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Introduction
Laura Mancini is the Head of Ecosystem and Health Unit, in the Department of Environment and Health at the Istituto Superiore di Sanità.
Laura does research in Ecosystems and health and climate change, MIcrobiology, Ecotoxicology, Biology, medical entomology
Publications
Publications (265)
Existing regulatory frameworks often prove inadequate in identifying contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) and determining their impacts on biological systems at an early stage. The establishment of Early Warning Systems (EWSs) for CECs is becoming increasingly relevant for policy-making, aiming to proactively detect chemical hazards and implemen...
Both natural and anthropogenic activities are responsible for heavy metal abundance in the environment. Due to the high persistence, heavy metals can accumulate and remain in the sediment for very long periods, becoming a source of contaminants for aquatic biota. Within small urbanized watercourse catchments, the accumulation of heavy metals in bot...
The Italian National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità – ISS) is implementing an operational research project to contribute to the development of a harmonized training curriculum across the Pan-European Region for in-service professionals who need to integrate One Health (OH) approaches in prevention and preparedness plans and strat...
The knowledge and assessment of mixtures of chemical pollutants in the aquatic environment is a complex issue that is often challenging to address. In this review, we focused on the use of zebrafish (Danio rerio), a vertebrate widely used in biomedical research, as a model for detecting the effects of chemical mixtures with a focus on behaviour. Ou...
Healthcare systems (HSs) provide essential services to populations yet require a large amount of energy to perform duties and tasks. Specifically, 4.4% of global net carbon emissions can be attributed precisely to the activities of HSs. Therefore, it seems unlikely that the targets of zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2050, set by the Paris Ag...
RIASSUNTO - Salute umana, animale e ambientale sono le tre componenti al centro dell’approccio strategico internazionale
One Health. Il modello zebrafish, che viene utilizzato ormai in molteplici campi di ricerca, è stato oggetto di un
incontro tra ricercatori esperti appartenenti alle principali università e istituzioni pubbliche in ambito naziona...
Background:
At the beginning of 2020, worldwide public debate focused on the fight against the climate crisis. Many challenges are ahead of us, from health emergencies, with the pandemics underway, to the exhaustion of natural resources, to major climate change.
Discussion:
Many cities face health threats related to urban and land use planning,...
For the international challenge on the plastic issue, this will be perhaps, remembered as the hottest spring and the turning point.
Background
The Quadripartite has elaborated the One Health Joint Plan of Action (2022-2026) (OH JPA) to promote health sustainably and prevent the next pandemic through the One Health (OH) approach. One of the action track of the OH JPA is to create a training program for environment, medical and veterinary sector professionals.
Objectives
The Ita...
Background and objectives
Climate change is one of the biggest health threats facing humanity. It can be considered as a syndemic, interacting with social determinants of health and pre-existing chronic conditions, exacerbating their effects on human health. Healthcare sector should play a key role in mitigating the climate crisis considering its m...
The presence of abundant surface and underground waters and, consequently, fertile and flat soils favored the birth and expansion of Rome. Before the construction of the first aqueduct, the “springs” were probably the only source of drinking water in Rome. At the same time, today, many of them are only scarce outcrops that, anyway, constitute an im...
Introduction:
As the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated, the complexity of factors involved in the emergence of health threats requires a holistic One Health (OH) approach to enhance the effectiveness of prevention, preparedness, and response (PPR) strategies. Therefore, we conducted a scoping review to explore how the OH approach has been adopted...
Nonlinear phenomena (NLP) in animal vocalizations arise from irregularities in the oscillation of the vocal folds. Various non-mutually exclusive hypotheses have been put forward to explain the occurrence of NLP, from adaptive to physiological ones. Non-human primates often display NLP in their vocalizations, yet the communicative role of these fea...
Given the widespread presence of plastics, especially in micro- and nanoscale sizes, in freshwater systems, it is crucial to identify a suitable model organism for assessing the potential toxic and teratogenic effects of exposure to plastic particles. Until now, the early life stage of freshwater organisms and the regeneration capacity in relation...
In 2020 and 2021, fish-kills events occurred in the Tiber river in the city of Rome. These events, which caused the death of thousands of fish of different species (e.g., Barbus spp., Cyprinus carpio, Squalius spp.), were preceded the days before by severe flash-storms. Heavy rains in urban areas in recent years are linked to climate change and fis...
Objectives:
Around the globe, escalation in rare opportunistic microbial infections is alarming as they are heading steadily towards 'superbug' status. In aquatic ecosystems, plastic fosters multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogenic bacteria and plays a significant role in trafficking antibiotic-resistant genes. In this study, we focused on a MDR bacte...
The Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is a procedure with the aim to protect the populations exposed to the impacts deriving from the establishment or upgrading of large industrial enterprises, i.e. large combustion plants (>300 MWth). In Italy a guideline for the HIA procedure has been published in compliance with the 2014/52/EU Directive on the Envi...
Human activities severely affect aquatic ecosystems: the lockdown restrictions due to SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) have proved that reducing anthropogenic activities can positively influence the environment and mitigate atmospheric pollution. In addition, studies on aquatic ecosystems have highlighted the decrease of suspended matter and pollutant concent...
Nonlinear phenomena (NLP) in animal vocalizations arise from irregularities in the oscillation of the vocal folds. Various hypotheses have been put forward to explain the occurrence of NLP, from adaptive to physiological ones. Non-human primates often display NLP in their vocalizations, yet the meaning of these features is still unclear. We present...
Globalization and urbanization are new challenges for the ability to protect public health. Indeed, the anthropogenic impact is changing the environment on a global scale. These changes can have direct and indirect health effects on both human and animal populations, introducing new diseases. Heat waves and floods are an example of these changes. G...
Thousands of chemical substances daily reach the aquatic environment, mainly deriving from industrial , urban, and agricultural activity. Such chemical substances can form mixtures that are difficult to detect with routine chemical analysis. Many of them exhibit neuroactive properties and they are considered an emerging issue for both human and env...
Artificial substrates: have been suggested for diatom sampling of river and lakes whereas,
natural susbstrates, such as stones or macrophytes are not present (En 13496, 2005), and they
are compliant to Water Frame Directive requirements. This study aims to set methods for
diatom sampling in transitional waters, using artificial substrates.
The implementation of preparedness strategies to prevent and mitigate the impact of global health threats poses several challenges. It should promptly identify cross-cutting drivers of pandemic threats, assess context-specific risks, engage multiple stakeholders, and translate complex data from multiple sources into accessible information for actio...
Purpose
Prevention and preparedness to health threats pose several challenges: to identify multifactorial drivers, to detect and evaluate risks as early as possible, to involve multiple actors and stakeholders and to make information and data transversely and transparently accessible.
One Health (OH) can provide a strategic scientific support if OH...
A quantification of total mercury (Hgtot) and methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations in sediment and mussels was carried out in the east basin of the Orbetello lagoon in order to assess their bioaccumulation potential. The sediment was sampled in four macroareas, mussels were transplanted in the same sites and collected after seven weeks. The results...
Chemical pollution, i.e. the release of anthropogenic chemical substances into the environment, is a driver of biodiversity loss. Although this issue has been widely investigated in high-income countries of temperate regions, there is a lack of data for tropical areas of middle- or low-income countries, such as those in Eastern Africa. Some of the...
The impact of emerging chemical pollutants, on both status and functionality of aquatic ecosystems is worldwide recognized as a relevant issue of concern that should be assessed and managed by researchers, policymakers, and all relevant stakeholders. In Europe, the Reach Regulation has registered more than 100.000 chemical substances daily released...
Some urban waterfronts work like a magnet for young and old people alike – for good reasons, as blue spaces can
decisively impact our quality of life and have notable effects on physical and mental health. That is, as long as planners and operators take the right decisions. So, what are the
factors that can make or break an urban blue space project...
Despite the number of publications addressing the effects of chemical pollution on
ecosystem health and sustainability has been increasing over the years, there is still a
dramatic lack of data for tropical areas such as those of Eastern Africa. The countries of this macro-region, where almost half a billion people live, face multiple economic, soc...
Mediterranean is an ecosystem where littoral zone urbanization, climate change, new emerging pathogens, biological invasions and runaway population growth are producing an unprecedented anthropic pressure on marine ecosystems (pollution, overfishing, habitat destruction etc.). The Mediterranean is considered a biodiversity hotspot under lots of pre...
At European level the strategy on adaptation to climate changes promoted adaptation plans at all levels and has recommended the need to bridge the gaps through applications of actions at local level. In the paper has been remarked that there are some gaps in the European legislation that should be solved through the funding of more research project...
The release, emission, and discharge of chemical substances into the environment is a challenging issue that threatens the ecosystems by affecting both wildlife and human health. Especially relevant is the exposure of living organisms to emerging pollutants whose effects on natural populations are little unknown overall. Such substances represent n...
The Mediterranean region is identified as the region most at risk from climate changes in Europe, due to the multiple factors that impact on it. Recent accelerated climate changes have exacerbated existing environmental problems in the Mediterranean Basin that are caused by the combination of changes in land use, increasing pollution and declining...
The One Health and EcoHealth approach were conceptualized as a global public health strategy that encourages interdisciplinary collaboration and communication on health at the human-animal- environmental interface. Over the past decade, a significant increase in the circulation of infectious agents was observed. With the spread and emergence of epi...
Climate changes affect social and environmental health determinants such as clean
air, ecosystems health, safe drinking water and safe sufficient food. Globally, people at
greatest risk of adverse health effects associated with climate change include children,
the elderly and other vulnerable groups. Temperature-related death and illness, extreme
e...
In this work the application of One Health and EcoHealth approaches have been investigated through a case study that links the application of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the presence of alkylphenols in the river Tiber basin. The WFD has the aim to protect and restore all waterbodies in Europe in order to safeguard human health and th...
Ecological conditions of ecosystems reflect the health status of natural and human communities. Healthy ecosystems indeed ensure benefits to the people providing goods and services. As such, emerging fields in the health assessment, e.g. integrated approaches involving One Health and EcoHealth, have been raising the awareness of sustainable use and...
The ecosystem, being a complex community of organisms and environment in which they live, has the
ability to provide services, intended as the benefits that people obtain from the ecosystem itself. Such
services, that include food, water, medicines and building materials, are more easily provided by
unperturbed ecosystems in which a state of equili...
An ecosystem is composed of plant and animal communities and the physical environment in which they live. A healthy ecosystem can be described as a system in the state of equilibrium in terms of physical, chemical, and biological components and their interrelationships (Fig. 1).
This condition allows to fight different stressors that can occur as...
L’indagine ecotossicologica è riconosciuta a livello internazionale come strumento valido nella prevenzione di effetti avversi negli ecosistemi che possono manifestarsi anche nell’uomo attraverso un’esposizione diretta/indiretta a sostanze chimiche pericolose, inclusi i contaminanti “emergenti” e le miscele. L’ecotossicologia e le sue sottodiscipli...
It is worldwide recognized that the use of pharmaceuticals for human and veterinary purposes could lead to unsustainable effects on the environment. A strategy to reduce the impact of pharmaceuticals on the environment has been recently established at European level, where guidelines to evaluate the impacts of veterinary drugs used to treat animal...
Antimicrobial resistance is one of priority public health problems are of greater global importance today. Multidrug resistant pathogens are a challenge in high-income countries, including the European countries and the Italy have created national plans as well as legislation and regulation to address antibiotic resistance issues. On the other hand...
Wild birds have been shown to be vectors for enteric pathogens, they may constitute an environmental carrier of pathogens representing a source of human infection. The study aims to evaluate the intestinal carriage of Salmonella spp, Campylobacter spp and Yersinia enterocolitica in wild birds in the Italian Regional Natural Park of “Lagolungo and R...
The environment is considered a reservoir of pathogens and a possible source of infection for animals and humans. The association between enteric pathogens and food plants has been demonstrated in several studies, while few studies have addressed possible interactions between human pathogens and aquatic plants. This study, performed by setting meso...
Globalization and urbanization are a new challenge for public health protecting abilities. Indeed, the anthropogenic impact is changing the environment on a global scale. These changes can have direct and indirect effects on both populations and animals health, introducing new diseases. Heat waves and floods are an example of these changes. Global...
The Water Framework Directive (WFD) addresses the European Union (EU) member countries to achieve a good quality status of all water bodies. The WFD measures have allowed the reduction of the discharge, release, and emission of several priority substances, with the aim of mitigating the risks that chemical pollution poses to the environmental and p...
The aim of the study was to evaluate the water quality of an Italian river
ecosystem. Sampling was conducted in the final stretch of the Tiber River basin
(Central Italy) in two different seasons. Effect-based methods (EBMs) were
applied for assessing potential ecotoxicological effects caused by chemical
pollutants and contaminant mixtures, using t...
In 2018 the OECD organized the “Global Forum on Environment” on the theme: “Plastics in a Circular Economy - Design of Sustainable Plastics from a Chemical Perspective” with the direction of Working Party on Resource Productivity and Waste [1].
Introduction:
Effect-based methods (EBMs), i.e. in vitro and in vivo bioassays, represent innovative tools for the effect detection of environmental chemical pollutants on living organisms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the water quality of a river ecosystem implementing two in vivo bioassays on target freshwater animal species: the crusta...
The study of diatoms-unicellular algae of the class Bacillariophyceae-has several applications, first and foremost the evaluation of freshwater ecosystem quality according to the Water Frame Directive 2000/60/EC (WFD). Identification at the species level is a crucial step in diatom studies, considering that species belonging to the same genus have...
Overall plastic is a risk for the biota and the health of ecosystems, Homo sapiens is also included in the biota of ecosystems. Starting from this assumption, much work has yet to be done to assess the risks of plastics on human and ecosystems health.
Negative effects of plastic on biota are well known and described in many scientific papers. Firs...
The general objective of CHAMP HEALTH will be fulfilled through a case study based on an EcoHealth approach that will be conducted on the Tiber river with the purpose to explore how ecosystem changes can have adverse impacts on human and animal health and implement practical solutions to address these health challenges
Una delle maggiori sfide a livello mondiale è rappresentata dalla tutela della salute pubblica severamente minacciata dalla globalizzazione e dall’urbanizzazione. L’impatto antropico sta modificando l’ambiente su scala globale. Questi cambiamenti possono avere effetti diretti e indiretti sulla salute delle popolazioni, introducendo anche nuove pato...
Diatoms, belonging to the class Bacillariophyceae, are one of the biological elements required for ecological quality status (EQS) assessment according to the Water Frame Directive.
Italy has adopted the Intercalibration Common Metric index (ICMi) to evaluate the EQS using diatoms. Developed through the InterCalibration exercise and validated at th...
The Mediterranean area have experienced a
drastic increase in population, most of this urbanisation
takes place in the coastal zone where people
live in increasingly overcrowded coastal strips,
exacerbating the pressures on the environment,
such as through waste and wastewater generation.
The Mediterranean costs host many human activity
which cause...
The green areas can produce social, environ-mental and economic benefits. In an urban and sub-urban environment, green areas can work as a buffer against the detrimental impacts of lifestyle stresses, mitigate the impact of air pollution and hot waves, as well as contribute to the conservation of biodiver-sity. Current studies have demonstrated tha...
Global environmental change is an urgent threat to human health and the effects are already visible and detectable around the world. The serious effects on the environment, ecosystem and health will be more evident and dramatic in the next future. The health consequences represent one the most important challenges that will be addressed in the comi...
Environmental conflicts arise because of the possession and use of scarce resources, and, by their nature, they cannot be removed: the more we try to limit the engagement of the actors involved, the more conflicts can be intensified. Environmental mediation aims to resolve conflicts that may arise from a situation in which ordinary justice is unabl...
Anthropogenic pressure and climate change can affect the structural and functional role of aquatic ecosystems. Moreover, human health can be directly or indirectly affected by environmental factors, due to exposure to contaminants. In central Italy, the summer of 2017 was characterized by high temperature (heat wave) and low rainfall that had an im...
The Water Framework Directive (WFD) addresses the European Union Member States to achieve a good status of all water bodies. The WFD measures have allowed to reduce and eliminate the discharges, releases, and emissions of several priority substances with the aim of limiting the risks for the ecosystems and public health. Additionally, a Watch List...
The Rapid Method for Identification of Italian Diatom Species is aimed at guiding users in the classification of freshwater diatom species. It consists of a digitized flow chart that leads, step by step, to the identification, starting with an image capture by light or electron microscopy. This rapid and easy tool could be useful to workers of an e...
The study of urban climate change has to take into account two components: global warming and microclimate variability due to urban growth. The present article tries to quantify the global and local components in six Italian towns over the last fifty years: Milano, Bologna, Roma, Napoli, Bari and Palermo. Historical temperature series measured in t...
The Tiber is the third-longest river in Italy and the main watercourse in Rome. As such, there has always been a historical and social relevance to the economic activities emerged along its banks. Indeed, the Tiber's river basin has been affected by different kinds of human pressure involving a number of potential sources of pollution, including pe...
Climate changes affect social and environmental health determinants such as clean air, ecosystems health, safe drinking water and sufficient food. Globally, people at greatest risk of adverse health effects associated with climate change include the children, the elderly and vulnerable groups. Socio-economically disadvantaged groups and areas where...
Water contaminated with pathogenic microbes is a global problem for human health. Although viruses often occur in relatively low concentrations in environmental waters, they remain a potential hazard requiring rapid and sensitive detection methods to help preventing outbreaks.
Enteric viruses can be excreted in faeces from both ill and healthy indi...
The study of urban climate change has to take into account two components: global warming and microclimate variability due to urban growth. The present article tries to quantify the global and local components in six Italian towns over the last fifty years: Milano, Bologna, Roma, Napoli, Bari and Palermo.
Historical temperature series measured in t...
Globalization and urbanization are a challenge for the ability to protect public health. Indeed the anthropogenic impact is changing the environment on a global scale. These changes can have direct and indirect effects on the health of populations and animals, with the introduction new diseases. Heat waves and floods are an example of these changes...