Hasil untuk "History of Italy"

Giacomo Grasselli, M. Greco, A. Zanella et al.

Importance Many patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are critically ill and require care in the intensive care unit (ICU). Objective To evaluate the independent risk factors associated with mortality of patients with COVID-19 requiring treatment in ICUs in the Lombardy region of Italy. Design, Setting, and Participants This retrospective, observational cohort study included 3988 consecutive critically ill patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 referred for ICU admission to the coordinating center (Fondazione IRCCS [Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico] Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy) of the COVID-19 Lombardy ICU Network from February 20 to April 22, 2020. Infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 was confirmed by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction assay of nasopharyngeal swabs. Follow-up was completed on May 30, 2020. Exposures Baseline characteristics, comorbidities, long-term medications, and ventilatory support at ICU admission. Main Outcomes and Measures Time to death in days from ICU admission to hospital discharge. The independent risk factors associated with mortality were evaluated with a multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression. Results Of the 3988 patients included in this cohort study, the median age was 63 (interquartile range [IQR] 56-69) years; 3188 (79.9%; 95% CI, 78.7%-81.1%) were men, and 1998 of 3300 (60.5%; 95% CI, 58.9%-62.2%) had at least 1 comorbidity. At ICU admission, 2929 patients (87.3%; 95% CI, 86.1%-88.4%) required invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV). The median follow-up was 44 (95% CI, 40-47; IQR, 11-69; range, 0-100) days; median time from symptoms onset to ICU admission was 10 (95% CI, 9-10; IQR, 6-14) days; median length of ICU stay was 12 (95% CI, 12-13; IQR, 6-21) days; and median length of IMV was 10 (95% CI, 10-11; IQR, 6-17) days. Cumulative observation time was 164 305 patient-days. Hospital and ICU mortality rates were 12 (95% CI, 11-12) and 27 (95% CI, 26-29) per 1000 patients-days, respectively. In the subgroup of the first 1715 patients, as of May 30, 2020, 865 (50.4%) had been discharged from the ICU, 836 (48.7%) had died in the ICU, and 14 (0.8%) were still in the ICU; overall, 915 patients (53.4%) died in the hospital. Independent risk factors associated with mortality included older age (hazard ratio [HR], 1.75; 95% CI, 1.60-1.92), male sex (HR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.31-1.88), high fraction of inspired oxygen (Fio2) (HR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.10-1.19), high positive end-expiratory pressure (HR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.01-1.06) or low Pao2:Fio2 ratio (HR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.74-0.87) on ICU admission, and history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (HR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.28-2.19), hypercholesterolemia (HR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.02-1.52), and type 2 diabetes (HR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.01-1.39). No medication was independently associated with mortality (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors HR, 1.17; 95% CI, 0.97-1.42; angiotensin receptor blockers HR, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.85-1.29). Conclusions and Relevance In this retrospective cohort study of critically ill patients admitted to ICUs in Lombardy, Italy, with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, most patients required IMV. The mortality rate and absolute mortality were high.

R. Cann

S. Boccia, W. Ricciardi, J. Ioannidis

In the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Italy has been hit very hard,1 with 110 574 documented cases and 13 155 documented deaths related to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection as of April 1, 2020. The number of cases and deaths cannot be explained simply because of the epidemic starting in Italy earlier compared with other countries besides China. It is important to understand why death rates were so high in Italy to learn how to best prepare and how to plan for optimal actions in other countries. Some contributing factors may be immutable (eg, age structure of the population), but even these need to be laid out carefully in preparedness assessments. Some other contributing factors are potentially modifiable. Some factors pertain to demographics and background disease in the population. Italy has the most elderly population in Europe and the second most elderly population in the world after Japan. COVID-19 has a strong age dependence for the severity of the infection and the risk of death. The median age of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 who are dying in Italy has been 80 years, and the average age of patients requiring critical care support has been 67 years. Moreover, COVID-19 morbidity and mortality is strongly dependent on the presence of concomitant serious diseases, and Italy has a high proportion of patients with history of smoking and high rates of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and ischemic heart disease.2 The corollary is that preparedness for needs of intensive care unit (ICU) beds and estimates of expected deaths should consider the age structure and chronic diseases of the population served by each health care system. Taking this adjustment into account, burden of disease may be expected to be much less in most areas in the United States, with variability across states and hospital catchment areas. For example, the proportion of the population older than 65 years is 9.5% in Alaska as compared with 19.1% in Florida and 23.1% in Italy. A second set of factors in Italy is the increased burden of cases that presented themselves to the health care system. The proportion of people infected must have been very high in specific areas that were highly affected. In the town of Vò, all 3300 residents were tested the day the first case was detected in the third week of February, and 3% were found to be infected.3 Following aggressive testing, the epidemic was extinguished. However, elsewhere in Italy, it is likely that the prevalence of infection was several times higher in the absence of effective public health intervention. For example, it is likely that the health care system was overwhelmed in Bergamo owing to massive viral transmission during the Champions League match on February 19, 2020 (Atalanta vs Valencia), where a third of the population of Bergamo attended and continued celebrations overnight. Italian life is famous for its socialization and frequent congregations and clustering. It is possible also that in early stages, there was not much adoption of standard hygienic measures, and instructions to stay at home proved difficult to accept, with many complaints registered with the police.4 Accordingly, a higher level of preparedness should be considered for areas where mass gatherings have occurred or where there is extensive social intermingling. A third set of factors pertains to the standard capacity of the health care system and decisions made during hospital management of the presenting cases. Italy has a highly competent state-run health care system, but it has only a modest number of ICU beds and very few subintensive care beds. Overall, 5090 ICU beds (8.4 per 100 000 population) are available in Italy, and 2601 beds in coronary care units (4.3 per 100 000 population),5 as opposed to much higher numbers (36 ICU beds per 100 000 population) in the United States. Given the little experience in dealing with the new virus, it is unavoidable that some strategic mistakes were made about which patients should be hospitalized. In the winter, hospitals tend to run close to full capacity, with 87% average occupancy in Italy during the flu season. Apparently, many patients with relatively modest symptoms were admitted; by the time more patients with severe cases started to arrive, there were limited reserves. Hospital overcrowding may also explain the high infection rate of medical personnel. As of March 30, 2020, 8920 medical personnel had been found to be infected in Italy,6 leading to further loss of capacity for hospitals to respond. Moreover, early infection of medical personnel led to the spread of the infection to other patients within hospitals. In Lombardy, SARS-CoV-2 became largely a nosocomial infection. Nine percent of infections in Italy occurred among health care personnel.6 Characteristically, the first patient with COVID-19 visited the emergency department twice, thus exposing all of the personnel and patients in that area before the infection was recognized. Italy is a decentralized country; thus, preparedness and containment may have been hampered. There was a delay from the first case detection (February 21, 2020) to the first containment decree from the government that closed the relevant villages 3 days later. The lessons relevant to other countries are the need to (1) avoid bringing patients with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection to the hospital, except when they clearly require hospital care; (2) maintain strict hygienic procedures in the hospital environment; and (3) act swiftly in VIEWPOINT

Sara Mosca, Wren Montgomery, Chelsea McKibbin et al.

Hanti Lin

The integration of the history and philosophy of statistics was initiated at least by Hacking (1975) and advanced by Hacking (1990), Mayo (1996), and Zabell (2005), but it has not received sustained follow-up. Yet such integration is more urgent than ever, as the recent success of artificial intelligence has been driven largely by machine learning -- a field historically developed alongside statistics. Today, the boundary between statistics and machine learning is increasingly blurred. What we now need is integration, twice over: of history and philosophy, and of two fields they engage -- statistics and machine learning. I present a case study of a philosophical idea in machine learning (and in formal epistemology) whose root can be traced back to an often under-appreciated insight in Neyman and Pearson's 1936 work (a follow-up to their 1933 classic). This leads to the articulation of an epistemological principle -- largely implicit in, but shared by, the practices of frequentist statistics and machine learning -- which I call achievabilism: the thesis that the correct standard for assessing non-deductive inference methods should not be fixed, but should instead be sensitive to what is achievable in specific problem contexts. Another integration also emerges at the level of methodology, combining two ends of the philosophy of science spectrum: history and philosophy of science on the one hand, and formal epistemology on the other hand.

Hagit Attiya, Michael A. Bender, Martín Farach-Colton et al.

A history-independent data structure does not reveal the history of operations applied to it, only its current logical state, even if its internal state is examined. This paper studies history-independent concurrent dictionaries, in particular, hash tables, and establishes inherent bounds on their space requirements. This paper shows that there is a lock-free history-independent concurrent hash table, in which each memory cell stores two elements and two bits, based on Robin Hood hashing. Our implementation is linearizable, and uses the shared memory primitive LL/SC. The expected amortized step complexity of the hash table is $O(c)$, where $c$ is an upper bound on the number of concurrent operations that access the same element, assuming the hash table is not overpopulated. We complement this positive result by showing that even if we have only two concurrent processes, no history-independent concurrent dictionary that supports sets of any size, with wait-free membership queries and obstruction-free insertions and deletions, can store only two elements of the set and a constant number of bits in each memory cell. This holds even if the step complexity of operations on the dictionary is unbounded.

Giacomo Dimarco, Federica Ferrarese, Lorenzo Pareschi

In this work, we propose a data augmentation strategy aimed at improving the training phase of neural networks and, consequently, the accuracy of their predictions. Our approach relies on generating synthetic data through a suitable compartmental model combined with the incorporation of uncertainty. The available data are then used to calibrate the model, which is further integrated with deep learning techniques to produce additional synthetic data for training. The results show that neural networks trained on these augmented datasets exhibit significantly improved predictive performance. We focus in particular on two different neural network architectures: Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINNs) and Nonlinear Autoregressive (NAR) models. The NAR approach proves especially effective for short-term forecasting, providing accurate quantitative estimates by directly learning the dynamics from data and avoiding the additional computational cost of embedding physical constraints into the training. In contrast, PINNs yield less accurate quantitative predictions but capture the qualitative long-term behavior of the system, making them more suitable for exploring broader dynamical trends. Numerical simulations of the second phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Lombardy region (Italy) validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

G. Apolone, E. Montomoli, A. Manenti et al.

There are no robust data on the real onset of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and spread in the prepandemic period worldwide. We investigated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD)–specific antibodies in blood samples of 959 asymptomatic individuals enrolled in a prospective lung cancer screening trial between September 2019 and March 2020 to track the date of onset, frequency, and temporal and geographic variations across the Italian regions. SARS-CoV-2 RBD-specific antibodies were detected in 111 of 959 (11.6%) individuals, starting from September 2019 (14%), with a cluster of positive cases (>30%) in the second week of February 2020 and the highest number (53.2%) in Lombardy. This study shows an unexpected very early circulation of SARS-CoV-2 among asymptomatic individuals in Italy several months before the first patient was identified, and clarifies the onset and spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Finding SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in asymptomatic people before the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy may reshape the history of pandemic.

M. Mödlinger, J. Bontadi, M. Fellin et al.

Abstract The bronze doors of the Basilica of San Zeno in Verona, Italy, are a special case in art history research. They were made by several workshops during the twelfth century: stylistically, two to three workshops were assumed to produce the metal parts of the door. However, it is still unclear when exactly and if this interpretation can be supported by the chemical composition of the metal. In this research we aimed to verify the art history interpretation by identifying the alloy composition of each individual metal plate. The composition of the supporting wooden structures are discussed. A portable ED-XRF instrument and optical microscopes were used to analyse and document the doors non-invasively. The doors were also photographed to produce high resolution orthophotos and 3D models. We can confirm that the metal parts of the doors were made of leaded tin-bronze as well as leaded brass and mounted on a wooden structure mainly made of spruce and oak wood. Chemically, two/three different groups of alloys have been identified, which can be associated with two or three different workshops, and which largely correspond to the stylistic interpretation.

Mohammad Taghi KARIMI, Mahmood BAHRAMIZADEH, Hanieh KHALILIYAN et al.

Introduction: An increase in knee joint loading exacerbates the symptoms of knee joint osteoarthritis (OA). One of the conservative treatments used for subjects with knee OA is knee valgus orthosis, which is used to decrease the loads on knee joints. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of a new design of knee orthosis on joint contact force and muscle force in subjects with knee OA. Methods: Ten subjects with knee OA were recruited for this study. A motion analysis system with seven high-speed cameras and a Kistler force plate were used to record the motion of the subjects in walking and the forces applied on the leg. We used OpenSIM software to determine the knee joint contact force during walking, with and without the orthosis. Results: The knee orthosis decreased the peaks of the vertical component of knee joint contact forces (p < 0.05). Moreover, it did not influence walking speed. The use of the orthosis decreased the extension moment of the knee joint and the peaks of the forces produced by the muscles surrounding the knee joint. Discussion: The use of this orthosis decreased the knee joint contact forces. This suggests that the orthosis could be used to alleviate the symptoms of knee OA. Orthosis can be incorporated into the clinical management of subjects with knee OA by medical practitioners.

Davoud Shahpari Sani, Mohammad Jalal Abbasi Shavazi

In recent years, the incidence of divorce in Iran has risen significantly, making it a pressing social concern. Various demographic and social factors contribute to this trend, with childbearing and the number of children in a family playing a crucial role. This study explores how the presence and number of children influence the likelihood of divorce among Iranian women. A secondary analysis of two-percent sample from the 2016 census data reveals that both childlessness and the number of children in a household significantly affect the probability of divorce among women. The findings indicate that having children reduces the likelihood of divorce, as women who have given birth during their marriage are less likely to divorce than those without children. Moreover, the study demonstrates that a higher number of children is associated with greater marital stability, with families having three or more children exhibiting higher levels of stability compared to others. The results underscore the critical role of childbearing in sustaining marital relationships in Iran. While supporting marriage and family formation, policymakers can enhance family stability by implementing policies and support systems that encourage childbearing.   ‌ Keywords Population Changes, Childbearing, Family Stability, Value of Children, Women's Divorce   Introduction The family, as the fundamental social institution, plays a pivotal role in human development and the fulfillment of essential needs (Azadarmaki & Bahar, 2006: 590-591). However, this dynamic institution undergoes continuous semantic, structural, and functional transformations. Over the past century, Iranian family structures and relationships have experienced significant changes (Abbasi-Shavazi, 2017: 55; Abbasi‐Shavazi et al., 2009: 1309; Mohammadpur et al., 2009: 311; Shahpari Sani et al., 2021: 5). One of the most critical social challenges arising from these transformations is the rising divorce rate (Abbasi‐Shavazi et al., 2009: 1310; Alimondegari et al., 2016: 63-65; Askari-Nodoushan et al., 2019: 2; Azadarmaki & Bahar, 2006: 591; Sadeghi, 2016: 190). Divorce has thus become a major societal concern. Among the factors influencing marital dissolution, childbearing and the number of children are key determinants (Alimondegari et al., 2016: 64; Sadeghi, 2018: 207). Given the cultural and social fabric of Iranian society and the socioeconomic consequences of divorce for women, this study investigates the extent to which childbearing and the number of children impact the probability of divorce among Iranian women. It addresses two key research questions: (1) Does having children influence the probability of divorce among women? (2) If so, how does the number of children affect this probability?   Theoretical Framework Various theoretical perspectives offer insights into the relationship between childbearing and marital stability. Household economics theory (Becker et al, 1977: 1146; Kaplan et al, 2020: 127), sociological approaches (Waite & Lillard, 1991: 937), and social psychology perspectives (Kaplan et al, 2020: 127) argue that children contribute to marital stability. Conversely, alternative models, such as the role conflict model (Kaplan et al, 2020: 126-127; Twenge, 2003: 576), freedom restriction model (Garvin, 1997: 128), and financial cost model (Twenge, 2003: 576-578), posit that childbearing may contribute to marital dissolution by imposing additional burdens on couples. This study integrates these theoretical perspectives to analyze the research problem.     Methods This study employs a descriptive-analytical approach, utilizing secondary data analysis from the 2016 Iranian census (2% sample). The dataset comprises household and individual records, with the individual file containing 1,579,435 cases, of which 783,060 (49.5%) are women. Based on marital status information, the final sample includes only married (coded as 0) and divorced (coded as 1) women. The total sample consists of 436,551 women, comprising422, 363 married women and 14,188 divorced women. The study applies the Chi-square test for bivariate analysis and logistic regression for multivariate analysis.   Findings and discussion The results reveal that childbearing and the number of children significantly impact the probability of divorce among Iranian women. Women who have given birth during their marriage are less likely to divorce than those without children. Moreover, a higher number of children contributes to greater marital stability with families having three or more children exhibiting the highest levels of stability. These findings align with household economics theory, sociological perspectives, and social psychology approaches, all of which emphasize the stabilizing role of children in marital relationships. The study concludes that in Iranian society, parental emotional attachment to children plays a crucial role in reducing divorce risk and strengthening marital bonds.   Conclusion This study highlights the pivotal role of childbearing and the number of children in fostering marital stability among Iranian families. The findings underscore the need for policy measures that support childbearing as a means to strengthen family cohesion. Population policy planning should incorporate strategies that promote childbearing through economic incentives, housing support, and work-family balance policies, ensuring a more stable and resilient family structure.   Funding This research and its associated publication costs were fully funded by the authors. No external financial support was received for this study.         ‌ References Abbasi-Shavazi, M.J (2017). Iran’s Population Situation Analysis, National Institute of Population Research and UNFPA, Tehran. (Persian) Abbasi‐Shavazi, M. J., Morgan, S.P., Hosseini‐Chavoshi, M., & McDonald, P. (2009). Family change and continuity in Iran: Birth control use before first pregnancy. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71(5), 1309-1324. Aghajanian, A., & Thompson, V. (2013). Household size and structure in Iran: 1976-2006. The Open Family Studies Journal, 5(1), 1-9. Alimondegari, M., Ghazi Tabatabie, M., & Sadati, S.M.H. (2016). Examining a Theoretical-Conceptual Model of Tendency to Divorce among Couples in Tehran City. Population Policy Research, 2(1), 61-93. (Persian) Andersson, G. (1997). The impact of children on divorce risks of Swedish women. European Journal of Population/Revue Européenne de Démographie, 13, 109-145. Askari-Nodoushan, A., Shams Ghahfarokhi, M., & Shams Ghahfarrokhi, F. (2019). An analysis of the socioeconomic characteristics of divorce in Iran. Strategic Research on Social Problems in Iran, 8(2), 1-16. (Persian) Azadarmaki, T., & Bahar, M. (2006). Families in Iran: Changes, challenges and future. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 37(4), 589-608. Bagi, M., & Abbasi-Shavazi, M. J. (2020). Household Dynamics in Iran: Study of Changes in Family and Household Structure over Four Decades. Journal of Population Association of Iran, 15(30), 203-230. doi:10.22034/jpai.2021.241891. (Persian) Becker, G. S., Landes, E. M., & Michael, R. T. (1977). An economic analysis of marital instability. Journal of Political Economy, 85(6), 1141-1187. Brines, J., & Joyner, K. (1999). The ties that bind: Principles of cohesion in cohabitation and marriage. American sociological review, 64(3), 333-355. Chiappori, P. A., Radchenko, N., & Salanié, B. (2018). Divorce and the duality of marital payoff. Review of Economics of the Household, 16, 833-858. Coombs, L. C., Freedman, R., Friedman, J., & Pratt, W. F. (1970). Premarital pregnancy and status before and after marriage. American Journal of Sociology, 75(5), 800-820. Coppola, L., & Di Cesare, M. (2008). How fertility and union stability interact in shaping new family patterns in Italy and Spain. Demographic Research, 18, 117-144. Durkheim, E. (1964). The Division of Labor in Society. New York: Free Press. Erlangsen, A., & Andersson, G. (2001). The impact of children on divorce risks in first and later marriages. Rostock: Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR Working Papers, WP-2001-033, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany. Freedman, D. S., & Thornton, A. (1979). The long-term impact of pregnancy at marriage on the family's economic circumstances. Family Planning Perspectives, 11(1), 6-13, 18. Hart, R. K., Lyngstad, T. H., & Vinberg, E. (2017). Children and union dissolution across four decades: Evidence from Norway. 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Demographic Research, 20, 11-36. Waite, L. J., & Lillard, L. A. (1991). Children and marital disruption. American Journal of Sociology, 96(4), 930-953. Xu, Q., Yu, J., & Qiu, Z. (2015). The impact of children on divorce risk. The Journal of Chinese Sociology, 2, 1-20.

Yi Xu, Weiran Shen, Xiao Zhang et al.

Traditional imitation learning focuses on modeling the behavioral mechanisms of experts, which requires a large amount of interaction history generated by some fixed expert. However, in many streaming applications, such as streaming recommender systems, online decision-makers typically engage in online learning during the decision-making process, meaning that the interaction history generated by online decision-makers includes their behavioral evolution from novice expert to experienced expert. This poses a new challenge for existing imitation learning approaches that can only utilize data from experienced experts. To address this issue, this paper proposes an inverse batched contextual bandit (IBCB) framework that can efficiently perform estimations of environment reward parameters and learned policy based on the expert's behavioral evolution history. Specifically, IBCB formulates the inverse problem into a simple quadratic programming problem by utilizing the behavioral evolution history of the batched contextual bandit with inaccessible rewards. We demonstrate that IBCB is a unified framework for both deterministic and randomized bandit policies. The experimental results indicate that IBCB outperforms several existing imitation learning algorithms on synthetic and real-world data and significantly reduces running time. Additionally, empirical analyses reveal that IBCB exhibits better out-of-distribution generalization and is highly effective in learning the bandit policy from the interaction history of novice experts.

E. Lahner, R. Zagari, A. Zullo et al.

Chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) is an underdiagnosed condition characterised by translational features going beyond the strict field of gastroenterology as it may manifest itself by a variable spectrum of gastric and extra-gastric symptoms and signs. It is relatively common among older adults in different parts of the world, but large variations exist. Helicobacter pylori-related CAG [multifocal] and autoimmune CAG (corpus-restricted) are apparently two different diseases, but they display overlapping features. Patients with cobalamin and/or iron deficiency anaemia or autoimmune disorders, including autoimmune thyroiditis and type 1 diabetes mellitus, should be offered screening for CAG. Pepsinogens, gastrin-17, and anti-H. pylori antibodies serum assays seem to be reliable non-invasive screening tools for the presence of CAG, helpful to identify individuals to refer to gastroscopy with five standard gastric biopsies in order to obtain histological confirmation of diagnosis. Patients with CAG are at increased risk of developing gastric cancer, and they should be estimated with histological staging systems (OLGA or OLGIM). H. pylori eradication may be beneficial by modifying the natural history of atrophy, but not that of intestinal metaplasia. Patients with advanced stages of CAG (Stage III/IV OLGA or OLGIM) should undergo endoscopic surveillance every three years, those with autoimmune CAG every three-five years. In patients with CAG, a screening for autoimmune thyroid disease and micronutrient deficiencies, including iron and vitamin B12, should be performed. The optimal treatment for dyspeptic symptoms in patients with CAG remains to be defined. Proton pump inhibitors are not indicated in hypochlorhydric CAG patients.

G. La Rosa, M. Iaconelli, C. Veneri et al.

The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant emerged in South Africa in November 2021, and has later been identified worldwide, raising serious concerns. A real-time RT-PCR assay was designed for the rapid screening of the Omicron variant, targeting characteristic mutations of the spike gene. The assay was used to test 737 sewage samples collected throughout Italy (19/21 Regions) between 11 November and 25 December 2021, with the aim of assessing the spread of the Omicron variant in the country. Positive samples were also tested with a real-time RT-PCR developed by the European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), and through nested RT-PCR followed by Sanger sequencing. Overall, 115 samples tested positive for Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant. The first occurrence was detected on 7 December, in Veneto, North Italy. Later on, the variant spread extremely fast in three weeks, with prevalence of positive wastewater samples rising from 1.0% (1/104 samples) in the week 5–11 December, to 17.5% (25/143 samples) in the week 12–18, to 65.9% (89/135 samples) in the week 19–25, in line with the increase in cases of infection with the Omicron variant observed during December in Italy. Similarly, the number of Regions/Autonomous Provinces in which the variant was detected increased from one in the first week, to 11 in the second, and to 17 in the last one. The presence of the Omicron variant was confirmed by the JRC real-time RT-PCR in 79.1% (91/115) of the positive samples, and by Sanger sequencing in 66% (64/97) of PCR amplicons. In conclusion, we designed an RT-qPCR assay capable to detect the Omicron variant, which can be successfully used for the purpose of wastewater-based epidemiology. We also described the history of the introduction and diffusion of the Omicron variant in the Italian population and territory, confirming the effectiveness of sewage monitoring as a powerful surveillance tool.

Dario Billi, Valeria Croce, Marco Giorgio Bevilacqua et al.

The reconstruction of 3D geometries starting from reality-based data is challenging and time-consuming due to the difficulties involved in modeling existing structures and the complex nature of built heritage. This paper presents a methodological approach for the automated segmentation and classification of surveying outputs to improve the interpretation and building information modeling from laser scanning and photogrammetric data. The research focused on the surveying of reticular, space grid structures of the late 19th–20th–21st centuries, as part of our architectural heritage, which might require monitoring maintenance activities, and relied on artificial intelligence (machine learning and deep learning) for: (i) the classification of 3D architectural components at multiple levels of detail and (ii) automated masking in standard photogrammetric processing. Focusing on the case study of the grid structure in steel named La Vela in Bologna, the work raises many critical issues in space grid structures in terms of data accuracy, geometric and spatial complexity, semantic classification, and component recognition.

J. Homburger, A. Moreno-Estrada, Christopher R. Gignoux et al.

South America has a complex demographic history shaped by multiple migration and admixture events in pre- and post-colonial times. Settled over 14,000 years ago by Native Americans, South America has experienced migrations of European and African individuals, similar to other regions in the Americas. However, the timing and magnitude of these events resulted in markedly different patterns of admixture throughout Latin America. We use genome-wide SNP data for 437 admixed individuals from 5 countries (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and Argentina) to explore the population structure and demographic history of South American Latinos. We combined these data with population reference panels from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas to perform global ancestry analysis and infer the subcontinental origin of the European and Native American ancestry components of the admixed individuals. By applying ancestry-specific PCA analyses we find that most of the European ancestry in South American Latinos is from the Iberian Peninsula; however, many individuals trace their ancestry back to Italy, especially within Argentina. We find a strong gradient in the Native American ancestry component of South American Latinos associated with country of origin and the geography of local indigenous populations. For example, Native American genomic segments in Peruvians show greater affinities with Andean indigenous peoples like Quechua and Aymara, whereas Native American haplotypes from Colombians tend to cluster with Amazonian and coastal tribes from northern South America. Using ancestry tract length analysis we modeled post-colonial South American migration history as the youngest in Latin America during European colonization (9–14 generations ago), with an additional strong pulse of European migration occurring between 3 and 9 generations ago. These genetic footprints can impact our understanding of population-level differences in biomedical traits and, thus, inform future medical genetic studies in the region.

Andrea Benazzo, E. Trucchi, J. A. Cahill et al.

C. Ravaldi, V. Ricca, Alyce N. Wilson et al.

Italy was the first COVID-19 pandemic epicenter among European countries and established a period of full “lockdown”, consisting of travel bans, mandatory staying at home, and temporary closure of nonessential businesses. Similar measures are known risk factors for psychological disturbances in the general population; still, little is known about their impact on pregnant women’s mental health during COVID-19 pandemic. The cross-sectional, web-based, national survey “COVID-19 related Anxiety and StreSs in prEgnancy, poSt-partum and breaStfeeding” (COVID-ASSESS) was conducted during the first month of full “lockdown” in Italy. Participants were recruited via social networks with a snowball technique. The questionnaire was specifically developed to examine COVID-19 concerns and included the psychometric tests National Stressful Events Survey (NSESSS) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. A multivariable logistic regression model was fitted to explore the association of the concern, anxiety and PTSD symptoms with age, gestational weeks, parity, days of “lockdown”, assisted reproductive technology use, psychopathological history, and previous perinatal losses. Out of 1015 pregnant women reached, 737 (72.6%) fully answered the questionnaire; no woman reported a COVID-19 infection. Median age was 34.4 years [quartiles 31.7, 37.2], median days in “lockdown” were 13.1 [11.0, 17.0], median gestational weeks were 27.8 [19.8, 34.0]. Clinically significant PTSD symptoms were present in 75 women (10.2%, NSESSS cutoff 24) and clinically significant anxiety symptoms were present in 160 women (21.7%, STAI-Y1 cutoff 50). Women were particularly worried about the health of their baby and of their elderly relatives, as well as of the possible impact of pandemic in the future of society. Previous anxiety predicted higher concern and PTSD symptoms; previous depression and anxiety were independently associated with current PTSD symptoms.

Maria Pia Casalena

This article deals with the various forms of manipulation that the Italian edition of Gibbon's masterpiece demanded in the frame of Restoration Italy. The first edition of the Italian translation from Tuscany is considered too, in order to display how Italian translators and publishers succeed in the huge censorship examination. At the same moment, the article deals with the Catholic former response to Gibbon, in a comparison with the British reactions edited by Womersley. Finally, the Italian edition of Gibbon is focused in an enlarged outcast of the translation of history during the first decays of 19th century Italy.

A. Loy, G. Aloise, L. Ancillotto et al.