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In this study, we proposed a new method for estimating the sensitivity of enterprises in Italy to the United Nation's sustainable development goals at the provincial level using web-scraping data (a nonprobability sample) because this value is not surveyed by the Italian National Institute of Statistics. The proposed method used a probability sample to reduce the selection bias of estimates obtained from the nonprobability sample in the context of small area estimation and integrated nonprobability and probability samples using a double robust estimator that combined (i) propensity weighting to improve the representativeness of the nonprobability sample and (ii) a statistical model to predict the units that were not in the nonprobability sample. A bootstrap procedure for estimating variance was also proposed. To validate the proposed method, a Monte Carlo simulation was performed. Results showed that the proposed method allowed the correction of bias from the nonprobability sample while maintaining a good level of estimate reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing food waste is essential if we want to create a more sustainable food system, which is why halving per capita food waste by 2030 has been included in the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The main aim of this paper is to demonstrate that by using digital tools to monitor food provisioning and management within canteens, it is possible to achieve a more sustainable food service management within industrial companies and to reduce the overall quantity and environmental impacts of food preparation and consumption thus achieving economic benefits. Longitudinal 2018 and 2019 data collected from the canteen of a major Italian food production company were analyzed. The results showed that the amount of food lost and wasted has decreased over time, reaping important environmental benefits and illustrating specific differences between the food lost in meal preparation and the food left on employees' plates. It is therefore important to implement education initiatives and to use digital tools to share food‐related data collected within companies among both employees and kitchen and catering staff in order to raise awareness of their behavioral strengths and weaknesses. From this perspective, new interventions at both kitchen and customer/worker levels are introduced and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed at investigating gender differences in the relationship between sociodemographic factors and suicide mortality, as well as in the method used for suicide and the presence of comorbidities in an older population in Italy.Methods/design: We conducted a historical cohort study based on individual record linkage across the 15th Italian Population Census, the Italian Population Register, and the National Register of Causes of Death. Suicides among people aged 75 years or older from 2012 to 2017 were analyzed. Crude mortality rates were computed, and cause-specific mortality rate ratios were estimated using negative binomial regression models. Chi-square tests were used to evaluate significant gender differences in suicide methods and comorbidities associated with suicide.Results: The study included 9,686,698 individuals (41% men, 59% women). Compared to living alone, living with children or partners reduced suicide mortality, especially among men. Having high or medium educational levels was associated with lower mortality than low educational levels among men. Foreign citizens had lower mortality among men, but not among women. Living in urban areas was associated with lower suicide rates in men and higher rates in women. Methods of suicide significantly differed by gender: leading methods were hanging, strangulation, and suffocation in men, and falling from height in women. Mental comorbidity was significantly more frequent among women, especially at ages 75-84 years.Conclusions: We believe that our findings might help to promote public health strategies taking gender differences in old age into account to improve social support and quality of life of older men and women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Although Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) is a successful procedure, a significant number of patients are still unsatisfied, reporting instability at the mid-flexion range (Mid-Flexion Instability-MFI). To avoid this complication, many innovations, including load sensors (LS), have been introduced. The intraoperative use of LS may facilitate the balance of the knee during the entire range of motion to avoid MFI postoperatively. The objective of this study was to perform a Gait Analysis (GA) evaluation of a series of patients who underwent primary TKA using a single LS technology. Methods: The authors matched and compared two groups of patients treated with the same posterior stabilized TKA design. In Group A, 10 knees were intraoperatively balanced with LS technology, while 10 knees (Group B) underwent standard TKA. The correct TKA alignment was preoperatively determined aiming for a mechanical alignment. Clinical evaluation was performed according to the WOMAC, Knee Society Score (KSS) and Forgotten Joint Score, while functional evaluation was performed using a state-of-the-art GA platform. Results: We reported excellent clinical results in both groups without any statistical difference in patient reported outcome measurements (PROMs); from a functional standpoint, several GA space–time parameters were closer to normal in the sensor group when compared to the standard group, but a statistically significant difference was not reached. Conclusions: Gait Analysis represents a valid method to evaluate TKA kinematics. This study, with its limitations, showed that pressure sensitive technology represents a valid aid for surgeons aiming to improve the postoperative stability of TKA; however, other factors (i.e., level of intra-articular constraint and alignment) may play a major role in reproducing the normal knee biomechanics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small area estimation is receiving considerable attention due to the high demand for small area statistics. Small area estimators of means and totals have been widely studied in the literature. Moreover, in the last years also small area estimators of quantiles and poverty indicators have been studied. In contrast, small area estimators of inequality indicators, which are often used in socio-economic studies, have received less attention. In this article, we propose a robust method based on the M-quantile regression model for small area estimation of the Theil index and the Gini coefficient, two popular inequality measures. To estimate the mean squared error a non-parametric bootstrap is adopted. A robust approach is used because often inequality is measured using income or consumption data, which are often non-normal and affected by outliers. The proposed methodology is applied to income data to estimate the Theil index and the Gini coefficient for small domains in Tuscany (provinces by age groups), using survey and Census micro-data as auxiliary variables. In addition, a design-based simulation is carried out to study the behaviour of the proposed robust estimators. The performance of the bootstrap mean squared error estimator is also investigated in the simulation study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orthopaedics needs a robust diagnostic tool that can help or even replace traditional radiography in bone healing assessment, thus reducing patient exposure to ionizing radiation. We used a vibrational method to assess the healing of a complex fracture treated with external fixation, exploiting a quantitative and non-invasive procedure. Callus stiffening was monitored from the time of surgery until the fixator was removed. Our approach overcomes previous limitations and involves a longer period of healing monitoring (about 9 months), very frequent tests (bi-weekly), and the analysis of a single test configuration. The healing process was monitored by analysing the percentage increments of the squared resonant frequencies (SFIs), related to the stiffness variation and the changes in the frequency response functions. The results were validated by X-rays images, and revealed that the most sensitive parameter to quantify the healing was the SFI of the first resonant frequency which increased by about 20% per month during the formation of the woven callus and up to about 50% at the end of healing completion. This study confirms the potential of the vibrational method as an alternative to radiography in fracture healing assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With over 1 million HIV-related deaths annually, quality end-of-life care remains a priority. Given strong public preference for home death, place of death is an important consideration for quality care. This 11 country study aimed to i) describe the number, proportion of all deaths, and demographics of HIV-related deaths; ii) identify place of death; iii) compare place of death to cancer patients iv), determine patient/health system factors associated with place of HIV-related death.Methods: In this retrospective analysis of death certification, data were extracted for the full population (ICD-10 codes B20-B24) for 1-year period: deceased's demographic characteristics, place of death, healthcare supply.Results: i) 19,739 deaths were attributed to HIV. The highest proportion (per 1000 deaths) was for Mexico (9.8‰), and the lowest Sweden (0.2‰). The majority of deaths were among men (75%), and those aged <50 (69.1%). ii) Hospital was most common place of death in all countries: from 56.6% in the Netherlands to 90.9% in South Korea. The least common places were hospice facility (3.3%-5.7%), nursing home (0%-17.6%) and home (5.9%-26.3%).iii) Age-standardised relative risks found those with HIV less likely to die at home and more likely to die in hospital compared with cancer patients, and in most countries more likely to die in a nursing home. iv) Multivariate analysis found that men were more likely to die at home in UK, Canada, USA and Mexico; a greater number of hospital beds reduced the likelihood of dying at home in Italy and Mexico; a higher number of GPs was associated with home death in Italy and Mexico.Conclusions: With increasing comorbidity among people ageing with HIV, it is essential that end-of-life preferences are established and met. Differences in place of death according to country and diagnosis demonstrate the importance of ensuring a "good death" for people with HIV, alongside efforts to optimise treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metacarpal fractures constitute 7.8% of the upper extremity fractures. The common treatments remain nonsurgical procedure, but high-demanding patients or unstable fractures require fixation with Kirschner wire (K-wires), plate, and screws. However, these approaches may cause scarring and adhesion with poor functional results. From 2014 to 2015, the authors used an intramedullary headless screw to treat 25 patients (24 men, 1 woman) with metacarpal bones fractures (20 V, 3 IV, 1 III, and 1 II). The fractures patterns were 23 fractures of distal third of metacarpal bone (16 oblique, 5 comminute configurations, and 2 transverse), 1 fracture of the base of the II metacarpal bone. One case presented a multiple metacarpal and phalangeal facture associated. The authors used wide-awake anesthesia (bupivacaine-epinephrine 1:100,000) and intramedullary titanium headless screw fixation percutaneously inserted (CCS Medartis and HCS Synthes 3 mm of diameter). No open reduction was needed. Early active mobilization started with a buddy strapping soon after surgery (0-3 days). The authors followed all patients until satisfactory function was achieved (4-6 weeks) and recorded the time till return to work. All fracture healed with less than 5 degrees of rotational or axial deformities. All patients return to work within 2.38 weeks after surgery (0.5-6 weeks). No cases of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), tendon lesions, nerve injuries, infection, hardware protruding, or mobilization were reported. Intramedullary screw fixation with wide-awake anesthesia for transverse, oblique, and select comminuted fractures treatment metacarpal fractures represent a reliable option to early active mobilization recovery and a quick return to the work and ordinary activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tendon injuries are commonly met in the emergency department. Unfortunately, tendon tissue has limited regeneration potential and usually the consequent formation of scar tissue causes inferior mechanical properties. Nanoparticles could be used in different way to improve tendon healing and regeneration, ranging from scaffolds manufacturing (increasing the strength and endurance or anti-adhesions, anti-microbial, and anti-inflammatory properties) to gene therapy. This paper aims to summarize the most relevant studies showing the potential application of nanoparticles for tendon tissue regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The timely, accurate monitoring of social indicators, such as poverty or inequality, on a finegrained spatial and temporal scale is a crucial tool for understanding social phenomena and policymaking, but poses a great challenge to official statistics. This article argues that an interdisciplinary approach, combining the body of statistical research in small area estimation with the body of research in social data mining based on Big Data, can provide novel means to tackle this problem successfully. Big Data derived from the digital crumbs that humans leave behind in their daily activities are in fact providing ever more accurate proxies of social life. Social data mining from these data, coupled with advanced model-based techniques for fine-grained estimates, have the potential to provide a novel microscope through which to view and understand social complexity. This article suggests three ways to use Big Data together with small area estimation techniques, and shows how Big Data has the potential to mirror aspects of well-being and other socioeconomic phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Most people prefer to receive end-of-life care in familiar surroundings rather than in hospital. This study examines variation in place of death for people dying from Parkinson's disease (PD) across 11 European and non-European countries. Methods: Using death certificate data of 2008 for Belgium, France, Italy, Hungary, Czech Republic, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Mexico, South Korea and Spain for all deaths with PD as an underlying cause (ICD-10 code: G20) cross-national differences in place of death were examined. Associations between place of death and patient socio-demographic and regional characteristics were evaluated using multivariable binary logistic regression analyses. Results: The proportion of deaths in hospital ranged from 17% in the USA to 75% in South Korea. Hospital was the most prevalent place of death in France (40%), Hungary (60%) and South Korea; nursing home in New Zealand (71%), Belgium (52%), USA (50%), Canada (48%) and Czech Republic (44%); home in Mexico (73%), Italy (51%) and Spain (46%). The chances of dying in hospital were consistently higher for men (Belgium, France, Italy, USA, Canada), those younger than 80 years (Belgium, France, Italy, USA, Mexico), and those living in areas with a higher provision of hospital beds (Italy, USA). Conclusions: In several countries a substantial proportion of deaths from PD occurs in hospitals, although this may not be the most optimal place of terminal care and death. The wide variation between countries in the proportion of deaths from PD occurring in hospital indicates a potential for many countries to reduce these proportions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]