Reconceptualising professional development in early childhood education. A study on teachers' professionalism carried out in Bologna province.

The research undertaken for this doctoral thesis explores the issue of teachers professionalism within pre-school institutions. The issue of early childhood professionalism has become increasingly important in the academic debate over the last decade as it is documented by a growing body of research published on the topic both nationally (Contini & Manini, 2007; Bondioli & Ferrari, 2004) and internationally (Peeters, 2008; Urban & Dalli, 2008; Urban, 2010). The study presented in this thesis aims at investigating teachers’ conceptualisations of professionalism by focusing on their understandings of educational work. The idea standing at the core of this research is that exploring the concept of professionalism from a ground-up perspective could lead to important reflections for a re-conceptualisation of professional development as a space for change directed from within institutions. The study is framed within a broadly sociological concern that inform the data analysis by contextualising the issue of early childhood professionalism in the contemporary socio-political arena. The research involves sixty teachers operating in state, municipal and private pre-school institutions located in Bologna province that took part to focus groups and interviews. The empirical materials, consisting of oral and written statements, are interpreted through phenomenographical analysis that gives account of how features of professionalism vary across the different institutional settings in which they are played out. This thesis, written in English and informed by an European research background, offers a contribution to the furthering of systemic approaches to the investigation of early childhood education professionalism in the context of the national and international academic debate.

An advanced analytical study on linseed oil paint binder

Drying oils, and in particular linseed oil, were the most common binding media employed in painting between XVI and XIX centuries. Artists usually operated some pre-treatments on the oils to obtain binders with modified properties, such as different handling qualities or colour. Oil processing has a key role on the subsequent ageing of and degradation of linseed oil paints. In this thesis a multi-analytical approach was adopted to investigate the drying, polymerization and oxidative degradation of the linseed oil paints. In particular, thermogravimetry analysis (TGA), yielding information on the macromolecular scale, were compared with gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry (GC-MS) and direct exposure mass spectrometry (DEMS) providing information on the molecular scale. The study was performed on linseed oils and paint reconstructions prepared according to an accurate historical description of the painting techniques of the 19th century. TGA revealed that during ageing the molecular weight of the oils changes and that higher molecular weight fractions formed. TGA proved to be an excellent tool to compare the oils and paint reconstructions. This technique is able to highlight the different physical behaviour of oils that were processed using different methods and of paint layers on the basis of the different processed oil and /or the pigment used. GC/MS and DE-MS were used to characterise the soluble and non-polymeric fraction of the oils and paint reconstructions. GC/MS allowed us to calculate the ratios of palmitic to stearic acid (P/S), and azelaic to palmitic acid (A/P) and to evaluate effects produced by oil pre-treatments and the presence of different pigments. This helps to understand the role of the pre-treatments and of the pigments on the oxidative degradation undergone by siccative oils during ageing. DE-MS enabled the various molecular weight fractions of the samples to be simultaneously studied, and thus helped to highlight the presence of oxidation and hydrolysis reactions, and the formation of carboxylates that occur during ageing and with the changing of the oil pre-treatments and the pigments. The combination of thermal analysis with molecular techniques such as GC-MS, DEMS and FTIR enabled a model to be developed, for unravelling some crucial issues: 1) how oil pre-treatments produce binders with different physical-chemical qualities, and how this can influence the ageing of an oil paint film; 2) which is the role of the interaction between oil and pigments in the ageing and degradation process.

The challenges and the limitations in Life Cycle Impact Assessment for metal oxide nanoparticles, a case study on nano- TiO2

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a chain-oriented tool to evaluate the environment performance of products focussing on the entire life cycle of these products: from the extraction of resources, via manufacturing and use, to the final processing of the disposed products. Through all these stages consumption of resources and pollutant releases to air, water, soil are identified and quantified in Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) analysis. Subsequently to the LCI phase follows the Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) phase; that has the purpose to convert resource consumptions and pollutant releases in environmental impacts. The LCIA aims to model and to evaluate environmental issues, called impact categories. Several reports emphasises the importance of LCA in the field of ENMs. The ENMs offer enormous potential for the development of new products and application. There are however unanswered questions about the impacts of ENMs on human health and the environment. In the last decade the increasing production, use and consumption of nanoproducts, with a consequent release into the environment, has accentuated the obligation to ensure that potential risks are adequately understood to protect both human health and environment. Due to its holistic and comprehensive assessment, LCA is an essential tool evaluate, understand and manage the environmental and health effects of nanotechnology. The evaluation of health and environmental impacts of nanotechnologies, throughout the whole of their life-cycle by using LCA methodology. This is due to the lack of knowledge in relation to risk assessment. In fact, to date, the knowledge on human and environmental exposure to nanomaterials, such ENPs is limited. This bottleneck is reflected into LCA where characterisation models and consequently characterisation factors for ENPs are missed. The PhD project aims to assess limitations and challenges of the freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity potential evaluation in LCIA phase for ENPs and in particular nanoparticles as n-TiO2.

Laboratory study on the optical properties of absorbing atmospheric aerosols and field applications

The interaction between aerosols and sun light plays an important role in the radiative balance of Earth’s atmosphere. This interaction is obtained by measuring the removal (extinction), redistribution (scattering), and transformation into heat (absorption) of light by the aerosols; i.e. their optical properties. Knowledge of these properties is crucial for our understanding of the atmospheric system. rn Light absorption by aerosols is a major contributor to the direct and indirect effects on our climate system, and an accurate and sensitive measurement method is crucial to further our understanding. A homebuilt photoacoustic sensor (PAS), measuring at a 532nm wavelength, was fully characterized and its functionality validated for measurements of absorbing aerosols. The optical absorption cross-sections of absorbing polystyrene latex spheres, to be used as a standard for aerosol absorption measurements, were measured and compared to literature values. Additionally, a calibration method using absorbing aerosol of known complex refractive index was presented.rn A new approach to retrieve the effective broadband refractive indices (mbroad,eff) of aerosol particles by a white light aerosol spectrometer (WELAS) optical particle counter (OPC) was achieved. Using a tandem differential mobility analyzer (DMA)-OPC system, the nbroad,eff are obtained for both laboratory and field applications. This method was tested in the laboratory using substances with a wide range of optical properties and it was used in ambient measurements to retrieve the nbroad,eff of biomass burning aerosols in a nationwide burning event in Israel. The retrieved effective broadband refractive indices for laboratory generated scattering aerosols were: ammonium sulfate (AS), glutaric acid (GA), and sodium chloride, all within 4% of literature values. For absorbing substances, nigrosine and various mixtures of nigrosine with AS and GA were measured, as well as a lightly absorbing substance, Suwannee river fulvic acid (SRFA). For the ambient measurements, the calibration curves generated from this method were to follow the optical evolution of biomass burning (BB) aerosols. A decrease in the overall aerosol absorption and scattering for aged aerosols during the day after the fires compared to the smoldering phase of the fires was found. rn The connection between light extinction of aerosols, their chemical composition and hygroscopicity for particles with different degrees of absorption was studied. The extinction cross-section (σext) at 532nm for different mobility diameters was measured at 80% and 90% relative humidity (RH), and at an RH<10%. The ratio of the humidified aerosols to the dry ones, fRHext(%RH,Dry), is presented. For purely scattering aerosols, fRHext(%RH,Dry) is inversely proportional with size; this dependence was suppressed for lightly absorbing ones. In addition, the validity of the mixing rules for water soluble absorbing aerosols is explored. The difference between the derived and calculated real parts of the complex RIs were less than 5.3% for all substances, wavelengths, and RHs. The obtained imaginary parts for the retrieved and calculated RIs were in good agreement with each other, and well within the measurement errors of retrieval from pulsed CRD spectroscopy measurements. Finally, a core-shell structure model is also used to explore the differences between the models, for substances with low growth factors, under these hydration conditions. It was found that at 80% RH and for size parameters less than 2.5, there is less than a 5 % difference between the extinction efficiencies calculated with both models. This difference is within measurement errors; hence, there is no significant difference between the models in this case. However, for greater size parameters the difference can be up to 10%. For 90% RH the differences below a size parameter of 2.5 were up to 7%.rn Finally, the fully characterized PAS together with a cavity ring down spectrometer (CRD), were used to study the optical properties of soot and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) during the SOOT-11 project in the AIDA chamber in Karlsruhe, Germany. The fresh fractal-like soot particles were allowed to coagulate for 28 hours before stepwise coating them with SOA. The single scattering albedo for fresh fractal-like soot was measured to be 0.2 (±0.03), and after allowing the soot to coagulate for 28 hours and coating it with SOA, it increased to 0.71(±0.01). An absorption enhancement of the coated soot of up to 1.71 (±0.03) times from the non-coated coagulated soot was directly measured with the PAS. Monodisperse measurements of SOA and soot coated with SOA were performed to derive the complex refractive index (m) of both aerosols. A complex refractive index of m = 1.471(±0.008) + i0.0(±0.002) for the SOA-αO3 was retrieved. For the compact coagulated soot a preliminary complex refractive index of m = 2.04(+0.21/-0.14) + i0.34(+0.18/-0.06) with 10nm(+4/-6) coating thickness was retrieved.rn These detail properties can be use by modelers to decrease uncertainties in assessing climatic impacts of the different species and to improve weather forecasting.rn

Mitochondrial DNA rearrangements during human aging: a study on liver, muscle and adipose tissue

Aging is characterized by a chronic, low-grade inflammatory state called “inflammaging”. Mitochondria are the main source of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which trigger the production of pro-inflammatory molecules. We are interested in studying the age-related modifications of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which can be affected by the lifelong exposure to ROS and are responsible of mitochondrial dysfunction. Moreover, increasing evidences show that telomere shortening, naturally occurring with aging, is involved in mtDNA damage processes and thus in the pathogenesis of age-related disorders. Thus the primary aim of this thesis was the analysis of mtDNA copy number, deletion level and integrity in different-age human biopsies from liver, vastus lateralis skeletal muscle of healthy subjects and patients with limited mobility of lower limbs (LMLL), as well as adipose tissue. The telomere length and the expression of nuclear genes related to mitobiogenesis, fusion and fission, mitophagy, mitochondrial protein quality control system, hypoxia, production and protection from ROS were also evaluated. In liver the decrease in mtDNA integrity with age is accompanied with an increase in mtDNA copy number, suggesting the existence of a “compensatory mechanism” able to maintain the functionality of this organ. Different is the case of vastus lateralis muscle, where any “compensatory pathway” is activated and mtDNA integrity and copy number decrease with age, both in healthy subjects and in patients. Interestingly, mtDNA rearrangements do not incur in adipose tissue with advancing age. Finally, in all tissues a marked gender difference appears, suggesting that aging and also gender diversely affect mtDNA rearrangements and telomere length in the three human tissues considered, likely depending on their different metabolic needs and inflammatory status.

Antiepileptic drugs and pregnancy. Population based pharmaco-epidemiological study on prescription patterns, pregnancy outcome and foetal health

Aims of the study: To assess the prevalence of Antiepileptic Drug (AED) exposure in pregnant women with or without epilepsy and the comparative risk of terminations of pregnancy (TOPs), spontaneous abortions, stillbirth, major congenital malformations (MCMs) and foetal growth retardation (FGR) following intrauterine AED exposure in the Emilia Romagna region (RER), Northern Italy (4 million inhabitants). Methods: Data were obtained from official regional registries: Certificate of Delivery Assistance, Hospital Discharge Card, reimbursed prescription databases and Registry of Congenital Malformations. We identified all the deliveries, hospitalized abortions and MCMs occurred between January 2009 and December 2011. Results: We identified 145,243 pregnancies: 111,284 deliveries (112,845 live births and 279 stillbirths), 16408 spontaneous abortions and 17551 TOPs. Six hundred and eleven pregnancies (0.42% 95% Cl: 0.39-0.46) were exposed to AEDs. Twenty-one per cent of pregnancies ended in TOP in the AED group vs 12% in the non-exposed (OR:2.24; CI 1.41-3.56). The rate of spontaneous abortions and stillbirth was comparable in the two groups. Three hundred fifty-three babies (0.31%, 95% CI: 0.28-0.35) were exposed to AEDs during the first trimester. The rate of MCMs was 2.3% in the AED group (2.2% in babies exposed to monotherapy and 3.1% in babies exposed to polytherapy) vs 2.0% in the non-exposed. The risk of FGR was 12.7 % in the exposed group compared to 10% in the non-exposed. Discussion and Conclusion: The prevalence of AED exposure in pregnancy in the RER was 0.42%. The rate of MCMs in children exposed to AEDs in utero was almost superimposable to the one of the non-exposed, however polytherapy carried a slightly increased risk . The rate of TOPs was significantly higher in the exposed women. Further studies are needed to clarify whether this high rate reflects a higher rate of MCMs detected prenatally or other more elusive reasons.

Integration of Internet of Things and Cloud computing. A case study on vital signs monitoring.

Il progresso scientifico e le innovazioni tecnologiche nei campi dell'elettronica, informatica e telecomunicazioni, stanno aprendo la strada a nuove visioni e concetti. L'obiettivo della tesi è quello d'introdurre il modello del Cloud computing per rendere possibile l'attuale visione di Internet of Thing. Nel primo capitolo si introduce Ubiquitous computing come un nuovo modo di vedere i computer, cercando di fare chiarezza sulla sua definizione, la sua nascita e fornendo un breve quadro storico. Nel secondo capitolo viene presentata la visione di Internet of Thing (Internet delle “cose”) che si avvale di concetti e di problematiche in parte già considerate con Ubiquitous computing. Internet of Thing è una visione in cui la rete Internet viene estesa agli oggetti di tutti i giorni. Tracciare la posizione degli oggetti, monitorare pazienti da remoto, rilevare dati ambientali sono solo alcuni esempi. Per realizzare questo tipo di applicazioni le tecnologie wireless sono da considerare necessarie, sebbene questa visione non assuma nessuna specifica tecnologia di comunicazione. Inoltre, anche schede di sviluppo possono agevolare la prototipazione di tali applicazioni. Nel terzo capitolo si presenta Cloud computing come modello di business per utilizzare su richiesta risorse computazionali. Nel capitolo, vengono inizialmente descritte le caratteristiche principali e i vari tipi di modelli di servizio, poi viene argomentato il ruolo che i servizi di Cloud hanno per Internet of Thing. Questo modello permette di accelerare lo sviluppo e la distribuzione di applicazioni di Internet of Thing, mettendo a disposizione capacità di storage e di calcolo per l'elaborazione distribuita dell'enorme quantità di dati prodotta da sensori e dispositivi vari. Infine, nell'ultimo capitolo viene considerato, come esempio pratico, l'integrazione di tecnologie di Cloud computing in una applicazione IoT. Il caso di studio riguarda il monitoraggio remoto dei parametri vitali, considerando Raspberry Pi e la piattaforma e-Health sviluppata da Cooking Hacks per lo sviluppo di un sistema embedded, e utilizzando PubNub come servizio di Cloud per distribuire i dati ottenuti dai sensori. Il caso di studio metterà in evidenza sia i vantaggi sia le eventuali problematiche che possono scaturire utilizzando servizi di Cloud in applicazioni IoT.

Landscape and well-being: a scoping study on the health-promoting impact of outdoor environments

OBJECTIVES: The present literature review conceptualises landscape as a health resource that promotes physical, mental, and social well-being. Different health-promoting landscape characteristics are discussed. METHODS: This article is based on a scoping study which represents a special kind of qualitative literature review. Over 120 studies have been reviewed in a five-step-procedure, resulting in a heuristic device. RESULTS: A set of meaningful pathways that link landscape and health have been identified. Landscapes have the potential to promote mental well-being through attention restoration, stress reduction, and the evocation of positive emotions; physical well-being through the promotion of physical activity in daily life as well as leisure time and through walkable environments; and social well-being through social integration, social engagement and participation, and through social support and security. CONCLUSION: This scoping study allows us to systematically describe the potential of landscape as a resource for physical, mental and social well-being. A heuristic framework is presented that can be applied in future studies, facilitating systematic and focused research approaches and informing practical public health interventions.

An fMRI study on mental pain and suicidal behavior

Suicide is a poorly understood phenomenon. A clinical model of suicide conceptualizes suicidal behavior as a solution to an unbearable state of mind, experienced as mental pain.

Progression of coronary artery disease during long-term follow-up of the Swiss Interventional Study on Silent Ischemia Type II (SWISSI II)

Background: This study evaluates cardiovascular risk factors associated with progression of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patientswith silent ischemia followingmyocardial infarction. Hypothesis: Coronary artery disease only progresses slowly with comprehensive risk factor intervention. Methods: A total of 104 of 201 patients (51.7%) of the Swiss Interventional Study on Silent Ischemia Type II (SWISSI II) with baseline and follow-up coronary angiography were included. All patients received comprehensive cardiovascular risk factor intervention according to study protocol. Logistic regression was used to evaluate associationsbetween baseline cardiovascular risk factors and CAD progression. Results: The mean duration of follow-upwas 10.3 ± 2.4 years. At baseline, 77.9% of patients were smokers, 45.2% had hypertension, 73.1% had dyslipidemia, 7.7% had diabetes, and 48.1% had a family history of CAD. At last follow-up, only 27 patients of the initial 81 smokers still smoked, only 2.1% of the patients had uncontrolled hypertension, 10.6%of the patientshad uncontrolled dyslipidemia, and 2.1%of the patientshad uncontrolled diabetes. Coronary artery disease progression was found in up to 81 (77.9%) patients. Baseline diabetes and younger age were associatedwith increased odds of CAD progression.The time intervalbetween baseline and follow-up angiography was also associatedwith CAD progression. Conclusion: Coronary artery disease progressionwas highly prevalent in these patients despite comprehensive risk factor intervention. Further research is needed to optimize treatment of known risk factors and to identify other unknown and potentiallymodifiable risk factors.

Oral mucosal findings related to tobacco use and alcohol consumption: a study on Swiss army recruits involving self-reported and clinical data

PURPOSE: The aim of the present study was to assess the oral mucosal health status of young male adults (aged 18 to 24 years) in Switzerland and to correlate their clinical findings with self-reported risk factors such as tobacco use and alcohol consumption. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data on the oral health status of 615 Swiss Army recruits were collected using a standardised self-reported questionnaire, followed by an intraoral examination. Positive clinical findings were classified as (1) common conditions and anatomical variants, (2) reactive lesions, (3) benign tumour lesions and (4) premalignant lesions. The main locations of the oral mucosal findings were recorded on a topographical classification chart. Using correlational statistics, the findings were further associated with the known risk factors such as tobacco use and alcohol consumption. RESULTS: A total of 468 findings were diagnosed in 327 (53.17%) of the 615 subjects. In total, 445 findings (95.09%) were classified as common conditions, anatomical variants and reactive soft-tissue lesions. In the group of reactive soft-tissue lesions, there was a significantly higher percentage of smokers (P < 0.001) and subjects with a combination of smoking and alcohol consumption (P < 0.001). Eight lesions were clinically diagnosed as oral leukoplakias associated with smokeless tobacco. The prevalence of precursor lesions in the population examined was over 1%. CONCLUSIONS: Among young male adults in Switzerland, a significant number of oral mucosal lesions can be identified, which strongly correlate with tobacco use. To improve primary and secondary prevention, young adults should therefore be informed more extensively about the negative effects of tobacco use on oral health.

Ten-year results of a three-arm prospective cohort study on implants in periodontally compromised patients. Part 1: implant loss and radiographic bone loss

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare the long-term outcomes of implants placed in patients treated for periodontitis periodontally compromised patients (PCP) and in periodontally healthy patients (PHP) in relation to adhesion to supportive periodontal therapy (SPT). MATERIAL AND METHODS: One hundred and twelve partially edentulous patients were consecutively enrolled in private specialist practice and divided into three groups according to their initial periodontal condition: PHP, moderate PCP and severe PCP. Perio and implant treatment was carried out as needed. Solid screws (S), hollow screws (HS) and hollow cylinders (HC) were installed to support fixed prostheses, after successful completion of initial periodontal therapy (full-mouth plaque score <25% and full-mouth bleeding score <25%). At the end of treatment, patients were asked to follow an individualized SPT program. At 10 years, clinical measures and radiographic bone changes were recorded by two calibrated operators, blinded to the initial patient classification. RESULTS: Eleven patients were lost to follow-up. During the period of observation, 18 implants were removed because of biological complications. The implant survival rate was 96.6%, 92.8% and 90% for all implants and 98%, 94.2% and 90% for S-implants only, respectively, for PHP, moderate PCP and severe PCP. The mean bone loss was 0.75 (+/- 0.88) mm in PHP, 1.14 (+/- 1.11) mm in moderate PCP and 0.98 (+/- 1.22) mm in severe PCP, without any statistically significant difference. The percentage of sites, with bone loss > or =3 mm, was, respectively, 4.7% for PHP, 11.2% for moderate PCP and 15.1% for severe PCP, with a statistically significant difference between PHP and severe PCP (P<0.05). Lack of adhesion to SPT was correlated with a higher incidence of bone loss and implant loss. CONCLUSION: Patients with a history of periodontitis presented a lower survival rate and a statistically significantly higher number of sites with peri-implant bone loss. Furthermore, PCP, who did not completely adhere to the SPT, were found to present a higher implant failure rate. This underlines the value of the SPT in enhancing the long-term outcomes of implant therapy, particularly in subjects affected by periodontitis, in order to control reinfection and limit biological complications.

Emergency skill training--a randomized controlled study on the effectiveness of the 4-stage approach compared to traditional clinical teaching

The "4-stage approach" has been widely accepted for practical skill training replacing the traditional 2 stages ("see one, do one"). However, the superior effectiveness of the 4-stage approach was never proved.

Prognostic significance of apoptotic cell death in bladder cancer: a tissue microarray study on 179 urothelial carcinomas from cystectomy specimens

To assess the prognostic significance of apoptosis related markers in bladder cancer.

Inter- and intraobserver reliability of predefined diagnostic levels in high-resolution sonography of the carpal tunnel syndrome - a validation study on healthy volunteers

High-resolution ultrasound is becoming increasingly important in the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Most studies define cut-off values of the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the median nerve in different locations. The individual range of nerve swelling, the size of the nerve, and its CSA are not addressed. The aim of the study is to define the intra- and interobserver reliability of diagnostic ultrasound using two different cross-sectional areas of the median nerve at the carpal tunnel in predefined locations.