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Introduction: Few data on the diagnostic performance of serological tests for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection are currently available. We evaluated sensitivity and specificity of five different widely used commercial serological assays for the detection of SARS-CoV-2–specific IgG, IgM, and IgA antibodies using reverse transcriptase-PCR assay in nasopharyngeal swab as reference standard test.Methods: A total of 337 plasma samples collected in the period April–June 2020 from SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR positive (n = 207) and negative (n = 130) subjects were investigated by one point-of-care lateral flow immunochromatographic assay (LFIA IgG and IgM, Technogenetics) and four fully automated assays: two chemiluminescence immunoassays (CLIA-iFlash IgG and IgM, Shenzhen YHLO Biotech and CLIA-LIAISON® XL IgG, DiaSorin), one electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA-Elecsys® total predominant IgG, Roche), and one enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA IgA, Euroimmune).Results: The overall sensitivity of all IgG serological assays was >80% and the specificity was >97%. The sensitivity of IgG assays was lower within 2 weeks from the onset of symptoms ranging from 70.8 to 80%. The LFIA and CLIA-iFlash IgM showed an overall low sensitivity of 47.6 and 54.6%, while the specificity was 98.5 and 96.2%, respectively. The ELISA IgA yielded a sensitivity of 84.3% and specificity of 81.7%. However, the ELISA IgA result was indeterminate in 11.7% of cases.Conclusions: IgG serological assays seem to be a reliable tool for the retrospective diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. IgM assays seem to have a low sensitivity and IgA assay is limited by a substantial rate of indeterminate results.

Ripercorrendo uno stralcio tratto dal testo di Riccardo Massa "Saggi critici sullo scoutismo" (Fiordaliso, 2001), il saggio riprende concetti divenuti poi fondamentali nella comprensione del lavoro educativo e quindi nella determinazione delle competenze degli educatori.

Data on the involvement of the ocular surface and its relationship with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are still minimal and not univocal. The respiratory tract is the structure most affected by COVID-19, and the serious form of the disease is characterized by severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome and hypercoagulation. However, accumulating evidence shows that other organs could be reached by the virus, thus causing further comorbidities. To date, the exact route / routes of transmission of COVID-19 are still unclear. The respiratory tract is probably not the only route of transmission for this viral infection and some authors have also speculated that COVID-19 droplets, or infected hands, could contaminate the conjunctiva, which could therefore represent the initial site of an infection spread. Theoretically, the role of the ocular surface, a biological site still relatively unexplored, appears scientifically relevant in understanding the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - Coronavirus – 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the current literature in order to elucidate the potential role of tear and conjunctival sampling to detect SARS-CoV-2 for the diagnosis of COVID-19 and to monitor patients during follow-up.

The amount of time spent in dialysis waiting for a renal transplantation significantly affects its outcome. Hence, the timely planning of patients' transplant evaluation is crucial. According to data from the Nord Italia Transplant program (NITp), the average waiting time between the beginning of dialysis and the admission to the regional transplant waiting list in Lombardy is 20.2 months.A multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted in order to identify the causes of these delays and find solutions. Two questionnaires were administered to the directors of 47 Nephrology Units and to 106 patients undergoing dialysis in Lombardy respectively, during their first visit for admission to the transplant waiting list.The comparative analysis of the results revealed that both patients (52%) and directors (75%) consider the time required for registering to the waiting list too long. Patients judge information about the transplant to be insufficient, especially regarding the pre-emptive option (63% of patients declare that they had not been informed about this opportunity). Patients report a significantly longer time for the completion of pre-transplantation tests (more than 1 year in 23% of the cases) compared to that indicated by the directors.The study confirmed the necessity of providing better and more timely information to patients regarding the different kidney transplantation options and highlighted the importance of creating target-oriented and dedicated pathways in all hospitals.

Bioenergy is one of the most important renewable energy sources for electricity, heat and biofuels. Solid biomass in form of woodchip is widespread but woodchip quality variability is a concern. The quality monitoring is difficult due to the complexity of standard analysis being slow, destructive and expensive and requiring skilled operators. Moreover, some information, like the origin and source of the biofuels, is difficult to be measured. The aim of this study is the development of innovative models based on NIRS and multivariate data analysis starting from 150 samples collected from an important biomass power plant for the prediction of ash and moisture contents. Different preprocessing techniques were employed to remove physical phenomena before performing multivariate data analysis. The results highlight the possibility to exploit the moisture content model for screening application in quality control process of the solid biofuels, while the ash content model can be used for the discrimination of the material between high or low-quality classes, so for rough applications. In conclusion, NIR spectroscopy can be implemented directly in the production line, allowing the improvement of the solid biofuels quality control and overcoming the problems of sampling and sample representativeness., Proceedings of the 26th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 14-17 May 2018, Copenhagen, Denmark, pp. 326-332

Narrare è una capacità peculiare del pensiero umano, grazie alla quale è possibile comprendere la realtà, il proprio agire e se stessi. Attraverso la narrazione, dunque, è possibile educare a riflettere in maniera critica sul mondo e sul proprio sé. La riflessività si rivela, inoltre, indispensabile strumento per interrogare e comprendere situazioni complesse – come quelle che caratterizzano quotidianamente i contesti sanitari – e apprendere dall’esperienza. Per le professioni della cura risulta dunque fondamentale una formazione alla riflessività. Narrazione e riflessione sull’esperienza possono aiutare i futuri operatori a entrare fin da subito nella prospettiva del paziente e, al contempo, a iniziare a costruire la propria identità professionale. Per educare alla narrazione è importante saper guardare alla propria esperienza esistenziale. Questa è la prima storia da raccontare e da cui apprendere. Inoltre, è utile ascoltare sia le storie di vita di altri (come quelle contenute in romanzi, film), che possono divenire sorgenti di riflessione e conoscenza. Il contributo presenta un’esperienza formativa basata sul racconto di sé e su storie di disabilità e malattia contenute in romanzi e film, rivolta agli studenti del primo anno del CdL in Logopedia dell’Università Statale di Milano. Questa esperienza verrà discussa criticamente in riferimento alle scritture riflessive consegnate dagli studenti e utilizzate per la valutazione dell’apprendimento Narration is a peculiar human skill, which offers individuals the instruments to understand the world, as well as their own actions and themselves. By narrating, individuals can be educated to critically reflect on the world and on their inner selves. Moreover, reflexivity proved an essential method to enquiry and understand complex situations – which occur in everyday healthcare practices. Not to mention that it facilitates learning from experience. Hence, educating healthcare professionals to reflexivity becomes a matter of major concern. Narrating and reflecting on the experience can help future professionals to adopt the patient’s perspective and to simultaneously begin to build his/her professional identity. Encouraging students to look back at their own personal experiences is essential to develop narrative skills. Personal life experience is the first story one can tell, a story from which much can be learned. Furthermore, listening to other people’s life stories (in novels or movies) can be very useful, since these accounts can be not only a source of reflection, but also of knowledge. This paper introduces an educational program for first year students of the Speech Therapy Degree of the University of Milan, which was based both on students’ narratives and on illness stories taken from novels and movies. This experience will be critically discussed in relation to students’ reflexive writings, which were used to evaluate the learning process

Nowadays kids are incredibly familiar and skilled to use Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) like computers and mobile devices. Among the technological tools available for didactic purposes, a platform for developing Location Based Games for mobile devices has been tested for didactic purposes.The I.C. Sacchetti in San Miniato, in Tuscany, collaborates with the Institute of Biometeorology - CNR testing the methodology developed in the frame of two European projects, Involen and Raise projects (Erasmus+). The methodology aims to raise environmental awareness in young generations using LBGs (Location Based Games), and more specifically, developing one LBG for a protected area. Students, teachers and facilitators (environmental guides, ICT experts), as part of a team, are committed to follow a learning process focused on nature protection and structured in five steps "1) information and story collection, 2) visit and voluntary activity in the area, 3) other activities based on "Learning In Natural Environment methodology", 4) game story and storyboard creation, until 5) the creation of a LBG for the local protected area. The implementation of the former phases in 2016 has evidenced a strong interest of the students in the project itself beside the willingness to raise the local community awareness about the benefits of the protected area close to their town and its needs of nature conservation.

A popular way of obtaining essential inputs is based on the establishment of an input production joint venture (IPJV) in the upstream (U) section of the vertical chain of production by firms competing and selling final goods downstream (D). Different governances may be designed for the management of an IPJV according to the ownership structure, the degree of delegation granted to the IPJV by parent firms and the extent of competition in the D market. Industry optimal arrangements with nonlinear pricing may be hard to implement and may be banned by regulators, mainly in the case of minimal delegation based on coordination (collusion) among the D firms. A handy and endurable governance turns out to be maximal delegation, i.e., an independent IPJV, seasoned with linear uniform pricing, even if this solution may contain some inefficiency.