We present the results of a study performed on a Sicilian population of children with Down syndrome (DS) 0–14 years of age, observed between 1977 and 1988. Data from the present report concern 382 subjects with nonmosaic 21 trisomy, including 239 males (62.6%) and 143 females (37.4%). We excluded all DS children observed in the same period with associated pathology (congenital heart defects, gastrointestinal malformations, malabsorption, hypothyroidism, and thalassemia). Overall, 1,464 measurements were performed of length or height, weight, and head circumference. Means and standard deviation (SD) were calculated for all of these parameters. Our data confirm a trend toward a progressive improvement of growth in children with DS, as shown in other recent reports. The purpose of this study was also to create a “normal growth pattern” useful to evaluate DS children and also to diagnose early pathologic conditions affecting growth, such as autoimmune diseases.

Improving indoor air quality present in environments where people live is important to protect human health. This particularly applies to public transportation, where air quality may affect the health and safety of passengers, workers and staff. To provide better air quality, many buildings and transports are provided with heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, which are always equipped with filters to retain the particulate present in the airflow, but they lack continuous air sanitization systems. In this study, a new UV-C LED and ionizer-based continuous sanitation air (CSA) system to be installed in a train HVAC was developed (international patent: N.PCT/IB2021/054194) and its sanitation efficacy against various microbial species (bacteria and fungi) was assessed. The device proved to be very effective at the microbial killing of aerodispersed microorganisms, both in its experimental configuration (ISO 15714:2019) and in a train setting. The installation of this CSA system on public transportation appears to be a promising solution to guarantee high microbiological air quality with a very low environmental impact due to its eco-friendly components.