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This paper aims at analysing two relevant dimensions of well-being: living a healthy life and social interaction. A link between the two dimensions of well-being has been highlighted in the literature. The model assumes that both these concepts, i.e. social interaction and healthy life, are latent and manifest themselves through a number of indicators. The indicators adopted are those available in the 2011 ISTAT survey on social inclusion of people with disability in Italy by comparing the well-being attainments with respect to the different levels of functional limitations. In this paper the available indicators are used simultaneously to study the level of social interaction and health through a multiple indicators multiple causes model. This allows us to deal directly with endogeneity issues. Results show that women have a lower achievement in social interaction and in health. Moreover, differences occur in the effect of the observable exogenous variables included in the model with a larger negative effect of ageing for women on their health status and a higher negative effect of ageing for men on social interaction. Education plays a significant role only for women for the healthy life dimension. Finally, the latent variable on social interaction has been found to positively affect, consistently with the literature, the health dimension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last decades, the socio-economic policy agenda has devoted an increasing attention to the inclusion of disabled people into society. It follows that understanding the drivers of life outcomes and conditions of disabled people is essential to analyze the sources of disadvantaged positions. This paper brings evidence on the predictors of life satisfaction of disabled people in Italy, focusing on four specific dimensions (relations with relatives and friends, economic conditions, and leisure time) and analyzing information on people with functional limitations and health problems, as provided by the 2011 ISTAT survey. Estimation results show that household structure, health and disability status affect life satisfaction more significantly than personal and income variables. Education attainments significantly affect satisfaction with the economic conditions. In addition, support in daily activities may increase satisfaction with economic conditions and leisure time, suggesting that providing non-monetary support would be effective in increasing life satisfaction, especially in those domains requiring freedom of movement. Finally, we find that older disabled people are, on average, more satisfied than younger disabled people, while gender is relevant when interacted with the household type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a capillary electrophoresis method for determining two different C8-conjugated deoxyadenosines, and for oligonucleotides containing them, in which a psoralen or an acridine molecule is bonded to the base via a short alkyl chain containing sulfur ethers at both ends. The sensitivity of the micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) method was increased by using two preconcentration techniques, micro solid-phase extraction (μSPE) followed by reversed-electrode-polarity stacking mode (REPSM). Variables that affect the efficiency of the extraction in μSPE and preconcentration by REPSM, including the type and volume of extraction nanoparticle, concentration, and injection time, were investigated. Under the optimum conditions, enrichment factors obtained were in the range 360-400. The limits of detection (LODs) at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3 ranged from 2 to 5 nmol L. The relative recoveries of labelled adenosines from water samples were 95-103 %. The proposed method provided high enrichment factors and good precision and accuracy with a short analysis time. On the basis of the advantages of simplicity, high selectivity, high sensitivity, and good reproducibility, the proposed method may have great potential for biochemical applications. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Removal of perfluorinated alkylated substances (PFAS) such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) from aqueous solution is an actual topic in light of their widespread diffusion and their persistence in the environment. The process of adsorption has been identified as an effective technique to eliminate PFAS in water, however the process efficiency strongly depends on the adsorbents employed (silica, alumina, activated carbon, layer doubled hydroxides). In this work three nanostructured mesoporous silica materials of similar pore diameter (~4 nm) featuring high surface area (~900 m/g) and high pore volume (0.7-1.0 mL/g) were evaluated in PFOA removal: calcined MCM-41 (MCM-41c), calcined hexagonal mesoporous silica (HMSc) and HMSe obtained after ethanol extraction of the amine templates from HMS. Sorption kinetics and isotherms were performed at PFOA concentrations from 10 µg/L to 10 mg/L. It appeared that HMSe showed much faster and higher adsorption capacity for PFOA than the other tested adsorbents (MCM-41c and HMSc) whatever the pH of the solution (5 < pH < 9). Thermogravimetric analysis of HMSe evidenced that the ethanol extraction of the templating amines was not complete (70 %) and HMSe possessed some remaining hexadecylamine (HDA) (0.08 mol amine per mol SiO) on the surface conferring some hydrophobic properties to the adsorbent and also some probable complex formation between anionic PFOA and protonated HDA. Indeed, the incomplete amine extraction is surely due to the presence of protonated HDA in strong electrostatic interactions with SiO avoiding their removal by simple ethanol extraction as for H-bonding amine with Si-OH groups. Considering both adsorption isotherms and adsorption kinetics, PFOA could be efficiently removed from contaminated water in a wide range of concentration by an environmental friendly adsorbent as HMSe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]