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- Barbabella, Francesco, Dr. 1984-, et al.
(författare)
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Ecological factors associated with Emergency Department use by older people in Italy.
- 2021
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Ingår i: Aging Clinical and Experimental Research. - : Springer. - 1594-0667 .- 1720-8319. ; 33, s. 659-668
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Many studies investigated factors associated with overuse of Emergency Department (ED) by older people. However, there is little evidence of how a better access to long-term care services can affect ED visit rates. Therefore, we estimated the association between ED use and contextual (distance to closest ED), need (priority level at admission and care deprivation), predisposing (socio-economic conditions) and enabling factors (availability of health services) at the municipal level.METHODS: We investigated ED visit rates by comparing the older population (aged 75 and more) to those aged less than 75 years among 233 municipalities and 13 health districts in the Marche Region, Central Italy. Administrative data were enriched by spatial dimensions. The outcomes were analysed using t-tests and ANOVA, while OLS and multilevel regressions have been used to identify independent correlates of ED visit rates.RESULTS: Mean ED visit rate was 56.3% and 25.3% among older people and the rest of the population (< 75 years), respectively. The multivariate analysis for older people showed that the presence of an ED within the municipality and living alone were positively associated with ED use, whereas greater availability of nursing homes was negatively associated. For general population (< 75 years), distance to closest ED, economic deprivation and bigger hospitals were negatively associated with ED visits.CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that interventions to reduce frequent ED use by older people should include the availability of long-term care facilities in the area. As population ageing is progressing, our results suggest that investing in alternative care options for older people with long-term care needs might have the beneficial impact of reducing the overall ED rates and improving quality and appropriateness of care.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Balducci, Beatrice, et al.
(författare)
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Designing ecology : The organic as a possible paradigm of a sustainable and resilient architecture
- 2022
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Ingår i: AGATHÓN | International Journal of Architecture, Art and Design. - : Palermo University Press. - 2464-9309 .- 2532-683X. ; 11, s. 84-93
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The integration of the organic dimension can be a strategy to reduce the impact of architecture on the environment and appears relevant to addressing the climate crisis. Positioning in a wider discussion on the relationship between man and nature, the paper shows how it is possible to broaden the understanding of the ecology of architecture, on the one hand, by looking at how some vernacular building techniques establish a relationship with living organic materials, on the other hand, through advanced architectural experiments that investigate the inhomogeneous nature of wood in order to integrate it into the project. The goal is to propose the inclusion of the organic dimension in architecture not only as a material issue but as a cultural paradigm shift where the building, rather than as an inert artefact, is interpreted as a piece of a broader and more complex ecology.
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| 4. |
- Balducci, Francesco, et al.
(författare)
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A formaldehyde-free adhesive for particleboards based on soy flour, magnesium oxide, and a plant-derived enzymatic hydrolysate
- 2020
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Ingår i: BioResources. - : North Carolina State University. - 1930-2126. ; 15:2, s. 3087-3102
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An adhesive for particleboards based on natural materials was prepared. Soy flour (38.9 wt%), magnesium oxide (MgO) (2.8 wt%), and a hydrolysate from an agricultural crop (13.9 wt%) were mixed with water and ground in a ball mill at 44% solids. The solubility and interaction of the soy flour proteins and the proteins contained in the plant hydrolysate were triggered by the strong basic environment created by MgO in the presence of water. The natural adhesive appeared to be thermally stable at temperatures from 130 °C to 240 °C, with unchanged mass and no major signals in the thermal analysis curves. These results, together with a viscosity of 510 Pa·s at 25 °C, suggested a good operability of the adhesive. Three-layered particleboards were manufactured with weight combinations of natural adhesive and polyamidoamine-epichlorohydrin (PAE) of 0%:100%, 33%:67%, 50%:50%, 67%:33%, and 100%:0%. The natural adhesive showed inferior internal bond strength and poor water resistance compared with urea-formaldehyde-bonded boards. Addition of the PAE significantly improved the internal bond and swelling, and for all the combinations these properties were comparable or, in most cases, better than in the urea-formaldehyde controls. All boards were formaldehyde-free, while the natural adhesive itself released no dangerous volatile substances
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| 5. |
- Balducci, Francesco, et al.
(författare)
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“How Far Is the Closest Bus Stop?” : An Evaluation of Self-Reported versus GIS-Computed Distance to the Bus among Older People and Factors Influencing Their Perception of Distance
- 2023
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Ingår i: Geomatics. - 2673-7418. ; 3:4, s. 580-596
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Previous research showed that living closer to bus stops could be a factor in promoting a healthy and active lifestyle. However, most of the studies relied on self-reported measures of distance, which might be affected by several confounders. In this study, self-reported distances among study participants were compared to actual ones, computed by the use of GIS (Geographic Information System) technology and routing algorithms. We tested whether distance to the bus stop is associated with health and socioeconomic conditions of the respondents, using data among 2398 older people (75–90 years) in three cities in Sweden. We found that several variables including older age, female gender, living alone, and worse health status are associated with an over-estimation of bus stop distance. People who use public transport daily or several times a week and are satisfied with the walking environment in the neighbourhood tend to underestimate bus stop distances. Evidence based on self-reported measures only should be treated cautiously. Considering the limitations still present in open-data-based routing algorithms, the best indication is to combine the subjective with the objective measure of distance. Having the possibility to combine the two measures appears as a sound strategy to overcome the limitations associated with each single measure.
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| 6. |
- Toft Sörensen, Andreas, et al.
(författare)
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NPY gene transfer in the hippocampus attenuates synaptic plasticity and learning.
- 2008
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Ingår i: Hippocampus. - : Wiley. - 1050-9631 .- 1098-1063. ; 18:6, s. 564-574
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recombinant adeno-associated viral (rAAV) vector-induced neuropeptide Y (NPY) overexpression in the hippocampus exerts powerful antiepileptic and antiepileptogenic effects in rats. Such gene therapy approach could be a valuable alternative for developing new antiepileptic treatment strategies. Future clinical progress, however, requires more detailed evaluation of possible side effects of this treatment. Until now it has been unknown whether rAAV vector-based NPY overexpression in the hippocampus alters normal synaptic transmission and plasticity, which could disturb learning and memory processing. Here we show, by electrophysiological recordings in CA1 of the hippocampal formation of rats, that hippocampal NPY gene transfer into the intact brain does not affect basal synaptic transmission, but slightly alters short-term synaptic plasticity, most likely via NPY Y2 receptor-mediated mechanisms. In addition, transgene NPY seems to be released during high frequency neuronal activity, leading to decreased glutamate release in excitatory synapses. Importantly, memory consolidation appears to be affected by the treatment. We found that long-term potentiation (LTP) in the CA1 area is partially impaired and animals have a slower rate of hippocampal-based spatial discrimination learning. These data provide the first evidence that rAAV-based gene therapy using NPY exerts relative limited effect on synaptic plasticity and learning in the hippocampus, and therefore this approach could be considered as a viable alternative for epilepsy treatment. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
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