Publications
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The Urban One Health Approach for the Planning of Effective Interventions on Territory: A Systematic Analysis of the Scientific Literature
Pierluigi Morano, Felicia Di Liddo, Francesca Fariello, Marco Locurcio and Debora Anelli
The aims of this research is to conduct an analysis of the existing scientific literature on the concept of Urban One Health that is an innovative and integrated approach that connects human, animal and environmental health within urban planning and development processes. This multidisciplinary paradigm is a concrete and necessary response to the challenges posed by contemporary urbanisation, environmental sustainability and the well-being of populations.
Urban environments’ impacts on aging in post-industrial cities: reviewing the pathways to healthy aging
Hongsheng Zhao, Marco Spada, Ilaria Bortone
Post-industrial cities are characterized by an aging population, deteriorating urban infrastructure, and a range of socio-environmental challenges, including pollution, economic decline, and out-migration. These conditions, alongside the legacies of industrial decline, make aging in such environments considered particularly challenging when studied through the lens of conventional analytical frameworks such as active aging and age-friendly cities and communities (AFCC). By examining the literatures critically and analyzing unique spatial and social features of the environment of post-industrial cities, the paper expands the discussion regarding the impacts of environments on the healthy aging process within a post-industrial context.
Towards a Federated Intrusion Detection System based on Neuromorphic Computing
Domenico Lofù, Paolo Sorino, Tommaso Di Noia, Eugenio Di Sciascio
Intrusion Detection Systems (IDSs) have emerged as essential tools for detecting cyber attacks and safeguarding sensitive data. Over time, there has been a shift towards designing IDSs that leverage Federated Learning (FL) methods, enabling them to detect attacks across distributed environments while upholding privacy-preserving manner. Concurrently, selecting the appropriate algorithm for Host execution, ensuring data privacy, low power consumption, and swift execution, has become a promising challenge.
Intergenerational narratives of toxicity: understanding heterogeneity and care in a polluted steeltown (Taranto, Italy)
Raffaele Ippolito, Carmen Sale, Maaret Jokela‑Pansini
This article examines environmental narratives amidst chronic industrial pollution across three generations in Taranto, Italy. Drawing on ethnographic research with residents positioned in different historical periods, we show how each generation’s understanding of toxicity is intimately tied to shifting economic conditions, political interventions, and embodied experiences in Taranto’s polluted landscape.
Comparative Analysis of Economic Evaluation Techniques for Healthcare Initiatives
Pierluigi Morano, Maria Rosaria Guarini, Antonella Roma, Felicia Di Liddo & Marco Locurcio
The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 has highlighted the vulnerability of global health systems and the need for resilient health infrastructures capable of meeting current and emerging challenges. In response, governments around the world are reassessing their health systems and recognizing the urgency of change. This paper provides an overview of economic evaluation techniques used to assess the feasibility of health interventions, particularly relevant in the current context of increased funding for health systems strengthening. Economic evaluation techniques such as Cost-Effectiveness analysis (CEA), Cost-Utility analysis (CUA), Least-Cost Analysis (LCA), and Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) are reviewed, each with its limitations and challenges, especially when applied to the complex health sector.
The mortality impacts of greening Italy
Orazio Valerio Giannico, Rodolfo Sardone, Lucia Bisceglia, Francesco Addabbo, Francesco Pirotti, SanteMinerba, Antonia Mincuzzi
Greenspaces have been shownto be beneficial to humans, but quantifying these benefits is a challenge for epidemiology. In this health impact assessment study, we exploit satellites to estimate for the whole of Italy the number of deaths that could be prevented in the 49 million adult population by greening residential areas.
The exposure was assessed by calculating the normalized difference vegetation index at 10-m resolution within a 300-m distance from homes in 7904 municipalities.
The Role of Financial and Economic Analyses to Support Healthcare Interventions
Marco Locurcio, Pierluigi Morano, Tiziana Acquafredda, Carmelo Maria Torre
In the framework of a rising attention paid to the social well-being, an increasing amount of public funding is being allocated to strengthen healthcare systems and to guarantee fair and full access to medical care. Public interventions in the healthcare field are notably intricate, due to the several heterogeneous outcomes impacting on the entire society. The assessment of health programmes and projects is fundamental to determine the appropriateness of a public expenditure from a social perspective. The cost-benefit analysis is recommended as an assessment tool to support the decision-making processes, especially in the healthcare sector.
A Feasibility Analysis of Energy Retrofit Initiatives Aimed at the Existing Property Assets Decarbonisation
Pierluigi Morano, Francesco Tajani, Felicia Di Liddo, Paola Amoruso
In light of the growing demand for sustainability in the construction sector and real estate market, the European Community (EC) has recently begun incentivizing renovations of private and public European buildings. This aligns with the EC’s aim to reduce harmful emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, and to achieve complete decarbonization of buildings, i.e., zero harmful emissions in this sector, by 2050. Given this framework, this study aims to verify the financial viability associated with the construction of “green” buildings, as well as the associated monetary benefits related to the efficient nature of these buildings and the resulting reduction in energy consumption
A Set of Criteria for the Assessment of the Suitability of a Building to be Converted for Use as a Healthcare Facility
Antonella Roma, Maria Rosaria Guarini, Marco Locurcio, Felicia Di Liddo, Pierluigi Morano
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the structural criticality of health systems at the international level and acted as a catalyst for their transformation. In Italy, under Mission 6 – Health, the NRRP envisages the strengthening of territorial healthcare by constructing two types of facilities: Community Homes Facilities (CHFs) and Community Hospitals (CHFs). The regulations allow these healthcare facilities to be built from scratch or by reusing existing buildings, an option that fits into a circular economy framework that favors urban regeneration processes and limits land consumption. The selection of buildings suitable for conversion is a complex decision-making process that requires a rigorous methodological approach capable of integrating both the intrinsic characteristics of the buildings and the extrinsic characteristics of the territorial context. This research, through a systematic review of the literature and regulatory frameworks, proposes five evaluation criteria to assess the degree of suitability of a building to undergo a re-functionalization process in favor of CHFs.
The mortality impacts of implementing the 3-30-300 greenness rule in Taranto, Southern Italy
Orazio Valerio Giannico, Francesco Addabbo, Feliciana Catino, Lucia Bisceglia, Sante Minerba, Antonia Mincuzzi, Rodolfo Sardone
The ’3-30-300’ rule advocates for 30 % tree canopy cover in neighborhoods, with no one living more than 300 m
from green space. This health impact assessment study evaluated how implementing this policy could reduce adult mortality in Taranto, an industrialized area in Southern Italy. Population-weighted exposures were calculated using 2020 population data, and 2022 satellite data at 10-meter resolution within 300 m from homes.
The study derived a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) target corresponding to a 30 % tree-cover, and to interim targets from 10 % to 25 %. The uncertainty analysis was based on 100,000 Monte-Carlo simulations.
Air pollutants and ovarian reserve: a systematic review of the evidence
Roberta Zupo, Fabio Castellana, Tim S. Nawrot, Luisa Lampignano, Ilaria Bortone, Ferdinando Murgia, Gianluca Campobasso, Agnieskza Gruszecka Kosowska, Orazio Valerio Giannico, Rodolfo Sardone
Growing evidence indicates an association between ambient air pollution and decreased human reproductive potential. This study aims to systematically review the association between air pollutants and female ovarian reserve.
Influence of diet and maternal environment on neuropsychological development early in life
Roberta Zupo, Ferdinando Murgia, Rodolfo Sardone, Luigi Vimercati , Emilia Matera, Maria Lisa Clodoveo
The prenatal and perinatal environment, along with the eating habits of early life, may shape the neuropsychological developmental trajectories of infants and future adolescents (1). Epidemiology shows that the number of people worldwide featuring neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), which include ADHD, autism, learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, and behavioral disorders, has increased over the past decade.