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A complex historical transformation of the institutional framework of the welfare state is taking place changing the relationship between citizens, the state, civil society, and the market, which leads to an emerging so-called charity economy. The key question we address is how social work and social pedagogy can continue to fulfil their public and professional mandate while changing welfare rationales increasingly constrain its social justice and human rights aspirations. We will discuss and illustrate how this new charity economy has gradually emerged on the level of local welfare systems in Belgium, relying on dialectics that enable us to untangle changing welfare rationales. We conclude that social work and social pedagogy should stage a political struggle to radicalize democratic debate on complexities and frictions in welfare systems in the local, national, and global realms.

The Corona pandemic evidenced the profound uncertainties over whether securing one’s welfare is a private or a public concern since neoliberal policies had promoted individualisation and privatisation on all fronts. This historical overview of key moments in the development of social work summarises the transformative role this profession assumed in the face of political tendencies to impose splits between a national and an international orientation, scientific neutrality and the recognition of diverse identity claims, personal and public responsibility, care and control. Overcoming these dilemmas requires an ethical commitment in giving situation-specific assistance and a political commitment towards building a public sphere that can effectively raise personal concerns in terms of public and indeed international rights. In this way social work can contribute to trust-building in participatively and reflectively grounded expertise and thereby the strengthening of democratic processes.

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is an American emerging disease caused by the rodent-borne virus genus Orthohantavirus (Family: Hantaviridae: Order: Elliovirales Class: Bunyaviricetes). In Argentina, almost half of the HPS infections occur in the northwestern endemic region. In this study, we monitored rodent abundance during 2022 and 2023 in three sites with different sampling methods (removal trapping, live trapping and hunted rodents by domestic cats) to evaluate their relationship with human infections. We found a similar pattern of variation in rodent abundance across time, and particularly a synchronous rise of rodent abundance that anticipated an HPS outbreak in 2023. Our dynamic regression models revealed a positive relationship between HPS cases and rodent abundance with a three-month lag, as well as rainfall with an eight-month lag. Our results provide a framework for the planning and implementation of public health prevention campaigns based on climatology and rodent monitoring. Domestic cats bringing rodents into houses can be an overlooked risk factor, particularly if viral shedding of infected rodents is magnified by stress. HPS is a disease of public health concern due to its high mortality rate, the lack of a specific therapeutic treatment and no vaccine. Thus, prevention of infections is of the utmost importance.

Background: Vaccination is the most effective strategy for preventing infectious diseases and related complications, and proving its efficacy is crucial for its success and adherence, especially for newly introduced vaccines, such as adjuvanted recombinant herpes zoster virus vaccination (RZV). In this observational real-life study, we recorded adverse effects following immunization (AEFIs) after RZV administration in frail populations. Methods: A total of 271 subjects underwent RZV at Vaccination Center, University Hospital “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona”, Salerno, Italy. Most subjects were solid organ transplant recipients (kidney, 77.1%; liver, 4.8%). Demographics, clinical data, and AEFIs (type, duration, and medications used) were recorded. Results: Overall, 37% of participants reported at least one AEFI following the first dose, predominantly pain at the injection site (60%), while 41% did so after the second dose (pain at the injection site in 62% of cases). Medications were more frequently used for AEFI treatment after the second dose (28%) rather than after the first dose (13%) (p = 0.01). After stratification by sex, females experienced AEFIs more frequently than males, particularly local skin reactions. Conclusions: Our study added evidence of safety and tolerability of the adjuvanted recombinant RZV in frail adults.

Esta Nota Técnica tem por objetivo apresentar o Sistema de Informações (SI) de Recursos Hídricos do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (SIRH/RS). As fontes de dados consultadas foram disponibilizadas no próprio site da Secretaria do Meio Ambiente e Infraestrutura do Rio Grande do Sul (SEMA/RS) ou nos sites que hospedam dados de interesse para a gestão de recursos hídricos no Estado. O SI foi organizado segundo os principais temas de interesse em recursos hídricos (ex.: usos da água -superficial e subterrânea, saneamento, etc.), com o foco na reunião, integração e disponibilização dos dados. Além disso, cada tema teve uma descrição básica para facilitar ao usuário o acesso e a compreensão sobre os temas. Espera-se que a unificação do sistema de recursos hídricos forneça o acesso a dados e informações com celeridade aos usuários e forneça um novo marco na gestão de recursos hídricos do RS baseada na governança de dados, tornando-a mais interativa e participativa. Recomendações de manutenção e atualizações para os gestores e usuários são indicadas para que o Sistema de Informações (SI) possa ter melhorias periódicas.

O enquadramento de corpos hídricos é um importante instrumento para o acompanhamento da situação da qualidade da água. Avaliar e informar a distância na qual os principais cursos d’água se encontram em relação às metas pretendidas pelo enquadramento constitui-se em uma forma de avaliação profícua, mas normalmente pouco realizada. Esse estudo se propõe a aplicar a metodologia do Índice de Conformidade ao Enquadramento (ICE), desenvolvida pelo Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment, em 172 estações em 19 bacias hidrográficas no Rio Grande do Sul, no período de 2015 a 2022. O estudo considerou 13 parâmetros definidos na resolução CONAMA Nº 357/2005. Os resultados indicaram que 45% das estações observadas ficaram com índice “razoável”, seguido de 41% com índice “marginal”, com resultados comprometidos principalmente pelos parâmetros cádmio, E. coli, ferro, fósforo, manganês e OD. O ICE se mostrou uma ferramenta adequada para informar de forma eficaz aos gestores e atores envolvidos a condição dos corpos hídricos de forma geral e realizar comparações entre bacias distintas.

With the rapid and drastic evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic at the end of 2019, interventions in the social interaction of the world population were necessary. Despite the distance from socializing, people’s routines needed to remain normal as far as possible, and this includes student learning. Thus, the solution for educational institutions was to migrate activities to the remote teaching format as an emergency. As expected, some obstacles were encountered, and others were accentuated and requiring strategies to help mitigate such problems. Several studies point to demotivation as one of the main elements that affect students in terms of low academic performance and, consequently, culminating in low learning achievement, high failure rates, and dropout rates. The objective of this study is to propose, for Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) activities, a simple gamification strategy aimed at student engagement. An exploratory literature review was carried out to identify potentially key points that could be adopted, which could influence student motivation. Based on this, the primary motivational activators for the gamification strategy were listed in Framework Octalysis. As a way of validating the technique, two not mandatory classes were taught in a remote format containing the same course content (Introductory to the Internet of Things (IoT)), differentiating between the control group (without interventions) and the group with the application of the proposed strategy of gamification. The expected result was the perception of greater engagement in the class with the application of the gamification strategy against the control class, but it was not achieved as expected. The research found that students had low participation and engagement in both traditional and gamified classes, even after intervention. This could be due to factors such as course duration, lack of collaboration, and teacher involvement. Both classes had the same completion and dropout rate (2 completions and 13 dropouts). As future works, the authors suggest interviewing students to understand the causes of demotivation and using Design Thinking, plan to investigate the root causes of low participation and develop actions for the ”Ownership and Possession” motivational activator, apply improvements to larger classes, introduce a student/monitor role, and compare gamification in regular and non-mandatory classes.

Background: A nudge intervention against Herpes Zoster, created and implemented in Italy, is presented in order to administer the Shingrix vaccine on a sample of frail patients, as required by the National Prevention Plan. Individual and contextual factors associated with vaccine adherence were investigated. Method: 300 frail adult subjects underwent a full vaccine cycle with recombinant-Shingrix vaccine (RZV vaccine). Hospital Presidia of the Salerno University Hospital Authority, a Hospital Presidium of the Salerno Local Health Authority, and the Public Health Laboratory of the University of Salerno (Campania) participated in the intervention. An ad hoc questionnaire was administered with the following scales: EQ-5D, PSS-10, MSPSS, and representations of HZ and its consequences. Results: Some variables, such as peer support, doctor–patient relationship, level of education, and perception of health, are important in vaccine adherence and information processing. The following factors emerged from the factor analysis: Trust in collective knowledge and collective responsibility (F1); beliefs about virus risk and vaccine function (F2); information about virus and symptomatology (F3); and vaccine distrust (F4). Factor 4 correlates negatively with social support indices (R = −0.363; p < 0.001). There is a significant relationship between factor 3 and satisfaction with national information campaigns (F = 3.376; gdl = 5; p-value = 0.006). Conclusions: Future vaccination campaigns should be built with the aim of personalizing information and developing contextualized strategies, starting from understanding the stakeholders involved, cultural contexts, and organizational settings.

The total kinetic energy release and fission mass distributions for the fast neutron (En = 3–100 MeV) induced fission of 232Th, 233U, 235U, 237Np, 239Pu, 240Pu, and 242Pu have been measured using the LANSCE facility. The neutron energies were deduced from time-of- flight measurements. The fission fragments were detected using Si PIN diode detectors, giving us the fragment energies. The actinide targets were made by vapor deposition leading to high-quality targets, that were thin and uniform with reduced impurities. Corrections were made to the data for pulse height defect and the fragment energy loss in the target and its backing. The TKE distributions were Gaussian in shape and their mean value as a function of incoming neutron energy could be fitted with second order polynomials. In the case of 233U and 235U, our measurements agree with prior work. Our measurements for 232Th are unique. Our data agree with Viola scaling. The constant position of the heavy mass peak is interpreted as being due to the influence of the N = 88 and Z = 50 shells. The GEF model predictions agree with the data in general as do the CGMF model predictions.

El modelo de producción del hábitat en los países capitalistas, en general, y en América Latina, en particular, surge de las dinámicas propiciadas por el consumo del suelo. En Colombia la vivienda mantiene una condición de mercancía y funciona bajo las leyes del mercado a pesar de que la Constitución de 1991 la estableció como un derecho. Dado el déficit cuantitativo y cualitativo actual, el desequilibrio producto de la inequidad y el estado de pobreza de amplios sectores de la población, se perpetúa la informalidad urbana como la única alternativa habitacional. Esta forma de construcción social del territorio no solo se da en ciudades como Bogotá, sino que se reproduce en municipios circunvecinos. Con información para caracterizar los municipios, es posible adelantar acciones preventivas que mitiguen el impacto de la informalidad, de ahí el Índice de informalidad, que mide y registra las condiciones en estos municipios.

Abstract Background The WHO has established a control strategy for Strongyloides stercoralis in school-aged children as well as targets and to maintain control programs for Ascaris lumbricoides , Trichuris trichiura and hookworms. For an efficient development of control programs, it is necessary to know the target countries around the world, as well as the areas within each country where efforts should be focused. Therefore, maps that provide information on the areas at risk for soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections on a national and sub-national scale would allow for a better allocation of resources. Methods We used the ecological niche models MaxEnt and Kuenm R library to estimate the global distribution of S. stercoralis and hookworms. We used occurrence points of both species extracted from surveys of two literature reviews and from the Global Atlas of Helminth Infection database, together with 14 raster maps of environmental variables. Results We obtained two raster maps with the presence probability of S. stercoralis and hookworm infections at a global level and then estimated the global population at risk to be 2.6 and 3.4 billion, respectively. The population at risk was also estimated at the country level using estimations for areas as small as 25 km2. A relationship was found between the probability of the presence of S. stercoralis and its prevalence, and a raster map was generated. Annual precipitation, annual temperature, soil carbon content and land cover were the main associated environmental variables. The ecological niches of Strongyloides stercoralis and hookworms had an overlap of 68%. Conclusions Here we provide information that can be used for developing more efficient and integrated control strategies for S. stercoralis and hookworm infections. This information can be annexed to the study of other risk factors or even other diseases to assess the health status of a community. Graphical Abstarct

BackgroundThis present survey sought to investigate the level of knowledge and the attitudes pertaining the monkeypox (mpox) virus infection among a sample of health care workers (HCWs) in Italy, as well as the possible role of different factors on these outcomes.MethodsThe cross-sectional survey was performed from July through October, 2022 at four randomly selected hospitals located in Southern Italy.ResultsThe questionnaire was completed by 421 HCWs, for an overall 59% response rate. Less than two-thirds were able to define the disease and the correct answer of the transmission mechanisms ranged from 22.8% for contact with contaminated objects to 75.8% through close contact with body fluids. Only 4% and 12.8% indicated HCWs and elderly/frail/people with underlying immune deficiencies as risk groups. The mean overall score of the knowledge assessment on mpox was 3.4 (0–9). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that HCWs with a lower number of years of working experience and those who had acquired information about mpox from scientific journals were more likely to have a higher level of knowledge. The average score of the perception of the severity of the disease was 6.3. A similar score with a value of 6.1 has been observed for the statement that mpox is a serious problem for the population. Regarding the level of concern about contracting mpox, the mean score was 5.1. Only 10.5% reported that they feel that this disease can be prevented, with an overall mean score of 6.5. Almost all HCWs reported that they are still living as usual, with no modification of their behavior for fear of contracting the mpox. The results of the multivariate logistic regression model showed that women, HCWs with a higher level of knowledge about mpox, and those who needed additional information about mpox were more likely to have a higher level of perception of the severity of the disease.ConclusionThis survey has demonstrated that HCWs had an unsatisfactory level of knowledge toward mpox and only nearly half showed positive attitudes. Strategic health training programs should be made so that knowledge can be acquired.

Lograr una mirada integral del territorio, que incluya tanto la formalidad como la informalidad urbanas, no solo es una postura política y ética, sino que, de manera estrictamente objetiva, es la única posibilidad de comprender los diferentes procesos de poblamiento de las ciudades latinoamericanas y su accionar, así como la única forma de prever posibles tendencias futuras. Esto implica un trabajo mancomunado con las comunidades, con miras a una reconstrucción memorial de amplios sectores de la población. El presente artículo resume los principios teóricos, conceptuales e instrumentales en aras de proponer una metodología para la recuperación histórica de los barrios, su sistematización y su socialización. A partir de la crónica, de diferentes testimonios y de la contextualización de los hechos políticos y sociales, registrados simultáneamente, se elaboran Líneas de tiempo que, enmarcadas en el diálogo de saberes, permitirán una nueva visión de la historia de la ciudad. Para su socialización se propone conformar una plataforma de libre acceso, denominada WikiBarrio, con el ánimo de garantizar la mayor y la mejor participación de las comunidades.

BackgroundThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is evolving,the newly emerged Omicron variant being the dominant strain worldwide, and this has raised concerns about vaccine efficacy. The purposes of this survey were to examine the extent to which healthcare workers (HCWs) intend to receive a second booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and the factors that influence their willingness to accept it.MethodsThe study was conducted among HCWs who were randomly selected from four public hospitals in the Campania region, Southern Italy.ResultsA total of 496 HCWs answered the questionnaire (a response rate of 61.2%). Among the respondents, 20.8% indicated a score of 10, using a 10-point Likert-type scale, regarding the usefulness of a second COVID-19 vaccine booster dose. Physicians, HCWs who believed that COVID-19 was a severe disease, and those who have acquired information about the second booster dose from scientific journals were more likely to have this positive attitude. Slightly more than half of HCWs self-reported willingness to receive a second booster dose. Respondents who believe that HCWs are at higher risk of being infected by SARS-CoV-2, those who have a higher belief that COVID-19 is a severe disease, and those who have a higher belief that a second booster dose is useful were more willing to receive a second booster dose. The main reasons for those who had a positive intention were to protect their family members and patients, whereas, the main reasons for not getting vaccinated or for uncertainty were that the dose does not offer protection against the emerging variants and the fear of its side effects. HCWs of younger age, physicians, those who have a higher belief that a second booster dose is useful, and those who were willing to receive a second booster dose were more likely to recommend the booster dose to their patients.ConclusionThis study's findings highlight the necessity for designing and implementing educational interventions for improving second booster dose uptake and beliefs among HCWs and their capacity to recommend the vaccine to the patients.

BackgroundPregnant women, especially those with comorbidities, compared to those non-pregnant, have higher risk of developing a severe form of COVID-19. However, COVID-19 vaccine uptake is very low among them.MethodsAn anonymous questionnaire was administered to randomly selected women 18 years of age that were currently pregnant or had just given birth between September 2021 and May 2022 in the geographic area of Naples. Vaccine hesitancy was assessed using the vaccine hesitancy scale (VHS).ResultsA total of 385 women participated. Women who had not been infected by SARS-CoV-2 and who needed information about vaccination against COVID-19 had a higher perceived risk of being infected with SARS-CoV-2. More than half (54.3%) of the women were very afraid of the potential side effects of the COVID-19 vaccination on the fetus. There was higher concern of the side effects of the vaccine on the fetus among those who did not have a graduate degree, those with high-risk pregnancy, those who had not been infected by SARS-CoV-2, those who were more concerned that they could be infected by SARS-CoV-2, those who did not know that this vaccination was recommended for them, and those trusting mass media/internet/social networks for information. Only 21.3% were vaccinated when pregnant, mostly women with a university degree, those who had been infected by SARS-CoV-2 before pregnancy, those who did not need information, and those who acquired information about the vaccination from gynecologists. Almost three-quarters (71.9%) were willing to receive the vaccination and those more likely were those with a university degree, those who have had at least one relative/cohabitant partner/friend who had been infected by SARS-CoV-2, those who were more concerned that they could be infected by SARS-CoV-2, and those who were not extremely concerned of the side effects of the vaccine on the fetus. A total of 86.4% were highly hesitant. Highly hesitant were respondents who did not get a graduate degree, those less concerned that they could be infected by SARS-CoV-2, and those trusting mass media/internet/social networks for information.ConclusionPublic health efforts and education campaigns for pregnant women are needed for changing their perception patterns and for supporting gynecologists in promoting the uptake of this vaccination.