immagine di un bambino con il morbillo

Alla luce dei dati disponibili relativi ai primi 3 mesi del 2017, con evidenza di un preoccupante incremento dei casi di morbillo rispetto allo stesso periodo dello scorso anno e presenza di focolai e di casi dovuti a trasmissione nosocomiale, il Ministero della Salute ha ritenuto opportuno ribadire alcune raccomandazioni contenute nel Piano Nazionale di Eliminazione Morbillo e Rosolia congenita 2010-2015 nella nota del 4 aprile 2017 alle Regioni e Province autonome e alle Amministrazioni centrali.

Per la gestione dei focolai epidemici:

Offrire attivamente la vaccinazione ai contatti suscettibili di casi di morbillo entro 72 ore dall'esposizione. Nei casi in cui sono trascorsi più di 72 ore dall'esposizione offrire, comunque, la vaccinazione per recuperare i suscettibili eventualmente non contagiati.

Allertare i medici di medicina generale, i pediatri, i ginecologi e i medici ospedalieri e di Pronto Soccorso.

Birds sing differently in response to traffic noise, which potentially affects their ability to attract mates and defend their territory, according to research published in Bioacoustics. The study found that a species of North American flycatcher sings shorter songs at a lower range of frequencies in response to traffic noise levels. The researchers suggest traffic noise reduction, for example through road closures, is a viable option for mitigating this effect. Dr. Katherine Gentry of George Mason University, Virginia, USA and colleagues studied the song of the Eastern wood pewee (Contopus virens) in three parks within the greater Washington, D.C. area. Songs were recorded at sites where the traffic pattern of the nearest road was either relatively constant or reduced on a weekly basis during a 36 hour road closure.

e-plants David Poxson Photo Thor Balkhed 16

A drug delivery ion pump constructed from organic electronic components also works in plants. Researchers from the Laboratory of Organic Electronics at Linköping University and from the Umeå Plant Science Centre have used such an ion pump to control the root growth of a small flowering plant, the thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana). In the spring of 2015, researchers from the Laboratory of Organic Electronics at Linköping University presented a microfabricated ion pump with the ability to pump in the correct dose of a naturally occurring pain-relief agent exactly where it was needed. This was a first step towards effective treatment of such conditions as chronic pain. In the autumn of the same year, the researchers presented results showing how they had caused roses to absorb a water-soluble conducting polymer, enabling them to create a fully operational transistor in the rose stem. The term “flower power” suddenly took on a whole new meaning.

Wood can be used as a biofuel and as a raw material for many new and traditional products, but is it sustainable? Forests cover approximately a third of Europe's land area – 215 million hectares – and have ecological, economic and social functions. Healthy forests are important areas of biodiversity, and they capture and store carbon dioxide (CO2), which mitigates climate change. Forests are also recreational areas for all kinds of leisure activities and have long provided important economic resources. In Europe more than three million people are employed in the forest sector and it is estimated to contribute 103 billion Euro to the European economy annually, which is 0.8% of its GDP.

The 3d image of Richard's skull

The remains of a medieval priest who died 700 years ago today (17 April 2017) have been uncovered in an elaborate. Archaeologists from the University of Sheffield uncovered the rare find at Thornton Abbey in Lincolnshire, which was founded as a monastery in 1139 and went onto become one of the richest religious houses in England. The priest’s gravestone was discovered close to the altar of a former hospital chapel. Unusually for the period, it displayed an inscription of the deceased’s name, Richard de W’Peton – abbreviated from ‘Wispeton’, a medieval incarnation of modern Wispington in Lincolnshire - and his date of death, 17 April 1317. The slab also contained an extract from the Bible, specifically Philippians 2:10, which reads; “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the The discovery of Richard’s grave was made by University of Sheffield PhD student Emma Hook, who found his skeletal remains surrounded by the decayed fragments of a wooden coffin. “After taking Richard’s skeleton back to the laboratory, despite poor preservation, we were able to establish Richard was around 35-45 years-old at the time of his death and that he had stood around 5ft 4ins tall,” said Emma.“Although he ended his days in the priesthood, there is also some suggestion that he might have had humbler origins in more worldly work; his bones show the marks of robust muscle attachments, indicating that strenuous physical labour had been a regular part of his life at some stage.

One of the most common combined oral contraceptive pills has a negative impact on women’s quality of life but does not increase depressive symptoms. This is shown by a major randomised, placebo-controlled study conducted by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden in collaboration with the Stockholm School of Economics. The results have been published in the scientific journal Fertility and Sterility.“Despite the fact that an estimated 100 million women around the world use contraceptive pills we know surprisingly little today about the pill’s effect on women’s health. The scientific base is very limited as regards the contraceptive pill’s effect on quality of life and depression and there is a great need for randomised studies where it is compared with placebos,” says professor Angelica Lindén Hirschberg at the Department of Women's and Children's Health at Karolinska Institutet.

Pork producers are doing the right things to manage for lean and quality meat.

What happens when meat scientists get their hands on nearly 8,000 commercially raised pigs? They spend a year running dozens of tests and crunching numbers to arrive at research-backed management recommendations for pork producers.  “We had an opportunity to answer a lot of questions for the pork industry,” says Dustin Boler, assistant professor in the animal sciences department at the University of Illinois. Anna Dilger, an associate professor in the department, explains their approach. “The two main questions were, ‘Can I measure quality in one part of the pig and predict quality in the rest of it?’ And then, ‘What is the true variability in pork quality out there and what’s causing it?’”

Una nuova ricerca, basata sulle osservazioni di una tempesta solare del 2014, sosiene che le attività violente della nostra stella possono generare un esubero o un impoverimento di elettroni nella ionosfera terrestre. I rischi per le comunicazioni però restano

Cortocircuito negativo nell’alta atmosfera terrestre? Occhio alle tempeste solari. Che le attività violente in atto sulla nostra stella fossero responsabili di un eccesso di particelle cariche, distribuite in corrispondenza dei poli terrestri - con un conseguente disturbo alle comunicazioni, ai sistemi di navigazione e alle reti elettriche - era cosa nota nell’ambiente. La novità ora sarebbe che al temperamento esplosivo del Sole sarebbe imputabile anche dell’effetto opposto. Secondo un recente studio, condotto da un gruppo internazionale di ricercatori e apparso recentemente sulla rivista Radio Science, le “turbolenze” del nostro astro madre possono anche indurre alla fuga le particelle dotate di carica elettrica negativa. Generando un identico il risultato: danni alle costellazioni satellitari, ai sistemi radio e alle reti energetiche.