Search results for " covid-19."
showing 10 items of 453 documents
The Dual/Global Value of SARS-CoV-2 Genome Surveillance on Migrants Arriving to Europe via the Mediterranean Routes.
2021
Despite the pandemic, 34,154 migrants, refugees or asylum-seekers landed in Sicily (Italy) in 2020, representing the main point of entry by sea into Europe. The SARS-CoV-2 surveillance program among migrants arriving to Sicily via the Mediterranean Sea, made by the combination of clinical examination and molecular testing, has been integrated by full-genome sequencing strains using the NGS technology from the last week of February. To date, more than one hundred full-genome strains have been sequenced and 8 different lineages have been identified mostly belonging to the lineages B.1.1.7 and B.1.525. As global access to COVID-19 vaccines should be ensured, the need to provide more detailed i…
Are We at War? Some Remarks on War-Related Language on Covid-19
2022
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, public discourse has been characterized by a massive use of war metaphors. At the same time, this use has been harshly attacked as inappropriate and potentially dangerous. The article proposes a reflection on this debate by questioning the demonization of the war metaphor. Indeed, the appropriateness and the efficacy of a metaphor are not absolute values but depend on many factors such as context, audience and communicative purposes. Therefore, instead of attacking war metaphors it would be more useful to enrich the range of expressions to talk about the pandemic. What is really important is to never forget that expressive choices are never only…
Potential drawbacks of frequent asymptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing
2020
Lack of evidence for infectious SARS-CoV-2 in feces and sewage
2021
Purpose: The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is a respiratory virus whose primary route of transmission is airborne. However, it has been shown that the virus can replicate in gastrointestinal cells, can be excreted in feces, and can reach sewage systems. Although viral RNA is known to be found in patient feces and sewage, little is known about the possible fecal-oral transmission of the coronavirus. Determining the presence of infective viral particles in feces and sewage is necessary to take adequate control measures and to discover new routes of coronavirus transmission. Here, we analyzed feces and urine of COVID-19 patients and wastewater samples at the time of high prevalence in the region unde…
L’impatto dell’emergenza Covid-19 sui processi di integrazione nel sistema di accoglienza
2021
La pandemia Covid-19 ha messo a dura prova l’umanità per gli impatti devastanti e destabilizzanti che ha determinato su tutti gli individui e su tutti gli aspetti della quotidianità. Le restrizioni negli ingressi adottate dai singoli Stati al fine di contenere e contrastare la diffusione del virus, hanno avuto un impatto sia sui flussi regolari in entrata per motivi familiari, economici, di studio, sia sugli arrivi di quanti, affidandosi ai trafficanti, sono in attesa, ad esempio, sulle coste libiche, e avrebbero fatto richiesta di asilo e di protezione internazionale, sia sul mercato del lavoro, determinando, in quest’ultimo caso, il venir meno di manodopera stagionale in alcuni dei settor…
Association between climate and new daily diagnoses of COVID-19
2020
AbstractBackgroundAlthough evidence is accumulating that climate conditions may positively or negatively influence the scale of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreaks, uncertainty remains concerning the real impact of climate factors on viral transmission. Methods. The number of new daily cases of COVID-19 diagnosed in Verona (Italy) was retrieved from the official website of Veneto Region, while information on daily weather parameters in the same area was downloaded from IlMeteo website, a renowned Italian technological company specialized in weather forecasts. The search period ranged between March 1 to November 11, 2020. The number of new daily COVID-19 cases and meteorological da…
Sbarchi
2021
During 2020, the Mediterranean Sea was again the testing ground for migration flows from North Africa and the Middle East to Italy, Greece and Spain. 2020 was also a complex year due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Movements between countries were affected by the spread of the virus that spared no one and imposed the need to reflect on 'global health' and the consequences that this has, also in the relationship between countries and in travel.
In COVID-19 Health Messaging, Loss Framing Increases Anxiety with Little-to-No Concomitant Benefits: Experimental Evidence from 84 Countries
2022
Contains fulltext : 284232.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) The COVID-19 pandemic (and its aftermath) highlights a critical need to communicate health information effectively to the global public. Given that subtle differences in information framing can have meaningful effects on behavior, behavioral science research highlights a pressing question: Is it more effective to frame COVID-19 health messages in terms of potential losses (e.g., "If you do not practice these steps, you can endanger yourself and others") or potential gains (e.g., "If you practice these steps, you can protect yourself and others")? Collecting data in 48 languages from 15,929 participants in 84 countries, we…
Cultural institutions as agents of urban and community regeneration in the (post-)pandemic city. The case of the «Laboratorio Zen Insieme» in Palermo
2022
Although all cities in the world have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, its impacts on the territories, yet to be understood, are unevenly distributed, revealing extremely varied imbalances depending on the places. However, it is clear that the virus and its variants have aggravated pre-existing socio-spatial inequalities, creating new ones and bringing attention back to those implications between space, planning, public health and citizenship that are at the origins of contemporary urbanism. In a reference framework in which the crisis is globalized but unequal and in the absence of a welfare system capable of responding to the urgencies of the most marginalized social contexts and g…
The rapid spread of SARS-COV-2 Omicron variant in Italy reflected early through wastewater surveillance
2022
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 po…