Search Results (27)

In recent years, Italy has experienced a significant increase in violence against healthcare workers, mirroring a global trend. Manifesting as verbal, physical, psychological, and material aggression, this phenomenon endangers both personnel safety and the foundational principles of the National Health Service (SSN) as outlined in Article 32 of the Italian Constitution. The escalation—most acute in emergency departments, psychiatric units, inpatient wards, and community services—affects a broad spectrum of professionals, compromising care quality and institutional integrity. Data from the FNOMCeO-CENSIS Report 2023–2024 reveal over 18,000 reported incidents in 2024, with verbal assaults disproportionately affecting female nursing staff. The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated systemic vulnerabilities, heightening user dissatisfaction and psychological strain among healthcare providers. In response, legislative actions—such as Law No. 113/2020 and Decree-Law No. 137/2024—aim to strengthen prevention, monitoring, and penal measures. This article examines legal, institutional, and organizational responses, including on-the-ground and hospital-based strategies to mitigate violence. Adopting a multidisciplinary perspective, it analyzes recent policy developments, regional dynamics, and victim-perpetrator profiles, arguing that safeguarding healthcare environments is both a public security priority and an ethical imperative essential to preserving the dignity of care work and the resilience of the health system. Full article

Dredging is essential for the maintenance of ports, waterways, lakes, and lagoons to ensure their operability and economic value. Over the last few decades, scientists have focused on the significant environmental challenges associated with dredging, including habitat destruction, loss of biodiversity, sediment suspension, and contamination with heavy metals and organic pollutants. The huge loss of sediment in coastal areas and the associated erosion processes are now forcing stakeholders to look ahead and turn potential problems into an opportunity to develop new sediment management strategies, beyond environmental protection, toward ecosystem restoration and coastal resilience. Moreover, the European and Italian strategies, such as the European Green Deal (EGD) and the Italian Ecological Transition Plan (PTE), highlight the need to reuse dredge sediment in circular economy strategies, transforming them into valuable resources for construction, agriculture, and environmental restoration projects. European legislation on dredging is fundamental to the issue of management and priorities of dredged materials, but the implementation rules are deferred to individual member states. In Italy, the Ministerial Decree 173/2016 covers the main aspects of dredge activities and dredge sediment management. Moreover, it encourages the remediation and reuse of the dredge sediment. This study starts with a comprehensive analysis of the innovative remediation techniques that minimize impacts and promote sustainable, beneficial sediment management. Different remediation methods, such as electrochemical treatments, chemical stabilization, emerging nanotechnologies, bioremediation, and phytoremediation, will be evaluated for their effectiveness in reducing pollution. Finally, we highlight new perspectives, integrated strategies, and multidisciplinary approaches that combine various technological innovations, including artificial intelligence, to enhance sediment reuse with the aim of promoting economic growth and environmental protection. Full article

Background/Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic compelled countries worldwide to implement stringent visitation restrictions across hospitals, nursing homes, and long-term care facilities to mitigate viral transmission. While initially justified by the uncertainty surrounding the virus, these restrictions often lasted well beyond the acute stage of the pandemic, leading to substantial psychological and physical harm, particularly for older adults. This study assesses the effects of these controls and offers strategies to balance public health priorities with patients’ rights and psychological well-being during public health crises. Methods: An integrative review and comparative analysis of legislative measures and the psychological effects of visitation restrictions was undertaken. International and national visitation regulations and case studies were reviewed, and ethical frameworks were considered. Results: Our findings indicate that prolonged isolation due to extended visitation restrictions led to higher rates of anxiety, depression, and delirium among patients, creating ethical dilemmas for healthcare providers. Legal responses to this challenge varied globally. International human rights organizations called for policies bridging public health priorities with patients’ rights to family and caregiver support. Some U.S. states enacted proactive legislation to strengthen family visitation rights, while other jurisdictions lack these visitation protections. Conclusions: Prolonged visitation restrictions during the pandemic show the need for legislation integrating public health protections with in-person family and caregiver support. The ethical imperatives of limiting the psychological harm caused by healthcare isolation and the legislative solutions to protect public health and the psychological well-being of patients during health crises are discussed. Full article

While scholarly works often attribute the pronunciation of “卍” as “wan” to Empress Wu Zetian in 693, associating it with the meaning “auspicious myriad virtues”, a closer examination of the history of “卍” in Chinese Buddhist translations suggests otherwise. The more accurate transliterations and translations of svastika emerged much later than the term “Wanzi” and had very limited influence. The connection between “卍” and “Wanzi” more likely appeared during the early transmission of Buddhism to China, when people used the accepted cursive form of “萬” to approximate the shape of the svastika symbol. However, as this rationale gradually became obsolete over time, the legend that “Empress Wu Zetian decreed that ‘卍’ be pronounced as ‘wan’” arose during the Song dynasty and has persisted to this day. Full article

River contamination by microorganisms, or another chemical source, poses a serious threat to both the environment and public health. Taking immediate and appropriate actions is essential to mitigate the contamination and prevent further spread. As such, regular monitoring of these pollution agents is essential to act in time and control its minor extension. However, there is a lack of commitment to this emergent concern and respective actions around the world. This work aims to study the contamination of a Portuguese river (Tinto River) within Porto city (a highly populated urban area) regarding the total aerobic microorganisms, coliforms, and Enterococcus (as colony-forming units (CFUs) using specific solid culture media) and total organic matter (TOC). Different locations were considered along the Tinto River course (i.e., 14 locations within 11 km) and samples were collected on distinct days throughout September 2022. The overall results showed microbial contamination of aerobic microorganisms (up to 2 × 10⁵ CFU/100 mL), total coliforms (up to 7 × 10⁴ CFU/100 mL), Escherichia coli (up to 9 × 10³ CFU/100 mL), and Enterococcus (up to 8 × 10³ CFU/100 mL). The results also surpassed the maximum recommended values (MRVs) described in Portuguese decree-law no. 236/98 for irrigation waters. Moreover, TOC was found in a range of 4.54 mg/L to 57.2 mg/L. This work highlights the dangerous microbial contamination and higher amount of organic matter than would be expected for a surface water resource. Full article

The reception of the Decree Perfectae caritatis in Latin America can be understood in connection with the emergence of the preferential option for the poor and the call for consecrated religious life to the insertion since the 1960s. As part of the existing link between conciliar texts and renewal movements, it is worth highlighting the testimony of religious life lived in solidarity with the poor as a way of practicing chastity and incorporating sexuality. This topic is explored through the life stories of two individuals, Alice Domon in Argentina (1937–1977) and José Aldunate Lyon in Chile (1917–2019), within the framework of related studies on ethnographic ecclesiology and the theology of renewed religious life. Amidst military governments, institutional violence, abuses of power, and human rights violations, the lives of these two consecrated individuals showcase an alternative path marked by self-emptying, unwavering fidelity, non-violent action, and prophetic denunciation. The pursuit of integration between contemplative and apostolic aspects in the love for God and the poor, along with the defense of human rights in solidarity with the victims and their families, are some of the keys that define an adapted understanding of religious life in the Latin American context. Full article

This article provides a close reading of Giovanni Andrea Gilio’s critique of Michelangelo’s Last Judgment as presented in the Dialogue on the Errors and Abuses of Painters (1564). The dialogue has generally been taken as reflecting the emerging Counter-Reformation concerns regarding the indecorousness of contemporary religious art, concerns that led to the censoring of the Last Judgment’s nudes in 1564 after the Council of Trent’s decree on sacred images. One frequent justification for ecclesiastical oversight over the production of religious art was that artists such as Michelangelo had prioritized their art over its religious contents and devotional aims. Though Gilio’s work has been read as confirming this view, this essay argues that the various opinions expressed during the animated exchanges in the dialogue yield a set of nuanced and often innovative interpretations of the Last Judgment that resist a reductive dichotomy between art and religion. Whether intentionally or not, the dialogue conveys that by the time of Michelangelo, and perhaps because of Michelangelo, the forms of art and the contents of religion could not be so easily distinguished from each other, largely because the artist’s subjectivity blurred the boundaries between the two. Full article

The Sars-CoV-2 pandemic has had important economic, health, political, and jurisprudential implications all over the world. According to innovations already introduced by Law 24/2017, with Decree Law no. 44 of 1 April 2021 and the subsequent conversion law no. 71 of 2021, Italy is the only country in which ad hoc rules have been introduced to limit the professional liability of healthcare professionals during the health emergency. The “criminal shield” can be defined as the Legislator response to the extreme pressure on healthcare professionals during the pandemic. Full article

The present article addresses the COVID-19 syndemic, that is, the interaction of SARS-CoV-2 with other diseases that interact and are determined by patterns of social inequality. The living and working conditions of migrant farmworkers increases the transmission of COVID-19. Descriptions of the experiences of migrant farmworkers provided by the professionals from different organizations that tend to them allowed the authors to discover the syndical nature of COVID-19. This study is based on qualitative descriptive research. Seventeen workers from different organizations participated in the study, through in-depth interviews between January and June 2022. A thematic analysis was performed to analyze the qualitative data. Two main themes emerged: Non-compliance with the collective labor agreement, and non-compliance with workplace health and safety standards. The results suggest that the adverse living and working conditions of the migrant farmworkers increased their risk of COVID-19 infection, due to the lack of compliance with the health measures decreed. The vulnerability experienced by migrant farmworkers increased work conflicts and prompted their mobilization to fight for their rights. Full article

Society is immersed in a process of demographic transformation of great relevance: the ageing of the population. During the ageing stage, relevant changes occur, such as age-related losses, lack of formal and informal support or changes in social roles, which can cause situations of isolation or loneliness in older people. After the Spanish government decreed a state of alarm throughout the national territory in response to the arrival of SARS-CoV2, the confinement of the entire population was established, and only essential services and authorized persons could continue to carry out their daily activities and professional tasks. In addition, since the beginning of the pandemic, older people were considered high-risk people, a circumstance that increased their isolation situation. Objective: Understand, organize and systematically analyse the scientific evidence generated in relation to the impact that the COVID−19 pandemic has had on the processes and feelings of isolation and loneliness of the elderly population, from the beginning of the health crisis until the date of search. Materials and methods: a scoping review was conducted using the methodology of Arksey and O’Malley, which included a review of the studies available in the online databases Proquest, Scopus and WOS. From the search, information related to the isolation and collective of elderly people during the pandemic was extracted. Results: a total of 32 articles were included, from which three fundamental areas of analysis emerged and three issues emerged: older people and institutionalisation during the pandemic, ageism and hospitalisation of the elderly during the pandemic, and loneliness and isolation of older people throughout the pandemic. Discussion: the lack of material resources and infrastructures to be able to face the problem of isolation in institutions was evident. The importance of acquiring, on the part of the elderly, competences, knowledge and skills in new technologies in order to continue with contact with their peer group and family was also observed. Conclusions: this study identifies areas already understood, as well as knowledge gaps, that allow for determining opportunities for future research and thus the ability to improve in situations similar to the one that occurred. Full article

This study investigates changes in physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior in an Italian university community during Phase 1 of SARS-CoV-2 lockdown (“stay at home” government decree, from March 8th to May 4th, 2020) compared to their habits prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. We also examine differences according to gender, university position, BMI categories, and sport participation. A total of 2596 people (median age 24, IQR 11 years; 70.8% women) filled out a survey after eight weeks of statutory confinement at home. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire measured PA and sedentary behavior in a typical week before and during lockdown. Physically inactive people passed from 10.9% to 35.0% before–during the lockdown. The total amount of PA decreased (median 2307 vs. 1367 MET-min/week; p < 0.001), while sedentary behavior increased (median 349 vs. 440 min/day; p < 0.001) between before and during the lockdown. The following categories showed a higher reduction in the total amount of PA: men when compared to women; people with normal weight when compared to pre-obese/obese people; and people who played sports when compared to those who did not play sports. There is a need to propose PA/exercise programs to counteract physical inactivity and sedentarism during a social emergency, with special attention to people who showed higher PA reduction. Full article

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 was decreed by the World Health Organization as a public health emergency of worldwide concern, the epidemic has drawn attention from all around the world. The disease has since spread globally in developed and developing countries. The African continent has not been spared from the pandemic; however, the low number of cases in Africa compared to developed countries has brought about more questions than answers. Africa is known to have a poor healthcare system that cannot sustain the emerging infectious disease pandemic. This study explored climatic and environmental elements influencing COVID-19 transmission in Africa. This study involved manuscripts and data that evaluated and investigated the climatic and environmental elements of COVID-19 in African countries. Only articles written in English were considered in the systematic review. Seventeen articles and one database were selected for manuscript write-ups after the review process. The findings indicated that there is evidence that suggests the influence of climatic and environmental elements on the spread of COVID-19 in the continent of Africa; however, the evidence needs more investigation in all six regions of Africa and at the country level to understand the role of weather patterns and environmental aspects in the transmission of COVID-19. Full article

In Italy, recent amendments to Legislative Decree n. 36 of 28 February 2021, on sports work, may have made the application of the reform by stakeholders unclear, with the risk of generating further confusion among them. One of the most critical points concerns the possible equivalencies to the professional profile of the kinesiologist, which would be illegitimately recognized even for a different level of education, contrary to the requirements of the European qualification framework. The aim of the study was to understand the perceptions of stakeholders in the world of non-professional football regarding recent legislative provisions. A survey, divided into two sections, was administered to 112 presidents and 112 trainers of non-professional football associations of the province of Salerno. The first section presents five items common for both presidents and trainers, which seek to probe stakeholders’ perceptions of the enjoyment, appropriateness, usefulness, and scientificity of kinesiologists. The second section presents five differentiated items. Validity and reliability were calculated. A chi-square analysis (χ²) was performed to test the independence within and between-subjects (trainers and presidents) on their perceptions about the new working professional profile of sports kinesiologist. From the results, it was possible to appreciate a discordance of opinion among stakeholders. Although the majority of presidents and trainers are in favour of introducing such a professional profile (p < 0.05), contradictions emerge concerning the contribution the new professional profile can make in practice (p > 0.05). The perceptual contradictions found among stakeholders’ responses demonstrate how the complexity of recent regulatory provisions regarding possible equivalencies to the title of kinesiologist have inevitably generated further confusion among stakeholders. Full article

The Northeast of Brazil (NEB) is the region with the highest number of municipal decrees of emergency situation declaration caused by weather events in the period from 2013 to 2022 and with the highest rate of natural disasters per risk area. In the NEB, the city of Recife and its metropolitan region are the biggest localities with populations in risk areas. Focusing on this region, five events of extreme precipitation were chosen for simulations using the WRF model and diagnostics analyses. First, a set of configurations of the model was tested, including 11 microphysics (MPH) schemes, 9 planetary boundary layer (PBL) schemes, 5 cumulus (CUM), and 7 surface layer (SFC) schemes. Then, through diagnostic analysis, the conditional instability, the moisture supply at low levels, and the support of the medium and high levels in storm formation were verified. The model’s configurations were verified by 298 rain gauges with hourly registrations through statistical metrics such as bias, MSE, standard deviation, and Pearson’s correlation, and demonstrated that the MPH schemes of Thompson Aerosol-Aware and NSSL + CCM, ACM2, MYJ for the PBL, KFCuP for CUM, and RUC for SFC were considered the best. All the cases were better with CUM parametrizations turned on. In all cases, diagnostics analyses highlighted the strong moisture flux convergence at the low levels, the presence of wind shear on the middle layer, weak cyclonic vorticity advection at high levels, and CAPE values around 1500 J/kg, in addition to an inverse relationship between wind shear action and CAPE values. This work is part of the national strategy for monitoring, diagnosis, and modeling of information that can minimize or even prevent damage caused by severe precipitation events. Full article

Background: In France, there are two main types of psychosocial educational therapies for people with mental disorders: (1) therapeutic patient education (TPE) or “training”, and (2) psychoeducation. Both types of educational therapy aim to improve disease morbidity, treatment compliance and patient quality of life, but they have very different modes of application. The aim of this study was to interview mental health professionals in order to explore and identify the determinants (barriers and enablers) underlying their acceptance of therapeutic patient education (TPE) in order to facilitate the implementation of these programmes among people with severe mental illness such as schizophrenia. Methods: In this multicentre cross-sectional study, we opted for a qualitative approach based on individual semi-structured interviews with 21 mental health professionals trained in TPE, regardless of whether they had practiced it before or not. In accordance with the “Jardé” law (Decree no 2016-1537 dated 16 November 2016 published on 17 November 2016 in the Official Journal of the French Republic). No regulatory approval was required for this study. Results: The major themes that emerged from the analysis were grouped into the following conceptual framework: (1) mental health professionals (MHPs) highlight important organizational and institutional challenges that they feel are beyond their scope; (2) MHPs mention in parallel their own perceptions and representations of TPE in the context of mental health care; and (3) MHPs’ representations could hide a lack of knowledge or awareness that would prevent them from appropriating TPE programmes. For each major theme, the sub-themes identified are presented. Conclusions: Although TPE is of interest in the process of patient empowerment, we found that caregivers were reluctant to appropriate this approach to care. Efforts must be made in the initial and ongoing training of MHPs to move from a paternalistic model to a patient partnership model, which is made possible by TPE. These efforts must also be firmly supported by health care facilities, and proactive governance is required for the successful implementation of TPE. Full article