most representative in all samples. Microorganisms reported a low load, although arabica and robusta CS showed lower contamination than mixed CS. Instead, the risk assessment based on the potential consumption of CS as a food ingredient did not show either non-carcinogenic or carcinogenic risk. Overall, this study provides adequate evidence to support the safety of this by-product for its potential use in functional foods
Association between COVID-19 and Sick Leave for Healthcare Workers in a Large Academic Hospital in Southern Italy: An Observational Study
No full textStudies have shown that the pandemic has led to an increase in sick leave periods among healthcare workers (HCWs); however, this might have changed over time considering increase in vaccination coverage and change in COVID-19 variant predominance. Therefore, we conducted an observational study to evaluate whether the type of symptoms and the duration of sick leave period for healthcare workers working in a large university hospital in the South of Italy changed between January 2021 and January 2022; 398 cases of COVID-19 were identified for a total of 382 subjects involved. A total of 191 subjects answered the questionnaire about symptoms; of these, 79 had COVID-19 during the period from March 2020 until February 2022. The results showed a decrease of about 1.2 days in sick leave period for each quarter without finding significant differences in the perception of symptoms. It is possible to hypothesize a contribution from the Omicron variant to the decrease in sick leave period in the last quarter, from vaccination coverage, from optimization of COVID-19 management, and from change in the regulations for the assessment of positivity
Risk of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in Health Care Personnel Working in a Pediatric COVID-19 Unit
No full textObjectives: The paucity of symptoms and the difficulties in wearing personal protective equipment make children a potential source of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection for health care workers (HCWs). Previous experience in pediatric settings reported high rate of intrahospital SARS-CoV-2 transmission in HCWs caring for children. We aimed at investigating the rate and determinants of SARS-CoV-2 infection among HCWs working in a regional reference center in the Southern Italy.
Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted to monitor the occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 infections among HCWs and investigate the relation between the infection rate and hours of exposure or number and characteristics of procedures, including nasopharyngeal swab, high-flow oxygen delivery, suctioning of airway secretions, sputum induction, and nebulizer administration.
Results: After 5 months of monitoring, 425.6 hours of SARS-CoV-2 exposure (18.5 hours per person), and 920 hospital procedures, no case of nosocomial transmission was reported among the 23 HCWs enrolled in the study.
Conclusions: The application of stringent preventive measures, also outside the area dedicated to patients' care, can effectively control infection spreading also in pediatric settings
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