Ordinanza sirchia sui cani potenzialmente pericolosi: valutazione degli effetti nella città di Firenze

RIASSUNTO L’aggressività canina risulta essere un tema largamente dibattuto, soprattutto quando vede coinvolto l’uomo come parte lesionata. Il problema delle morsicature canine rivolte all’uomo deve essere affrontato ed analizzato in modo scientifico, al fine di permettere l’individuazione dei fattori di rischio. Lo scopo di questo lavoro è stato quello di valutare l’influenza dell’Ordinanza Sirchia del 9 settembre 2003 intitolata “Tutela dell’incolumità pubblica dal rischio di aggressioni da parte di cani potenzialmente pericolosi” sull’andamento delle morsicature canine rivolte all’uomo nella città di Firenze. Per questo studio sono stati raccolti 556 casi di morsicature verificatesi nel periodo compreso tra settembre 2002 ed agosto 2005, desunti dalle certificazioni dei referti medici dei vari D.E.A. di Firenze, dalle denunce effettuate all’ufficio dell’anagrafe canina e dalle schede di osservazione per la profilassi della rabbia. I dati sono stati inseriti in un database ed esaminati statisticamente grazie al test del 2. La presente ricerca ha dimostrato che la suddetta Ordinanza non ha provocato, nel campione preso in esame, significativi cambiamenti sull’andamento delle morsicature canine né a breve né a lungo termine. Infatti, anche se è stata evidenziata una diminuzione numerica di queste nel periodo successivo all’ordinanza (210 vs 172 morsicature), una tendenza alla diminuzione era già in atto dal 1986. Inoltre le caratteristiche dei proprietari, dei lesionati e degli animali coinvolti nelle morsicature sono rimaste invariate. I risultati del presente studio sembrerebbero dunque indicare che provvedimenti legislativi a carattere restrittivo in materia di cani potenzialmente pericolosi non si rivelano efficaci nel contenimento di tale fenomeno. Sirchia. SUMMARY Canine aggressiveness is a very discussed topic, especially when a person is the damaged part. The problem of canine bites towards human beings must be tackled and analyzed scientifically, in order to allow the identifying of risk factors. The aim of this research was to assess the effects of the Sirchia’s Ordinance of the 9th September 2003 called “Protection of the public safety against the risk of aggressions by potentially dangerous dogs” on the trend of canine bites towards people in the city of Florence. For this research 556 cases of bites, occurred from September 2002 to August 2005, have been gathered. They drew from the certifications of medical reports in different D.E.A. of Florence, from the denunciation done at registry office for dogs and from the observational reports for the prophylaxis of the rabies. Data have been inserted in a database and statistically examined with the 2 test. This research demonstrated that the above-mentioned ordinance has caused no significant changes on the trend of canine bites in the taken sample nor in the short-term neither in the long-term. In fact, even if a numerical decrease has been observed in the period following the ordinance (210 vs 172 bites), a trend of reduction was already in progress since 1986. Moreover characteristics of owners, injureds and animals involved in the events of bites remained unvaried. Therefore, results seem to show that restrictive legislative measures in point of potentially dangerous dogs are not effective for the control of such phenomenon

Rapid non-contact detection of chemical warfare agents by laser photoacoustic spectroscopy

Nerve agents have recently been used in battlefield operations, espionage wars, and terrorist attacks. These compounds, like some pesticides, cause organophosphate poisoning. The rapid, noncontact detection of a sarin simulant in the liquid phase has been demonstrated at the Diagnostics and Metrology Laboratory of the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development using laser photoacoustic spectroscopy, an infrared absorption technology. The first measurements, carried out with an experimental system based on a quantum cascade laser and developed for the assessment of food authenticity in the "fingerprint region", show that a detection limit of one nanolitre is within the reach of the instrument when chemometric analysis is applied

Development and test of low-cost multi-channel multi-frequency Lock-In Amplifier for health and environment sensing

Optical-based sensing techniques and instruments, such as fluorometric systems, absorbance-based sensors, and photoacoustic spectrometers, are important tools for detecting food fraud, adulteration, and contamination for health and environmental purposes. All the aforementioned optical equipments generally require one or more low-frequency Lock-In Amplifiers (LIAs) to extract the signal of interest from background noise. In the cited applications, the required LIA frequency is quite low (up to 1 kHz), and this leads to a simplification of the hardware with consequent good results in portability, reduced size, weight, and low-cost characteristics. The present system, called ENEA DSP Box Due, is based on a very inexpensive microcontroller proto-board and can replace four commercial LIAs, resulting in significant savings in both cost and space. Furthermore, it incorporates a dual-channel oscilloscope and a sinusoidal function generator. This article outlines the architecture of the ENEA DSP Box Due, its electrical characterization, and its applications within a project concerning laser techniques for food and water safety

Laser Sensing and Chemometric Analysis for Rapid Detection of Oregano Fraud

World health is increasingly threatened by the growing number of spice-related food hazards. Further development of reliable methods for rapid, non-targeted identification of counterfeit ingredients within the supply chain is needed. ENEA has developed a portable, user-friendly photoacoustic laser system for food fraud detection, based on a quantum cascade laser and multivariate calibration. Following a study on the authenticity of saffron, the instrument was challenged with a more elusive adulterant, olive leaves in oregano. The results show that the reported method of laser sensing and chemometric analysis was able to detect adulterants at mass ratios of at least 20% in less than five minutes

Caesarean section in preventing stillbirths in pregnancy complicated with COVID-19. A narrative review

Introduction: COVID-19 is a complex syndrome caused by SARS-Cov-2. It mainly affects the respiratory system, but it could cause serious harm during pregnancy. An increase in stillbirths and preterm births has been highlighted by many authors. Although WHO and Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynecology don't recommend elective cesarean section in women with confirmed infection, cesarean sections were performed by many clinicians. This short narrative review aims to analyze pieces of evidence found in literature about the effectiveness of cesarean section in preventing stillbirths in COVID-19 positive mothers. Methods: Studies included in the present review were retrieved searching MEDLINE (last access August 5th, 2021) with the following keywords: "pregnant woman with covid-19", "Caesarean section", "Ab-dominal Delivery" and "Stillbirth". Studies regarding the mode of delive-ry in pregnant women infected with COVID-19 and neonatal outcomes were included. Studies about biology, anesthesiology and necroscopy were excluded. Filters for "human" and "English" were applied. Results: Searching MEDLINE, 24 references were found. Other 103 articles were found searching bibliography. Two references were excluded after duplicate removal, 77 references after the title screen and 27 after the abstract screen. The final number of references included was 23. Most of the included studies were case reports. Most of them were from China. Discussion: Many authors highlighted the increased risk of fetal death in pregnancies complicated with SARS-Cov-2 infection, but it is not clear if Caesarean Section could reduce this risk. Pieces of evidence show that most clinicians choose to perform an elective cesarean section mostly because of maternal conditions or the fear of possible vertical transmission. Data show that mode of delivery doesn't affect the neonatal outcome and Caesarean Section doesn't reduce the positivity rate among neonates. Different opinions were found about the possible infection of amniotic fluid, cord blood and placenta. The risk of vertical transmission is considered moderate or low by most of the authors. Positivity to SARS-Cov-2 isn't an indication of elective cesarean section by itself, but this mode of delivery should be optioned in patients with other obstetrical indications or with severe conditions due to COVID. The recent increase in stillbirths could be related to the overall deterioration of maternal conditions

Exploring the potential of laser photoacoustic spectroscopy (LPAS) for predicting amylose content in rice flour

Aim: Rice, one of the most widely consumed staple foods globally, relies on amylose content for its quality, impacting cooking, digestibility, and health properties. Conventional amylose determination methods are time-consuming and involve complex chemical treatments. Thus, there is growing interest in rapid, non-destructive techniques for food quality control. This study explores the potential of laser photoacoustic spectroscopy (LPAS) for predicting amylose content in rice flour. Methods: Certified rice flour standards of varying amylose levels have been analyzed using a quantum-cascade LPAS system. Preliminary analysis utilized Fourier transform infrared/attenuated total reflectance (FTIR/ATR) to identify rice starch spectral features in the IR region. Multivariate data tools like principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares (PLS) regression have been combined with LPAS measurements to extract information from the complex spectral data set and to demonstrate the ability of the system to predict their amylose content. Results: LPAS spectra, recorded between 7.0–11.0 μm, displayed two broad bands, showing a linear increase in signal with amylose content, especially notable in the specific fingerprint region within 8.5–10.0 μm. The prominent peak at 9.3 μm exhibited a high linear correlation with amylose levels (R2 > 0.99). PCA effectively differentiated rice flour samples, while PLS accurately predicted amylose content. The difference between predicted and actual amylose is significantly less than the statistical error of the measurement. Conclusions: LPAS combined with chemometric analysis emerges as a promising non-destructive method for rapidly assessing rice amylose content, potentially supplementing or replacing current standard methods. Its advantages, limitations, and future prospects in rice quality analysis are discussed, highlighting its role in preliminary screening

Leptospirosis in Germany, 1962–2003

Epidemiologic trends of human leptospirosis in Germany were investigated by analyzing national surveillance data from 1962 to 2003 and by conducting a questionnaire-based survey from 1997 to 2000. After a steady decrease of leptospirosis incidence from 1962 to 1997, surveillance data indicate an increase in disease incidence to 0.06 per 100,000 (1998–2003). Of 102 laboratory-confirmed cases in humans from 1997 to 2000, 30% were related to occupational exposures. Recreational exposures were reported in 30% (including traveling abroad in 16%), whereas residential exposure accounted for 37% of the cases. Direct contact with animals, mostly rats and dogs, was observed in 31% of the cases. We conclude that recent changes in transmission patterns of leptospirosis, partially caused by an expanding rat population and the resurgence of canine leptospirosis, may facilitate the spread of the disease in temperate countries like Germany. Preventive measures should be adapted to the changing epidemiology of leptospirosis