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Light plays a crucial role in affecting the melatonin secretion process, and consequently the sleep-wake cycle. Research has demonstrated that the main characteristics of lighting affecting the so-called circadian rhythms are spectrum, light levels, spatial pattern and temporal pattern (i.e., duration of exposure, timing and previous exposure history). Considering that today people spend most of their time in indoor environments, the light dose they receive strictly depends on the characteristics of the spaces where they live: location and orientation of the building, dimensions of the windows, presence of external obstructions, geometric characteristics of the space, optical properties of walls and furniture. Understanding the interaction mechanism between light and architecture is fundamental to design non-visually comfortable spaces. The goal of the paper is to deepen this complex issue. It is divided into two parts: a brief historical excursus about the relationship between lighting practice and architecture throughout the centuries and a review of the available research works about the topic. The analysis demonstrates that despite the efforts of the research, numerous open questions still remain, and they are mostly due to the lack of a shared and clear method to evaluate the effects of lighting on circadian rhythm regulation.

In the industrialized part of the world, an increasing number of people live the old age without too many restrictions due to illness or physiological impairment. This group is known as the young elderly. On the contrary, a consistent part of seniors develops a greater number of medical conditions and become more and more dependent, these are the old elderly. The first cause of tooth lost in industrialized word is periodontitis that generally strikes people older than 40 years and determines serious detriment of the stomatognatic organ. Smoking and stress are risk factors for periodontitis that are common and shared between young, adult, and older age. Diabetes mellitus, obesity, and osteoporosis are very frequent pathological situations in older age. They have been identified as cofactors in the progression of periodontitis. Many dental associations recognize the importance of continued research on oral fluids diagnostics and welcome the development of rapid point-of-care tests providing accurate measurements of clinically validated biomarkers. At present, well-studied molecules associated with host response factors and with derived tissue destruction mediators have been proposed as diagnostic biomarkers for periodontitis detected in the oral fluids.

Kawasaki disease can be characterized by rare complications or by unusual associations. One of these is autoimmune hemolytic anaemia that has been observed seldom up to now. The Authors report a case with this rare association, compare it with cases observed before, and put forth the hypothesis that autoimmune anaemia during Kawasaki disease can be linked to numerous immunological alterations present in mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome. They moreover advise to abstain in these cases from corticosteroid therapy, both to avoid complications, and because, as happened in their patient, this kind of autoimmune hemolytic anaemia can regress spontaneously.

Epstein-Barr virus is seldom the causative agent of a prolonged atypical illness, known as chronic mononucleosis syndrome, characterized by a persistent pattern of clinical manifestations and by a defective immune response to specific viral antigens. This paper refers about 6 children for whom clinical and serological findings suggest the chronic Epstein-Barr virus infection. The authors believe that this chronic state might be explained by the unusual antibody pattern to EBV virus, with the persistent presence of anti-EA and the absence of anti-EBNA titers, expression of a reduced EBV-specific cytotoxic T cell activity.

The Authors describe three infants with visceral leishmaniasis in whom bioptic research (in marrow, spleen and liver) has not demonstrated presence of leishmania. They remark this unusual aspect of visceral leishmaniasis in infant and debate the epidemiological, diagnostic, and therapeutic aspects of these cases.

The prevalence of antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus-determined antigens was studied in 17 children with acute infectious mononucleosis (IM) and in 263 children hospitalized for diseases unrelated to EBV infection. Antibodies against Epstein-Barr viral capsid antigens (VCA) were observed in 173 patients of the control group (66%), but 58 of them (33,5%) had not yet developed antibodies against Epstein-Barr virus-associated nuclear antigen (EBNA). IgM-specific antibodies were not found in any of the children of the control group but were present in all of the 17 patients with IM. The rates of positivity for IgA anti-VCA and IgG anti-early antigen (EA) were similar in all age groups. Anti-viral capsid antigen IgG seropositivity increased to 83% by the age of six years, the mean geometric titre being highest between the ages of 2 and 4 years. Our results suggest that in Sicilian children the primary infection occurs prevalently early in life, in parallel with the occurrence of IM.

The case of a patient with tetanic hypocalcemia secondary to celiac disease initially diagnosed as chronic hypoparathyroidism is reported. The rarity and clinical peculiarities of the case are underlined and its pathogenesis discussed with particular reference to the difficulties it presents in terms of differential diagnosis.

The dietary habits of 174 infants under 6 months old and suffering from enteritis were analysed revealing a high incidence of feeding errors (almost always feeding with artificial formulas, wrong concentration of milk powder, failure to sterilise the bottle and the water used to dilute the milk, too early administration of undiluted, unboiled bottled cow's milk, too early and incorrect weaning). Such mistakes appeared to be linked to the poor economic and sociocultural conditions of the families concerned. It is claimed that dietary errors conditioned by the poor economic and sociocultural conditions encountered may have favoured the onset of enteritis and that the adequate prophylaxis of acute infantile enteritis will depend on improving people's dietary habits and living conditions.

The authors describe two cases of Kawasaki disease, one of whose is an "incomplete" form, and emphasize the importance to know this "new" disease in the differential diagnosis of febrile exanthemas of childhood. A complete diagnostic walk-up failed to find out a probably, while change of some immunological and flogistic parameters has permitted to suppose a probably immuno-mediated pathogenesis of Kawasaki disease. Both patients healed without any sequelae after therapy with low doses of salicylate for ten months, in confirmation of usefulness of this treatment in the prevention of heart complications of Kawasaki disease.