The residualisation of social housing sectors requires housing managers to intensify social management activities aimed at promoting tenants’ wellbeing and social cohesion. This paper discusses the implementation of such activities in the Italian public housing sector. It juxtaposes the vision conceptualised at the policy level with the daily activities of housing managers in practice on the ground and highlights the gaps between policy goals and realities of tenants’ involvement. While social management activities are expected to contribute to breaking the vicious circle of financial, technical, and social decline that has long affected public housing estates, the short timeframe of the planned interventions raises the question of the potential for structural change.
a1_Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have an increased risk of premature mortality, mainly due to cardiovascular causes. The association between hemodialysis and accelerated atherosclerosis has long been described. The ankle-brachial index (ABI) is a surrogate marker of atherosclerosis and recent studies indicate its utility as a predictor of future cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. The clinical implications of ABI cut-points are not well defined in patients with CKD. Echocardiography is the most widely used imaging method for cardiac evaluation. Structural and functional myocardial abnormalities are common in patients with CKD due to pressure and volume overload as well as non-hemodynamic factors associated with CKD. Our study aimed to identify markers of subclinical cardiovascular risk assessed using ABI and 2D and 3D echocardiographic parameters evaluating left ventricular (LV) structure and function in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) (patients undergoing dialysis), patients after kidney transplantation and non-ESRD patients (control). In ESRD, particularly in hemodialysis patients, changes in cardiac structure, rather than function, seems to be more pronounced. 3D echocardiography appears to be more sensitive than 2D echocardiography in the assessment of myocardial structure and function in CKD patients. Particularly 3D derived end-diastolic volume and 3D derived LV mass indexed for body surface appears to deteriorate in dialyzed and transplanted patients. In 2D echocardiography, myocardial mass represented by left ventricular mass/body surface area index (LVMI) appears to be a more sensitive marker of cardiac structural changes, compared to relative wall thickness (RWT), left ventricle and diastolic diameter index (LVEDDI) and left atrial volume index (LAVI)., a2_We observed a generally favorable impact of kidney transplantation on cardiac structure and function; however, the differences were non-significant. The improvement seems to be more pronounced in cardiac function parameters, peak early diastolic velocity/average peak early diastolic velocity of mitral valve annulus (E/e´), 3D left ventricle ejection fraction (LV EF) and global longitudinal strain (GLS). We conclude that ABI is not an appropriate screening test to determine the cardiovascular risk in patients with ESRD., Magdaléna Kovářová, Zuzana Žilinská, Ján Páleš, Zuzana Kužmová, Andrea Gažová, Juraj Smaha, Martin Kužma, Peter Jackuliak, Viera Štvrtinová, Ján Kyselovič, Juraj Payer., and Obsahuje bibliografii
In the rat model, 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) known as a selective catecholaminergic neurotoxin used chiefly in modeling Parkinson's disease (PD). Continuous aerobic exercise and curcumin supplementations could play a vital role in neuroprotection. This study aimed to explore the neuroprotective roles of regular aerobic exercise and curcumin during PD. For this, rats were treated as follows for 8 consecutive weeks (5 d in a week): For this, animals were orally treated with curcumin (50 ml/kg) alone or in combination with aerobic exercise. Compared with a control group, induction of PD by 6-OHDA increased the amount of α-synuclein protein and malondialdehyde levels and decreased the number of substantia nigra neurons, total antioxidant capacity, and glutathione peroxidase activity in brain tissue. All these changes were abolished by the administration of curcumin with aerobic exercise treatments. Activity behavioral tests also confirmed the above-mentioned results by increasing the rod test time and the number of rotations due to apomorphine injection. Histopathology assays mimic the antioxidant activity and behavioral observations. Combined curcumin with aerobic exercise treatments is potentially an effective strategy for modifying the dopaminergic neuron dysfunction in 6-OHDA-induced rats modeling PD via dual inhibiting oxidative stress indices and regulating behavioral tasks.
The multicoloured Asian ladybird Harmonia axyridis is an invasive insect that can negatively influence biodiversity and human economy in invaded areas. According to the enemy release hypothesis, invasive alien species are often little affected by parasites and other enemies. We studied the prevalence of common parasites of insects infesting and infecting H. axyridis in NW Poland. A large sample of 2351 individuals was collected and divided into two groups: 1180 beetles were dissected and examined for the presence of eugregarines, nematodes and Laboulbeniales fungi, and 751 were checked for phoretic mites. Our results show that H. axyridis is indeed parasitized infrequently. The prevalence of eugregarines and nematodes was very low (1.5% and 0.4%, respectively). No specimens of Laboulbeniales or phoretic mites were found. Our study indicates that in NW Poland H. axyridis is rarely infested or infected by parasites. This paper reports for the first time the infection of H. axyridis by the eugregarine Gregarina barbarara., Kryzstof Dudek, Paweł Sienkiewicz, Dariusz J. Gwiazdowicz, Piotr Tryjanowski., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Twenty eight species of winter-active Heleomyzidae were collected during a long-term study in Poland. More than 130 samples of insects, including Heleomyzidae, were collected from the surface of snow in lowland and mountain areas using a semi-quantitative method. Lowland and mountain assemblages of Heleomyzidae recorded on snow were quite different. Heleomyza modesta (Meigen, 1835) and Scoliocentra (Leriola) brachypterna (Loew, 1873) dominated in the mountains, Tephrochlamys rufiventris (Meigen, 1830) mainly in the lowlands and Heteromyza rotundicornis (Zetterstedt, 1846) was common in both habitats. Heleomyzidae were found on snow during the whole period of snow cover, but the catches peaked from late November to the beginning of February. In late winter and early spring the occurrence of heleomyzids on snow decreased. Most individuals were active on snow at air temperatures between -2 and +2.5°C. A checklist of 78 winter active European Heleomyzidae is presented. Helomyza nivalis Wahlgren, 1918 is herein considered as a new junior synonym of Helomyza caesia Meigen, 1830, syn. n., Agnieszka Soszyńska-Maj, Andrzej J. Woźnica., and Obsahuje bibliografii