Province Of Bologna Research Articles

Care coordination for children with special health care needs: a cohort study

BackgroundCare coordination is widely recognized as a key element of care for patients with chronic and complex medical conditions and their families. In care for children with special health care needs the Family Pediatrician (FP) plays a central role as care coordinator. This study aims to evaluate the FPs’ activities of care coordination for children with special health care needs in the pediatric primary care setting, using an on-line measurement tool.MethodsWithin the prospective cohort study SpeNK (Special Needs Kids), newborns and children with special health care needs were recruited at discharge from three hospital facilities in Bologna province, from October 1st 2012 to September 30th 2014. Their FPs were invited to complete a questionnaire (SpeNK-FP) at each encounter for the patient during a 9-month period after hospital discharge. SpeNK-FP was developed by adapting the Care Coordination Measurement Tool (CCMT©) developed by Antonelli et al., to the Italian organizational context. The outcome of interest, derived from the questionnaire, is inappropriate use of services.ResultsForty FPs completed assessments for 49 children at each of 382 clinical encounters. The majority of children (71.4%) had special health care needs, without complicating social issues. FPs reported “no need for care coordination” in 50.8% of the encounters and 41.1% of records about patient needs requiring care coordination. The most common activity implemented to meet children’s needs was telephone contact with a medical provider. According to FPs, 80% of encounters prevented inappropriate services use. In multivariate regression, pediatric-specialist contact (telephone or in person) was associated with reduced odds of physician report of preventable hospitalization (OR = 0.06, 95% CI 0.01–0.42, p = 0.005).ConclusionsThe study shows the potential for FPs in Italy to serve as care coordinators and facilitate the implementation of integrated care pathways for children with special health care needs.

Mortality study in a cohort of workers employed in the hot working processing of plastics and rubber

to study mortality rates among workers in companies manufacturing thermoplastic and rubber articles (excluding tyres). cohort study. the cohort includes 4,543 workers employed up to 2000 in 131 companies in the Province of Bologna (Emilia-Romagna Region, Northern Italy) exposed to emissions from hot processing of plastics (3,937) and rubber (606). general- and cause-specific Standardized Mortality Rates (SMR), with 95% confidence intervals; entire reference population resides in the Emilia-Romagna Region. excess mortality for all causes (116 Obs; SMR: 1.20; 95%CI 1.00-1.44) and for lung cancer (18 Obs; SMR: 1.67; 95%CI 1.05-2.65) in men of the rubber factories. Increased mortality rates for oesophageal cancers in women (3 Obs; SMR: 5.41; 95%CI 1.74-16.8) and in men (6 Obs; SMR: 2.16; 95%CI 0.97-4.81), for malignant tumours of pancreas (16 Obs; SMR: 1.65; 95%CI 1.01- 2.70), rectum (11 Obs; SMR: 2.17; 95%CI 1.20-3.92) and kidney (11 Obs; SMR: 1.98; 95%CI 1.10-3.58) in men occupied in plastic processing. in this study, we observed an excess of mortality rates for lung cancer in men of rubber factories and for malignant tumours of the digestive tract, pancreas, and kidney in workers employed in the production of plastic articles. Nevertheless, these results must be interpreted with caution, because exposures to non-occupational risk factors, like tobacco smoke or other occupational exposures outside the companies concerned, are not known. The results suggest to continue epidemiological surveillance.

Fuzzy indices of risk for a deeper evaluation of exposure-affection studies

In this paper a fuzzy version of three indices of risk (Diagonal Ratio, Rate ratio and Odds ratio), usually applied to exposure-affection studies, has been proposed and developed, considering the presence of a partial level of exposure and/or affection. These fuzzy indices are calculated after rescaling the cell frequencies according to fuzzy degrees of pertinence of partial modalities.A simulation study has then been performed, under the hypothesis of absence of effect of the risk factor, and some exploratory statistics have been reported, corresponding to different sample sizes; a transformed linear interpolation method has been described for extending simulation results. The rescaling method has been generalized, supposing that every observation has its proper level of exposure and affection. Finally, the fuzzy indices have been applied to an Italian survey, dealing with the relationship between physical activity and self-perceived health status of more than 4,500 people over 65, living in the province of Bologna.

In Defence of Freedom? The Practices of Armed Movements in Pre-1914 Europe: Italy, Spain and France

the purpose of this article is to analyse the role played by organized political violence in pre-1914 Europe, with special regard to labour conflicts, through an analysis of the social composition and the practices of four movements which deliberately resorted to armed organization: the Somatén in Catalonia (Spain), the Jaunes trade union in the French Département du Nord, and the Citizen Patrols and agrarian squads in the Province of Bologna (Italy). Despite their different origins and contexts, these movements pursued similar political strategies based upon the deliberate use of violence and guns, and shared anti-socialist, authoritarian and anti-democratic purposes. Analysis of their practices and political cultures enables us to evaluate the nature of the democratic processes in pre-1914 Europe and also helps to contextualize and understand the political and social violence which came to the fore after the end of the war in 1918.

Creating value, consuming Bologna: The case of DegustiBo

This article addresses the aestheticization of traditional foods and the use of territorialization as a brand value for the promotion of products and services. Economy of quality is studied through a focus on the role that political institutions may have in promoting quality chains. Through document analysis, questionnaires, interviews, and focus groups, we consider the case of the quality brand, DegustiBo, promoted by the Province of Bologna, Italy. This initiative was developed to help local shops and restaurants find a source of common identity in the local territory. We consider actors’ narratives in defining, judging, and creating quality as related to the specific branding initiative, focusing on the way different descriptions of quality as related to ways of enacting territory are read and presented as performing authenticity. We explore how branding has been supported, realized, and responded to, concentrating on the encounter between consumers and producers. A focus on producers’ perceptions of consumer competence helps addressing the narrative asymmetry between consumers and producers, and the ways in which consumer rituals work as sites of knowledge transmission and conflict, defining the contours of an arena for the performance of concerted and contested notions such as traditional, local, and authentic food.

OCCURRENCE OF CHASMOTHECIA AND MATING TYPE DISTRIBUTION OF PODOSPHAERA XANTHII, A CAUSAL AGENT OF CUCURBIT POWDERY MILDEW IN NORTHERN ITALY

Powdery mildew is a widespread disease that causes important losses to cucurbit production. The main agents of the disease are Podosphaera xanthii and Golovinomyces orontii. To determine the occurrence of chasmothecia as overwintering forms of both fungal species in northern Italy, powdery mildew-infected samples from cultivated cucurbits were collected in different locations of the provinces of Bologna and Mantova during 2010, 2011 and 2012. Only the sexual stage of P. xanthii was found, indicating that in northern Italy, contrary to what reported from other areas of the Mediterranean basin, the pathogen overwinters as chasmothecia. In parallel, to determine the frequency and distribution of both MAT 1-1-1 and MAT 1-2-1 P. xanthii idiomorphs, a multiplex- PCR with MAT idiomorph-specific primers was carried out on 147 monoconidial isolates obtained from infected leaf samples. The obtained frequencies were tested for random mating. Results showed a MAT ratio that tended to 1:1, supporting the finding of the sexual stage thus suggesting the occurrence of actively mating populations and that sexual reproduction plays a significant role in the life cycle of P. xanthii in this area. The lack of G. orontii chasmothecia suggests that this species might have alternative overwintering strategies.

Legami e origini

Foreign youngsters experiencing migration are often described as mantaining a precarious balance, insofar as they develop a sense of belonging to their host societies and, at the same time, maintain a strong tie with their countries of origin. This paper aims to investigate foreign youths’ integration within the host society, with particular emphasis on their sense of belonging to a specific place and the construction of their identity. A comparison with Italian youths’ identity has been investigated as well, since even today many students have experienced domestic migration, which may influence their sense of belonging. In order to explore this topic, data collected in a survey conducted in the province of Bologna in the school year 2006/07 are examined. More than 3,000 Italian and foreign teenagers enrolled in upper secondary schools were interviewed via a structured questionnaire. Comparison between foreigners and Italians reveals an interesting – though not unexpected – difference in terms of national identities: the former are more likely to maintain a tie with their country of origin, whereas the latter especially express a link with the Italian context. Nonetheless, this unsurprising difference partially fades if, on the one hand, foreigners born in Italy are compared to Italians and, on the other, immigrant foreigners are compared to Italians’ having experienced migration. Finally, length of stay in the host/land of origin and language/dialect spoken at home are two crucial variables linked to both Italian and foreign immigrants’ ties with the place of origin.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight and comparative genomic analysis of M-18 group a Streptococcus strains associated with an acute rheumatic fever outbreak in northeast Italy in 2012 and 2013.

Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) is a postsuppurative sequela caused by Streptococcus pyogenes infections affecting school-age children. We describe here the occurrence of an ARF outbreak that occurred in Bologna province, northeastern Italy, between November 2012 and May 2013. Molecular analysis revealed that ARF-related group A Streptococcus (GAS) strains belonged to the M-18 serotype, including subtypes emm18.29 and emm18.32. All M-18 GAS strains shared the same antigenic profile, including SpeA, SpeB, SpeC, SpeL, SpeM, and SmeZ. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) analysis revealed that M-18 GAS strains grouped separately from other serotypes, suggesting a different S. pyogenes lineage. Single nucleotide polymorphisms and phylogenetic analysis based on whole-genome sequencing showed that emm18.29 and emm18.32 GAS strains clustered in two distinct groups, highlighting genetic variations between these subtypes. Comparative analysis revealed a similar genome architecture between emm18.29 and emm18.32 strains that differed from noninvasive emm18.0 strains. The major sources of differences between M-18 genomes were attributable to the prophage elements. Prophage regions contained several virulence factors that could have contributed to the pathogenic potential of emm18.29 and emm18.32 strains. Notably, phage ΦSPBO.1 carried erythrogenic toxin A gene (speA1) in six ARF-related M-18 GAS strains but not in emm18.0 strains. In addition, a phage-encoded hyaluronidase gene (hylP.2) presented different variants among M-18 GAS strains by showing internal deletions located in the α-helical and TSβH regions. In conclusion, our study yielded insights into the genome structure of M-18 GAS strains responsible for the ARF outbreak in Italy, thus expanding our knowledge of this serotype.

Continuity of care in children with special healthcare needs: a qualitative study of family's perspectives.

BackgroundTo explore parents’ experiences and perceptions on informational, management and relational continuity of care for children with special health care needs from hospitalization to the first months after discharge to the home.MethodsSemi-structured interviews and a focus group were carried out to capture parents’ experiences and perceptions. Transcripts were analyzed using a directed approach to the qualitative content analysis.Results16 families participated to this study: 13 were involved in interviews (10 face-to-face and 3 by phone) and 3 in a focus group, within 1–6 months after discharge from the University Hospital of Bologna (S.Orsola/Malpighi) and from hospitals of Bologna Province. To parents of children with special health care needs, the three domains of continuity of care were relevant in a whole but with different key elements during hospitalization, at discharge and after discharge. Moreover, empowerment emerged from parents’ narratives as essential to help parents cope with the transition from the hospital setting to the new responsibilities connected with the home care of their child. Parent’s perceptions about the family pediatrician concerned his/her centrality in the activation and coordination of the healthcare network. Moreover, parents exhibited different attitudes towards involvement in decision making: some wished and expected to be involved, others preferred not to be involved.ConclusionsCare coordination for children with special care needs is a complex process that need to be attended to during the hospitalization phase and after discharge to the community. The findings of this study may contribute to elucidating the perceptions and experiences of parents with children with special health care needs about the continuity of care from hospital to community care.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13052-015-0114-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A Model-based Approach to Measure School Achievements in Latent Groups of Students: A Simulation Study

In this article, we present a model-based framework to estimate the educational attainments of students in latent groups defined by unobservable or only partially observed features that are likely to affect the outcome distribution, as well as being interesting to be investigated. We focus our attention on the case of students in the first year of the upper secondary schools, for which the teachers’ suggestion at the end of their lower educational level toward the subsequent type of school is available. We use this information to develop latent strata according to the compliance behavior of students simplifying to the case of binary data for both counseled and attended school (i.e., academic or technical institute). We consider a likelihood-based approach to estimate outcome distributions in the latent groups and propose a set of plausible assumptions with respect to the problem at hand. In order to assess our method and its robustness, we simulate data resembling a real study conducted on pupils of the province of Bologna in year 2007/2008 to investigate their success or failure at the end of the first school year.

Area-wide monitoring of potato tuberworm (Phthorimaea operculella) by pheromone trapping in Northern Italy: phenology, spatial distribution and relationships between catches and tuber damage

The potato tuberworm (PTW) Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is key pest of potato in tropical and subtropical regions. From 2002 onward, PTW has emerged as a problem in the Bologna province, the main potato production area in Northern Italy. Field investigations were performed to study the temporal and spatial dynamics of PTW. Adult moths were monitored using pheromone-baited traps over 3 years (2009–2011). Traps were georeferenced and catches were analyzed by geostatistical maps. Each year, the percentage of damaged tubers at harvest was assessed. Pheromone trapping, integrated with temperature-dependent developmental times, showed that PTW completed two generations throughout the potato-growing season; the remaining generations developed in the noncrop season. Maps showed a clumped distribution of PTW at the landscape scale. The hot spots of infestation corresponded to the areas most intensively cropped with potato. Trap catches from hilling to harvesting were linearly and positively correlated with the percentage of damage in 2 out of 3 years and in the pooled data set. The present study demonstrated the widening of PTW areal to Northern Italy. In this area, georeferenced pheromone traps were validated as a useful monitoring technique for describing the phenology and distribution of PTW, thus providing crucial knowledge for the rational management of this pest.

Modelli di sviluppo per il miglioramento della competitività economico-commerciale della filiera orto-frutticola italiana sui mercati nazionali ed internazionali: il caso del comparto pataticolo in Emilia-Romagna

The Italian fruit and vegetable supply chain has been in a critical situation for several years. In recent times this situation has been getting even worse, mainly on account of the general economic crisis, which has triggered strong price competition among the great retail chains, resulting in a fall in prices at farm level. In this situation, the potato supply chain has become one of the weakest among the fruit and vegetables sectors in Italy. Both at farm and processing-industry level Italy has several characteristics that make it virtually impossible to compete with large producers in central and northern Europe. Consequently, the potato supply chain has been continually forced to innovate and make sustained efforts to valorise and differentiate its product from the largely mass produced one that is offered in Europe. This paper focuses on a locality in the province of Bologna that is one of the most important in the potato sector in Italy. Its aim is to analyse the supply chain and identify ways to turn round the present situation, which has very narrow margins and is unsustainable in the long term. More particularly, the study shows empirically that an increase in the level of integration between the actors in the supply chain is absolutely essential. This includes both horizontal integration, by concentrating supply among the producer organizations, and vertical integration, by extending the contractual arrangements between producers and traders right up to the final link in the chain, the mass distribution retailers. Another type of horizontal integration the study suggests is so-called organized direct showing how this emerging form of selling can be more suitable for a vegetable such as the potato, than other forms of direct selling (farm selling, farmers’ markets, etc.).

THE CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND NEW BRAND MANAGEMENT POLICIES OF ORGANIC FOOD IN ITALY: THE CASE STUDY OF “VIVI VERDE COOP”

Due to economic growth, social, cultural and demographic changes lead to changes on food production patterns. Increased instruction levels, strong urbanization and consequent depopulation of rural areas, increased number of working women, increased wealth of families, growth and differentiation of food demand led to deep innovations in consumers priorities and choices. It means that consumption behaviors are now more focused on food safety (search for secure, healthy and even biological food) rather than food security (the problem of food scarcity no longer affects the developed countries). Food producers and distributors, in particular large scale distribution, gradually adapted their strategies to meet the emerging consumers’ preferences. In this paper we analyze the brand management strategy “ViviVerde” pursued by Coop and, also we perfom an analysis of the demand elasticity of the food products sold with the ViviVerde label (eggs, milk, fresh cheese, pasta, fruit juices) from de period of January 2010 to May 2012 in the Italian Province of Bologna. The conclusions are that economic performance of a line of products of the ViviVerde Coop, that clearly pursues the Corporate Social Responsibility objectives, is positive and increasing. It demonstrates that those kinds of brand management strategies can be successful.

Landslide inventory updating by means of Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI): the Setta basin (Italy) case study

This paper illustrates the contribution of Persistent Scatterer SAR Interferometry (PSInSAR) technique to landslide detection, using interferometric data acquired in C-band by European remote-sensing satellite (ERS) 1/2 and environmental satellite (ENVISAT) satellites. The main purpose is to update a pre-existing landslide inventory map, by changing or confirming the landslide geometry and state of activity and eventually, identifying new phenomena.This work presents an application of satellite remote sensing to analyse ground displacement movements in the Setta basin, located on the northern Appennine (Bologna province, Italy) and extended up 268 km2.The proposed methodology, resting upon pre-existing works already consolidated in the scientific community, combines interferometric measures with aerial imagery and other auxiliary data, in order to detect landslide indicators, finally validated with field surveys. The use of an activity matrix allows the identification of the state of activity of landslide phenomena with respect to the velocity of the radar displacement rates. Field validations are carried out in the areas that are more relevant because of the highest ground velocities and the presence of structures extensively affected by ground movements.The final updated landslide database of the Setta basin, based on Persistent Scatterer Interferometry analysis and in situ checks, consists of 1550 landslides, 236 of which have persistent scatterer information.

Trust building as a strategy to avoid unintended consequences of education. The case study of international summer camps designed to promote peace and intercultural dialogue among adolescents

This article aims to offer both a theoretical contribution and examples of practices of trust building in peace education; the article presents an empirical analysis of videotaped interactions in the context of peace education activities in international groups of adolescents. The analysis regards two international summer camps promoted by the School of Peace of Monte Sole, established in the Province of Bologna, Italy, in the place where in 1944 a Nazi assault killed almost 800 children, women and old people. Each camp lasted two weeks, and was attended by four delegations of 10 adolescents coming from different countries; the camps aimed to promote adolescents’ ability in conflict resolution, their interest in peaceful relationships and their respect for different perspectives, and reducing their prejudices and stereotypes. Our analysis highlights some ways in which facilitators’ actions create the conditions of adolescents’ trusting commitment in group activities. Through promotional and feedback questions, formulations and also linguistic help, facilitators can promote adolescents’ trusting commitment in peace education, supporting their agency and avoiding evaluations of their interpretations. Facilitators are able to build trust projecting affective expectations, which are expectations of adolescents’ self-expression as a result of the interaction.

Urban sprawl scatterplots for Urban Morphological Zones data

Urban sprawl is defined as an inefficient urban development often linked to sparse building density over rural areas. Routinely available remote sensing data on land cover are useful to study such phenomena, focus is on large raster maps of Urban Morphological Zones (UMZ) produced by the CORINE Land Cover programme of the European Environmental Agency. We present statistical indices to investigate changes in urban size and morphology between sub-regions within a predefined study area and show their implementation with raster data representing UMZ. Urban size is measured by urban land proportion, while morphology is quantified by Moran's I spatial correlation index. These two area-proportionately additive measures allow comparisons between urban size and morphology in sub-regions of different size to be performed. An urban sprawl scatterplot displaying Moran's I vs. urban land proportion is proposed as a tool to compare the urban sprawl level in pre-defined sub-regions with respect to a global average level. This scatterplot allows urban sprawled regions within a map to be identified and also an assessment of whether sprawl is due to augmented urban size or decreased urban compactness. An example of the methods is given for Bologna province, Northern Italy, where the interest is in detecting types of urban sprawl at several spatial scales, i.e. municipalities and unions of municipalities, within the whole province.

Models of representation, Mobilization and Turnout: The Election of the Foreign Citizens' Council of the Province of Bologna

The Foreign Citizens' Council of the Province of Bologna is a consultative, elected body that the Province has implemented to give representation to the non-EU population, given the absence of local voting rights for these migrants in Italy. This work analyses the models of political representation implicit in the electoral rules of the council and in the organization of the main competing lists in the election, and, through the analysis of electoral data and 32 in-depth interviews with the candidates, the effect the different models had. While the vote seems to have been mostly intra-national, cross-national lists were the most successful. The different levels of turnout among the electorate suggest that the vote was based on mobilization rather than on trust in the political system, and that the analyses that link associational density with electoral participation pose some theoretical and methodological problems in this field. Policy Implications Migrants' participation policy is always based on implicit political models of participation that should always be made explicit and examined before implementation. There is always a plurality of political preferences for different models of participation in the migrant population, that should be explored and accommodated. The number of associations in existence should not be used as an indicator of a strong civil society as largely as it is presently.

Gli effetti benefici della partecipazione

The paper is focused on the role of employee participation within the innovation strategies at company level and its impact on job quality and job satisfaction. After a rapid overview on the meaning of employee participation and its different forms, the paper presents the results of two empirical research projects conducted in Emilia-Romagna region. The first project investigates the relationships among innovation, work organisation and industrial relations through casestudy methodology. On the other side, the second project consists of a large scale survey based on a questionnaire collecting workers’ perception on their working conditions (about 4,500 questionnaires in the province of Bologna). Even though the two projects have different objectives and diverse theoretical basis, both results emphasize the role of employee participation

Ongoing outbreak of visceral leishmaniasis in Bologna Province, Italy, November 2012 to May 2013

An increased number of autochthonous visceral leishmaniasis (VL) cases has recently been reported in Bologna Province in northern Italy. Over six months from November 2012 to May 2013, 14 cases occurred, whereas the average number of cases per year was 2.6 (range: 0-8) in 2008 to 2012. VL was diagnosed in a median of 40 days (range: 15-120) from disease onset. This delay in diagnosis shows the need for heightened awareness of clinicians for autochthonous VL in Europe.

Ongoing outbreak of visceral leishmaniasis in Bologna Province, Italy, November 2012 to May 2013

An increased number of autochthonous visceral leishmaniasis (VL) cases has recently been reported in Bologna Province in northern Italy. Over six months from November 2012 to May 2013, 14 cases occurred, whereas the average number of cases per year was 2.6 (range: 0-8) in 2008 to 2012. VL was diagnosed in a median of 40 days (range: 15-120) from disease onset. This delay in diagnosis shows the need for heightened awareness of clinicians for autochthonous VL in Europe. .