Indoor air quality (IAQ) management in public spaces is assuming a remarkable importance. Busy environments, like airport terminals, are currently regarded as possible hotspots and IAQ is a crucial element for passengers and staff protection, as well as a key aspect of airport passenger experience. A one-month monitoring period has been performed on IAQ in the airport of Bologna (Italy), as prototypal example of large regional airport. Four strategic areas within the airport have been equipped with electronic monitoring platforms, including different contaminants and two microclimatic sensors. Data suggest that daily variation in IAQ parameters typically follow the activity pattern of the different environments under study (i.e., passengers’ flows) for gaseous contaminants, where particulate matter counts oscillate in a definite range, with a significant role played by ventilation system. Gaseous contaminants show a correlation between indoor and outdoor concentrations, mainly due to airside activities. Micro-climatic comfort parameters have been tested to match with standards for commercial environments. As results appears in line with typical households IAQ values, the current air ventilation system appears to be adequate. Nevertheless, an integrated air management system, based on real-time monitoring, would lead to optimization and improvement in environmental and economical sustainability.
Introduction A new national survey has been carried out by the Italian Centers for Cognitive Disorders and Dementias (CCDDs). The aim of this new national survey is to provide a comprehensive description of the characteristics, organizational aspects of the CCDDs, and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A list of all national CCDDs was requested from the delegates of each Italian region. The online questionnaire is divided in two main sections: a profile section, containing information on location and accessibility, and a data collection form covering organization, services, treatments, activities, and any service interruptions caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. Results In total, 511 out of 534 (96%) facilities completed the profile section, while 450 out of 534 (84%) CCDDs also completed the data collection form. Almost half of the CCDDs (55.1%) operated for 3 or fewer days a week. About one-third of the facilities had at least two professional figures among neurologists, geriatricians and psychiatrists. In 2020, only a third of facilities were open all the time, but in 2021, two-thirds of the facilities were open. Conclusion This paper provides an update on the current status of CCDDs in Italy, which still shows considerable heterogeneity. The survey revealed a modest improvement in the functioning of CCDDs, although substantial efforts are still required to ensure the diagnosis and care of patients with dementia.
As the percentage of segregated waste, taken as individual indicator, is insufficient to measure the virtuosity of a Municipality waste management, a multicriteria indicator has been developed to broaden the horizon of the analysis of waste management performance. The aim of this study is to experiment a new and easy-to-use methodology for the evaluation of Municipalities virtuosity in waste management, built from Public Administrators to verify the responsiveness between their ideal guidelines and their real applications. The identified criteria are eight: percentage of segregated waste collection, production of unsorted waste per capita, total production of waste per capita, service costs, environmental impact of the waste collection and treatment system, traceability of Municipal Solid Waste's fate, involvement of population, citizen's convenience. Scores given to each criterion were assigned by experts in each field and then normalized [0-1]; weights were determined applying Pairwise Comparison method to Public Administrators of municipalities selected as a case study. For each Municipality, a score for each criterion is assigned and, subsequently, multiplied by the weight given to the criterion itself. The indicator provides a wide spectrum analysis, marking the state of the art, the scope for improvement and deficiencies of each area of analysis; thus to become an effective decision support tool for Administrations. This tool was, applied to a case study, returning results in terms of virtuosity far different from those obtained in terms of percentage of recycled waste alone, thus highlighting the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to the issue.
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