The Gastropack Access System as a Model to Access Gastroenterology Services for Gastroscopy Appropriateness in Patients with Upper Gastrointestinal Symptoms: A Comparison with the Open Access System.

Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) appropriateness in Open-Access System (OAS) is a relevant issue. The Gastropack Access System (GAS) is a new system to access gastroenterological services, based on the partnership between Gastroenterologists and GPs. This study aims to evaluate if GAS is superior to OAS in terms of EGDS appropriateness.

Shedding light on the aqueous synthesis of silicon nanoparticles by reduction of silanes with citrates.

The synthesis of silicon nanoparticles in water has recently attracted a lot of attention. However, many scientists have expressed concerns on the nanomaterials obtained. We decided to explore two different routes to obtain silicon nanoparticles starting from a silane precursor.

Mechanical chiral resolution.

Mechanical interactions of chiral objects with their environment are well-established at the macroscale, like a propeller on a plane or a rudder on a boat. At the colloidal scale and smaller, however, such interactions are often not considered or deemed irrelevant due to Brownian motion. As we will show in this tutorial review, mechanical interactions do have significant effects on chiral objects at all scales, and can be induced using shearing surfaces, collisions with walls or repetitive microstructures, fluid flows, or by applying electrical or optical forces.

Oscillations, travelling fronts and patterns in a supramolecular system.

Supramolecular polymers, such as microtubules, operate under non-equilibrium conditions to drive crucial functions in cells, such as motility, division and organelle transport. In vivo and in vitro size oscillations of individual microtubules (dynamic instabilities) and collective oscillations have been observed. In addition, dynamic spatial structures, like waves and polygons, can form in non-stirred systems.

[Water supply and public health].

EU legislative framework on water for human consumption has recently been deeply modified. As from 25 December 2003, the Directive 80/778/EEC has been abrogated by the Directive 98/83/EC, transposed into the Italian legislation with the law 31/2001, which establishes as an inspiring principle the observance of laws common to all Member States while leaving them the discretion to introduce secondary parametric values. The directive provides that the parametric values should be respected until water distribution, by making the final user fall into the sphere of responsibility as a responsible of either a public commercial concern or a privately-run concern.

[Quality assurance of cooked food in conventional hospital food service].

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the hospital food service of the Azienda in preserving microbiological quality and temperature of cooked foods during the distribution to the different wards of the hospital. During three years, microbiological parameters and temperatures were monitored in the central kitchen before distribution (T0), in the first (T1) and in the last ward (T2) of the distribution route during a three-year period for a total of 337 analytical determinations. Temperature values before distribution improved during the study period, whereas the capacity of keeping adequate temperature values during the distribution decreased over time, in spite of the introduction of a new technology after the first year of the study.