The Italian Linguistic Landscape: The Cases of Milan and Udine

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coluzzi, Paolo

2009-01-01

This article looks at the linguistic landscape in two Northern Italian cities: Milan and Udine. Signs in two streets of a similar length were recorded and classified according to the language or languages they were written in. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence in the linguistic landscape of the different languages making up the…

Styling and Design in Multi-Segmented Market Strategies: The Case of the Italian Knitwear Sector

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marcone, Maria Rosaria

2013-01-01

This study analyses Italian knitwear manufacturers that operate both in international consumer and in business markets and assesses the different forms of competition that exist between them. The purpose of the research is to analyse the different positioning of these firms within the chain of production that they belong to. The firms that deal…

Care Case Managers' Job Satisfaction: a first contribution to the Italian validation of the Job Satisfaction Scale.

PubMed

Foà, Chiara; Bertinelli, Simona; Boschini, Anna; Fragnelli, Maria; Svichkar, Valentina; Tempone, Maria Rosaria; Sarli, Leopoldo; Giovanna Artioli, Giovanna

2016-05-26

Background and aims of the work: From the analysis of the Italian literature emerges a lack of studies both about the work satisfaction of Case Care Manager Nurses (CCMN) and on their role in the sanitary context. This research aims to fill this gap through a first Italian validation of the Job Satisfaction Scale (JSS). An Italian translation of JSS was provided by three independent judges. To verify the convergent validity of the scale the McCloskey Mueller Satisfaction Scale were used. A measure of the Organizational Wellbeing in the Operating Unit was used in order to verify the concurrent validity. A Professional Self-Efficacy evaluation allowed to verify the discriminant validity. Two open questions examined the role description and the difficulties met at work by the CCMN. The questionnaire was published on the Italian Association of Case Manager and in several Italian Professional Associations of Nurses, Sanitary Assistants and Pediatric nurses (IPASVI). 86 people (70 women) answered the questionnaire; 34 of which were Nurses and 52 CCMN. The convergent, the discriminant and the concurrent validity of the scale were proved. The participants were more satisfied with the quality and the kind of their job, and with the supervision and the colleagues, and less satisfied with the contingent recognitions, the marginal benefits, the promotions and with working and salary conditions. No relevant differences were found between Nurses and CCMN, but in authonomy, responsibility and professional opportunities the CCMN were more satisfied. This study aimed to offer a first validation contribution of the JSS Scale. Unfortunately the number of participants did not allow to testify a confirmatory factor analysis of the scale. Thus this work should be further improved. Finally, the data highlighted the need to investigate on the recognition of CCMN, since its absence is often the cause of a job dissatisfaction.

Validation of the Italian Version of the Caregiver Abuse Screen among Family Caregivers of Older People with Alzheimer's Disease.

PubMed

Melchiorre, Maria Gabriella; Di Rosa, Mirko; Barbabella, Francesco; Barbini, Norma; Lattanzio, Fabrizia; Chiatti, Carlos

2017-01-01

Introduction . Elder abuse is often a hidden phenomenon and, in many cases, screening practices are difficult to implement among older people with dementia. The Caregiver Abuse Screen (CASE) is a useful tool which is administered to family caregivers for detecting their potential abusive behavior. Objectives . To validate the Italian version of the CASE tool in the context of family caregiving of older people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to identify risk factors for elder abuse in Italy. Methods . The CASE test was administered to 438 caregivers, recruited in the Up-Tech study. Validity and reliability were evaluated using Spearman's correlation coefficients, principal-component analysis, and Cronbach's alphas. The association between the CASE and other variables potentially associated with elder abuse was also analyzed. Results . The factor analysis suggested the presence of a single factor, with a strong internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.86). CASE score was strongly correlated with well-known risk factors of abuse. At multivariate level, main factors associated with CASE total score were caregiver burden and AD-related behavioral disturbances. Conclusions . The Italian version of the CASE is a reliable and consistent screening tool for tackling the risk of being or becoming perpetrators of abuse by family caregivers of people with AD.

Validation of the Italian Version of the Caregiver Abuse Screen among Family Caregivers of Older People with Alzheimer's Disease

PubMed Central

Di Rosa, Mirko; Barbabella, Francesco; Barbini, Norma; Chiatti, Carlos

2017-01-01

Introduction. Elder abuse is often a hidden phenomenon and, in many cases, screening practices are difficult to implement among older people with dementia. The Caregiver Abuse Screen (CASE) is a useful tool which is administered to family caregivers for detecting their potential abusive behavior. Objectives. To validate the Italian version of the CASE tool in the context of family caregiving of older people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to identify risk factors for elder abuse in Italy. Methods. The CASE test was administered to 438 caregivers, recruited in the Up-Tech study. Validity and reliability were evaluated using Spearman's correlation coefficients, principal-component analysis, and Cronbach's alphas. The association between the CASE and other variables potentially associated with elder abuse was also analyzed. Results. The factor analysis suggested the presence of a single factor, with a strong internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.86). CASE score was strongly correlated with well-known risk factors of abuse. At multivariate level, main factors associated with CASE total score were caregiver burden and AD-related behavioral disturbances. Conclusions. The Italian version of the CASE is a reliable and consistent screening tool for tackling the risk of being or becoming perpetrators of abuse by family caregivers of people with AD. PMID:28265571

Identification and calibration of the structural model of historical masonry building damaged during the 2016 Italian earthquakes: The case study of Palazzo del Podestà in Montelupone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Catinari, Federico; Pierdicca, Alessio; Clementi, Francesco; Lenci, Stefano

2017-11-01

The results of an ambient-vibration based investigation conducted on the "Palazzo del Podesta" in Montelupone (Italy) is presented. The case study was damaged during the 20I6 Italian earthquakes that stroke the central part of the Italy. The assessment procedure includes full-scale ambient vibration testing, modal identification from ambient vibration responses, finite element modeling and dynamic-based identification of the uncertain structural parameters of the model. A very good match between theoretical and experimental modal parameters was reached and the model updating has been performed identifying some structural parameters.

The effect of culture on pain sensitivity.

PubMed

Al-Harthy, M; Ohrbach, R; Michelotti, A; List, T

2016-02-01

Cross-cultural differences in pain sensitivity have been identified in pain-free subjects as well as in chronic pain patients. The aim was to assess the impact of culture on psychophysical measures using mechanical and electrical stimuli in patients with temporomandibular disorder (TMD) pain and pain-free matched controls in three cultures. This case-control study compared 122 female cases of chronic TMD pain (39 Saudis, 41 Swedes and 42 Italians) with equal numbers of age- and gender-matched TMD-free controls. Pressure pain threshold (PPT) and tolerance (PPTo) were measured over one hand and two masticatory muscles. Electrical perception threshold and electrical pain threshold (EPT) and tolerance (EPTo) were recorded between the thumb and index fingers. Italian females reported significantly lower PPT in the masseter muscle than other cultures (P < 0.001) and in the temporalis muscle than Saudis (P = 0.003). Swedes reported significantly higher PPT in the thenar muscle than other cultures (P = 0.017). Italians reported significantly lower PPTo in all muscles than Swedes (P ≤ 0.006) and in the masseter muscle than Saudis (P < 0.001). Italians reported significantly lower EPTo than other cultures (P = 0.01). Temporomandibular disorder cases, compared to TMD-free controls, reported lower PPT and PPTo in all the three muscles (P < 0.001). This study found cultural differences between groups in the PPT, PPTo and EPTo. Overall, Italian females reported the highest sensitivity to both mechanical and electrical stimulation, while Swedes reported the lowest sensitivity. Mechanical pain thresholds differed more across cultures than did electrical pain thresholds. Cultural factors may influence response to type of pain test. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Italian regulation on Assisted Reproductive Technologies facing the European Court of Human Rights: the case of Costa and Pavan v. Italy.

PubMed

Penasa, Simone

2012-01-01

This article will describe the current legal framework on Assisted Reproduction Technology (ART) regulation in Italy, taking into account recent case-law derived from the implementation of the Law 40 of 2004 on ART. Special attention will be devoted to the case of Costa and Pavan v. Italy, recently decided by the Tenth Session of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). In that decision, the European Court declared the incompatibility of the ban to pre-implantation genetic diagnosis introduced by the abovementioned Italian law on ART. The case will be analysed from a dual perspective. On the one hand, it will be considered in the light of the ECtHR case-law, in order to derive systematic aspects of continuity or discontinuity between the former and the latter2. On the other hand, the case will be considered in the light of its concrete and prospective impact on the Italian legal approach to ART regulation, considering especially the direct and indirect influence of the case: e.g., its possible utilisation by Italian judges when they are called upon to implement Law 40.

[Pleural mesothelioma mortality in Italy: time series reconstruction (1970-2009) and comparison with incidence (2003-2008)].

PubMed

Ferrante, Pierpaolo; Mastrantonio, Marina; Uccelli, Raffaella; Corfiati, Marisa; Marinaccio, Alessandro

2016-01-01

the large amount of asbestos used in many Countries (including Italy) is causing an epidemic of asbestos related diseases, which is still ongoing because of their long latency. this study is aimed at reconstructing Italian time series of deaths for mesothelioma in the period 1970-2009 and comparing Italian incidence and mortality data. deaths for pleural cancer (1970-2003,2006-2009) and mesothelioma (2003, 2006-2009) were recorded by the Italian Institute of Statistics (Istat) and provided by the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and the Environment (ENEA), incidence cases (1993-2008) were provided by the Italian mesotheliomas register (ReNaM) at the Italian National Workers' Compensation Authority (Inail). For the period before ICD-10 implementation (1970-2002) and when Istat data (2004-2005) are lacking, mesothelioma deaths were estimated through statistical models (logistic, Poisson). National incidence and mortality data were compared during the overlapping period (2003, 2006-2008). the mortality curve strongly rises from 1970 and seems to be smoothed in the last years. Mortality caused by mesothelioma and incident cases with certain diagnosis are overlapping, as are mortality due to pleural cancer other than mesothelioma and mesothelioma incidence with uncertain diagnosis (probable/possible). this epidemiological analysis of deaths encoded as pleural tumour suggests to carefully investigate space-temporal distribution before excluding they could be mesotheliomas. Some new lights have been thrown on the statistical behaviour of mesothelioma mortality.

A framework to assess welfare mix and service provision models in health care and social welfare: case studies of two prominent Italian regions.

PubMed

Longo, Francesco; Notarnicola, Elisabetta; Tasselli, Stefano

2015-04-09

The mechanisms through which the relationships among public institutions, private providers and families affect care and service provision systems are puzzling. How can we understand the mechanisms in these contexts? Which elements should we explore to capture the complexity of care provision? The aim of our study is to provide a framework that can help read and reframe these puzzling care provision mechanisms in a welfare mix context. First, we develop a theoretical framework for understanding how service provision occurs in care systems that are characterised by a variety of relationships between multiple actors, using an evidence-based approach that looks at both public and private expenditures and the number of users relative to the level of needs coverage and compared with declared values and political rhetoric. Second, we test this framework in two case studies built on data from two prominent Italian regions, Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna. We argue that service provision models depend on the interplay among six conceptual elements: policy values, governance rules, resources, nature of the providers, service standards and eligibility criteria. Our empirical study shows that beneath the relevant differences in values and political rhetoric between the case studies of the two Italian regions, there is a surprising isomorphism in service standards and the levels of covering the population's needs. The suggested framework appears to be effective and feasible; it fosters interdisciplinary approaches and supports policy-making discussions. This study may contribute to deepening knowledge about public care service provision and institutional arrangements, which can be used to promote more effective reforms and may advance future research. Although the framework was tested on the Italian welfare system, it can be used to assess many different systems.

[Comparison of hand surgery in the German and Italian DRG systems].

PubMed

Lotter, O; Dolderer, J; Stahl, S; Atzei, A; Haerle, M; Schaller, H E

2011-12-01

Diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) are a patient classification system grouping related types of patients treated to the resources they consumed. In this analysis we compared the Italian and the German DRG systems regarding hand surgery with an emphasis on reimbursement of clinical cases. The 15 most common hand surgical diagnoses and their corresponding operative treatment in our clinic in 2009 were processed using a DRG grouper. The underlying data were transferred to the Italian system. Thus, the length of stay and the reimbursement of both countries could be obtained and compared. The latter was adjusted and corrected by the purchasing power of each country. The mean of the upper threshold of length of stay was 10 days in the German as well as the Italian system whereas the median was 2 times higher in Italy (6 vs. 12 days). Fifteen out of 19 cases showed higher reimbursement in Germany. The case mix index (CMI) of 0.917 in Germany represents a mean payment of 2,676 € per case. In Italy the hypothetical CMI of 0.635 resulted in a mean reimbursement of 1,853 € per case. The biggest difference in remuneration could be found for replantation of multiple fingers. For this service the German health-care system pays 12,320 € more than the Italian. Total proceeds of the top 15 diagnoses applying the number of cases treated in our clinic revealed 1.7 million € in the German and 1.2 million € in the Italian DRG system. Considering the purchasing power utilizing consumer prize parities, the difference of reimbursement between the countries decreased to 300,000 €. There is no mean length of stay per DRG in Italy, only the upper threshold of length of stay is determined. In most cases the latter is higher in Italy compared to Germany. The consumption of resources for finger replantation is not adequately represented in the Italian DRG system compared to finger amputation. Reimbursement of inpatient care is influenced by multiple factors not being subject to the free market economy. For this reason only descriptive comparison is feasible. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

PubMed Central

Voultsos, P.; Casini, M.; Ricci, G.; Tambone, V.; Spagnolo, A.G.

2017-01-01

SUMMARY The aim of the present study is to propose legal reform limiting surgeons' criminal liability in high-accuracy and high-risk surgery such as endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). The study includes a review of the medical literature, focusing on identifying and examining reasons why ESS carries a very high risk of serious complications related to inaccurate surgical manoeuvers and reviewing British and Italian legal theory and case-law on medical negligence, especially with regard to Italian Law 189/2012 (so called "Balduzzi" Law). It was found that serious complications due to inaccurate surgical manoeuvers may occur in ESS regardless of the skill, experience and prudence/diligence of the surgeon. Subjectivity should be essential to medical negligence, especially regarding high-accuracy surgery. Italian Law 189/2012 represents a good basis for the limitation of criminal liability resulting from inaccurate manoeuvres in high-accuracy surgery such as ESS. It is concluded that ESS surgeons should be relieved of criminal liability in cases of simple/ordinary negligence where guidelines have been observed. PMID:28374874

II Italian intersociety consensus statement on antithrombotic prophylaxis in orthopaedics and traumatology: arthroscopy, traumatology, leg immobilization, minor orthopaedic procedures and spine surgery.

PubMed

Randelli, F; Romanini, E; Biggi, F; Danelli, G; Della Rocca, G; Laurora, N R; Imberti, D; Palareti, G; Prisco, D

2013-03-01

Pharmacological prophylaxis for preventing venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a worldwide established procedure in hip and knee replacement surgery, as well as in the treatment of femoral neck fractures, but few data exist in other fields of orthopaedics and traumatology. Thus, no guidelines or recommendations are available in the literature except for a limited number of weak statements about knee arthroscopy and lower limb fractures. In any case, none of them are a multidisciplinary effort as the one here presented. The Italian Society for Studies on Haemostasis and Thrombosis (SISET), the Italian Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (SIOT), the Association of Orthopaedic Traumatology of Italian Hospitals (OTODI), together with the Italian Society of Anesthesia, Analgesia, Resuscitation and Intensive Care (SIAARTI) and the Italian Society of General Medicine (SIMG) have set down easy and quick suggestions for VTE prophylaxis in a number of surgical conditions for which only scarce evidence is available. This inter-society consensus statement aims at simplifying the approach to VTE prophylaxis in the single patient with the goal to improve its clinical application.

[Prospectic evaluation of the Italian Workers' Compensation Authority in a large case series of Occupational sino-nasal cancers].

PubMed

Casà, M; Bonzini, M; Parassoni, D; Tavecchio, D; Facchinetti, N; Castelnuovo, P; Ferrario, M M

2012-01-01

Sino-nasal cancer (SNC) are rare tumours with an elevated occupational etiological fraction, due both to well-established risk factors (wood and leather) and to more rare carcinogens. We evaluated the assessment for workers' compensation performed by the Italian Authority (INAL) in a case-series of occupational SNC (N = 45). We observed an elevated proportion of cases that were recognised as occupational, overall (36 on 39) and for any histotype. INAIL tended to recognize as professional not only patients with exposure to wood and leather but also cases with a documented exposure to formaldehyde, metal, polycyclic hydrocarbons. Significant differences across Italian macro-regions appeared, when the amount of worker compensation was investigated.

Clinicopathologic analysis of 370 cases of vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia. Italian Study Group on Vulvar Disease.

PubMed

1996-09-01

To investigate epidemiologic, clinical and pathologic aspects of various grades of vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN). A retrospective, multicenter study of 370 cases of vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) was performed by the Italian Study Group on Vulvar Disease. Of the 370 cases, 148 were VIN 1 (40.0%, 53 were VIN 2 (14.3%), and 169 were VIN 3 (45.7%). The mean age of the patients was 52.6 years. During the study period an increase in the rate of human papillomavirus-associated VIN was observed. In addition, while VIN 1 and 2 were associated mostly with squamous cell hyperplasia, VIN 3 was almost equally associated with lichen sclerosus and squamous cell hyperplasia; the difference was statistically significant. Intraepithelial or invasive squamous neoplasia of the lower genital tract was associated in 22% of the cases (82/370). The results of the investigation, although not allowing firm conclusions due to the retrospective and multicentered nature of the study, demonstrate the extreme heterogeneity of VIN lesions.

Mesothelioma incidence and asbestos exposure in Italian national priority contaminated sites.

PubMed

Binazzi, Alessandra; Marinaccio, Alessandro; Corfiati, Marisa; Bruno, Caterina; Fazzo, Lucia; Pasetto, Roberto; Pirastu, Roberta; Biggeri, Annibale; Catelan, Dolores; Comba, Pietro; Zona, Amerigo

2017-11-01

Objectives This study aimed to (i) describe mesothelioma incidence in the Italian national priority contaminated sites (NPCS) on the basis of data available from the Italian National Mesothelioma Registry (ReNaM) and (ii) profile NPCS using Bayesian rank analysis. Methods Incident cases of mesothelioma and standardized incidence ratios (SIR) were estimated for both genders in each of the 39 selected NPCS in the period 2000-2011. Age-standardized rates of Italian geographical macro areas were used to estimate expected cases. Rankings of areas were produced by a hierarchical Bayesian model. Asbestos exposure modalities were discussed for each site. Results In the study period, 2683 incident cases of mesothelioma (1998 men, 685 women) were recorded. An excess of mesothelioma incidence was confirmed in sites with a known past history of direct use of asbestos (among men) such as Balangero (SIR 197.1, 95% CI 82.0-473.6), Casale Monferrato (SIR 910.7, 95% CI 816.5-1012.8), and Broni (SIR 1288.5, 95% CI 981.9-1691.0), in sites with shipyards and harbors (eg, Trieste, La Spezia, Venice, and Leghorn), and in settings without documented direct use of asbestos. The analysis ranked the sites of Broni and Casale Monferrato (both genders) and Biancavilla (only for women) the highest. Conclusions The present study confirms that asbestos pollution is a risk for people living in polluted areas, due to not only occupational exposure in industrial settings with direct use of asbestos but also the presence of asbestos in the environment. Epidemiological surveillance of asbestos-related diseases is a fundamental tool for monitoring the health profile in NPCS.

Adverse drug reactions associated with off-label use of ketorolac, with particular focus on elderly patients. An analysis of the Italian pharmacovigilance database and a population based study.

PubMed

Viola, E; Trifirò, G; Ingrasciotta, Y; Sottosanti, L; Tari, M; Giorgianni, F; Moretti, U; Leone, R

2016-12-01

This study aims to evaluate the frequency of off-label use of ketorolac in Italy and the related suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) reported. All the suspected cases associated with ketorolac recorded in the Italian Pharmacovigilance database were retrieved. Case evaluations were carried out in order to identify the off-label use of ketorolac. Moreover, an analysis of the inappropriate use of ketorolac was conducted using the 'Arianna' database of Caserta local health unit. Up to December 2014, 822 reports of suspected ADRs related to ketorolac were retrieved in the database. The use of ketorolac was classified as off-label for 553 reports and on-label for 269. Among the off-label cases, 58.6% were serious compared to 39.0% of on-label cases. Gastrointestinal events were more frequently reported with off-label use. The analysis of Arianna database showed that 37,729 out of 61,910 patients, were treated off-label. The off-label use of ketorolac is widespread in Italy. This use increases the risk of serious ADR, especially in in case of prolonged duration of treatment and in elderly patients. The Italian Medicine Agency has decided to accurately monitor the appropriate use of the drug in Italy and, if necessary, take measures in order to minimize the risks.

Using Quality Management Systems to Improve Test Development and Standards and to Promote Good Practice: A Case Study of Testing Italian as a Foreign Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grego Bolli, Giuliana

2014-01-01

This article discusses the problem of quality in the production of language tests in the context of Italian language examinations. The concept of quality is closely related to the application of stated standards and related procedures. These standards, developed over the last thirty years, are mainly related to the concepts of the accountability…

[The assimilation of Italians and their descendants in Argentine society (1880-1925)].

PubMed

Nascimbene, M C

1996-09-01

"The impact of massive immigration in the post-1870 period produced major changes in... Argentine society. Integration of immigrant groups (Italians, Spaniards, the French and others) was nevertheless fiercely opposed by local elites. The essay is firstly concerned with size and development of immigration flows; secondly it deals with the characteristics of local reaction against the immigrants; thirdly it reveals how, in spite of the latter, the Italians' integration did take place in the Argentine middle classes. Finally, a particular case-study is presented, in connection with integration of immigrants and their descendants in the national army." (SUMMARY IN ENG AND FRE) excerpt

[Retrospective study regarding the contribution of Italian nurses to the debate on the Englaro case: between paradigms of catholic and non-religious bioethics].

PubMed

Sansoni, Julita; Minnella, Giuseppe; Mitello, Lucia

2010-01-01

This study presents the results of a retrospective study evaluating the contribution of Italian nurses to the public debate on the Englaro case, analysing the articles published by two major daily newspapers during a precise period. The data collected testify to the intensity of the debate that involved the whole nation in which many diverse social and professional categories took part. The nursing category was principally represented by the Sisters of Mercy who, at the insistence of the media, gave their own opinion although their role in this context was more as personal assistants to Eluana Englaro rather than representatives of a professional category expressing a bioethical opinion.

World War One Italian and Austrian soldier identification project: DNA results of the first case.

PubMed

Piccinini, Andrea; Coco, Stefania; Parson, Walther; Cattaneo, Cristina; Gaudio, Daniel; Barbazza, Renzo; Galassi, Andrea

2010-10-01

We report the results of an attempt to identify the supposed remains of a famous World War I (WWI) Italian soldier who was killed in battle along the Italian front in 1915. Thanks to the availability of offspring from both paternal and maternal lineage Y-STRs and mtDNA were analysed and both showed a clear exclusion scenario: the remains did not belong to the supposed war hero. This is the first effort of identification of the remains of soldiers who perished during World War I within a multidisciplinary project aimed at the retrieval of historical and cultural aspects linked to WWI, and the systematic study of the remains of soldiers and ultimately their identification. This last step involves both Italian and Austrian laboratories. Copyright © 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Elena: A case of dissociative identity disorder from the 1920s.

PubMed

Schimmenti, Adriano

2017-01-01

In 1930, Italian psychiatrist Giovanni Enrico Morselli described the history, diagnosis, and treatment of his patient Elena. The case of Elena has been considered in literature as one of the most remarkable cases of multiple personality ever published. In fact, before treatment, Elena showed alternating French- and Italian-speaking personalities, with the Italian personality knowing nothing of her French counterparts. After a difficult treatment involving recovered memories of incestuous attacks by her father, which were proven to be true, Elena fully recovered from her symptoms. In this article, the author presents details of the case that were not available in the international literature before. He also discusses Elena's psychological and somatoform symptoms according to a contemporary perspective on the relationally traumatic origins of dissociation and dissociative identity disorder.

Quality management standards for facility services in the Italian health care sector.

PubMed

Cesarotti, Vittorio; Di Silvio, Bruna

2006-01-01

Health care, one of the most dynamic sectors in Italy, is studied with a particular focus on outsourcing non-core activities such as facility management (FM) services. The project's goals are to define national standards to balance and control facility service evolution, and to drive FM services towards organisational excellence. The authors, in cooperation with a pool of facility service providers and hospitals managers, studied cleaning services--one of the most critical areas. This article describes the research steps and findings following definition and publication of the Italian standard and its application to an international benchmarking process. The method chosen for developing the Italian standard was to merge technical, strategic and organisational aspects with the goal of standardising the contracting system, giving service providers the chance to improve efficiency and quality, while helping healthcare organisations gain from a better, more reliable and less expensive service. The Italian standard not only improved services but also provided adequate control systems for outsourcing organisations. In this win-win context, it is hoped to continually drive FM services towards organisational excellence. This study is specific to the Italian national healthcare system. However, the strategic dynamics described are common to many other contexts. A systematic method for improving hospital FM services is presented. The authors believe that lessons learned from their Italian case study can be used to better understand and drive similar services in other countries or in other FM service outsourcing sectors.

Nursing home case-mix instruments: validation of the RUG-III system in Italy.

PubMed

Brizioli, Enrico; Bernabei, Roberto; Grechi, Francesca; Masera, Filippo; Landi, Francesco; Bandinelli, Stefania; Cavazzini, Chiara; Gangemi, Salvatore; Ferrucci, Luigi

2003-06-01

The current Italian reimbursement system for long-term care does not adequately consider the great variability in the health and functional status of older persons who are admitted to long-term care institutions. Furthermore, no procedure is implemented to monitor the quality of care provided to older residents. We conducted this study to verify whether the RUG-III (Resource Utilization Groups-version III), a tool for assessing the case-mix of nursing home residents, which is widely used in the United States and in many European countries, can be effectively used in the Italian health care system. We administered an Italian version of the RUG-III to 1000 older residents of 11 intermediate- and long-term care institutions. We also collected objective information on the amount of care provided directly or indirectly to each resident by nurses, physical therapists, and other health professionals. The RUG-III 44 group classification system explained 61 and 44% of the variance in rehabilitative and nursing wage-adjusted care time, respectively. Our findings provide strong evidence that the RUG-III classification, applied to Italian intermediate- and long-term care institutions, provides a robust estimate of the amount of nursing and rehabilitation resources consumed by older residents.

Genetic susceptibility and periodontal disease: a retrospective study on a large italian sample.

PubMed

Tettamanti, L; Gaudio, R M; Iapichino, A; Mucchi, D; Tagliabue, A

2017-01-01

Periodontal disease (PD) is a multifactorial illness in which environment and host interact. The genetic component plays a key role in the onset of PD. In fact the genetic compound can modulate the inflammation of the mucous membranes and the loss of alveolar bone. The genetics of PD is not well understood. Previous studies suggest a strong association between PD occurrence and individual genetic profile. The role of genetic susceptibility could impact on the clinical manifestations of PD, and consequently on prevention and therapy. Genetic polymorphisms of VRD, IL6 and IL10 were investigated in Italian adults affected by PD. 571 cases classified according the criteria of the American Academy of Periodontology were included. All patients were Italian coming from three areas according to italian institute of statistics (ISTAT) (www.istat.it/it/archivio/regioni). The sample comprised 379 patients from North (66%), 152 from Central (26%) and 40 of South (8%). No significant differences were found among allele distribution. Chronic PD is a complex disease caused by a combination of genetic susceptibility, patients habits (oral hygiene, smoking, alcohol consumption) and oral pathogens. In our report no differences were detected among three Italian regions in allele distribution.

Bridging the divide between theory and guidance in strategic environmental assessment: A path for Italian regions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baresi, Umberto, E-mail: u.baresi@uq.edu.au

Clear and effective legislation is a requisite to bring sustainable development from theory into practice. This paper develops a methodology to investigate how Italian regional legislation disciplines the use of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), the procedure used in the European Union (EU) to pursue sustainable development of policies, plans, and programs (PPPs). Our case study is the Italian regional level, examined to identify eventual flaws and areas for improvement for each regional legislative framework. For this purpose, this study refers to a selection of analytical criteria recurring in the international debate on sustainability assessments. Statistical multi-dimensional analysis is used tomore » identify Italian regions with similar SEA legislation. We recognize four taxonomies, depending on the way regional legislation provides information about i) legislation and guidelines, ii) integration between SEA and PPPs, iii) sustainability goals, iv) technical organization, v) participatory organization, and vi) monitoring. The results suggest that Italian administrators should cooperate to improve legislation at the regional level. Acknowledging the institution-centred nature of SEA, this methodology could drive the EU to better support SEA development in countries with diversified traditions.« less

A proposal for limited criminal liability in high-accuracy endoscopic sinus surgery.

PubMed

Voultsos, P; Casini, M; Ricci, G; Tambone, V; Midolo, E; Spagnolo, A G

2017-02-01

The aim of the present study is to propose legal reform limiting surgeons' criminal liability in high-accuracy and high-risk surgery such as endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). The study includes a review of the medical literature, focusing on identifying and examining reasons why ESS carries a very high risk of serious complications related to inaccurate surgical manoeuvers and reviewing British and Italian legal theory and case-law on medical negligence, especially with regard to Italian Law 189/2012 (so called "Balduzzi" Law). It was found that serious complications due to inaccurate surgical manoeuvers may occur in ESS regardless of the skill, experience and prudence/diligence of the surgeon. Subjectivity should be essential to medical negligence, especially regarding high-accuracy surgery. Italian Law 189/2012 represents a good basis for the limitation of criminal liability resulting from inaccurate manoeuvres in high-accuracy surgery such as ESS. It is concluded that ESS surgeons should be relieved of criminal liability in cases of simple/ordinary negligence where guidelines have been observed. © Copyright by Società Italiana di Otorinolaringologia e Chirurgia Cervico-Facciale, Rome, Italy.

First-line bevacizumab-based therapy in advanced non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer : analysis of the Italian patients enrolled in the SAiL study.

PubMed

Bearz, Alessandra; Passalacqua, Rodolfo; Alabiso, Oscar; Cinieri, Saverio; Gridelli, Cesare; Cravesana, Claudia; Crinò, Lucio

2012-11-01

First-line bevacizumab-based therapy has been shown to improve outcomes in patients with advanced non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The recent international phase IV SAiL study (a Study of Avastin [bevacizumab] in combination with platinum-containing chemotherapy in patients with advanced or recurrent non-squamous cell Lung cancer) evaluated the safety and efficacy of bevacizumab combined with standard chemotherapy regimens in routine clinical practice. Here we report the results of a subanalysis of baseline characteristics and efficacy data for Italian patients enrolled in SAiL. In the SAiL study, patients with untreated locally advanced, metastatic or recurrent non-squamous NSCLC received bevacizumab (7.5 or 15 mg/kg) every 3 weeks plus chemotherapy for up to six cycles, followed by single-agent bevacizumab until disease progression. Efficacy was assessed in terms of time to disease progression (TTP) and overall survival (OS). The Italian intent-to-treat population comprised 215 patients from a SAiL population of 2212 patients. At baseline, Italian patients tended to have less advanced disease than the overall population. Thus, the proportion of patients at enrollment with tumour stage IIIb and IV was 23.7 and 76.3 %, respectively, for the Italian population versus 19.7 and 80.3 % for the whole SAiL population. In addition, a higher proportion of Italian patients had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 (72.6 vs. 37.2 %) and the prevalence of co-morbid conditions was lower in Italian patients (59.5 % of Italian patients reported a co-morbid condition and 60.0 % were receiving non-oncological treatment compared with 73.3 and 73.4 %, respectively, of SAiL patients overall). The mean exposures to bevacizumab and to chemotherapy were comparable between the Italian patient group and overall patient population, although cisplatin doublets were more commonly employed in Italian patients whereas carboplatin doublets were more commonly employed in the overall SAiL population. The median TTP and OS times for Italian and SAiL populations were comparable (TTP, 7.8 months vs. 7.8 months; OS, 14.8 months vs. 14.6 months). The results of this subanalysis of the SAiL study of bevacizumab treatment in routine clinical practice suggest that Italian oncologists tend to prescribe bevacizumab to a selected population of patients with less advanced disease than is the case in the overall population. Nevertheless, the first-line use of bevacizumab in combination with chemotherapy offers clinical benefits to Italian patients with advanced or recurrent non-squamous NSCLC.

Differences in the availability of new anti-cancer drugs for Italian patients treated in different regions. Results of analysis conducted by the Italian Society Of Medical Oncology (AIOM).

PubMed

Gori, Stefania; Di Maio, Massimo; Pinto, Carmine; Alabiso, Oscar; Baldini, Editta; Beretta, Giordano Domenico; Caffo, Orazio; Caroti, Cinzia; Crinò, Lucio; De Laurentiis, Michelino; Dinota, Angelo; Di Vito, Francesco; Gebbia, Vittorio; Giustini, Lucio; Graiff, Claudio; Guida, Michele; Lelli, Giorgio; Lombardo, Marco; Muggiano, Antonio; Puglisi, Fabio; Romito, Sante; Salvagno, Luigi; Tagliaferri, Pierosandro; Terzoli, Edmondo; Venturini, Marco

2010-01-01

Italy is divided into 20 regions. As a consequence of local autonomy, following marketing authorization by the Italian Medicines Agency, each drug for hospital use is not immediately available, because its approval needs to undergo further steps that can be different among regions. The Italian Society of Medical Oncology conducted the present study to describe the impact of the existence of sub-national pharmaceutical formularies on the disparity of access to new anti-cancer drugs among patients treated in different Italian regions. The availability of 8 new anti-cancer drugs at a regional level and the coherence of regional authorizations compared with national authorizations approved by the Italian Medicines Agency were analyzed as of April 2009. Fourteen regions and autonomous province of Trento have a regional pharmaceutical formulary. In most cases, the regional pharmaceutical formularies include the eight analyzed drugs, with therapeutic indications coherent with national marketing authorization indications. Five drugs (bevacizumab, trastuzumab, rituximab, erlotinib, sunitinib) were included in all the existing regional pharmaceutical formularies, without restrictions, whereas three drugs (cetuximab, sorafenib, pemetrexed) were found to have restrictions in some regions. The presence of multiple hierarchical levels of drug evaluation creates a potential element of disparity in the access to pharmacological therapies for Italian citizens.

Discrimination against and Adaptation of Italians in the Coal Counties of Oklahoma

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LoConto, David G.

2004-01-01

In the late 1800s and early 1900s coal reigned supreme in what is now southeastern Oklahoma. As was the case in the northeastern United States, Italians and other immigrants from southern and eastern Europe were brought in as a form of inexpensive labor to work the mines. Italians had different customs, a different language, a unique appearance,…

Can Schools Be Autonomous in a Centralised Educational System?: On Formal and Actual School Autonomy in the Italian Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agasisti, Tommaso; Catalano, Giuseppe; Sibiano, Piergiacomo

2013-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the difference between formal and real school autonomy in the Italian educational system. The Italian case is characterised by low levels of school autonomy. It is interesting to consider whether heterogeneity of patterns is possible in this context. A description of this heterogeneity is provided…

Comparative seismic evaluation between numerical analysis and Italian guidelines on cultural heritage applied to the case study of a masonry building compound

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Formisano, Antonio; Chiumiento, Giovanni; Fabbrocino, Francesco; Landolfo, Raffaele

2017-07-01

The general objective of the work is to draw attention to the issue of seismic vulnerability analysis of masonry building compounds, which characterise most of the Italian historic towns. The study is based on the analysis of an aggregated construction falling in the town of Arsita (Teramo, Italy) damaged after the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake. A comparison between the seismic verifications carried out by using the 3Muri commercial software and those deriving from the application of the Italian Guidelines on Cultural Heritage has been performed. The comparison has shown that Guidelines provide results on the safe side in predicting the seismic behaviour of the building compound under study. Further analyses should be performed aiming at suggesting some modifications of the used simplified calculation method to better interpret the behaviour of building compounds under earthquake.

Neuropathology of italian cats in feline spongiform encephalopathy surveillance.

PubMed

Iulini, B; Cantile, C; Mandara, M T; Maurella, C; Loria, G R; Castagnaro, M; Salvadori, C; Porcario, C; Corona, C; Perazzini, A Z; Maroni, A; Caramelli, M; Casalone, C

2008-09-01

Feline spongiform encephalopathy (FSE) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy associated with the consumption of feedstuffs contaminated with tissue from bovine spongiform encephalopathy-affected cattle and characterized by the accumulation in the central nervous system of an abnormal isoform of the prion protein (PrP(sc)). Clinically, it presents as a progressive fatal neurologic syndrome that is not easily distinguished from other feline neurologic conditions. Most cases of FSE have been reported in England, where it was first detected in 1990, but a few cases have been reported from other European countries. To identify possible cases of FSE in Italy, the Italian Ministry of Health funded a 2-year surveillance project during which the brains from 110 domestic cats with neurologic signs were evaluated histologically for spongiform encephalopathy and immunohistochemically to detect PrP(sc). Although no cases of FSE were found, the study proved useful in monitoring the Italian cat population for other neurologic diseases: neoplasia (21.8%), toxic-metabolic encephalopathy (18.2%), granulomatous encephalitis (15.5%), suppurative encephalitis (4.6%), trauma (3.6%), circulatory disorders (3.6%), degeneration (2.7%), nonsuppurative encephalitis (2.7%), and neuromuscular diseases (1.8%). No histologic lesions were found in 20% of the brains, and samples from 5.5% of the cats were rejected as unsuitable.

Outcomes and costs of treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with inhaled fixed combinations: the Italian perspective of the PATHOS study.

PubMed

Roggeri, Alessandro; Micheletto, Claudio; Roggeri, Daniela Paola

2014-01-01

Fixed-dose combinations of inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting β2-agonists have proven to prevent and reduce chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations. The aim of this analysis was to explore the clinical consequences and direct health care costs of applying the findings of the PATHOS (An Investigation of the Past 10 Years Health Care for Primary Care Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) study to the Italian context. Effectiveness data from the PATHOS study, a population-based, retrospective, observational registry study conducted in Sweden, in terms of reduction in COPD and pneumonia-related hospitalizations, were considered, in order to estimate the differences in resource consumption between patients treated with budesonide/formoterol and fluticasone/salmeterol. The base case considers the average dosages of the two drugs reported in the PATHOS study and the actual public price in charges to the Italian National Health Service, while the difference in hospitalization rates reported in the PATHOS study was costed based on Italian real-world data. The PATHOS study demonstrated a significant reduction in COPD hospitalizations and pneumonia-related hospitalizations in patients treated with budesonide/formoterol versus fluticasone/salmeterol (-29.1% and -42%, respectively). In the base case, the treatment of a patient for 1 year with budesonide/formoterol led to a saving of €499.90 (€195.10 for drugs, €193.10 for COPD hospitalizations, and €111.70 for pneumonia hospitalizations) corresponding to a -27.6% difference compared with fluticasone/salmeterol treatment. Treatment of COPD with budesonide/formoterol compared with fluticasone/salmeterol could lead to a reduction in direct health care costs, with relevant improvement in clinical outcomes.

Data science for assessing possible tax income manipulation: The case of Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ausloos, Marcel; Cerqueti, Roy; Mir, Tariq A.

2017-11-01

This paper explores a real-world fundamental theme under a data science perspective. It specifically discusses whether fraud or manipulation can be observed in and from municipality income tax size distributions, through their aggregation from citizen fiscal reports. The study case pertains to official data obtained from the Italian Ministry of Economics and Finance over the period 2007-2011. All Italian (20) regions are considered. The considered data science approach concretizes in the adoption of the Benford first digit law as quantitative tool. Marked disparities are found, - for several regions, leading to unexpected "conclusions". The most eye browsing regions are not the expected ones according to classical imagination about Italy financial shadow matters.

[The contribution of the Italian association of cancer registries (AIRTUM)].

PubMed

Crocetti, Emanuele; Buzzoni, Carlotta

2016-01-01

The study of cluster requires the ability to identify, with accuracy and completeness, the health events of interest and their geographical location and time of occurrence. For rare and complex diseases, such as childhood cancers, it is possible to observe a significant health migration from the place of residence, which makes the detection even more complex. The best tool to identify these rare diseases is represented by cancer registries (CRs). In fact, CRs collect, through many sources, information related to tumours that arise in the population resident in their areas of activity. The number of the sources of information has increased thanks to the computerization of health services. The availability of multiple sources of information increases the completeness of data collection overcoming the limits of a single source, and makes it possible to describe the diagnostic-therapeutic course and the outcome of the cases. Among all data sources, for childhood cancers the model 1.01, which summarize the clinical information of the cases treated in one of the Italian Association of paediatric haematology and oncology (AIEOP) centres, is relevant. Moreover, CRs produce reliable and comparable data due to the use of international rules and classifications for the definition of the topography and morphology of cancer, for the date of diagnosis, and for quality checks. In Italy, the Italian association of cancer registries (AIRTUM) coordinates the activities of 45 population CRs, both general and specialized (by age or tumour type). AIRTUM involves a population of over 6.7 million citizens under the age of 20 years, approximately 60% of the total resident population. AIRTUM plays a role of coordination, support, and harmonization for Italian CRs through training, accreditation, and a shared database, it promotes and participates in national and international collaboration involving scientific societies (AIEOP, Italian Association of medical oncology - AIOM, Italian Federation of volunteer-based cancer organisations - FAVO) and institutions (Italian national Institute of health, Italian national cancer institute of Milan) and performs analysis on key epidemiological indicators (incidence, mortality, survival, and prevalence). The AIRTUM database contains 19,650 cancer cases in child/ adolescent patients diagnosed from 1967 to 2011. The epidemiology of childhood cancers has been the subject of two AIRTUM monographs published in 2008 and in 2013 in collaboration with AIEOP; the latter includes specific contributions on polluted sites, on the psychological side, and on the experience of the parents of young cancer patients. The collaboration between different professionals, needs, and knowledge is the policy followed by AIRTUM to build up a complete picture of cancer epidemiology, even of childhood cancer, in Italy.

Evaluation of two sets of immunohistochemical and Western blot confirmatory methods in the detection of typical and atypical BSE cases

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Aims: To compare the ability of the Italian and the U.S. bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) confirmatory protocols in the detection of classical (C-) and atypical - low (L-) and high (H-) type- BSE forms. Methods and Results: Obex samples from U.S. and Italian C-type BSE cases, a U.S. H-type and...

Echovirus-4 meningitis outbreak imported from India.

PubMed

Gobbi, Federico; Calleri, Guido; Spezia, Claudia; Lipani, Filippo; Balbiano, Rosanna; De Agostini, Maura; Milia, Maria Grazia; Caramello, Pietro

2010-01-01

We describe seven cases of meningitis in a group of young Italian travelers coming back from India. Virologic studies identified echovirus-4 as the cause of this cluster of cases, the first imported echovirus outbreak in Italy. Enteroviruses may play an important role in undiagnosed fevers in travelers.

Survival and complications in thalassemia.

PubMed

Borgna-Pignatti, C; Cappellini, M D; De Stefano, P; Del Vecchio, G C; Forni, G L; Gamberini, M R; Ghilardi, R; Origa, R; Piga, A; Romeo, M A; Zhao, H; Cnaan, A

2005-01-01

The life expectancy of patients with thalassemia major has significantly increased in recent years, as reported by several groups in different countries. However, complications are still frequent and affect the patients' quality of life. In a recent study from the United Kingdom, it was found that 50% of the patients had died before age 35. At that age, 65% of the patients from an Italian long-term study were still alive. Heart disease is responsible for more than half of the deaths. The prevalence of complications in Italian patients born after 1970 includes heart failure in 7%, hypogonadism in 55%, hypothyroidism in 11%, and diabetes in 6%. Similar data were reported in patients from the United States. In the Italian study, lower ferritin levels were associated with a lower probability of experiencing heart failure and with prolonged survival. Osteoporosis and osteopenia are common and affect virtually all patients. Hepatitis C virus antibodies are present in 85% of multitransfused Italian patients, 23% of patients in the United Kingdom, 35% in the United States, 34% in France, and 21% in India. Hepatocellular carcinoma can complicate the course of hepatitis. A survey of Italian centers has identified 23 such cases in patients with a thalassemia syndrome. In conclusion, rates of survival and complication-free survival continue to improve, due to better treatment strategies. New complications are appearing in long-term survivors. Iron overload of the heart remains the main cause of morbidity and mortality.

Mature vs. Active Deep-Seated Landslides: A Comparison Through Two Case Histories in the Alps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delle Piane, Luca; Perello, Paolo; Baietto, Alessandro; Giorza, Alessandra; Musso, Alessia; Gabriele, Piercarlo; Baster, Ira

2016-06-01

Two case histories are presented, concerning the still poorly known alpine deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DSD) located nearby Lanzada (central Italian Alps), and Sarre (north-western Italian Alps). The Lanzada DSD is a constantly monitored, juvenile, and active phenomenon, partly affecting an existing hydropower plant. Its well-developed landforms allow a precise field characterization of the instability-affected area. The Sarre DSD is a mature, strongly remodeled phenomenon, where the only hazard factor is represented by secondary instability processes at the base of the slope. In this case, the remodeling imposed the adoption of complementary analytical techniques to support the field work. The two presented studies had to be adapted to external factors, namely (a) available information, (b) geological and geomorphological setting, and (c) final scope of the work. The Lanzada case essentially relied upon accurate field work; the Sarre case was mostly based on digital image and DTM processing. In both cases a sound field structural analysis formed the necessary background to understand the mechanisms leading to instability. A back-analysis of the differences between the study methods adopted in the two cases is finally presented, leading to suggestions for further investigations and design.

General Alphonse Juin: A Case Study in Leadership and Coalition Warfare (Italy 1943-1944)

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-04-04

Master of Military Studies Research Paper September 2009 - April 2010 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Sa. CONTRACT NUMBER GENERAL ALPHONSE JUIN .. N/A A CASE...the command of General Alphonse Juin to the Italian Campaign during World War.ll was of cri.tical importance to the Allied war effort. It enabled...Command Quantico, Virginia 22134-5068 MASTER OF :MILITARY STUDIES TITLE: GENERAL ALPHONSE JUIN A CASE STUDY IN LEADERSIDP AND COALITION WARFARE

Cancer prevalence in Italian cancer registry areas: the ITAPREVAL study. ITAPREVAL Working Group.

PubMed

Micheli, A; Francisci, S; Krogh, V; Rossi, A G; Crosignani, P

1999-01-01

To present data on cancer prevalence for the areas covered by Italian cancer registries, by using a standardized set of data collection and elaboration criteria, and a single method of data analysis. Data on over 250,000 patients with cancer, diagnosed between 1978 and 1992, from 11 Italian cancer registries covering about 12% of the Italian population were collected, validated and analyzed according to the unified protocol of the ITAPREVAL project. The method implemented in the PREVAL computer program was used to provide prevalence estimates for the period covered by cancer registration. The total prevalence for each registry and for the pool of all registries was then estimated by correcting for incomplete observations due to the period in which the registration was not yet activated. All prevalence estimates were for 1992. Prevalence figures are presented by cancer site, age, sex, years from diagnosis and registry area. For all malignancies combined, total prevalence ranged from 1,350 per 100,000 inhabitants in Ragusa to 3,650 per 100,000 inhabitants in Romagna, the ratio between these two extremes being 2.7. For the pool of the areas covered by registration cancer prevalence was 3,100 per 100,000 females and 2,250 per 100,000 males. About a third of the total female cases and about half the male cases were diagnosed in the previous five years. Among those aged over 75 years, total prevalence was higher for males than for females: 11,300 versus 8,900 per 100,000 respectively. This is the first large-scale estimate of the burden of cancer in Italy. It is also one of the first studies in the world which was aimed to study cancer prevalence in detail. These data are necessary for predicting health service needs and help in the evaluation of differences in health service demand by sex, age and Italian regions.

[Workplace Violence in the health sector: validation of the Italian version of the WHO questionnaire].

PubMed

La Torre, G; Sestili, C; Iavazzo, E; Mannocci, A

2017-01-01

The phenomenon of violence and aggression in the workplace is frequent and constantly increasing. Healthcare professionals are most exposed to this phenomenon, especially those who work in urgent and psychiatric emergency departments. To validate the Italian version of the questionnaire "Workplace Violence in the Health Sector Case Study Research Instruments Survey Questionnaire", conducted by WHO. 55 randomly selected workers took part in the validation of the questionnaire among physicians, nurses and nursing trainees. The internal consistency analysis of the demand of 5 dichotomous variables on binary values ​​for violence levels suggests that Cronbach's alpha is 0.61, and Cronbach's alpha calculated on standardized elements is 0.69, which means that Reliability shows sufficient levels. The Italian translation carried out in this WHO questionnaire study shows good internal reliability and consistency and could be considered a useful tool in assessing and preventing aggression and violence against health professionals.

Secondary school teachers and mental health competence: Italy-United Kingdom comparison.

PubMed

Monducci, Elena; Battaglia, Claudia; Forte, Alberto; Masillo, Alice; Telesforo, Ludovica; Carlotto, Alessandra; Piazzi, Gioia; Patanè, Martina; De Angelis, Giulia; Romano, Antonio; Fagioli, Francesca; Girardi, Paolo; Cocchi, Angelo; Meneghelli, Anna; Alpi, Andrea; Pafumi, Nicoletta; Moreno Granados, Noelia; Preti, Antonio; Masolo, Francesca; Benzoni, Stefano; Cavenaghi, Sonia; Molteni, Ilaria; Salvadori, Lavinia; Solbiati, Sara; Costantino, Antonella; Di Lauro, Rosalba; Piccinini, Annachiara; Collins Eade, Amanda; Holmshaw, Janet; Fiori Nastro, Paolo

2018-06-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the differences between teachers' knowledge about early psychosis among three different Italian cities and a UK sample. The sample consisted of 556 secondary school teachers from three different cities in Italy (Milan, Rome and Lamezia Terme) and London (UK). The research was based on the Knowledge and Experience of Social Emotional Difficulties Among Young People Questionnaire. The Italian version of the questionnaire was used in Italy. Overall, 67.6% of English teachers, 58.5% of Milan's teachers, 41.8% of Rome's teachers and 33.3% of Lamezia Terme's teachers were able to recognize psychotic symptoms from a case vignette. Logistic regression analysis showed that 'city' was the only independent variable significantly related to the correct/wrong answer about diagnosis. We found statistically significant differences between the three Italian samples and the UK sample regarding teachers' knowledge about first signs of psychosis. English teachers showed a better knowledge than Italian teachers in general. Teachers from Milan, where a specific early detection program was established in 2000, seemed to be more familiar with early signs of psychosis than teachers in the other two Italian towns. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Great landslide events in Italian artificial reservoirs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panizzo, A.; de Girolamo, P.; di Risio, M.; Maistri, A.; Petaccia, A.

2005-09-01

The empirical formulations to forecast landslide generated water waves, recently defined in the framework of a research program funded by the Italian National Dam Office RID (Registro Italiano Dighe), are here used to study three real cases of subaerial landslides which fell down italian artificial reservoirs. It is well known that impulse water waves generated by landslides constitute a very dangerous menace for human communities living in the shoreline of the artificial basin or downstream the dam. In 1963, the menace became tragedy, when a 270 millions m3 landslide fell down the Vajont reservoir (Italy), generated an impulse wave which destroyed the city of Longarone, and killed 2000 people. The paper is aimed at presenting the very satisfactorily reproduction of the events at hand by using forecasting formulations.

Health and Economic Outcomes of Introducing the New MenB Vaccine (Bexsero) into the Italian Routine Infant Immunisation Programme

PubMed Central

Tirani, Marcello; Meregaglia, Michela; Melegaro, Alessia

2015-01-01

Introduction In January 2013 a novel type of multicomponent protein-based vaccine against group B meningococcal disease was licensed by the European Medicines Agency. With the widespread use of the meningococcal serogroup C conjugate vaccines, serogroup B remains now the major cause of bacterial meningitis and septicaemia in young children in Europe. The aim of this study is to investigate the health and the economic outcomes of MenB vaccine introduction into the Italian routine mass vaccination programme. Methods The present work is structured in two main parts. Firstly, we assess the epidemiological burden of group B meningococcal disease using official hospitalisation and notification data from two of the most populated Italian regions (Lombardia and Piemonte) during a 6-year study period (2007-2012). Secondly, we evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the immunisation programme in Italy from the public health payer perspective under base case parameters assumptions and performing a comprehensive sensitivity analysis to assess the robustness and the uncertainty of our model results. Results MenB serotype is responsible for 59% of the 341 cases of Invasive Meningococcal Disease in Lombardia and Piemonte. Incidence rate for MenB infection is estimated to be 0.21/100,000/y resulting at the highest level in children ≤4 years of age. Although the new MenB vaccine can potentially prevent about one third of the disease cases in the Italian population, model results show this strategy is unlikely to be cost-effective (ICER value over €350,000/QALY) with a vaccine that prevents disease only. These results are robust under most of the sensitivity scenarios except when allowing for lower discount rates. Discussion The introduction of the novel vaccine into the routine immunisation schedule needs to be carefully evaluated. The new MenB vaccine has the potential to reduce the disease burden at the population level. However, from the Italian Health Service perspective, the immunisation programme is unlikely to be cost-effective at the current incidence levels and vaccine price. PMID:25874805

Health and economic outcomes of introducing the new MenB vaccine (Bexsero) into the Italian routine infant immunisation programme.

PubMed

Tirani, Marcello; Meregaglia, Michela; Melegaro, Alessia

2015-01-01

In January 2013 a novel type of multicomponent protein-based vaccine against group B meningococcal disease was licensed by the European Medicines Agency. With the widespread use of the meningococcal serogroup C conjugate vaccines, serogroup B remains now the major cause of bacterial meningitis and septicaemia in young children in Europe. The aim of this study is to investigate the health and the economic outcomes of MenB vaccine introduction into the Italian routine mass vaccination programme. The present work is structured in two main parts. Firstly, we assess the epidemiological burden of group B meningococcal disease using official hospitalisation and notification data from two of the most populated Italian regions (Lombardia and Piemonte) during a 6-year study period (2007-2012). Secondly, we evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the immunisation programme in Italy from the public health payer perspective under base case parameters assumptions and performing a comprehensive sensitivity analysis to assess the robustness and the uncertainty of our model results. MenB serotype is responsible for 59% of the 341 cases of Invasive Meningococcal Disease in Lombardia and Piemonte. Incidence rate for MenB infection is estimated to be 0.21/100,000/y resulting at the highest level in children ≤4 years of age. Although the new MenB vaccine can potentially prevent about one third of the disease cases in the Italian population, model results show this strategy is unlikely to be cost-effective (ICER value over €350,000/QALY) with a vaccine that prevents disease only. These results are robust under most of the sensitivity scenarios except when allowing for lower discount rates. The introduction of the novel vaccine into the routine immunisation schedule needs to be carefully evaluated. The new MenB vaccine has the potential to reduce the disease burden at the population level. However, from the Italian Health Service perspective, the immunisation programme is unlikely to be cost-effective at the current incidence levels and vaccine price.

Imported hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome in an Italian traveller returning from Cuba.

PubMed

Rovida, Francesca; Percivalle, Elena; Sarasini, Antonella; Chichino, Guido; Baldanti, Fausto

2013-01-01

Hantavirus hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome is endemic in Europe and Asia, while hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) is endemic in Northern, Central and Southern America. The first case of imported HCPS involving an Italian traveller returning from Cuba is reported.

TQM and lean strategy deployment in Italian hospitals.

PubMed

Chiarini, Andrea; Baccarani, Claudio

2016-10-03

Purpose This paper aims to contribute to the debate concerning total quality management (TQM)-Lean strategy in public healthcare by analyzing the deployment path for implementation, the possible benefits that can be achieved and the encountered pitfalls. Design/methodology/approach Three case studies are drawn from three large Italian hospitals with more than 500 beds each and structured with many departments. The hospitals are located in Tuscany, Italy. These three hospitals have embraced TQM and Lean, starting from strategic objectives and their deployment. At the same time, they have also implemented many TQM-Lean tools. The case studies are based on interviews held with four managers in each of these three public hospitals. Findings Results from the interviews show that there is a specific deployment path for TQM-Lean implementation. The hospitals have also achieved benefits linked to patient satisfaction and improved organizational performances. Problems related to organizational and cultural issues, such as senior managers' commitment, staff management, manufacturing culture and tools adaptation, could affect the benefits. Research limitations/implications The research has been carried out in just three Italian public hospitals. Hence, similar investigations could be managed in other countries. Researchers could also use a larger sample and investigate these issues by means of quantitative inquiry. Practical implications Practitioners could try to apply the deployment path revealed by these case studies in other public and private hospitals. Originality/value The results of this research show that there is a specific, new deployment path for implementing TQM-Lean strategy in some public hospitals.

Linguistic, geographic and genetic isolation: a collaborative study of Italian populations.

PubMed

Capocasa, Marco; Anagnostou, Paolo; Bachis, Valeria; Battaggia, Cinzia; Bertoncini, Stefania; Biondi, Gianfranco; Boattini, Alessio; Boschi, Ilaria; Brisighelli, Francesca; Caló, Carla Maria; Carta, Marilisa; Coia, Valentina; Corrias, Laura; Crivellaro, Federica; De Fanti, Sara; Dominici, Valentina; Ferri, Gianmarco; Francalacci, Paolo; Franceschi, Zelda Alice; Luiselli, Donata; Morelli, Laura; Paoli, Giorgio; Rickards, Olga; Robledo, Renato; Sanna, Daria; Sanna, Emanuele; Sarno, Stefania; Sineo, Luca; Taglioli, Luca; Tagarelli, Giuseppe; Tofanelli, Sergio; Vona, Giuseppe; Pettener, Davide; Destro Bisol, Giovanni

2014-01-01

The animal and plant biodiversity of the Italian territory is known to be one of the richest in the Mediterranean basin and Europe as a whole, but does the genetic diversity of extant human populations show a comparable pattern? According to a number of studies, the genetic structure of Italian populations retains the signatures of complex peopling processes which took place from the Paleolithic to modern era. Although the observed patterns highlight a remarkable degree of genetic heterogeneity, they do not, however, take into account an important source of variation. In fact, Italy is home to numerous ethnolinguistic minorities which have yet to be studied systematically. Due to their difference in geographical origin and demographic history, such groups not only signal the cultural and social diversity of our country, but they are also potential contributors to its bio-anthropological heterogeneity. To fill this gap, research groups from four Italian Universities (Bologna, Cagliari, Pisa and Roma Sapienza) started a collaborative study in 2007, which was funded by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research and received partial support by the Istituto Italiano di Antropologia. In this paper, we present an account of the results obtained in the course of this initiative. Four case-studies relative to linguistic minorities from the Eastern Alps, Sardinia, Apennines and Southern Italy are first described and discussed, focusing on their micro-evolutionary and anthropological implications. Thereafter, we present the results of a systematic analysis of the relations between linguistic, geographic and genetic isolation. Integrating the data obtained in the course of the long-term study with literature and unpublished results on Italian populations, we show that a combination of linguistic and geographic factors is probably responsible for the presence of the most robust signatures of genetic isolation. Finally, we evaluate the magnitude of the diversity of Italian populations in the European context. The human genetic diversity of our country was found to be greater than observed throughout the continent at short (0-200 km) and intermediate (700-800km) distances, and accounted for most of the highest values of genetic distances observed at all geographic ranges. Interestingly, an important contribution to this pattern comes from the "linguistic islands"( e.g. German speaking groups of Sappada and Luserna from the Eastern Italian Alps), further proof of the importance of considering social and cultural factors when studying human genetic variation.

Socioeconomic status and biomedical risk factors in migrants and native tuberculosis patients in Italy

PubMed Central

Pittalis, Silvia; Contini, Silvia; Gualano, Gina; Alma, Mario Giuseppe; Tadolini, Marina; Piccioni, Pavilio; Bocchino, Marialuisa; Matteelli, Alberto; Bonora, Stefano; Di Biagio, Antonio; Franzetti, Fabio; Carbonara, Sergio; Gori, Andrea; Sotgiu, Giovanni; Palmieri, Fabrizio; Ippolito, Giuseppe; Girardi, Enrico

2017-01-01

Action on social determinants is a main component of the World Health Organization End Tuberculosis (TB) Strategy. The aim of the study was to collect information on socioeconomic characteristics and biomedical risk factors in migrant TB patients in Italy and compare it with data collected among Italian TB patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted among TB patients aged ≥18 years over a 12-months enrolment period in 12 major Italian hospitals. Information on education, employment, housing and income was collected, and European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions index was used to assess material deprivation. Among migrants, we also analyzed factors associated with severe material deprivation. Migrants were compared with younger (18–64 years) and older (65+ years) Italians patients. Out of 755 patients enrolled (with a median age of 42 years, interquartile range: 31–53), 65% were migrants. Pulmonary, microbiologically confirmed, and new cases were 80%, 73%, and 87% respectively. Prevalence of co-morbidities (i.e. diabetes, chronic kidney disease, neoplastic diseases and use of immunosuppressive drugs) was lower among migrants compared to Italian TB patients, while indicators of socioeconomic status, income and housing conditions were worst in migrants. Forty-six percent of migrants were severely deprived vs. 9% of Italians (p<0.0001, 11.3% and 5.5% among younger and older Italians, respectively). Among migrants, being male, older, irregular, unemployed, with a shorter time spent in Italy, a lower education level, and without a co-morbidity diagnosis were factors associated with severe material deprivation at multi-variable logistic regression. Moreover, socioeconomic indicators for Italian patients did not differ from those reported for the general Italian population, while migrant TB patients seem to have a higher prevalence of severe material deprivation than other migrants residing in Italy. Intervention to address the needs of this population are urgent. PMID:29253014

Technological Diversity: A Case Study into Language Learners' Mobile Technology Use Inside and Outside the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brick, Billy; Cervi-Wilson, Tiziana

2015-01-01

The speed of technological advance in the mobile phone, netbook and tablet markets has meant that learners increasingly have access to digital devices capable of enhancing their learning experience. This case study reports on how language learners, taking Italian as an option on the Institution Wide Languages Programme (IWLP) at Coventry…

Online Education: Analysis of Interaction and Knowledge Building Patterns among Foreign Language Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Celentin, Paola

2007-01-01

In this article we discuss findings from a case-study related to the distance education of teachers of Italian as a second/foreign language. This case-study has examined interactions among teachers during their discussions in a web-forum exploiting the model of content analysis proposed in the "Practical Inquiry Model" by Garrison, Anderson, and…

[Pesticide poisonings compensated by the INAIL in 1995-98].

PubMed

Germani, D; Forzato, G; Ossicini, A; Settimi, L

2001-01-01

The present paper describes agricultural pesticide-related accidents compensated by the Italian national institute for insurance of occupational accidents (INAIL) from January 1995 to December 1998. During the period under study, 643 accidents claims were examined by INAIL and 549 received compensation. The Italian regions with the highest number of compensation during the period under study were Puglia (no. 102), Sicily (no. 66), Emilia-Romagna (no. 61), and Veneto (no. 55). The national annual rate of pesticide-related accidents, estimated by dividing the number of cases receiving compensation by the number of insured agricultural workers was 12 per 100,000 per year. The regions with the highest rates were Puglia and Marche (27 per 100,000 per year), Liguria (22 per 100,000 per year), and Sicily (18 per 100,000 per year). Most of the cases (70%) occurred among male workers. The agents most frequently reported to have caused the accidents were fungicides (32.2%). For a relevant number of cases (34.2%) the exposure was not specified.

The Severe Heart Failure Questionnaire: Italian translation and linguistic validation.

PubMed

Scarinzi, C; Berchialla, P; Ghidina, M; Rozbowsky, P; Pilotto, L; Albanese, M C; Fioretti, P M; Gregori, D

2008-12-01

The quality of life (QoL) is an important outcome indicator for heart failure management. As the use of a validate questionnaire in a different cultural context can affect data interpretation our main objective is the Italian translation and linguistic validation of the Severe Heart Failure Questionnaire (SHF) and its comparison with the MLHF (Minnesota Living with Heart Failure) Questionnaire. The SHF and "The Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire" were translated. A consensus involving parallel back-translations was established among a group of cardiologists, psychologists and biostatisticians. SHF and MLHF were both administrated to a sample of 50 patients. The patients' median age was 63 years. Ace inhibitors therapy was administered in 88% of cases and betablockers in 56% of cases. Finally the Italian version of SHF correlates well with MLHF for all domains, except life satisfaction SHF domain. The Italian version of the SHF correlates well with MLHF for almost all domains and it represents a valid alternative for quality of life assessment in heart failure patients.

Analysis of the Italian generic medicines retail market: recommendations to enhance long-term sustainability.

PubMed

Dylst, Pieter; Vulto, Arnold; Simoens, Steven

2015-02-01

Italy is among the European countries with the lowest uptake of generic medicines. This paper provides a perspective on the Italian generic medicines retail market. Fast market entrance of generic medicines in Italy is hindered by several factors: the existence of Complementary Protection Certificates in the past, the large market for copies and multiple cases of patent linkage. Prices of generic medicines in Italy are low compared to other European countries. To contain pharmaceutical expenditure, pharmaceutical companies are currently forced to pay back in case of overspending, which disproportionally penalizes small and fast growing companies, to which most generic companies belong to. Current demand-side policies do not successfully stimulate the use of generic medicines. The current market environment surrounding the Italian generic medicines retail market (i.e., low prices, low volumes) threatens its long-term sustainability. Recommendations to enhance the long-term sustainability of the Italian generic medicines retail market round off this perspective paper.

Childhood Leukemia and 50 Hz Magnetic Fields: Findings from the Italian SETIL Case-Control Study

PubMed Central

Salvan, Alberto; Ranucci, Alessandra; Lagorio, Susanna; Magnani, Corrado

2015-01-01

We report on an Italian case-control study on childhood leukemia and exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MF). Eligible for inclusion were 745 leukemia cases, aged 0–10 years at diagnosis in 1998–2001, and 1475 sex- and age-matched population controls. Parents of 683 cases and 1044 controls (92% vs. 71%) were interviewed. ELF-MF measurements (24–48 h), in the child’s bedroom of the dwelling inhabited one year before diagnosis, were available for 412 cases and 587 controls included in the main conditional regression analyses. The magnetic field induction was 0.04 μT on average (geometric mean), with 0.6% of cases and 1.6% of controls exposed to >0.3 μT. The impact of changes in the statistical model, exposure metric, and data-set restriction criteria was explored via sensitivity analyses. No exposure-disease association was observed in analyses based on continuous exposure, while analyses based on categorical variables were characterized by incoherent exposure-outcome relationships. In conclusion, our results may be affected by several sources of bias and they are noninformative at exposure levels >0.3 μT. Nonetheless, the study may contribute to future meta- or pooled analyses. Furthermore, exposure levels among population controls are useful to estimate attributable risk. PMID:25689995

The Individual Experience of Aging Patients and the Current Service Provision in the Context of Italian Forensic Psychiatry: A Case Study.

PubMed

Di Lorito, Claudio; Castelletti, Luca; Tripi, Giuseppa; Gandellini, Maria Gloria; Dening, Tom; Völlm, Birgit

After the recent development of residential units for the execution of security measures managed by the National Health Service and the closing down of forensic psychiatric hospitals, no study has been conducted to investigate the individual experience of aging patients and to assess whether the new service is adequately meeting their needs. We aimed to explore the experience of the service of a sample of patients aged 50 years and above living in one of the Italian residential units for the execution of security measures. We adopted a case study design and included a sample of five patients. We collected their basic demographic data, administered the Camberwell Assessment Needs Forensic Short Version and carried out in-depth qualitative semi-structured interviews. Results from the Camberwell Assessment Needs Forensic Short Version evidenced that met needs were more prevalent than unmet needs. The qualitative interviews demonstrated high levels of satisfaction around accommodation, healthcare provision, activities, availability of benefits and company, and lower levels of satisfaction around psychological and practical support. This study gave voice to aging forensic psychiatric patients and provided through personal accounts, based on their lived experience, preliminary evidence around the benefits and limitations of the Italian residential forensic psychiatric system for this age group. Implications for clinical nursing forensic practitioners operating within different service frameworks are discussed.

Italian Neo-Ethnicity: The Search for Self-Identity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aversa, Alfred, Jr.

1978-01-01

After a review of how Blacks went about constructing a new self-identity, an analysis of the Italian-American case reveals three motifs to be introduced as a potential frame of reference for identity building: the grandeur of Renaissance Italy; pastoralism; and the immigrant experience (family and work). (Author/EB)

The Italian pilot external quality assessment program for cystic fibrosis sweat test.

PubMed

Salvatore, Marco; Floridia, Giovanna; Amato, Annalisa; Censi, Federica; Carta, Claudio; de Stefano, Maria Chiara; Ferrari, Gianluca; Tosto, Fabrizio; Capoluongo, Ettore; Caruso, Ubaldo; Castaldo, Giuseppe; Cirilli, Natalia; Corbetta, Carlo; Padoan, Rita; Raia, Valeria; Taruscio, Domenica

2016-05-01

Sweat chloride test is the gold standard test for cystic fibrosis (CF) diagnosis. In 2014 the Istituto Superiore di Sanità established the Italian pilot external quality assessment program for CF sweat test (IEQA-ST). Ten laboratories, included among the 33 Italian CF Referral Centers, were selected and enrolled on the basis of their attitude to perform sweat test (ST) analysis by using methods recommended by the Italian Guidelines. They received three different sweat-like samples (normal, borderline and pathologic chloride concentration), with mock clinical indications, for analysis according to routine procedures. Assessment, performed by a panel of experts, covered analytical performance, interpretation and reporting of results; categories of "poor" and "satisfactory" performance were not defined. All data were managed through a web utility. The program identified important areas of interest and, in some case, of concern. It is important to underline that results are referred to a small proportion, i.e. about 30%, of Italian laboratories performing CF ST in the context of the Referral Centers. Data collected highlight the importance of participation in EQA programs as it may improve laboratory/clinical performance; our study represents a model for the setting up of a large-scale EQA scheme for ST. Copyright © 2016 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Primary Progressive Aphasia in a Bilingual Speaker: A Single-Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zanini, Sergio; Angeli, Valentina; Tavano, Alessandro

2011-01-01

We report on the case of an elderly bilingual woman presenting with a diagnosis of primary progressive aphasia. The participant's native language was Friulian (L1), a predominantly oral Romance language, and her second language was Italian (L2), formally learned at primary school in oral and written forms. We investigated her linguistic abilities…

The "Bologna-München" Tandem--Experiencing Interculturality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Martino, Sandro

2016-01-01

This case study describes the "Bologna-München" Tandem, a cross-border collaboration which began in 2011. The aim of the collaboration is to give students studying Italian at the Ludwig- Maximilians-University in Munich and students studying German at the University of Bologna the opportunity to experience interculturality through…

Lung cancer risk in the electroplating industry in Lombardy, Italy, using the Italian occupational cancer monitoring (OCCAM) information system.

PubMed

Panizza, Celestino; Bai, Edoardo; Oddone, Enrico; Scaburri, Alessandra; Massari, Stefania; Modonesi, Carlo; Contiero, Paolo; Marinaccio, Alessandro; Crosignani, Paolo

2012-01-01

Occupational Cancer Monitoring (OCCAM) is an Italian organization that monitors occupational cancers, by area and industrial sector, by retrieving cases and employment history from official databases. OCCAM previously estimated a relative risk (RR) of lung cancer of about 1.32 among "metal treatment" workers in Lombardy, northern Italy, potentially exposed to chrome and nickel. In the present study, lung cancer risk was estimated among electroplating workers only. Lombardy electroplating companies were identified from descriptions in Social Security files. Lung cancer risk was evaluated from 2001 to 2008 incident cases identified from hospital discharge records. The RR for lung cancer among electroplating workers was 2.03 (90% CI 1.33-3.10, 18 cases) for men; 3.00 (90% CI 1.38-9.03, 4 cases) for women. Electroplaters had higher risks than "metal treatment" workers. Although the risks were due to past exposure, case histories and recent acute effects indicate a present carcinogenic hazard in some Lombardy electroplating factories. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Clarifying the scope of Italian NHS coverage. Is it feasible? Is it desirable?

PubMed

Fattore, G

1999-12-01

The reduction in National Health Service (NHS) expenditure as a share of total health care expenditure, the fragmentation of the NHS into 21 regional systems and the implementation of a 'quasi-market' on the provider side of the system has pressed the government to define and specify, in detail, the set of services that are to be guaranteed by the public sector. To understand whether rationing can be more rational and explicit in the Italian NHS, the following are analysed: (i) the new positive list of drugs, as a major example of limiting and making more rational NHS pharmaceutical coverage; (ii) the Di Bella case, as an example of the difficulties of rational policy-making on sensitive issues; (iii) what Italian people think about health care rationing and priority setting (using the 1998 Eurobarometer Survey);( iv) the criteria defining the set of 'essential services' to be guaranteed to all Italian citizens, which are contained in the recently released National Health Plan. The 'revolution' that has taken place in the pharmaceutical sector shows it is feasible to limit, in an explicit and rational way, the extent of NHS coverage. However, the re-classification of the positive list should be regarded as an exceptional event in the history of Italian social policy. The 'Di Bella' case, on the contrary, shows that limiting NHS coverage can be very unpopular, and that the Italian cultural and social context can be unfavourable for the implementation of hard choices. Public attitude toward rationing seems to confirm that Italians are not familiar with rationing issues. Thus, it is very difficult to predict whether the national government will really go ahead with the implementation of a 'list of essential services' and whether this attempt will be successful. Rationing and priority setting should be discussed in the context of a general debate concerning the future of the Italian NHS.

A case-crossover study of sleep, fatigue, and other transient exposures at workplace and the risk of non-fatal occupational injuries among the employees of an Italian academic hospital.

PubMed

Valent, Francesca; Mariuz, Marika; Liva, Giulia; Bellomo, Fabrizio; De Corti, Daniela; Degan, Stefania; Ferrazzano, Alberto; Brusaferro, Silvio

2016-11-18

Transient exposure with acute effect has been shown to affect the risk of occupational injuries in various industrial settings and at the healthcare workplace. The objective of this study has been to identify transient exposures related to occupational injury risk in an Italian teaching hospital. A case-crossover study was conducted among the employees of the University Hospital of Udine who reported an occupational injury, commuting accident, or incident involving biological risk in a 15-month period in the years 2013 and 2014. The matched-pair interval approach was used to assess the role of acute sleep deprivation whereas the usual frequency approach was used for other 13 transient exposures. Sleep hours were not associated with the risk of injuries whereas a significant risk increase was associated with fatigue, rush, distraction, emergency situations, teaching to or being taught by someone, non-compliant patients, bloody operative/work field, excess noise, complex procedures, and anger. We identified transient exposures that increased the risk of occupational injuries in an Italian teaching hospital, providing indications for interventions to increase workers' safety at the healthcare workplace. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2016;29(6):1001-1009. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.

Delirium assessment in hospitalized elderly patients: Italian translation and validation of the nursing delirium screening scale.

PubMed

Spedale, Valentina; Di Mauro, Stefania; Del Giorno, Giulia; Barilaro, Monica; Villa, Candida E; Gaudreau, Jean D; Ausili, Davide

2017-08-01

Delirium has a high incidence pathology associated with negative outcomes. Although highly preventable, half the cases are not recognized. One major cause of delirium misdiagnosis is the absence of a versatile instrument to measure it. Our objective was to translate the nursing delirium screening scale (Nu-DESC) and evaluate its performance in Italian settings. This was a methodological study conducted in two sequential phases. The first was the Italian translation of Nu-DESC through a translation and back-translation process. The second aimed to test the inter-rater reliability, the sensibility and specificity of the instrument on a convenience sample of 101 hospitalized elderly people admitted to relevant wards of the San Gerardo Hospital in Monza. To evaluate the inter-rater reliability, two examiners tested Nu-DESC on 20 patients concurrently without comparison. To measure the sensibility and specificity of Nu-DESC, the confusion assessment method was used as a gold standard measure. The inter-rater reliability (Cohen Kappa) was 0.87-an excellent agreement between examiners. The study of the ROC curve showed an AUC value of 0.9461 suggesting high test accuracy. Using 3 as a cut-off value, Nu-DESC showed 100 % sensibility and 76 % specificity. Further research is needed to test Nu-DESC on a larger sample. However, based on our results, Nu-DESC can be used in research and clinical practice in Italian settings because of its very good and similar performances to previous validation studies. The value of 3 appears to be the optimal cut-off in the Italian context.

[Italian translation and validation of the Nordic IRSST standardized questionnaire for the analysis of musculoskeletal symptoms].

PubMed

Gobba, F; Ghersi, R; Martinelli, Simona; Richeldi, Arianna; Clerici, Piera; Grazioli, P

2008-01-01

Data on self-reported symptoms and/or functional impairments are important in research on work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs). In such cases the availability of international standardized questionnaires is extremely important since they permit comparison of studies performed in different Countries. Translation into Italian and validation of the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ), a tool which is widely used in studies on WRMSDs in the international scientific literature. The extended Canadian version of the NMQ was translated into Italian. As per the current guidelines, the cross-cultural adaptation was performed by translation of the items from French, back-translation by independent mother-tongue translators and committee review. The resulting version of the questionnaire underwent pre-testing in 3 independent groups of subjects. The comprehensibility, reliability (internal consistency and reproducibility) and sensitivity were evaluated. After translation/back-translation and review of the items the comprehensibility of the Italian version of the questionnaire was judged good in a group of 40 workers. The internal consistency was evaluated using the Cronbach's Alpha test in the same group and in another 98 engineering workers: the results were on the whole acceptable. The reproducibility, which was tested with Cohen's Kappa test in the 40 workers, was good/excellent. In a preliminary evaluation, performed in 30 outpatients of a of Rehabilitation Service, sensitivity was very good. The results show that the Italian version of the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire is valid for self-administration and can be applied in 'field" studies on self-reported musculoskeletal symptoms and functional impairments in group of workers.

The Italian Middle School in a Deregulation Era: Modernity through Path-Dependency and Global Models

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mincu, Monica E.

2015-01-01

In the current context of intensified moves towards educational deregulation, the configuration of the Italian middle school and its relationship to education governance is an interesting case. Historically, it represents a unique example of the successful "decision-making" model of the welfarist era. Despite some internal constraints,…

Essential Information for Post-Encyclopaedic Parliaments: The Italian Case.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rizzoni, Giovanni

This paper discusses the experiences of the Research Department of the Italian Chamber of Deputies over the past few years. The first section describes the origin of the department in the 1970s, including political factors, basic organizational features, and the salient features of the department's activity. The second section addresses the…

7 CFR 51.1525 - Tolerances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... port of loading for ship stores or overseas shipment, or, in the case of shipments from outside the... than Italian type prunes en route or at destination. 12 percent for fruit which fails to meet the... amount not more than one-half of 1 percent for decay. (4) For defects of Italian type prunes en route or...

7 CFR 51.1525 - Tolerances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... port of loading for ship stores or overseas shipment, or, in the case of shipments from outside the... than Italian type prunes en route or at destination. 12 percent for fruit which fails to meet the... amount not more than one-half of 1 percent for decay. (4) For defects of Italian type prunes en route or...

Comparing Efficiency in a Cross-Country Perspective: The Case of Italian and Spanish State Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agasisti, Tommaso; Perez-Esparrells, Carmen

2010-01-01

The growing internationalization of European Higher Education requires more emphasis on cross-country comparisons. In this paper, an efficiency analysis of Italian and Spanish universities is conducted; as well as from a comparative perspective. The efficiency scores are obtained using data envelopment analysis. The results demonstrate a good…

Clinical epidemiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Liguria, Italy: An update of LIGALS register.

PubMed

Scialò, Carlo; Novi, Giovanni; Bandettini di Poggio, Monica; Canosa, Antonio; Sormani, Maria Pia; Mandich, Paola; Origone, Paola; Truffelli, Romina; Mancardi, Giovanni Luigi; Caponnetto, Claudia

Our objectives were: (1) to assess amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) incidence and its trend over time in Liguria, an Italian north-western region, performing an analysis of data prospectively collected from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2014; (2) to determine the mean and median survival in the 2009-2014 Ligurian ALS incident cases; and (3) to evaluate the presence of disease prognostic factors. The Liguria Register for ALS (LIGALS) is an ongoing, multicentre prospective register enrolling all ALS incident cases in Liguria. Cases were identified using several concurrent sources. ALS diagnosis was based on El Escorial revised criteria (EEC-R). Two hundred and ninety-eight patients were enrolled in this study. The mean annual crude incidence rate in the 2009-2014 period was 3.11/100,000 population (95% CI 2.77-3.49); the point prevalence at 31 December 2014 was 7.85/100,000 (95% CI 6.54-9.36) population. Survival analysis demonstrated a median survival from symptom onset of 37.0 months (95% CI 32.0-42.0). In conclusion, ALS crude incidence in Liguria is higher compared to other Italian regions. Clinical and epidemiological data are comparable with those of the Italian ALS population. Survival analysis showed that higher age at onset, bulbar onset, definite EEC-R diagnostic category and a shorter diagnostic delay are related with worse outcomes.

Career Orientations and Career Route Preferences in R&D Organisations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petroni, Alberto

2000-01-01

A survey of 151 Italian scientists and engineers and case studies of a career development system for technical professionals revealed that career orientation (as measured by Schein's career anchors) is a useful predictor of career route preferences. (Author/JOW)

The Multiple-Lemma Representation of Italian Compound Nouns: A Single Case Study of Deep Dyslexia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marelli, Marco; Aggujaro, Silvia; Molteni, Franco; Luzzatti, Claudio

2012-01-01

It is not clear how compound words are represented within the influential framework of the lemma-lexeme theory. Theoretically, compounds could be structured through a multiple lemma architecture, in which the lemma nodes of both the compound and its constituents are involved in lexical processing. If this were the case, syntactic properties of…

Analysis of TP53 codon 72 polymorphism in HPV-positive and HPV-negative penile carcinoma.

PubMed

Tornesello, Maria Lina; Duraturo, Maria Luisa; Guida, Valentina; Losito, Simona; Botti, Gerardo; Pilotti, Silvana; Stefanon, Bernardina; De Palo, Giuseppe; Buonaguro, Luigi; Buonaguro, Franco M

2008-09-28

The association of the p53 polymorphism at codon 72 and susceptibility to develop human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancer has been investigated in several studies with controversial results. In this study, 78 penile squamous cell carcinoma biopsies (n=17 from Uganda, n=61 from Italy) and blood samples from 150 healthy controls (n=57 from Uganda, n=93 from Italy) have been analyzed for the arginine and proline allele distribution. Among Ugandan cases the heterozygous, proline homozygous and arginine homozygous genotype frequency was 41.2%, 52.9% and 5.9%, respectively, and among controls was 40.3%, 54.4%, and 5.3%, respectively (P=0.9917). Conversely, among Italian cases genotype distribution was 42.6%, 4.9%, and 52.5%, and among controls was 34.4%, 7.5%, and 58.1%, respectively (P=0.5343). No significant differences in arginine and proline allele distribution were observed when the cases were stratified by HPV status. Therefore, no evidence of association between homozygosity for p53 arginine and HPV-related or HPV-unrelated penile squamous cell carcinoma was observed neither among Ugandan nor among Italian populations.

How different technologies can fit nursing processes to empower staff and increase quality of care. An Italian case study.

PubMed

Bollini, Giovanna; Lolli, Angela; Zaza, Raffaele; Origgi, Gianni; Bragagia, Silvia; Locatelli, Paolo; Restifo, Nicola

2009-01-01

The rapid evolution of healthcare and the need to contain costs, to decrease the time of patients' hospitalization, and to improve the quality of care has led the nursing profession to face new challenges. This paper describes the case study of A.O. Ospedale Niguarda in Milan (Italy), a public healthcare provider where the key role of Nursing is being recognized according to international common practice. Also considering the context of Italian healthcare, attention will be drawn to concrete actions carried out on the organizational side and also for what concerns IT tools supporting nursing activities. This was done aiming with success at rising nurses' knowledge level of the patient, support its activities, increase quality of care, in a precise managerial and methodological framework. We will describe four cases of projects (Intensive Care Unit patient record, First Aid Station care reporting, pressure ulcers management, transfusion traceability) carried out by Niguarda with the support of its partner Fondazione Politecnico di Milano, set up to support bedside nursing activities with the most suitable technology for the purpose.

Comparative "Glocal" Perspectives on European Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caena, Francesca

2014-01-01

This article reports the findings of a PhD study, which offers comparative perspectives on teacher education in a period of reforms, inquiring into stakeholders' perceptions in English, French, Italian and Spanish contexts as case studies. The interaction of needs and constraints in European initial teacher education within higher education…

AN ITALIAN SURVEY OF COMPLIANCE WITH MAJOR GUIDELINES FOR L-THYROXINE OF PRIMARY HYPOTHYROIDISM.

PubMed

Vezzani, Silvia; Giannetta, Elisa; Altieri, Barbara; Barbonetti, Arcangelo; Bellastella, Giuseppe; Certo, Rosaria; Cignarelli, Angelo; Cinti, Francesca; D'Andrea, Settimio; Di Dalmazi, Giulia; Frara, Stefano; Garelli, Silvia; Giuffrida, Giuseppe; Maiorino, Maria Ida; Mele, Chiara; Mezza, Teresa; Pani, Maria Grazia; Samà, Maria Teresa; Satta, Chiara; Santi, Daniele

2018-05-01

The adherence by endocrinologists to guideline regarding levothyroxine (LT4) therapy and the compliance of patients may impact the management of hypothyroidism. The aim of this study was to compare the adherence of Italian endocrinologists to the ATA/AACE and ETA guidelines on the management of newly diagnosed primary hypothyroidism and to validate the Italian version of the Morisky-Green Medical Adherence Scale-8 (MMAS-8) questionnaire as applied to the evaluation of the adherence of patients with hypothyroidism to LT4 treatment. This was an observational, longitudinal, multicenter, cohort study, involving 12 Italian Units of Endocrinology. The study enrolled 1,039 consecutive outpatients (mean age 48 years; 855 women, 184 men). The concordance of Italian endocrinologists with American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists/American Thyroid Association (AACE/ATA) and European Thyroid Association (ETA) recommendations was comparable (77.1% and 71.7%) and increased (86.7 and 88.6%) after the recommendations on LT4 dose were excluded, considering only the remaining recommendations on diagnosis, therapy, and follow-up. The MMAS-8 was filled out by 293 patients. The mean score was 6.71 with 23.9% low (score <6), 38.6% medium (6 to <8), 37.5% highly (= 8) adherers; the internal validation coefficient was 0.613. Highly adherent patients were not more likely to have good control of hypothyroidism compared with either medium (69% versus 72%, P = .878) or low (69% versus 43%, P = .861) adherers. Clinical management of hypothyroidism in Italy demonstrated an observance of international guidelines by Italian endocrinologists. Validation of the Italian version of the MMAS-8 questionnaire provides clinicians with a reliable and simple tool for assessing the adherence of patients to LT4 treatment. AACE = American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists; ATA = American Thyroid Association; EDIPO = Endotrial SIE: DIagnosis and clinical management of Primitive hypothyrOidism in Italy; eCRF = electronic case report form; ETA = European Thyroid Association; fT3 = free triiodothyronine; fT4 = free thyroxine; LT4 = levothyroxine; MMAS-8 = Morisky-Green Medical Adherence Scale-8; PH = primary hypothyroidism; T3 = triiodothyronine; T4 = thyroxine; TSH = thyroid-stimulating hormone; US = ultrasonography.

Occupational cancer in Italy.

PubMed Central

Merler, E; Vineis, P; Alhaique, D; Miligi, L

1999-01-01

This article is a discussion of occupational cancer in Italy. The introduction provides the necessary context of Italian industrialization and occupational health regulation. This is followed by a review of Italian epidemiologic studies of occupational cancer risks considered in terms of relative measures of risk and attributable risk of carcinogenic agents or exposure circumstances. We attempt to establish the number of workers exposed to carcinogens in Italy and the intensity of their exposures. Finally, the Italian system of compensation for occupational cancer is discussed. Several cohort and case-control studies have addressed the issue of occupational risks, mostly among male workers. The results of these studies suggest that the growing incidence of and mortality by mesothelioma is explained by the widespread and intense exposure to asbestos in some Italian industrial settings. A high attributable risk of lung tumors among male populations in industrial areas of northern Italy is explained by occupational exposures. However, insufficient data are available for clear definition of the extent and intensity of occupational exposure to carcinogenic substances. In Italy, we must prioritize and maximize resources in occupational cancer epidemiology and revitalize the role of national institutions. Recent legislation has established new regulations on the handling of carcinogenic substances in industrial settings, a new list of occupational diseases, and a national registry of mesothelioma linked to asbestos exposure. These legislative changes are expected to have positive effects. PMID:10350509

7 CFR 51.1525 - Tolerances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... the producing area or at port of loading for ship stores or overseas shipment, or, in the case of... defects of plums or prunes other than Italian type prunes en route or at destination. 12 percent for fruit... Italian type prunes en route or at destination. Not more than a total of 18 percent of the fruit in any...

7 CFR 51.1525 - Tolerances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... the producing area or at port of loading for ship stores or overseas shipment, or, in the case of... defects of plums or prunes other than Italian type prunes en route or at destination. 12 percent for fruit... Italian type prunes en route or at destination. Not more than a total of 18 percent of the fruit in any...

The Transmission of Cultural Heritages: The Case of the Irish and the Italians.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greeley, Andrew J.; McCready, William

This paper begins with a very simple theoretical question: Do the cultural heritages of the Old World persist among children and grandchildren of the immigrants from the various European countries? Two ethnic groups--the Irish Catholics and the Italians--about whose country of origin there exists something of an anthropological and sociological…

In Italy, a Partisan Defender of Foreign Professors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rocca, Francis X.

2007-01-01

Over the past quarter-century David Petrie, a 56-year-old Scotsman has attended, in the capacity of plaintiff or interested observer, at least 80 court hearings at various levels of the Italian and pan-European judicial systems--all in cases of alleged job discrimination by Italian universities. In the process, Mr. Petrie has become the public…

Measuring quality of life in dyspeptic patients: development and validation of a new specific health status questionnaire: final report from the Italian QPD project involving 4000 patients.

PubMed

Bamfi, F; Olivieri, A; Arpinelli, F; De Carli, G; Recchia, G; Gandolfi, L; Norberto, L; Pacini, F; Surrenti, C; Irvine, S H; Apolone, G

1999-03-01

Despite the fact that gastrointestinal disorders represent one of the most common reasons for medical consultations, formal assessment of patients' health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has been carried out only in a few studies, and in most cases generic questionnaires have been adopted. Because the specific issue of living with dyspeptic problems has been addressed in very few cases and no questionnaire has been shown to be appropriate for the Italian setting, a prospective project was launched to develop a specific HRQOL questionnaire for dyspepsia sufferers tailored to Italian patients but also appropriate in other cultural settings. The project consisted in a 3-yr, three-phase survey, in which different versions of the quality of life in peptic disease questionnaire (QPD) were developed through expert and patient focus groups and empiric field studies and then administered to patients recruited in five multicenter studies. Standard psychometric techniques were used to evaluate the validity, reliability, responsiveness, and patient acceptability of the QPD. Three different versions of the QPD questionnaire were self-administered to more than 4000 patients. The final 30-item version, measuring three health concepts related to dyspeptic disease (anxiety induced by pain, social restriction, symptom perception), fulfilled the recommended psychometric criteria in terms of reliability and validity, correlated with health concepts measured with a well-known independent generic HRQOL instrument (the SF-36 Health Survey questionnaire) and was relatively invariant to diagnosis and sociodemographic variables; it also correlated with a measure of gastric pain frequency and was able to detect meaningful differences over time. Although further validation studies in different cultural and linguistic settings are mandatory before any firm conclusions can be drawn regarding the cross-cultural validity of the QPD, the data obtained provide evidence of the psychometric validity and robustness of the questionnaire when used in a fairly large, well-characterized population of Italian dyspeptic patients.

Off-label prescription of antineoplastic drugs: an Italian prospective, observational, multicenter survey.

PubMed

Roila, Fausto; Ballatori, Enzo; Labianca, Roberto; De Braud, Filippo; Borgonovo, Karen; Martelli, Olga; Gallo, Ciro; Tinazzi, Angelo; Perrone, Francesco

2009-01-01

An appropriate use of drugs should follow the registered indications. Different reasons can induce oncologists to prescribe drugs off-label. The aim of this study was to describe incidence and characteristics of these prescriptions in Italy. Patients submitted to chemotherapy in 15 Italian oncology centers were evaluated for two randomized non-consecutive days of two weeks in May 2006. The study enrolled 644 patients receiving 1,053 drugs. Overall, 199 of 1053 (18.9%) prescriptions were off-label. In 92 of 199 cases (46.2%), the drugs were used for a neoplasm for which they were not approved, but there was scientific evidence (one or more randomized clinical trials or more phase II studies published in a major oncology journal) justifying the prescription. In 27 cases (13.6%), the drugs were prescribed for a rare neoplasm (cisplatin and gemcitabine in mesothelioma). In 20/21 cases (10.1%/10.5%), drugs were used in association/alone in contrast with the approved use (capecitabine in association in colorectal cancer). In 28/11 cases (14.0%/5.6%), the drugs were used in lines of chemotherapy subsequent/previous to that approved. Off-label use of antineoplastic drugs, in this observational survey, represents less than 20% of the prescriptions, and most of them are based on scientific evidence of efficacy.

BRAF Mutations in an Italian Regional Population: Implications for the Therapy of Thyroid Cancer

PubMed Central

Monti, Eleonora; Bovero, Michela; Mortara, Lorenzo; Pera, Giorgia; Zupo, Simonetta; Gugiatti, Elena; Dono, Mariella; Massa, Barbara; Ansaldo, Gian Luca; Massimo, Giusti

2015-01-01

Background. Molecular diagnostics has offered new techniques for searching for mutations in thyroid indeterminate lesions. The study's aim was to evaluate the BRAF mutations' incidence in an Italian regional population. Subjects and Methods. 70 Caucasian patients born in Liguria with indeterminate or suspicious cytological diagnoses. Results. A BRAF gene mutation was successfully analyzed in 56/70 patients. The mutation was BRAF V600E in 12/56 cases (21%) and BRAF K601E in 2/56 (4%). Of the BRAF mutated samples on cytological diagnosis (14/56 cases), 2/14 cases (14%) were benign on final histology and 12/14 (86%) were malignant. All BRAF-mutated cases on cytology that were found to be benign on histological examination carried the K601E mutation. Of the nonmutated BRAF cases (42/56, 75%) which were later found to be malignant on definitive histology, 5 cases were follicular carcinomas (36%), 3 cases were incidentally found to be papillary microcarcinomas (22%), 2 were cases papillary carcinomas (14%), 1 was case follicular variant of papillary carcinoma (7%), 1 was case medullary carcinoma (7%), 1 case was Hurtle cell tumor (7%), and 1 case was combined cell carcinoma and papillary oncocytic carcinoma (7%). Conclusions. The presence of the BRAF V600E mutation may suggest a more aggressive surgical approach. BRAF K601E mutation did not correlate with malignancy indexes. PMID:26693224

The epidemiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Reggio Emilia, Italy.

PubMed

Bonvicini, Francesca; Vinceti, Marco; Marcello, Norina; Rodolfi, Rossella; Rinaldi, Manuela

2008-12-01

Incidence and mortality rates of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) vary between countries, and in some studies appear to increase over time. We performed a study to assess ALS incidence in a northern Italy area over a 10-year period. We identified the new cases of probable or definite ALS diagnosed among residents in Reggio Emilia province between 1996 and 2005 using several sources of data, such as death certificates, clinical records, hospital discharge registers and drug prescriptions. A total of 94 newly-diagnosed patients were identified. The average standardized incidence in the period was 2.0 and 1.0 cases/100,000/year, using the Italian and the world population, respectively, as reference. There was no variation in rates over time. Incidence was 1.3 in males and 0.8 in females. No cases were observed in patients under 35 years of age. Incidence increased after the age of 55 years, reaching a peak in the group aged 70-74 years and declining thereafter. We concluded that ALS incidence in this population was similar to that observed in other Italian regions and European countries, and no variation was identified during the study period.

Transition of gastroenterological patients from paediatric to adult care: A position statement by the Italian Societies of Gastroenterology.

PubMed

Elli, Luca; Maieron, Roberto; Martelossi, Stefano; Guariso, Graziella; Buscarini, Elisabetta; Conte, Dario; di Giulio, Emilio; Staiano, Annamaria; Barp, Jacopo; Bassotti, Gabrio; Bianco, Maria Antonia; Buri, Luigi; Carrara, Maurizio; Ghidini, Benedetta; Giannini, Olivia; Knafelz, Daniela; Miele, Erasmo; Peralta, Sergio; Riccio, Elisabetta; Tomba, Carolina; Zilli, Maurizio; Guadagnini, Tiziana

2015-09-01

In 2013, four Italian Gastroenterological Societies (the Italian Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, the Italian Society of Hospital Gastroenterologists and Endoscopists, the Italian Society of Endoscopy, and the Italian Society of Gastroenterology) formed a joint panel of experts with the aim of preparing an official statement on transition medicine in Gastroenterology. The transition of adolescents from paediatric to adult care is a crucial moment in managing chronic diseases such as celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, liver disease and liver transplantation. Improved medical treatment and availability of new drugs and surgical techniques have improved the prognosis of many paediatric disorders, prolonging survival, thus making the transition to adulthood possible and necessary. An inappropriate transition or the incomplete transmission of data from the paediatrician to the adult Gastroenterologist can dramatically decrease compliance to treatment and prognosis of a young patient, particularly in the case of severe disorders. For these reasons, the Italian gastroenterological societies decided to develop an official shared transition protocol. The resulting document discusses the factors influencing the transition process and highlights the main points to accomplish to optimize compliance and prognosis of gastroenterological patients during the difficult transition from childhood to adolescence and adulthood. Copyright © 2015 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Smeed's law and expected road fatality reduction: An assessment of the Italian case.

PubMed

Persia, Luca; Gigli, Roberto; Usami, Davide Shingo

2015-12-01

Smeed's law defines the functional relationship existing between the fatality rate and the motorization rate.While focusing on the Italian case and based on the Smeed's law, the study assesses the possibility for Italy of reaching the target of halving the number of road fatalities by 2020, in light of the evolving socioeconomic situation. A Smeed's model has been calibrated based on the recorded Italian data. The evolution of the two indicators, fatality and motorization rates, has been estimated using the predictions of the main parameters (population, fleet size and fatalities). Those trends have been compared with the natural decreasing trend derived from the Smeed's law. Nine scenarios have been developed showing the relationship between the fatality rate and the motorization rate. In case of a limited increase (logistic regression) of the vehicle fleet and according to the estimated evolution of the population, the path defined by motorization and fatality rate is very steep, diverging from the estimated confidence interval of the Smeed's model. In these scenarios the motorization rate is almost constant during the decade. In the actual economic context, a limited development of the vehicle fleet is more plausible. In these conditions the target achievement of halving the number of fatalities in Italy may occur only in case of a structural break (i.e., the introduction of highly effective road safety policies). Practical application: The proposed tools can be used both to evaluate retrospectively the effectiveness of road safety improvements and to assess if a relevant effort is needed to reach the established road safety targets.

Association Analysis of Noncoding Variants in Neuroligins 3 and 4X Genes with Autism Spectrum Disorder in an Italian Cohort

PubMed Central

Landini, Martina; Merelli, Ivan; Raggi, M. Elisabetta; Galluccio, Nadia; Ciceri, Francesca; Bonfanti, Arianna; Camposeo, Serena; Massagli, Angelo; Villa, Laura; Salvi, Erika; Cusi, Daniele; Molteni, Massimo; Milanesi, Luciano; Marabotti, Anna; Mezzelani, Alessandra

2016-01-01

Since involved in synaptic transmission and located on X-chromosome, neuroligins 3 and 4X have been studied as good positional and functional candidate genes for autism spectrum disorder pathogenesis, although contradictory results have been reported. Here, we performed a case-control study to assess the association between noncoding genetic variants in NLGN3 and NLGN4X genes and autism, in an Italian cohort of 202 autistic children analyzed by high-resolution melting. The results were first compared with data from 379 European healthy controls (1000 Genomes Project) and then with those from 1061 Italian controls genotyped by Illumina single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array 1M-duo. Statistical evaluations were performed using Plink v1.07, with the Omnibus multiple loci approach. According to both the European and the Italian control groups, a 6-marker haplotype on NLGN4X (rs6638575(G), rs3810688(T), rs3810687(G), rs3810686(C), rs5916269(G), rs1882260(T)) was associated with autism (odd ratio = 3.58, p-value = 2.58 × 10−6 for the European controls; odds ratio = 2.42, p-value = 6.33 × 10−3 for the Italian controls). Furthermore, several haplotype blocks at 5-, 4-, 3-, and 2-, including the first 5, 4, 3, and 2 SNPs, respectively, showed a similar association with autism. We provide evidence that noncoding polymorphisms on NLGN4X may be associated to autism, suggesting the key role of NLGN4X in autism pathophysiology and in its male prevalence. PMID:27782075

Association Analysis of Noncoding Variants in Neuroligins 3 and 4X Genes with Autism Spectrum Disorder in an Italian Cohort.

PubMed

Landini, Martina; Merelli, Ivan; Raggi, M Elisabetta; Galluccio, Nadia; Ciceri, Francesca; Bonfanti, Arianna; Camposeo, Serena; Massagli, Angelo; Villa, Laura; Salvi, Erika; Cusi, Daniele; Molteni, Massimo; Milanesi, Luciano; Marabotti, Anna; Mezzelani, Alessandra

2016-10-22

Since involved in synaptic transmission and located on X-chromosome, neuroligins 3 and 4X have been studied as good positional and functional candidate genes for autism spectrum disorder pathogenesis, although contradictory results have been reported. Here, we performed a case-control study to assess the association between noncoding genetic variants in NLGN3 and NLGN4X genes and autism, in an Italian cohort of 202 autistic children analyzed by high-resolution melting. The results were first compared with data from 379 European healthy controls (1000 Genomes Project) and then with those from 1061 Italian controls genotyped by Illumina single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array 1M-duo. Statistical evaluations were performed using Plink v1.07, with the Omnibus multiple loci approach. According to both the European and the Italian control groups, a 6-marker haplotype on NLGN4X (rs6638575(G), rs3810688(T), rs3810687(G), rs3810686(C), rs5916269(G), rs1882260(T)) was associated with autism (odd ratio = 3.58, p -value = 2.58 × 10 -6 for the European controls; odds ratio = 2.42, p -value = 6.33 × 10 -3 for the Italian controls). Furthermore, several haplotype blocks at 5-, 4-, 3-, and 2-, including the first 5, 4, 3, and 2 SNPs, respectively, showed a similar association with autism. We provide evidence that noncoding polymorphisms on NLGN4X may be associated to autism, suggesting the key role of NLGN4X in autism pathophysiology and in its male prevalence.

Psychometric validation of the Italian Rehabilitation Complexity Scale-Extended version 13

PubMed Central

Agosti, Maurizio; Merlo, Andrea; Maini, Maurizio; Lombardi, Francesco; Tedeschi, Claudio; Benedetti, Maria Grazia; Basaglia, Nino; Contini, Mara; Nicolotti, Domenico; Brianti, Rodolfo

2017-01-01

In Italy, at present, a well-known problem is inhomogeneous provision of rehabilitative services, as stressed by MoH, requiring appropriate criteria and parameters to plan rehabilitation actions. According to the Italian National Rehabilitation Plan, Comorbidity, Disability and Clinical Complexity should be assessed to define the patient’s real needs. However, to date, clinical complexity is still difficult to measure with shared and validated tools. The study aims to psychometrically validate the Italian Rehabilitation Complexity Scale-Extended v13 (RCS-E v13), in order to meet the guidelines requirements. An observational multicentre prospective cohort study, involving 8 intensive rehabilitation facilities of the Emilia-Romagna Region and 1712 in-patients, [823 male (48%) and 889 female (52%), mean age 68.34 years (95% CI 67.69–69.00 years)] showing neurological, orthopaedic and cardiological problems, was carried out. The construct and concurrent validity of the RCS-E v13 was confirmed through its correlation to Barthel Index (disability) and Cumulative Illness Rating Scale (comorbidity) and appropriate admission criteria (not yet published), respectively. Furthermore, the factor analysis indicated two different components (“Basic Care or Risk—Equipment” and “Medical—Nursing Needs and Therapy Disciplines”) of the RCS-E v13. In conclusion, the Italian RCS-E v13 appears to be a useful tool to assess clinical complexity in the Italian rehab scenario case-mix and its psychometric validation may have an important clinical rehabilitation impact allowing the assessment of the rehabilitation needs considering all three dimensions (disability, comorbidity and clinical complexity) as required by the Guidelines and the inhomogeneity could be reduced. PMID:29045409

Development and Validation of a Risk Score for Age-Related Macular Degeneration: The STARS Questionnaire.

PubMed

Delcourt, Cécile; Souied, Eric; Sanchez, Alice; Bandello, Francesco

2017-12-01

To develop and validate a risk score for AMD based on a simple self-administered questionnaire. Risk factors having shown the most consistent associations with AMD were included in the STARS (Simplified Théa AMD Risk-Assessment Scale) questionnaire. Two studies were conducted, one in Italy (127 participating ophthalmologists) and one in France (80 participating ophthalmologists). During 1 week, participating ophthalmologists invited all their patients aged 55 years or older to fill in the STARS questionnaire. Based on fundus examination, early AMD was defined by the presence of soft drusen and/or pigmentary abnormalities and late AMD by the presence of geographic atrophy and/or neovascular AMD. The Italian and French samples consisted of 12,639 and 6897 patients, respectively. All 13 risk factors included in the STARS questionnaire showed significant associations with AMD in the Italian sample. The area under the receiving operating characteristic curve for the STARS risk score, derived from the multivariate logistic regression in the Italian sample, was 0.78 in the Italian sample and 0.72 in the French sample. In both samples, less than 10% of patients without AMD were classified at high risk, and less than 13% of late AMD cases were classified as low risk, with a more intermediate situation in early AMD cases. STARS is a new, simple self-assessed questionnaire showing good discrimination of risk for AMD in two large European samples. It might be used by ophthalmologists in routine clinical practice or as a self-assessment for risk of AMD in the general population.

Acute Heart Failure in the Emergency Department: the SAFE-SIMEU Epidemiological Study.

PubMed

Fabbri, Andrea; Marchesini, Giulio; Carbone, Giorgio; Cosentini, Roberto; Ferrari, Annamaria; Chiesa, Mauro; Bertini, Alessio; Rea, Federico

2017-08-01

Patients with acute heart failure (AHF) have high rates of attendance to emergency departments (EDs), with significant health care costs. We aimed to describe the clinical characteristics of patients attending Italian EDs for AHF and their diagnostic and therapeutic work-up. We carried out a retrospective analysis on 2683 cases observed in six Italian EDs for AHF (January 2011 to June 2012). The median age of patients was 84 years (interquartile range 12), with females accounting for 55.8% of cases (95% confidence interval [CI] 53.5-57.6%). A first episode of AHF was recorded in 55.3% (95% CI 55.4-57.2%). Respiratory disease was the main precipitating factor (approximately 30% of cases), and multiple comorbidities were recorded in > 50% of cases (history of acute coronary syndrome, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, valvular heart disease). The treatment was based on oxygen (69.7%; 67.9-71.5%), diuretics (69.2%; 67.9-71.5%), nitroglycerin (19.7%; 18.3-21.4%), and noninvasive ventilation (15.2%; 13.8-16.6%). Death occurred within 6 h in 2.5% of cases (2.0-3.1%), 6.4% (5.5-7.3%) were referred to the care of their general practitioners within a few hours from ED attendance or after short-term (< 24 h) observation 13.9% (12.6-15.2%); 60.4% (58.5-62.2%) were admitted to the hospital, and 16.8% (15.4-18.3%) were cared for in intensive care units according to disease severity. Our study reporting the "real-world" clinical activity indicates that subjects attending the Italian EDs for AHF are rather different from those reported in international registries. Subjects are older, with a higher proportion of females, and high prevalence of cardiac and noncardiac comorbidities. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Measuring the psychosocial consequences of hearing loss in a working adult population: focus on validity and reliability of the Italian translation of the Hearing Handicap Inventory

PubMed Central

Monzani, D; Genovese, E; Palma, S; Rovatti, V; Borgonzoni, M; Martini, A

2007-01-01

Summary Despite increasing demand for questionnaires for assessing hearing handicap and the effectiveness of some tools across different languages, empirical studies to evaluate the reliability and the validity of translations of original English questionnaires into an Italian version have not been reported in the literature, thus making comparisons of Italian experimental and clinical data across cultures and countries impossible. This study tested the global assumption that the Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adults (HHIA), that is one of the most widely used instruments in English-speaking countries, can be adapted to the Italian language maintaining the reliability and clinical validity of the original version. The English version of this 25-item, self-assessment questionnaire was developed by Newman et al. in 1990 and special emphasis was placed on emotional reaction and social limitations perceived by hearing-impaired subjects and scored separately. This tool was translated into the Italian language by a forward and backward technique, as established by the IQOLA (International Quality of Life Assessment) project. Overall, 94 subjects, aged 18-65 years, with acquired hearing impairment and 104 individuals with no hearing problems, well-matched for socio-demographic variables, were enrolled in the study in a case-control design. Reliability of the Italian version of HHIA was tested by measuring internal consistency and test-retest reproducibility. Validity was assessed by using construct, convergent and discriminant methods. A Cronbach’s alpha coefficient near 0.90 confirmed a more than acceptable internal consistency and a highly statistically significant Spearman’s correlation coefficient (< 0.005) between scores of the two administrations at an interval of one month documented an excellent stability of the questionnaire over time. Construct validity was demonstrated by a correlation between the severity of hearing loss and the score of questionnaire (< 0.005) and convergent validity was supported by a significant correlation between the scores of the emotional and socio/situational subscales of the HHIA to the analogous subscales of a health-related quality of life questionnaire (MOS 36-Item Short Form Health Survey) (< 0.005). Finally, since hearing-impaired subjects scored significantly higher than controls on HHIA (< 0.005), it clearly emerged that also the Italian version of HHIA differentiates the two populations (those with and those without hearing problems) demonstrating a robust discriminant validity. Given the lack of appropriate measures to assess hearing handicap in Italy, the results achieved in this study, confirm that the HHIA, Italian version, is suitable for both experimental and clinical use. PMID:17957849

Increasing Privacy Threats in the Cyberspace: The Case of Italian E-Passports

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Auletta, Vincenzo; Blundo, Carlo; de Caro, Angelo; de Cristofaro, Emiliano; Persiano, Giuseppe; Visconti, Ivan

The recent introduction of electronic passports (e-Passports) motivates the need of a thorough investigation on potential security and privacy issues. In this paper, we focus on the e-Passport implementation adopted in Italy. Leveraging previous attacks to e-Passports adopted in other countries, we analyze (in)security of Italian e-Passports and we investigate additional critical issues.

Corporate Governance Models as a Bridge for Linking Academic and Non-Academic Entrepreneurs: The Case of Italian Spin-Offs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parente, Roberto; Feola, Rosangela; Petrone, Michele

2011-01-01

This paper reports an investigation of governance issues in Italian academic spin-offs that arise from the need to balance the powers of two categories of partner: academic inventors and external investors (such as established companies and venture capital funds). The relationship between inventors and external investors, jointly pursuing a…

Making Sense of Competing Constructs of Teacher as Professional

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sisson, Jamie Huff

2009-01-01

This paper presents a comparative case study involving eight teachers from two Reggio-inspired schools that focuses on how teachers negotiate a Reggio-inspired approach in the American context. This study first identifies the struggles these eight teachers faced in applying the philosophical beliefs borrowed from this Italian-born approach. With…

UK and Italian EIA systems: A comparative study on management practice and performance in the construction industry

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bassi, Andrea, E-mail: ab395@bath.co.uk; Howard, Robert, E-mail: robhoward@constcom.demon.co.uk; Geneletti, Davide, E-mail: davide.geneletti@ing.unitn.it

This study evaluates and contrasts the management practice and the performance that characterise Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) in Italy and in the UK. The methodology relies on the investigation of six carefully selected case studies, critically reviewed by referring to EIA and project design information, as well as collecting the opinion of key project participants. The study focuses on the construction industry and on specific key sectors like infrastructure for transport and renewable energy and commercial and tourism development. A main term of reference for the analyses has been established by critically reviewing international literature so as to outline commonmore » good practice, requirements for the enhancement of sustainability principles and typically incurred drawbacks. The proposed approach enhances transfer of knowledge and of experiences between the analyzed contexts and allows the provision of guidelines for practitioners. Distinctive differences between the UK and the Italian EIA systems have been detected for pivotal phases and elements of EIA, like screening, scoping, analysis of alternatives and of potential impacts, definition of mitigation strategies, review, decision making, public participation and follow up. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The Italian and the UK Environmental Impact Assessment systems are compared. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The research is centred on the construction industry. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Issues and shortcomings are analysed by investigating six case studies. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Integration of EIA with sustainability principles is appraised. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer General guidelines are provided to assist practitioners in the two national contexts.« less

Heavy metals in flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber) from Italian wetlands: The problem of ingestion of lead shot

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ancora, Stefania; Bianchi, Nicola; Leonzio, Claudio

2008-06-15

Waterbirds are exposed to many contaminants, including lead from ingestion of shot and fishing sinkers. Lead poisoning had never been reported in flamingos wintering in Italian wetlands. Our investigation stems from a case of four flamingos found dead in Tuscany in 2002 with numerous lead shot in their gizzards. We therefore considered other specimens found dead in different Italian wetlands. Many lead shot found in gizzards and lead tissue concentrations confirmed the hypothesis of lead poisoning in two of the seven specimens analysed: concentrations in liver, kidney, and bone were 361.3, 265.09, and 43.31 {mu}g/g d.w., respectively. Lead organotropism wasmore » typical of acute poisoning. Cadmium and mercury were also determined, and found to be in line with what little data are available on this species in the literature. Although Italy recently endorsed the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) prohibiting use of lead shot for hunting in wetlands, our results reveal a first case of lead shot poisoning in flamingos wintering in Italian wetlands. This evidence sounds a further warning of the problem of spent lead shot in countries where hunting in wetlands is not strictly regulated.« less

The epidemiology of homicide-suicide in Italy: a newspaper study from 1985 to 2008.

PubMed

Roma, Paolo; Spacca, Antonella; Pompili, Maurizio; Lester, David; Tatarelli, Roberto; Girardi, Paolo; Ferracuti, Stefano

2012-01-10

Homicide-suicide is an event in which the murderer commits suicide after the homicide. There are at least 14 epidemiological studies on the topic, and all have found that homicide-suicide is more common among family members. The murderers are most often males and the victims females. There is no recent research on this phenomenon in Italy. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the incidence of homicide-suicide in Italy over a period of 24 yrs and to compare Italian data with published international data. We used information gathered by press agencies and from the four major Italian newspapers. Between 1985 and 2008, 662 cases of homicide-suicide were identified, with 1776 deaths. The murderer was male in 84.6% of the cases, typically using a firearm. The most common motivation was romantic jealousy, followed by socio-economic stress. The rate of homicide-suicide was 0.04%. Comparison with international studies is not always possible due to the lack of information for certain categories. The common factors identified may be helpful for prevention. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The new Inventory of Italian Glaciers: Present knowledge, applied methods and preliminary results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smiraglia, Claudio; Diolaiuti, Guglielmina; D'Agata, Carlo; Maragno, Davide; Baroni, Carlo; Mortara, Gianni; Perotti, Luigi; Bondesan, Aldino; Salvatore, Cristina; Vagliasindi, Marco; Vuillermoz, Elisa

2013-04-01

A new Glacier Inventory is an indispensable requirement in Italy due to the importance of evaluating the present glacier coverage and the recent changes driven by climate. Furthermore Alpine glaciers represent a not negligible water and touristic resource then to manage and promote them is needed to know their distribution, size and features. The first Italian Glacier Inventory dates back to 1959-1962. It was compiled by the Italian Glaciological Committee (CGI) in cooperation with the National Research Council (CNR); this first inventory was mainly based on field data coupled with photographs (acquired on the field) and high resolution maps. The Italian glaciation resulted to be spread into 754 ice bodies which altogether were covering 525 km2. Moreover in the Eighties a new inventory was compiled to insert Italian data into the World Glacier Inventory (WGI); aerial photos taken at the end of the Seventies (and in some cases affected by a high and not negligible snow coverage) were used as the main source of data. No other national inventory were compiled after that period. Nevertheless during the last decade the largest part of the Italian Alpine regions have produced regional and local glacier inventories which in several cases are also available and queried through web sites and web GIS application. The actual need is now to obtain a complete, homogeneous and contemporary picture of the Italian Glaciation which encompasses the already available regional and local data and all the new updated information coming from new sources of data (e.g.: orthophotos, satellite imagines, etc..). The challenge was accepted by the University of Milan, the EvK2CNR Committee and the Italian Glaciological Committee who, with the sponsorship of Levissima Spa, are presently working to compile the new updated Italian Glacier Inventory. The first project step is to produce a unique homogeneous glacier database including glacier boundary and surface area and the main fundamental glacier features (following the well-known guidelines of the World Glacier Monitoring Service summarized by Paul et al., 2010). The identification of the Italian glacier bodies and the evaluation of glacier area and main features are performed by analysing aerial orthophotos acquired in the time frame 2007-2012 (pixel size 0.5 m). Moreover the data base will be improved and updated also analysing regional data and by processing and analysing high resolution satellite imagines acquired on the last 2 years. In Lombardy the analysis of the 2007 orthophotos permitted to evaluate a glacier coverage of about 90 km2 of area. This value is about the 75% of the glacier surface area reported for Lombardy glaciers in the Italian Inventory compiled by CGI-CNR in the 1959-62.

Bureaucratization in Public Research Institutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coccia, Mario

2009-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the nature of bureaucratization within public research bodies and its relationship to scientific performance, focusing on an Italian case-study. The main finding is that the bureaucratization of the research sector has two dimensions: public research labs have academic bureaucratization since researchers…

Classification and management of asbestos-containing waste: European legislation and the Italian experience.

PubMed

Paglietti, Federica; Malinconico, Sergio; della Staffa, Beatrice Conestabile; Bellagamba, Sergio; De Simone, Paolo

2016-04-01

Production of a new classification of Asbestos Containing Products (ACPs), materials (ACM) and Asbestos Containing Waste (ACW), in addition to a correct identification of landfills where ACW should be disposed of in Europe. Analysis of the European and Italian legislation, study of waste classification and management in the main European countries, data analysis of mapping of Italian landfills and quantification of ACW disposed there. Classification according to unique criteria (physical state, substances with which asbestos minerals have been blended, function of the asbestos, etc.). Highlights of cases of incorrect management of ACW in Europe, specifying the Italian ones. Considering the significant inconsistencies between the European and national regulations and the actual implementation of those regulations, this paper provide some precise indications for the proper assignment to ACW of the European Waste Catalogue (EWC) codes. Lastly, suitable types of landfills at which ACW should be disposed of have been identified, in order to assisting the persons involved in ACW management to avoid undue exposition and their improper disposal. This study reports a useful manual for classifying worldwide ACPs based on their physical state and considering the substances with which the asbestos minerals have been blended. Moreover several clear tables allow the asbestos remediation and waste management operators to suitably classify and dispose of ACW. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Diet and primary prevention of stroke: Systematic review and dietary recommendations by the ad hoc Working Group of the Italian Society of Human Nutrition.

PubMed

Iacoviello, L; Bonaccio, M; Cairella, G; Catani, M V; Costanzo, S; D'Elia, L; Giacco, R; Rendina, D; Sabino, P; Savini, I; Strazzullo, P

2018-04-01

To systematically review the latest evidence on established and emerging nutrition-related risk factors for incidence of and mortality from total, ischemic and haemorrhagic strokes. The present review was conducted in the framework of the work carried out through 2015 and 2016 for the preparation of the Italian Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Stroke, 8th Edition, by ISO-SPREAD (Italian Stroke Organization and the Stroke Prevention and Educational Awareness Diffusion). Systematic review of articles focused on primary prevention of stroke published between January 2013 to May 2016 through an extensive search of the literature using MEDLINE/PUBMED, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library. Articles were ranked according to the SIGN methodology while the GRADE system was used to establish the strength of recommendations. As a result of our literature search, we examined 87 meta-analyses overall (mainly of prospective studies), a few isolated more recent prospective studies not included in the meta-analyses, and a smaller number of available randomized controlled trials and case-control studies. Based on the analysis of the above articles, 36 Syntheses of the available evidence and 36 Recommendations were eventually prepared. The present document was developed by organizing the available evidence into three individual areas (nutrients, food groups and dietary patterns) to provide a systematic and user-friendly overview of the available evidence on the relationship between nutrition and primary prevention of stroke. Yet analysis of foods and food patterns allowed translating the information about nutrients in a tool more amenable to use in daily life also in the light of the argument that people eat foods rather than nutrients. The present literature review and dietary recommendations provide healthcare professionals and all interested readers with a useful overview for the reduction of the risk of total, ischemic and haemorrhagic stroke through dietary modifications. Copyright © 2018 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Novel genome-wide association study-based candidate loci for differentiated thyroid cancer risk.

PubMed

Figlioli, Gisella; Köhler, Aleksandra; Chen, Bowang; Elisei, Rossella; Romei, Cristina; Cipollini, Monica; Cristaudo, Alfonso; Bambi, Franco; Paolicchi, Elisa; Hoffmann, Per; Herms, Stefan; Kalemba, Michał; Kula, Dorota; Pastor, Susana; Marcos, Ricard; Velázquez, Antonia; Jarząb, Barbara; Landi, Stefano; Hemminki, Kari; Försti, Asta; Gemignani, Federica

2014-10-01

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) on differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) have identified robust associations with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at 9q22.33 (FOXE1), 14q13.3 (NKX2-1), and 2q35 (DIRC3). Our recently published GWAS suggested additional susceptibility loci specific for the high-incidence Italian population. The purpose of this study was to identify novel Italian-specific DTC risk variants based on our GWAS and to test them further in low-incidence populations. We investigated 45 SNPs selected from our GWAS first in an Italian population. SNPs that showed suggestive evidence of association were investigated in the Polish and Spanish cohorts. The combined analysis of the GWAS and the Italian replication study (2260 case patients and 2218 control subjects) provided strong evidence of association with rs10136427 near BATF (odds ratio [OR] =1.40, P = 4.35 × 10(-7)) and rs7267944 near DHX35 (OR = 1.39, P = 2.13 × 10(-8)). A possible role in DTC susceptibility in the Italian populations was also found for rs13184587 (ARSB) (P = 8.54 × 10(-6)) and rs1220597 (SPATA13) (P = 3.25 × 10(-6)). Only the associations between rs10136427 and rs7267944 and DTC risk were replicated in the Polish and the Spanish populations with little evidence of population heterogeneity (GWAS and all replications combined, OR = 1.30, P = 9.30 × 10(-7) and OR = 1.32, P = 1.34 × 10(-8), respectively). In silico analyses provided new insights into the possible functional consequences of the SNPs that showed the strongest association with DTC. Our findings provide evidence for novel DTC susceptibility variants. Further studies are warranted to identify the specific genetic variants responsible for the observed associations and to functionally validate our in silico predictions.

Oral hygiene, dentition, sexual habits and risk of oral cancer

PubMed Central

Talamini, R; Vaccarella, S; Barbone, F; Tavani, A; Vecchia, C La; Herrero, R; Muñoz, N; Franceschi, S

2000-01-01

In an Italian case-control study of oral cancer, number of missing teeth and other aspects of dental care were similar, but the general condition of the mouth, as indicated by gum bleeding, tartar deposits and mucosal irritation, was worse among oral cancer cases than controls. No differences were detected in sexual practices (including oral sex) and (previous) sexually transmitted infections. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaign PMID:11027440

Retrospective study evaluating the performance of a first-trimester combined screening for trisomy 21 in an Italian unselected population

PubMed Central

Padula, Francesco; Cignini, Pietro; Giannarelli, Diana; Brizzi, Cristiana; Coco, Claudio; D’Emidio, Laura; Giorgio, Elsa; Giorlandino, Maurizio; Mangiafico, Lucia; Mastrandrea, Marialuisa; Milite, Vincenzo; Mobili, Luisa; Nanni, Cinzia; Raffio, Raffaella; Taramanni, Cinzia; Vigna, Roberto; Mesoraca, Alvaro; Bizzoco, Domenico; Gabrielli, Ivan; Di Giacomo, Gianluca; Barone, Maria Antonietta; Cima, Antonella; Giorlandino, Francesca Romana; Emili, Sabrina; Cupellaro, Marina; Giorlandino, Claudio

2014-01-01

Objectives to assess the performance of a combined first-trimester screening for trisomy 21 in an unselected Italian population referred to a specialized private center for prenatal medicine. Methods a retrospective validation of first-trimester screening algorithms [risk calculation based on maternal age and nuchal translucency (NT) alone, maternal age and serum parameters (free β-hCG and PAPP-A) alone and a combination of both] for fetal aneuploidies evaluated in an unselected Italian population at Artemisia Fetal-Maternal Medical Centre in Rome. All measurements were performed between 11+0 and 13+6 weeks of gestation, between April 2007 and December 2008. Results of 3,610 single fetuses included in the study, we had a complete follow-up on 2,984. Fourteen of 17 cases of trisomy 21 were detected when a cut-off of 1:300 was applied [detection rate (DR) 82.4%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 64.2–100; false-positive rate (FPR) 4.7%, 95% CI 3.9–5.4; false-negative rate (FNR) 17.6%, 95% CI 0–35.8%]. Conclusion in our study population the detection rate for trisomy 21, using the combined risk calculation based on maternal age, fetal NT, maternal PAPP-A and free β-hCG levels, was superior to the application of either parameter alone. The algorithm has been validated for first trimester screening in the Italian population. PMID:26266002

Bespoke Language Teaching (BLT): A Proposal for a Theoretical Framework. the Case of EFL/ELF for Italians

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santipolo, Matteo

2017-01-01

This paper deals with the problems of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) and as a lingua franca (ELF) in the Italian educational system and, in particular, with introducing language variation in the English class. After briefly illustrating how English teaching has changed in the last few decades, an outline is drawn of what happens in…

The 'EpiEnlist' project: a dermo-epidemiologic study on a representative sample of young Italian males. Prevalence of selected pigmentary lesions.

PubMed

Ingordo, V; Gentile, C; Iannazzone, S S; Cusano, F; Naldi, L

2007-09-01

Few studies on the prevalence and incidence of many skin conditions in the general population are available because it is difficult to submit to dermatologic examination large samples of seemingly healthy population. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of several skin conditions among a sample that is deemed to be representative of the general population of young men living in southern Italy. Potential conscripts resident in the coastal regions of southern Italy and called at the age of 18 to the Draft's Council Medical Unit in Taranto underwent a clinical and instrumental examination to evaluate their psycho-physical fitness to compulsory service in Italian Navy. From January 1998 to April 2004 a dermo-epidemiologic project named EpiEnlist (EPIdemiology in ENLISTed Men) project was carried out by the Department of Dermatology of the Italian Navy Hospital in Taranto under the auspices of the Italian Group for Epidemiological Research in Dermatology. All the subjects showing skin lesions evocative of neurofibromatosis (NF), congenital melanocytic nevus (CMN), Becker nevus (BN), and vitiligo were referred to the Department of Dermatology of the Italian Navy Hospital for confirming the diagnosis. The confirmed cases were recorded in a predefined patient's card, containing the main anamnestic, clinical, instrumental, and laboratory data. Because the recording of the various conditions started and ended in different times, the total number of examined subjects varied. NF type 1 was diagnosed in 6 of 34 740 subjects [prevalence 1:5735 or 0.017%; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.0008-0.0037], CMN in 157 of 23 354 (prevalence 1:148 or 0.67%; 95% CI, 0.57-0.79). BN was observed in 70 of 27 954 young men (prevalence 1:399 or 0.25%; 95% CI, 0.15-0.35), and its mean age of appearance was 11.9 years (minimum 5-maximum 17). In 41 subjects (58.6%), the age of appearance was over 10 years. Vitiligo was recorded in 60 of 34 740 persons (prevalence 1:579 or 0.17%; 95% CI, 0.13-0.22). In 40 subjects with vitiligo, the blood test was done: in 40% of these circulating autoantibodies, mainly anti-thyroid (25.6%) and anti-smooth muscle (17.3%) autoantibodies were detected, but only in 5% of cases, a thyroid disease was diagnosed, and no other sign of autoimmune diseases was observed. The epidemiological data of the skin conditions considered in the present study can be considered roughly in agreement with those reported in the available surveys. Because they were obtained in a large sample of Italian young males from the general population, they can be useful for therapeutic and preventive interventions by the public health organizations.

Factors associated with suicide: Case-control study in South Tyrol.

PubMed

Giupponi, Giancarlo; Innamorati, Marco; Baldessarini, Ross J; De Leo, Diego; de Giovannelli, Francesca; Pycha, Roger; Conca, Andreas; Girardi, Paolo; Pompili, Maurizio

2018-01-01

As suicide is related to many factors in addition to psychiatric illness, broad and comprehensive risk-assessment for risk of suicide is required. This study aimed to differentiate nondiagnostic risk factors among suicides versus comparable psychiatric patients without suicidal behavior. We carried out a pilot, case-control comparison of 131 cases of suicide in South Tyrol matched for age and sex with 131 psychiatric controls, using psychological autopsy methods to evaluate differences in clinically assessed demographic, social, and clinical factors, using bivariate conditional Odds Risk comparisons followed by conditional regression modeling controlled for ethnicity. Based on multivariable conditional regression modeling, suicides were significantly more likely to have experienced risk factors, ranking as: [a] family history of suicide or attempt≥[b] recent interpersonal stressors≥[c] childhood traumatic events≥[d] lack of recent clinician contacts≥[e] previous suicide attempt≥[f] non-Italian ethnicity, but did not differ in education, marital status, living situation, or employment, nor by psychiatric or substance-abuse diagnoses. Both recent and early factors were associated with suicide, including lack of recent clinical care, non-Italian cultural subgroup-membership, familial suicidal behavior, and recent interpersonal distress. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Do Italian surgeons use antibiotic prophylaxis in thyroid surgery? Results from a national study (UEC--Italian Endocrine Surgery Units Association).

PubMed

Gentile, Ivan; Rosato, Lodovico; Avenia, Nicola; Testini, Mario; D'Ajello, Michele; Antonino, Antonio; De Palma, Maurizio

2014-01-01

Thyroid surgery is a clean procedure and therefore antibiotic prophylaxis is not routinely recommended by most international guidelines. However, antibiotics are often used in clinical practice. We enrolled 2926 patients who performed a thyroid surgical operation between the years 2009 and 2011 in the 38 centers of endocrine surgery that joined the UEC--Italian Endocrine Surgery Units Association. Antibiotic prophylaxis was used in 1132 interventions (38.7%). In case of antibiotic prophylaxis, cephalosporins or aminopenicillins ± beta lactamase inhibitors were employed. At logistic regression analysis the use of drainage or device and the presence of malignancy were independent predictors of antibiotic prophylaxis employment. In conclusion our study shows that antibiotic prophylaxis was not rarely used in clinical practice in the setting of thyroid surgery. Drainage apposition, use of device, and malignant disease were independent predictors for antibiotic prophylaxis employment. More data on everyday practice and infection rate in well-designed studies are warranted to provide definitive recommendations on the utility of antibiotic prophylaxis in this setting. According to our experience, we don't consider to be strictly necessary the antibiotic prophylaxis employment in order to reduce infection rate in thyroid surgery.

Establishment of an Italian chronic migraine database: a multicenter pilot study.

PubMed

Barbanti, Piero; Fofi, L; Cevoli, S; Torelli, P; Aurilia, C; Egeo, G; Grazzi, L; D'Amico, D; Manzoni, G C; Cortelli, P; Infarinato, F; Vanacore, N

2018-05-01

To optimize chronic migraine (CM) ascertainment and phenotype definition, provide adequate clinical management and health care procedures, and rationalize economic resources allocation, we performed an exploratory multicenter pilot study aimed at establishing a CM database, the first step for developing a future Italian CM registry. We enrolled 63 consecutive CM patients in four tertiary headache centers screened with face-to-face interviews using an ad hoc dedicated semi-structured questionnaire gathering detailed information on life-style, behavioral and socio-demographic factors, comorbidities, and migraine features before and after chronicization and healthcare resource use. Our pilot study provided useful insights revealing that CM patients (1) presented in most cases symptoms of peripheral trigeminal sensitization, a relatively unexpected feature which could be useful to unravel different CM endophenotypes and to predict trigeminal-targeted treatments' responsiveness; (2) had been frequently admitted to emergency departments; (3) had undergone, sometime repeatedly, unnecessary or inappropriate investigations; (4) got rarely illness benefit exemption or disability allowance only. We deem that the expansion of the database-shortly including many other Italian headache centers-will contribute to more precisely outline CM endophenotypes, hence improving management, treatment, and economic resource allocation, ultimately reducing CM burden on both patients and health system.

Uncovering the "Hidden" Multilingualism of Europe: An Italian Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tamburelli, Marco

2014-01-01

Dominant notions of what constitutes a "language" and what a "dialect" within a continuum are entirely based on sociopolitical factors (i.e. the "languages by 'Ausbau'" of Kloss), totally disregarding structural and communicative aspects. This paper argues that such stance is no longer tenable in view of the modern…

Evolution of Incubation Models: Evidence from the Italian Incubation Industry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grandi, Alessandro; Grimaldi, Rosa

2004-01-01

This paper addresses the role of incubators in supporting new venture creation. A mapping of four different types of incubator is proposed: corporate private incubators (CPIs), independent private incubators (IPIs), business innovation centres (BICs) and university business incubators (UBIs). This mapping is exemplified through case studies of one…

Organizing the "Productive Transformation of Knowledge": Linking University and Industry in Traditional Manufacturing Areas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balduzzi, Giacomo; Rostan, Michele

2016-01-01

The article aims at underlining the role played by extra-academic and autonomous organizations strongly connected with university institutions and researchers in producing, acquiring, transferring and transforming knowledge. The study examines a particular Italian case, the "Politecnico Calzaturiero", a private institution providing…

A Grid Approach to Managing Sustainability: Evidence from a Multiple Italian Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agostino, Deborah; Dal Molin, Martina

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the coherence between sustainability conceptualization (the "what") and its implementation (the "how") in terms of implemented actions and stakeholders' interactions. The paper proposes a grid approach for the simultaneous evaluation of sustainability conceptualization and…

Folk Linguistics and Language Teaching Education. A Case Study in an Italian Secondary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santipolo, Matteo

2016-01-01

This paper, after shortly introducing "Folk Linguistics" by defining its domain of competence [cf. Preston, Dennis R., ed. 1999. "Handbook of Perceptual Dialectology." Amsterdam: John Benjamins; Niedzielski, Nancy A., and Dennis R. Preston. 2003. "Folk Linguistics." Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter], attempts to draw an…

Putative Risk Factors in Developmental Dyslexia: A Case-Control Study of Italian Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mascheretti, Sara; Marino, Cecilia; Simone, Daniela; Quadrelli, Ermanno; Riva, Valentina; Cellino, Maria Rosaria; Maziade, Michel; Brombin, Chiara; Battaglia, Marco

2015-01-01

Although dyslexia runs in families, several putative risk factors that cannot be immediately identified as genetic predict reading disability. Published studies analyzed one or a few risk factors at a time, with relatively inconsistent results. To assess the contribution of several putative risk factors to the development of dyslexia, we conducted…

Reflexivity, Self-Identity and Resilience in Career Development: Hints from a Qualitative Research Study in Italy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tomassini, Massimo

2015-01-01

One of the most typical features characterising modern ways of living and working is represented by the dynamism required by individuals in navigating their career paths. This article explores some case studies of career development collected through biographical interviews carried out within the Italian strand of the Cedefop project. These relate…

The Effectiveness of the Italian Seismic Code NT08 Prescriptions in Reproducing the Observed Site Amplification: the City of Rome and the Acquasanta Terme Town, Italy, Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caserta, A.; Doumaz, F.; Pischiutta, M.; Costanzo, A.

2017-12-01

In the European design code EU08 used in Italy as NT08, site effects are accounted through several scaling factors, depending on the Vs30 and topographic conditions. The effectiveness of such approach has been tested in two case studies. The first one is located in the Tiber valley, the main sedimentary basin of the city of Rome. The second one is located in Acquasanta Terme town (central Appennines). In both cases, the expected amplification levels according to the Italian design code, was calculated on the basis of the velocity profile and other geological information collected in-situ. The expected values were compared in the former case (Rome) with data recorded during the seismic sequence following the 2009 April 6th, Mw=6.3 L'Aquila earthquake (mainshock, and aftershocks) and in the latter case (Acquasanta Terme) with moderate-magnitude aftershocks following the 2016 August 24th, Mw = 6.0, Amatrice missed main shock. Our results highlight that the parameterizations adopted by the design code are not sufficient to reproduce the real ground shaking occurring during earthquakes. These means that the Vs30 parameter ignores three-dimensional and frequency-dependent effects, as well as the influence of the near surface geology deeper than 30 meters.

Genetic screening for the predisposition to venous thromboembolism: a cost-utility analysis of clinical practice in the Italian health care system.

PubMed

Compagni, Amelia; Melegaro, Alessia; Tarricone, Rosanna

2013-01-01

In the Italian health care system, genetic tests for factor V Leiden and factor II are routinely prescribed to assess the predisposition to venous thromboembolism (VTE) of women who request oral contraception. With specific reference to two subpopulations of women already at risk (i.e., familial history or previous event of VTE), the study aimed to assess whether current screening practices in Italy are cost-effective. Two decisional models accrued costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALY) annually from the perspective of the National Health Service. The two models were derived from a decision analysis exercise concerning testing practices and consequent prescribing behavior for oral contraception conducted with 250 Italian gynecologists. Health care costs were compiled on the basis of 10-year hospital discharge records and the activities of a thrombosis center. Whenever possible, input data were based on the Italian context; otherwise, the data were taken from the international literature. Current testing practices on women with a familial history of VTE generate an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of €72,412/QALY, which is well above the acceptable threshold of cost-effectiveness of €40,000 to €50,000/QALY. In the case of women with a previous event of VTE, the most frequently used testing strategy is cost-ineffective and leads to an overall loss of QALY. This study represents the first attempt to conduct a cost-utility analysis of genetic screening practices for the predisposition to VTE in the Italian setting. The results indicate that there is an urgent need to better monitor the indications for which tests for factor V Leiden and factor II are prescribed. Copyright © 2013, International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc.

Acute renal failure with sodium-glucose-cotransporter-2 inhibitors: Analysis of the FDA adverse event report system database.

PubMed

Perlman, A; Heyman, S N; Matok, I; Stokar, J; Muszkat, M; Szalat, A

2017-12-01

Sodium-glucose-cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors have recently been approved for the treatment of type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM). It has been proposed that these agents could induce acute renal failure (ARF) under certain conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the association between SGLT2-inhibitors and ARF in the FDA adverse event report system (FAERS) database. We analyzed adverse event cases submitted to FAERS between January 2013 and September 2016. ARF cases were identified using a structured medical query. Medications were identified using both brand and generic names. During the period evaluated, 18,915 reports (out of a total of 3,832,015 registered in FAERS) involved the use of SGLT2-inhibitors. SGLT2-inhibitors were reportedly associated with ARF in 1224 of these cases (6.4%), and were defined as the "primary" or "secondary" cause of the adverse event in 96.8% of these cases. The proportion of reports with ARF among reports with SGLT2 inhibitor was almost three-fold higher compared to reports without these drugs (ROR 2.88, 95% CI 2.71-3.05, p < 0.001). The proportion of ARF reports among cases with SGLT2-inhibitors was significantly greater than the proportion of ARF among cases with T2DM without SGLT2-inhibitors (ROR 1.68, 95% CI 1.57-1.8, p < 0.001). Among the SGLT2-inhibitors, canagliflozin was associated with a higher proportion of reports of renal failure (7.3%), compared to empagliflozin and dapagliflozin (4.7% and 4.8% respectively, p < 0.001). SGLT2-inhibitors are associated with an increase in the proportion of reports of ARF compared to other medications. SGLT2-inhibitor agents may differ from one another in their respective risk for ARF. Copyright © 2017 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Clinical and histological features of gingival lesions: a 17-year retrospective analysis in a northern Italian population.

PubMed

Carbone, Mario; Broccoletti, Roberto; Gambino, Alessio; Carrozzo, Marco; Tanteri, Carlotta; Calogiuri, Pier-Luigi; Conrotto, Davide; Gandolfo, Sergio; Pentenero, Monica; Arduino, Paolo-Giacomo

2012-07-01

Only few studies on gingival lesions considered large enough populations and contemporary literature does not provide a valid report regarding the epidemiology of gingival lesions within the Italian population. The histopathological and clinical appearance of 538 gingival lesions from northern Italians are described and discussed here. The case records of patients referred for the diagnosis and management of gingival lesions, from October 1993 to October 2009, were reviewed. Data regarding the histological type of lesion were also obtained from the biopsy register for each case, and blindly re-examined. We reported a greater frequency of benign lesions (reactive and/or inflammatory) in non-plaque/non-calculus induced gingival disorders. We confirmed an unambiguous prevalence of oral squamous cell carcinoma above all other malignant neoplasia, and a prevalence of neoplastic malignant lesions in the maxilla, with a slight increase in females and a drift of the incidence peak from the seventh to the eighth decade. There was a prevalence of precancerous gingival lesions in the maxilla, with a higher incidence in females and with a drift from the sixth to the seventh decade. We also reported a prevalence of oral lichen planus and lichenoid lesions as major manifestations of desquamative gingivitis. The high frequency of gingival involvement of such different diseases emphasizes the importance of histological characterization and differential diagnosis for periodontists, but more prospective studies are needed to better describe the true incidence of the non-plaque related gingival diseases.

The impact of human activities on the natural geoheritage and its effects on geodiversity. The case of the Italian karst areas.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laureti, Lamberto

2017-04-01

In Italy the karst environments represent nearly half of the mountainous areas, with typical aspects characterized by a strong articulation of the relief, often induced by recent tectonic evolution, with closed depressions and plateaus, steep slopes, sharp interface soil-rocks and soil sediments inside the fissures and rock cavities. From the middle Holocene the human impact in the italian karst areas cleared the original extensive sclerophyllous forests in order to utilize space for grazing and agriculture, but favoured in this way the erosion of the soil cover and, in time, caused a nearly complete desertification of many mountain slopes. The forms of impact were and are represented by slope terracing for intensive agriculture, large use of fertilizer and pesticides, stocking of bio-masses of cattle, pigs and chickens in small areas, opening of quarries and mines, besides other interventions. Among all the forms of human impact, the mining and quarrying activities are responsible of high deterioration of the karst environment as a consequence of great rocks excavations and movements, together with metal polluted waters leaking. After the closure and the abandonment of the nearly all Italian metal mines, especially in Sardinia but also in the Alpine ore districts, the quarries excavation is really the main threat towards the Italian karst areas, because of the increase of the stony materials international market. By this regard, in this poster are showed the case studies referring to the Lombard Prealpine karst plateaus (where many interesting caves were destroyed) and to the karst systems of the Apuane Alps (Tuscany), where the quarries of the famous "Carrara marble" endangered the same great "Antro di Corchia", today preserved by the creation of a natural park.

[Anterior uveitis in ankylosing spondylitis. A retrospective study].

PubMed

Piergiacomi, G; Agostinelli, M; Baccarini, V; Gasparini, M; Pepi, M; Cervini, C

1988-12-01

In ankylosing spondylarthritis (AS), there is sometimes an anterior uveitis (AUV) or a previous history of AUV. The authors have reviewed the medical files of 338 hospitalised AS and 30 AS seen in consultation. They found an AUV in 28 hospitalised AS, or 8.3 p. cent of all cases (7.7 p. cent in men and 14.8 p. cent in women). In 3 cases (0.9 p. cent), the AUV was the first manifestation of the disease, preceding joint involvement. AUV was never found in patients seen in consultation. The findings of this investigation agree, but only partially, with those from the literature which, usually, acknowledge a greater frequency of AUV. Comparison with other previous investigations conducted in Italy enables to confirm that among Italian AS, AUV is less frequent than in other European and out of Europe series. It is possible that in a certain number of cases the AUV is not diagnosed clinically. However, it seems that the reduced incidence of the AUV discovered by a few Italian authors is not fortuitous (genetic factors?).

[A survey on diet manuals in Italian hospitals].

PubMed

Donini, L M; Riti, M; Castellaneta, E; Ceccarelli, P; Civale, C; Passaretti, S; del Balzo, V; Cannella, C

2009-01-01

Hospital catering is very important to counteract the onset of malnutrition due to either undernutrition or overnutrition and for dietetic treatment. The aim of the study was to evaluate nutritional quality of the hospital dietetic manual used in some Italian hospitals and to analyze the role of the institutional Catering Service and of the Department of Clinical Nutrition. A survey has been carried out, in some Italian hospitals, using a questionnaire to point out the characteristics of hospitals, the typology of catering service, of the diets and of the staff of the Department of Clinical Nutrition. Only 22% of the hospitals has answered; three Italian regions (Umbria, Molise, Basilicata) are completely missing; -each hospital has a specific dietetic manual in most cases completely different from structure and nutritional quality point of view; the staff acting in this field is absolutely insufficient in term of numerousness and of professional typologies. Hospital in-patients are not homogeneous as for age, dietary needs and diseases, so it's necessary to treat them with an ad hoc nutritional intervention not established in advance in a dietetic manual; if from an organisation point of view it is necessary to have such a dietetic manual, it has to be based on nutritional guidelines and recommended dietary allowances.

Italian Children with Dyslexia Are Also Poor in Reading English Words, but Accurate in Reading English Pseudowords

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palladino, Paola; Bellagamba, Isabella; Ferrari, Marcella; Cornoldi, Cesare

2013-01-01

It has been argued that children with dyslexia (DC) are poor at learning a foreign language (L2) and, in particular, reading foreign words. This assumption is so general that an Italian law (law 170, October, 2010) has established that DC may be completely exempted from foreign language learning and, in any case, should not be engaged in tuition…

Clinical and histological features of gingival lesions: A 17-year retrospective analysis in a northern Italian population

PubMed Central

Carbone, Mario; Broccoletti, Roberto; Gambino, Alessio; Carrozzo, Marco; Tanteri, Carlotta; Calogiuri, Pier L.; Conrotto, Davide; Gandolfo, Sergio; Pentenero, Monica

2012-01-01

Objectives: Only few studies on gingival lesions considered large enough populations and contemporary literature does not provide a valid report regarding the epidemiology of gingival lesions within the Italian population. The histopathological and clinical appearance of 538 gingival lesions from northern Italians are described and discussed here. Study Design: The case records of patients referred for the diagnosis and management of gingival lesions, from October 1993 to October 2009, were reviewed. Data regarding the histological type of lesion were also obtained from the biopsy register for each case, and blindly re-examined. Results: We reported a greater frequency of benign lesions (reactive and/or inflammatory) in non-plaque/non-calculus induced gingival disorders. We confirmed an unambiguous prevalence of oral squamous cell carcinoma above all other malignant neoplasia, and a prevalence of neoplastic malignant lesions in the maxilla, with a slight increase in females and a drift of the incidence peak from the seventh to the eighth decade. There was a prevalence of precancerous gingival lesions in the maxilla, with a higher incidence in females and with a drift from the sixth to the seventh decade. We also reported a prevalence of oral lichen planus and lichenoid lesions as major manifestations of desquamative gingivitis. Conclusions: The high frequency of gingival involvement of such different diseases emphasizes the importance of histological characterization and differential diagnosis for periodontists, but more prospective studies are needed to better describe the true incidence of the non-plaque related gingival diseases. Key words:Gingival lesions, clinical appearance, histological analysis. PMID:22322515

Applicability of Greulich and Pyle method for age assessment in forensic practice on an Italian sample.

PubMed

Tisè, Marco; Mazzarini, Laura; Fabrizzi, Giancarlo; Ferrante, Luigi; Giorgetti, Raffaele; Tagliabracci, Adriano

2011-05-01

The main importance in age estimation lies in the assessment of criminal liability and protection of unaccompanied minor immigrants, when their age is unknown. Under Italian law, persons are not criminally responsible before they reach the age of 14. The age of 18 is important when deciding whether juvenile or adult law must be applied. In the case of unaccompanied minors, it is important to assess age in order to establish special protective measures, and correct age estimation may prevent a person over 18 from benefiting from measures reserved for minors. Since the Greulich and Pyle method is one of the most frequently used in age estimation, the aim of this study was to assess the reproducibility and accuracy of the method on a large Italian sample of teenagers, to ascertain the applicability of the Atlas at the critical age thresholds of 14 and 18 years. This retrospective study examined posteroanterior X-ray projections of hand and wrist from 484 Italian-Caucasian young people (125 females, 359 males) between 11 and 19 years old. All radiographic images were taken from trauma patients hospitalized in the Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Ospedali Riuniti of Ancona (Italy) between 2006 and 2007. Two physicians analyzed all radiographic images separately. The blind method was used. In the case of an estimated age of 14 years old, the true age ranged from 12.2 to 15.9 years (median, 14.3 years, interquartile range, 1.0 years) for males, and 12.6 to 15.7 years (median, 14.2 years, interquartile range, 1.7 years) for females. In the case of an estimated age of 18 years, the true age ranged from 15.6 to 19.7 years (median, 17.7 years, interquartile range, 1.4 years) for males, and from 16.2 to 20.0 years (median, 18.7 years, interquartile range, 1.8 years) for females. Our study shows that although the GPM is a reproducible and repeatable method, there is a wide margin of error in the estimation of chronological age, mainly in the critical estimated ages of 14 and 18 years old in both males and females.

Impact of use of oral anticancer drugs on activity of Italian oncology practices: results of a survey conducted by the Italian Society of Medical Oncology (AIOM).

PubMed

Gori, Stefania; Di Maio, Massimo; Pinto, Carmine; Alabiso, Oscar; Baldini, Editta; Barbato, Enrico; Beretta, Giordano Domenico; Bravi, Stefano; Caffo, Orazio; Canobbio, Luciano; Carrozza, Francesco; Cinieri, Saverio; Cruciani, Giorgio; Dinota, Angelo; Gebbia, Vittorio; Giustini, Lucio; Graiff, Claudio; Molino, Annamaria; Muggiano, Antonio; Pandoli, Giuliano; Puglisi, Fabio; Tagliaferri, Pierosandro; Tomao, Silverio; Lunardi, Gianluigi; Venturini, Marco

2013-01-01

In recent years, the number of oral anticancer drugs used in clinical practice has rapidly increased. The Italian Society of Medical Oncology (AIOM) conducted a survey to describe the impact of the use of oral anticancer drugs on the daily activity of Italian oncology practices. A survey questionnaire was distributed to the coordinators of the regional sections of AIOM. A 6-month period was considered, from January 1, 2010 to June 30, 2010. The survey addressed (1) quantitative aspects of the use of oral anticancer drugs; (2) practical aspects in the management of patients treated with these drugs; (3) issues related to treatment costs and reimbursement procedures. Thirty-six questionnaires were received from institutions distributed throughout the Italian territory. Oral anticancer drugs (both chemotherapy and molecularly targeted agents) accounted for a significant proportion (17%) of prescribed treatments. Among the responding institutions, there were different dispensation procedures of oral drugs to patients: drugs were dispensed by the pharmacist (57%) or directly by the medical oncologist (23%) or nurse (20%). The medical oncologist played a major role in the communication with patients (73% alone and a further 24% in cooperation with other professional figures) and was the point of reference in the event of side effects in 97% of cases. In most cases, the reimbursement of drug costs was separated ("File F" procedure) from the flat fare received by the hospital for outpatient visits or day-hospital access. Optimal organization of oral anticancer treatment warrants the cooperation and integration of multiple professional figures. At least three figures are involved in patient management in the hospital: the medical oncologist, the nurse, and the hospital pharmacist. Oral anticancer treatments are associated with specific reimbursement issues: in the majority of cases, the cost of the drug is reimbursed separately from the cost of patient access.

Asthma management in a specialist setting: Results of an Italian Respiratory Society survey.

PubMed

Braido, Fulvio; Baiardini, Ilaria; Alleri, Pietro; Bacci, Elena; Barbetta, Carlo; Bellocchia, Michela; Benfante, Alida; Blasi, Francesco; Bucca, Caterina; Busceti, Maria Teresa; Centanni, Stefano; Colanardi, Maria Cristina; Contoli, Marco; Corsico, Angelo; D'Amato, Maria; Di Marco, Fabiano; Marco, Dottorini; Ferrari, Marta; Florio, Giovanni; Fois, Alessandro Giuseppe; Foschino Barbaro, Maria Pia; Silvia, Garuti; Girbino, Giuseppe; Grosso, Amelia; Latorre, Manuela; Maniscalco, Sara; Mazza, Francesco; Mereu, Carlo; Molinengo, Giorgia; Ora, Josuel; Paggiaro, Pierluigi; Patella, Vincenzo; Pelaia, Girolamo; Pirina, Pietro; Proietto, Alfio; Rogliani, Paola; Santus, Pierachille; Scichilone, Nicola; Simioli, Francesca; Solidoro, Paolo; Terraneo, Silvia; Zuccon, Umberto; Canonica, Giorgio Walter

2017-06-01

Asthma considerably impairs patients' quality of life and increases healthcare costs. Severity, morbidity, and degree of disease control are the major drivers of its clinical and economic impact. National scientific societies are required to monitor the application of international guidelines and to adopt strategies to improve disease control and better allocate resources. to provide a detailed picture of the characteristics of asthma patients and modalities of asthma management by specialists in Italy and to develop recommendations for the daily management of asthma in a specialist setting. A quantitative research program was implemented. Data were collected using an ad hoc questionnaire developed by a group of specialists selected by the Italian Pneumology Society/Italian Respiratory Society. The records of 557 patients were analyzed. In the next few years, specialists are expected to focus their activity patients with more severe disease and will be responsible for selection of patients for personalized biological therapy; however, only 20% of patients attending Italian specialist surgery can be considered severe. In 84.4% of cases, the visit was a follow-up visit requested in 82.2% of cases by the specialist him/herself. The Asthma Control Test is used only in 65% of patients. When available, a significant association has been observed between the test score and asthma control as judged by the physician, although concordance was only moderate (κ = 0.68). Asthma was considered uncontrolled by the specialist managing the case in 29.1% of patients; nevertheless, treatment was not stepped up in uncontrolled or partly controlled patients (modified in only 37.2% of patients). The results of this survey support re-evaluation of asthma management by Italian specialists. More resources should be made available for the initial visit and for more severely ill patients. In addition, more extensive use should be made of validated tools, and available drugs should be used more appropriately. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Congenital asymptomatic diaphragmatic hernias in adults: a case series.

PubMed

Bianchi, Enrica; Mancini, Paola; De Vito, Stefania; Pompili, Elena; Taurone, Samanta; Guerrisi, Isabella; Guerrisi, Antonino; D'Andrea, Vito; Cantisani, Vito; Artico, Marco

2013-05-13

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia is a major malformation occasionally found in newborns and babies. Congenital diaphragmatic hernia is defined by the presence of an orifice in the diaphragm, more often to the left and posterolateral, that permits the herniation of abdominal contents into the thorax. The aim of this case series is to provide information on the presentation, diagnosis and outcome of three patients with late-presenting congenital diaphragmatic hernias. The diagnosis of congenital diaphragmatic hernia is based on clinical investigation and is confirmed by plain X-ray films and computed tomography scans. In the present report three cases of asymptomatic abdominal viscera herniation within the thorax are described. The first case concerns herniation of some loops of the large intestine into the left hemi-thorax in a 75-year-old Caucasian Italian woman. The second case concerns a rare type of herniation in the right side of the thorax of the right kidney with a part of the liver parenchyma in a 57-year-old Caucasian Italian woman. The third case concerns herniation of the stomach and bowel into the left side of the chest with compression of the left lung in a 32-year-old Caucasian Italian man. This type of hernia may appear later in life, because of concomitant respiratory or gastrointestinal disease, or it may be an incidental finding in asymptomatic adults, such as in the three cases featured here. Patients who present with late diaphragmatic hernias complain of a wide variety of symptoms, and diagnosis may be difficult. Additional investigation and research appear necessary to better explain the development and progression of this type of disease.

The Mental Representation of Verb-Noun Compounds in Italian: Evidence from a Multiple Single-Case Study in Aphasia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mondini, Sara; Luzzatti, Claudio; Zonca, Giusy; Pistarini, Caterina; Semenza, Carlo

2004-01-01

This study seeks information on the mental representation of Verb-Noun (VN) nominal compounds through neuropsychological methods. The lexical retrieval of compound nouns is tested in 30 aphasic patients using a visual confrontation naming task. The target names are VN compounds, Noun-Noun (NN) compounds, and long morphologically simple nouns…

Risk factors for essential thrombocythemia: A case-control study. Italian Leukemia Study Group.

PubMed

Mele, A; Visani, G; Pulsoni, A; Monarca, B; Castelli, G; Stazi, M A; Gentile, G; Mandelli, F

1996-05-15

Very little information is presently available regarding risk factors for essential thrombocythemia (ET). A case-control study was performed to study the possible association between ET and selected behavioral, occupational, and environmental exposures. Thirty-nine patients aged 20 years or older and 156 controls were enrolled in 2 Italian Hematology Departments located in Rome and Pavia. Controls were recruited among outpatients seen in the same hospitals and matched 4:1 to the patients after stratification by age and sex. Odds ratio (OR) estimates suggest an association between ET and hair dye use (in particular the use of dark hair dye for periods longer than 10 years: OR - 5.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.4-19.9), living in houses built with tuff (a material with a high concentration of gamma-emitting radionuclides and radon) for longer than 9 years (OR = 5.1; 95% CI, 1.2-22.1), and selected occupations (electrical worker and shoemaker, OR +infinity and 2.7; 95% CI, 0.5-16 respectively). Behavioral exposures such as hair dyes, living in a tuff house, and working as an electrician are significantly associated with ET development. The data are consistent with those observed in acute leukemias.

Local/Global Cognitive Interfaces within Industrial Districts: An Italian Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grandinetti, Roberto

2011-01-01

Purpose: With the advance of globalization the competitive chances of industrial districts depends increasingly on their ability to connect to the cognitive circuits of the global economy. This challenge demands the presence of local actors capable of acting as cognitive interfaces between the district context and the global environment. The paper…

Building a Community among Teachers, Researchers and University Students. A Blended Approach to Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cesareni, Donatella; Martini, Francesca; Mancini, Ilaria

2011-01-01

In this paper we present a case study about a community of practice's foundation and development among Italian teachers, researchers and university students who participated in a European project aimed at developing and testing innovative pedagogical models and technologies for collaborative knowledge building. Forty-five people (34 teachers, five…

Singing in "La Voce Della Luna" Italian Women's Choir in Melbourne, Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Southcott, Jane; Joseph, Dawn

2015-01-01

Australia is a country of ongoing migration that embraces diversity, creative expression and cultural activity. Membership of community music groups by older people can enhance life quality, and may provide a space through which cultural and linguistic identity may be shared and celebrated. This qualitative phenomenological case study explores…

Family Background and University Dropouts during the Crisis: The Case of Italy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ghignoni, Emanuela

2017-01-01

The Italian university system has long been characterised by high non-completion rates, though aggregate data show a slight reduction of dropouts in recent years. The most straightforward theoretical explanation for this lies in the lowering opportunity cost of studying due to the financial and economic crisis. Nonetheless, this interpretation is…

How fair are we? Italian students rate the ethics of geoscientists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eva, Elena; Musacchio, Gemma; Piangiamore, Giovanna; Solarino, Stefano

2015-04-01

The social perception of scientific world is sometimes biased by false or inexact information, and dissemination might even be driven by an on-purpose discredit. A few case studies that led the public believe that business or even conspiracy were motivating incomplete information from the scientists about recent catastrophes, will be discussed. In most cases a significant role was played by the limitations of knowledge on the matter, or an underestimated scientific uncertainty, the backwardness to design a future scenario in lack of complete scientific evidences or simply the misunderstanding and mistakes in the flow of information through the filter of the media and press. Public awareness on how ethics affect geoscientists in conducting their activities is then a major issue. In this study we analyze results from a questionnaire compiled by young Italian students (15-18 years) that rates their trust in scientists, the reliability of scientific communication and ethics in the world of Geoscience. Areas exposed to various level of geohazards are taken into account. Results are discussed in the light of geoscientist's role played in society, by providing information and support decision-making.

Attitudes towards end-of-life issues in intensive care unit among Italian anesthesiologists: a nation-wide survey.

PubMed

Cortegiani, Andrea; Russotto, Vincenzo; Raineri, Santi Maurizio; Gregoretti, Cesare; Giarratano, Antonino; Mercadante, Sebastiano

2018-06-01

The aim of this paper is to collect data on the practice of palliative care, withholding and withdrawal of life-sustaining therapies, and management of end of life (EOL) in Italian intensive care units (ICUs). Web-based survey among Italian anesthesiologists endorsed by the Italian Society of Anesthesiology Analgesia Reanimation and Intensive Care (SIAARTI). The survey consists of 27 close-ended and 2 open-ended questions. Eight hundred and five persons responded to the full list of questions. The highest proportion of respondents was of 36-45 years of age (34%) and catholic (66%). Almost 70% of responders declared that palliative/supportive care are applied in their ICU in case of futility of intensive treatments. Decision on withdrawing/withholding of life-sustaining treatments resulted from team consensus in most cases (58%). In more than 70% of responders' ICUs, there is no collaboration with palliative/supportive care experts. Systematic recording of most frequent symptoms experienced by critically ill patients (e.g., pain, dyspnea, thirst) was not common. Vasopressors, extracorporeal therapies, blood component transfusions and invasive monitoring were the most commonly modified/interrupted measures in case of futility. Almost 85% of respondents have not received training in palliative/supportive care. The proportion of respondents whose institution has a palliative care team and who had training in palliative care was not homogenous across the country. These data suggest that training in palliative care and its clinical application should be implemented in Italy. Efforts should be made to improve and homogenize the management of dying patients in ICU.

Gender agreement and multiple referents.

PubMed

Finocchiaro, Chiara; Mahon, Bradford Z; Caramazza, Alfonso

2008-01-01

We report a new pattern of usage in current, spoken Italian that has implications for both psycholinguistic models of language production and linguistic theories of language change. In Italian, gender agreement is mandatory for both singular and plural nouns. However, when two or more nouns of different grammatical gender appear in a conjoined noun phrase (NP), masculine plural agreement is required. In this study, we combined on-line and off-line methodologies in order to assess the mechanisms involved in gender marking in the context of multiple referents. The results of two pronoun production tasks showed that plural feminine agreement was significantly more difficult than plural masculine agreement. In a separate study using offline judgements of acceptability, we found that agreement violations in Italian are tolerated more readily in the case of feminine conjoined noun phrases (e.g., la mela e la banana 'the:fem apple:fem and the: fem banana: fem') than masculine conjoined noun phrases (e.g., il fiore e il libro 'the:mas flower: mas and the:mas book:mas'). Implications of these results are discussed both at the level of functional architecture within the language production system and at the level of changes in language use.

Controversies on Hodgkin's disease and anaplastic large cell lymphoma. Hematopathology Study Group of the Società Italiana di Anatomia Patologica.

PubMed

Pileri, S

1994-01-01

Just one year ago the Italian Society of Pathology (S.I.A.P.) created a Study Group which included members of the most active Italian hematopathology teams. Prof. Pasquale Calapso was asked to chair the Group and Prof. Stefano Pileri to take care of secretarial duties. The aim of the Group is to spread hematopathologic knowledge among young pathologists and to promote activities that can contribute to updating Italian pathologists on topics of both speculative and diagnostic interest. The first Workshop of the S.I.A.P. Hematopathology Group was held at the Palazzo dei Congressi in Bologna, November 20, 1993. About 150 pathologists from all over Italy took part in the meeting, which consisted of two sections devoted to: a) discussion of the boundaries between Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, and b) a case seminar illustrating the impact of immunohistochemistry in the diagnosis of bone-marrow biopsy. The first section included 5 presentations and a Round Table chaired by Prof. Luciano Fiore-Donati. Below, the contributors to this section summarize the content of their presentations, which were aimed at answering specific questions the Organizers had put to them.

Investigation of the Phenomenological and Psychopathological Features of Trichotillomania in an Italian Sample

PubMed Central

Bottesi, Gioia; Cerea, Silvia; Razzetti, Enrico; Sica, Claudio; Frost, Randy O.; Ghisi, Marta

2016-01-01

Trichotillomania (TTM) is still a scarcely known and often inadequately treated disorder in Italian clinical settings, despite growing evidence about its severe and disabling consequences. The current study investigated the phenomenology of TTM in Italian individuals; in addition, we sought to examine patterns of self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and OCD-related symptoms in individuals with TTM compared to healthy participants. The current study represents the first attempt to investigate the phenomenological and psychopathological features of TTM in Italian hair pullers. One hundred and twenty-two individuals with TTM were enrolled: 24 were assessed face-to-face (face-to-face group) and 98 were recruited online (online group). An additional group of 22 face-to-face assessed healthy controls (HC group) was included in the study. The overall female to male ratio was 14:1, which is slightly higher favoring female than findings reported in literature. Main results revealed that a higher percentage of individuals in the online group reported pulling from the pubic region than did face-to-face participants; furthermore, the former engaged in examining the bulb and running the hair across the lips and reported pulling while lying in bed at higher frequencies than the latter. Interestingly, the online TTM group showed greater functional and psychological impairment, as well as more severe psychopathological characteristics (self-esteem, physiological and social anxiety, perfectionism, overestimation of threat, and control of thoughts), than the face-to-face one. Differences between the two TTM groups may be explained by the anonymity nature of the online group, which may have led to successful recruitment of more serious TTM cases, or fostered more open answers to questions. Overall, results revealed that many of the phenomenological features of Italian TTM participants matched those found in U.S. clinical settings, even though some notable differences were observed; therefore, cross-cultural invariance might represent a characteristic of OCD-related disorders. PMID:26941700

Seismic vulnerability and damage of Italian historical centres: A case study in the Campania region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Formisano, Antonio; Chieffo, Nicola; Fabbrocino, Francesco; Landolfo, Raffaele

2017-07-01

The preservation of masonry buildings typical of Italian historical centres represents a very pressing dilemma founded on recovery need of the urban fabric original character. In the paper, based on a methodology developed by some of the Authors on building aggregates, the seismic vulnerability estimation of some masonry compounds in the heart of the town of San PotitoSannitico (Caserta, Italy) is presented and compared to the results achieved from applying the basic literature method for isolated constructions. Finally, the damage scenario of inspected buildings has been shown by highlighting clearly the influence of different positions of structural units on the damages that masonry aggregates suffer under different grade earthquakes, leading to individuate the most vulnerable buildings.

D'Alembert's paradox, 1900-1914: Levi-Civita and his Italian and French followers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tazzioli, Rossana

2017-07-01

Before the First World War, Tullio Levi-Civita (1873-1941) was already a well-known mathematician in Italy and abroad, in particular in France. Professor at the University of Padua since 1898, he had published important contributions to tensor calculus, theory of relativity, differential geometry, hydrodynamics, and the three-body problem. In 1918, when he moved to the University of Rome, he created an international school of mathematics. In this paper, we focus on d'Alembert's paradox to which Levi-Civita and some of his Italian and French followers contributed remarkable solutions. This case-study is used to illustrate Levi-Civita's approach to hydrodynamics and its influence in Italy and France, especially in the period 1910-1914.

Data-Driven Learning and the Acquisition of Italian Collocations: From Design to Student Evaluation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forti, Luciana

2017-01-01

This paper looks at how corpus data was used to design an Italian as an L2 language learning programme and how it was evaluated by students. The study focuses on the acquisition of Italian verb-noun collocations by Chinese native students attending a ten month long Italian language course before enrolling at an Italian university. It describes how…

Disaster waste management in Italy: Analysis of recent case studies.

PubMed

Gabrielli, Francesco; Amato, Alessia; Balducci, Susanna; Magi Galluzzi, Lorenzo; Beolchini, Francesca

2018-01-01

The geomorphology of the Italian territory causes the incidence of many disasters like earthquakes and floods, with the consequent production of large volumes of waste. The management of such huge flows, produced in a very short time, may have a high impact on the whole emergency response. Moreover, historical data related to disaster waste management are often not easily accessible; on the other hand, the availability of data concerning previous events could support the emergency managers, that have to take a decision in a very short time. In this context, the present paper analyses four relevant recent case studies in Italy, dealing with disaster waste management after geologic and hydrologic natural events. Significant differences have been observed in the quantity and types of generated wastes, and, also, in the management approach. Such differences are mainly associated with the kind of disaster (i.e. earthquake vs. flood), to the geographical location (i.e. internal vs. coastal area), to the urbanisation level (i.e. industrial vs. urban). The study allowed the identification of both strengths and weaknesses of the applied waste management strategies, that represent "lessons to learn" for future scenarios. Even though it deals with Italian case studies, this manuscript may have a high impact also at international level, making available for the first-time emergency waste management data, that are considered an indispensable support for decision makers. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Congenital asymptomatic diaphragmatic hernias in adults: a case series

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Introduction Congenital diaphragmatic hernia is a major malformation occasionally found in newborns and babies. Congenital diaphragmatic hernia is defined by the presence of an orifice in the diaphragm, more often to the left and posterolateral, that permits the herniation of abdominal contents into the thorax. The aim of this case series is to provide information on the presentation, diagnosis and outcome of three patients with late-presenting congenital diaphragmatic hernias. The diagnosis of congenital diaphragmatic hernia is based on clinical investigation and is confirmed by plain X-ray films and computed tomography scans. Case presentations In the present report three cases of asymptomatic abdominal viscera herniation within the thorax are described. The first case concerns herniation of some loops of the large intestine into the left hemi-thorax in a 75-year-old Caucasian Italian woman. The second case concerns a rare type of herniation in the right side of the thorax of the right kidney with a part of the liver parenchyma in a 57-year-old Caucasian Italian woman. The third case concerns herniation of the stomach and bowel into the left side of the chest with compression of the left lung in a 32-year-old Caucasian Italian man. This type of hernia may appear later in life, because of concomitant respiratory or gastrointestinal disease, or it may be an incidental finding in asymptomatic adults, such as in the three cases featured here. Conclusions Patients who present with late diaphragmatic hernias complain of a wide variety of symptoms, and diagnosis may be difficult. Additional investigation and research appear necessary to better explain the development and progression of this type of disease. PMID:23668793

Processed Meat and Colorectal Cancer Risk: A Pooled Analysis of Three Italian Case-Control Studies.

PubMed

Rosato, Valentina; Tavani, Alessandra; Negri, Eva; Serraino, Diego; Montella, Maurizio; Decarli, Adriano; La Vecchia, Carlo; Ferraroni, Monica

2017-07-01

To add evidence to the limited data available from southern Europe, we assessed the association between processed meat consumption and colorectal cancer risk. We analyzed data from three case-control studies conducted between 1985 and 2010 in various Italian areas, including a total of 3745 incident cases and 6804 hospital-based controls. We calculated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) by unconditional multiple logistic regression models. The median consumption of processed meat was around 20 g/day both in cases and controls. The OR of colorectal cancer was 1.02 (95% CI 0.99-1.04) for an increase of 10 g/day of processed meat. The association was statistically significant for colon cancer (OR 1.03, 95% CI 1.00-1.06), particularly for proximal colon cancer (OR 1.09, 95% CI 1.04-1.14), while there was no relation with rectal cancer (OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.95-1.03). The OR of proximal colon cancer was 1.38 (95% CI 1.08-1.75) for the highest sex-specific tertile of consumption (>25 g/day for men, >21.5 for women) compared with the lowest (<15 g/day), whereas no significant ORs were found for other anatomical subsites. Our findings indicate that there is no association with colorectal cancer overall, in the presence, however, of a positive association with proximal colon cancer.

Headache and soccer: a survey in professional soccer players of the Italian "Serie A".

PubMed

Mainardi, Federico; Alicicco, Ernesto; Maggioni, Ferdinando; Devetag, Flavio; Lisotto, Carlo; Zanchin, Giorgio

2009-02-01

The aim of the study was to assess the occurrence and the clinical features of primary headaches in a sample of players of the Italian Soccer League first division. The design of the study allowed a retrospective and prospective diagnosis of primary headaches according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders-II edition (ICHD-II), using anonymous questionnaires, which had to be filled out at regular times during the playing season. A total of 83 athletes playing in four different clubs were involved; four of them changed football team during the season and so did not complete the study. During the championship three soccer players reported headache (3.6%) with features fulfilling ICHD-II criteria for episodic tension-type headache. Important and prolonged physical effort was reported as aggravating factor in one case, but no attacks occurred during competitive matches. The same athletes had reported a personal history of episodic tension-type headache. In conclusion, the occurrence of primary headaches among professional soccer players of Italian first division championship appear to be strikingly lower, as compared to that found in the general population. A possible explanation could be given by the selection operated by a career which is not compatible with unpredictable, disabling attacks.

Reorganising hospitals to implement a patient-centered model of care: Effects on clinical practice and professional relationships in the Italian NHS.

PubMed

Liberati, Elisa Giulia; Gorli, Mara; Scaratti, Giuseppe

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to understand how the introduction of a patient-centered model (PCM) in Italian hospitals affects the pre-existent configuration of clinical work and interacts with established intra/inter-professional relationships. Qualitative multi-phase study based on three main sources: health policy analysis, an exploratory interview study with senior managers of eight Italian hospitals implementing the PCM, and an in-depth case study that involved managerial and clinical staff of one Italian hospital implementing the PCM. The introduction of the PCM challenges clinical work and professional relationships, but such challenges are interpreted differently by the organisational actors involved, thus giving rise to two different "narratives of change". The "political narrative" (the views conveyed by formal policies and senior managers) focuses on the power shifts and conflict between nurses and doctors, while the "workplace narrative" (the experiences of frontline clinicians) emphasises the problems linked to the disruption of previous discipline-based inter-professional groups. Medical disciplines, rather than professional groupings, are the main source of identification of doctors and nurses, and represent a crucial aspect of clinicians' professional identity. Although the need for collaboration among medical disciplines is acknowledged, creating multi-disciplinary groups in practice requires the sustaining of new aggregators and binding forces. This study suggests further acknowledgment of the inherent complexity of the political and workplace narratives of change rather than interpreting them as the signal of irreconcilable perspectives between managers and clinicians. By addressing the specific issues regarding which the political and workplace narratives clash, relationship of trust may be developed through which problems can be identified, mutually acknowledged, articulated, and solved.

Association between intestinal permeability and faecal microbiota composition in Italian children with beta cell autoimmunity at risk for type 1 diabetes.

PubMed

Maffeis, Claudio; Martina, Alessia; Corradi, Massimiliano; Quarella, Sara; Nori, Nicole; Torriani, Sandra; Plebani, Mario; Contreas, Giovanna; Felis, Giovanna E

2016-10-01

Pancreatic organ-specific autoimmunity in subjects at risk for type 1 diabetes (T1D) is associated with increased intestinal permeability and an aberrant gut microbiota, but these factors have not yet been simultaneously investigated in the same subjects. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess both intestinal permeability and gut microbiota composition in an Italian sample of children at risk for T1D. Ten Italian children with beta cell autoimmunity at risk for T1D and 10 healthy children were involved in a case-control study. The lactulose/mannitol test was used to assess intestinal permeability. Analysis of microbiota composition was performed using polymerase chain reaction followed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, based on the 16S rRNA gene. Intestinal permeability was significantly higher in children at risk for T1D than in healthy controls. Moreover, the gut microbiota of the former differed from that of the latter group: Three microorganisms were detected - Dialister invisus, Gemella sanguinis and Bifidobacterium longum - in association with the pre-pathologic state. The results of this study validated the hypothesis that increased intestinal permeability together with differences in microbiota composition are contemporaneously associated with the pre-pathological condition of T1D in a sample of Italian children. Further studies are necessary to confirm the microbial markers identified in this sample of children as well as to clarify the involvement of microbiota modifications in the mechanisms leading to increased permeability and the autoimmune mechanisms that promote diabetes onset. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Risk assessment and prevention of malaria among Italian troops in Afghanistan, 2002 to 2011.

PubMed

Peragallo, Mario S; Sarnicola, Giuseppe; Boccolini, Daniela; Romi, Roberto; Mammana, Giacomo

2014-01-01

Malaria prevention policy is different among coalition troops in Afghanistan, ranging from the combined use of suppressive and terminal chemoprophylaxis to the absence of any prophylactic regimen. The objective of this study was to assess the compliance with malaria prevention measures and the risk of malaria among Italian troops in Afghanistan. Target population was the cohort of 32,500 army soldiers deployed in Afghanistan, 2002 to 2011; eligible subjects were the 21,900 soldiers stationed in endemic areas, who were prescribed mefloquine chemoprophylaxis. Adherence to chemoprophylaxis was assessed by a cross-sectional study in a volunteer sample of 5,773 (26.4%) of eligible subjects. The risk of malaria was assessed by detecting malaria cases in the target population. Mefloquine chemoprophylaxis was administered to 4,123 (71.4%) of the 5,773 enrolled soldiers and 3,575 (86.7%) of these took it regularly; however, compliance dropped from 80.9% (2,592/3,202) in 2002 to 2006 to 59.5% (1,531/2,571) in 2007 to 2011 (p < 0.01). Adverse events were reported by 875 (21.2%) of the 4,123 soldiers taking mefloquine, but caused irregularity or interruption of chemoprophylaxis only in 48 (1.2%) and 113 (2.7%) subjects, respectively. No serious adverse events were reported. No malaria cases occurred in Afghanistan, and one Plasmodium vivax case was reported in Italy, yielding an incidence rate of 3.24 cases per 10,000 person-months of exposure (1/3,091) during the transmission season of 2003. In spite of the decreasing compliance with chemoprophylaxis, suggesting a low perception of the risk of malaria, this study confirmed the good tolerability of mefloquine in the military. The risk of malaria for Italian troops in Afghanistan was very low, and chemoprophylaxis was suspended in 2012. A similar policy may be adopted by the generality of International Security Assistance Force troops, and any chemoprophylaxis may be restricted to soldiers stationing in areas where the risk of malaria is substantial. © 2013 International Society of Travel Medicine.

Candida endocarditis: systematic literature review from 1997 to 2014 and analysis of 29 cases from the Italian Study of Endocarditis.

PubMed

Giuliano, Simone; Guastalegname, Maurizio; Russo, Alessandro; Falcone, Marco; Ravasio, Veronica; Rizzi, Marco; Bassetti, Matteo; Viale, Pierluigi; Pasticci, Maria Bruna; Durante-Mangoni, Emanuele; Venditti, Mario

2017-09-01

Candida Endocarditis (CE) is a deadly disease. It is of paramount importance to assess risk factors for acquisition of both Candida native (NVE) and prosthetic (PVE) valve endocarditis and relate clinical features and treatment strategies with the outcome of the disease. Areas covered: We searched the literature using the Pubmed database. Cases of CE from the Italian Study on Endocarditis (SEI) were also included. Overall, 140 cases of CE were analyzed. Patients with a history of abdominal surgery and antibiotic exposure had higher probability of developing NVE than PVE. In the PVE group, time to onset of CE was significantly lower for biological prosthesis compared to mechanical prosthesis. In the whole population, greater age and longer time to diagnosis were associated with increased likelihood of death. Patients with effective anti-biofilm treatment, patients who underwent cardiac surgery and patients who were administered chronic suppressive antifungal treatment showed increased survival. For PVE, moderate active anti-biofilm and highly active anti-biofilm treatment were associated with lower mortality. Expert commentary: Both NVE and PVE could be considered biofilm-related diseases, pathogenetically characterized by Candida intestinal translocation and initial transient candidemia. Cardiac surgery, EAB treatment and chronic suppressive therapy might be crucial in increasing patient survival.

Spelling Acquisition in English and Italian: A Cross-Linguistic Study.

PubMed

Marinelli, Chiara V; Romani, Cristina; Burani, Cristina; Zoccolotti, Pierluigi

2015-01-01

We examined the spelling acquisition in children up to late primary school of a consistent orthography (Italian) and an inconsistent orthography (English). The effects of frequency, lexicality, length, and regularity in modulating spelling performance of the two groups were examined. English and Italian children were matched for both chronological age and number of years of schooling. Two-hundred and seven Italian children and 79 English children took part in the study. We found greater accuracy in spelling in Italian than English children: Italian children were very accurate after only 2 years of schooling, while in English children the spelling performance was still poor after 5 years of schooling. Cross-linguistic differences in spelling accuracy proved to be more persistent than the corresponding ones in reading accuracy. Orthographic consistency produced not only quantitative, but also qualitative differences, with larger frequency and regularity effects in English than in Italian children.

Spelling Acquisition in English and Italian: A Cross-Linguistic Study

PubMed Central

Marinelli, Chiara V.; Romani, Cristina; Burani, Cristina; Zoccolotti, Pierluigi

2015-01-01

We examined the spelling acquisition in children up to late primary school of a consistent orthography (Italian) and an inconsistent orthography (English). The effects of frequency, lexicality, length, and regularity in modulating spelling performance of the two groups were examined. English and Italian children were matched for both chronological age and number of years of schooling. Two-hundred and seven Italian children and 79 English children took part in the study. We found greater accuracy in spelling in Italian than English children: Italian children were very accurate after only 2 years of schooling, while in English children the spelling performance was still poor after 5 years of schooling. Cross-linguistic differences in spelling accuracy proved to be more persistent than the corresponding ones in reading accuracy. Orthographic consistency produced not only quantitative, but also qualitative differences, with larger frequency and regularity effects in English than in Italian children. PMID:26696918

Pronominal Objects in English-Italian and Spanish-Italian Bilingual Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Serratrice, Ludovica; Sorace, Antonella; Filiaci, Francesca; Baldo, Michela

2012-01-01

This study investigated the role of typological relatedness, language of the community, and age, in predicting similarities and differences between English-Italian, Spanish-Italian bilingual children and their monolingual child and adult counterparts in the acceptability of pre- and postverbal object pronouns in [[plus or minus]focus] contexts in…

Disseminated Mycobacterium chimaera infection after open heart surgery in an Italian woman: a case report and a review of the literature.

PubMed

Chiesi, Sheila; Piacentini, Daniela; Salerno, Nicola Duccio; Luise, Dora; Peracchi, Marta; Concia, Ercole; Cazzadori, Angelo; Piovan, Enrico; Lanzafame, Massimiliano

2017-09-01

We report the first Italian case of Mycobacterium chimaera disseminated infection in a patient with a history of cardiac surgery. The patient was initially diagnosed with sarcoidosis and started on immunosuppressive therapy. Ten months later she developed a vertebral osteomyelitis: M. chimaera was isolated from bone specimen. A review of the literature shows that M. chimaera infection occurs specifically in this population of patients, due to contamination of heater-cooler units used during cardiosurgery. Devices responsible for the transmission were produced by Sorin Group Deutschland. Mycobacterium chimaera infection should be included in the differential diagnosis for patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Higher protein intake is associated with increased risk for incident end-stage renal disease among blacks with diabetes in the Southern Community Cohort Study.

PubMed

Malhotra, R; Cavanaugh, K L; Blot, W J; Ikizler, T A; Lipworth, L; Kabagambe, E K

2016-12-01

Diabetes, a risk factor for end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is associated with impaired protein metabolism. We investigated whether protein intake is associated with ESRD and whether the risk is higher among blacks with diabetes. We conducted a nested case-control study of ESRD within the Southern Community Cohort Study, a prospective study of low-income blacks and whites in the southeastern US (2002-2009). Through 2012, 1057 incident ESRD cases were identified by linkage with the United States Renal Data System and matched to 3198 controls by age, sex, and race. Dietary intakes were assessed from a validated food frequency questionnaire at baseline. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed from logistic regression models that included matching variables, BMI, education, income, hypertension, total energy intake, and percent energy from saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Mean (±SD) daily energy intake from protein was higher among ESRD cases than controls (15.7 ± 3.3 vs. 15.1 ± 3.1%, P < 0.0001). For a 1% increase in percent energy intake from protein, the adjusted ORs (95% CIs) for ESRD were 1.06 (1.02-1.10) for blacks with diabetes, 1.02 (0.98-1.06) for blacks without diabetes, 0.99 (0.90-1.09) for whites with diabetes and 0.94 (0.84-1.06) for whites without diabetes. Protein intake in g/kg/day was also associated with ESRD (4th vs. 1st quartile OR = 1.76; 95% CI: 1.17-2.65). Our results raise the possibility that among blacks with diabetes, increased dietary protein is associated with increased incidence of ESRD. Studies on how protein intake and metabolism affect ESRD are needed. Copyright © 2016 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ultrasonographic evaluation of the shoulder in elite Italian beach volleyball players.

PubMed

Monteleone, G; Tramontana, A; Mc Donald, K; Sorge, R; Tiloca, A; Foti, C

2015-10-01

Beach volleyball is an overhead sport that subjects the hitting shoulder to intense functional loads. The purpose of this study is to identify ultrasonographically the prevalence of myotendinous alterations in professional Italian beach volleyball players at the Italian championship and to look for associations between ultrasound findings and the other data collected. Fifty-three beach volleyball players (31 women, 22 men) were recruited during the second stage of the Italian championship held in July 2012 in Rome, Italy. Clinical history was obtained from all subjects, followed by physical exam. Each athlete completed a questionnaire regarding sports activities. Bilateral ultrasonographic evaluation of the shoulders was then performed. Calcific tendinopathy of the rotator cuff of the hitting shoulder was identified ultrasonographically in 30% of the athletes. The mean age of the athletes with calcific tendinopathy was older than subjects with other abnormalities on ultrasonographic examination (33.1 years vs. 25.8 years, t-test; P<0.0001). Impingement was recognized ultrasonographically in the hitting shoulder in 10 of the athletes (18.8%). The Neer's test was positive in the cases of anterior impingement (χ2; P<0.002). Calcific tendinopathy of the rotator cuff of the hitting shoulder in professional beach volleyball players has a prevalence of 30% ultrasonographically, greater than that reported in the general population. In these athletes, the presence of calcific tendinopathy correlates positively with age.

Contexts and experimentalism in the psychology of Gabriele Buccola (1875-1885).

PubMed

Degni, Silvia; Foschi, Renato; Lombardo, Giovanni Pietro

2007-01-01

Gabriele Buccola, since his untimely death, often has been mentioned as the first Italian psychologist who developed a strict program of laboratory research. Buccola, a Sicilian of Albanian ancestry, is a "case" in the history of Italian psychology. A self-taught positivist, he established a relation with the major representatives of the European positivism. Kraepelin mentions him as one of the precursors of his project of applying experimental psychology to psychopathology. Buccola actually carried out research on the psychological, chemical-biological, and psychopathological "modifiers" of reaction times, following an experimental program dealing mainly with the differential study both of basic and superior psychological processes, with mental hygiene ends. Historians of psychology agree in considering Buccola the first Italian laboratory psychologist to plan a program of research that was close to European psychological experimentalism. The present article, starting from an outline of Buccola's role in the rising Italian scientific psychology, recontextualizes his experimentalism in an international sphere. This operation, which is carried out through a careful survey of Buccola's entire production-both theoretical and more properly scientific-is based on the search of the Darwinian, Spencerian, and Haeckelian evolutionist themes emerging from Buccola's program of research-a program that was influenced by the variegated European experimental panorama and characterized by the vision of science as a knowledge capable of transforming the nature of man and of society.

Bilinguisme et problematique des langues ethniques. Enquete sur le comportement linguistique des jeunes montrealais d'origine italienne (Bilingualism and the Problem of Ethnic Languages. A Study of the Linguistic Behavior of Young Montrealers of Italian Descent). Publication B-149.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Villata, Bruno

A study is reported of the language behavior of trilingual 9-to-12-year-old native Italian speakers in Montreal, some of whom were studying Italian on Saturdays and some of whom were not. The study focused on their available vocabulary in the three languages (Italian, French, and English) and on their language productivity during their various…

Sleep disturbances and cognitive decline: recommendations on clinical assessment and the management.

PubMed

Guarnieri, Biancamaria; Cerroni, Gianluigi; Sorbi, Sandro

2015-01-01

In 2004, in Genoa (Italy), the Italian Dementia Research Association (SINDem) was born. The first congress of this new scientific society took place in Rome in 2006. SINDem soon recognized the importance to investigate sleep problems in cognitive decline and created a national "sleep study group "composed by neurologists and sleep specialists. In 2012, The SINDem study group, in close relationship with the Italian Association of sleep medicine (AIMS), published the study "Prevalence of sleep disturbances in mild cognitive impairment and dementing disorders: a multicenter Italian clinical cross-sectional study on 431 patients ", confirming the high prevalence of sleep disturbances in a wide Italian population of persons with cognitive decline. The study was supported by a grant from the Italian Minister of Health and was conducted with the fundamental contribution of the Italian National Research Center (CNR). In 2014, the same group published the paper "Recommendations of the Sleep Study Group of the Italian Dementia Research Association (SINDem) on clinical assessment and management of sleep disorders in individuals with mild cognitive impairment and dementia: a clinical review". The recommendations are wide and directed to professionals (neurologists but not exclusively) to try to establish uniform levels of care, promote collaborative studies into areas of uncertainty, and define the qualitative characteristics of Dementia Reference Centers about sleep disturbances.

Experimental studies on comparison of the vector competence of four Italian Culex pipiens populations for West Nile virus.

PubMed

Fortuna, Claudia; Remoli, Maria Elena; Di Luca, Marco; Severini, Francesco; Toma, Luciano; Benedetti, Eleonora; Bucci, Paola; Montarsi, Fabrizio; Minelli, Giada; Boccolini, Daniela; Romi, Roberto; Ciufolini, Maria Grazia

2015-09-17

West Nile virus (WNV) is a vector-borne disease responsible for causing epidemics in many areas of the world. The virus is maintained in nature by an enzootic bird-mosquito-bird cycle and occasionally transmitted to other hosts, such as equines and humans. Culex species, in particular the ubiquitous species Culex pipiens is thought to play a major vector role both in enzootic and epizootic maintenance and transmission of WNV. Introduced in Europe in recent years, since 2008 WNV has been stably circulating mainly in the Northeastern regions of Italy, although sporadic equine and/or human cases, as well as WNV infected Cx. pipiens pools, have been recorded in other Italian areas. The scope of our study was to evaluate the potential competence of some Italian populations of Cx. pipiens to transmit WNV and to assess their ability for vertical transmission of the virus. For this purpose four Italian populations, from different areas, were experimentally infected. After the infectious blood meal, fed females were monitored for 32 days to determine the length of viral extrinsic incubation period. WNV titre of infected mosquitoes was evaluated both by quantitative Real Time PCR and viral titration by Plaque Forming Units/ml (PFU/mL) in VERO cells. Potential Infection, Dissemination, Transmission rates (IR, DR, TR) were assessed by detection of the virus in body, legs plus wings and saliva of the fed females, respectively. All tested populations were susceptible to the WNV infection. The viral presence in legs and wings demonstrated the ability of WNV to disseminate in the mosquitoes. Viral RNA was detected in the saliva of tested populations. No significant differences in TR values were observed among the four studied populations. The offspring of the Cx. pipiens infected females were WNV negative. Our study addressed an important issue in the knowledge on the complex WNV-vector relationships in Italy, indicating that all Italian Cx. pipiens populations tested exhibited vector competence for WNV. Further studies should be performed in order to better clarify the role of other factors (vector density, climatic conditions, reservoir presence etc.) in order to predict where and when WNV outbreaks could occur.

[Mobbing and working environment: towards an organizational prevention].

PubMed

Bosco, Maria Giuseppina; Salerno, Silvana

2004-01-01

Psychological violence in the workplaces is increasing and the Italian national health service and trade unions are mostly involved in single cases of diagnosis strategy. To analyse published mobbing cases using a mobbing prevention approach that takes account of the main civil rights violation in mobbing actions. 25 cases were analysed in order to identify the type of mobbing, gender, the professional position and the main civil rights that were violated. Seven main civil rights had been violated in the 25 mobbing cases: health, work, professional skills, equal treatment, legality, diversity, dignity. Men working in unhealthy conditions, mostly due to unhealthy working environments, were forced to leave under the pressure of moral violence. In women, equal treatment and diversity were the main rights that were violated. Co-worker support was absent in all cases. A civil rights assessment to prevent mobbing is considered. Italian legislation, particularly the Civil Code, can be the legislation key for prevention, with the employer responsible for providing a violence-free environment as indicated in European Directive 626/94.

The Role of Chemistry Museums in Chemical Education for Students and the General Public. A Case Study from Italy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Domenici, Valentina

2008-01-01

This paper investigates the educational role of museums of chemistry in presenting chemistry to the public in Italy, particularly to students. The activities carried out by Italian museums and scientific collections completely dedicated to chemistry have been analyzed, focusing on the relationship between these institutions and students with…

The Cooperative Sharing of Audiovisual Materials in Medical Schools; a Network Approach. Case Study 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Medical Audiovisual Center of the National Library of Medicine, Atlanta, GA.

The evolution of medical schools from their post-Renaissance Italian prototypes to present modern facilities has been marked by a variety of philosophies, methodologies, and pedagogical styles. Pressures to improve medical curriculum led to the educational media movement of the 1950's. By 1970, the Association of Professors of Gynecology and…

The Italian genome reflects the history of Europe and the Mediterranean basin

PubMed Central

Fiorito, Giovanni; Di Gaetano, Cornelia; Guarrera, Simonetta; Rosa, Fabio; Feldman, Marcus W; Piazza, Alberto; Matullo, Giuseppe

2016-01-01

Recent scientific literature has highlighted the relevance of population genetic studies both for disease association mapping in admixed populations and for understanding the history of human migrations. Deeper insight into the history of the Italian population is critical for understanding the peopling of Europe. Because of its crucial position at the centre of the Mediterranean basin, the Italian peninsula has experienced a complex history of colonization and migration whose genetic signatures are still present in contemporary Italians. In this study, we investigated genomic variation in the Italian population using 2.5 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms in a sample of more than 300 unrelated Italian subjects with well-defined geographical origins. We combined several analytical approaches to interpret genome-wide data on 1272 individuals from European, Middle Eastern, and North African populations. We detected three major ancestral components contributing different proportions across the Italian peninsula, and signatures of continuous gene flow within Italy, which have produced remarkable genetic variability among contemporary Italians. In addition, we have extracted novel details about the Italian population's ancestry, identifying the genetic signatures of major historical events in Europe and the Mediterranean basin from the Neolithic (e.g., peopling of Sardinia) to recent times (e.g., ‘barbarian invasion' of Northern and Central Italy). These results are valuable for further genetic, epidemiological and forensic studies in Italy and in Europe. PMID:26554880

Air pollution and childhood leukaemia: a nationwide case-control study in Italy.

PubMed

Badaloni, C; Ranucci, A; Cesaroni, G; Zanini, G; Vienneau, D; Al-Aidrous, F; De Hoogh, K; Magnani, C; Forastiere, F

2013-12-01

Leukaemia is the most common cancer in children, but its aetiology is still poorly understood. We tested the hypothesis that traffic-related air pollution is associated with paediatric leukaemia because of chronic exposure to several potential carcinogens. The Italian SETIL study (Study on the aetiology of lymphohematopoietic malignancies in children) was conducted in 14 Italian regions. All incident cases of leukaemia in children aged ≤10 years from these regions (period 1998-2001) were eligible for enrolment. Two controls per case, matched on birth date, gender and region of residence were randomly selected from the local population registries. Exposure assessment at birth residence included traffic indicators (distance to main roads and length of main roads within 100 m) and estimates of pollutants concentrations (particulate matter -PM2.5 and PM10- and gases -NO2 and O3-) from national dispersion model and land use regression models. The association between the exposure variables and leukaemia was assessed by logistic regression analyses. Participation rates were 91.4% among cases and 69.2% in controls; 620 cases (544 acute lymphocytic and 76 acute non-lymphocytic leukaemia) and 957 controls were included. Overall, when considering the residence at birth, 35.6% of cases and 42.4% of controls lived along busy roads, and the mean annual PM10 levels were 33.3 (SD=6.3) and 33.4 µg/m(3) (SD=6.5), respectively. No association was found, and all ORs, independent of the method of assessment and the exposure windows, were close to the null value. Using various exposure assessment strategies, air pollution appears not to affect the incidence of childhood leukaemia.

Along Silk Road: Earth observation and ICT for Cultural Heritage from Italian and Chinese perspectives.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masini, Nicola; Chen, Fulong; Feng, Dexian; Gabellone, Francesco; Lasaponara, Rosa; Yang, Ruixia

2014-05-01

In the framework of the bilateral scientific cooperation programme between Italy and China a project financed by Italian of Ministry Affairs on Earth Observation and ICT for cultural heritage has been starting since 2013 with the participation of researchers of two Italian institutes of CNR, IBAM and IMAA, and of Centre for Earth Observation and Digital Earth of Chinese Academy of Sciences. The aims of this project is to achieve advances in knowledge, methods and technologies to support a smart management of cultural sites which require constant monitoring activities to preserve their integrity by means of synergic Italian-Chinese research activities, training and exchanges of working experience in the field of remote sensing, geophysics, virtual reality and geomatics applied to Cultural Heritage. During the three years of the project, a number of case studies in China and in Italy will represent the test areas to implement in a synergic way different remote sensing approaches from space-borne to airborne remote sensing (Lasaponara and Masini 2011, 2013; Masini and Lasaponara 2013), including UAV, up to geophysics and terrestrial survey methods with different aims, from site discovery to monitoring and management of cultural sites. The paper shows the preliminary results of three case studies in China. One is Luoyang in the western Henan province, located at the intersection of the Luo and Yi rivers, an area that was once considered the center of China. For this reason its territory more times hosted the capital during different dynasties. The first was built on 2070 BCE, during the Xia Dynasty. Another capital of Eastern Han Dynasty was found in 25 AD by Emperor Guangwu of Han. During the Eastern Han Dynasty Luoyang was the most important town of China, from the political, religious and cultural point of view. A few architectural monuments of this period are preserved, among them the White Horse Temple, built on preexisting structures of the first Buddhist temple in China founded in 68 AD. The last capital date back to 493 when the Northern Wei Dynasty moved its capital from Datong to Luoyang and started the construction of the rock-cut Longmen Grottoes. These grottoes are composed of more than 30,000 Buddhist statues sculptured in the rock which represent the second case study of the project. Finally, the third case study is the Silk road which is network of routes connecting the West and East and linking traders, merchants, pilgrims, monks, soldiers, from China to the Mediterranean Sea since the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD). For the above mentioned case studies different approaches for the knowledge and conservation have been experiencing. For Luoyang case study the preliminary results of SAR interferometry aimed to assess subsidence phenomena will be presented. Structure for Motion has been applied to obtain 3d models of one of the famous Buddhas of Longmen. Finally, the processing of multiscale optical satellite imagery is bringing to light old routes of the Silk Road in the in Xinjiang region, nearby Kashgar, the westernmost city of China. Acknowledgement The authors thank the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for supporting the project "Smart management of cultural heritage sites in Italy and China: Earth Observation and pilot projects. Reference F. Chen, F. Gabellone, R. Lasaponara, G. Leucci, E. Rizzo, Remote Sensing and ICT for Cultural heritage from European and Chinese perspectives, CNR-STES, Potenza, 2013. Lasaponara R., Masini N. 2013, Satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar in Archaeology and Cultural Landscape: An Overview. Archaeological Prospection, 20, 71-78, doi: 10.1002/arp.1452 Lasaponara R., Masini N. 2011, Satellite Remote Sensing in Archaeology : past, present and future, Journal of Archaeological Science, 38(9), 1995-2002, doi:10.1016/j.jas.2011.02.002 Masini N., Lasaponara R. 2013. Airborne Lidar in Archaeology: Overview and a Case Study. In: Computational Science and Its Applications - ICCSA 2013, Lecture Notes in Computer Science Volume 7972, 2013, pp 663-676, doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-39643-4_48, ISSN: 0302-9743, Springer Berlin Heidelberg

Does the mean adequately represent reading performance? Evidence from a cross-linguistic study

PubMed Central

Marinelli, Chiara V.; Horne, Joanna K.; McGeown, Sarah P.; Zoccolotti, Pierluigi; Martelli, Marialuisa

2014-01-01

Reading models are largely based on the interpretation of average data from normal or impaired readers, mainly drawn from English-speaking individuals. In the present study we evaluated the possible contribution of orthographic consistency in generating individual differences in reading behavior. We compared the reading performance of young adults speaking English (one of the most irregular orthographies) and Italian (a very regular orthography). In the 1st experiment we presented 22 English and 30 Italian readers with 5-letter words using the Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) paradigm. In a 2nd experiment, we evaluated a new group of 26 English and 32 Italian proficient readers through the RSVP procedure and lists matched in the two languages for both number of phonemes and letters. The results of the two experiments indicate that English participants read at a similar rate but with much greater individual differences than the Italian participants. In a 3rd experiment, we extended these results to a vocal reaction time (vRT) task, examining the effect of word frequency. An ex-Gaussian distribution analysis revealed differences between languages in the size of the exponential parameter (tau) and in the variance (sigma), but not the mean, of the Gaussian component. Notably, English readers were more variable for both tau and sigma than Italian readers. The pattern of performance in English individuals runs counter to models of performance in timed tasks (Faust et al., 1999; Myerson et al., 2003) which envisage a general relationship between mean performance and variability; indeed, this relationship does not hold in the case of the English participants. The present data highlight the importance of developing reading models that not only capture mean level performance, but also variability across individuals, especially in order to account for cross-linguistic differences in reading behavior. PMID:25191289

Lung cancer risk of airborne particles for Italian population

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Buonanno, G., E-mail: buonanno@unicas.it; International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street 2, 4001 Brisbane, Qld.; Giovinco, G., E-mail: giovinco@unicas.it

Airborne particles, including both ultrafine and supermicrometric particles, contain various carcinogens. Exposure and risk-assessment studies regularly use particle mass concentration as dosimetry parameter, therefore neglecting the potential impact of ultrafine particles due to their negligible mass compared to supermicrometric particles. The main purpose of this study was the characterization of lung cancer risk due to exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and some heavy metals associated with particle inhalation by Italian non-smoking people. A risk-assessment scheme, modified from an existing risk model, was applied to estimate the cancer risk contribution from both ultrafine and supermicrometric particles. Exposure assessment was carried outmore » on the basis of particle number distributions measured in 25 smoke-free microenvironments in Italy. The predicted lung cancer risk was then compared to the cancer incidence rate in Italy to assess the number of lung cancer cases attributed to airborne particle inhalation, which represents one of the main causes of lung cancer, apart from smoking. Ultrafine particles are associated with a much higher risk than supermicrometric particles, and the modified risk-assessment scheme provided a more accurate estimate than the conventional scheme. Great attention has to be paid to indoor microenvironments and, in particular, to cooking and eating times, which represent the major contributors to lung cancer incidence in the Italian population. The modified risk assessment scheme can serve as a tool for assessing environmental quality, as well as setting up exposure standards for particulate matter. - Highlights: • Lung cancer risk for non-smoking Italian population due to particle inhalation. • The average lung cancer risk for Italian population is equal to 1.90×10{sup −2}. • Ultrafine particle is the aerosol metric mostly contributing to lung cancer risk. • B(a)P is the main (particle-bounded) compound contributing to lung cancer risk. • Cooking activities represent the principal contributor to the lung cancer risk.« less

Communication Attitude of Italian Children Who Do and Do Not Stutter

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bernardini, Simona; Vanryckeghem, Martine; Brutten, Gene J.; Cocco, Luisella; Zmarich, Claudio

2009-01-01

The purpose of this factorial study was to establish normative data for the Italian version of the Communication Attitude Test (CAT) in order to determine whether or not the speech-associated attitude reported by Italian children who stutter (CWS) differs significantly from that of their nonstuttering peers (CWNS). Toward this end, the Italian CAT…

Access to medical-assisted reproduction and pgd in Italian law: a deadly blow to an illiberal statute? commentary to the European Court on Human Rights's decision Costa and Pavan v Italy (ECtHR, 28 August 2012, App. 54270/2010).

PubMed

Biondi, Stefano

2013-01-01

This article provides an account of the European Court on Human Rights' Second Section decision in the case Costa and Pavan v Italy. The judgment found that the Italian Statute on Assisted Reproduction (Law 40/2004), and particularly its prohibition to use in vitro fertilisation and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to prevent the birth of children affected by genetically transmissible conditions, breached Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). In fact, the statute in question permits only infertile people to access medically assisted reproduction techniques and forbids PGD and embryo selection. The Court regarded that the rationale of these prohibitions-identified by the Italian Government with the need to prevent eugenic practices as well as to protect the health of the unborn and of the woman-was at odds with the fact that Italian law allows pre-natal screening and therapeutic abortions in case foetal abnormalities are diagnosed. In order to clarify the decision's significance, the paper goes on to analyse the rationale of Law 40/2004 in the Italian legal and political context. Emphasis is placed on the fact that this statute is extremely controversial at domestic level, because many of its provisions-including those considered by the Strasbourg Court-are inherently contradictory and contrast with the settled constitutional principles on abortion, as many domestic authorities highlighted. In this context, should the commented decision be confirmed by the Grand Chamber, it may provide a basis to bring consistency back to the Italian regulation of assisted reproduction. Finally, the paper considers the appeal lodged by the Italian Government to the Grand Chamber, and in particular the contention that the European Court had failed to respect Italy's margin of appreciation. In this regard, it is argued that, under Law 40/2004, individuals face illogical and discriminatory restrictions to their right to private and family life and that therefore, even if an outright violation of Article 8 ECHR could not be found, there appears to be at least a breach of Article 8 in conjunction with Article 14 ECHR.

Clinical features and histological description of tongue lesions in a large Northern Italian population

PubMed Central

Carbone, Mario; Arduino, Paolo-Giacomo; Carrozzo, Marco; Conrotto, Davide; Tanteri, Carlotta; Carbone, Lucio; Elia, Alessandra; Maragon, Zaira; Broccoletti, Roberto

2015-01-01

Background Only few studies on tongue lesions considered sizable populations, and contemporary literature does not provide a valid report regarding the epidemiology of tongue lesions within the Italian population. In this report, the histopathological and clinical appearance of 1.106 tongue lesions from northern Italians are described and discussed. Material and Methods The case records of patients referred for the diagnosis and management of tongue lesions, from October 1993 to October 2013, were reviewed. Histological data were also obtained and blindly reexamined. Results For instance, a biopsy performed on a lingual ulcer has a strong predicting association with a carcinoma, whereas a biopsy on a white lesion predicts for a leukoplakia or oral lichen planus. Moreover, a biopsy of erosion is representative of bullous diseases, whereas a biopsy on a verrucous-papillary lesion is significant for fibroma. Furthermore, carcinomas occur in the majority of cases on the lingual edge or pelvis, oral lichen planus is mainly seen on the edge, and fibromas mostly on the lingual tip. Conclusions The high frequency of tongue involvement of such different diseases emphasizes the importance of histological characterization and that some diseases occur more frequently than others, with a peculiar clinical aspect and a more common area. In fact our survey can help the clinician in advancing diagnostic hypothesis, on the basis of the elementary lesion and its site of involvement. Key words:Tongue lesions, clinical appearance, histological description. PMID:26241456

The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI): linguistic validation of the Italian version.

PubMed

Filocamo, Maria Teresa; Serati, Maurizio; Li Marzi, Vincenzo; Costantini, Elisabetta; Milanesi, Martina; Pietropaolo, Amelia; Polledro, Patrizio; Gentile, Barbara; Maruccia, Serena; Fornia, Samanta; Lauri, Irene; Alei, Rosanna; Arcangeli, Paola; Sighinolfi, Maria Chiara; Manassero, Francesca; Andretta, Elena; Palazzetti, Anna; Bertelli, Elena; Del Popolo, Giulio; Villari, Donata

2014-02-01

Although several new measurements for female sexual dysfunction (FSD) have recently been developed, the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) remains the gold standard for screening and one of the most widely used questionnaires. The Italian translation of the FSFI has been used in several studies conducted in Italy, but a linguistic validation of the Italian version does not exist. The aim of this study was to perform a linguistic validation of the Italian version of the FSFI. A multicenter cross-sectional study conducted in 14 urological and gynecological clinics, uniformly distributed over Italian territory. We performed all steps necessary to determine the reliability and the test-retest reliability of the Italian version of the FSFI. The study population was a convenience sample of 409 Italian women. The reliability of the questionnaire was calculated using Cronbach's alpha, which was considered weak, moderate, or high if its value was found less than 0.6, between 0.6 and 0.8, or equal to or greater than 0.8, respectively. The test-retest reliability was assessed for all women in the sample by calculating Pearson's concordance correlation coefficient for each domain and for the total score, both at baseline and after 15 days (r range between -1.00 to +1.00, where +1.00 indicates the strongest positive association). Cronbach's alpha coefficients for total and domain score were sufficiently high, ranging from 0.92 to 0.97 for the total sample. The test-retest procedure revealed that the concordance correlation coefficient was very high both for FSFI-I total score (Pearson's P = 0.93) and for each domain (Pearson's P always >0.92). For the first time in the literature, our study has produced a validated and reliable Italian version of the FSFI questionnaire. Consequently, the Italian FSFI can be used as a reliable tool for preliminary screening for female sexual dysfunction for Italian women. © 2013 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

The intracavitary ECG method for positioning the tip of central venous access devices in pediatric patients: results of an Italian multicenter study.

PubMed

Rossetti, Francesca; Pittiruti, Mauro; Lamperti, Massimo; Graziano, Ugo; Celentano, Davide; Capozzoli, Giuseppe

2015-01-01

The Italian Group for Venous Access Devices (GAVeCeLT) has carried out a multicenter study investigating the safety and accuracy of intracavitary electrocardiography (IC-ECG) in pediatric patients. We enrolled 309 patients (age 1 month-18 years) candidate to different central venous access devices (VAD) - 56 peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC), 178 short term centrally inserted central catheters (CICC), 65 long term VADs, 10 VADs for dialysis - in five Italian Hospitals. Three age groups were considered: A (<4 years, n = 157), B (4-11 years, n = 119), and C (12-18 years, n = 31). IC-ECG was applicable in 307 cases. The increase of the P wave on IC-ECG was detected in all cases but two. The tip of the catheter was positioned at the cavo-atrial junction (CAJ) (i.e., at the maximal height of the P wave on IC-ECG) and the position was checked during the procedure by fluoroscopy or chest x-ray, considering the CAJ at 1-2 cm (group A), 1.5-3 cm (group B), or 2-4 cm (group C) below the carina. There were no complications related to IC-ECG. The overall match between IC-ECG and x-ray was 95.8% (96.2% in group A, 95% in group B, and 96.8% in group C). In 95 cases, the IC-ECG was performed with a dedicated ECG monitor, specifically designed for IC-ECG (Nautilus, Romedex): in this group, the match between IC-ECG and x-ray was 98.8%. We conclude that the IC-ECG method is safe and accurate in the pediatric patients. The applicability of the method is 99.4% and its feasibility is 99.4%. The accuracy is 95.8% and even higher (98.8%) when using a dedicated ECG monitor.

An alternative experimental case-control design for genetic association studies on bovine mastitis.

PubMed

Biffani, S; Del Corvo, M; Capoferri, R; Pedretti, A; Luini, M; Williams, J L; Pagnacco, G; Minvielle, F; Minozzi, G

2017-04-01

The possibility of using genetic control strategies to increase disease resistance to infectious diseases relies on the identification of markers to include in the breeding plans. Possible incomplete exposure of mastitis-free (control) animals, however, is a major issue to find relevant markers in genetic association studies for infectious diseases. Usually, designs based on elite dairy sires are used in association studies, but an epidemiological case-control strategy, based on cows repeatedly field-tested could be an alternative for disease traits. To test this hypothesis, genetic association results obtained in the present work from a cohort of Italian Holstein cows tested for mastitis over time were compared with those from a previous genome-wide scan on Italian Holstein sires genotyped with 50k single nucleotide polymorphisms for de-regressed estimated breeding values for somatic cell counts (SCCs) on Bos taurus autosome (BTA6) and BTA14. A total of 1121 cows were selected for the case-control approach (cases=550, controls=571), on a combination of herd level of SCC incidence and of within herd individual level of SCC. The association study was conducted on nine previously identified markers, six on BTA6 and four on BTA14, using the R statistical environment with the 'qtscore' function of the GenABEL package, on high/low adjusted linear score as a binomial trait. The results obtained in the cow cohort selected on epidemiological information were in agreement with those obtained from the previous sire genome-wide association study (GWAS). Six out of the nine markers showed significant association, four on BTA14 (rs109146371, rs109234250, rs109421300, rs109162116) and two on BTA6 (rs110527224 and rs42766480). Most importantly, using mastitis as a case study, the current work further validated the alternative use of historical field disease data in case-control designs for genetic analysis of infectious diseases in livestock.

White paper of Italian Gastroenterology: delivery of services for digestive diseases in Italy: weaknesses and strengths.

PubMed

Buscarini, Elisabetta; Conte, Dario; Cannizzaro, Renato; Bazzoli, Franco; De Boni, Michele; Delle Fave, Gianfranco; Farinati, Fabio; Ravelli, Paolo; Testoni, Pier Alberto; Lisiero, Manola; Spolaore, Paolo

2014-07-01

In 2011 the three major Italian gastroenterological scientific societies (AIGO, the Italian Society of Hospital Gastroenterologists and Endoscopists; SIED, the Italian Society of Endoscopy; SIGE, the Italian Society of Gastroenterology) prepared their official document aimed at analysing medical care for digestive diseases in Italy, on the basis of national and regional data (Health Ministry and Lombardia, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna databases) and to make proposals for planning of care. Digestive diseases were the first or second cause of hospitalizations in Italy in 1999-2009, with more than 1,500,000 admissions/year; however only 5-9% of these admissions was in specialized Gastroenterology units. Reported data show a better outcome in Gastroenterology Units than in non-specialized units: shorter average length of stay, in particular for admissions with ICD-9-CM codes proxying for emergency conditions (6.7 days versus 8.4 days); better case mix (higher average diagnosis-related groups weight in Gastroenterology Units: 1 vs 0.97 in Internal Medicine units and 0.76 in Surgery units); lower inappropriateness of admissions (16-25% versus 29-87%); lower in-hospital mortality in urgent admissions (2.2% versus 5.1%); for patients with urgent admissions due to gastrointestinnal haemorrhage, in-hospital mortality was 2.3% in Gastroenterology units versus 4.0% in others. The present document summarizes the scientific societies' official report, which constitutes the "White paper of Italian Gastroenterology". Copyright © 2014 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dynamics between doctors and managers in the Italian National Health Care System.

PubMed

Vicarelli, Giovanna M; Pavolini, Emmanuele

2017-11-01

This article focuses on the changes in the Italian NHS by concentrating on patterns in the managerialisation of doctors. It addresses a series of shortcomings in studies on the response by doctors to managerialisation. The first is a shortcoming of theoretical and analytical nature. It is necessary to adopt a broader perspective whereby analysis considers not only the interaction between doctors and managers, but also the public control and regulation agencies that operate in that field. The second shortcoming is a methodological one. The literature on managerialisation is more theoretical than applied. It is necessary to adopt a strategy based on a plurality of methodologies and sources in order to focus attention on a national case (Italy in the present study), discussing the changes over time (from the beginning of managerialisation until today) and considering different groups within the medical profession. The outcome is a complex picture of the dynamics between doctors and managers which foregrounds the managerial co-optation processes of a small group of national health service doctors, the transition from strategic adaptation to forms of resistance against managerialisation by the majority of Italian NHS doctors, and the emergence of restratification processes among self-employed doctors working with the NHS. © 2017 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness.

An interview-based approach to assess sea turtle bycatch in Italian waters.

PubMed

Lucchetti, Alessandro; Vasapollo, Claudio; Virgili, Massimo

2017-01-01

The loggerhead sea turtle ( Caretta caretta , Linnaeus, 1758) is the most abundant sea turtle species in the Mediterranean Sea, where commercial fishing appears to be the main driver of mortality. So far, information on sea turtle bycatch in Italy is limited both in space and time due to logistical problems in data collected through onboard observations and on a limited number of vessels involved. In the present study, sea turtle bycatch in Italian waters was examined by collecting fishermen's information on turtle bycatch through an interview-based approach. Their replies enabled the identification of bycatch hotspots in relation to area, season and to the main gear types. The most harmful fishing gears resulted to be trawl nets, showing the highest probabilities of turtle bycatch with a hotspot in the Adriatic Sea, followed by longlines in the Ionian Sea and in the Sicily Channel. Estimates obtained by the present results showed that more than 52,000 capture events and 10,000 deaths occurred in Italian waters in 2014, highlighting a more alarming scenario than earlier studies. The work shows that in case of poor data from other sources, direct questioning of fishermen and stakeholders could represent a useful and cost-effective approach capable of providing sufficient data to estimate annual bycatch rates and identify high-risk gear/location/season combinations.

Parental practices of Italian mothers and fathers during early infancy: The role of knowledge about parenting and child development.

PubMed

Scarzello, Donatella; Arace, Angelica; Prino, Laura Elvira

2016-08-01

Our contribution aims to verify whether parental knowledge about child development and parenting constitutes a protective factor in the application of dysfunctional educational practices. Numerous studies have found that parental knowledge has a great influence on parenting, however it remains unclear whether both are casually linked in a direct and linear way. Data currently available on parental knowledge almost exclusively refers to mothers and subjects at risk. Furthermore, there are almost no studies which take into consideration subjects who are Italian citizens. In contrast our work takes into consideration a normative sample of 157 Italian couples who are the parents of children aged between 16 and 36 months and who completed the Knowledge of Infant Development Inventory (KIDI; MacPhee, 1981) and the Parenting Scale (Arnold, O'Leary, Wolff, & Acker, 1993). The results highlight differences between mothers and fathers, both in terms of knowledge levels (higher for mothers) and educational practices (maternal practices are more frequently dysfunctional); knowledge influences educational practices above all in the case of fathers, although said effect is slight, which supports the idea that interaction between knowledge and parental practices is not linear but rather mediated by other factors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Genotype-Phenotype Characterization of Novel Variants in Six Italian Patients with Familial Exudative Vitreoretinopathy.

PubMed

Iarossi, Giancarlo; Bertelli, Matteo; Maltese, Paolo Enrico; Gusson, Elena; Marchini, Giorgio; Bruson, Alice; Benedetti, Sabrina; Volpetti, Sabrina; Catena, Gino; Buzzonetti, Luca; Ziccardi, Lucia

2017-01-01

Familial exudative vitreoretinopathy (FEVR) is a complex disorder characterized by incomplete development of the retinal vasculature. Here, we report the results obtained on the spectrum of genetic variations and correlated phenotypes found in a cohort of Italian FEVR patients. Eight probands (age range 7-19 years) were assessed by genetic analysis and comprehensive age-appropriate ophthalmic examination. Genetic testing investigated the genes most widely associated in literature with FEVR: FZD4 , LRP5 , TSPAN12 , and NDP . Clinical and genetic evaluations were extended to relatives of probands positive to genetic testing. Six out of eight probands (75%) showed a genetic variation probably related to the phenotype. We identified four novel genetic variants, one variant already described in association with Norrie disease and one previously described linked to autosomal dominant FEVR. Pedigree analysis of patients led to the classification of four autosomal dominant cases of FEVR (caused by FZD4 and TSPAN12 variants) and two X-linked FEVR probands ( NDP variants). None of the patients showed variants in the LRP5 gene. This study represents the largest cohort study in Italian FEVR patients. Our findings are in agreement with the previous literature confirming that FEVR is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous retinal disorder, even when it manifests in the same family.

Genotype-Phenotype Characterization of Novel Variants in Six Italian Patients with Familial Exudative Vitreoretinopathy

PubMed Central

Marchini, Giorgio; Volpetti, Sabrina; Catena, Gino

2017-01-01

Familial exudative vitreoretinopathy (FEVR) is a complex disorder characterized by incomplete development of the retinal vasculature. Here, we report the results obtained on the spectrum of genetic variations and correlated phenotypes found in a cohort of Italian FEVR patients. Eight probands (age range 7–19 years) were assessed by genetic analysis and comprehensive age-appropriate ophthalmic examination. Genetic testing investigated the genes most widely associated in literature with FEVR: FZD4, LRP5, TSPAN12, and NDP. Clinical and genetic evaluations were extended to relatives of probands positive to genetic testing. Six out of eight probands (75%) showed a genetic variation probably related to the phenotype. We identified four novel genetic variants, one variant already described in association with Norrie disease and one previously described linked to autosomal dominant FEVR. Pedigree analysis of patients led to the classification of four autosomal dominant cases of FEVR (caused by FZD4 and TSPAN12 variants) and two X-linked FEVR probands (NDP variants). None of the patients showed variants in the LRP5 gene. This study represents the largest cohort study in Italian FEVR patients. Our findings are in agreement with the previous literature confirming that FEVR is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous retinal disorder, even when it manifests in the same family. PMID:28758032

Epidemiology of Imported Leishmaniasis in Italy: Implications for a European Endemic Country

PubMed Central

Di Muccio, Trentina; Scalone, Aldo; Bruno, Antonella; Marangi, Massimo; Grande, Romualdo; Armignacco, Orlando; Gradoni, Luigi; Gramiccia, Marina

2015-01-01

In the past decade, the number of imported leishmaniasis cases has increased in countries of Western Europe. The trend is associated with increasing travels, ecotourism activity, military operations and immigration. While in endemic countries leishmaniasis is usually well diagnosed, accurate patient history and parasite identification are necessary to distinguish between autochthonous and imported cases. This is particularly important, as new Leishmania species/genotypes may be introduced and transmitted by local phlebotomine vectors without appropriate surveillance, with unpredictable consequences. We report on the surveillance of imported leishmaniasis performed by the Leishmania Identification Reference Centre of Rome from 1986 through 2012, involving health care centres from 16/20 Italian regions. Suspected imported cases were analyzed and conclusions were based on clinical, epidemiological and diagnostic findings. Over the years, different parasite identification methods were employed, including MultiLocus Enzyme Electrophoresis and molecular techniques combining disease diagnosis (SSU rDNA nested-PCR) and Leishmania typing (nuclear repetitive sequence and ITS-1 PCR-RFLPs). A total of 105 imported cases were recorded (annual range: 0-20) of which 36 were visceral (VL) (16 HIV-coinfections) and 69 cutaneous (CL) cases; 85 cases (52 CL) were from the Old World and 20 (17 CL) from the New World. Eight Leishmania species were identified, of which 7 were exotic to Italy. VL importation until 1995 was associated with the spread of Mediterranean Leishmania-HIV co-infections in early 1990s. Following the introduction of HAART treatment, such cases became occasional in Italians but relatively frequent among immigrants. In contrast, a steady increase of CL cases was observed from different areas of the Old and New Worlds, that in recent years included mainly immigrants ‘visiting friends and relatives’ and Italian tourists. This positive trend likely depends on better diagnosis and reporting; however, we suspect that many CL cases remained unrecognized. Given the relatively low incidence of leishmaniasis importation, the risk of introduction of exotic parasites appears limited, although the detection of anthroponotic species requires attention. PMID:26114938

Improving the Interest of High-School Students toward Chemistry by Crime Scene Investigation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Basso, A.; Chiorri, C.; Bracco, F.; Carnasciali, M. M.; Alloisio, M.; Grotti, M.

2018-01-01

Improving the interest of high-school students towards chemistry (and science in general) is one of the goals of the Italian Ministry of Education. To this aim, we designed a context-based activity that actively involved students in six different laboratory experiences interconnected by a case study of the murder of Miss Scarlet, from the famous…

Educating Art in a Globalizing World. The University of Ideas: A Sociological Case-Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gielen, Pascal

2006-01-01

In 1999, the Italian Arte Povera artist Michelangelo Pistoletto and other artists laid the foundations of The University of Ideas (UNIDEE), an exceptional international artist-in-residence programme with a strong ideological foundation. As a sociologist of culture I had the opportunity to do research in the huge organization for a month by doing…

The Use of AJAX in Searching a Bibliographic Database: A Case Study of the Italian Biblioteche Oggi Database

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cavaleri, Piero

2008-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the use of AJAX for searching the Biblioteche Oggi database of bibliographic records. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is a demonstration of how bibliographic database single page interfaces allow the implementation of more user-friendly features for social and collaborative tasks. Findings:…

Ensuring an Italian Renaissance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hallock, Ann H.

1978-01-01

Factors contributing to the renaissance of Italian and the goals of students who study the language are discussed. Alternatives to rote learning in the classroom and ways to generate interest in Italian in the community are suggested. (SW)

Observations on self-incineration characteristics in 24 years (1993-2016) of autopsies in the city of Milan.

PubMed

Amadasi, Alberto; Boracchi, Michele; Gentile, Guendalina; Maciocco, Francesca; Maghin, Francesca; Zoja, Riccardo

2018-01-01

Self-incineration is one of the most dramatic and lethal suicide methods. It is rarely reported in Western countries and is more frequent in developing regions. We illustrate the forensic cases of self-immolation occurring over 24 years in the city of Milan, Italy, highlighting the main issues of such a complex and rare suicide. We selected 33 cases of self-incineration among 23,417 autopsies (4022 suicides) performed at the Department of Legal Medicine of the University of Milan over a period of 24 years (1993-2016). Several parameters were included and analysed: gender and age of the victims, pathological history, previous suicide intentions/attempts, duration of burning, place of death or discovery of the corpse, circumstantial data of fatal events and autopsy findings, with particular attention to thermal injuries. Self-incineration was found in 0.8% of total suicides and 0.14% of total autopsies. One of these cases involved a complex modality (association with plastic-bag suffocation). The typical characteristics of the victim were an Italian man with psychiatric illness, frequently moved by passion, existential discomfort and economic problems. During the 24-year period, the number of cases of self-incineration progressively reduced. This study provides a general overview in one of the biggest metropolitan Italian areas and is one of the few works performed on this topic. It may be helpful in understanding and studying such an unusual manner of suicide.

Supervisor/Peer Involvement in Evaluation Transfer of Training Process and Results Reliability: A Research in an Italian Public Body

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Capaldo, Guido; Depolo, Marco; Rippa, Pierluigi; Schiattone, Domenico

2017-01-01

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to present a study performed in conjunction with a branch of the Italian Public Italian Administration, the ISSP (Istituto Superiore di Studi Penitenziari--the Higher Institute of Penitentiary Studies). The study aimed to develop a Transfer of Training (ToT) evaluation methodology that would be both scientifically…

Italian Credit Mobility Students Significantly Increase Their Alcohol Intake, Risky Drinking and Related Consequences During the Study Abroad Experience

PubMed Central

Aresi, Giovanni; Moore, Simon; Marta, Elena

2016-01-01

Aims To examine changes in alcohol intake and consequences in Italian students studying abroad. Methods Italian exchange students planning to study abroad were invited to report on their drinking and alcohol-related negative consequences before and after their time abroad. Results After excluding those who abstained throughout, data on 121 students were analysed and showed that they tended to consume more alcohol and experience more alcohol-related negative consequences compared to their pre-departure levels. Conclusion The added alcohol risk of study abroad for Italian students merits consideration of possible opportunities for intervention. PMID:27261474

Practicing Reflexivity in the Study of Italian Migrants in London

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seganti, Francesca Romana

2010-01-01

This article discusses the centrality of reflexivity in qualitative research through examples from my study on the role new media play in the lives of Italians in London. My hypothesis was that Italians were "in transit" in London and they were using new media to build "temporary" communities. I conducted in-depth interviews…

Physical activity and risk of cancers of the colon and rectum: an Italian case-control study

PubMed Central

Tavani, A; Braga, C; Vecchia, C La; Conti, E; Filiberti, R; Montella, M; Amadori, D; Russo, A; Franceschi, S

1999-01-01

We investigated the relationships between risk of colon and rectal cancers and physical activity in both sexes at different ages by a case-control study conducted between 1991 and 1996 in six Italian centres. Cases were 1225 patients (688 men, 537 women) below the age of 75 with colon cancer and the controls included 4154 patients (2073 men, 2081 women) admitted to hospital for acute, non-neoplastic conditions. We also analysed 722 cases of rectal cancer. Compared with the lowest level of occupational physical activity at 30–39 years old the odds ratios (OR) for the highest level were 0.64 (95% confidence interval, CI 0.44–0.93) in men and 0.49 (95% CI 0.33–0.72) in women. The inverse association in both sexes was similar at 15–19 and 50–59 years old. No association was found in either sex for leisure-time physical activity. For both sexes the inverse relationship between occupational physical activity at 30–39 years old and colon cancer risk was not significantly heterogeneous across strata of selected covariates, and for ascending, transverse, descending and sigmoid colon. Rectal cancer risk was not associated with any measure of physical activity (OR = 1.32 for men and 0.88 for women for the highest level of occupational physical activity at 30–39 years old compared with the lowest). This study confirms that occupational physical activity is protective against colon, but not against rectal cancer. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaign PMID:10206313

A new approach to assessing the water footprint of wine: an Italian case study.

PubMed

Lamastra, Lucrezia; Suciu, Nicoleta Alina; Novelli, Elisa; Trevisan, Marco

2014-08-15

Agriculture is the largest freshwater consumer, accounting for 70% of the world's water withdrawal. Water footprints (WFs) are being increasingly used to indicate the impacts of water use by production systems. A new methodology to assess WF of wine was developed in the framework of the V.I.V.A. project (Valutazione Impatto Viticoltura sull'Ambiente), launched by the Italian Ministry for the Environment in 2011 to improve the Italian wine sector's sustainability. The new methodology has been developed that enables different vines from the same winery to be compared. This was achieved by calculating the gray water footprint, following Tier III approach proposed by Hoekstra et al. (2011). The impact of water use during the life cycle of grape-wine production was assessed for six different wines from the same winery in Sicily, Italy using both the newly developed methodology (V.I.V.A.) and the classical methodology proposed by the Water Footprint Network (WFN). In all cases green water was the largest contributor to WF, but the new methodology also detected differences between vines of the same winery. Furthermore, V.I.V.A. methodology assesses water body contamination by pesticides application whereas the WFN methodology considers just fertilization. This fact ended highlights the highest WF of vineyard 4 calculated by V.I.V.A. if compared with the WF calculated with WFN methodology. Comparing the WF of wine produced with grapes from the six different wines, the factors most greatly influencing the results obtained in this study were: distance from the water body, fertilization rate, amount and eco-toxicological behavior of the active ingredients used. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

First evidence of a large CHEK2 duplication involved in cancer predisposition in an Italian family with hereditary breast cancer

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background CHEK2 is a multi-cancer susceptibility gene whose common germline mutations are known to contribute to the risk of developing breast and prostate cancer. Case presentation Here, we describe an Italian family with a high number of cases of breast cancer and other types of tumour subjected to the MLPA test to verify the presence of BRCA1, BRCA2 and CHEK2 deletions and duplications. We identified a new 23-kb duplication in the CHEK2 gene extending from intron 5 to 13 that was associated with breast cancer in the family. The presence and localisation of the alteration was confirmed by a second analysis by Next-Generation Sequencing. Conclusions This finding suggests that CHEK2 mutations are heterogeneous and that techniques other than sequencing, such as MLPA, are needed to identify CHEK2 mutations. It also indicates that CHEK2 rare variants, such as duplications, can confer a high susceptibility to cancer development and should thus be studied in depth as most of our knowledge of CHEK2 concerns common mutations. PMID:24986639

Keeping It All in the Family: "Tu," "Lei" and "Voi." A Study of Address Pronoun Use in Italian

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parkinson, Amber; Hajek, John

2004-01-01

Although the Italian system of address pronouns is relatively complex, scant attention is paid to the issue in L2 manuals designed for English-speaking learners of Italian. After showing that Italian L2 manuals are not necessarily accurate in the limited detail they provide, we examine specifically the frequent claim that so-called informal…

2016 Update of the Italian Pediatric Society Guidelines for Management of Fever in Children.

PubMed

Chiappini, Elena; Venturini, Elisabetta; Remaschi, Giulia; Principi, Nicola; Longhi, Riccardo; Tovo, Pier-Angelo; Becherucci, Paolo; Bonsignori, Francesca; Esposito, Susanna; Festini, Filippo; Galli, Luisa; Lucchesi, Bice; Mugelli, Alessandro; Marseglia, Gian Luigi; de Martino, Maurizio

2017-01-01

To review new scientific evidence to update the Italian guidelines for managing fever in children as drafted by the panel of the Italian Pediatric Society. Relevant publications in English and Italian were identified through search of MEDLINE and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews from May 2012 to November 2015. Previous recommendations are substantially reaffirmed. Antipyretics should be administered with the purpose to control the child's discomfort. Antipyretics should be administered orally; rectal administration is discouraged except in the setting of vomiting. Combined use of paracetamol and ibuprofen is discouraged, considering risk and benefit. Antipyretics are not recommended preemptively to reduce the incidence of fever and local reactions in children undergoing vaccination, or in attempt to prevent febrile convulsions in children. Ibuprofen and paracetamol are not contraindicated in children who are febrile with asthma, with the exception of known cases of paracetamol- or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug-induced asthma. Recent medical literature leads to reaffirmation of previous recommendations for use of antipyretics in children who are febrile. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Exploring American and Italian consumer preferences for Californian and Italian red wines.

PubMed

Torri, Luisa; Noble, Ann Curtis; Heymann, Hildegarde

2013-06-01

To increase the market share of Californian wines in other countries, wine preferences need to be explored in potential markets. This work studied the preferences of American and Italian consumers for red wines produced in California and Italy, focusing on wines made from the same varieties in each location. Descriptive analysis and consumer preference tests were performed. Americans scored each of the Californian wines significantly higher in preference than the Italian wines. In contrast, the Italian consumer preference scores for many Italian and Californian wines overlapped. By external preference mapping of the American consumer segments, the ideal flavour of one cluster was closest to the Californian Zinfandel, Merlot and Syrah, which had the 'most balanced' flavour profiles. Another cluster of Italians also preferred the Californian wines. In addition, one Italian cluster was driven by a dislike of the leather, band-aid and medicinal aromas of the Italian Merlot and Refosco. The results provided information that can contribute to wine marketing research necessary for successfully exporting Californian red wines to Italy and vice versa. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry.

Mothers Who Kill Their Offspring: Testing Evolutionary Hypothesis in a 110-Case Italian Sample

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Camperio Ciani, Andrea S.; Fontanesi, Lilybeth

2012-01-01

Objectives: This research aimed to identify incidents of mothers in Italy killing their own children and to test an adaptive evolutionary hypothesis to explain their occurrence. Methods: 110 cases of mothers killing 123 of their own offspring from 1976 to 2010 were analyzed. Each case was classified using 13 dichotomic variables. Descriptive…

PTR-MS in Italy: A Multipurpose Sensor with Applications in Environmental, Agri-Food and Health Science

PubMed Central

Cappellin, Luca; Loreto, Francesco; Aprea, Eugenio; Romano, Andrea; del Pulgar, José Sánchez; Gasperi, Flavia; Biasioli, Franco

2013-01-01

Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometry (PTR-MS) has evolved in the last decade as a fast and high sensitivity sensor for the real-time monitoring of volatile compounds. Its applications range from environmental sciences to medical sciences, from food technology to bioprocess monitoring. Italian scientists and institutions participated from the very beginning in fundamental and applied research aiming at exploiting the potentialities of this technique and providing relevant methodological advances and new fundamental indications. In this review we describe this activity on the basis of the available literature. The Italian scientific community has been active mostly in food science and technology, plant physiology and environmental studies and also pioneered the applications of the recently released PTR-ToF-MS (Proton Transfer Reaction-Time of Flight-Mass Spectrometry) in food science and in plant physiology. In the very last years new results related to bioprocess monitoring and health science have been published as well. PTR-MS data analysis, particularly in the case of the ToF based version, and the application of advanced chemometrics and data mining are also aspects characterising the activity of the Italian community. PMID:24021966

[The contribution of surveillance systems of occupational diseases and mesothelioma in environmental health studies].

PubMed

Marinaccio, A; Binazzi, A; Di Marzio, D; Massari, S; Scarselli, A; Iavicoli, S

2011-01-01

National surveillance systems of occupational diseases may contribute to evaluate the work-related component of diseases investigated in SENTIERI Project. For a description of SENTIERI, refer to the 2010 Supplement of Epidemiology & Prevention devoted to SENTIERI Project. The National Workers Compensation Authority (INAIL) archives all occupational diseases claims (more than 230 000 in the period 2000-2007) and is in charge of their compensation. The Italian National Mesothelioma Register (ReNaM) and the Sinonasal Cancer Register (ReNaTuNS) record high occupational etiological fraction neoplasms (i.e. mesothelioma and sinonasal cancers). The former has identified more than 10 000 mesothelioma cases until now, and covers almost the whole country; the latter is active only in three Italian regions, Piemonte, Lombardia and Toscana. The monitoring of cancer sites at lower occupational etiological fraction is based on a record-linkage procedure between population-based cancer registries and employment history data, available at the Italian National Institute for Social Security (INPS). Finally, the informative system Mal.Prof collects and classifies all the diseases possibly related to the work environment reported by the Prevention Services of the Local Health Units.

CASE STUDY ON AN IPILIMUMAB COST-CONTAINMENT STRATEGY IN AN ITALIAN HOSPITAL.

PubMed

Russi, Alberto; Chiarion-Sileni, Vanna; Damuzzo, Vera; Di Sarra, Francesca; Pigozzo, Jacopo; Palozzo, Angelo Claudio

2017-01-01

Ipilimumab is the first licensed immune checkpoint inhibitor for treatment of melanoma. The promising results of the registration clinical study need confirmation in real practice and its clinical success comes together with a relevant budget impact due to the high price of this drug. The aim of this work is to describe a new model of economical sustainability of ipilimumab developed in an Italian reference center for melanoma treatment. This retrospective, observational, and monocentric study was carried out at the Veneto Institute of Oncology. Ipilimumab was administered to fifty-seven patients with advanced melanoma. Overall survival, progression free survival, and toxicity were evaluated. A local management procedure was evaluated together with the cost-saving strategies implemented by the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA). We demonstrated that the use of ipilimumab for metastatic melanoma in real practice had an efficacy and toxicity similar to that reported in the literature. In this scenario, our management model (centralization of compounding + drug-day) permitted savings up to the 11.1 percent of the gross cost for the drug (calculated assuming that no cost saving procedures were applied) while the policy of cost containment designed by AIFA produced an additional 6.2 percent of savings. In real practice conditions, the centralized administration of ipilimumab allows to replicate the results of clinical studies and in the meantime to contain the cost associated with this drug. The local strategy of management can be readily applied to most of the high cost drugs compounded in the hospital pharmacy. Impact of findings on practice: (i) We describe a new model of economic sustainability (drug-day, centralization of compounding, payback systems) of an expensive and innovative drug, ipilimumab, for treatment of melanoma within an Italian cancer center. (ii) This pivotal study demonstrated that a cost containment strategy is feasible and it needs the cooperation of all healthcare providers (oncologists, pharmacists, nurses, and technicians) to guarantee the full efficiency of the process.

Climate change impacts on hydropower in the Swiss and Italian Alps.

PubMed

Gaudard, Ludovic; Romerio, Franco; Dalla Valle, Francesco; Gorret, Roberta; Maran, Stefano; Ravazzani, Giovanni; Stoffel, Markus; Volonterio, Michela

2014-09-15

This paper provides a synthesis and comparison of methodologies and results obtained in several studies devoted to the impact of climate change on hydropower. By putting into perspective various case studies, we provide a broader context and improved understanding of climate changes on energy production. We also underline the strengths and weaknesses of the approaches used as far as technical, physical and economical aspects are concerned. Although the catchments under investigation are located close to each other in geographic terms (Swiss and Italian Alps), they represent a wide variety of situations which may be affected by differing evolutions for instance in terms of annual runoff. In this study, we also differentiate between run-of-river, storage and pumping-storage power plants. By integrating and comparing various analyses carried out in the framework of the EU-FP7 ACQWA project, this paper discusses the complexity as well as current and future issues of hydropower management in the entire Alpine region. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Multi-Level Geographical Study of Italian Political Elections from Twitter Data

PubMed Central

Caldarelli, Guido; Chessa, Alessandro; Pammolli, Fabio; Pompa, Gabriele; Puliga, Michelangelo; Riccaboni, Massimo; Riotta, Gianni

2014-01-01

In this paper we present an analysis of the behavior of Italian Twitter users during national political elections. We monitor the volumes of the tweets related to the leaders of the various political parties and we compare them to the elections results. Furthermore, we study the topics that are associated with the co-occurrence of two politicians in the same tweet. We cannot conclude, from a simple statistical analysis of tweet volume and their time evolution, that it is possible to precisely predict the election outcome (or at least not in our case of study that was characterized by a “too-close-to-call” scenario). On the other hand, we found that the volume of tweets and their change in time provide a very good proxy of the final results. We present this analysis both at a national level and at smaller levels, ranging from the regions composing the country to macro-areas (North, Center, South). PMID:24802857

A Cross-cultural Study of the Communication of Emotion by Facial and Gestural Cues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Graham, Jean Ann; And Others

1975-01-01

Discusses a study dealing with English, Northern Italian and Southern Italian encoders role-playing specific emotions and degrees of two dimensions of emotion, and presents evidence suggesting that for neither the English nor the Italians, do hand gestures and other bodily cues function as a major communication channel for emotion. Available from:…

Tinea Imbricata in an Italian Child and Review of the Literature.

PubMed

Veraldi, Stefano; Giorgi, Riccardo; Pontini, Paolo; Tadini, Gianluca; Nazzaro, Gianluca

2015-12-01

Tinea imbricata is a chronic superficial mycosis caused by Trichophyton concentricum. It is characterized by widespread, annular, concentric, squamous lesions. Tinea imbricata is endemic in three geographical areas: Southwest Pacific, Southeast Asia, and Central and South America. Tinea imbricata in travelers returning from endemic areas is exceptionally rare. We report a case of tinea imbricata in an Italian child who acquired the infection during a trip to Solomon Islands. Three cultures were positive for T. concentricum. The patient was successfully treated with griseofulvin and terbinafine cream.

[Survival is not enough: remarks on article 32 of the Italian Constitution].

PubMed

Galgano, V

2008-01-01

Article No. 32 of the Italian Constitution describes health as a fundamental human right in the interest of the community and guarantees free health care to the poor. It states that no one can be obliged to undergo any kind of treatment against his will, with the exception of cases where this is required by law. Supporting health includes also support for the quality of life. There are moral and economic reasons for granting health care. It is necessary to help those who suffer to live their lives with dignity.

Update on Novel CCM Gene Mutations in Patients with Cerebral Cavernous Malformations.

PubMed

Scimone, Concetta; Bramanti, Placido; Alafaci, Concetta; Granata, Francesca; Piva, Francesco; Rinaldi, Carmela; Donato, Luigi; Greco, Federica; Sidoti, Antonina; D'Angelo, Rosalia

2017-02-01

Cerebral cavernous malformations (CCMs) are lesions affecting brain microvessels. The pathogenesis is not clearly understood. Conventional classification criterion is based on genetics, and thus, familial and sporadic forms can be distinguished; however, classification of sporadic cases with multiple lesions still remains uncertain. To date, three CCM causative genes have been identified: CCM1/KRIT1, CCM2/MGC4607 and CCM3/PDCD10. In our previous mutation screening, performed in a cohort of 95 Italian patients, with both sporadic and familial cases, we identified several mutations in CCM genes. This study represents further molecular screening in a cohort of 19 Italian patients enrolled by us in the few last years and classified into familial, sporadic and sporadic with multiple lesions cases. Direct sequencing and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) analysis were performed to detect point mutations and large genomic rearrangements, respectively. Effects of detected mutations and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were evaluated by an in silico approach and by western blot analysis. A novel nonsense mutation in CCM1 and a novel missense mutation in CCM2 were detected; moreover, several CCM2 gene polymorphisms in sporadic CCM patients were reported. We believe that these data enrich the mutation spectrum of CCM genes, which is useful for genetic counselling to identify both familial and sporadic CCM cases, as early as possible.

A case of loiasis in Rome.

PubMed

Morrone, A; Franco, G; Toma, L; Tchangmena, O B; Marangi, M

2002-05-01

Owing to the increase of an immigrant population and of Italian citizens travelling for tourism or on business, it is nowadays possible to observe clinical pictures characteristic of tropical regions, often with indistinct symptoms. One of these is Loa loa infestation, or loiasis, a form of filariasis caused by Loa loa and transmitted by the Chrysops fly. We present the case of a male immigrant from Cameroon. Characteristic symptoms were intense xerosis, mostly of the third inferior part of the legs, intensely pruritic, with numerous lesions from scratching. No benefit was obtained by emollient topics, anti-acarus and systemic antihistamines. Serum samples and Giemsa, haematoxylin, haematoxylin + Giemsa concentration-on-membrane stains, have evidenced the presence of Loa loa microfilariae. A diagnosis for L. loa (loiasis) infestation was made. At the beginning of the migration phenomenon, particularly from Africa, Italian physicians, especially dermatologists, were eagerly looking for 'tropical' diseases; this approach can be defined as 'Salgari's syndrome' from the name of the Italian novelist who, though never travelling out of Italy, had perfectly described environments and habits typical of far away countries. Now, conversely, we have to avoid the opposite approach of considering real tropical diseases as related to social or psychological difficult conditions.

Italian Credit Mobility Students Significantly Increase Their Alcohol Intake, Risky Drinking and Related Consequences During the Study Abroad Experience.

PubMed

Aresi, Giovanni; Moore, Simon; Marta, Elena

2016-11-01

To examine changes in alcohol intake and consequences in Italian students studying abroad. Italian exchange students planning to study abroad were invited to report on their drinking and alcohol-related negative consequences before and after their time abroad. After excluding those who abstained throughout, data on 121 students were analysed and showed that they tended to consume more alcohol and experience more alcohol-related negative consequences compared to their pre-departure levels. The added alcohol risk of study abroad for Italian students merits consideration of possible opportunities for intervention. © The Author 2016. Medical Council on Alcohol and Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

Adherence to anti-Parkinson drug therapy in the "REASON" sample of Italian patients with Parkinson's disease: the linguistic validation of the Italian version of the "Morisky Medical Adherence Scale-8 items".

PubMed

Fabbrini, G; Abbruzzese, G; Barone, P; Antonini, A; Tinazzi, M; Castegnaro, G; Rizzoli, S; Morisky, D E; Lessi, P; Ceravolo, R

2013-11-01

Information about patients' adherence to therapy represents a primary issue in Parkinson's disease (PD) management. To perform the linguistic validation of the Italian version of the self-rated 8-Item Morisky Medical Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) and to describe in a sample of Italian patients affected by PD the adherence to anti-Parkinson drug therapy and the association between adherence and some socio-demographic and clinical features. MMAS-8 was translated into Italian language by two independent Italian mother-tongue translators. The consensus version was then back-translated by an English mother-tongue translator. This translation process was followed by a consensus meeting between the authors of translation and investigators and then by two comprehension tests. The translated version of the MMAS-8 scale was then administered at the baseline visit of the "REASON" study (Italian Study on the Therapy Management in Parkinson's disease: Motor, Non-Motor, Adherence and Quality Of Life Factors) in a large sample of PD patients. The final version of the MMAS-8 was easily understood. Mean ± SD MMAS-8 score was 6.1 ± 1.2. There were no differences in adherence to therapy in relationship to disease severity, gender, educational level or decision to change therapy. The Italian version of MMAS-8, the key tool of the REASON study to assess the adherence to therapy, has shown to be understandable to patients with PD. Patients enrolled in the REASON study showed medium therapy adherence.

Intercultural Contact and Multilingualism in an Intimate Relationship in the Austro-Hungarian Littoral.

PubMed

Martinis, Anja Iveković

2016-09-01

The paper presents a case study of multilingualism in private correspondence in turn-of-the-century Austro-Hungarian Istria. Language attitudes and use of German, Italian and Slovenian are analyzed, with results indicating the compatibility of national feelings with an appreciation of multilingualism, as well as the important role that intimate intercultural relationships play in this regard in a culturally mixed region.

Hybrid Courses and Their Impact on Student and Classroom Performance: A Case Study at the University of Virginia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scida, Emily E.; Saury, Rachel E.

2006-01-01

The University of Virginia's (UVA) Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese created two new hybrid courses for elementary Spanish which supplement 3 hours a week of class time with 2 hours of mandatory, web-based practice activities to respond to a need to make better use of personnel resources at the university. This article reports on the…

Criminality and Asbestos in Industry.

PubMed

Castleman, Barry

2017-02-01

Criminal prosecutions of individuals in the asbestos industry are reviewed, particularly the case of asbestos owner-executive Stephan Schmidheiny. Italian courts sentenced Schmidheiny to sixteen to eighteen years in jail for creating an environmental disaster causing three thousand deaths. The convictions were overturned on a technicality, and a murder case against Schmidheiny has started. His firm, Eternit, made asbestos-cement building products in many countries. Schmidheiny directed a cover-up that the Italian Court of Appeal blamed for delaying the ban of asbestos in Italy by ten years. Today, the asbestos industry is a criminal industry, profiting only by minimizing its costs for the prevention and compensation of occupational and environmental illness. The asbestos industry should only be consulted by governments for the purpose of closing it and dealing with the legacy of in-place asbestos.

Surveillance of Clostridium difficile Infections: Results from a Six-Year Retrospective Study in Nine Hospitals of a North Italian Local Health Authority

PubMed Central

Roncarati, Greta; Dallolio, Laura; Leoni, Erica; Panico, Manuela; Zanni, Angela; Farruggia, Patrizia

2017-01-01

Clostridium difficile is an emerging cause of healthcare associated infections. In nine hospitals of an Italian Local Health Authority the episodes of C. difficile infection (CDI) were identified using the data registered by the centralized Laboratory Information System, from 2010 to 2015. CDI incidence (positive patients for A and/or B toxins per patients-days) was analysed per year, hospital, and ward. A number of cases approximately equivalent to the mean of identified cases per year were studied retrospectively to highlight the risk factors associated to CDI and their severity. Nine hundred and forty-two patients affected by CDI were identified. The overall incidence was 3.7/10,000 patients-days, with a stable trend across the six years and the highest rates observed in smaller and outlying hospitals (up to 17.8/10,000), where the admitted patients were older and the wards with the highest incidences (long-term-care: 7.6/10,000, general medicine: 5.7/10,000) were more represented. The mean age of patients in each hospital was correlated with CDI rates. Of the 101 cases selected for the retrospective study, 86.1% were healthcare associated, 10.9% community acquired; 9.1% met the criteria for recurrent case and 23.8% for severe case of CDI. The overall mortality rate was 28.7%. Comorbidity conditions occurred in 91.1%, previous exposure to antibiotics in 76.2%, and proton pump inhibitors in 77.2%. Recurrent and severe cases were significantly associated with renal insufficiency and creatinine levels ≥2 mg/dL. The survey based on the centralized laboratory data was useful to study CDI epidemiology in the different centres in order to identify possible weaknesses and plan control strategies, in particular the reinforcement of staff training, mainly targeted at compliance with contact precautions and hand hygiene. PMID:28075419

Bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw: an Italian post-marketing surveillance analysis.

PubMed

Parretta, Elisabetta; Sottosanti, Laura; Sportiello, Liberata; Rafaniello, Concetta; Potenza, Simona; D'Amato, Salvatore; González-González, Rocio; Rossi, Francesco; Colella, Giuseppe; Capuano, Annalisa

2014-09-01

Although bisphosphonate (BP)-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ) is well recognized, little is known about it in terms of pathophysiology, epidemiology or management. We analyzed all suspected BRONJ reports sent to the Italian Pharmacovigilance Adverse Event Spontaneous Reporting System (Rete Nazionale Farmacovigilanza [RNF]) to determine their pattern and add new information about this relevant issue. All suspected BRONJ sent to the RNF between 2003 and 2011 were retrieved. After a case-by-case assessment procedure, we analyzed BP type, BP exposure time and time since last use. Between 2003 and 2011, 555 reports of osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) after BP administration were recorded in the RNF. These events occurred mostly in patients affected by cancer (77.84%) in which zoledronate was the most frequently suspected BP. Most patients experienced ONJ after long-term use of the drug (median time of BP exposure being between 1.3 and 8.8 years). Interestingly, 139 (25.05%) cases of ONJ occurred between 2 and 121 months after BP withdrawal. This study shows that BRONJ can occur much earlier than hitherto reported, adds new data on BRONJ onset following ibandronate treatment and reveals that patients who cease BP-based therapy develop ONJ, raising the question of post-treatment monitoring strategies.

Cannabis and intractable chronic pain: an explorative retrospective analysis of Italian cohort of 614 patients

PubMed Central

Fanelli, Guido; De Carolis, Giuliano; Leonardi, Claudio; Longobardi, Adele; Sarli, Ennio; Allegri, Massimo; Schatman, Michael E

2017-01-01

Background Despite growing interest in the therapeutic use of cannabis to manage chronic pain, only limited data that address these issues are available. In recent years, a number of nations have introduced specific laws to allow patients to use cannabis preparations to treat a variety of medical conditions. In 2015, the Italian government authorized the use of cannabis to treat several diseases, including chronic pain generally, spasticity in multiple sclerosis, cachexia and anorexia among AIDS and cancer patients, glaucoma, Tourette syndrome, and certain types of epilepsy. We present the first snapshot of the Italian experience with cannabis use for chronic pain over the initial year of its use. Methods This is a retrospective case series analysis of all chronic pain patients treated with oral or vaporized cannabis in six hubs during the initial year following the approval of the new Italian law (December 2015 to November 2016). We evaluated routes of administration, types of cannabis products utilized, dosing, and effectiveness and safety of the treatment. Results As only one of the six centers has extensively used cannabinoids for intractable chronic pain (614 patients of 659), only the population from Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Pisana (Pisa) was considered. Cannabis tea was the primary mode of delivery, and in almost all cases, it was used in association with all the other pain treatments. Initial and follow-up cannabinoid concentrations were found to vary considerably. At initial follow-up, 76.2% of patients continued the treatment, and <15% stopped the treatment due to side effects (none of which were severe). Conclusion We present the first analysis of Italian clinical practice of the use of cannabinoids for a large variety of chronic pain syndromes. From this initial snapshot, we determined that the treatment seems to be effective and safe, although more data and subsequent trials are needed to better investigate its ideal clinical indication. PMID:28579820

Cannabis and intractable chronic pain: an explorative retrospective analysis of Italian cohort of 614 patients.

PubMed

Fanelli, Guido; De Carolis, Giuliano; Leonardi, Claudio; Longobardi, Adele; Sarli, Ennio; Allegri, Massimo; Schatman, Michael E

2017-01-01

Despite growing interest in the therapeutic use of cannabis to manage chronic pain, only limited data that address these issues are available. In recent years, a number of nations have introduced specific laws to allow patients to use cannabis preparations to treat a variety of medical conditions. In 2015, the Italian government authorized the use of cannabis to treat several diseases, including chronic pain generally, spasticity in multiple sclerosis, cachexia and anorexia among AIDS and cancer patients, glaucoma, Tourette syndrome, and certain types of epilepsy. We present the first snapshot of the Italian experience with cannabis use for chronic pain over the initial year of its use. This is a retrospective case series analysis of all chronic pain patients treated with oral or vaporized cannabis in six hubs during the initial year following the approval of the new Italian law (December 2015 to November 2016). We evaluated routes of administration, types of cannabis products utilized, dosing, and effectiveness and safety of the treatment. As only one of the six centers has extensively used cannabinoids for intractable chronic pain (614 patients of 659), only the population from Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Pisana (Pisa) was considered. Cannabis tea was the primary mode of delivery, and in almost all cases, it was used in association with all the other pain treatments. Initial and follow-up cannabinoid concentrations were found to vary considerably. At initial follow-up, 76.2% of patients continued the treatment, and <15% stopped the treatment due to side effects (none of which were severe). We present the first analysis of Italian clinical practice of the use of cannabinoids for a large variety of chronic pain syndromes. From this initial snapshot, we determined that the treatment seems to be effective and safe, although more data and subsequent trials are needed to better investigate its ideal clinical indication.

Translation between L2 Acquisition and L1 Attrition: Anaphora Resolution in Italian by English-Italian Trainee Translators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Milicevic, Maja; Kraš, Tihana

2017-01-01

This article reports on the findings of an empirical study that relates translation studies and research on language acquisition/attrition by looking at the interpretation of overt pronominal subjects, previously found to be problematic in both domains. The focus is on the resolution of intra-sentential anaphora and cataphora in Italian by two…

Italian translation and cross-cultural comparison with the Childhood Attachment and Relational Trauma Screen (CARTS).

PubMed

Simonelli, A; Sacchi, C; Cantoni, L; Brown, M; Frewen, P

2017-01-01

Background : The Childhood Attachment and Relational Trauma Screen (CARTS) is a computer-administered survey designed to assess retrospectively the socio-ecological context in which instances of child abuse may have occurred. To date, studies supporting the validity of the CARTS have only been undertaken in English-speaking North American populations. Validation projects in other countries and cross-cultural comparisons are therefore warranted. Objective : Develop and preliminarily evaluate the psychometric properties of an Italian version of the CARTS on college students and compare such observations to data acquired from Canadian students. Method : Seventy-nine undergraduate students from the University of Padua (Italy) completed an Italian translation of the CARTS as well as measures of childhood experiences, mental health and attachment, responses to which were compared to those obtained in 288 Canadian students who completed the CARTS in English. Results : Internal consistency and convergent validity with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and Parental Bonding Instrument were found to be acceptable for the Italian translation. Within the Italian sample, correlation analyses suggested that CARTS Mother ratings referring to attachment and abuse were associated with romantic attachment, whereas CARTS Father ratings were significantly correlated to PTSD symptoms and other symptoms of psychopathology-distress. Significant differences between Italian and Canadian students across the relationship types for the CARTS abuse and attachment scales were found, indicating that Italian students rated their mothers and fathers as simultaneously less abusive, but also less as a source of secure attachment. Conclusions : The results of this preliminary study seem to suggest convergent validity of the Italian CARTS and the association between childhood attachment-related experiences and romantic attachment. Cultural variations were identified between Canadian and Italian students in both attachment and abuse scales. Future studies to investigate cross-cultural variations in the relational context of childhood abuse and in order to boost Italian CARTS psychometric features are warranted.

Italian translation and cross-cultural comparison with the Childhood Attachment and Relational Trauma Screen (CARTS)

PubMed Central

Simonelli, A.; Sacchi, C.; Cantoni, L.; Brown, M.; Frewen, P.

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Background: The Childhood Attachment and Relational Trauma Screen (CARTS) is a computer-administered survey designed to assess retrospectively the socio-ecological context in which instances of child abuse may have occurred. To date, studies supporting the validity of the CARTS have only been undertaken in English-speaking North American populations. Validation projects in other countries and cross-cultural comparisons are therefore warranted. Objective: Develop and preliminarily evaluate the psychometric properties of an Italian version of the CARTS on college students and compare such observations to data acquired from Canadian students. Method: Seventy-nine undergraduate students from the University of Padua (Italy) completed an Italian translation of the CARTS as well as measures of childhood experiences, mental health and attachment, responses to which were compared to those obtained in 288 Canadian students who completed the CARTS in English. Results: Internal consistency and convergent validity with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and Parental Bonding Instrument were found to be acceptable for the Italian translation. Within the Italian sample, correlation analyses suggested that CARTS Mother ratings referring to attachment and abuse were associated with romantic attachment, whereas CARTS Father ratings were significantly correlated to PTSD symptoms and other symptoms of psychopathology-distress. Significant differences between Italian and Canadian students across the relationship types for the CARTS abuse and attachment scales were found, indicating that Italian students rated their mothers and fathers as simultaneously less abusive, but also less as a source of secure attachment. Conclusions: The results of this preliminary study seem to suggest convergent validity of the Italian CARTS and the association between childhood attachment-related experiences and romantic attachment. Cultural variations were identified between Canadian and Italian students in both attachment and abuse scales. Future studies to investigate cross-cultural variations in the relational context of childhood abuse and in order to boost Italian CARTS psychometric features are warranted. PMID:29163857

Italian translation and cultural adaptation of the communication assessment tool in an outpatient surgical clinic.

PubMed

Scala, Daniela; Menditto, Enrica; Armellino, Mariano Fortunato; Manguso, Francesco; Monetti, Valeria Marina; Orlando, Valentina; Antonino, Antonio; Makoul, Gregory; De Palma, Maurizio

2016-04-29

The aim of the study is to translate and cross-culturally adapt, for use in the Italian context, the Communication Assessment Tool (CAT) developed by Makoul and colleagues. The study was performed in the out-patient clinic of the Surgical Department of Cardarelli Hospital in Naples, Italy. It involved a systematic, standardized, multi-step process adhering to internationally accepted and recommended guidelines. Corrections and adjustments to the translation addressed both linguistic factors and cultural components. The CAT was translated into Italian by two independent Italian mother-tongue translators. The consensus version was then back-translated by an English mother-tongue translator. This translation process was followed by a consensus meeting between the authors of translation and investigators, and then by two comprehension tests on a total of 65 patients. Results of the translation and cross-cultural adaptation were satisfactory and indicate that the Italian translation of the CAT can be used with confidence in the Italian context.

A Case of Reactive Arthritis Associated With Lymphogranuloma Venereum Infection in a Woman.

PubMed

Foschi, Claudio; Banzola, Nicoletta; Gaspari, Valeria; D'Antuono, Antonietta; Cevenini, Roberto; Marangoni, Antonella

2016-09-01

We report the first case of reactive arthritis associated with lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) in an Italian human immunodeficiency virus-negative woman with urogenital and rectal Chlamydia trachomatis L2 serovar infection. The LGV-associated arthritis has to be considered even when classic symptoms of arthritis are missing and in case of asymptomatic or cryptic LGV localizations.

Association study of dopamine D3 receptor gene and schizophrenia

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kennedy, J.L.; Billett, E.A.; Macciardi, F.M.

Several groups have reported an association between schizophrenia and the MscI polymorphism in the first exon of the dopamine D3 receptor gene (DRD3). We studied this polymorphism using a North American sample (117 patients plus 188 controls) and an Italian sample (97 patients plus 64 controls). In the first part of the study, we compared allele frequencies of schizophrenia patients and unmatched controls and observed a significant difference in the total sample (P = 0.01). The second part of the study involved a case control approach in which each schizophrenia patient was matched to a control of the same sex,more » and of similar age and ethnic background. The DRD3 allele frequencies of patients and controls revealed no significant difference between the two groups in the Italian (N = 53) or the North American (N = 54) matched populations; however, when these two matched samples were combined, a significant difference was observed (P = 0.026). Our results suggest that the MscI polymorphism may be associated with schizophrenia in the populations studied. 32 refs., 2 tabs.« less

First-episode psychosis and migration in Italy (PEP-Ita migration): a study in the Italian mental health services

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background It has been frequently reported a higher incidence of psychotic disorders in immigrants than in native populations. There is, however, a lack of knowledge about risk factors which may explain this phenomenon. A better understanding of the causes of psychosis among first-generation migrants is highly needed, particularly in Italy, a country with a recent massive migration. Methods/Design The “Italian study on first-episode psychosis and migration (PEP-Ita)” is a prospective observational study over a two-year period (1 January 2012–31 December 2013) which will be carried out in 11 Italian mental health centres. All participating centres will collect data about all new cases of migrants with first-episode psychosis. The general purpose (“core”) of the PEP-Ita study is to explore the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, and the pathways to care of a population of first-episode psychosis migrants in Italy. Secondary aims of the study will be: 1) to understand risk and protective factors for the development of psychotic disorders in migrants; 2) to evaluate the correlations between psychopathology of psychotic disorders in migrants and socio-demographic characteristics, migration history, life experiences; 3) to evaluate the clinical and social outcomes of first-episode psychoses in migrants. Discussion The results of the PEP-Ita study will allow a better understanding of risk factors for psychosis in first-generation migrants in Italy. Moreover, our results will contribute to the development of prevention programmes for psychosis and to the improvement of early intervention treatments for the migrant population in Italy. PMID:24957972

Sarcoidosis in an Italian province. Prevalence and environmental risk factors

PubMed Central

Beghè, Deborah; Dall’Asta, Luca; Garavelli, Claudia; Pastorelli, Augusto Alberto; Muscarella, Marilena; Saccani, Gloria; Aiello, Marina; Corradi, Massimo; Stacchini, Paolo; Chetta, Alfredo; Bertorelli, Giuseppina

2017-01-01

Background and aim Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatous inflammatory disease whose causes are still unknown and for which epidemiological data are often discordant. The aim of our study is to investigate prevalence and spatial distribution of cases, and identify environmental exposures associated with sarcoidosis in an Italian province. Methods After georeferentiation of cases, the area under study was subdivided with respect to Municipality and Health Districts and to the altitude in order to identify zonal differences in prevalence. The bioaccumulation levels of 12 metals in lichen tissues were analyzed, in order to determine sources of air pollution. Finally, the analysis of the correlation between metals and between pickup stations was performed. Results 223 patients were identified (58.3% female and 41.7% male of total) and the mean age was 50.6±15.4 years (53.5±15.5 years for the females and 46.5±14.4 for the males). The mean prevalence was 49 per 100.000 individuals. However, we observed very heterogeneous prevalence in the area under study. The correlations among metals revealed different deposition patterns in lowland area respect to hilly and mountain areas. Conclusions The study highlights a high prevalence of sarcoidosis cases, characterized by a very inhomogeneous and patchy distribution with phenomena of local aggregation. Moreover, the bioaccumulation analysis was an effective method to identify the mineral particles that mostly contribute to air pollution in the different areas, but it was not sufficient to establish a clear correlation between the onset of sarcoidosis and environmental risk factors. PMID:28475583

Representation of the serial killer on the Italian Internet.

PubMed

Villano, P; Bastianoni, P; Melotti, G

2001-10-01

The representation of serial killers was examined from the analysis of 317 Web pages in the Italian language to study how the psychological profiles of serial killers are described on the Italian Internet. The correspondence analysis of the content of these Web pages shows that in Italy the serial killer is associated with words such as "monster" and "horror," which suggest and imply psychological perversion and aberrant acts. These traits are peculiar for the Italian scenario.

An interview-based approach to assess sea turtle bycatch in Italian waters

PubMed Central

Vasapollo, Claudio; Virgili, Massimo

2017-01-01

The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta, Linnaeus, 1758) is the most abundant sea turtle species in the Mediterranean Sea, where commercial fishing appears to be the main driver of mortality. So far, information on sea turtle bycatch in Italy is limited both in space and time due to logistical problems in data collected through onboard observations and on a limited number of vessels involved. In the present study, sea turtle bycatch in Italian waters was examined by collecting fishermen’s information on turtle bycatch through an interview-based approach. Their replies enabled the identification of bycatch hotspots in relation to area, season and to the main gear types. The most harmful fishing gears resulted to be trawl nets, showing the highest probabilities of turtle bycatch with a hotspot in the Adriatic Sea, followed by longlines in the Ionian Sea and in the Sicily Channel. Estimates obtained by the present results showed that more than 52,000 capture events and 10,000 deaths occurred in Italian waters in 2014, highlighting a more alarming scenario than earlier studies. The work shows that in case of poor data from other sources, direct questioning of fishermen and stakeholders could represent a useful and cost-effective approach capable of providing sufficient data to estimate annual bycatch rates and identify high-risk gear/location/season combinations. PMID:28462017

Espresso coffee consumption and risk of coronary heart disease in a large Italian cohort.

PubMed

Grioni, Sara; Agnoli, Claudia; Sieri, Sabina; Pala, Valeria; Ricceri, Fulvio; Masala, Giovanna; Saieva, Calogero; Panico, Salvatore; Mattiello, Amalia; Chiodini, Paolo; Tumino, Rosario; Frasca, Graziella; Iacoviello, Licia; de Curtis, Amalia; Vineis, Paolo; Krogh, Vittorio

2015-01-01

The relationship between coffee consumption and coronary heart disease (CHD) has been investigated in several studies with discrepant results. We examined the association between Italian-style (espresso and mocha) coffee consumption and CHD risk. We investigated 12,800 men and 30,449 women without history of cardiovascular disease recruited to the EPICOR prospective cohort study. Coffee consumption was assessed at baseline. In a random sub-cohort of 1472 subjects, plasma triglycerides, and total, LDL and HDL cholesterol were determined to investigate the effect of coffee consumption on plasma lipids. After a mean follow up of 10.9 years, 804 cases of CHD (500 acute events, 56 fatal events and 248 revascularizations, all first events) were identified. Multivariable adjusted hazard ratios for CHD were: 1.18 (95% CI 0.87-1.60) for drinking 1-2 cups/day, 1.37 (95% CI 1.03-1.82) for >2-4 cups/day and 1.52 (95% CI 1.11-2.07) for over 4 cups/day (P trend <0.001) compared to reference (<1 cup/day). Plasma triglycerides, and total, LDL and HDL cholesterol did not vary significantly (ANOVA) with coffee consumption. Consumption of over 2 cups/day of Italian-style coffee is associated with increased CHD risk, but coffee consumption was not associated with plasma lipid changes, so the adverse effect of consumption appears unrelated to lipid profile.

[Drug registries: post-marketing evaluation of the benefit-risk profile and promotion of appropriateness. The regional point of view].

PubMed

Martelli, Luisa; Venegoni, Mauro

2013-06-01

Italian Regions and the Italian regulatory agency share a common interest in promoting the appropriateness of drug use, containing drug expenditure and acquiring additional evidence on the effectiveness and safety of drugs. Drug registries can help attaining these objectives. Specifically, the registries implemented in Italy were able to cover the first two objectives, whereas some critical issues were raised on the third one. For instance, the data recorded in the registries are not available at regional level to conduct safety and effectiveness investigations. This is a paradox, when considering that drugs included in the registries have a risk-benefit profile that is only partially defined at the moment of marketing. Currently, researchers and regions can conduct epidemiological research (cohort and case control studies), on the basis of record-linkage procedures, on all drugs prescribed in general practice (which are older drugs with a better defined risk-benefit profile). The expected outcomes of registries should be more clearly defined: when the main aim is to promote appropriateness, the recording of only a very limited amount of data should be required (to avoid a bureaucratic burden on clinicians).The Italian centers of the ENCePP network might play an important role in planning and conducting drug registries: through the presence in the steering committees of the registries, and in conducting epidemiological studies that make the most of this powerful instrument.

A Cross-Cultural Study of Italian and U.S. Children's Perceptions of Interethnic and Interracial Friendships in Two Urban Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pica-Smith, Cinzia; Antognazza, Davide; Marland, Joshua J.; Crescentini, Alberto

2017-01-01

This cross-cultural and cross-sectional study investigated Italian and US children's perceptions of interethnic and interracial friendships, also known as intergroup friendships. A total sample of 226 children attending two urban, elementary schools in a middle-sized Northeastern US city and a middle-sized northern Italian city, were interviewed…

Pragmatic Language Development in 18- to 47-Month-Old Italian Children: A Study with the Language Use Inventory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Longobardi, Emiddia; Lonigro, Antonia; Laghi, Fiorenzo; O'Neill, Daniela K.

2017-01-01

The study was designed to investigate pragmatic development and the ability to make comments/questions on social and non-social topics in Italian-speaking children aged 18-47 months. Parents of 190 children completed an adaptation of the Language Use Inventory into Italian. Overall, the children's performance on the subscales of the LUI-Italian…

Measuring nepotism through shared last names: the case of Italian Academia.

PubMed

Allesina, Stefano

2011-01-01

Nepotistic practices are detrimental for academia. Here I show how disciplines with a high likelihood of nepotism can be detected using standard statistical techniques based on shared last names among professors. As an example, I analyze the set of all 61,340 Italian academics. I find that nepotism is prominent in Italy, with particular disciplinary sectors being detected as especially problematic. Out of 28 disciplines, 9 - accounting for more than half of Italian professors - display a significant paucity of last names. Moreover, in most disciplines a clear north-south trend emerges, with likelihood of nepotism increasing with latitude. Even accounting for the geographic clustering of last names, I find that for many disciplines the probability of name-sharing is boosted when professors work in the same institution or sub-discipline. Using these techniques policy makers can target cuts and funding in order to promote fair practices.

The impact of a model-based clinical regional registry for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

PubMed

Zanetti, Michele; Cartabia, Massimo; Didoni, Anna; Fortinguerra, Filomena; Reale, Laura; Mondini, Matteo; Bonati, Maurizio

2017-09-01

This article describes the development and clinical impact of the Italian Regional ADHD Registry, aimed at collecting and monitoring diagnostic and therapeutic pathways of care for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder children and adolescents, launched by the Italian Lombardy Region in June 2011. In particular, the model-based software used to run the registry and manage clinical care data acquisition and monitoring, is described. This software was developed using the PROSAFE programme, which is already used for data collection in many Italian intensive care units, as a stand-alone interface case report form. The use of the attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder regional registry led to an increase in the appropriateness of the clinical management of all patients included in the registry, proving to be an important instrument in ensuring an appropriate healthcare strategy for children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Healthy migrants but unhealthy offspring? A retrospective cohort study among Italians in Switzerland.

PubMed

Tarnutzer, Silvan; Bopp, Matthias

2012-12-22

In many countries, migrants from Italy form a substantial, well-defined group with distinct lifestyle and dietary habits. There is, however, hardly any information about all-cause mortality patterns among Italian migrants and their offspring. In this paper, we compare Italian migrants, their offspring and Swiss nationals. We compared age-specific and age-standardized mortality rates and hazard ratios (adjusted for education, marital status, language region and period) for Swiss and Italian nationals registered in the Swiss National Cohort (SNC), living in the German- or French-speaking part of Switzerland and falling into the age range 40-89 during the observation period 1990-2008. Overall, 3,175,288 native Swiss (48% male) and 224,372 individuals with an Italian migration background (57% male) accumulated 698,779 deaths and 44,836,189 person-years. Individuals with Italian background were categorized by nationality, country of birth and language. First-generation Italians had lower mortality risks than native Swiss (reference group), but second-generation Italians demonstrated higher mortality risks. Among first-generation Italians, predominantly Italian-speaking men and women had hazard ratios (HRs) of 0.89 (95% CI: 0.88-0.91) and 0.90 (0.87-0.92), respectively, while men and women having adopted the regional language had HRs of 0.93 (0.88-0.98) and 0.96 (0.88-1.04), respectively. Among second-generation Italians, the respective HRs were 1.16 (1.03-1.31), 1.06 (0.89-1.26), 1.10 (1.05-1.16) and 0.97 (0.89-1.05). The mortality advantage of first-generation Italians decreased with age. The mortality risks of first- and second-generation Italians vary substantially. The healthy migrant effect and health disadvantage among second-generation Italians show characteristic age/sex patterns. Future investigation of health behavior and cause-specific mortality is needed to better understand different mortality risks. Such insights will facilitate adequate prevention and health promotion efforts.

Slavic and Italian Canadian Attitudes towards Authority.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryan, Michael G.

Predicting that Italian Canadians would hold attitudes of greater hostility and anxiety toward authority than Slavic Canadians, this study, using 58 part-time summer students (29 Italians and 29 Slavs) at three universities in Canada, analyzed the subjects' responses to the five-response option Likert type scale. Results confirmed the early…

Validation Study of Italian Version of Inventory for Déjà Vu Experiences Assessment (I-IDEA): A Screening Tool to Detect Déjà Vu Phenomenon in Italian Healthy Individuals.

PubMed

Mumoli, Laura; Tripepi, Giovanni; Aguglia, Umberto; Augimeri, Antonio; Baggetta, Rossella; Bisulli, Francesca; Bruni, Antonella; Cavalli, Salvatore M; D'Aniello, Alfredo; Daniele, Ornella; Di Bonaventura, Carlo; Di Gennaro, Giancarlo; Fattouch, Jinane; Ferlazzo, Edoardo; Ferrari, Alessandra; Giallonardo, Annateresa; Gasparini, Sara; Nigro, Salvatore; Romigi, Andrea; Sofia, Vito; Tinuper, Paolo; Vaccaro, Maria Grazia; Zummo, Leila; Quattrone, Aldo; Gambardella, Antonio; Labate, Angelo

2017-08-07

The Inventory Déjà Vu Experiences Assessment (IDEA) is the only screening instrument proposed to evaluate the Déjà vu (DV) experience. Here, we intended to validate the Italian version of IDEA (I-IDEA) and at the same time to investigate the incidence and subjective qualities of the DV phenomenon in healthy Italian adult individuals on basis of an Italian multicentre observational study. In this study, we report normative data on the I-IDEA, collected on a sample of 542 Italian healthy subjects aging between 18-70 years (average age: 40) with a formal educational from 1-19 years. From September 2013 to March 2016, we recruited 542 healthy volunteers from 10 outpatient neurological clinics in Italy. All participants (i.e., family members of neurological patients enrolled, medical students, physicians) had no neurological or psychiatric illness and gave their informed consent to participate in the study. All subjects enrolled self-administered the questionnaire and they were able to complete I-IDEA test without any support. In total, 396 (73%) of the 542 healthy controls experienced the DV phenomenon. The frequency of DV was inversely related to age as well as to derealisation, jamais vu, precognitive dreams, depersonalization, paranormal activity, remembering dreams, travel frequency, and daydreams (all p < 0.012). The Italian version of IDEA maintains good properties, thus confirming that this instrument is reliable for detecting and characterising the DV phenomenon.

Analysis of GPR101 and AIP genes mutations in acromegaly: a multicentric study.

PubMed

Ferraù, Francesco; Romeo, P D; Puglisi, S; Ragonese, M; Torre, M L; Scaroni, C; Occhi, G; De Menis, E; Arnaldi, G; Trimarchi, F; Cannavò, S

2016-12-01

This multicentric study aimed to investigate the prevalence of the G protein-coupled receptor 101 (GPR101) p.E308D variant and aryl hydrocarbon receptor interacting protein (AIP) gene mutations in a representative cohort of Italian patients with acromegaly. 215 patients with GH-secreting pituitary adenomas, referred to 4 Italian referral centres for pituitary diseases, have been included. Three cases of gigantism were present. Five cases were classified as FIPA. All the patients have been screened for germline AIP gene mutations and GPR101 gene p.E308D variant. Heterozygous AIP gene variants have been found in 7 patients (3.2 %). Five patients carried an AIP mutation (2.3 %; 4 females): 3 patients harboured the p.R3O4Q mutation, one had the p.R304* mutation and the last one the IVS3+1G>A mutation. The prevalence of AIP mutations was 3.3 % and 2.8 % when considering only the patients diagnosed when they were <30 or <40-year old, respectively. Furthermore, 2.0 % of the patients with a pituitary macroadenoma and 4.2 % of patients resistant to somatostatin analogues treatment were found to harbour an AIP gene mutation. None of the patients was found to carry the GPR101 p.E308D variant. The prevalence of AIP gene mutations among our sporadic and familial acromegaly cases was similar to that one reported in previous studies, but lower when considering only the cases diagnosed before 40 years of age. The GPR101 p.E308D change is unlikely to have a role in somatotroph adenomas tumorigenesis, since none of our sporadic or familial patients tested positive for this variant.

Social networking addiction, attachment style, and validation of the Italian version of the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale

PubMed Central

Monacis, Lucia; de Palo, Valeria; Griffiths, Mark D.; Sinatra, Maria

2017-01-01

Aim Research into social networking addiction has greatly increased over the last decade. However, the number of validated instruments assessing addiction to social networking sites (SNSs) remains few, and none have been validated in the Italian language. Consequently, this study tested the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), as well as providing empirical data concerning the relationship between attachment styles and SNS addiction. Methods A total of 769 participants were recruited to this study. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and multigroup analyses were applied to assess construct validity of the Italian version of the BSMAS. Reliability analyses comprised the average variance extracted, the standard error of measurement, and the factor determinacy coefficient. Results Indices obtained from the CFA showed the Italian version of the BSMAS to have an excellent fit of the model to the data, thus confirming the single-factor structure of the instrument. Measurement invariance was established at configural, metric, and strict invariances across age groups, and at configural and metric levels across gender groups. Internal consistency was supported by several indicators. In addition, the theoretical associations between SNS addiction and attachment styles were generally supported. Conclusion This study provides evidence that the Italian version of the BSMAS is a psychometrically robust tool that can be used in future Italian research into social networking addiction. PMID:28494648

Social networking addiction, attachment style, and validation of the Italian version of the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale.

PubMed

Monacis, Lucia; de Palo, Valeria; Griffiths, Mark D; Sinatra, Maria

2017-06-01

Aim Research into social networking addiction has greatly increased over the last decade. However, the number of validated instruments assessing addiction to social networking sites (SNSs) remains few, and none have been validated in the Italian language. Consequently, this study tested the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), as well as providing empirical data concerning the relationship between attachment styles and SNS addiction. Methods A total of 769 participants were recruited to this study. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and multigroup analyses were applied to assess construct validity of the Italian version of the BSMAS. Reliability analyses comprised the average variance extracted, the standard error of measurement, and the factor determinacy coefficient. Results Indices obtained from the CFA showed the Italian version of the BSMAS to have an excellent fit of the model to the data, thus confirming the single-factor structure of the instrument. Measurement invariance was established at configural, metric, and strict invariances across age groups, and at configural and metric levels across gender groups. Internal consistency was supported by several indicators. In addition, the theoretical associations between SNS addiction and attachment styles were generally supported. Conclusion This study provides evidence that the Italian version of the BSMAS is a psychometrically robust tool that can be used in future Italian research into social networking addiction.

Municipal solid waste management: identification and analysis of engineering indexes representing demand and costs generated in virtuous Italian communities.

PubMed

Gamberini, R; Del Buono, D; Lolli, F; Rimini, B

2013-11-01

The definition and utilisation of engineering indexes in the field of Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) is an issue of interest for technicians and scientists, which is widely discussed in literature. Specifically, the availability of consolidated engineering indexes is useful when new waste collection services are designed, along with when their performance is evaluated after a warm-up period. However, most published works in the field of MSWM complete their study with an analysis of isolated case studies. Conversely, decision makers require tools for information collection and exchange in order to trace the trends of these engineering indexes in large experiments. In this paper, common engineering indexes are presented and their values analysed in virtuous Italian communities, with the aim of contributing to the creation of a useful database whose data could be used during experiments, by indicating examples of MSWM demand profiles and the costs required to manage them. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

YouTube®: An ally or an enemy in the promotion of living donor kidney transplantation?

PubMed

Bert, Fabrizio; Gualano, Maria Rosaria; Scozzari, Gitana; Alesina, Marta; Amoroso, Antonio; Siliquini, Roberta

2018-03-01

The aim of the study is to evaluate the availability and accuracy of the existing Italian-language medical information about living donor kidney transplantation on YouTube®. For each video, several data were collected, and each video was classified as "useful," "moderately useful" and "not useful." Globally, the search resulted in 306 videos: 260 were excluded and 46 included in the analysis. The main message conveyed by the video was positive in 28 cases (60.9%), neutral in 16 (34.8%) and negative in 2 (4.4%). The mean amount of visualizations was 3103.5 (range: 17-90,133) and the mean amount of "likes" 2.7 (range: 0-28). Seven videos (15.2%) were classified as "useful," 21 (45.7%) as "moderately useful" and 18 (39.1%) as "not useful." This study showed that a very few videos in Italian about living donor kidney transplantation are available on YouTube, with only 15 percent of them containing useful information for the general population.

PubMed Central

Simoncini, Costanza; Siciliano, Gabriele; Tognoni, Gloria

2017-01-01

ANT1 is one of the nuclear genes responsible of autosomal dominant progressive external ophthalmoplegia (adPEO) with mitochondrial DNA multiple deletions. The course of ANT1- related adPEO is relatively benign, symptoms being generally restricted to skeletal muscle. Here we report the case of an Italian 74 years old woman with ANT1-related adPEO and dementia. Further studies are needed to assess the prevalence of central neurological manifestations in ANT1 mitochondrial disease. PMID:28690391

Guidelines for asbestos remediation at Italian superfund sites.

PubMed

Paglietti, F; Malinconico, S; Di Molfetta, V; Giangrasso, M

2012-01-01

Asbestos is now banned in 52 countries. Although Italy banned asbestos in 1992, up until that date it had been one of the main producer nations of asbestos and asbestos-containing materials, and asbestos-related contamination is still widespread in the country. To reduce asbestos-related health effects, Italy has adopted many laws and regulations regarding exposure thresholds and remediation tools. Even so, there are legislative gaps that are making it difficult to manage related risks especially in the operative phase. The lack of standard procedures at a national level regarding emergency shutdown and remediation as well as reference thresholds for specific risk situations creates difficulties and different actions when dealing with the cleanup of Italian asbestos superfund sites. The authors propose operative guidelines for asbestos remediation at Italian superfund sites. INAIL, the reference national organization for asbestos-related matters, acting as an advisor to a number of state, regional, and local authorities, examined the main asbestos-related risk situations in Italy and proposed the most appropriate actions to take. The detailed analysis of many actual cases of risk, in part through inspections and the management of cleanup actions at asbestos Italian superfund sites, resulted in proposals to modify existing procedures and thresholds, which were subsequently discussed with all national, regional, and local scientific bodies. After more than two years of work and discussion at a national level, INAIL-DIPIA-Asbestos Group drafted new Guidelines for Asbestos Remediation at Italian Superfund sites, and officially submitted them to the Environment Ministry. The Ministry then adopted the document in regard to all asbestos Italian superfunds. This recently released document is also a useful reference for contaminated sites at a regional and local level. The operative Guidelines for Asbestos Remediation at Italian Superfund sites may also be of use at an international level for countries that have already banned asbestos and are engaged in remediation activity and for countries that have not yet banned asbestos but wish to adopt risk prevention measures.

Vector competence of Italian Aedes albopictus populations for the chikungunya virus (E1-226V).

PubMed

Severini, Francesco; Boccolini, Daniela; Fortuna, Claudia; Di Luca, Marco; Toma, Luciano; Amendola, Antonello; Benedetti, Eleonora; Minelli, Giada; Romi, Roberto; Venturi, Giulietta; Rezza, Giovanni; Remoli, Maria Elena

2018-04-01

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an emerging arbovirus, belonging to the Togaviridae family, Alphavirus genus, transmitted by Aedes spp. mosquitoes. Since 2007, two different CHIKV strains (E1-226A and E1-226V) have been responsible for outbreaks in European countries, including Italy, sustained by Ae. albopictus mosquitoes. In this study, we assessed the susceptibility to the CHIKV E1-226V, strain responsible for the Italian 2007 outbreak, of eight Ae. albopictus populations collected in Northern, Central, Southern, and Island Italy, by experimental infections. Vector competence was evaluated by estimating infection, dissemination, and transmission rates (IR, DR, TR), through detection of the virus in the bodies, legs plus wings, and saliva, respectively. Additionally, vertical transmission was evaluated by the detection of the virus in the offspring. The results of our study demonstrated that the Italian populations of Ae. albopictus tested were susceptible to CHIKV infection, and can disseminate the virus outside the midgut barrier with high values of IR and DR. Viral infectious RNA was detected in the saliva of three populations from Central, Southern, and Island Italy, also tested for TR and population transmission rate (PTR) values. No progeny of the first and second gonotrophic cycle were positive for CHIKV. This study strongly confirms the role of Ae. albopictus as a potential CHIKV vector in Italy. This may represent a threat, especially considering both the high density of this species, which is widespread throughout the country, and the increasing number of cases of imported arboviruses.

Emotional distress and disordered eating practices among southern Italian women.

PubMed

Cheney, Ann M

2012-09-01

This study is one of the first to examine the narrative links connecting social change, contested gender norms, body image, and eating disordered practices among southern Italian women. The research is based on 16 months of fieldwork, and I compare and contrast the stories of 23 educated women in southern Italy to highlight the contentious realities of entering adolescence in conservative social contexts where gender relations and value systems are undergoing rapid transformations. I examine how these young women dealt with conflicting cultural expectations of womanhood and whether it affected their emotional, psychological, and physical well-being. Their stories shed light on how parental control, community surveillance, and conflicts in developing gender identities and maturing womanly bodies contributed to their emotional distress. Distressed young women used rebellion and manipulation and control of food and the body to negotiate unjust social relations, specifically gender relations, that delegitimized their selves and, in some cases, their bodies.

Environmental and economic evaluation of natural capital appropriation through building construction: practical case study in the Italian context.

PubMed

Bastianoni, Simone; Galli, Alessandro; Pulselli, Riccardo Maria; Niccolucci, Valentina

2007-11-01

This paper focuses on appropriation of natural capital through construction of buildings. The ecological footprint and the Costanza natural capital concepts are applied. The environmental consequences of human settlement are currently of great concern, and a need is felt to reduce the impact of building on the environment. The embodied energy of building materials and the "land area" required to sustain their production are considered to evaluate the demand on nature of this activity. The ecological footprints of 2 typical Italian buildings are compared. The paper also focuses on how to reduce the natural capital appropriation of building construction by means of environmentally inexpensive materials, renewable energy resources, and optimization of the use of bioproductive land by construction of multistoried buildings. Finally, to allocate an environmental load of buildings, an economic evaluation of natural capital appropriation through building construction is proposed.

Medical use of cannabis: Italian and European legislation.

PubMed

Zaami, S; Di Luca, A; Di Luca, N M; Montanari Vergallo, G

2018-02-01

This review illustrates some brief considerations of the medical use of cannabis recently issued in Italy. History and uses of cannabis throughout centuries and different countries are illustrated together with a description of botany and active phytocannabinoids. Then, medical use of cannabis anti-pain treatment for patients resistant to conventional therapies is described in case of chronic neuropathic pain, spasticity, for anticinetosic and antiemetic effect in nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, for appetite stimulating effect in cachexia, anorexia, loss of appetite in cancer patients or patients with AIDS and in anorexia nervosa, hypotensive effect in glaucoma resistant to conventional therapies and for reduction of involuntary body and facial movements in Gilles de la Tourette syndrome. Italian most recent legislation on medical cannabis is detailed with some law proposals, also showing the inconsistent legislation within European Union. Some final considerations of future studies are also reported.

Alcohol dependence and criminal behavior: preliminary results of an association study of environmental and genetic factors in an Italian male population.

PubMed

Terranova, Claudio; Tucci, Marianna; Sartore, Daniela; Cavarzeran, Fabiano; Barzon, Luisa; Palù, Giorgio; Ferrara, Santo D

2012-09-01

The aim of this study is to propose an innovative approach evaluating the connection between alcohol use disorders and criminal behavior. The research, structured as a case-control study, was based on the analysis of environmental (social variables) and genetic factors (single nucleotide polymorphisms of glutamic acid decarboxylase) in a population (N = 173) of Italian alcohol-dependent men. Group 1 (N = 47, convicted subjects) was compared with Group 2 (N = 126, no previous criminal conduct). Grade repetition, work problems, and drug problems were statistically associated with criminal behavior. Having daily family meals together and having children were inversely related to convictions. The genotype distribution of the two groups was similar. The association between environmental factors and antisocial behavior confirms previous findings in the literature. The lack of genetic association does not exclude the role of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system in determining antisocial behavior; further studies with larger samples are needed, together with investigation of other components of the GABA pathway. © 2012 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Italian Renaissance and Hispano-Moresque lustre-decorated majolicas: imitation cases of Hispano-Moresque style in central Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Padeletti, G.; Fermo, P.

An investigation was carried out on Renaissance lustre-decorated majolica shards, found during excavations made in Umbria (central Italy) and defined by experts, on the ground of the surface decoration, as imitations of the Hispano-Moresque style. A comparison between this particular kind of samples, produced in central Italy, and some Hispano-Moresque lustre shards has been performed. The ceramic bodies as well as the lustred surfaces have been analysed by means of several techniques: inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic absorption spectrometry with electrothermal atomisation and scanning electron microscopy. By means of XRD analysis the presence of cosalite (Pb2Bi2S5) has been disclosed in the Italian lustre decorations but was not observed in the Hispano-Moresque ones. A hypothesis has been made, considering bismuth as a discriminating element, between lustres produced in central Italy and the Hispano-Moresque ones. We thought that the Italian artisans were able to manage the use of bismuth. Therefore a recipe, quite similar to the one employed by the Spanish artisans, was used by the Italian ceramists if their aim was to imitate the Hispano-Moresque style.

Attitudes and perceptions towards vulvar and vaginal atrophy in Italian post-menopausal women: Evidence from the European REVIVE survey.

PubMed

Nappi, Rossella E; Particco, Martire; Biglia, Nicoletta; Cagnacci, Angelo; Di Carlo, Costantino; Luisi, Stefano; Paoletti, Anna Maria

2016-09-01

To achieve a deeper understanding of the attitudes and perceptions of Italian post-menopausal women (PMW) regarding vulvo-vaginal atrophy (VVA). As part of the EU REVIVE study, an online survey was conducted in four European countries; the Italian arm comprised 1000 participants from representative regions of Italy. The perceptions, experiences and needs of Italian PMW in relation to sexual and vaginal health. The most frequent VVA symptom was vaginal dryness (78%). Usually, the severity of symptoms was similar to or worse than when they first appeared. This was particularly true for dyspareunia, the most bothersome symptom (76%). VVA symptoms had a significant impact on Italian participants' ability to achieve pleasurable relations (74%) and spontaneity (70%). Although 75% of participants were still sexually active, their sex drive had been reduced by a third because of VVA. Women expected that doctors would start a discussion of menopausal symptoms and sexual health, but this was rarely the case (11%). Most women had been treated with a vaginal over-the-counter (OTC) product. Women who had discussed their condition with a physician were more likely (68%) to be under treatment for VVA than those who had not (36%). Low compliance was associated with symptom improvement (23%), not having annoying symptoms (22%), and the impossibility if restoring the vagina to normal (14%). Common reasons for treatment dissatisfaction were related to route of administration or discomfort. Lack of efficacy and fear of a hormone effect were perceived as the main limitations for OTC and local estrogen products, respectively. Despite the commonness of VVA and its significant impact on quality of life, the condition remains underdiagnosed in Italy. Discussion of symptoms with doctors influences the diagnosis, and patients' satisfaction with available treatments is not high. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

[Italian cold cuts evolution. New opportunities for diet in athletes].

PubMed

Driussi, Caterina; Vriz, Olga; Mos, Lucio

2012-10-01

Italian cold cuts were not recommended for cardiac patients, healthy people, and athletes because of their high content in salt, fat, calories, and cholesterol. Recent studies from INRAN (National Institute of Research for Food and Nutrition) have provided new insights into Italian cold cuts, showing that they are more digestible, with less sodium, fat, cholesterol and calories, than previous products. Thanks to these new chemical-physical characteristics, Italian cold cuts can now be indicated for nutrition in the general population and athletes.

Case Report: Molecular Confirmation of Lobomycosis in an Italian Traveler Acquired in the Amazon Region of Venezuela.

PubMed

Beltrame, Anna; Danesi, Patrizia; Farina, Claudio; Orza, Pierantonio; Perandin, Francesca; Zanardello, Claudia; Rodari, Paola; Staffolani, Silvia; Bisoffi, Zeno

2017-12-01

Lobomycosis is a chronic skin mycosis endemic in Amazon regions characterized by chronic nodular or keloidal lesions caused by Lacazia loboi , an uncultivable fungus. Imported cases in nonendemic countries are rare and diagnosed after years. We describe a case of lobomycosis in a healthy 55-year-old Italian traveler who had acquired the infection during 5-day-honeymoon in the Amazon region of Venezuela in 1999. Several weeks after return, he recalled pruritus and papular skin lesions on the left lower limb, subsequently evolving to a plaque-like lesion. Blastomycosis and cryptococcosis were hypothesized based on microscopic morphology of yeast-like bodies found in three consecutive biopsies, although fungal cultures were always negative. In 2016, exfoliative cytology and a biopsy specimen examination showed round yeast-like organisms (6-12 μm), isolated or in a chain, connected by short tubular projections fulfilling the morphologic diagnostic criteria of Lacazia spp. The microscopic diagnosis was confirmed by molecular identification.

Does the Native Language Influence Lexical Composition in Very Preterm Children at the Age of Two Years? A Cross-Linguistic Comparison Study of Italian and Finnish Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stolt, Suvi; Savini, Silvia; Guarini, Annalisa; Caselli, Maria Cristina; Matomäki, Jaakko; Lapinleimu, Helena; Haataja, Leena; Lehtonen, Liisa; Alessandroni, Rosina; Faldella, Giacomo; Sansavini, Alessandra

2017-01-01

This cross-linguistic study investigated whether the native language has any influence on lexical composition among Italian (N = 125) and Finnish (N = 116) very preterm (born at <32 gestational weeks) children at 24 months (controls: 125 Italian and 146 Finnish full-term children). The investigation also covered the effect of maternal education…

Characteristics of Phonological Development as a Risk Factor for Language Development in Italian-Speaking Pre-Term Children: A Longitudinal Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

D'Odorico, Laura; Majorano, Marinella; Fasolo, Mirco; Salerni, Nicoletta; Suttora, Chiara

2011-01-01

This study analysed the early linguistic development of Italian pre-term children. Samples of spontaneous pre-linguistic and verbal production were recorded at 12 and 18 months of age from two groups of children: 24 pre-term children and 15 full-term children. The Italian version of the MacArthur-Bates Questionnaire was administered at 24 months…

Assessing positive and negative experiences: validation of a new measure of well-being in an Italian population.

PubMed

Corno, Giulia; Molinari, Guadalupe; Baños, Rosa Maria

2016-01-01

The aim of this study is to explore the psychometric properties of an affect scale, the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE), in an Italian-speaking population. The results of this study demonstrate that the Italian version of the SPANE has psychometric properties similar to those shown by the original and previous versions, and it presents satisfactory reliability and factorial validity. The results of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis support the expected two-factor structure, positive and negative feeling, which characterized the previous versions. As expected, measures of negative affect, anxiety, negative future expectances, and depression correlated positively with the negative experiences SPANE subscale, and negatively with the positive experiences SPANE subscale. Results of this study demonstrate that the Italian version of the SPANE has psychometric properties similar to those shown by the original and previous versions, and it presents satisfactory reliability and factorial validity. The use of this instrument provides clinically useful information about a person’s overall emotional experience and it is an indicator of well-being. Although further studies are required to confirm the psychometric characteristics of the scale, the SPANE Italian version is expected to improve theoretical and empirical research on the well-being of the Italian population.

Two distinct β-sheet structures in Italian-mutant amyloid-beta fibrils: a potential link to different clinical phenotypes.

PubMed

Hubin, Ellen; Deroo, Stéphanie; Schierle, Gabriele Kaminksi; Kaminski, Clemens; Serpell, Louise; Subramaniam, Vinod; van Nuland, Nico; Broersen, Kerensa; Raussens, Vincent; Sarroukh, Rabia

2015-12-01

Most Alzheimer's disease (AD) cases are late-onset and characterized by the aggregation and deposition of the amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptide in extracellular plaques in the brain. However, a few rare and hereditary Aβ mutations, such as the Italian Glu22-to-Lys (E22K) mutation, guarantee the development of early-onset familial AD. This type of AD is associated with a younger age at disease onset, increased β-amyloid accumulation, and Aβ deposition in cerebral blood vessel walls, giving rise to cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). It remains largely unknown how the Italian mutation results in the clinical phenotype that is characteristic of CAA. We therefore investigated how this single point mutation may affect the aggregation of Aβ1-42 in vitro and structurally characterized the resulting fibrils using a biophysical approach. This paper reports that wild-type and Italian-mutant Aβ both form fibrils characterized by the cross-β architecture, but with distinct β-sheet organizations, resulting in differences in thioflavin T fluorescence and solvent accessibility. E22K Aβ1-42 oligomers and fibrils both display an antiparallel β-sheet structure, in comparison with the parallel β-sheet structure of wild-type fibrils, characteristic of most amyloid fibrils described in the literature. Moreover, we demonstrate structural plasticity for Italian-mutant Aβ fibrils in a pH-dependent manner, in terms of their underlying β-sheet arrangement. These findings are of interest in the ongoing debate that (1) antiparallel β-sheet structure might represent a signature for toxicity, which could explain the higher toxicity reported for the Italian mutant, and that (2) fibril polymorphism might underlie differences in disease pathology and clinical manifestation.

An annotated checklist of the Italian butterflies and skippers (Papilionoidea, Hesperiioidea).

PubMed

Balletto, Emilio; Cassulo, Luigi A; Bonelli, Simona

2014-08-20

We present here an updated checklist of the Italian butterflies (Lepidoptera: Hesperioidea and Papilionoidea) organised in the following sections (tables):1. Introduction, providing a broad outline of the paper.2. Checklist proper, summarised in a table, listing, in separate columns:a. Indications of endemicity (sub-endemic, Italian endemic).b. The relevant Annex in the Habitats Directive (legally protected species).c. Threat levels (in Europe: for threatened species only).d. A serial number (whose format is uniform across all Italian animal groups). This number runs throughout all the following tables (see 3, 4).e. Name, author, date of publication.f. Schematic overall indication of each specie's Italian range (N[orth], S[outh], Si[icily], Sa[rdinia]).3. Nomenclature, containing basic nomenclatural details for all listed genera, species and some of the generally or historically recognised subspecies and synonyms.4. Notes, where a variety of other information is provided, on a name by name (family, subfamily, genus, species, subspecies) basis. All remaining doubts as concerns each individual case are clearly stated.                The number of nominal species listed in the previous edition of this checklist, published almost 20 years ago, was 275, whereas it has raised to 290 in the current list. The status of about a dozen of these remains controversial, as discussed in the text. The present checklist is meant to provide an update of the Italian butterfly fauna, taking into account all relevant publications, and tries to explain all nomenclatural changes that had to be introduced, in the appropriate section. Many detailed comments are offered, when necessary or useful, in the notes.

Economic Burden of Human Papillomavirus-Related Diseases in Italy

PubMed Central

Baio, Gianluca; Capone, Alessandro; Marcellusi, Andrea; Mennini, Francesco Saverio; Favato, Giampiero

2012-01-01

Introduction Human papilloma virus (HPV) genotypes 6, 11, 16, and 18 impose a substantial burden of direct costs on the Italian National Health Service that has never been quantified fully. The main objective of the present study was to address this gap: (1) by estimating the total direct medical costs associated with nine major HPV-related diseases, namely invasive cervical cancer, cervical dysplasia, cancer of the vulva, vagina, anus, penis, and head and neck, anogenital warts, and recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, and (2) by providing an aggregate measure of the total economic burden attributable to HPV 6, 11, 16, and 18 infection. Methods For each of the nine conditions, we used available Italian secondary data to estimate the lifetime cost per case, the number of incident cases of each disease, the total economic burden, and the relative prevalence of HPV types 6, 11, 16, and 18, in order to estimate the aggregate fraction of the total economic burden attributable to HPV infection. Results The total direct costs (expressed in 2011 Euro) associated with the annual incident cases of the nine HPV-related conditions included in the analysis were estimated to be €528.6 million, with a plausible range of €480.1–686.2 million. The fraction attributable to HPV 6, 11, 16, and 18 was €291.0 (range €274.5–315.7 million), accounting for approximately 55% of the total annual burden of HPV-related disease in Italy. Conclusions The results provided a plausible estimate of the significant economic burden imposed by the most prevalent HPV-related diseases on the Italian welfare system. The fraction of the total direct lifetime costs attributable to HPV 6, 11, 16, and 18 infections, and the economic burden of noncervical HPV-related diseases carried by men, were found to be cost drivers relevant to the making of informed decisions about future investments in programmes of HPV prevention. PMID:23185412

Biological Correlates of Northern-Southern Italy Differences in IQ

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Templer, Donald I.

2012-01-01

The present study was intended to provide perspective, albeit less than unequivocal, on the research of Lynn (2010) who reported higher IQs in the northern than southern Italian regions. He attributes this to northern Italians having a greater genetic similarity to middle Europeans and southern Italians to Mediterranean people. Higher regional IQ…

A Survey of English-Medium Instruction in Italian Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Costa, Francesca; Coleman, James A.

2013-01-01

English-taught Programmes (ETPs) have increased exponentially in European universities over the last 10 years, leading to growing numbers of bilingual graduates. This study reports on the most recent survey of ETPs in Italian higher education. A questionnaire completed in 2010 by 50% of Italian universities addressed both organisational factors…

Identity Formation in Adolescents from Italian, Mixed, and Migrant Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crocetti, Elisabetta; Fermani, Alessandra; Pojaghi, Barbara; Meeus, Wim

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to compare identity formation in adolescents from Italian (n = 261), mixed (n = 100), and migrant families (n =148). Participants completed the Italian version of the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale that assesses identity processes in educational and relational domains. Within a variable-centered…

Italian Preschoolers' Peer-Status Linkages with Sociability and Subtypes of Aggression and Victimization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, David A.; Robinson, Clyde C.; Hart, Craig H.; Albano, Anthony D.; Marshall, Shawna J.

2010-01-01

Little is known about the behavior of preschool children belonging to peer sociometric status groups (popular, average, rejected, neglected, and controversial) in cultural contexts outside North America. This study examined the social interactions of Italian preschoolers. The sample consisted of 266 Italian preschoolers (mean age of 64 months).…

Italian Americans: A Study Guide and Source Book.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meloni, Alberto

Aspects of Italian immigration to the United States outlined in this guide include: (1) historical precedents for the Italian migration to North and South America; (2) economic reasons for the migration; (3) costs and resulting permanence of the migration; (4) characteristics of the family and individuals who migrated; (5) assimilation of these…

Bedside ultrasonography (US), Echoscopy and US point of care as a new kind of stethoscope for Internal Medicine Departments: the training program of the Italian Internal Medicine Society (SIMI).

PubMed

Arienti, Vincenzo; Di Giulio, Rosella; Cogliati, Chiara; Accogli, Esterita; Aluigi, Leonardo; Corazza, Gino Roberto

2014-10-01

In recent years, thanks to the development of miniaturized ultrasound devices, comparable to personal computers, tablets and even to smart phones, we have seen an increasing use of bedside ultrasound in internal medicine departments as a novel kind of ultrasound stethoscope. The clinical ultrasound-assisted approach has proved to be particularly useful in assessing patients with nodules of the neck, dyspnoea, abdominal pain, and with limb edema. In several cases, it has allowed a simple, rapid and precise diagnosis. Since 2005, the Italian Society of Internal Medicine and its Ultrasound Study Group has been holding a Summer School and training courses in ultrasound for residents in internal medicine. A national network of schools in bedside ultrasound was then organized for internal medicine specialists who want to learn this technique. Because bedside ultrasound is a user-dependent diagnostic method, it is important to define the limits and advantages of different new ultrasound devices, to classify them (i.e. Echoscopy and Point of Care Ultrasound), to establish appropriate different levels of competence and to ensure their specific training. In this review, we describe the point of view of the Italian Internal Medicine Society on these topics.

The Effects of Production Demands on Grammatical Weaknesses in Specific Language Impairment: The Case of Clitic Pronouns in Italian

PubMed Central

Leonard, Laurence B.; Dispaldro, Marco

2015-01-01

Purpose Extended optional use of direct object clitic pronouns (e.g., la in Paula la vede “Paula sees her”) appears to be a clinical marker for specific language impairment (SLI) in Italian. In this study, we examined whether sentence production demands might influence the degree to which Italian-speaking children with SLI produced clitics. Method Preschool-age children with SLI (N = 15) and two groups of younger typically developing children (N = 15 each) participated. Production demands were varied through use of a syntactic priming task. Results The children with SLI were more likely than the comparison children to omit the clitic in a control condition in which they had to describe a target picture without the benefit of a preceding sentence prime. The children with SLI were also more likely to describe target pictures using a default clitic or a clitic that had appeared in the preceding prime sentence but was inappropriate for the target. Conclusions The findings suggest that children with SLI have difficulty generating a sentence containing a grammatical slot for a clitic when production demands are increased, and when they succeed in generating such a sentence, they often cannot at the same time retrieve the appropriate clitic form. PMID:23785189

Epidemiology and diagnostic and therapeutic management of febrile seizures in the Italian pediatric emergency departments: A prospective observational study.

PubMed

Vitaliti, Giovanna; Castagno, Emanuele; Ricceri, Fulvio; Urbino, Antonio; Di Pianella, Alberto Verrotti; Lubrano, Riccardo; Caramaschi, Elisa; Prota, Maurizio; Pulvirenti, Rita Maria; Ajovalasit, Patrizia; Signorile, Giuseppe; Navone, Carla; La Bianca, Maria Rosaria; Villani, Alberto; Corsello, Giovanni; Falsaperla, Raffaele

2017-01-01

Febrile seizures (FS) involve 2-5% of the paediatric population, among which Complex FS (CFS) account for one third of accesses for FS in Emergency Departments (EDs). The aim of our study was to define the epidemiology, the clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic approach to FS and CFSs in the Italian EDs. A multicenter prospective observational study was performed between April 2014 and March 2015. Patients between 1 and 60 months of age, randomly accessing to ED for ongoing FS or reported FS at home were included. Demographic features and diagnostic-therapeutic follow-up were recorded. FS were categorized in simple (<10min), prolonged (10-30min) and status epilepticus (>30min). The study population consisted of 268 children. Most of the children experienced simple FS (71.65%). Among the 68 (25.37%) patients with complex FS, 11 were 6-12 month-old, accounting for 45.83% of all the infants with FS in the younger age group. No therapy has been administered at home in 76.12% patients; 23.51% of them received endorectal diazepam and only 1 patient received buccal midazolam. At arrival at ED, no therapy was necessary for 70.52% patients; 50.63% received endorectal diazepam and 17.72% an i.v. bolus of midazolam. Blood tests and acid-base balanced were performed respectively in 82.09% of cases. An electroencephalogram at ED was performed in 21.64% of patients. Neuroimagings were done in 3.73% of cases. A neurologic consultation was asked for 36 patients (13.43%). this is the first study assessing epidemiologic characteristics of FS in the Italian pediatric population, evidencing a higher prevalence of CFSs in children younger than 12 months of age and opening a new research scenario on the blood brain barrier vulnerability. On a national level, our study showed the need for a diagnostic standardized work-up to improve the cost/benefit ratio on CFS management. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Opinions concerning euthanasia, life-sustaining treatment and acceleration of death: results of an Italian Association of Medical Oncology (AIOM) survey.

PubMed

Catania, C; Zagonel, V; Fosser, V; La Verde, N; Bertetto, O; Iacono, C; Venturini, M; Radice, D; Adamoli, L; Boccardo, F

2008-11-01

Advance directives, acceleration of death, euthanasia and 'life-sustaining treatment' have sparked much heated debate among the media, the public, doctors and political leaders. We evaluate the personal opinions of Italian Association of Medical Oncology (AIOM) members. A 30-item questionnaire was developed and delivered to all 1,832 AIOM members. Six-hundred and eighty-five (37%) oncologists completed and returned the questionnaires. Sixty-three per cent felt culturally and psychologically prepared to face these issues. Fifty-four per cent believed that what had been decided while the patient enjoyed good health is no longer applicable in an advanced state of terminal illness. Thirty-nine per cent believed that doctors should abide by these directives, while 49% believed that this should be discussed on a case-by-case basis. Fourteen per cent of oncologists were favourable towards euthanasia and 42% only in particular circumstances. Fifty-six per cent had received at least one request for accelerating death: 15% consented, 50% discussed it with the patient and 31% refused. Advance directives, euthanasia, accelerated death and life-sustaining treatment represent considerable challenges for Italian oncologists. Although prepared to face these issues, AIOM members ask for a debate within the medical world and for a shared judicial regulation.

What drives patient mobility across Italian regions? Evidence from hospital discharge data.

PubMed

Balia, Silvia; Brau, Rinaldo; Marrocu, Emanuela

2014-01-01

This chapter examines patient mobility across Italian regions using data on hospital discharges that occurred in 2008. The econometric analysis is based on Origin-Destination (OD) flow data. Since patient mobility is a crucial phenomenon in contexts of hospital competition based on quality and driven by patient choice, as is the case in Italy, it is crucial to understand its determinants. What makes the Italian case more interesting is the decentralization of the National Health Service that yields large regional variation in patient flows in favor of Centre-Northern regions, which typically are 'net exporters' of hospital treatments. We present results from gravity models estimated using count data estimators, for total and specific types of flows (ordinary admissions, surgical DRGs and medical DRGs). We model cross-section dependence by specifically including features other than geographical distance for OD pairs, such as past migration flows and the share of surgical DRGs. Most of the explanatory variables exhibit the expected effect, with distance and GDP per capita at origin showing a negative impact on patient outflows. Past migrations and indicators of performance at destination are effective determinants of patient mobility. Moreover, we find evidence of regional externalities due to spatial proximity effects at both origin and destination.

A new surveillance gynecological network to assess the incidence and prevalence of genital warts in the Italian female population: lessons learned.

PubMed

Suligoi, B; Salfa, M C; Mariani, L; Corsini, D; Timelli, L; Fattorini, G; Vittori, G

2013-10-01

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the etiologic agent of genital warts. Genital warts are transmitted through sexual contacts and caused in about 90% of the cases by HPV types 6 and 11. Worldwide, several million cases of genital warts occur each year both in females and males. In Italy, genital warts are not subject to mandatory notification; the only available data come from the sentinel surveillance system for sexually transmitted infections (STI), which show that external genital warts represent the most frequent STI in Italy. However, these data are not suitable for estimates of incidence and prevalence of single STI in the general population. To obtain more reliable data on the epidemiology of genital warts in the female population at large, we implemented a network of local gynecologists reporting essential data on all women visited throughout one year and detailed data on women who were diagnosed with genital warts. In order to organize and create this network, a partnership between the Italian National Institute of Health and the Italian Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics was constituted to implement the start-up and management of this pilot and unique project in Europe. The present paper intends to present the methods used to build and implement this surveillance network of local gynecologists.

Pulmonary function and bronchial hyperreactivity in asthmatic children with house dust mite allergy during prolonged stay in the Italian Alps (Misurina, 1756 m).

PubMed

Boner, A L; Niero, E; Antolini, I; Valletta, E A; Gaburro, D

1985-01-01

The effects of high altitude were evaluated in 14 children with allergic bronchial asthma over an 8-month period. Clinical improvement, as assessed by decreased bronchial lability, was demonstrated by pulmonary function studies. There was a decreased requirement for drugs and steroids were discontinued in our children. The results of this study suggest the use of this approach as a possible adjunct to the management of refractory cases of bronchial asthma.

Palaeopathology of the earlobe crease (Frank's sign): New insights from Renaissance art.

PubMed

Galassi, Francesco M; Borghi, Claudio; Ballestriero, Roberta; Habicht, Michael E; Henneberg, Maciej; Rühli, Frank J

2017-06-01

Several studies have associated the earlobe crease sign, discovered by Sanders T. Frank in 1973, with cardiovascular pathology, yet very few studies have focused on the antiquity of this trait, with the most ancient one thought to date back to the Roman Emperor Hadrian (76-138CE). This article presents two more cases from the Italian Renaissance in the works of the artist Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506) and examines them in a multidisciplinary fashion. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Italian cross-cultural adaptation and validation of three different scales for the evaluation of shoulder pain and dysfunction after neck dissection: University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA) Shoulder Scale, Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) and Simple Shoulder Test (SST).

PubMed

Marchese, C; Cristalli, G; Pichi, B; Manciocco, V; Mercante, G; Pellini, R; Marchesi, P; Sperduti, I; Ruscito, P; Spriano, G

2012-02-01

Shoulder syndrome after neck dissection is a well known entity, but its incidence and prognostic factors influencing recovery have not been clearly assessed due to the heterogeneity of possible evaluations. The University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA) Shoulder Scale, the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) and the Simple Shoulder Test (SST) are three English-language questionnaires commonly used to test shoulder impairment. An Italian version of these scales is not available. The aim of the present study was to translate, culturally adapt and validate an Italian version of UCLA Shoulder Scale, SPADI and SST. Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the SPADI, the UCLA shoulder scale and the SST was performed according to the international guidelines. Sixty-six patients treated with neck dissection for head and neck cancer were called to draw up these scales. Forty patients completed the same questionnaires a second time one week after the first to test the reproducibility of the Italian versions. All the English-speaking Italian patients (n = 11) were asked to complete both the English and the Italian versions of the three questionnaires to validate the scales. No major problems regarding the content or the language were found during the translation of the 3 questionnaires. For all three scales, Cronbach's α was > 0.89. The Pearson correlation coefficient was r > 0.91. With respect to validity, there was a significant correlation between the Italian and the English versions of all three scales. This study shows that the Italian versions of UCLA Shoulder Scale, SPADI and SST are valid instruments for the evaluation of shoulder dysfunction after neck dissection in Italian patients.

Characteristics of people living in Italy after a cancer diagnosis in 2010 and projections to 2020.

PubMed

Guzzinati, Stefano; Virdone, Saverio; De Angelis, Roberta; Panato, Chiara; Buzzoni, Carlotta; Capocaccia, Riccardo; Francisci, Silvia; Gigli, Anna; Zorzi, Manuel; Tagliabue, Giovanna; Serraino, Diego; Falcini, Fabio; Casella, Claudia; Russo, Antonio Giampiero; Stracci, Fabrizio; Caruso, Bianca; Michiara, Maria; Caiazzo, Anna Luisa; Castaing, Marine; Ferretti, Stefano; Mangone, Lucia; Rudisi, Giuseppa; Sensi, Flavio; Mazzoleni, Guido; Pannozzo, Fabio; Tumino, Rosario; Fusco, Mario; Ricci, Paolo; Gola, Gemma; Giacomin, Adriano; Tisano, Francesco; Candela, Giuseppa; Fanetti, Anna Clara; Pala, Filomena; Sardo, Antonella Sutera; Rugge, Massimo; Botta, Laura; Maso, Luigino Dal

2018-02-09

Estimates of cancer prevalence are widely based on limited duration, often including patients living after a cancer diagnosis made in the previous 5 years and less frequently on complete prevalence (i.e., including all patients regardless of the time elapsed since diagnosis). This study aims to provide estimates of complete cancer prevalence in Italy by sex, age, and time since diagnosis for all cancers combined, and for selected cancer types. Projections were made up to 2020, overall and by time since diagnosis. Data were from 27 Italian population-based cancer registries, covering 32% of the Italian population, able to provide at least 7 years of registration as of December 2009 and follow-up of vital status as of December 2013. The data were used to compute the limited-duration prevalence, in order to estimate the complete prevalence by means of the COMPREV software. In 2010, 2,637,975 persons were estimated to live in Italy after a cancer diagnosis, 1.2 million men and 1.4 million women, or 4.6% of the Italian population. A quarter of male prevalent cases had prostate cancer (n = 305,044), while 42% of prevalent women had breast cancer (n = 604,841). More than 1.5 million people (2.7% of Italians) were alive since 5 or more years after diagnosis and 20% since ≥15 years. It is projected that, in 2020 in Italy, there will be 3.6 million prevalent cancer cases (+ 37% vs 2010). The largest 10-year increases are foreseen for prostate (+ 85%) and for thyroid cancers (+ 79%), and for long-term survivors diagnosed since 20 or more years (+ 45%). Among the population aged ≥75 years, 22% will have had a previous cancer diagnosis. The number of persons living after a cancer diagnosis is estimated to rise of approximately 3% per year in Italy. The availability of detailed estimates and projections of the complete prevalence are intended to help the implementation of guidelines aimed to enhance the long-term follow-up of cancer survivors and to contribute their rehabilitation needs.

Prevalence and incidence of external genital warts in a sample of Italian general female population.

PubMed

Suligoi, Barbara; Vittori, Giorgio; Salfa, Maria Cristina; Timelli, Laura; Corsini, Dario; Fattorini, Giovanni; Mariani, Luciano

2017-02-06

The Human papillomavirus is the most common sexually transmitted virus worldwide. The objective of this study was to estimate: 1) the prevalence and the incidence of external genital warts (eGW) in a sample of women attending community outpatient clinics and 2) the total number of eGW cases in the Italian female population aged 15-64 years. A prospective study was performed for a 12-month period between 2009 and 2010, among a sample of women attending community gynecological outpatient clinics located throughout Italy. Demographic data, for every woman aged 15-64 years, were collected. For women diagnosed with eGW, behavioral and clinical data were recorded. Prevalence of eGW was calculated as the proportion between the number of women with eGW and that of women visiting any of the participating gynecologists; incidence of eGW was calculated as the proportion between the number of women with a new diagnosis of eGW and that of women visiting any of the participating gynecologists. Standardized prevalence by age was used to estimate the number of eGW cases occurring in the Italian female population aged 15-64 years. In 2009-2010, 44 community gynecologists were included in the network. In one-year period, 16,410 women visited any of the participating gynecologists; 63 women were diagnosed with eGW, corresponding to a prevalence of 3.8 cases per 1,000 women per year (95%CI: 2.9-4.9). The incidence of eGW was 3.0 cases per 1,000 women per year (95%CI: 2.2-3.9). Women aged 15-24 years showed both the highest prevalence and incidence. Prevalence and incidence significantly decreased by increasing age group (p <0.001), and were higher in Southern Italy compared to Central-Northern Italy. The estimated number of women with eGW among women aged 15-64 years in Italy, in 2010, was approximately 69,000. These data show a high prevalence and incidence of eGW among young women in Italy, stress the effectiveness of community clinical networks in investigating STI epidemiology among women from the general population, confirm the relevance of HPV vaccination programs among adolescents, and underscore the need of promoting safe sex, implementing early diagnosis, treatment and prevention of genital warts.

Congenital melanocytic nevus: an epidemiologic study in Italy.

PubMed

Ingordo, Vito; Gentile, Ciro; Iannazzone, Silvia S; Cusano, Francesco; Naldi, Luigi

2007-01-01

The prevalence of congenital melanocytic nevi (CMN) among newborns ranges between 0.2 and 6% in the worldwide literature. In the only available study from Italy the rate was 1% at birth and 1.4% at 2 years of age. Some surveys performed among samples of children and adolescents in other countries showed a prevalence which ranged from 1.4 to 4.4%. Additional data on the frequency in adults are not available. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of CMN in a large sample of a young male Italian population, which is deemed to be representative of the general population of the same age and sex. The potential conscripts resident in the coastal regions of southern Italy, enlisted for the compulsory service in the Italian Navy, were called at the age of 18 to the Draft's Council Medical Unit of the Italian Navy in Taranto to evaluate their psychophysical fitness to recruitment. All the subjects examined from September 2002 to March 2004 showing skin lesions evocative of CMN were referred by general practitioners of the Draft's Council Medical Unit to the Department of Dermatology of the Italian Navy Hospital for confirming the diagnosis, which was based on the clinical features and the personal history. The confirmed cases were recorded in a predefined patient card, containing the main anamnestic and clinical data. Since the screening of small CMN in such a large sample of subjects was believed to be difficult, only CMN with a diameter >or=1.5 cm were recorded. In 23,354 examined persons 157 CMN were diagnosed, with a prevalence of 0.67% (Bayesian 95% confidence interval 0.57-0.79); 126 (80.3%) CMN were medium-sized (>or=1.5 and or=20 cm in diameter). Three CMN (1.9%) were located on the face, 23 (14.6%) on the chest, 24 (15.2%) on the abdomen, 36 (22.9%) on the back, 48 (30.5%) on the lumbar area, 15 (9.5%) on the upper limb, 19 (12.1%) on the lower limb and 15 (9.5%) on the shoulder. No CMN was located on the head. In 19 cases (12.1%) >or=2 adjacent anatomical sites (shoulder/chest, shoulder/arm, etc.) were involved. In 73 moles (46.4%) terminal hairs were present. Eight CMN (5.1%) showed a zosteriform (i.e. segmental) feature. None of the examined subjects reported a personal history of malignant melanoma (MM), and no person with a history of MM was observed among all the enlisted men referred to the Department of Dermatology during the time of the study. The prevalence of CMN in the Italian young male general population is roughly in agreement with the rates detected in general populations from other European studies. The observations of this study also suggest that the risk of appearance of MM, at least in childhood and adolescence, is limited for medium-sized CMN. Copyright (c) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Validation Study of Italian Version of Inventory for Déjà Vu Experiences Assessment (I-IDEA): A Screening Tool to Detect Déjà Vu Phenomenon in Italian Healthy Individuals

PubMed Central

Mumoli, Laura; Tripepi, Giovanni; Augimeri, Antonio; Baggetta, Rossella; Bisulli, Francesca; Bruni, Antonella; Cavalli, Salvatore M.; D’Aniello, Alfredo; Daniele, Ornella; Di Bonaventura, Carlo; Di Gennaro, Giancarlo; Fattouch, Jinane; Ferlazzo, Edoardo; Ferrari, Alessandra; Giallonardo, Annateresa; Gasparini, Sara; Nigro, Salvatore; Romigi, Andrea; Sofia, Vito; Tinuper, Paolo; Vaccaro, Maria Grazia; Zummo, Leila; Quattrone, Aldo; Gambardella, Antonio; Labate, Angelo

2017-01-01

The Inventory Déjà Vu Experiences Assessment (IDEA) is the only screening instrument proposed to evaluate the Déjà vu (DV) experience. Here, we intended to validate the Italian version of IDEA (I-IDEA) and at the same time to investigate the incidence and subjective qualities of the DV phenomenon in healthy Italian adult individuals on basis of an Italian multicentre observational study. In this study, we report normative data on the I-IDEA, collected on a sample of 542 Italian healthy subjects aging between 18–70 years (average age: 40) with a formal educational from 1–19 years. From September 2013 to March 2016, we recruited 542 healthy volunteers from 10 outpatient neurological clinics in Italy. All participants (i.e., family members of neurological patients enrolled, medical students, physicians) had no neurological or psychiatric illness and gave their informed consent to participate in the study. All subjects enrolled self-administered the questionnaire and they were able to complete I-IDEA test without any support. In total, 396 (73%) of the 542 healthy controls experienced the DV phenomenon. The frequency of DV was inversely related to age as well as to derealisation, jamais vu, precognitive dreams, depersonalization, paranormal activity, remembering dreams, travel frequency, and daydreams (all p < 0.012). The Italian version of IDEA maintains good properties, thus confirming that this instrument is reliable for detecting and characterising the DV phenomenon. PMID:28783090

A Bibliography of Italian Studies in North America

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cherubini, Jon C., Comp.

1977-01-01

This quarterly bibliography of Italian studies in North America includes books, bibliographies, and reviews of comparative literature studies, translations, and publications on art, music, philosophy, history, cinema, and sociology, which are closely related to literature. (SW)

Out-of-pocket costs for cancer survivors between 5 and 10 years from diagnosis: an Italian population-based study.

PubMed

Baili, Paolo; Di Salvo, Francesca; de Lorenzo, Francesco; Maietta, Francesco; Pinto, Carmine; Rizzotto, Vera; Vicentini, Massimo; Rossi, Paolo Giorgi; Tumino, Rosario; Rollo, Patrizia Concetta; Tagliabue, Giovanna; Contiero, Paolo; Candela, Pina; Scuderi, Tiziana; Iannelli, Elisabetta; Cascinu, Stefano; Aurora, Fulvio; Agresti, Roberto; Turco, Alberto; Sant, Milena; Meneghini, Elisabetta; Micheli, Andrea

2016-05-01

To illustrate the out-of-pocket (OOP) costs incurred by a population-based group of patients from 5 to 10 years since their cancer diagnosis in a country with a nationwide public health system. Interviews on OOP costs to a sample of 5-10 year prevalent cases randomly extracted from four population-based cancer registries (CRs), two in the north and two in the south of Italy. The patients' general practitioners (GPs) gave assurance about the patient's physical and psychological condition for the interview. A zero-inflated negative binomial model was used to analyze OOP cost determinants. Two hundred six cancer patients were interviewed (48 % of the original sample). On average, a patient in the north spent €69 monthly, against €244 in the south. The main differences are for transport, room, and board (TRB) to reach the hospital and/or the cancer specialist (north €0; south €119). Everywhere, OOP costs without TRB costs were higher for patients with a low quality of life. Despite the limited participation, our study sample's characteristics are similar to those of the Italian cancer prevalence population, allowing us to generalize the results. The higher OOP costs in the south may be due to the scarcity of oncologic structures, obliging patients to seek assistance far from their residence. Implications for cancer survivors Cancer survivors need descriptive studies to show realistic data about their status. Future Italian and European descriptive studies on cancer survivorship should be based on population CRs and involve GPs in order to approach the patient at best.

Factors predicting survival in ALS: a multicenter Italian study.

PubMed

Calvo, Andrea; Moglia, Cristina; Lunetta, Christian; Marinou, Kalliopi; Ticozzi, Nicola; Ferrante, Gianluca Drago; Scialo, Carlo; Sorarù, Gianni; Trojsi, Francesca; Conte, Amelia; Falzone, Yuri M; Tortelli, Rosanna; Russo, Massimo; Chiò, Adriano; Sansone, Valeria Ada; Mora, Gabriele; Silani, Vincenzo; Volanti, Paolo; Caponnetto, Claudia; Querin, Giorgia; Monsurrò, Maria Rosaria; Sabatelli, Mario; Riva, Nilo; Logroscino, Giancarlo; Messina, Sonia; Fini, Nicola; Mandrioli, Jessica

2017-01-01

The aim of this multicenter, retrospective study is to investigate the role of clinical characteristics and therapeutic intervention on ALS prognosis. The study included patients diagnosed from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2013 in 13 Italian referral centers for ALS located in 10 Italian regions. Caring neurologists collected a detailed phenotypic profile and follow-up data until death into an electronic database. One center collected also data from a population-based registry for ALS. 2648 incident cases were collected. The median survival time from onset to death/tracheostomy was 44 months (SE 1.18, CI 42-46). According to univariate analysis, factors related to survival from onset to death/tracheostomy were: age at onset, diagnostic delay, site of onset, phenotype, degree of certainty at diagnosis according to revised El Escorial criteria (R-EEC), presence/absence of dementia, BMI at diagnosis, patients' provenance. In the multivariate analysis, age at onset, diagnostic delay, phenotypes but not site of onset, presence/absence of dementia, BMI, riluzole use, R-EEC criteria were independent prognostic factors of survival in ALS. We compared patients from an ALS Registry with patients from tertiary centers; the latter ones were younger, less frequently bulbar, but more frequently familial and definite at diagnosis. Our large, multicenter study demonstrated the role of some clinical and demographic factors on ALS survival, and showed some interesting differences between referral centers' patients and the general ALS population. These results can be helpful for clinical practice, in clinical trial design and to validate new tools to predict disease progression.

Factors associated with self-reported use of dental health services among older Greek and Italian immigrants.

PubMed

Mariño, Rodrigo; Wright, Clive; Schofield, Margot; Calache, Hanny; Minichiello, Victor

2005-01-01

The authors discuss utilization of dental health services by older Greek and Italian immigrants in Melbourne, Australia. Their study involved 374 Greek and 360 Italian adults who completed a questionnaire and received an oral examination. Nearly 41% of Greek and 45% of Italian respondents had used dental services in the previous year. As barriers to care, Greek participants most often cited waiting lists and waiting time in the office. Italian participants most often identified cost, length of waiting lists and language barriers. Multivariate analyses associated recent use of dental services with number of teeth, oral health knowledge, age and occupation before retirement for both groups, as well as living arrangements among Greek participants and perceived barriers among Italian participants. Findings highlight the need for oral health promotion programs targeted toward older adults from immigrant populations and reductions of the structural barriers that prevent these adults from seeking oral health care.

Solid recovered fuel: An experiment on classification and potential applications.

PubMed

Bessi, C; Lombardi, L; Meoni, R; Canovai, A; Corti, A

2016-01-01

The residual urban waste of Prato district (Italy) is characterized by a high calorific value that would make it suitable for direct combustion in waste-to-energy plants. Since the area of central Italy lacks this kind of plant, residual municipal waste is quite often allocated to mechanical treatment plants in order to recover recyclable materials (such as metals) and energy content, sending the dry fractions to waste-to-energy plants outside the region. With the previous Italian legislation concerning Refuse Derived Fuels, only the dry stream produced as output by the study case plant, considered in this study, could be allocated to energy recovery, while the other output flows were landfilled. The most recent Italian regulation, introduced a new classification for the fuel streams recovered from waste following the criteria of the European standard (EN 15359:2011), defining the Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF). In this framework, the aim of this study was to check whether the different streams produced as output by the study case plant could be classified as SRF. For this reason, a sampling and analysis campaign was carried out with the purpose of characterizing every single output stream that can be obtained from the study case mechanical treatment plant, when operating it in different ways. The results showed that all the output flows from the study case mechanical treatment plant were classified as SRF, although with a wide quality range. In particular, few streams, of rather poor quality, could be fed to waste-to-energy plants, compatibly with the plant feeding systems. Other streams, with very high quality, were suitable for non-dedicated facilities, such as cement plants or power plants, as a substitute for coal. The implementation of the new legislation has hence the potential for a significant reduction of landfilling, contributing to lowering the overall environmental impact by avoiding the direct impacts of landfilling and by exploiting the beneficial effects of energy recovery from waste. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The surveillance of occupational diseases in Italy: the MALPROF system.

PubMed

Campo, G; Papale, A; Baldasseroni, A; Di Leone, G; Magna, B; Martini, B; Mattioli, S

2015-11-01

Occupational diseases data can guide efforts to improve worker's health and safety. To describe MALPROF, the Italian system for surveillance of work-related diseases collected by the subregional Department of Prevention. The MALPROF system started in 1999 with contributions from Lombardy and Tuscany and spread in the following years to collect contributions from 14 out of the 20 Italian regions. MALPROF data were explored to follow-up work-related diseases and to detect emerging occupational health risks by calculating proportional reporting ratio (PRR), as in pharmacosurveillance. It classified work-related diseases according to economic sector and job activity in which the exposure occurred. Occupational physicians of the Italian National Health Service evaluate the possible causal relationship with occupational exposures and store the data in a centralized database. From 1999 to 2012, the MALPROF system collected about 112000 cases of workers' diseases. In 2010, more than 13000 cases of occupational diseases were reported. The most frequently reported diseases were hearing loss (n = 4378, 32%), spine disorders (n = 2394, 17%) and carpal tunnel syndrome (n = 1560, 11%). The PRR calculated for cervical disc herniation, a disease whose occupational origin has to be studied, in 1999-2010 was 2.47 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.76-3.47] for drivers and 36.64 (95% CI 22.03-60.93) for air transport workers. MALPROF is a sensitive system for identifying possible associations between occupational risks and diseases, it can contribute to the development of preventive measures, to evaluate the effectiveness of preventive interventions and to stimulate research on new occupational risks and diseases. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Association of melanoma and natalizumab therapy in the Italian MS population: a second case report.

PubMed

Laroni, A; Bedognetti, M; Uccelli, A; Capello, E; Mancardi, G L

2011-02-01

There is debate about a possible association between natalizumab treatment and higher risk of melanoma. Here we report a case of melanoma in a patient who developed melanoma after 77 infusions of natalizumab, without known risk factors. Pharmacovigilance programs of new drugs can help to monitor adverse events in patients at risk.

[The demographic and occupational characteristics of Italian migrants to Argentina, 1880-1930].

PubMed

Cacopardo, M C; Moreno, J L

1984-09-01

"This essay studies...the demographic and socio-professional characteristics of the Italian emigrants in Argentina during the period 1880-1930. Besides a reconstruction of the demographic variables (age, sex, mortality, and fertility) in the historical series, the essay also depicts the professional profile of the Italians in Argentina...." (summary in ENG, FRE) excerpt

Occupational Gender Stereotypes and Problem-Solving in Italian Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ginevra, Maria Cristina; Nota, Laura

2017-01-01

The first purpose of the study was to establish how Italian adolescents perceive jobs in the newly emerging economy sectors as well as more traditional jobs from gender-stereotyped and gender-segregated perspectives. The second purpose was to verify the role of problem-solving and gender in gender-role stereotyping. A total of 217 Italian high…

"Siamo Vicini, No?": Negotiating Commonality for Rapport Building in Italian L1-L2 Online Text Chat

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tudini, Vincenza; Strambi, Antonella

2017-01-01

Focusing specifically on the negotiation of commonality, this study explores rapport building (Spencer-Oatey, 2000) in online intercultural text chat, where Australian students of Italian interact with L1 Italian speakers. Although the initial purpose of the examined chat exchanges is to facilitate L2 acquisition, analysis of transcripts indicates…

Stress Regularity or Consistency? Reading Aloud Italian Polysyllables with Different Stress Patterns

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burani, Cristina; Arduino, Lisa S.

2004-01-01

Stress assignment to three- and four-syllable Italian words is not predictable by rule, but needs lexical look-up. The present study investigated whether stress assignment to low-frequency Italian words is determined by stress regularity, or by the number of words sharing the final phonological segment and the stress pattern (stress neighborhood…

Fully Transparent Orthography, yet Lexical Reading Aloud: The Lexicality Effect in Italian

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pagliuca, Giovanni; Arduino, Lisa S.; Barca, Laura; Burani, Cristina

2008-01-01

This is the first study that reports the lexicality effect (i.e., words read better than nonwords) in Italian with fully transparent and methodologically well-controlled stimuli. We investigated how words and nonwords are read aloud in the Italian transparent orthography, in which there is an almost strict one-to-one correspondence between…

A Study on the Factors That Have Contributed to Italian Americans' Success in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galli Tognota, Vittoria

2017-01-01

PROBLEM: Italian-Americans belong to one of the cultural groups that have suffered discrimination throughout the decades since their or their families' immigration to the United States. As early the first half of the twentieth century, Italian-Americans had already suffered discrimination, alienation, and exclusion. Such factors became obstacles…

A Report on the Study of Italian, A Modern Language Elective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leonardo da Vinci Society, Fort Lee, NJ.

This report contains comments on the establishment of Italian classes at the secondary level and in colleges, a symposium on the teaching of Italian in New Jersey, college survey reports, teachers and textbooks, the school system and the community, practical and cultural values, and bilingualism as an untapped national resource. The First Annual…

Antispila oinophylla new species (Lepidoptera, Heliozelidae), a new North American grapevine leafminer invading Italian vineyards: taxonomy, DNA barcodes and life cycle

PubMed Central

van Nieukerken, Erik J.; Wagner, David L.; Baldessari, Mario; Mazzon, Luca; Angeli, Gino; Girolami, Vicenzo; Duso, Carlo; Doorenweerd, Camiel

2012-01-01

Abstract A grapevine leafminer Antispila oinophylla van Nieukerken & Wagner, sp. n., is described both from eastern North America (type locality: Georgia) and as a new important invader in North Italian vineyards (Trentino and Veneto Region) since 2006. The species is closely related to, and previously confused with Antispila ampelopsifoliella Chambers, 1874, a species feeding on Virginia creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia (L.) Planchon., and both are placed in an informal Antispila ampelopsifoliella group. Wing pattern, genitalia, and DNA barcode data all confirm the conspecificity of native North American populations and Italian populations. COI barcodes differ by only 0–1.23%, indicating that the Italian populations are recently established from eastern North America. The new species feeds on various wild Vitis species in North America, on cultivated Vitis vinifera L. in Italy, and also on Parthenocissus quinquefolia in Italy. North American Antispila feeding on Parthenocissus include at least two other species, one of which is Antispila ampelopsifoliella. Morphology and biology of the new species are contrasted with those of North American Antispila Hübner, 1825 species and European Holocacista rivillei (Stainton, 1855). The source population of the introduction is unknown, but cases with larvae or pupae, attached to imported plants, are a likely possibility. DNA barcodes of the three European grapevine leafminers and those of all examined Heliozelidae are highly diagnostic. North American Vitaceae-feeding Antispila form two species complexes and include several as yet unnamed taxa. The identity of three out of the four previously described North American Vitaceae-feeding species cannot be unequivocally determined without further revision, but these are held to be different from Antispila oinophylla. In Italy the biology of Antispila oinophylla was studied in a vineyard in the Trento Province (Trentino-Alto Adige Region) in 2008 and 2009. Mature larvae overwinter inside their cases, fixed to vine trunks or training stakes. The first generation flies in June. An additional generation occurs from mid-August onwards. The impact of the pest in this vineyard was significant with more than 90% of leaves infested in mid-summer. Since the initial discovery in 2006, the pest spread to several additional Italian provinces, in 2010 the incidence of infestation was locally high in commercial vineyards. Preliminary phylogenetic analyses suggest that Antispila is paraphyletic, and that the Antispila ampelopsifoliella group is related to Coptodisca Walsingham, 1895, Holocacista Walsingham & Durrant, 1909 and Antispilina Hering, 1941, all of which possess reduced wing venation. Vitaceae may be the ancestral hostplant family for modern Heliozelidae. PMID:22408380

Democracy and Tunisia: A Case Study

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-06-01

2591 E. ISLAMIC MOVEMENT The al-Nahda Islamic movement, originally called the Mouvement de la Tendance Islamique (MTI), is claimed by the government to...billion for the period 1987-1991. At the same time reportedly an African Development Bank offered a $79 million credit line to finance tourism and...industrial projects, England’s Midland Bank financed $27 million and the Italian government provided $500 million in loans and grants for a five year

Nisaidie Nif Anye Mwenyewe, Pomogi Mne Eto Sdelat' Samomu: A Comparative Case Study of the Implementation of Montessori Pedagogy in the United Republic of Tanzania and the Russian Federation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schnepf, Candy A.

2010-01-01

The system of education developed by Maria Montessori, noted Italian feminist, anthropologist and physician, is the single largest pedagogy in the world with over 22,000 public, private, parochial, and charter schools on six continents, enduring even as other teaching methods have waxed and waned. Despite its international diffusion and longevity,…

Ricadute metalinguistiche dell'insegnamento dell'esperanto sulla lingua materna dell'alunno: Un'esperienza nella scuola media italiana (Metalinguistic Benefits of Planned Language Instruction: The Case of Esperanto in an Italian Secondary School).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pinto, Maria Antonietta; Corsetti, Renato

2001-01-01

Two groups of secondary school students participated in an experiment on the effect of Esperanto instruction on their metalinguistic abilities. The group that studied Esperanto for a full school year achieved better results on independently developed tests of metalinguistic ability in comparison with the control group. Results suggest the teaching…

Towards measles elimination in Italy: Virological surveillance and genotypes trend (2013-2015).

PubMed

Magurano, Fabio; Baggieri, Melissa; Filia, Antonietta; Del Manso, Martina; Lazzarotto, Tiziana; Amendola, Antonella; D'Agaro, Pierlanfranco; Chironna, Maria; Ansaldi, Filippo; Iannazzo, Stefania; Bucci, Paola; Marchi, Antonella; Nicoletti, Loredana

2017-05-15

In accordance with the goal of the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, the Italian National Measles and Rubella Elimination Plan aimed to interrupt indigenous measles transmission in Italy by the end of 2015. However, from 2013 to 2015, Italy experienced high measles burden with 4902 measles cases (49.3% laboratory-confirmed) reported to the enhanced measles surveillance system (cumulative incidence in the triennium reference period: 2.4/100,000 population). The measles elimination goal was not reached. Laboratory surveillance of measles circulating genotypes is performed by the Measles and Rubella National Reference Laboratory (NRL) at the Italian National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità - ISS), in Rome. Samples received from 1 January 2013-31 December 2015 were analysed. Those positive for measles genome by molecular tests were sequenced and phylogenetically analysed. Phylogenetic analysis performed by NRL identified that genotypes D4 and D8 were endemic and co-circulated in 2011-2013: study results show that genotype D4 disappeared during 2013. Sporadic cases were associated to genotype B3 during 2011-2013, which became endemic in Italy during 2014 and co-circulated with D8 until 2015. Sporadic cases were found belonging to genotypes D9 and H1 all over the period in exam. Similar trend has been observed in European WHO Region. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Natural hazard risk perception of Italian population: case studies along national territory.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gravina, Teresita; Tupputi Schinosa, Francesca De Luca; Zuddas, Isabella; Preto, Mattia; Marengo, Angelo; Esposito, Alessandro; Figliozzi, Emanuele; Rapinatore, Matteo

2015-04-01

Risk perception is judgment that people make about the characteristics and severity of risks, in last few years risk perception studies focused on provide cognitive elements to communication experts responsible in order to design citizenship information and awareness appropriate strategies. Several authors in order to determine natural hazards risk (Seismic, landslides, cyclones, flood, Volcanic) perception used questionnaires as tool for providing reliable quantitative data and permitting comparison the results with those of similar surveys. In Italy, risk perception studies based on surveys, were also carried out in order to investigate on national importance Natural risk, in particular on Somma-Vesuvio and Phlegrean Fields volcanic Risks, but lacked risk perception studies on local situation distributed on whole national territory. National importance natural hazard were frequently reported by national mass media and there were debate about emergencies civil protection plans, otherwise could be difficult to obtain information on bonded and regional nature natural hazard which were diffuses along National territory. In fact, Italian peninsula was a younger geological area subjected to endogenous phenomena (volcanoes, earthquake) and exogenous phenomena which determine land evolution and natural hazard (landslide, coastal erosion, hydrogeological instability, sinkhole) for population. For this reason we decided to investigate on natural risks perception in different Italian place were natural hazard were taken place but not reported from mass media, as were only local relevant or historical event. We carried out surveys in different Italian place interested by different types of natural Hazard (landslide, coastal erosion, hydrogeological instability, sinkhole, volcanic phenomena and earthquake) and compared results, in order to understand population perception level, awareness and civil protection exercises preparation. Our findings support that risks communication have to be based on citizen knowledge and conscious in natural hazards. In fact, informed citizen could participate actively in decision in urban development planning and accept positively legislation and regulation introduced to avoid natural risks. The study has gone some way towards enhancing understanding in citizens conscious in natural risks and allow us to say that communication on natural risks could not be based only in transferring emergency behavior to citizens but also allow people to improve their knowledge in landscape evolution in order to assume aware environmental behavior.

Human rights and reproductive choices in the case-law of Italian and European courts.

PubMed

Valongo, Alessia

2014-04-01

The major issues regarding human fertilisation and embryology are addressed in a comparative perspective and in the light of relevant rulings of the European Court for Human Rights: the relationship between artificial procreation and parental responsibilities, the legal nature of the unborn child, the human right to reproduce and to have a healthy child. The article focuses on the key data of the latest Italian regulation regarding assisted conception, especially compared with British law. Particular attention is paid to the contribution given by recent European decisions to the protection of new human rights. National and international judgements ensure the right to private life and to health that are not always guaranteed by law. Converging developments in case-law panorama make the right to have children, to responsible procreation, to information about medical treatments, much less disharmonic realities than the Member States legislation suggests.

What could we learn from the sub-analysis of a single nation cohort in a worldwide study? Lessons from the results observed in the Italian cohort of the GO-MORE trial.

PubMed

Giacomelli, Roberto; Ruscitti, Piero; Bombardieri, Stefano; Cuomo, Giovanna; De Vita, Salvatore; Galeazzi, Mauro; Mecchia, Monica

2017-01-01

GO-MORE Trial investigated the use of Golimumab (GLM) in 3280 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients worldwide. At present, the burden of arthritis is greater in poorer countries than in developed countries due to socioeconomic disparities, thus suggesting the usefulness of subgroup investigations. We aimed to evaluate GLM as add-on therapy for RA patients in the Italian cohort of GO-MORE trial and compared the clinical characteristics between Italian patients and the enrolled patients worldwide. Ninety-eight Italian patients with active RA, fulfilling the 1987 ACR criteria were enrolled. Statistical analyses were performed to assess: i. the differences in baseline characteristics; ii. the efficacy after 6 months; between Italian and Rest of the World GO-MORE populations. Compared to the worldwide population, Italian patients showed a lower value of disease activity and a significantly short disease duration. Unlike the worldwide patients, the large majority of Italian patients received biologic therapy after the failure of the first synthetic DMARD and were not treated by high methotrexate dosage. After 6 months of GLM treatment, no differences were observed in the therapeutic response. Italian patients reported a positive autoinjection experience mirroring the worldwide results. The analysis of the Italian GO-MORE subset confirms that differences among patients may be shown, depending on different approaches in different health systems. GLM in the Italian patients showed a favourable benefit/risk profile and the positive autoinjection experience may help with patient's compliance and survival of the treatment.

Coffee and tea consumption and risk of leukaemia in an adult population: A reanalysis of the Italian multicentre case-control study.

PubMed

Parodi, Stefano; Merlo, Domenico Franco; Stagnaro, Emanuele

2017-04-01

Coffee and tea are the most frequently consumed beverages in the world. Their potential effect on the risk of developing different types of malignancies has been largely investigated, but studies on leukaemia in adults are scarce. The present investigation is aimed at evaluating the potential role of regular coffee and tea intake on the risk of adult leukaemia by reanalysing a large population based case-control study carried out in Italy, a country with a high coffee consumption and a low use of green tea. Interviewed subjects, recruited between 1990 and 1993 in 11 Italian areas, included 1771 controls and 651 leukaemia cases. Association between Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML), Acute Lymphoid Leukaemia, Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia, Chronic Lymphoid Leukaemia, and use of coffee and tea was evaluated by standard logistic regression. Odds Ratios (OR) were estimated adjusting for the following potential confounders: gender, age, residence area, smoking habit, educational level, previous chemotherapy treatment, alcohol consumption and exposure to electromagnetic fields, radiation, pesticides and aromatic hydrocarbons. No association was observed between regular use of coffee and any type of leukaemia. A small protective effect of tea intake was found among myeloid malignancies, which was more evident among AML (OR=0.68, 95%CI: 0.49-0.94). However, no clear dose-response relation was found. The lower risk of leukaemia among regular coffee consumers, reported by a few of previous small studies, was not confirmed. The protective effect of tea on the AML risk is only partly consistent with results from other investigations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nipple sparing mastectomy: Surgical and oncological outcomes from a national multicentric registry with 913 patients (1006 cases) over a six year period.

PubMed

Orzalesi, Lorenzo; Casella, Donato; Santi, Caterina; Cecconi, Lorenzo; Murgo, Roberto; Rinaldi, Stefano; Regolo, Lea; Amanti, Claudio; Roncella, Manuela; Serra, Margherita; Meneghini, Graziano; Bortolini, Massimiliano; Altomare, Vittorio; Cabula, Carlo; Catalano, Francesca; Cirilli, Alfredo; Caruso, Francesco; Lazzaretti, Maria Grazia; Cataliotti, Luigi; Bernini, Marco

2016-02-01

Nipple sparing mastectomy is deemed surgically and oncologically safe based on a long lasting literature data from reviews of single institution series. This study aims at evaluating surgical and oncological outcomes of NSM on a large multi-institutional scale, by means of the Italian National registry. In July 2011 a panel of Italian specialists agreed upon and designed a National database of NSM. Centers with at least 150 cancers per year and following the National follow-up schedule guidelines could participate inserting any NSM case performed, retrospectively and prospectively from that moment on. In March 2015 analysis of data was accomplished. Dataset for this study consists of cases performed in the period between January 1st 2009 and December 31st 2014. 913 Women were included in the analysis, for a total of 1006 procedures. Prophylactic mastectomies were 124 (12.3%). MRI utilization increased over time. NSM failure rate, with NAC removal for any reason was 11.5%. NAC necrosis rate was 4.8%. Larger skin-flap necrosis rate was 2.3%. Major surgical complications rate was 4.4%. Oncological outcomes were calculated among primitive EBC cases only: locoregional recurrences rate was 2.9%, NAC recurrence 0.7%. Systemic recurrence rate was 1.0%. Five deaths (0.7%) were registered. More than 10% of NSM procedures are prophylactic mastectomies. MRI is gaining more importance over time. Surgical and oncological results show that NSM is effective. This National multicentric analysis enables a comparison of results with no geographical differences and a "safe" state of the art of NSM in Italy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

α1-Adrenergic receptor antagonists and gynecomastia. A case series from the Italian spontaneous reporting system and VigiBase(™).

PubMed

Viola, Ermelinda; Opri, Sibilla; Moretti, Ugo; Leone, Roberto; Casini, Maria Luisa; Ruggieri, Sara; Minore, Claudia; Conforti, Anita

2014-08-01

The aim of this study was to analyze the cases of gynecomastia associated with α1A-adrenergic receptor antagonists (α1-ARAs) in the Italian spontaneous reporting system database (Rete Nazionale di Farmacovigilanza or RNF) and in the World Health Organization ICSRs database (VigiBase(™)), focusing on tamsulosin use. We analyzed the spontaneous reports of gynecomastia related to the use of α1-ARAs and collected from the RNF and from VigiBase(™) up to December 2012. Cases of gynecomastia have been defined as reports associated with gynecomastia according with Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA). Reporting odds ratio (ROR) and Information Component (IC) were calculated as measures of disproportionality in RNF and VigiBase(™), respectively. Up to December 2012, about 186,000 reports were recorded in the RNF. Among these, 902 reports of adverse drug reaction (ADR) have been associated with the use of at least one α1-ARAs. Of these, in 15 cases, gynecomastia was a listed ADR: in 10, the suspected drug was tamsulosin (in eight, it was the sole suspect); in two, doxazosin and alfuzosin, respectively; and in one, terazosin. ROR for tamsulosin was 5.3 (95% CI 1.8, 15.7). In VigiBase(™), 84 reports of gynecomastia indicated tamsulosin as suspected drug. Tamsulosin-associated gynecomastia showed the highest IC value within this class of drugs (IC 95% 2.43). In this study, we highlight a possible association between gynecomastia and tamsulosin use. To our knowledge, this association has not been described before and could represent a potential signal.

Lower risk of progression from prediabetes to diabetes with health checkup with lifestyle education: Japan Ningen Dock study.

PubMed

Okada, R; Tsushita, K; Wakai, K; Ishizaka, Y; Kato, K; Wada, T; Watanabe, K

2017-08-01

To investigate whether the progression from prediabetes to diabetes is lower among those who undertake Ningen Dock (comprehensive health checkups with lifestyle education and doctor's consultation) than those who undertake basic mandatory occupational health checkups. Subjects aged 30-69 years with complete annual data from 2008 to 2012 for either Ningen Dock or basic health checkups were enrolled. Subjects with prediabetes (fasting plasma glucose 100-125 mg/dl or HbA1c 5.7-6.4%) at baseline were selected (14,928 in the comprehensive group and 10,433 in the basic group). The incidence of diabetes (fasting plasma glucose ≥ 126 mg/dl, HbA1c ≥ 6.5% or taking glucose-lowering drugs) and the reduction of risk factors were compared. After 4 years, 3226 cases of diabetes occurred among 25,361 subjects with prediabetes. The incidence of diabetes was lower in the comprehensive group than the basic group (2.9 vs. 3.8 cases/100 person-years, hazard ratio 0.75, 95% confidence interval 0.68-0.81 after adjustment). Moreover, more overweight subjects controlled their body mass index (16.2% vs. 13.2%) and more began a daily exercise habit (11.8% vs. 8.5%) in the comprehensive group than in the basic group. The incidence of diabetes was lower in subjects who could control their weight or start daily exercise at year 1 in the comprehensive group. Progression from prediabetes to diabetes was significantly lower in subjects undertaking a comprehensive health checkup with lifestyle education. Lifestyle education at health checkup for people with prediabetes might prevent progression to diabetes by reducing modifiable risk factors. Copyright © 2017 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Different Forms of Bullying and Their Association to Smoking and Drinking Behavior in Italian Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vieno, Alessio; Gini, Gianluca; Santinello, Massimo

2011-01-01

Background: Using data from the 2006 Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey, the prevalence of 6 forms of bullying (physical, verbal, relational, sexual, cyber, and racist), and the role of smoking and drinking in bullying was examined among Italian adolescents for this study. Methods: The sample was composed of 2667 Italian middle…

Multigroup Confirmatory Factor Analysis of U.S. and Italian Children's Performance on the PASS Theory of Intelligence as Measured by the Cognitive Assessment System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Naglieri, Jack A.; Taddei, Stefano; Williams, Kevin M.

2013-01-01

This study examined Italian and U.S. children's performance on the English and Italian versions, respectively, of the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS; Naglieri & Conway, 2009; Naglieri & Das, 1997), a test based on a neurocognitive theory of intelligence entitled PASS (Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, and Successive; Naglieri & Das,…

Validation and cross cultural adaptation of the Italian version of the Harris Hip Score.

PubMed

Dettoni, Federico; Pellegrino, Pietro; La Russa, Massimo R; Bonasia, Davide E; Blonna, Davide; Bruzzone, Matteo; Castoldi, Filippo; Rossi, Roberto

2015-01-01

The Harris Hip Score (HHS) is one of the most widely used health related quality of life (HRQOL) measures for the assessment of hip pathology: in spite of this, a validation study, and an official Italian version have not been provided yet. The aim of this study was to create an Italian valid and reliable version of the HHS. The score was translated and modified in Italian; then 103 patients with different hip pathologies were evaluated using this HHS version and also with the WOMAC and the SF-12 questionnaires. Content, construct and criterion validities were tested, such as interobserver reliability, test-retest reliability and internal consistency. Cross-cultural adaptation was easy, and only minor adaptation was required in the translation process. Construct and criterion validity of the HHS Italian Version were confirmed by satisfactory values of Spearman's Rho for correlation between specific domains of HHS and Womac and SF12 scores. Interobserver and test-retest reliabilities obtained values of 0.996 and 0.975 respectively; Cronbach's alpha for internal consistency was 0.816. Statistical and clinical analysis showed that HHS is highly valid and reliable in this new Italian version.

Espresso Coffee Consumption and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in a Large Italian Cohort

PubMed Central

Grioni, Sara; Agnoli, Claudia; Sieri, Sabina; Pala, Valeria; Ricceri, Fulvio; Masala, Giovanna; Saieva, Calogero; Panico, Salvatore; Mattiello, Amalia; Chiodini, Paolo; Tumino, Rosario; Frasca, Graziella; Iacoviello, Licia; de Curtis, Amalia; Vineis, Paolo; Krogh, Vittorio

2015-01-01

Background The relationship between coffee consumption and coronary heart disease (CHD) has been investigated in several studies with discrepant results. We examined the association between Italian-style (espresso and mocha) coffee consumption and CHD risk. Methods We investigated 12,800 men and 30,449 women without history of cardiovascular disease recruited to the EPICOR prospective cohort study. Coffee consumption was assessed at baseline. In a random sub-cohort of 1472 subjects, plasma triglycerides, and total, LDL and HDL cholesterol were determined to investigate the effect of coffee consumption on plasma lipids. Results After a mean follow up of 10.9 years, 804 cases of CHD (500 acute events, 56 fatal events and 248 revascularizations, all first events) were identified. Multivariable adjusted hazard ratios for CHD were: 1.18 (95% CI 0.87–1.60) for drinking 1–2 cups/day, 1.37 (95% CI 1.03–1.82) for >2–4 cups/day and 1.52 (95% CI 1.11–2.07) for over 4 cups/day (P trend <0.001) compared to reference (<1 cup/day). Plasma triglycerides, and total, LDL and HDL cholesterol did not vary significantly (ANOVA) with coffee consumption. Conclusion Consumption of over 2 cups/day of Italian-style coffee is associated with increased CHD risk, but coffee consumption was not associated with plasma lipid changes, so the adverse effect of consumption appears unrelated to lipid profile. PMID:25946046

Italian recommendations on dental support in the treatment of adult obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS)

PubMed Central

Levrini, Luca; Sacchi, Franco; Milano, Francesca; Polimeni, Antonella; Cozza, Paolo; Bernkopf, Edoardo; Segù, Marzia; Zucconi, Marco; Vicini, Claudio; Brunello, Enrico

2015-01-01

Summary Background The aim of the present article is to present a set of proposed clinical recommendations aimed at Italian dentists involved in the management of patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome or snoring. Methods With the purpose of creating a study group, some of the most important Italian scientific societies operating in fields relevant to the issue of sleep medicine in dentistry were asked to appoint a representative. Each member of the study group was required to answer questions regarding the clinical management of OSAS and snoring. Results Oral appliances can be used to treat: - simple snoring, in patients who do not respond to, or do not appear to be suitable candidates for behavioral measures such as weight loss or positional therapy; - mild or moderate OSAS, in patients who prefer OAs to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or who are not suitable candidates for CPAP, because of its failure or failure of behavioral approaches like weight loss or positional therapy; - severe OSAS, in patients who do not respond to or do not tolerate CPAP and in whom no indication for either maxillofacial or ENT surgery appears applicable. Conclusions The application of oral appliances is highly desirable in cases of simple snoring or mild to moderate OSAS, whereas considerable caution is warranted when treating severe OSAS. It is fundamental to ensure that the patient understands his problem and, at the same time, to present all the various treatment options. PMID:26941893

Atmospheric circulation patterns and phenological anomalies of grapevine in Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cola, Gabriele; Alilla, Roberta; Dal Monte, Giovanni; Epifani, Chiara; Mariani, Luigi; Parisi, Simone Gabriele

2014-05-01

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is a fundamental crop for Italian agriculture as testified by the first place of Italy in the world producers ranking. This justify the importance of quantitative analyses referred to this crucial crop and aimed to quantify meteorological resources and limitations to development and production. Phenological rhythms of grapevine are strongly affected by surface fields of air temperature which in their turn are affected by synoptic circulation. This evidence highlights the importance of an approach based on dynamic climatology in order to detect and explain phenological anomalies that can have relevant effects on quantity and quality of grapevine production. In this context, this research is aimed to study the existing relation among the 850 hPa circulation patterns over the Euro-Mediterranean area from NOAA Ncep dataset and grapevine phenological fields for Italy over the period 2006-2013, highlighting the main phenological anomalies and analyzing synoptic determinants. This work is based on phenological fields with a standard pixel of 2 km routinely produced from 2006 by the Iphen project (Italian Phenological network) on the base of phenological observations spatialized by means of a specific algorithm based on cumulated thermal resources expressed as Normal Heat Hours (NHH). Anomalies have been evaluated with reference to phenological normal fields defined for the Italian area on the base of phenological observations and Iphen model. Results show that relevant phenological anomalies observed over the reference period are primarily associated with long lasting blocking systems driving cold air masses (Arctic or Polar-Continental) or hot ones (Sub-Tropical) towards the Italian area. Specific cases are presented for some years like 2007 and 2011.

Comorbidity of dementia with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): insights from a large multicenter Italian cohort.

PubMed

Trojsi, Francesca; Siciliano, Mattia; Femiano, Cinzia; Santangelo, Gabriella; Lunetta, Christian; Calvo, Andrea; Moglia, Cristina; Marinou, Kalliopi; Ticozzi, Nicola; Drago Ferrante, Gianluca; Scialò, Carlo; Sorarù, Gianni; Conte, Amelia; Falzone, Yuri M; Tortelli, Rosanna; Russo, Massimo; Sansone, Valeria Ada; Chiò, Adriano; Mora, Gabriele; Poletti, Barbara; Volanti, Paolo; Caponnetto, Claudia; Querin, Giorgia; Sabatelli, Mario; Riva, Nilo; Logroscino, Giancarlo; Messina, Sonia; Fasano, Antonio; Monsurrò, Maria Rosaria; Tedeschi, Gioacchino; Mandrioli, Jessica

2017-11-01

To assess the association, at diagnosis, between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and dementia in a large cohort of well-characterized Italian patients. We investigated the phenotypic profile of 1638 incident patients with definite, probable or laboratory-supported probable ALS, diagnosed from January 2009 to December 2013 in 13 Italian Referral Centers, located in 10 Italian Regions, and classified in two independent subsamples accounting for presence or not of dementia. The collected ALS features, including survival and other follow-up data, were compared between the two subgroups using a one-way analysis of variance and Chi-square test, as appropriate, logistic regression models and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Between-subgroup comparisons showed an older age at clinical observation (p = .006), at onset and at diagnosis (p = .002) in demented versus non demented ALS patients. After adjustment for these variables, diagnosis of dementia was significantly associated with higher odds of family history of ALS (p = .001) and frontotemporal dementia (p = .003) and of bulbar onset (p = .004), and lower odds of flail leg phenotype (p = .019) and spinal onset (p = .008). The median survival time was shorter in demented versus non-demented patients, especially in case of classical, bulbar and flail limb phenotypes and both bulbar and spinal onset. Our multicenter study emphasized the importance of an early diagnosis of comorbid dementia in ALS patients, which may have clinical impact and prognostic relevance. Moreover, our results may give further inputs to validation of ALS-specific tools for the screening of cognitive impairment in clinical practice.

A nation-wide system for landslide mapping and risk management in Italy: The second Not-ordinary Plan of Environmental Remote Sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Martire, D.; Paci, M.; Confuorto, P.; Costabile, S.; Guastaferro, F.; Verta, A.; Calcaterra, D.

2017-12-01

Landslides are frequent events that may cause human casualties and injuries as well as damage to urban and man-made structures, with extensive loss of economic resources. For this reason, landslide mapping is a primary tool for hazard and risk assessment. Italian Ministry of Environment, thanks to great availability and functionality of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data promoted the Not-ordinary Plan of Environmental Remote Sensing (Piano Straordinario di Telerilevamento Ambientale, PST-A in Italian) in 2008, as to constitute a national database of active or potential instability phenomena affecting the Italian territory, based on the exploitation of interferometric products (ERS and ENVISAT). In this paper, the PST-A-3 is described. A procedure based on the integration of engineering-geological approaches and SAR interferometry data belonging to COSMO-SkyMed constellation (100 frames 40 × 40 km) has been here implemented over 7,400 km2 of the Italian territory. First, landslides have been mapped by field geologists, defining type and state of activity. Simultaneously to field surveys, remote sensing data have been analyzed as to detect areas with considerable displacement registered by the satellite. Both products have been overlaid, also quantifying the coincidence between the events reported according to the two detection methodologies and subtracting those landslide not recordable by the satellite, finally obtaining an updated landslide inventory map with 4,522 newly detected phenomena. Therefore, PST-A-3 proves to be a valuable system for local authorities, in order to provide a contribution to risk management but also for the forecasting of landslide events, as testified by two case studies selected. Thanks to the PST-A experience, the use of such strategy to other countries could represent a valid contribution to land management at worldwide scale.

Plasticizers and BPA Residues in Tunisian and Italian Culinary Herbs and Spices.

PubMed

Di Bella, Giuseppa; Ben Mansour, Hedi; Ben Tekaya, Asma; Beltifa, Asma; Potortì, Angela Giorgia; Saiya, Emanuele; Bartolomeo, Giovanni; Dugo, Giacomo; Lo Turco, Vincenzo

2018-06-01

In the present study, 18 plasticizers and residues in 10 different Tunisian and Italian culinary herbs and spices (black pepper, mint, caraway, coriander, oregano, rosemary, thyme, fennel, verbena, and laurel) were determined by GC/MS. Di-methylphthalate, di-(2-methylpropyl)adipate, di-n-butyladipate, di-propylphthalate, benzylbenzoate, di-phenylphthalate, and bisphenol A were lower than their LOQ in all 118 samples. Among the Tunisian samples, di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate was found in all types of samples and di-butylphthalate in 50% of types; all other phthalates were rarely dectected. Among the adipates, only di-methyladipate was found in 90% of types; di-ethyladipate was seldom found and di-(2-ethylhexyl)adipate only in samples of caraway. Di-(2-ethylhexyl)terephthalate was found in all types of samples; di-(2-ethylhexyl)sebacate was detected rarely but with high values. Among the Sicilian samples, di-ethylphthalate and di-(2-methylpropyl)phthalate were detected only in samples of mint; di-methyladipate, di-butylphthalate, and benzylbutylphthalate were identified in oregano and laurel; di-(2-ethylhexyl)terephthalate and di-(2-ethylhexyl)sebacate only in oregano. In any case, the results suggested that intake of these contaminants through spices and herbs is not a dangerous risk to the consumers. Probably, as already observed for the other food, these contaminants could result from pollution of the environment (air, water, and/or soil) and/or farming methods. Plasticizers and BPA in Tunisian and Italian spices were determined by GC/MS. Tunisian spices seem to contain more residues than Italian samples. Intake of these contaminants by spices is not a dangerous risk to the consumers. These pollutants could result from environmental pollution or agricultural practices. © 2018 Institute of Food Technologists®.

Specific language disorders and season of birth: underlying environmental factors or chance findings?

PubMed

Ghezzo, Alessandro; Chiappedi, Matteo; Ballerini, Antonina; Seragni, Giorgio; Zanette, Michela; Conti, Chiara; Stefanini, Maria Chiara; Ferrari-Ginevra, Oreste; Spelta, Patrizia; Angelini, Lucia; Beghi, Ettore

2012-01-01

The medical records of 358 children and adolescents with specific language disorders (SLD; 122 girls and 236 boys) seen in rehabilitation centers from Northern and Central Italy were examined to compare season of birth in these cases to those of the Italian population. Exposure was calculated using univariate and multivariate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Compared to the Italian population, patients with SLD had a 1.67 (95% CI [1.35-2.07]) chance of birth in October-December. Independent predictors were younger age at inclusion and being firstborn. Different neurobiological hypotheses can be drawn to explain these findings.

UAIS Unruptured Aneurysms Italian Study (Dedicated to Massimo Collice).

PubMed

Maira, Giulio; Mannino, Stefano; D'Aliberti, Giuseppe; Albanese, Alessio; Sabatino, Giovanni; Delfini, Roberto; Tomasello, Francesco; Alafaci, Concetta; Marchese, Enrico

2018-02-23

Unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs) are increasingly identified and are an important health-care burden; in the past they were commonly treated by surgical clipping, but nowadays endovascular coil embolization is increasingly employed as an alternative. The Unruptured Aneurysms Italian Study (UAIS) is a multicentric cooperative prospective study aimed to delineate the "State of the Art" of UIAs treatment in Italy. 51 Italian Neurosurgical and Neuroradiological Units, representatives of all 20 Italian regions are involved in the Study. UAIS started on June 2003 and ended on July 2007. 1138 patients were collected by that date, but 181 were ruled-out due to severe violation of the protocol; 957 had complete data and could be statistically evaluated. UAIS demonstrates that the treatment of UAs, as performed in Italy as a Nation, is effective in improving long-term outcome vs natural history, particularly in aneurysms larger than 7 mm.

Sporadic and familial glut1ds Italian patients: A wide clinical variability.

PubMed

De Giorgis, Valentina; Teutonico, Federica; Cereda, Cristina; Balottin, Umberto; Bianchi, Marika; Giordano, Lucio; Olivotto, Sara; Ragona, Francesca; Tagliabue, Anna; Zorzi, Giovanna; Nardocci, Nardo; Veggiotti, Pierangelo

2015-01-01

GLUT1 deficiency syndrome is a treatable neurological disorder characterized by developmental delay, movement disorders and epilepsy. It is caused by mutations in the SLC2A1 gene inherited as an autosomal dominant trait with complete penetrance, even if most detected SCL2A1 mutations are de novo. Our aim is to present a wide series of Italian patients to highlight the differences among subjects with de novo mutations and those with familial transmission. We present clinical and genetic features in a series of 22 GLUT1DS Italian patients. Our patients were classified in two different groups: familial cases including GLUT1DS patients with genetically confirmed affected relatives and sporadic cases with detection of SLC2A1 de novo mutation. We found remarkable differences in the severity of the clinical picture regarding the type of genetic inheritance (sporadic versus familial): sporadic patients were characterized by an earlier epilepsy-onset and higher degree of intellectual disability. No significant differences were found in terms of type of movement disorder, whilst Paroxysmal Exertion-induced Dyskinesia (PED) is confirmed to be the most characteristic movement disorder type in GLUT1DS. In familial cases the clinical manifestation of the disease was particularly variable and heterogeneous, also including asymptomatic patients or those with minimal-symptoms. The finding of a "mild" phenotype in familial GLUT1DS gives rise to several questions: the real incidence of the disease, treatment option with ketogenic diet in adult patients and genetic counseling. Copyright © 2014 British Epilepsy Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Genetic characterization of four native Italian shepherd dog breeds and analysis of their relationship to cosmopolitan dog breeds using microsatellite markers.

PubMed

Bigi, D; Marelli, S P; Randi, E; Polli, M

2015-12-01

Very little research into genetic diversity of Italian native dog breeds has been carried out so far. In this study we aimed to estimate and compare the genetic diversity of four native Italian shepherd dog breeds: the Maremma, Bergamasco, Lupino del Gigante and Oropa shepherds. Therefore, some cosmopolitan dog breeds, which have been widely raised in Italy for a long time past, have also been considered to check possible influence of these dog populations on the Italian autochthonous breeds considered here. A total of 212 individuals, belonging to 10 different dog breeds, were sampled and genotyped using 18 autosomal microsatellite loci. We analyzed the genetic diversity of these breeds, within breed diversity, breed relationship and population structure. The 10 breeds considered in this study were clearly genetically differentiated from each other, regardless of current population sizes and the onset of separate breeding history. The level of genetic diversity explained 20% of the total genetic variation. The level of H E found here is in agreement with that found by other studies. The native Italian breeds showed generally higher genetic diversity compared with the long established, well-defined cosmopolitan dog breeds. As the Border Collie seems closer to the Italian breeds than the other cosmopolitan shepherd dogs considered here, a possible utilization of this breed to improve working performance in Italian traditional working shepherd dogs cannot be ignored. The data and information found here can be utilized in the organization of conservation programs planned to reduce inbreeding and to minimize loss of genetic variability.

Italy-Japan agreement and discrepancies in diagnosis of superficial gastric lesions.

PubMed

Vindigni, Carla; Marini, Mario; Cevenini, Gabriele; Raffaella Ambrosio, Maria; Onorati, Monica; Frosini, Giorgio; Gotoda, Takuji; Taniguchi, Hirokazu; Tosi, Piero

2010-01-01

The agreement between Italian and Japanese endoscopists and pathologists on endoscopic and histopathological diagnoses of superficial gastric lesions is verified with the use of Paris and Vienna classifications. The correlations between Paris endoscopic types and Vienna histopathological categories is high in both the independent Italian and Japanese evaluations. However, the agreement between Italian and Japanese endoscopists is moderate due to the difficult evaluation of the height of the lesions, in particular when they are mixed. The agreement on the size of the lesions is fairly good. The probability of the same allocation to the Vienna categories of a single case is 87 per cent, disagreements remaining in dysplasia grading, between dysplasia, not only high-grade but also low-grade, and in situ carcinoma, and on cancer invasion of the lamina propria. The results indicate that use of the Paris and Vienna classifications has reduced the discrepancies between Western and Japanese endoscopists and pathologists in the diagnosis of these lesions.

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 12 identified in two Italian families may mimic sporadic ataxia.

PubMed

Brussino, Alessandro; Graziano, Claudio; Giobbe, Dario; Ferrone, Marina; Dragone, Elisa; Arduino, Carlo; Lodi, Raffaele; Tonon, Caterina; Gabellini, Anna; Rinaldi, Rita; Miccoli, Sara; Grosso, Enrico; Bellati, Maria Cristina; Orsi, Laura; Migone, Nicola; Brusco, Alfredo

2010-07-15

SCA12 is an autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxia characterized by onset in the fourth decade of life with action tremor of arms and head, mild ataxia, dysmetria, and hyperreflexia. The disease is caused by an expansion of >or=51 CAGs in the 5' region of the brain- specific phosphatase 2 regulatory subunit B-beta isoform (PPP2R2B) gene. SCA12 is very rare, except for a single ethnic group in India. We screened 159 Italian ataxic patients for SCA12 and identified two families that segregated an expanded allele of 57 to 58 CAGs, sharing a common haplotype. The age at onset, phenotype, and variability of symptoms were compatible with known cases. In one family, the disease was apparently sporadic due to possible incomplete penetrance and/or late age at onset. Our data indicate that SCA12 is also present in Italian patients, and its genetic testing should be applied to both sporadic and familial ataxias.

Clinical ethics and the role of clinical ethics committees: proposals for a revival. Commentary.

PubMed

Petrini, Carlo; Ricciardi, Walter

2017-01-01

The issue addressed in the paper published by the Italian National Bioethics Committee (NBC) entitled "Clinical ethics committees", is highly significant for many reasons. One of these is the fact that the ethics committees charged with assessing clinical trials have so much responsibility and such a heavy work-load that they have little time available for other tasks such as engaging directly with patients "at the bedside", as a result of which the role of committees responsible for assessing clinical cases is especially important. According to the NBC, the opinions of clinical ethics committees should be formulated jointly and are non-binding. The NBC offers practical proposals not only for the Italian context. While the Italian National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità - ISS) is not involved directly in treating patients, its role in providing guidance is crucial to the national health service and it has always paid special attention to these issues.

New Archiving Distributed InfrastructuRe (NADIR): Status and Evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Marco, M.; Knapic, C.; Smareglia, R.

2015-09-01

The New Archiving Distributed InfrastructuRe (NADIR) has been developed at INAF-OATs IA2 (Italian National Institute for Astrophysics - Astronomical Observatory of Trieste, Italian center of Astronomical Archives), as an evolution of the previous archiving and distribution system, used on several telescopes (LBT, TNG, Asiago, etc.) to improve performance, efficiency and reliability. At the present, NADIR system is running on LBT telescope and Vespa (Italian telescopes network for outreach) Ramella et al. (2014), and will be used on TNG, Asiago and IRA (Istituto Radio Astronomia) archives of Medicina, Noto and SRT radio telescopes Zanichelli et al. (2014) as the data models for radio data will be ready. This paper will discuss the progress status, the architectural choices and the solutions adopted, during the development and the commissioning phase of the project. A special attention will be given to the LBT case, due to some critical aspect of data flow and policies and standards compliance, adopted by the LBT organization.

A trivariate model of participation, fertility and wages: the Italian case.

PubMed

Di Tommaso, M L

1999-09-01

Italy has unusually low fertility by Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development standards, accompanied by unusually low female participation in paid work. This paper addresses the issue of the empirical relationship between fertility, female participation in the labor market and wages with these Italian "peculiarities" as a backcloth. A trivariate model of participation, fertility and wages has been constructed and estimated using three pooled cross-sections of Italian micro data, allowing for the identification of cohort effects. This model follows a "purist" approach: the participation and fertility decisions, as well as the wage equation, are modeled as completely joint. The cohort effects turn out to be significant: the point estimates do not appear to confirm actual trends, which are negative for fertility and positive for participation. The female wage is the most important variable influencing the propensity to have children and the propensity to participate in the labor market, casting doubt on suggestions that observed trends are the products of shifts in women's "tastes".

Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Italian Validation of a Questionnaire on Nurses' Personal and Professional Use, Knowledge, and Attitudes.

PubMed

Belletti, Giada; Shorofi, Seyed Afshin; Arbon, Paul; Dal Molin, Alberto

2017-08-01

Patients are showing an increasing interest in the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Most nurses are open to the adoption of CAM into clinical nursing practice, but they may experience a lack of knowledge about the safe and effective use of these therapies. Several studies concerning nurses' knowledge and attitudes toward CAM have been published, but only in one, the authors (Shorofi and Arbon) used a validated questionnaire. In Italy, there are no validated questionnaires to investigate this aspect of nursing practice. To test the psychometric properties of the Italian Shorofi and Arbon questionnaire for use with Italian nurses. A forward-backward translation method was used to translate the questionnaire from English to Italian. Content validity, face validity and reliability were established. This study examined the potential usefulness of the Shorofi and Arbon questionnaire for the evaluation of CAM knowledge of Italian speaking nurses, which showed good content validity and good reliability.

The Parent-Version of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS-P) in Chinese and Italian Community Samples: Validation and Cross-Cultural Comparison.

PubMed

Li, Jian-Bin; Delvecchio, Elisa; Di Riso, Daniela; Nie, Yan-Gang; Lis, Adriana

2016-06-01

The current study aimed to validate the parent-version of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS-P) among Chinese and Italian community adolescents and to compare adolescents' anxiety symptoms in these two countries. Chinese (N = 456) and Italian (N = 452) adolescents and their parents participated in the study. Results showed that: (1) the six correlated-factor structure was demonstrated and invariant across countries. (2) The reliability of the total scale was good in both samples, whereas reliabilities of subscales were acceptable and moderate in Chinese and Italian samples, respectively. (3) The SCAS-P showed good convergent and divergent validity. (4) Adolescent-parent agreement was from low to medium while mother-father agreement ranged from medium to high. (5) There were cultural and gender differences in levels of parent-report anxiety symptoms. In conclusion, SCAS-P seems to be a promising parent-report instrument to assess Chinese and Italian adolescents' anxiety symptoms.

Interaction between GPR120 p.R270H loss-of-function variant and dietary fat intake on incident type 2 diabetes risk in the D.E.S.I.R. study.

PubMed

Lamri, A; Bonnefond, A; Meyre, D; Balkau, B; Roussel, R; Marre, M; Froguel, P; Fumeron, F

2016-10-01

GPR120 (encoded by FFAR4) is a lipid sensor that plays an important role in the control of energy balance. GPR120 is activated by long chain fatty acids (FAs) including omega-3 FAs. In humans, the loss of function p.R270H variant of the gene FFAR4 has been associated with a lower protein activity, an increased risk of obesity and higher fasting plasma glucose levels. The aim of this study was to investigate whether p.R270H interacts with dietary fat intake to modulate the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D, 198 incident; 368 prevalent cases) and overweight (787 incident and 2891 prevalent cases) in the prospective D.E.S.I.R. study (n = 5,212, 9 years follow-up). The association of p.R270H with dietary fat and total calories was assessed by linear mixed models. The interaction between p.R270H and dietary fat on T2D and overweight was assessed by logistic regression analysis. The p.R270H variant had a minor allele frequency of 1.45% and was not significantly associated with total calories intake, fat intake or the total calories derived from fat (%). However, there was a significant interaction between p.R270H and dietary fat modulating the incidence of T2D (Pinteraction = 0.02) where the H-carriers had a higher risk of T2D than RR homozygotes in the low fat intake category only. The interaction between p.R270H and fat intake modulating the incidence and prevalence of overweight was not significant. The p.R270H variant of GPR120 modulates the risk of T2D in interaction with dietary fat intake in the D.E.S.I.R. Copyright © 2016 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Case for the Humanities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cary, Michael S.

1981-01-01

Describes the current impoverishment of the humanities and the gulf separating the humanities from the sciences. Discusses the need for adequate humanities instruction at the elementary-secondary level. Suggests that humanities teachers rediscover the Italian Renaissance spirit to improve their teaching. (SB)

[Analysis of tools, methods and results of toxicological screening for detection of drug abuse in Italian professional drivers].

PubMed

Rosso, G L

2013-01-01

Three years after a protocol agreement between the State and the Regions came into force in 2008 (drug testing at the workplace Law) a large number of studies have been conducted to analyse and test the efficacy of on-site screening tests for detection of drug consumption (opiates, cocaine, cannabinoids, amphetamine and methamphetamine, MDMA and methadone), which are frequently used by the occupational health physician, and also to present data resulting from workplace drug testing obtained during health surveillance programmes. The aim of the present study was to verify whether the features of sensitivity and specificity of the most common on-site testing ensure correct application of the provisions of current Italian legislation and also to analyse published studies showing the frequency of positive drug testing. A review of Italian and international literature was carried out aimed at identifying studies relating to: (1) performance of on-site screening tests frequently used by the occupational health physician, (2) prevalence of drug use/abuse among Italian public and commercial transport drivers. A comparison between the studies was then carried out. Several rapid on-site screening tests are commercially available (Italian law does not provide standards for the technical specifications of the tests), the sensitivity and specificity of which varies depending on the model and the substance tested. The sensitivity of these tools is poor when used for the detection of low concentrations of drugs and/or their metabolites in urine (close to the cut-off). Studies are lacking that compare on-site tests performed by the occupational health physician and confirmative tests in specialized laboratories (with particular regard to false positives found by the occupational health physician). The major studies in terms of methods and/or size reported a positive rate (confirmed at the first level) between 1.6% and 1.9%. The drugs most frequently used/abused were cannabis and cocaine. The performance of on-site screening tests (to detect psychotropic substances on urine matrix) and the methodology required by Italian law show that the aims of Italian workplace drug testing legislation have not been achieved The low positive rate observed in Italian studies could be due to an error in the first phase of screening performed by the occupational health physician.

Prevalence and Clinical Correlates of Deliberate Self-Harm among a Community Sample of Italian Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cerutti, R.; Manca, M.; Presaghi, F.; Gratz, Kim L.

2011-01-01

The aims of this study were to investigate the rates of deliberate self-harm (DSH) behavior among an Italian adolescent sample, as well as to explore its clinical correlates. On a sample of 234 adolescents in Italian secondary schools (Mean age = 16.47; SD = 1.7) were assessed the DSH as well as externalizing symptoms (including both conduct…

Preadolescent Anxiety: An Epidemiological Study Concerning an Italian Sample of 3,479 Nine-Year-Old Pupils

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nacinovich, Renata; Gadda, Stefania; Maserati, Elisa; Bomba, Monica; Neri, Francesca

2012-01-01

The epidemiology of anxiety traits was examined in a large sample of Italian preadolescent children, and 3,479 Italian nine-year-old subjects were enrolled. Anxious traits were observed in 10.5% of children. No significant gender differences were found, but children of separated couples presented a relative risk for anxious traits that was 50%…

Epidemiological Study of Huntington's Disease in the Province of Ferrara, Italy.

PubMed

Carrassi, Erika; Pugliatti, Maura; Govoni, Vittorio; Sensi, Mariachiara; Casetta, Ilaria; Granieri, Enrico

2017-01-01

Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder caused by the abnormal expansion of CAG triplet repeat. We aimed to reappraise HD epidemiology in a northern Italian population, in relation to introduction of genetic testing. Through ICD-9M code 333.4 and medical fare exemption code RF0080, HD cases were identified from administrative health data and medical records from the Units of Neurology and Genetics, Ferrara University Hospital, and from other provincial neurological structures. HD mean annual incidence rate in 1990-2009 was 0.3 per 100,000 (95% CI 0.2-0.5). All incident cases were found to have symptoms of the disease's classic form, and neither juvenile nor the rigid Westphal variant was detected. The mean (SD) age at onset was 50.2 (12.7 years; range 32-82 years), 54.9 (14.6) for men and 45.8 (9.4) for women. On prevalence day, December 31, 2014, HD prevalence was 4.2 per 100,000 (95% CI 2.4-7.0), with a male:female ratio of 1:2. The prevalence and incidence of HD in our population were lower than the prevalence and incidence reported for other European and Italian populations, but higher compared to those of Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe. Compared to previous studies, HD incidence and prevalence did not change significantly. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Voting behavior, coalitions and government strength through a complex network analysis.

PubMed

Dal Maso, Carlo; Pompa, Gabriele; Puliga, Michelangelo; Riotta, Gianni; Chessa, Alessandro

2014-01-01

We analyze the network of relations between parliament members according to their voting behavior. In particular, we examine the emergent community structure with respect to political coalitions and government alliances. We rely on tools developed in the Complex Network literature to explore the core of these communities and use their topological features to develop new metrics for party polarization, internal coalition cohesiveness and government strength. As a case study, we focus on the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament, for which we are able to characterize the heterogeneity of the ruling coalition as well as parties specific contributions to the stability of the government over time. We find sharp contrast in the political debate which surprisingly does not imply a relevant structure based on established parties. We take a closer look to changes in the community structure after parties split up and their effect on the position of single deputies within communities. Finally, we introduce a way to track the stability of the government coalition over time that is able to discern the contribution of each member along with the impact of its possible defection. While our case study relies on the Italian parliament, whose relevance has come into the international spotlight in the present economic downturn, the methods developed here are entirely general and can therefore be applied to a multitude of other scenarios.

Calcium Channel Blockers in Secondary Cardiovascular Prevention and Risk of Acute Events: Real-World Evidence from Nested Case-Control Studies on Italian Hypertensive Elderly.

PubMed

Bettiol, Alessandra; Lucenteforte, Ersilia; Vannacci, Alfredo; Lombardi, Niccolò; Onder, Graziano; Agabiti, Nera; Vitale, Cristiana; Trifirò, Gianluca; Corrao, Giovanni; Roberto, Giuseppe; Mugelli, Alessandro; Chinellato, Alessandro

2017-12-01

Antihypertensive treatment with calcium channel blockers (CCBs) is consolidated in clinical practice; however, different studies observed increased risks of acute events for short-acting CCBs. This study aimed to provide real-world evidence on risks of acute cardiovascular (CV) events, hospitalizations and mortality among users of different CCB classes in secondary CV prevention. Three case-control studies were nested in a cohort of Italian elderly hypertensive CV-compromised CCBs users. Cases were subjects with CV events (n = 25,204), all-cause hospitalizations (n = 19,237), or all-cause mortality (n = 17,996) during the follow-up. Up to four controls were matched for each case. Current or past exposition to CCBs at index date was defined based on molecule, formulation and daily doses of the last CCB delivery. The odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using conditional logistic regression models. Compared to past users, current CCB users had significant reductions in risks of CV events [OR 0.88 (95% CI: 0.84-0.91)], hospitalization [0.90 (0.88-0.93)] and mortality [0.48 (0.47-0.49)]. Current users of long-acting dihydropyridines (DHPs) had the lowest risk [OR 0.87 (0.84-0.90), 0.86 (0.83-0.90), 0.55 (0.54-0.56) for acute CV events, hospitalizations and mortality], whereas current users of short-acting CCBs had an increased risk of acute CV events [OR 1.77 (1.13-2.78) for short-acting DHPs; 1.19 (1.07-1.31) for short-acting non-DHPs] and hospitalizations [OR 1.84 (0.96-3.51) and 1.23 (1.08-1.42)]. The already-existing warning on short-acting CCBs should be potentiated, addressing clinicians towards the choice of long-acting formulations.

Team performance in the Italian NHS: the role of reflexivity.

PubMed

Urbini, Flavio; Callea, Antonino; Chirumbolo, Antonio; Talamo, Alessandra; Ingusci, Emanuela; Ciavolino, Enrico

2018-04-09

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to investigate the goodness of the input-process-output (IPO) model in order to evaluate work team performance within the Italian National Health Care System (NHS); and second, to test the mediating role of reflexivity as an overarching process factor between input and output. Design/methodology/approach The Italian version of the Aston Team Performance Inventory was administered to 351 employees working in teams in the Italian NHS. Mediation analyses with latent variables were performed via structural equation modeling (SEM); the significance of total, direct, and indirect effect was tested via bootstrapping. Findings Underpinned by the IPO framework, the results of SEM supported mediational hypotheses. First, the application of the IPO model in the Italian NHS showed adequate fit indices, showing that the process mediates the relationship between input and output factors. Second, reflexivity mediated the relationship between input and output, influencing some aspects of team performance. Practical implications The results provide useful information for HRM policies improving process dimensions of the IPO model via the mediating role of reflexivity as a key role in team performance. Originality/value This study is one of a limited number of studies that applied the IPO model in the Italian NHS. Moreover, no study has yet examined the role of reflexivity as a mediator between input and output factors in the IPO model.

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations in Medical Research: Perceptions and Experiences of Older Italians, Their Families, Ethics Administrators and Researchers.

PubMed

Woodward-Kron, Robyn; Hughson, Jo-Anne; Parker, Anna; Bresin, Agnese; Hajek, John; Knoch, Ute; Phan, Tuong Dien; Story, David

2016-04-26

Low-participation of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) patients in medical research remains a problem in migrant and refugee destination countries such as Australia. The aims of this study were to explore i) CALD persons' perceptions and experiences of the medical system and medical research, in this case, older Italian Australians; and ii) the views of research professionals on CALD patient participation in medical research. A qualitative study was conducted in Melbourne, Australia, in 2015 utilising in-depth interviews and focus groups with four stakeholder groups: older Italian Australians (n=21); adult children of older Italian Australians (n=10); hospital Human Research Ethics Committee administrators (n=4); and clinical researchers (n=4). The data were analysed for content and thematic analysis. Themes for the CALD and family group were getting by in medical interactions; receptivity to medical research: testing the waters; and, receptivity to technology for support: passive versus active. Themes for the researcher and HREC groups about CALD patient participation in research were: exclusion; cultural factors; and e-consent. Our findings from four stakeholder perspectives and experiences confirm that there were considerable cultural, linguistic, and resourcing barriers hindering the participation of older Italian-Australians in medical research. Furthermore, our findings showed that in this study setting there were few enabling strategies in place to address these barriers despite the national ethics guidelines for equitable participation in research. The findings informed the creation of a multimedia tool whose purpose is to address and improve representation of CALD groups in clinical research. Significance for public healthMany people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds remain excluded from medical research such as clinical trials due to a range of language and cultural factors that can be amplified when this population is ageing. This exclusion has implications for the ability of CALD populations to benefit from participating in medical research and for applying research findings to CALD populations. It is essential to develop and implement strategies to include CALD communities in medical research and to uphold the ethical obligation of obtaining informed consent to research. The findings of this study have guided the development of a tablet-based resource which can be used in clinical and community contexts to raise awareness about the purpose of medical research. The resource has been carefully designed to be appropriate for participants' cultural background as well as their preferred language and literacy level. Such a resource has potential to address some of the cultural and linguistic barriers to clinical trial participation of CALD populations.

Stress fractures of the ribs in elite competitive rowers: a report of nine cases.

PubMed

Dragoni, S; Giombini, A; Di Cesare, A; Ripani, M; Magliani, G

2007-10-01

The objective was to report the clinical and imaging patterns of nine cases of stress fractures of the rib diagnosed in Italian Olympic rowers. Nine patients with stress fractures of the rib detected from 103 (8.7%) Italian team rowers competing between May 2000 and May 2006 were identified based on the database of a sports medicine institute. All athletes were male. They were aged between 17 and 31 years (mean: 24.4). Patient weight, fracture location, rowing side and imaging methods employed were noted. The diagnosis was made based on history, clinical examination and Tc-99m MDP bone scintigraphy. Eight of the 9 fractures were located anterolaterally between the fourth and ninth rib. In 1 of the 5 athletes with standard radiographs, a fracture line was visible and in 4 there was callus formation. In 2 athletes sonography was performed, which detected discontinuity of the rib surface and callus formation (1 case each). Stress fractures of the ribs are relatively common in competitive rowers. They are characterized by increasing lateral chest pain and typical scintigraphic, radiographic and sonographic findings.

Italian cancer figures, report 2014: Prevalence and cure of cancer in Italy.

PubMed

2014-01-01

This Report intends to estimate the total number of people still alive in 2010 after cancer diagnosis in Italy, regardless of the time since diagnosis, and to project these estimates to 2015. This study is also aimed to estimate the number of already cured cancer patients, whose mortality rates have become undistinguishable from that of the general population of the same age and sex. The study took advantage of the information from the AIRTUM database, which included 29 Cancer Registries (covering 21 million people, 35% of the Italian population). A total of 1,624,533 cancer cases diagnosed between 1976 and 2009 contributed to the study. For each registry, the observed prevalence was calculated. Prevalence for lengths of time exceeding the maximum duration of the registration and of the complete prevalence were derived by applying an estimated correction factor, the completeness index. This index was estimated by means of statistical regression models using cancer incidence and survival data available in registries with 18 years of observation or more. For 50 types or combinations of neoplasms, complete prevalence was estimated at 1.1.2010 as an absolute number and as a proportion per 100,000 inhabitants by sex, age group, area of residence, and years since diagnosis. Projections of complete prevalence for 1.1.2015 were computed under the assumption of a linear trend of the complete prevalence observed until 2010. Validated mixture cure models were used to estimate: the cure fraction, that is the proportion of patients who, starting from the time of diagnosis, are expected to reach the same mortality rate of the general population; the conditional relative survival (CRS), that is the cumulative probability of surviving some additional years, given that patients already survived a certain number of years; the time to cure, that is the number of years necessary so that conditional survival in the following five years (5-year CRS) exceeds the conventional threshold of 95% (i.e., mortality rates in cancer patients become undistinguishable compared to those of the general population); the proportion of patients already cured, i.e., people alive since a number of years exceeding time to cure. As of 1.1.2010, it was estimated that 2,587,347 people were alive after a cancer diagnosis, corresponding to 4.4% of the Italian population. A relevant geographical heterogeneity emerged, with a prevalence above 5% in northern registries and below 4% in southern areas. Men were 45% of the total (1,154,289) and women 55% (1,433,058). In the population aged 75 years or more, the proportions of prevalent cases were 20% in males and 13% in females, 11% between 60 and 74 years of age in both sexes. Nearly 600,000 Italian women were alive after a breast cancer diagnosis (41% of all women with this neoplasm), followed by women with cancers of the colon rectum (12%), corpus uteri (7%), and thyroid (6%). In men, 26% of prevalent cases (295,624) were patients with prostate cancer, 16% with either bladder or colon rectum cancer. The projections for 1.1.2015 are of three million (3,036,741) people alive after a cancer diagnosis, 4.9% of the Italian population; with a 20% increase for males and 15% for females, compared to 2010. The cure fractions were heterogeneous according to cancer type and age. Estimates obtained as the sum of cure fractions for all cancer types showed that more than 60% of patients diagnosed below the age of 45 years will reach the same mortality rate of the general population. This proportion decreased with increasing age and it was <30% for cancer diagnosed after the age of 74 years. It was observed that 60% of all prevalent cases (1,543,531 people or 2.6% of overall Italian population) had been diagnosed >5 years earlier (long-term survivors). Time to cure (5-year CRS>95%) was reached in <10 years by patients with cancers of the stomach, colon rectum, pancreas, corpus and cervix uteri, brain, and Hodgkin lymphoma. Mortality rates similar to the ones reported by the general population were reached after approximately 20 years for breast and prostate cancer patients. Five-year CRS remained <95% for >25 years after cancer diagnosis in patients with liver and larynx cancers, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, myeloma, and leukaemia. Time to cure was reached by 27% (20% in men and 33% in women) of all people living after a cancer diagnosis, defined as already cured. The study showed a steady increase over time (nearly +3% per year) of prevalent cases in Italy. A quarter of Italian cancer patients alive in 2010 can be considered as already cured. The AIRTUM Report 2014 describes characteristics of cancer patients and former-patients for 50 cancer types or combinations by sex and age. This detailed information promotes the conduction of studies aimed at expanding the current knowledge on the quality of life of these patients during and after the active phase of treatments (prevalence according to health status), on the long-term effects of treatments (in particular for paediatric patients), on the cost profile of cancer patients, and on rare tumours. All these observations have a high potential impact on health planning, clinical practice, and, most of all, patients' perspective.

Physical Attributes and NFL Combine Performance Tests Between Italian National League and American Football Players: A Comparative Study.

PubMed

Vitale, Jacopo A; Caumo, Andrea; Roveda, Eliana; Montaruli, Angela; La Torre, Antonio; Battaglini, Claudio L; Carandente, Franca

2016-10-01

Vitale, JA, Caumo, A, Roveda, E, Montaruli, A, La Torre, A, Battaglini, CL, and Carandente, F. Physical attributes and NFL Combine performance tests between Italian National League and American football players: a comparative study. J Strength Cond Res 30(10): 2802-2808, 2016-The purpose of this study was to examine anthropometric measurements and the results of a battery of performance tests administered during the National Football League (NFL) Combine between American football players who were declared eligible to participate in the NFL Combine and football players of a top Italian team (Rhinos Milan). Participants (N = 50) were categorized by position into 1 of 3 groups based on playing position: skill players (SP) included wide receivers, cornerbacks, free safeties, strong safeties, and running backs; big skill players (BSP) consisted of fullbacks, linebackers, tight ends, and defensive ends; lineman (LM) included centers, offensive guards, offensive tackles, and defensive tackles. A 1-way analysis of variance followed by the Tukey-Kramer post hoc test was used for comparisons between Italian players by playing position. Ninety-five percent CIs were used for comparisons between American and Italian football for the NFL Combine performance tests. Significant differences for all the variables between the 3 playing categories were observed among the Italian players; LM had higher anthropometric and body composition values than SP (p < 0.001) and BSP (p < 0.001), whereas LM performed significantly worse in the physical tests, except for the 225-lb bench press test when compared with SP (p < 0.002). American football players presented significantly higher anthropometric values and test performance scores when compared with Italian players. Administrators of professional football teams in Italy need to improve the player's physical attributes, so the gap that currently exists between American and Italian players can be reduced, which could significantly improve the quality of American football in Italy.

Non-Standard Italian Dialect Heritage Speakers' Acquisition of Clitic Placement in Standard Italian

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chan, Lionel

2014-01-01

This dissertation examines the acquisition of object clitic placement in Standard Italian by heritage speakers (HSs) of non-standard Italian dialects. It compares two different groups of Standard Italian learners--Northern Italian dialect HSs and Southern Italian dialect HSs--whose heritage dialects contrast with each other in clitic word order.…

Unexpectedly low mutation rates in beta-myosin heavy chain and cardiac myosin binding protein genes in Italian patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

PubMed

Roncarati, Roberta; Latronico, Michael V G; Musumeci, Beatrice; Aurino, Stefania; Torella, Annalaura; Bang, Marie-Louise; Jotti, Gloria Saccani; Puca, Annibale A; Volpe, Massimo; Nigro, Vincenzo; Autore, Camillo; Condorelli, Gianluigi

2011-11-01

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common genetic cardiac disease. Fourteen sarcomeric and sarcomere-related genes have been implicated in HCM etiology, those encoding β-myosin heavy chain (MYH7) and cardiac myosin binding protein C (MYBPC3) reported as the most frequently mutated: in fact, these account for around 50% of all cases related to sarcomeric gene mutations, which are collectively responsible for approximately 70% of all HCM cases. Here, we used denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography followed by bidirectional sequencing to screen the coding regions of MYH7 and MYBPC3 in a cohort (n = 125) of Italian patients presenting with HCM. We found 6 MHY7 mutations in 9/125 patients and 18 MYBPC3 mutations in 19/125 patients. Of the three novel MYH7 mutations found, two were missense, and one was a silent mutation; of the eight novel MYBPC3 mutations, one was a substitution, three were stop codons, and four were missense mutations. Thus, our cohort of Italian HCM patients did not harbor the high frequency of mutations usually found in MYH7 and MYBPC3. This finding, coupled to the clinical diversity of our cohort, emphasizes the complexity of HCM and the need for more inclusive investigative approaches in order to fully understand the pathogenesis of this disease. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Methodological Issues in Monitoring Health Services and Outcomes for Stroke Survivors: A Case Study

PubMed Central

Stuart, Mary; Papini, Donato; Benvenuti, Francesco; Nerattini, Marco; Roccato, Enrico; Macellari, Velio; Stanhope, Steven; Macko, Richard; Weinrich, Michael

2010-01-01

Background Obtaining comprehensive health outcomes and health services utilization data on stroke patients has been difficult. This research grew out of a memorandum of understanding between the NIH and the ISS (its Italian equivalent) to foster collaborative research on rehabilitation. Objective The purpose of this study was to pilot a methodology using administrative data to monitor and improve health outcomes for stroke survivors in Tuscany. Methods This study used qualitative and quantitative methods to study health resources available to and utilized by stroke survivors during the first 12 months post-stroke in two Italian health authorities (AUSL10 and 11). Mortality rates were used as an outcome measure. Results Number of inpatient days, number of prescriptions, and prescription costs were significantly higher for patients in AUSL 10 compared to AUSL 11. There was no significant difference between mortality rates. Conclusion Using administrative data to monitor process and outcomes for chronic stroke has the potential to save money and improve outcomes. However, measures of functional impairment and more sensitive outcome measures than mortality are important. Additional recommendations for enhanced data collection and reporting are discussed. PMID:21057665

A Simultaneous Discovery: The Case of Johannes Stark and Antonino Lo Surdo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leone, Matteo; Paoletti, Alessandro; Robotti, Nadia

2004-09-01

In 1913 the German physicist Johannes Stark (1874 1957) and the Italian physicist Antonino Lo Surdo (1880 1949)discovered virtually simultaneously and independently that hydrogen spectral lines are split into components by an external electric field. Both of their discoveries ensued from studies on the same phenomenon, the Doppler effect in canal rays, but they arose in different theoretical contexts. Stark had been working within the context of the emerging quantum theory, following a research program aimed at studying the effect of an electric field on spectral lines. Lo Surdo had been working within the context of the classical theory, and his was an accidental discovery. Both discoveries, however, played important roles in the history of physics: Stark’s discovery contributed to the establishment of both the old and the new quantum theories; Lo Surdo’s discovery led Antonio Garbasso (1871 1933)to introduce research on the quantum theory into Italian physics. Ironically, soon after their discoveries, both Stark and Lo Surdo rejected developments in modern physics and allied themselves with the political and racial programs of Hitler and Mussolini.

Little Ice Age mapping as a tool for identifying hazard in the paraglacial environment: The case study of Trentino (Eastern Italian Alps)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zanoner, Thomas; Carton, Alberto; Seppi, Roberto; Carturan, Luca; Baroni, Carlo; Salvatore, Maria Cristina; Zumiani, Matteo

2017-10-01

The Little Ice Age (LIA) is a well-recognized climatic event during which the glaciers in the Alps advanced and reached their maximum Holocene extent. During their retreat following the LIA, the glaciers left large areas of loose or poorly consolidated glacial deposits in their forelands, which are subject to paraglacial reworking and may represent potential hazards for human infrastructures. In this study, we present a regional scale mapping of the LIA and post-LIA glacial deposits and a reconstruction of the maximum LIA extents of glaciers in the same area. This work is motivated by a local law requiring the classification of areas subject to natural hazards in Trentino (Italian Alps). Results highlight that glaciers shrunk by 63% from the LIA maximum, leaving 30 km2 of unconsolidated deposits, which are subject to geomorphic paraglacial processes. Potentially hazardous consequences can occur, in particular, during high-magnitude instantaneous events, causing debris and mud flows, mass wasting from debris-covered ice, and floods from small moraine-dammed lakes.

Multi-tier drugs assessment in a decentralised health care system. The Italian case-study.

PubMed

Jommi, Claudio; Costa, Enrico; Michelon, Alessandra; Pisacane, Maria; Scroccaro, Giovanna

2013-10-01

To investigate the organisation and decision-making processes of regional and local therapeutic committees in Italy, as a case-study of decentralised health care systems. A structured questionnaire was designed, validated, and self-administered to respondents. Committee members, prioritisation, assessment process and criteria, and transparency of committees were investigated. The respondents represent 100% of the 17 regional committees out of 21 regions (in 4 regions there is not any regional formulary), 88% of the 16 hospital networks and 42% of the 183 public hospitals. The assessment process appears fragmented and may take a long time: drugs inclusion into hospital formularies requires two steps in most regions (regional and local assessment). Most of the therapeutic committees are closed to industry and patients associations involvement. Prioritisation in the assessment is mostly driven by disease severity, clinical evidence, and the absence of therapeutic alternatives. Only 13 out of the 17 regional committees have a public application form for drugs inclusion into regional formulary. Regional and local committees (i) often re-assess the clinical evidence already evaluated at central level and (ii) mostly rely on comparative drug unit prices per DDD and drug budget impact. The level of transparency is quite low. The Italian case-study provides useful insights into an appropriate management of multi-tier drugs assessment, which is particularly complex in decentralised health care systems, but exists also in centralised systems where drugs are assessed by local therapeutic committees. A clear definition of regulatory competences at different levels, a higher collaboration between central, regional and local actors, and increased transparency are necessary to pursue consistency between central policies on price and reimbursement and budget accountability at the regional and local levels. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Impact of the Italian smoking ban and comparison with the evaluation of the Scottish ban].

PubMed

Gorini, Giuseppe

2011-01-01

The Italian smoking ban entered into force on January 10th, 2005, and banned smoking from enclosed workplaces and hospitality premises (HPs), even though provided separated smoking areas. Actually, only 1-2%of HPs built these areas, while no figures are available on the prevalence of smoking rooms in workplaces other than HPs. Italians were more in favour of the law after the ban. In 2008 Italians were the Europeans most in favour of a national smoking ban (88%). Measurements of environmental nicotine and particulate matter with a diameter <2.5 μm (PM2.5) collected in some Italian towns before and after 1-2 years from the implementation of the ban, recorded a 60-97%reduction. Second-hand smoke exposure decreased at home. After the ban, the highest exposures were recorded in some discos. In outdoor areas of HPs, covered in winter, second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure was similar to that recorded before the ban in enclosed areas. Enforcement controls carried out in 2005-2009 showed the compliance was good: out of 20,550 controls, in only about 2%of cases people were smoking.Whereas 80-90%of interviews in national surveys reported the ban was respected in HPs, only 70% said the same for workplaces. Controls in HPs and workplaces should become routine activity for technicians of National Health System Prevention Departments. Cigarette consumption decreased annually by 2% in 2004- 2010 (from 98.9 to 87 millions of kilos), and smoking prevalence annually decreased by 1-3% in men and by 0.4-2.0% in women. In 2005, cigarette consumption decreased by 6.2% and 3.5% of this reduction was attributable to the introduction of the ban. In 2005 medicinal nicotine sales increased by 69%. Out of 5 studies on reduction of acute myocardial infarction after the ban, four recorded a 11-13% reduction in persons aged <60 years. Despite the protests of hospitality sector against the ban in 2004, no studies on impact of the ban on hospitality industry businesses were conducted in Italy. We used the conceptual model for the evaluation of the impact of smoke-free policies, proposed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), to compare Italian and Scottish evaluations of the bans. The Scottish evaluation was planned some years before the implementation, and was based on a network of researchers of different disciplines. The quantification of decrease in second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure in the general population and in hospitality workers was one of the main objectives of the Scottish evaluation. The Italian evaluation devoted more attention to distal (reduction of hospital admissions) and incidental effects of the law (trend in smoking prevalence, cigarette consumption). Qualitative studies in bars, homes, and communities recording changes in attitudes on tobacco smoking after the introduction of the ban, were conducted only in Scotland. In Italy the main problem was to develop and fund a network of researchers involved on a shared evaluation plan.

[Health impact assessment of airport noise on people living nearby six Italian airports].

PubMed

Ancona, Carla; Golini, Martina Nicole; Mataloni, Francesca; Camerino, Donatella; Chiusolo, Monica; Licitra, Gaetano; Ottino, Marina; Pisani, Salvatore; Cestari, Laura; Vigotti, Maria Angela; Davoli, Marina; Forastiere, Francesco

2014-01-01

aircraft noise has been associated with several health effects. Because of the great success of low-cost flights, small airports have been turned into international airports thus exposing nearby residents to an increase in noise levels and potential disturbances and health disorders. to estimate the exposure levels and evaluate the health impact of aircraft noise on residents nearby six airports in Italy (Rome: Ciampino; Milan: Linate and Malpensa; Pisa; Turin; Venice) focusing on hypertension, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), annoyance and sleep disturbances. residents in the local Municipalities considered at 31.12.2010 were included in the study and their addresses were geocoded. Aircraft noise exposure in 2011 was defined using the Integrated Noise Model linked to each participant's address. Lden (<55, 55-60, 61-65, 65-70 dB), Lnight, Leq (day and night) were calculated. Available exposure-response relationships were used to estimate the number of additional cases of hypertension, AMI, annoyance and sleep disturbances in the local population. 73,272 persons exposed to aircraft noise levels >55dB were considered: 55,915 (76.3%) were exposed to 55-60 dB; 16,562 (22.6%) to 60-65 dB; 795 (1.2%) to 65-70 dB. Exposure to aircraft noise levels above 55 dB was estimated to be responsible each year of 4,607 (95%CI 0-9,923) additional cases of hypertension; 3.4 (95%CI 0-10.7) cases of AMI; 9,789 (95%CI 6,895-11,962) cases of annoyance; 5,084 (95%CI 1,894-10,509) cases of sleep disturbances. a significant impact of airport noise on the health of residents nearby six Italian airports was estimated. Epidemiological evaluation and noise mitigation measures should be introduced to protect the health of residents.

Life expectancy inequalities in the elderly by socioeconomic status: evidence from Italy.

PubMed

Lallo, Carlo; Raitano, Michele

2018-04-12

Life expectancy considerably increased in most developed countries during the twentieth century. However, the increase in longevity is neither uniform nor random across individuals belonging to various socioeconomic groups. From an economic policy perspective, the difference in mortality by socioeconomic conditions challenges the fairness of the social security systems. We focus on the case of Italy and aim at measuring differences in longevity at older ages by individuals belonging to different socioeconomic groups, also in order to assess the effective fairness of the Italian public pension system, which is based on a notional defined contribution (NDC) benefit computation formula, whose rules do not take into account individual heterogeneity in expected longevity. We use a longitudinal dataset that matches survey data on individual features recorded in the Italian module of the EU-SILC, with information on the whole working life and until death collected in the administrative archives managed by the Italian National Social Security Institute. In more detail, we follow until 2009 a sample of 11,281 individuals aged at least 60 in 2005. We use survival analysis and measure the influence of a number of events experienced in the labor market and individual characteristics on mortality. Furthermore, through Kaplan-Meier simulations of hypothetical social groups, adjusted by a Brass relational model, we estimate and compare differences in life expectancy of individuals belonging to different socioeconomic groups. Our findings confirm that socioeconomic status strongly predicts life expectancy even in old age. All estimated models show that the prevalent type of working activity before retirement is significantly associated with the risk of death, even when controlling for dozens of variables as proxies of individual demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. The risk of death for self-employed individuals is 26% lower than that of employees, and life expectancy at 60 differs by five years between individuals with opposite socioeconomic statuses. Our study is the first that links results based on a micro survival analysis on subgroups of the elderly population with results related to the entire Italian population. The extreme differences in mortality risks by socioeconomic status found in our study confirm the existence of large health inequalities and strongly question the fairness of the Italian public pension system.

Tisettanta case study: the interoperation of furniture production companies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amarilli, Fabrizio; Spreafico, Alberto

This chapter presents the Tisettanta case study, focusing on the definition of the possible innovations that ICT technologies can bring to the Italian wood-furniture industry. This sector is characterized by industrial clusters composed mainly of a few large companies with international brand reputations and a large base of SMEs that manufacture finished products or are specialized in the production of single components/processes (such as the Brianza cluster, where Tisettanta operates). In this particular business ecosystem, ICT technologies can bring relevant support and improvements to the supply chain process, where collaborations between enterprises are put into action through the exchange of business documents such as orders, order confirmation, bills of lading, invoices, etc. The analysis methodology adopted in the Tisettanta case study refers to the TEKNE Methodology of Change (see Chapter 2), which defines a framework for supporting firms in the adoption of the Internetworked Enterprise organizational paradigm.

Chronic HBV infection in pregnant immigrants: a multicenter study of the Italian Society of Infectious and Tropical Diseases.

PubMed

Sagnelli, Evangelista; Taliani, Gloria; Castelli, Francesco; Bartolozzi, Dario; Cacopardo, Bruno; Armignacco, Orlando; Scotto, Gaetano; Coppola, Nicola; Stroffolini, Tommaso; Sagnelli, Caterina

2016-04-01

The aims of the study were to estimate the clinical impact of HBV infection in pregnant immigrants and their family members and to identify a useful approach to managing the healthcare of HBsAg-positive immigrants. Included in this study were 143 HBsAg-positive pregnant immigrants of the 1,970 from countries with intermediate/high HBV endemicity who delivered in 8 Italian hospitals in 2012-2013. In addition, 172 family members of 96 HBsAg-positive pregnant immigrants were tested for serum HBsAg. The median age of the 143 HBsAg-positive pregnant immigrants was 31.0±12.1 years and the length of stay in Italy 5.0±4.1 years; 56.5% were unaware of their HBsAg positivity. HBV DNA was detected in 74.5% of the pregnant immigrants, i.e., 94.3% from Eastern Europe, 72.2% from East Asia and 58.1% from Sub-Saharan Africa. HBV DNA ≥2000 IU/mL was detected in 47.8% of pregnant immigrants, associated with ALT ≥1.5 times the upper normal value in 15% of cases. Anti-HDV was detected in 10% of cases. HBsAg was detected in 31.3% of the 172 family members. All HBsAg-positive immigrants received counseling on HBV infection and its prevention, and underwent a complete clinical evaluation. The findings validate the approach used for the healthcare management of the HBsAg-positive immigrant population.

The retrieval of unerupted teeth in pedodontics: two case reports

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Introduction The retrieval of unerupted teeth in pedodontics is always significant to preserve the trophism of adjacent tissues, establish the correct space, provide adequate function and maintain good esthetics for the patient. The treatment plan is based on radiographic examinations and measurements, and on an accurate clinical evaluation; it aims to achieve the best treatment possible depending on the complexity of the specific case. In the most difficult clinical cases it is very important to have an early diagnosis, which is essential to plan the treatment and achieve success. In these cases, the pediatrician is in a strategic position to give an early diagnosis through a child’s medical history and by counting the child’s teeth. Case presentation This article presents two different difficult clinical cases of impacted teeth diagnosed during pediatric age, with a radiological analysis, and successfully treated with orthodontic devices designed for these specific cases. Clinical case 1 describes a 13-year-old Italian girl; clinical case 2 describes a 9-year-old Italian girl. The use of these devices achieved the desired treatment goals. The problems associated with impacted teeth and the biomechanical interventions used for these patients are discussed. Conclusions An early and careful diagnosis followed by an accurate treatment plan for the individual cases can lead to retrieval of the impacted teeth without affecting other anatomic structures and adjacent teeth. In these cases, the pediatrician is in a strategic position to give an early diagnosis through a child’s medical history and by counting the child’s teeth. PMID:25301242

Langue et rapports sociaux. Analyse des language d'usage chez des Italiens de deuxieme generation (Language and Social Relationships. Analysis of Languages Used by Second-Generation Italians).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fortier, Anne-Marie

A study investigated the choice of language (French, English, or Italian) for different activities and with different individuals among second-generation Italians in Quebec through interviews with 12 adults. The report first provides a sociolinguistic profile of the subjects and identifies the social factors associated with language choice in…

Langerian mindfulness, quality of life and psychological symptoms in a sample of Italian students.

PubMed

Pagnini, Francesco; Bercovitz, Katherine E; Phillips, Deborah

2018-02-06

Noticing new things, accepting the continuously changing nature of circumstances, and flexibly shifting perspectives in concert with changing contexts constitute the essential features of Langerian mindfulness. This contrasts with a "mindless" approach in which one remains fixed in a singular mindset and is closed off to new possibilities. Despite potentially important clinical applications for this construct, few studies have explored them. The instrument developed to measure Langerian mindfulness is the Langer Mindfulness Scale (LMS), although this tool has been limited primarily to English-speaking populations. The study aimed to test LMS validity in the Italian language and to analyze the relationships between Langerian mindfulness and well-being. We translated the LMS into Italian, analyzed its factor structure, and investigated the correlation between mindfulness and quality of life and psychological well-being in a sample of 248 Italian students (88.7% females, mean age 20.05). A confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the tri-dimensional structure of the English LMS in the Italian version. The primary analysis found a significant negative correlation between mindfulness and psychological symptoms including obsessive-compulsive tendencies, depression, anxiety, and paranoid ideation. There was also a positive correlation between mindfulness and reports of quality of life. The Italian LMS appears reliable and it shows relevant correlations with well-being.

Gut Microbiome and Putative Resistome of Inca and Italian Nobility Mummies

PubMed Central

Santiago-Rodriguez, Tasha M.; Luciani, Stefania; Toranzos, Gary A.; Marota, Isolina; Giuffra, Valentina; Cano, Raul J.

2017-01-01

Little is still known about the microbiome resulting from the process of mummification of the human gut. In the present study, the gut microbiota, genes associated with metabolism, and putative resistome of Inca and Italian nobility mummies were characterized by using high-throughput sequencing. The Italian nobility mummies exhibited a higher bacterial diversity as compared to the Inca mummies when using 16S ribosomal (rRNA) gene amplicon sequencing, but both groups showed bacterial and fungal taxa when using shotgun metagenomic sequencing that may resemble both the thanatomicrobiome and extant human gut microbiomes. Identification of sequences associated with plants, animals, and carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) may provide further insights into the dietary habits of Inca and Italian nobility mummies. Putative antibiotic-resistance genes in the Inca and Italian nobility mummies support a human gut resistome prior to the antibiotic therapy era. The higher proportion of putative antibiotic-resistance genes in the Inca compared to Italian nobility mummies may support the hypotheses that a greater exposure to the environment may result in a greater acquisition of antibiotic-resistance genes. The present study adds knowledge of the microbiome resulting from the process of mummification of the human gut, insights of ancient dietary habits, and the preserved putative human gut resistome prior the antibiotic therapy era. PMID:29112136

Gut Microbiome and Putative Resistome of Inca and Italian Nobility Mummies.

PubMed

Santiago-Rodriguez, Tasha M; Fornaciari, Gino; Luciani, Stefania; Toranzos, Gary A; Marota, Isolina; Giuffra, Valentina; Cano, Raul J

2017-11-07

Little is still known about the microbiome resulting from the process of mummification of the human gut. In the present study, the gut microbiota, genes associated with metabolism, and putative resistome of Inca and Italian nobility mummies were characterized by using high-throughput sequencing. The Italian nobility mummies exhibited a higher bacterial diversity as compared to the Inca mummies when using 16S ribosomal (rRNA) gene amplicon sequencing, but both groups showed bacterial and fungal taxa when using shotgun metagenomic sequencing that may resemble both the thanatomicrobiome and extant human gut microbiomes. Identification of sequences associated with plants, animals, and carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) may provide further insights into the dietary habits of Inca and Italian nobility mummies. Putative antibiotic-resistance genes in the Inca and Italian nobility mummies support a human gut resistome prior to the antibiotic therapy era. The higher proportion of putative antibiotic-resistance genes in the Inca compared to Italian nobility mummies may support the hypotheses that a greater exposure to the environment may result in a greater acquisition of antibiotic-resistance genes. The present study adds knowledge of the microbiome resulting from the process of mummification of the human gut, insights of ancient dietary habits, and the preserved putative human gut resistome prior the antibiotic therapy era.

Cross-cultural adaptation and measurement properties of the italian version of the Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation (PRTEE) questionnaire.

PubMed

Cacchio, Angelo; Necozione, Stefano; MacDermid, Joy C; Rompe, Jan Dirk; Maffulli, Nicola; di Orio, Ferdinando; Santilli, Valter; Paoloni, Marco

2012-08-01

The Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation (PRTEE) questionnaire is a tool designed for self-assessment of forearm pain and disability in patients with lateral elbow tendinopathy (LET). However, an Italian version of this questionnaire has not been available. The aims of this study were: (1) to translate and cross-culturally adapt the PRTEE questionnaire into Italian and (2) to evaluate its measurement properties. This was a longitudinal, observational measurement study. The PRTEE questionnaire was cross-culturally adapted to Italian according to established guidelines. Ninety-five individuals (41 women, 54 men) with unilateral, imaging-confirmed, chronic LET were selected consecutively to assess the measurement properties of the PRTEE questionnaire. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, construct validity, and responsiveness were estimated. The Italian version of the PRTEE displayed a high degree of internal consistency, with a Cronbach alpha of .95. The test-retest reliability was high for both short-term and medium-term, with intraclass correlation coefficients (2,1) of .95 and .93, respectively. The PRTEE exhibited a strong correlation (r=.77-.91, P<.0001) with the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) at the baseline and a moderate correlation (r=.58-.74, P<.0001) at discharge. The responsiveness was higher for the PRTEE than for the DASH. Limitations A methodological limitation of the study is that due to the small sample size, a factor analysis was not performed to assess convergent validity. The Italian version of the PRTEE questionnaire is internally consistent, demonstrates expected correlations with other measures, and is more responsive than the DASH in Italian patients with chronic LET.

An Italian multicentre validation study of the coma recovery scale-revised.

PubMed

Estraneo, A; Moretta, P; De Tanti, A; Gatta, G; Giacino, J T; Trojano, L

2015-10-01

Rate of misdiagnosis of disorders of consciousness (DoC) can be reduced by employing validated clinical diagnostic tools, such as the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R). An Italian version of the CRS-R has been recently developed, but its applicability across different clinical settings, and its concurrent validity and diagnostic sensitivity have not been estimated yet. To perform a multicentre validation study of the Italian version of the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R). Analysis of inter-rater reliability, concurrent validity and diagnostic sensitivity of the scale. One Intensive Care Unit, 8 Post-acute rehabilitation centres and 2 Long-term facilities Twenty-seven professionals (physicians, N.=11; psychologists, N.=5; physiotherapists, N.=3; speech therapists, N.=6; nurses, N.=2) from 11 Italian Centres. CRS-R and Disability Rating Scale (DRS) applied to 122 patients with clinical diagnosis of Vegetative State (VS) or Minimally Conscious State (MCS). CRS-R has good-to-excellent inter-rater reliability for all subscales, particularly for the communication subscale. The Italian version of the CRS-R showed a high sensitivity and specificity in detecting MCS with reference to clinical consensus diagnosis. The CRS-R showed good concurrent validity with the Disability Rating Scale, which had very low specificity with reference to clinical consensus diagnosis. The Italian version of the CRS-R is a valid scale for use from the sub-acute to chronic stages of DoC. It can be administered reliably by all members of the rehabilitation team with different specialties, levels of experience and settings. The present study promote use of the Italian version of the CRS-R to improve diagnosis of DoC patients, and plan tailored rehabilitation treatment.

Colonization by Legionella spp. of water networks in residential buildings of the Province of Pisa, Italy.

PubMed

Baggiani, A; Casini, B; Totaro, M; Aquino, F; Valentini, P; Bruni, B; Porretta, A; Casalini, F; Miccoli, M; Privitera, G

2015-01-01

Despite the increase of community acquired cases of legionellosis in Italy over the last years, the Italian guidelines do not give indications for prevention and control of Legionella in the hot water networks (or centralized conditioning systems) of residential buildings. We performed a survey on eight medium sized apartment buildings in the Pisa district to assess the prevalence of Legionella spp. in the water network and the respondance to drinking water requisites at the point of use, according to the Italian norms. For each building two hot water and three cold water samples (located at water entrance from the aqueduct network into the building pipework, at the exit from pressure autoclave, and at a remote tap) were collected. Legionella was detected in 20% of residential buildings, mostly in those with a central hot water production system. The study highlights a condition of potential risk for susceptible population subgroups and supports the need for measures of risk assessment and control.

Material and energy recovery in integrated waste management system--an Italian case study on the quality of MSW data.

PubMed

Bianchini, A; Pellegrini, M; Saccani, C

2011-01-01

This paper analyses the way numerical data on Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) quantities are recorded, processed and then reported for six of the most meaningful Italian Districts and shows the difficulties found during the comparison of these Districts, starting from the lack of homogeneity and the fragmentation of the data indispensable to make this critical analysis. These aspects are often ignored, but data certainty are the basis for serious MSW planning. In particular, the paper focuses on overall Source Separation Level (SSL) definition and on the influence that Special Waste (SW) assimilated to MSW has on it. An investigation was then necessary to identify new parameters in place of overall SSL. Moreover, these parameters are not only important for a waste management system performance measure, but are fundamental in order to design and check management plan and to identify possible actions to improve it. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Does language matter? A case study of epidemiological and public health journals, databases and professional education in French, German and Italian

PubMed Central

Baussano, Iacopo; Brzoska, Patrick; Fedeli, Ugo; Larouche, Claudia; Razum, Oliver; Fung, Isaac C-H

2008-01-01

Epidemiology and public health are usually context-specific. Journals published in different languages and countries play a role both as sources of data and as channels through which evidence is incorporated into local public health practice. Databases in these languages facilitate access to relevant journals, and professional education in these languages facilitates the growth of native expertise in epidemiology and public health. However, as English has become the lingua franca of scientific communication in the era of globalisation, many journals published in non-English languages face the difficult dilemma of either switching to English and competing internationally, or sticking to the native tongue and having a restricted circulation among a local readership. This paper discusses the historical development of epidemiology and the current scene of epidemiological and public health journals, databases and professional education in three Western European languages: French, German and Italian, and examines the dynamics and struggles they have today. PMID:18826570

The effects of reimbursement mechanisms on medical technology diffusion in the hospital sector in the Italian NHS.

PubMed

Finocchiaro Castro, Massimo; Guccio, Calogero; Pignataro, Giacomo; Rizzo, Ilde

2014-04-01

The aim of this study was to investigate how the differences across the regional reimbursement mechanisms and in particular the use of the DRGs impact on the level in the high technology equipment diffusion. Based on hospital sector data at a regional level we build up indicators to measure the regional diffusion of high technological medical equipment in the period 1997-2007. These indicators are regressed on regional healthcare characteristics to investigate the relationship between the different reimbursement systems offered by Italian regions and the level of high technological medical equipment. Our results suggest that the per-case payment system is generally associated with a lower level of regional technology endowment per million of inhabitants, especially for the complex and expensive medical equipment. Our findings cast some doubts that an effective regulation of reimbursement mechanisms cannot limit the excessive diffusion of medical equipment that is a relevant driver of the increase in expenditure. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Poisoning histories in the Italian renaissance: The case of Pico Della Mirandola and Angelo Poliziano.

PubMed

Gallello, Gianni; Cilli, Elisabetta; Bartoli, Fulvio; Andretta, Massimo; Calcagnile, Lucio; Pastor, Agustin; de la Guardia, Miguel; Serventi, Patrizia; Marino, Alberto; Benazzi, Stefano; Gruppioni, Giorgio

2018-05-01

Giovanni Pico della Mirandola and Angelo Poliziano were two of the most important humanists of the Italian Renaissance. They died suddenly in 1494 and their deaths have been for centuries a subject of debate. The exhumation of their remains offered the opportunity to study the cause of their death through a multidisciplinary research project. Anthropological analyses, together with documentary evidences, radiocarbon dating and ancient DNA analysis supported the identification of the remains attributed to Pico. Macroscopic examination did not reveal paleopathological lesions or signs related to syphilis. Heavy metals analysis, carried out on bones and mummified tissues, showed that in Pico's remains there were potentially lethal levels of arsenic, supporting the philosopher's poisoning theory reported by documentary sources. The arsenic concentrations obtained from analysis of Poliziano's remains, are probably more related to an As chronic exposure or diagenetic processes rather than poisoning. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

Material and energy recovery in integrated waste management system - An Italian case study on the quality of MSW data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bianchini, A.; Pellegrini, M.; Saccani, C., E-mail: cesare.saccani@unibo.it

2011-09-15

This paper analyses the way numerical data on Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) quantities are recorded, processed and then reported for six of the most meaningful Italian Districts and shows the difficulties found during the comparison of these Districts, starting from the lack of homogeneity and the fragmentation of the data indispensable to make this critical analysis. These aspects are often ignored, but data certainty are the basis for serious MSW planning. In particular, the paper focuses on overall Source Separation Level (SSL) definition and on the influence that Special Waste (SW) assimilated to MSW has on it. An investigation wasmore » then necessary to identify new parameters in place of overall SSL. Moreover, these parameters are not only important for a waste management system performance measure, but are fundamental in order to design and check management plan and to identify possible actions to improve it.« less

Effects of eradication and restoration treatments on Italian thistle (Carduus pycnocephalus)

USGS Publications Warehouse

McGinnis, Thomas; Keeley, Jon

2011-01-01

Low elevation grasslands in California long have been dominated by Mediterranean grasses, but many areas still have large native forb populations. Alien forbs invade these grasslands, displacing both native and other alien species. Italian thistle is a noxious alien herb that has recently invaded these grasslands, including ungrazed blue oak (Quercus douglassii) and interior live oak (Quercus wislizenii) stands in Sequoia National Park. Here, Italian thistle tends to dominate under oaks and has the potential to substantially alter the foothill ecosystem by displacing native plants and acting as a ladder fuel that can carry fires into the oak canopy. We tested the effects of selectively reducing Italian thistle populations alone and in combination with restoration of native species. Two thistle eradication techniques (clipping and the application of clopyralid herbicide) and two restoration techniques (addition of native forb seeds or planting native grass plugs) were used. After two consecutive years of treatment we found: a) clipping was not effective at reducing Italian thistle populations (clipping reduced Italian thistle density in some areas, but not vegetative cover), b) herbicide reduced both Italian thistle density and vegetative cover for the first two growing seasons after application, but cover rebounded in the third growing season, c) native forb cover and species richness were not significantly affected by clipping or spot-treating with herbicide, d) the grass and forb addition treatments by themselves were not effective at reducing Italian thistle during the course of this study and e) sowing annual forb seeds after clipping resulted in greater forb cover and moderately reduced Italian thistle vegetative cover in the short term.

Medical tourism: evidence from an Italian descriptive survey on pediatric neurorehabilitation treatment abroad.

PubMed

Trabacca, A; Ricci, S; Russo, L; Gennaro, L; Losito, L; De Rinaldis, M; Paloscia, C

2013-12-01

In recent years we have witnessed a rapidly-growing tendency to seek neurorehabilitation abroad. This study aimed at better understanding this practice through a analysis of the authorizations for pediatric neurorehabilitation services issued by Italian Regions. Descriptive retrospective survey study. Outpatient. Italian children travelling abroad for neurorehabilitation. We analyzed the number of authorizations granted in the 2008-2011 period by local health agencies of Italian regions to children aged 0-18 years applying for neurorehabilitation services abroad. Information was obtained from the Ministry of Health database management systems. Our analysis showed an extreme variability across Italian regions. This is probably suggestive of an unbalanced offer of pediatric neurorehabilitation services across regions, different mechanisms used to control the phenomenon. Our study looked specifically at the practice of neurorehabilitation abroad in order to encourage further and larger studies, even at international level. A greater integration of health systems with common policies is to be achieved in order to control this phenomenon in a field as sensitive as pediatric neurorehabilitation. Our study, which is the only study so far focusing on pediatric neurorehabilitation, looked specifically at the practice of health tourism in order to encourage further and larger studies, even at international level. Health tourism is a critical issue for all Western welfare systems which are under a pressure to cut health-related expenses.

A comparison of Italian, Japanese and American students' responses to the Adolescent Reinforcement Survey Schedule.

PubMed

Galeazzi, A; Franceschina, E; Cautela, J; Holmes, G R; Sakano, Y

1998-02-01

The Italian form of the Adolescent Reinforcement Survey Schedule (ARSS-I) was administered to (N = 648) high school boys and girls from northern and central Italy. Their responses were factor analyzed using a principal component. VARIMAX rotation procedure (SAS Institute, Inc., 1990). The 10 interpretable factors from the Italian data were compared and contrasted to factor analytic results from Holmes (1991, 1994) studies using American and Japanese students. Additionally, the Italian data analyses includes an examination by gender using t tests for each of the ARSS-I items and an ANOVA for age and age-gender effects on responses to the ARSS-I.

GOCE Re-Entry Predictions for the Italian Civil Protection Authorities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pardini, Carmen; Anselmo, Luciano

2015-03-01

The uncommon nature of the GOCE reentry campaign, sharing an uncontrolled orbital decay with a finely controlled attitude along the atmospheric drag direction, made the reentry predictions for this satellite an interesting case study, especially because nobody was able to say a priori if and when the attitude control would have failed, leading to an unrestrained tumbling and a sudden variation of the orbital decay rate. As in previous cases, ISTI/CNR was in charge of reentry predictions for the Italian civil protection authorities, monitoring also the satellite decay in the frame of an international reentry campaign promoted by the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC). Due to the peculiar nature of the GOCE reentry, the definition of reliable uncertainty windows was not easy, especially considering the critical use of this information for civil protection evaluations. However, after an initial period of test and analysis, reasonable and conservative criteria were elaborated and applied, with good and consistent results through the end of the reentry campaign. In the last three days of flight, reentries were simulated over Italy to obtain quite accurate ground tracks, debris swaths and air space crossing time windows associated with the critical passes over the national territory still included in the global uncertainty windows.

Dynamic systems and the role of evaluation: The case of the Green Communities project.

PubMed

Anzoise, Valentina; Sardo, Stefania

2016-02-01

The crucial role evaluation can play in the co-development of project design and its implementation will be addressed through the analysis of a case study, the Green Communities (GC) project, funded by the Italian Ministry of Environment within the EU Interregional Operational Program (2007-2013) "Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency". The project's broader goals included an attempt to trigger a change in Italian local development strategies, especially for mountain and inland areas, which would be tailored to the real needs of communities, and based on a sustainable exploitation and management of the territorial assets. The goal was not achieved, and this paper addresses the issues of how GC could have been more effective in fostering a vision of change, and which design adaptations and evaluation procedures would have allowed the project to better cope with the unexpected consequences and resistances it encountered. The conclusions drawn are that projects should be conceived, designed and carried out as dynamic systems, inclusive of a dynamic and engaged evaluation enabling the generation of feedbacks loops, iteratively interpreting the narratives and dynamics unfolding within the project, and actively monitoring the potential of various relationships among project participants for generating positive social change. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oral Tradition of Italian-Americans.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Birnbaum, Lucia Chiavola

The assimilation of Italians into American culture led to the loss of the Italian language, and an oral tradition of Italian peasants in which Italian feminist philosophy was grounded. The legends, parables, and proverbs told by these Italian women challenged the teachings of Catholicism, perpetuating an underground religious tradition which…

Validity of ICD-9-CM codes for breast, lung and colorectal cancers in three Italian administrative healthcare databases: a diagnostic accuracy study protocol.

PubMed

Abraha, Iosief; Serraino, Diego; Giovannini, Gianni; Stracci, Fabrizio; Casucci, Paola; Alessandrini, Giuliana; Bidoli, Ettore; Chiari, Rita; Cirocchi, Roberto; De Giorgi, Marcello; Franchini, David; Vitale, Maria Francesca; Fusco, Mario; Montedori, Alessandro

2016-03-25

Administrative healthcare databases are useful tools to study healthcare outcomes and to monitor the health status of a population. Patients with cancer can be identified through disease-specific codes, prescriptions and physician claims, but prior validation is required to achieve an accurate case definition. The objective of this protocol is to assess the accuracy of International Classification of Diseases Ninth Revision-Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes for breast, lung and colorectal cancers in identifying patients diagnosed with the relative disease in three Italian administrative databases. Data from the administrative databases of Umbria Region (910,000 residents), Local Health Unit 3 of Napoli (1,170,000 residents) and Friuli--Venezia Giulia Region (1,227,000 residents) will be considered. In each administrative database, patients with the first occurrence of diagnosis of breast, lung or colorectal cancer between 2012 and 2014 will be identified using the following groups of ICD-9-CM codes in primary position: (1) 233.0 and (2) 174.x for breast cancer; (3) 162.x for lung cancer; (4) 153.x for colon cancer and (5) 154.0-154.1 and 154.8 for rectal cancer. Only incident cases will be considered, that is, excluding cases that have the same diagnosis in the 5 years (2007-2011) before the period of interest. A random sample of cases and non-cases will be selected from each administrative database and the corresponding medical charts will be assessed for validation by pairs of trained, independent reviewers. Case ascertainment within the medical charts will be based on (1) the presence of a primary nodular lesion in the breast, lung or colon-rectum, documented with imaging or endoscopy and (2) a cytological or histological documentation of cancer from a primary or metastatic site. Sensitivity and specificity with 95% CIs will be calculated. Study results will be disseminated widely through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at national and international conferences. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

[Italian national register of low etiological fraction occupational cancer pursuant to art. 244 of legislative decree n. 81/2008].

PubMed

Massari, S; Ippoliti, M; Menegozzo, S; Forastiere, F; Crosignani, P

2011-01-01

Legislative decree No. 81/2008 in the article n. 244 states that ISPESL, now INAIL, realizes a register of occupational cancers with low etiological fraction by means of a data collection method based exclusively on voluntary reports by GPs, healthcare and social security agencies (ReNaLOC) and a surveillance cancer monitoring system (OCCAM) based on linkage of routinely available data (cancer registries, hospital discharge records, Italian Social Security archives). ReNaLOC has produced a partial picture of the situation, it includes 1.584 cases as of June 2011. With OCCAM many situations of known risks were identified and others are worthy to be deepen.

"The Italianate Englishman": The Italian Influence in Elizabethan Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fox, Maureen

2011-01-01

Whether it was thought of positively or negatively, Italy is a popular topic of discussion in Elizabethan literature. Some Elizabethan writers mimic Italian writers and incorporate Italian ideas into their own works, while other writers alter Italian literary conventions and openly attack Italian morals. This range of positive and negative…

No grammatical gender effect on affective ratings: evidence from Italian and German languages.

PubMed

Montefinese, Maria; Ambrosini, Ettore; Roivainen, Eka

2018-06-06

In this study, we tested the linguistic relativity hypothesis by studying the effect of grammatical gender (feminine vs. masculine) on affective judgments of conceptual representation in Italian and German. In particular, we examined the within- and cross-language grammatical gender effect and its interaction with participants' demographic characteristics (such as, the raters' age and sex) on semantic differential scales (affective ratings of valence, arousal and dominance) in Italian and German speakers. We selected the stimuli and the relative affective measures from Italian and German adaptations of the ANEW (Affective Norms for English Words). Bayesian and frequentist analyses yielded evidence for the absence of within- and cross-languages effects of grammatical gender and sex- and age-dependent interactions. These results suggest that grammatical gender does not affect judgments of affective features of semantic representation in Italian and German speakers, since an overt coding of word grammar is not required. Although further research is recommended to refine the impact of the grammatical gender on properties of semantic representation, these results have implications for any strong view of the linguistic relativity hypothesis.

An operative measure of workplace bullying: the negative acts questionnaire across Italian companies.

PubMed

Giorgi, Gabriele; Arenas, Alicia; Leon-Perez, Jose M

2011-01-01

Workplace bullying has been a topic of increasing interest since the 90s. Several studies have contributed to a better understanding of the antecedents and consequences of being exposed to negative acts at work during a prolonged period of time. However, there is a lack of validated instruments in Italian to map workplace bullying. Consequently, the goal of the present study is twofold. First, the authors aim to validate the Italian version of the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R: Einarsen and Hoel, 2001; Einarsen, et al., 2009). Second, the authors aim to establish the prevalence of workplace bullying. Results from 3,112 employees nested within 25 Italian organizations revealed that a reduced version of 17 items with a two-factor structure provided the best fit. Moreover, the prevalence of bullying was 15.2 per cent according to the criteria proposed by Mikkelsen and Einarsen (2001). Furthermore, significant correlations between bullying dimensions and organizational climate were found, which provided additional support for using the NAQ-Italian reduced version. Implications to prevent bullying and improve employees' well-being using this method are discussed.

Seismic behavior of an Italian Renaissance Sanctuary: Damage assessment by numerical modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clementi, Francesco; Nespeca, Andrea; Lenci, Stefano

2016-12-01

The paper deals with modelling and analysis of architectural heritage through the discussion of an illustrative case study: the Medieval Sanctuary of Sant'Agostino (Offida, Italy). Using the finite element technique, a 3D numerical model of the sanctuary is built, and then used to identify the main sources of the damages. The work shows that advanced numerical analyses could offer significant information for the understanding of the causes of existing damage and, more generally, on the seismic vulnerability.

Questionable research practices among italian research psychologists.

PubMed

Agnoli, Franca; Wicherts, Jelte M; Veldkamp, Coosje L S; Albiero, Paolo; Cubelli, Roberto

2017-01-01

A survey in the United States revealed that an alarmingly large percentage of university psychologists admitted having used questionable research practices that can contaminate the research literature with false positive and biased findings. We conducted a replication of this study among Italian research psychologists to investigate whether these findings generalize to other countries. All the original materials were translated into Italian, and members of the Italian Association of Psychology were invited to participate via an online survey. The percentages of Italian psychologists who admitted to having used ten questionable research practices were similar to the results obtained in the United States although there were small but significant differences in self-admission rates for some QRPs. Nearly all researchers (88%) admitted using at least one of the practices, and researchers generally considered a practice possibly defensible if they admitted using it, but Italian researchers were much less likely than US researchers to consider a practice defensible. Participants' estimates of the percentage of researchers who have used these practices were greater than the self-admission rates, and participants estimated that researchers would be unlikely to admit it. In written responses, participants argued that some of these practices are not questionable and they have used some practices because reviewers and journals demand it. The similarity of results obtained in the United States, this study, and a related study conducted in Germany suggest that adoption of these practices is an international phenomenon and is likely due to systemic features of the international research and publication processes.

Questionable research practices among italian research psychologists

PubMed Central

Wicherts, Jelte M.; Veldkamp, Coosje L. S.; Albiero, Paolo; Cubelli, Roberto

2017-01-01

A survey in the United States revealed that an alarmingly large percentage of university psychologists admitted having used questionable research practices that can contaminate the research literature with false positive and biased findings. We conducted a replication of this study among Italian research psychologists to investigate whether these findings generalize to other countries. All the original materials were translated into Italian, and members of the Italian Association of Psychology were invited to participate via an online survey. The percentages of Italian psychologists who admitted to having used ten questionable research practices were similar to the results obtained in the United States although there were small but significant differences in self-admission rates for some QRPs. Nearly all researchers (88%) admitted using at least one of the practices, and researchers generally considered a practice possibly defensible if they admitted using it, but Italian researchers were much less likely than US researchers to consider a practice defensible. Participants’ estimates of the percentage of researchers who have used these practices were greater than the self-admission rates, and participants estimated that researchers would be unlikely to admit it. In written responses, participants argued that some of these practices are not questionable and they have used some practices because reviewers and journals demand it. The similarity of results obtained in the United States, this study, and a related study conducted in Germany suggest that adoption of these practices is an international phenomenon and is likely due to systemic features of the international research and publication processes. PMID:28296929

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Italian Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetics Questionnaire (PIDAQ).

PubMed

Bucci, Rosaria; Rongo, Roberto; Zito, Eugenio; Galeotti, Angela; Valletta, Rosa; D'Antò, Vincenzo

2015-03-01

To validate and cross-culturally adapt the Italian version of the Psychological Impact of Dental Aesthetics Questionnaire (PIDAQ) among Italian young adults. After translation, back translation, and cross-cultural adaptation of the English PIDAQ, a first version of the Italian questionnaire was pretested. The final Italian PIDAQ was administered to 598 subjects aged 18-30 years, along with two other instruments: the aesthetic component of the index of orthodontic treatment need (IOTN-AC) and the perception of occlusion scale (POS), which identified the self-reporting grade of malocclusion. Structural validity was assessed by means of factorial analysis, internal consistency was measured with Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α), convergent validity was assessed by means of Spearman correlation, and test-retest reliability was calculated with intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and standard measurement error. Criterion validity was evaluated by multivariate and univariate analysis of variance with Bonferroni post hoc tests. The α of the Italian PIDAQ domains ranged between 0.79 and 0.92. The ICC was between 0.81 and 0.90. The mean scores of each PIDAQ domain showed a statistically significant difference when analysed according to the IOTN-AC and POS scores. The satisfactory psychometric properties make PIDAQ a usable tool for future studies on oral health-related quality of life among Italian young adults.

A framework to analyze hospital-wide patient flow logistics: evidence from an Italian comparative study.

PubMed

Villa, Stefano; Prenestini, Anna; Giusepi, Isabella

2014-04-01

Through a comparative study of six Italian hospitals, the paper develops and tests a framework to analyze hospital-wide patient flow performance. The framework adopts a system-wide approach to patient flow management and is structured around three different levels: (1) the hospital, (2) the pipelines (possible patient journeys within the hospital) and (3) the production units (physical spaces, such as operating rooms, where service delivery takes places). The focus groups and the data analysis conducted within the study support that the model is a useful tool to investigate hospital-wide implications of patient flows. The paper provides also evidence about the causes of hospital patient flow problems. Particularly, while shortage of capacity does not seem to be a relevant driver, our data shows that patient flow variability caused by inadequate allocation of capacity does represent a key problem. Results also show that the lack of coordination between different pipelines and production units is critical. Finally, the problem of overlapping between elective and unscheduled cases can be solved by setting aside a certain level of capacity for unexpected peaks. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

National survey on critical values reporting in a cohort of Italian laboratories.

PubMed

Lippi, Giuseppe; Giavarina, Davide; Montagnana, Martina; Luca Salvagno, Gian; Cappelletti, Piero; Plebani, Mario; Guidi, Gian Cesare

2007-01-01

Critical values' reporting is an essential requisite for clinical laboratories. Local policies were investigated within an indicative cohort of Italian laboratories to monitor the situation and establish a performance benchmark. A five-point questionnaire was administered to 150 laboratory specialists attending the SIMEL (Italian Society of Laboratory Medicine) National Meeting in June 2006. A total of 107 questionnaires (71.3%) were returned with a 100% individual question response rate. Only 55% of the participants acknowledge critical values reporting as an essential practice, 80% admit that a comprehensive list of critical values is unavailable in the laboratory and 4% do not promptly communicate critical values. The list of critical values is variable among laboratories, ranging from none to 20 analytes included. The requesting physician or his/her office staff receives the great majority (97%) of notifications by telephone for outpatients. Critical values for inpatients are notified directly by telephone (81%) and in a minority of cases by either fax or computer (19%). In the inpatient setting, the information is notified to physicians (77%), nurses (15%) or other healthcare staff in the clinic (8%). It was found that 49% of the participants adopt a standard (digital or written) policy for routine recording of notifications; in 32% of the cases the registration is left to individual attitudes, whereas in 20% of the cases the notification is not recorded. No laboratory has yet adopted a read-back verification of the complete test result by the person receiving the information. The importance of critical value reporting is still poorly recognized in Italy and uniform or internationally accredited practices for communication and recording are not currently implemented.

Glycemic index and glycemic load of commercial Italian foods.

PubMed

Scazzina, F; Dall'Asta, M; Casiraghi, M C; Sieri, S; Del Rio, D; Pellegrini, N; Brighenti, F

2016-05-01

The glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) are useful parameters in the nutritional classification of carbohydrate foods. Diets characterized by a low GI and/or a low GL have been repeatedly and independently associated with decreased risk of diabetes and other chronic diseases. The aim of this study is to report the GI and GL value of carbohydrate-rich foods available on the Italian market and mostly consumed in Italy. GI values were determined according to FAO/WHO (1997) and ISO (2010). Overall, the 141 commercial foods that were analyzed represent food categories that are the source of >80% carbohydrate intake in Italy. The food items chosen were based mainly on the market share of the brand within each food category and grouped into 13 food categories: 1) beverages: fermented milk drink, juice, smoothie, soft drink; 2) biscuits; 3) breads; 4) bread substitutes; 5) breakfast cereals; 6) cakes and snacks; 7) candy and confectionery; 8) cereals; 9) desserts and ice-creams; 10) marmalade and jam; 11) pasta; 12) pizza; 13) sugar and sweetener. This database of commercial Italian foods partly overcomes the lack of information on GI and GL of local foods, contributing to a better understanding of the association between GI/GL and health and providing a more informed choice to Italian consumers and health practitioners. Copyright © 2016 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Total-diet study: dietary intakes of macro elements and trace elements in Italy.

PubMed

Lombardi-Boccia, Ginevra; Aguzzi, Altero; Cappelloni, Marsilio; Di Lullo, Giuseppe; Lucarini, Massimo

2003-12-01

The present study provides the dietary intakes of macro elements (Ca, Mg, Na, K, P) and trace elements (Fe, Zn, Cu, Se) from the Italian total diet. The contribution of the most representative food groups of the total diet (cereals and cereal products, vegetables, fruit, milk and dairy products, meat and meat products, fish) to the daily intakes of these nutrients was also evaluated. The Italian total diet was formulated following the 'market-basket' approach. Cereals represented the primary sources of Cu (35 %), Fe (30 %) and Mg (27 %). About 89 % of the total daily intake of Fe was derived from plant foods. The vegetables food group was the main source of dietary K (27 %). Most of the Ca (59 %) and P (27 %) was derived from the milk-and-dairy food group. Of the dietary Zn, 41 % was provided by meat, which, together with the fish food group, was the primary source of Se (20 %). The adequacy of the Italian total diet with respect to nutritional elements was assessed by comparing the daily intakes with the average requirement values of the Italian recommended dietary allowances. The present findings indicated that the dietary patterns of the Italian total diet were generally consistent with current Italian dietary recommendations for both macro and trace elements. The major concern was for Ca, for which daily intake was 76 % of the average recommendation for the Italian population. It should not be ruled out that there could be a potential risk of inadequate Fe intake in some segments of the population.

Diagnostic memory assessment in Italian-born Australians.

PubMed

Fratti, Sara; Bowden, Stephen C; Pino, Olimpia

2011-09-01

In many English-speaking countries neuropsychological assessment of non-English speakers is often performed in English or through an interpreter. Relying on interpreters often involves unstandardized and ad hoc translations of tests which may limit valid assessment. In a sample of 75 Italian-born elderly Australians from the general community (48 women and 27 men, aged 56-90 years) we administered standardized and normed psychological tests in both English (WMS-III, WAIS-III, BNT, Schonell Graded Word Reading Test) and Italian (Milan Overall Dementia Assessment, MODA). We examined the hypothesis that long-term retrieval ability assessed in English is primarily influenced by cognitive abilities assessed in Italian and by English language competence. Regression analysis showed that the strongest predictor of long-term retrieval in English was long-term retrieval in Italian (R2 = 0.229, F(72) = 29.12, p<0.01). After inclusion of an estimate of general cognitive ability in Italian, English language competence failed to add significantly to variance explained in memory tested in English (p > 0.05). Results of the present study support the view that long-term retrieval memory is not significantly affected by second language proficiency after control of cognitive ability assessed in Italian. As a consequence, if an Italian-born elder Australian with English as a second language scores poorly on a diagnostic memory test, this result may be due to cognitive impairment rather than language issues. If, instead, we attribute poor performance to language competence, an increased risk of false negative diagnosis may arise.

Relationship between mandibular second molar calcification stages and cervical vertebrae maturity in Italian children and young adults.

PubMed

Cossellu, G; Biagi, R; Pisani, L; Barbieri, V; Farronato, G

2014-12-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the stages of calcification of the mandibular second molar and the stages of skeletal maturity among Italian children and young adults. Cross-sectional descriptive study. The samples were derived from panoramic radiographs and lateral cephalograms of 500 Italian subjects aged from 10 to 20 years. Dental maturity index (DM) was assessed by calcification stages of the mandibular second molars according to the Demirjian method; skeletal maturity was evaluated with cervical vertebrae maturation index (CVM) according to Hassel and Farman. The Pearson r coefficient and Spearman rank correlation coefficient were estimated to determine the relationship between DM and CVM. Skeletal maturation stages occurred earlier in females (about 6 months). A highly significant correlation between CVM and DM (0.78-0.86 cor according to Pearson test and 0.81-0.85 rho according to Spearman test) was found. DM stage E corresponds to phase CVM 1 and 2 (the phase prior to the growth spurt), DM stage F corresponds to the phase of pubertal growth spurt, stages CVM 2 and CVM 3; DM stage G is indicator of the growth spurt underway (CVM 3-4), but it can still be found during CVM 5 in females. The second mandibular molars can be considered reliable indicators for the evaluation of the growth phases. In case of females the end of the growth spurt it is not clearly associated with a dental maturity stage and needs to be stated with further parameters such as CVM.

Immigration politics Italian style: the paradoxical behaviour of mainstream and populist parties.

PubMed

Perlmutter, T

1996-01-01

This article explores the role of electoral politics in managing immigration as a policy option in Italy. Italy was late in passing its first comprehensive immigration legislation (1990). A small, liberal party waged a campaign against the proposed immigration law. A party known for right-wing posturing did not mobilize against the law. These political postures were not anticipated by conventional wisdom. Conventional wisdom suggests that immigration should not be an electoral issue and that consensus solutions should be sought. It is argued that the Italian response supports the view that in a fragmented, multi-party system, minor parties will be more likely to mobilize. Two mass media studies were used as the basis for this article's analysis. The studies provide detailed evidence on party willingness to publicly discuss immigration and the ways the issues are framed. The Italian case illustrates the tendency for mainstream, pro-system parties to politicize the issue and extremist, anti-system parties to depoliticize it. The DC and PCI, as mass parties, behaved traditionally and supported moderately open immigration policies, but in closed forums. The minor parties had a stake in shifting electoral support, so the PSI took an outspoken stand and the PARI publicized its exclusion from the policy-making process and its support for more restrictive policies. It was the constituencies and the leadership structure that facilitated these strategies. The author differs from Betz's party analysis by arguing that party ideology may not be a useful guide for predicting stands on immigration, and that it is difficult to generalize about immigration.

The Italian politics of alcohol: The creation of a public arena at the end of the 20th century.

PubMed

Beccaria, Franca; Rolando, Sara

2015-07-01

Political concern with alcohol as a social problem arose in Italy only at the end of last century, when consumption and the death rate from alcohol-related causes had both been trending down for decades. The main aim of this case study is to investigate - applying Wiener's theoretical framework - the role of different stakeholders in the process that led to the approval of the first alcohol framework law in 2001. Fourteen individual interviews with stakeholders were conducted, covering all the main topics involved in Italian alcohol policies. In addition, 19 bills introduced in the Italian parliament were analysed to reconstruct the legislative process. Stakeholders' role was analysed, assessing their positions, contrasts and coalitions. The rhetoric employed in the course of public debate was also deciphered. All three of the main processes used by Wiener to describe the building of a public arena around alcohol - animating the problem, legitimizing it and demonstrating it - were found. The Club of Alcoholics in Treatment and professionals working with alcoholics in Local Addiction Services appeared to be the most active groups in supporting the law. They did so by establishing a strong alliance, even if their visions about the problem and how to solve it differed. The study showed that a shared vision is not as essential as 'combining for strength' in order to create a public arena around a social problem. Furthermore, not even scientific data are essential for demonstrating a problem, as the use of rhetoric seems to be more effective in building ideologies. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Italian version of the 92-item Prodromal Questionnaire: Concurrent validity with the SIPS and factor analysis in a sample of 258 outpatients aged 11-36years.

PubMed

Kotzalidis, Georgios D; Solfanelli, Andrea; Piacentino, Daria; Savoja, Valeria; Fiori Nastro, Paolo; Curto, Martina; Lindau, Juliana Fortes; Masillo, Alice; Brandizzi, Martina; Fagioli, Francesca; Raballo, Andrea; Gebhardt, Eva; Preti, Antonio; D'Alema, Marco; Fucci, Maria Rosa; Miletto, Roberto; Andropoli, Daniela; Leccisi, Donato; Girardi, Paolo; Loewy, Rachel L; Schultze-Lutter, Frauke

2017-11-01

Current early screeners for psychosis-risk states have still to prove ability in identifying at-risk individuals. Among screeners, the 92-item Prodromal Questionnaire (PQ-92) is often used. We aimed to assess the validity of its Italian translation in a large Italian adolescent and young adult help-seeking sample. We included all individuals aged 12-36years seeking help at psychiatric mental health services in a large semirural Roman area (534,600 population) who accepted to participate. Participants completed the Italian version of the PQ-92 and were subsequently assessed with the Structured Interview of Prodromal/Psychosis-Risk Syndromes (SIPS). We examined diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and positive and negative likelihood ratios) and content, concurrent, and convergent validity between PQ-92 and SIPS using Cronbach's alpha, Cohen's kappa, and Spearman's rho, respectively. We tested the validity of adopted cut-offs through Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves plotted against SIPS diagnoses and the instrument's factor-structure through Principal Component Analysis. PQ-92 showed high internal consistency, acceptable diagnostic accuracy and concurrent validity, and excellent convergent validity. ROC analyses pointed to scores of 18 on the Positive subscale and 36 on the total PQ-92 as best cut-offs. The Scree-test identified a four-factor solution as fitting best. Psychometric properties of Italian PQ-92 were satisfactory. Optimal cut-offs were confirmed at ≥18 on the positive subscale, but at ≥36 on the total scale was able to identify more SIPS-positive cases. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Use of metronomic chemotherapy in oncology: results from a national Italian survey.

PubMed

Collovà, Elena; Sebastiani, Federica; De Matteis, Elisabetta; Generali, Daniele; Aurilio, Gaetano; Boccardo, Francesco; Crispino, Sergio; Cruciani, Giorgio

2011-01-01

Metronomic chemotherapy refers to the administration of low doses of cytotoxic agents over a prolonged period of time with no or only short drug-free intervals. It is designed to overcome acquired tumor resistance to chemotherapy and reduce neo-angiogenesis despite a lower toxicity than with standard chemotherapy. The role of metronomic chemotherapy remains controversial, and its optimal therapeutic use has not yet been defined. The present survey was designed as a short questionnaire and was sent to the medical oncologists registered with Medikey, a national database listing all the Italian oncology specialists linked with the Italian Council of Medical Oncology Hospital Consultants (Collegio Italiano Primari Oncologi Medici Ospedalieri, CIPOMO) and the Italian Association of Medical Oncology (Associazione Italiana di Oncologia Medica, AIOM). The questionnaire was completed on a voluntary basis and it was totally anonymous. The questionnaire was sent to 3,289 oncologists, and 191 (5.8%) actively participated in the survey. Seventy-two percent of responders declared that they had administered a regimen of metronomic chemotherapy at least once. Metronomic chemotherapy is commonly used in advanced breast cancer patients, and in most cases it was prescribed after failure of at least two lines of treatment. Oral agents such as cyclophosphamide, capecitabine, methotrexate and vinorelbine were the most commonly prescribed drugs. Nearly 60% of responders was believed to have significantly less toxicity with metronomic chemotherapy than with standard chemotherapy. The sample of oncologists who participated in the survey is small but it appears to be representative of the Italian medical oncology community. The answers to the questionnaire indicate a significant interest in metronomic chemotherapy, which is apparently widely prescribed. This is the first large national survey on the use of metronomic chemotherapy. Considering the results, larger research on metronomic chemotherapy is strongly warranted.

POEMS: A Case Study of an Italian Wine-Producing Firm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ardente, Fulvio; Beccali, Giorgio; Cellura, Maurizio; Marvuglia, Antonino

2006-09-01

Over the last decade, researchers paid much attention to concepts such as Design for Environment, Extended Producer Responsibility, Responsible Chain Management, and Eco-design. Many management tools and standards (such as EMAS, ISO 14001, LCA, EPD, Ecolabel) have been developed to support companies in the evaluation and management of their environmental performance and to pursue continual environmental improvement. The more recent development of the aforesaid fields looks at interorganizational environmental management. Such an approach can complement the more traditional intraorganizational corporate environmental management approaches and tools. A typical example of this new trend is the Product Oriented Environmental Management System (POEMS), which represents the natural evolution of the above-mentioned tools, combining the features of EMS, EPD and Ecolabel. Although the structure of the POEMS is still not standardized, many experimental applications have yet been carried out in Europe. In developing a POEMS, a company needs to determine all of the environmental impacts caused at all life-cycle stages of the product and, ideally, to reduce all of them through a continual commitment. The aim of the present study was to perform a survey of the developed POEMS models and to analyze their peculiarities and drawbacks in the application to Small and Medium Enterprises. A case study regarding an Italian winery company is presented. The study analyzes the structure and the activities of the examined firm, in order to estimate direct and indirect environmental impacts following a life-cycle approach. The chosen functional unit is a 0.75-L bottle of red wine. The article also suggests some solutions to improve the environmental performances of the firm’s products.

POEMS: a case study of an Italian wine-producing firm.

PubMed

Ardente, Fulvio; Beccali, Giorgio; Cellura, Maurizio; Marvuglia, Antonino

2006-09-01

Over the last decade, researchers paid much attention to concepts such as Design for Environment, Extended Producer Responsibility, Responsible Chain Management, and Eco-design. Many management tools and standards (such as EMAS, ISO 14001, LCA, EPD, Ecolabel) have been developed to support companies in the evaluation and management of their environmental performance and to pursue continual environmental improvement. The more recent development of the aforesaid fields looks at interorganizational environmental management. Such an approach can complement the more traditional intraorganizational corporate environmental management approaches and tools. A typical example of this new trend is the Product Oriented Environmental Management System (POEMS), which represents the natural evolution of the above-mentioned tools, combining the features of EMS, EPD and Ecolabel. Although the structure of the POEMS is still not standardized, many experimental applications have yet been carried out in Europe. In developing a POEMS, a company needs to determine all of the environmental impacts caused at all life-cycle stages of the product and, ideally, to reduce all of them through a continual commitment. The aim of the present study was to perform a survey of the developed POEMS models and to analyze their peculiarities and drawbacks in the application to Small and Medium Enterprises. A case study regarding an Italian winery company is presented. The study analyzes the structure and the activities of the examined firm, in order to estimate direct and indirect environmental impacts following a life-cycle approach. The chosen functional unit is a 0.75-L bottle of red wine. The article also suggests some solutions to improve the environmental performances of the firm's products.

Hospital communication between perception and cost savings: an Italian case study.

PubMed

Pennacchini, M; Pensieri, C; Binetti, P

2012-07-01

Communication field is very much studied by Companies but not so much from the Italian NHS. We aim to study the suffering communication that patients, relatives and customers feel when they approach a hospital. The research was carried out in an Italian region: Lazio. The Objective was to take a picture of the current state of Regional Health-Care System (RHS) communication by local Visual Communication (VC), telematic, internal perception, communication propensity and perception of hospital's brand. We have sampled 7 hospitals (114 items): Web-site's analysis, Location's VC, Urp's manager interview, Focus-group, Analysis Valuator of the Hospital's Brand (AVoHB). WEB: 14% of web-sites had a positive score, 86% had an Hospital Service Guide, 43% hadn't Urp's e-mail, 29% had a ward's map, 0% was W3C. Average: -17pt. on ±74pt. VISUAL COMMUNICATION: 100% had a Help-desk at the entrance, 100% had readable signpost, 43% had a readable badge, 29% had chromatic signpost, 0% had an assistance signpost and none of them had the Toilettes signpost. Average: -10,42pt. on ±58pt. FOCUS-GROUP: Staff underline their very high interest in interpersonal communication. They report a lack of VC inside their hospitals that cannot help patients to be self-oriented. Lost users can only ask information to the first doctor they see, taking staff time, which is already lacked. AVOHB: Powergrid shows that the positioning of the Aggregated Brand (RHS) and of each hospital analyzed are in the III quadrant. By a Corporate Communication point of view we can see that almost all companies reach a good level in terms of effective communication but none of them excel in all critical areas for an effective communication.

Drug utilization, safety, and effectiveness of exenatide, sitagliptin, and vildagliptin for type 2 diabetes in the real world: data from the Italian AIFA Anti-diabetics Monitoring Registry.

PubMed

Montilla, S; Marchesini, G; Sammarco, A; Trotta, M P; Siviero, P D; Tomino, C; Melchiorri, D; Pani, L

2014-12-01

In Italy, the reimbursed use of incretin mimetics and incretin enhancers was subject to enrollment of patients into a web-based system recording the general demographic and clinical data of patients. We report the utilization data of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP1) receptor agonists and dipeptidylpeptidase-4 (DPP4) inhibitors in clinical practice as recorded by the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) Monitoring Registry. From February 2008 to August 2010, 75,283 patients with type 2 diabetes were entered into the registry and treated with exenatide, sitagliptin, or vildagliptin. The treatment was administered to patients in a wide range of ages (≥75 years, n = 6125 cases), body mass index (BMI) (≥35 kg/m(2), n = 22,015), and metabolic control (HbA(1c) ≥ 11% ((96 mmol/mol), n = 3151). Overall, 1116 suspected adverse drug reactions were registered, including 12 cases of acute pancreatitis (six on exenatide). Hypoglycemic episodes mainly occurred in combination with sulfonylureas. Treatment discontinuation for the three drugs (logistic regression analysis) was negatively associated with the male gender and positively with baseline HbA1c, diabetes duration, and, limitedly to DPP-4 inhibitors, with BMI. Treatment discontinuation (including loss to follow-up, accounting for 21-26%) was frequent. Discontinuation for treatment failure occurred in 7.7% of cases (exenatide), 3.8% (sitagliptin), and 4.1% (vildagliptin), respectively, corresponding to 27-40% of all discontinuations, after excluding lost to follow-up. HbA1c decreased on average by 0.9-1.0% (9 mmol/mol). Body weight decreased by 3.5% with exenatide and by 1.0-1.5% with DPP-4 inhibitors. In the real world of Italian diabetes centers, prescriptions of incretins have been made in many cases outside the regulatory limits. Nevertheless, when appropriately utilized, incretins may grant results at least in line with pivotal trials. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Information about morality and behaviour of victims.

PubMed

Pannain, B; Pannain, M; Mininni, T; Albino, M

1990-01-01

According to the Italian Law of Procedure (1988) documents which inform about the morality of the guilty, the witness and the victim are not admitted; those about the victim are admitted only when the criminal event needs to be evaluated in relation to his/her behaviour and moral qualities. In our opinion, in this case, generic moral qualities do not have any real significance; only information about the victim's objective behaviour should be admitted: for instance, in the case of the crime of "corruption of a minor", a type of objective behaviour can be habitual prostitution. Moreover, the norm at issue contrasts with the general principle in the Italian law that the rights concerning the personality of an individual, particularly of a minor, are to be protected, and with the fundamental norm in the law of Procedure according to which criminological examinations are not allowed during the trial. It is useful, however, to acquire elements in order to evaluate the credibility of the witness.

Rare missense variants in POT1 predispose to familial cutaneous malignant melanoma

PubMed Central

Shi, Jianxin; Yang, Xiaohong R.; Ballew, Bari; Rotunno, Melissa; Calista, Donato; Fargnoli, Maria Concetta; Ghiorzo, Paola; Paillerets, Brigitte Bressac-de; Nagore, Eduardo; Avril, Marie Francoise; Caporaso, Neil E.; McMaster, Mary L.; Cullen, Michael; Wang, Zhaoming; Zhang, Xijun; Bruno, William; Pastorino, Lorenza; Queirolo, Paola; Banuls-Roca, Jose; Garcia-Casado, Zaida; Vaysse, Amaury; Mohamdi, Hamida; Riazalhosseini, Yasser; Foglio, Mario; Jouenne, Fanélie; Hua, Xing; Hyland, Paula L.; Yin, Jinhu; Vallabhaneni, Haritha; Chai, Weihang; Minghetti, Paola; Pellegrini, Cristina; Ravichandran, Sarangan; Eggermont, Alexander; Lathrop, Mark; Peris, Ketty; Scarra, Giovanna Bianchi; Landi, Giorgio; Savage, Sharon A.; Sampson, Joshua N.; He, Ji; Yeager, Meredith; Goldin, Lynn R.; Demenais, Florence; Chanock, Stephen J.; Tucker, Margaret A.; Goldstein, Alisa M.; Liu, Yie; Landi, Maria Teresa

2014-01-01

Although CDKN2A is the most frequent high-risk melanoma susceptibility gene, the underlying genetic factors for most melanoma-prone families remain unknown. Using whole exome sequencing, we identified a rare variant that arose as a founder mutation in the telomere shelterin POT1 gene (g.7:124493086 C>T, Ser270Asn) in five unrelated melanoma-prone families from Romagna, Italy. Carriers of this variant had increased telomere length and elevated fragile telomeres suggesting that this variant perturbs telomere maintenance. Two additional rare POT1 variants were identified in all cases sequenced in two other Italian families, yielding a frequency of POT1 variants comparable to that of CDKN2A mutations in this population. These variants were not found in public databases or in 2,038 genotyped Italian controls. We also identified two rare recurrent POT1 variants in American and French familial melanoma cases. Our findings suggest that POT1 is a major susceptibility gene for familial melanoma in several populations. PMID:24686846

Psychometric testing of the Italian and French versions of the Care Dependency Scale.

PubMed

Zürcher, Simeon Joel; Vangelooven, Christa; Borter, Natalie; Schnyder, Daniel; Hahn, Sabine

2016-12-01

The aim of this study was to test psychometrically the Italian and French versions of the Care Dependency Scale. The Care Dependency Scale assesses changes in patients' level of care dependency including important functional and mental dimensions. Evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Italian version is still ongoing. The French version has to date not been validated. Nationwide cross-sectional point prevalence study. Data were extracted from the national, annual prevalence survey of hospital-acquired pressure ulcers and inpatient falls in Swiss acute care hospitals in 2011. A total of 799 Italian and 1068 French-speaking patients were included in the analysis. For the evaluation, the psychometric properties were tested for each language both separately and conjointly. The scales revealed high internal consistency. Factor analysis presented a one-factor solution for both versions separately as well as combined. Comparison of internal structure revealed an excellent degree of equivalence between the versions. Highly significant Spearman correlations between the Care Dependency Scale and the Braden Scale sum scores indicated satisfactory criterion validity. Both the Italian and the French versions of the Care Dependency Scale showed satisfactory psychometric properties and a high level of equivalence. Further psychometric testing, using modern test theory approaches, is required. However, the scale is recommended as a valid instrument for further use in Italian and French. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Measuring Dispositional Flow: Validity and reliability of the Dispositional Flow State Scale 2, Italian version.

PubMed

Riva, Eleonora F M; Riva, Giuseppe; Talò, Cosimo; Boffi, Marco; Rainisio, Nicola; Pola, Linda; Diana, Barbara; Villani, Daniela; Argenton, Luca; Inghilleri, Paolo

2017-01-01

The aim of this study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Dispositional Flow Scale-2 (DFS-2), for use with Italian adults, young adults and adolescents. In accordance with the guidelines for test adaptation, the scale has been translated with the method of back translation. The understanding of the item has been checked according to the latest standards on the culturally sensitive translation. The scale thus produced was administered to 843 individuals (of which 60.69% female), between the ages of 15 and 74. The sample is balanced between workers and students. The main activities defined by the subjects allow the sample to be divided into three categories: students, workers, athletes (professionals and semi-professionals). The confirmatory factor analysis, conducted using the Maximum Likelihood Estimator (MLM), showed acceptable fit indexes. Reliability and validity have been verified, and structural invariance has been verified on 6 categories of Flow experience and for 3 subsamples with different with different fields of action. Correlational analysis shows significant high values between the nine dimensions. Our data confirmed the validity and reliability of the Italian DFS-2 in measuring Flow experiences. The scale is reliable for use with Italian adults, young adults and adolescents. The Italian version of the scale is suitable for the evaluation of the subjective tendency to experience Flow trait characteristic in different contest, as sport, study and work.

Chromosome number variation of the Italian endemic vascular flora. State-of-the-art, gaps in knowledge and evidence for an exponential relationship among even ploidy levels.

PubMed

Bedini, Gianni; Garbari, Fabio; Peruzzi, Lorenzo

2012-01-01

The Italian endemic vascular flora is composed of 1,286 specific and subspecific taxa. From the critical analysis of "Chrobase.it", 711 of them (about 55%) have been studied from a karyological point of view. These taxa belong to 52 out of 56 families and 204 out of 284 genera. These data suggest that endemic species are more studied than the flora as a whole. Mean chromosome number for Italian endemics is 2n = 30.68 ± 20.27 (median: 2n = 26, mode: 2n = 18). These values are very close to those known for the whole flora. Similar variation ranges, among endemics and species with wider distribution, are likely to reflect similar evolutionary trends. Known chromosome numbers in Italian endemics range from 2n = 8 to 2n = 182. About 9% of taxa show more than one cytotype and the frequency of Bs in the Italian endemic vascular flora is 3.3%. These values are slightly smaller compared with the whole Italian flora. Finally, for the basic chromosome numbers x = 7, 8, 9, the proportion of diploids (2n = 2x) to even polyploids (2n = 4x, 6x, 8x and 10x) can be described by the exponential function f(p) = e((5.539 - 0.637p)) (R(2) = 0.984).

Drinking Motives and Alcoholic Beverage Preferences among Italian Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Graziano, Federica; Bina, Manuela; Giannotta, Fabrizia; Ciairano, Silvia

2012-01-01

Although drinking motives have been largely studied, research taking into account the Mediterranean drinking culture and focusing on motives specifically associated to adolescents' developmental tasks is lacking. For these reasons the study investigates drinking motives in a group of Italian adolescents and their relationships with drunkenness and…

Teaching Interactive Practices and Burnout: A Study on Italian Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mameli, Consuelo; Molinari, Luisa

2017-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to analyse the role played by teaching interactive practices (measured through a self-report Likert scale) in predicting teacher burnout, after controlling for school grade (primary vs. secondary school) and teaching experience. Participants were 282 Italian teachers equally distributed between primary and…

Radioactive waste management treatments: A selection for the Italian scenario

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Locatelli, G.; Mancini, M.; Sardini, M.

2012-07-01

The increased attention for radioactive waste management is one of the most peculiar aspects of the nuclear sector considering both reactors and not power sources. The aim of this paper is to present the state-of-art of treatments for radioactive waste management all over the world in order to derive guidelines for the radioactive waste management in the Italian scenario. Starting with an overview on the international situation, it analyses the different sources, amounts, treatments, social and economic impacts looking at countries with different industrial backgrounds, energetic policies, geography and population. It lists all these treatments and selects the most reasonablemore » according to technical, economic and social criteria. In particular, a double scenario is discussed (to be considered in case of few quantities of nuclear waste): the use of regional, centralized, off site processing facilities, which accept waste from many nuclear plants, and the use of mobile systems, which can be transported among multiple nuclear sites for processing campaigns. At the end the treatments suitable for the Italian scenario are presented providing simplified work-flows and guidelines. (authors)« less

Management of hemodynamically unstable pelvic trauma: results of the first Italian consensus conference (cooperative guidelines of the Italian Society of Surgery, the Italian Association of Hospital Surgeons, the Multi-specialist Italian Society of Young Surgeons, the Italian Society of Emergency Surgery and Trauma, the Italian Society of Anesthesia, Analgesia, Resuscitation and Intensive Care, the Italian Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, the Italian Society of Emergency Medicine, the Italian Society of Medical Radiology -Section of Vascular and Interventional Radiology- and the World Society of Emergency Surgery)

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Hemodynamically Unstable Pelvic Trauma is a major problem in blunt traumatic injury. No cosensus has been reached in literature on the optimal treatment of this condition. We present the results of the First Italian Consensus Conference on Pelvic Trauma which took place in Bergamo on April 13 2013. An extensive review of the literature has been undertaken by the Organizing Committee (OC) and forwarded to the Scientific Committee (SC) and the Panel (JP). Members of them were appointed by surgery, critical care, radiology, emergency medicine and orthopedics Italian and International societies: the Italian Society of Surgery, the Italian Association of Hospital Surgeons, the Multi-specialist Italian Society of Young Surgeons, the Italian Society of Emergency Surgery and Trauma, the Italian Society of Anesthesia, Analgesia, Resuscitation and Intensive Care, the Italian Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, the Italian Society of Emergency Medicine, the Italian Society of Medical Radiology, Section of Vascular and Interventional Radiology and the World Society of Emergency Surgery. From November 2012 to January 2013 the SC undertook the critical revision and prepared the presentation to the audience and the Panel on the day of the Conference. Then 3 recommendations were presented according to the 3 submitted questions. The Panel voted the recommendations after discussion and amendments with the audience. Later on a email debate took place until December 2013 to reach a unanimous consent. We present results on the 3 following questions: which hemodynamically unstable patient needs an extraperitoneal pelvic packing? Which hemodynamically unstable patient needs an external fixation? Which hemodynamically unstable patient needs emergent angiography? No longer angiography is considered the first therapeutic maneuver in such a patient. Preperitoneal pelvic packing and external fixation, preceded by pelvic binder have a pivotal role in the management of these patients. Hemodynamically Unstable Pelvic Trauma is a frequent death cause among people who sustain blunt trauma. We present the results of the First Italian Consensus Conference. PMID:24606950

EMpowerment of PArents in THe Intensive Care Questionnaire: Translation and Validation in Italian PICUs.

PubMed

Wolfler, Andrea; Giannini, Alberto; Finistrella, Martina; Salvo, Ida; Calderini, Edoardo; Frasson, Giulia; Dall'Oglio, Immacolata; Di Furia, Michela; Iuzzolino, Rossella; Musicco, Massimo; Latour, Jos M

2017-02-01

To translate and validate the EMpowerment of PArents in THe Intensive Care questionnaire to measure parent satisfaction and experiences in Italian PICUs. Prospective, multicenter study. Four medical/surgical Italian PICUs in three tertiary hospitals. Families of children, 0-16 years old, admitted to the PICUs were invited to participate. Inclusion criteria were PICU length of stay greater than 24 hours and good comprehension of Italian language by parents/guardians. Exclusion criteria were readmission within 6 months and parents of a child who died in the PICU. Distribution, at PICU discharge, of the EMpowerment of PArents in THe Intensive Care questionnaire with 65 items divided into five domains and a six-point rating scale: 1 " certainly no" to 6 "certainly yes." Back and forward translations of the EMpowerment of PArents in THe Intensive Care questionnaire between Dutch (original version) and Italian languages were deployed. Cultural adaptation of the instrument was confirmed by a consultation with a representative parent group (n = 10). Totally, 150 of 190 parents (79%) participated in the study. On item level, 12 statements scored a mean below 5.0. The Cronbach's α, measured for internal consistency, on domain level was between 0.67 and 0.96. Congruent validity was measured by correlating the five domains with four gold standard satisfaction measures and showed adequate correlations (rs, 0.41-0.71; p < 0.05). No significant differences occurred in the nondifferential validity testing between three children's characteristics and the domains; excepting parents with a child for a surgical and planned admission were more satisfied on information and organization issues. The Italian version of the EMpowerment of PArents in THe Intensive Care questionnaire has satisfactory reliability and validity estimates and seems to be appropriate for Italian PICU setting. It is an important instrument providing benchmark data to be used in the process of quality improvement toward the development of a family-centered care philosophy within Italian PICUs.

Hepatitis E virus and hepatitis A virus exposures in an apparently healthy high-risk population in Italy.

PubMed

Rapicetta, M; Monarca, R; Kondili, L A; Chionne, P; Madonna, E; Madeddu, G; Soddu, A; Candido, A; Carbonara, S; Mura, M S; Starnini, G; Babudieri, S

2013-02-01

The prevalence of anti-hepatitis E virus (HEV) and anti-hepatitis A virus (HAV), as well as the possible links with socio-demographic and other viral risks factors, were evaluated in an inmates population. The study population consisted of 973 consecutively recruited inmates of eight Italian prisons. The anti-HEV prevalence was 11.6 % (113/973). It increased significantly by age (χ(2) for linear trend: p = 0.001) and was significantly higher among non-Italian compared to Italian inmates (15.3 vs. 10.7 %, respectively). Age >40 years [odds ratio (OR) 2.1; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.4-3.1], non-Italian citizenship (OR 1.8; 95 % CI 1.1-2.9) and anti-HIV seropositivity (OR 2.2; 95 % CI 1.2-4.2) were the only factors independently associated to anti-HEV positivity by logistic regression analysis. The overall anti-HAV prevalence was 86.4 %, and was significantly higher in non-Italian compared to Italian prisoners (92.6 vs. 84.9 %, respectively; p = 0.02). Age older than 40 years (OR 3.6; 95 % CI 2.2-5.9), <5 years formal education (OR 2.1; 95 % CI 1.3-3.2) and non-Italian nationality (OR 2.7; 95 % CI 1.5-4.8) were factors independently associated to anti-HAV positivity by the logistic regression analysis. Compared to the general population, significantly higher anti-HEV and anti-HAV prevalences were observed in an inmates population in Italy. Old age and non-Italian nationality were factors independently related to both HEV and HAV exposures. This data suggest the important role of low socio-economic factors in the transmission of both infections in high-risk populations. The possible epidemiological and/or pathogenetic links between HEV and HIV exposures need to be studied further.

To what extent is quality of life impaired in vitiligo? A multicenter study on Italian patients using the dermatology life quality index.

PubMed

Ingordo, Vito; Cazzaniga, Simone; Medri, Matelda; Raone, Beatrice; Digiuseppe, Maria Donata; Musumeci, Maria Letizia; Romano, Ivana; Fai, Dario; Pellegrino, Michele; Pezzarossa, Enrico; Di Lernia, Vito; Peccerillo, Francesca; Battarra, Vincenzo Claudio; Sirna, Riccardo; Patrizi, Annalisa; Naldi, Luigi

2014-01-01

It is believed that vitiligo has an impact on the overall patient quality of life (QoL). To estimate QoL in a fairly large sample of Italian vitiligo patients by using the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) questionnaire. One hundred and sixty-one vitiligo patients referred to 9 dermatological centers were offered to participate by filling in the Italian version of the DLQI questionnaire. The mean total DLQI score was 4.3 (SD ±4.9; range: 0-22). In multivariate analysis, DLQI >5 was associated with female gender, stability of the disease over time and involvement of the face at disease onset. The impairment of QoL is overall limited in Italian vitiligo patients, especially if it is compared with results from other available studies. This could be due to cultural and ethnic characteristics of the sample.

Acute alcoholic hepatitis, end stage alcoholic liver disease and liver transplantation: An Italian position statement

PubMed Central

Testino, Gianni; Burra, Patrizia; Bonino, Ferruccio; Piani, Francesco; Sumberaz, Alessandro; Peressutti, Roberto; Giannelli Castiglione, Andrea; Patussi, Valentino; Fanucchi, Tiziana; Ancarani, Ornella; De Cerce, Giovanna; Iannini, Anna Teresa; Greco, Giovanni; Mosti, Antonio; Durante, Marilena; Babocci, Paola; Quartini, Mariano; Mioni, Davide; Aricò, Sarino; Baselice, Aniello; Leone, Silvia; Lozer, Fabiola; Scafato, Emanuele; Borro, Paolo

2014-01-01

Alcoholic liver disease encompasses a broad spectrum of diseases ranging from steatosis steatohepatitis, fibrosis, and cirrhosis to hepatocellular carcinoma. Forty-four per cent of all deaths from cirrhosis are attributed to alcohol. Alcoholic liver disease is the second most common diagnosis among patients undergoing liver transplantation (LT). The vast majority of transplant programmes (85%) require 6 mo of abstinence prior to transplantation; commonly referred to as the “6-mo rule”. Both in the case of progressive end-stage liver disease (ESLD) and in the case of severe acute alcoholic hepatitis (AAH), not responding to medical therapy, there is a lack of evidence to support a 6-mo sobriety period. It is necessary to identify other risk factors that could be associated with the resumption of alcohol drinking. The “Group of Italian Regions” suggests that: in a case of ESLD with model for end-stage liver disease < 19 a 6-mo abstinence period is required; in a case of ESLD, a 3-mo sober period before LT may be more ideal than a 6-mo period, in selected patients; and in a case of severe AAH, not responding to medical therapies (up to 70% of patients die within 6 mo), LT is mandatory, even without achieving abstinence. The multidisciplinary transplant team must include an addiction specialist/hepato-alcohologist. Patients have to participate in self-help groups. PMID:25356027

Short communication: Effect of genetic type on antioxidant activity of Caciocavallo cheese during ripening.

PubMed

Perna, Annamaria; Intaglietta, Immacolata; Simonetti, Amalia; Gambacorta, Emilio

2015-06-01

The aim of this work was to investigate the antioxidant activity of Caciocavallo cheese made from the milk of 2 breeds, Italian Brown and Italian Holstein, and ripened for 1, 30, 60, 90, and 150 d. The antioxidant activity of cheese was measured using the 2,2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS), ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and thiol assays. Statistical analysis showed a significant effect of the studied factors. Italian Brown cheese had higher antioxidant activity than Italian Holstein cheese, and antioxidant activity increased during ripening of both cheeses types. Moreover, antioxidant activity varied during ripening depending on the rate of formation of soluble peptides. To date, few studies have evaluated the effect of genetic type on antioxidant capacity of the pasta filata cheeses; thus, this study forms the basis of new knowledge that could lead to the production of a pasta filata cheese with specific nutraceutical characteristics. Copyright © 2015 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of Individual Differences and Job Characteristics on the Psychological Health of Italian Nurses

PubMed Central

Zurlo, Maria Clelia; Vallone, Federica; Smith, Andrew P.

2018-01-01

The Demand Resources and Individual Effects Model (DRIVE Model) is a transactional model that integrates Demands- Control-Support and Effort-Reward Imbalance models emphasising the role of individual (Coping Strategies; Overcommitment) and job characteristics (Job Demands, Social Support, Decision Latitude, Skill Discretion, Effort, Rewards) in the work-related stress process. The present study aimed to test the DRIVE Model in a sample of 450 Italian nurses and to compare findings with those of a study conducted in a sample of UK nurses. A questionnaire composed of Ways of Coping Checklist-Revised (WCCL-R); Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ); ERI Test; Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used. Data supported the application of the DRIVE Model to the Italian context, showing significant associations of the individual characteristics of Problem-focused, Seek Advice and Wishful Thinking coping strategies and the job characteristics of Job Demands, Skill Discretion, Decision Latitude, and Effort with perceived levels of Anxiety and Depression. Effort represented the best predictor for psychological health conditions among Italian nurses, and Social Support significantly moderated the effects of Job Demands on perceived levels of Anxiety. The comparison study showed significant differences in the risk profiles of Italian and UK nurses. Findings were discussed in order to define focused interventions to promote nurses’ wellbeing.

Genetic diversity of Streptococcus suis clinical isolates from pigs and humans in Italy (2003-2007).

PubMed

Princivalli, M S; Palmieri, C; Magi, G; Vignaroli, C; Manzin, A; Camporese, A; Barocci, S; Magistrali, C; Facinelli, B

2009-08-20

Streptococcus suis, a major porcine pathogen, is emerging as a zoonotic agent capable of causing severe invasive disease in humans exposed to pigs or pork products. S. suis infection is rare in industrialised countries and usually arises as sporadic cases, with meningitis the most common clinical presentation in humans. Recent reports of two cases of meningitis in Sardinia and northeastern Italy prompted this first characterisation of Italian S. suis isolates. Fifty-nine S. suis strains, the two recent human strains and 57 swine clinical isolates collected between 2003 and 2007 from different Italian herds and regions, were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility, PCR-screened for virulence and antibiotic resistance genes, and subjected to molecular typing. Phenotypic and genotypic analysis demonstrated an overall high genetic diversity among isolates, the majority of which were resistant to macrolides (78%) and tetracyclines (90%). The erm(B), tet(O), mosaic tet(O/W/32/O), tet(W), and tet(M) genes were detected. The tet(O/W/32/O) gene, the most frequent tet gene after tet(O), had never been described in the genus Streptococcus before. In addition, a virulent cps2, erm(B) tet(O) clone, belonging to sequence type 1 (ST1) of the ST1 complex, was found to be prevalent and persistent in Italian swine herds. Finally, the two human isolates (both ST1) carrying cps2, erm(B) and tet(W) were seen to be closely related to each other.

Epidemiology and costs of cervical cancer screening and cervical dysplasia in Italy

PubMed Central

Rossi, Paolo Giorgi; Ricciardi, Alessandro; Cohet, Catherine; Palazzo, Fabio; Furnari, Giacomo; Valle, Sabrina; Largeron, Nathalie; Federici, Antonio

2009-01-01

Background We estimated the number of women undergoing cervical cancer screening annually in Italy, the rates of cervical abnormalities detected, and the costs of screening and management of abnormalities. Methods The annual number of screened women was estimated from National Health Interview data. Data from the Italian Group for Cervical Cancer Screening were used to estimate the number of positive, negative and unsatisfactory Pap smears. The incidence of CIN (cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia) was estimated from the Emilia Romagna Cancer Registry. Patterns of follow-up and treatment costs were estimated using a typical disease management approach based on national guidelines and data from the Italian Group for Cervical Cancer Screening. Treatment unit costs were obtained from Italian National Health Service and Hospital Information System of the Lazio Region. Results An estimated 6.4 million women aged 25–69 years undergo screening annually in Italy (1.2 million and 5.2 million through organized and opportunistic screening programs, respectively). Approximately 2.4% of tests have positive findings. There are approximately 21,000 cases of CIN1 and 7,000–17,000 cases of CIN2/3. Estimated costs to the healthcare service amount to €158.5 million for screening and €22.9 million for the management of cervical abnormalities. Conclusion Although some cervical abnormalities might have been underestimated, the total annual cost of cervical cancer prevention in Italy is approximately €181.5 million, of which 87% is attributable to screening. PMID:19243586

Current structure and organization for renal patient assistance in Italy.

PubMed

Alloatti, Sandro; Strippoli, Giovanni Fm; Buccianti, Gherardo; Daidone, Giuseppe; Schena, Francesco P

2008-04-01

Given the public health challenge and burden of chronic kidney disease, the Italian Society of Nephrology (SIN) has compiled a national census of Renal Units (RU) existing in the twenty Italian regions related to the year 2004. An on-line questionnaire including 158 items explored structural and human resources, organization aspects, activities and epidemiological data in SIN, 2004. The census identified 363 public RU, 303 satellite Dialysis Centres (DC) and 295 private DC totalling 961 DC [16.4 per million population (pmp)]. The inpatient renal beds were 2742 (47 pmp). Renal and dialysis activity was performed by 3728 physicians (64 pmp), of whom 2964 (80%) were nephrologists. There was no permanent medical assistance in 41% of satellite DC. There were 1802 renal admissions pmp and 99 renal biopsies pmp. The management of acute renal failure (13 456 cases; 230 pmp) represented a relevant proportion of the activities conducted in public RU. In 2004 there were 9858 new cases of end-stage kidney disease requiring renal replacement therapy (RRT) (169 pmp). On 31 December 2004, 60 058 patients were on RRT (1027 pmp), 43 293 of which (740 pmp) were on dialysis and 16 765 (287 pmp) with renal graft. This census of the Italian RU and DC in 2004 provides decision makers and healthcare stakeholders with detailed data for benchmarking and has financial implications for the public health system. Similar analyses may be conducted in other countries permitting standardization of medical and cost-related aspects of renal care.

High risk of brain tumors in military personnel: a case control study.

PubMed

Fallahi, P; Elia, G; Foddis, R; Cristaudo, A; Antonelli, A

2017-01-01

Scientific literature suggests a relationship between military occupation and the development of brain tumors, but no italian study has investigated on the impact of this job on the brain cancer morbidity. In this a study information were obtained from patients recruited in the Neurosurgical Department of the University-Hospital of Pisa, Italy, from 1990 to 1999. The study has been conducted as a case-control study. 161, newly diagnosed cases of brain tumors (glioma and meningiomas, histologically confirmed), were recruited, such as 483 controls (with other non tumoral neurologic diseases: trauma, hemorrhagic brain disorders, aneurism, etc), by matching cases and controls (1:3), for age (± 5 years) and gender. Cases and controls were interviewed in the Neurosurgical Department, University-Hospital of Pisa, Italy, and the occupational histories of cases and controls were compared. Cases and controls have showed a statistically significant difference, based on their occupation (military vs. non-military occupation). A statistically significant association was seen between brain tumors and military occupation among evaluated patients (p=0.013). Further studies regarding this population group are needed, to determine the causes for the increased risk of this cancer. Furthermore, a subsequent reevaluation in other patients collected in more recent years will be needed to evaluate the trend of this association.

Alcohol consumption pattern and risk of Barrett's oesophagus and erosive oesophagitis: an Italian case-control study.

PubMed

Filiberti, Rosa A; Fontana, Vincenzo; De Ceglie, Antonella; Blanchi, Sabrina; Grossi, Enzo; Della Casa, Domenico; Lacchin, Teresa; De Matthaeis, Marina; Ignomirelli, Orazio; Cappiello, Roberta; Rosa, Alessandra; Foti, Monica; Laterza, Francesco; D'Onofrio, Vittorio; Iaquinto, Gaetano; Conio, Massimo

2017-04-01

Knowledge about the association between alcohol and Barrett's oesophagus and reflux oesophagitis is conflicting. In this case-control study we evaluated the role of specific alcoholic beverages (red and white wine, beer and liquors) in 339 Barrett's oesophagus and 462 oesophagitis patients compared with 619 endoscopic controls with other disorders, recruited in twelve Italian endoscopic units. Data on alcohol and other individual characteristics were obtained from structured questionnaires. No clear, monotonic significant dose-response relationship was pointed out for red wine. However, a generalised U-shaped trend of Barrett's oesophagus/oesophagitis risk due to red wine consumption particularly among current drinkers was found. Similar results were also found for white wine. Liquor/spirit consumption seemed to bring about a 1·14-2·30 risk excess, although statistically non-significant, for current Barrett's oesophagus/oesophagitis drinkers. Statistically significant decreasing dose-response relationships were found in Barrett's oesophagus for frequency and duration of beer consumption. Similar, but less clear downward tendencies were also found for oesophagitis patients. In conclusion, although often not statistically significant, our data suggested a reduced risk of Barrett's oesophagus and oesophagitis with a low/moderate intake of wine and beer consumption. A non-significant increased risk of Barrett's oesophagus/oesophagitis was observed with a higher intake of any type of heavy alcohol consumption, but no conclusion can be drawn owing to the high number of non-spirit drinkers and to the small number of drinkers at higher alcohol intake levels.

Campaigning in the Secondary Theater: Challenges for the Operational Commander

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-04-30

threat of German and Ital ian forces staged in the Balkans. Greece, already fighting the Italians, initially refused the British offer of assistance...allowed for tremendous flexibility. This was not the case in the Greek campaign. The operational commander General Maitland Wilson, being appointed late

Assessment of disaster preparedness among emergency departments in Italian hospitals: a cautious warning for disaster risk reduction and management capacity.

PubMed

Paganini, Matteo; Borrelli, Francesco; Cattani, Jonathan; Ragazzoni, Luca; Djalali, Ahmadreza; Carenzo, Luca; Della Corte, Francesco; Burkle, Frederick M Jr; Ingrassia, Pier Luigi

2016-08-15

Since the 1990s, Italian hospitals are required to comply with emergency disaster plans known as Emergency Plan for Massive Influx of Casualties. While various studies reveal that hospitals overall suffer from an insufficient preparedness level, the aim of this study was to better determine the preparedness level of Emergency Departments of Italian hospitals by assessing the knowledge-base of emergency physicians regarding basic disaster planning and procedures. A prospective observational study utilized a convenience sample of Italian Emergency Departments identified from the Italian Ministry of Health website. Anonymous telephone interviews were conducted of medical consultants in charge at the time in the respective Emergency Departments, and were structured in 3 parts: (1) general data and demographics, (2) the current disaster plan and (3) protocols and actions of the disaster plan. Eighty-five Emergency Departments met inclusion criteria, and 69 (81 %) agreed to undergo the interview. Only 45 % of participants declared to know what an Emergency Plan for Massive Influx of Casualties is, 41 % believed to know who has the authority to activate the plan, 38 % knew who is in charge of intra-hospital operations. In Part 3 physicians revealed a worrisome inconsistency in critical content knowledge of their answers. Results demonstrate a poor knowledge-base of basic hospital disaster planning concepts by Italian Emergency Department physicians-on-duty. These findings should alert authorities to enhance staff disaster preparedness education, training and follow-up to ensure that these plans are known to all who have responsibility for disaster risk reduction and management capacity.

Translation, cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Italian version of the Nottingham Clavicle Score (NCS).

PubMed

Vascellari, Alberto; Schiavetti, Stefano; Rebuzzi, Enrico; Coletti, Nicolò

2015-11-01

The Nottingham Clavicle Score (NCS) is a specific Patient Reported Outcome Measure of injuries to the clavicle, acromio-clavicular joint (ACJ) and sterno-clavicular joint. The purpose of this study was to translate the NCS into Italian and establish its cultural adaptiveness and validity. The original version of the NCS was translated into Italian in accordance with the cross-cultural adaptation guidelines described by Guillemin. Sixty-six patients [average age 45.7 years (SD 11.3)] who had received surgical treatment for injuries of the ACJ and the clavicle were included in the study. The study population completed the NCS twice within 5 days, the Oxford Shoulder Score (OSS), the Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaire and the short-form 36 (SF-36). Statistical tests assessed the construct validity, discriminant validity, internal consistency, reliability and feasibility of the NCS. The translation and adaptation of the NCS for an Italian context required no major cultural adaptation. Internal consistency was high (Cronbach's α, 0.86). Test-retest reproducibility was excellent (ρ = 0.981, p < 0.00001). Administration time was 45 s (range 1 min 32 s-8 min), and all items were answered. The Italian NCS showed strong correlation with the DASH (-0.87), the OSS (-0.84) and those subscales of the SF-36 (physical functioning, role physical and bodily pain) which aim to measure similar constructs. The Italian NCS scale is a reliable, valid, consistent shoulder assessment form that can be used to assess the functional limitations of patients with injuries of clavicle or ACJ. III.

Clinical and epidemiological features of HIV/AIDS infection among migrants at first access to healthcare services as compared to Italian patients in Italy: a retrospective multicentre study, 2000-2010.

PubMed

Sulis, G; El Hamad, I; Fabiani, M; Rusconi, S; Maggiolo, F; Guaraldi, G; Bozzi, G; Bernardini, C; Lichtner, M; Stentarelli, C; Carenzi, L; Francisci, D; Saracino, A; Castelli, F

2014-10-01

Migrants account for approximately 8.7% of the resident population in Italy. The immigration status deeply influences access to prevention and care, thus contributing to increase the burden of HIV/AIDS among such a fragile category. The aim of this study was to investigate socio-demographic and baseline clinical and immunological features of HIV-infected migrants, as compared to Italians. We retrospectively analysed data for all the 1,611 HIV-infected migrant patients and a random sample of 4,230 HIV-infected Italian patients aged 18 or older who first accessed nine Italian clinical centres in 2000-2010 and were followed up at least 1 year. Differences in baseline characteristics between migrants and Italians were evaluated in univariate analysis, while factors associated with late presentation were evaluated in multivariate analysis using logistic regression models. The baseline profile differs between the HIV-infected migrant and Italian patients, substantially reflecting what reported by current statistics in terms of gender, age, risk category as well as clinical features. Late presenters were more frequent among migrants as compared to Italians (53.0 vs 45.8%; adjusted odds ratio [(AOR) = 1.55, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.34-1.78]. Other factors associated with late presentation included increasing age, as well as undocumented legal status among foreign-born subjects (AOR = 1.41, 95% CI 0.97-2.04), though of borderline significance. Late presentation still represents a relevant problem despite the advances in the management of HIV infection. More efforts are needed to allow early diagnosis and access to care among the most vulnerable, such as undocumented foreign-born subjects in a country where migration flows are on the rise.

Short-term effects of the 2008 Great Recession on the health of the Italian population: an ecological study.

PubMed

Mattei, Giorgio; Ferrari, Silvia; Pingani, Luca; Rigatelli, Marco

2014-06-01

To report on the effects on health that the 2008 Great Recession is producing in Italy, by comparing the consistency of Italian data with general observations reported in the scientific literature, and by pointing out consequences on the rates of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, male suicidal behaviours, daytime alcohol drinking and traffic fatalities. This is an ecological study in which MEDLINE, PsycINFO and PubMed were searched for the literature with combinations of the following keywords: economic recession, financial crisis, unemployment, health, suicide and mental health. Data from two Italian government agencies (Italian Institute of Statistics, ISTAT, and Italian Agency of Drugs, AIFA) in the years from 2000 to 2010 were obtained and analysed, by producing models of multiple linear regressions. After the recession onset, all-cause mortality remained stable, and was not associated with the economic fluctuations. Differently, cardiovascular mortality was associated with the rate of unemployment, and showed a significant increase in 2010. Alcohol consumption increased in 2009, the year with the worst real GDP decrease (-5.1 %). Though the total rate of suicide was not associated with the economic situation, male completed and attempted suicides due to financial crisis were significantly associated with the rate of unemployment and the real GDP. The increasing diffusion of antidepressants was not associated with a lowering of the rate of suicide. The data on the Italian situation here discussed are sufficiently reliable to conclude that a link exists between the ongoing economic recession and health and mental health of Italians. Further research is needed to understand more in detail and with stronger reliability such link, to support primary and secondary preventive interventions and orient the development of effective sociopolitical interventions.

The impact of HTA and procurement practices on the selection and prices of medical devices.

PubMed

Callea, Giuditta; Armeni, Patrizio; Marsilio, Marta; Jommi, Claudio; Tarricone, Rosanna

2017-02-01

Technological innovation in healthcare yields better health outcomes but also drives healthcare expenditure, and governments are struggling to maintain an appropriate balance between patient access to modern care and the economic sustainability of healthcare systems. Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and centralized procurement are increasingly used to govern the introduction and diffusion of new technologies in an effort to make access to innovation financially sustainable. However, little empirical evidence is available to determine how they affect the selection of new technologies and unit prices. This paper focuses on medical devices (MDs) and investigates the combined effect of various HTA governance models and procurement practices on the two steps of the MD purchasing process (i.e., selecting the product and setting the unit price). Our analyses are based on primary data collected through a national survey of Italian public hospitals. The Italian National Health Service is an ideal case study because it is highly decentralized and because regions have adopted different HTA governance models (i.e., regional, hospital-based, double-level or no HTA), often in combination with centralized regional procurement programs. Hence, the Italian case allows us to test the impact of different combinations of HTA models and procurement programs in the various regions. The results show that regional HTA increases the probability of purchasing the costliest devices, whereas hospital-based HTA functions more like a cost-containment unit. Centralized regional procurement does not significantly affect MD selection and is associated with a reduction in the MD unit price: on average, hospitals located in regions with centralized procurement pay 10.1% less for the same product. Hospitals located in regions with active regional HTA programs pay higher prices for the same device (+23.2% for inexpensive products), whereas hospitals that have developed internal HTA programs pay 8.3% on average more for the same product. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Complementary medicine for alcohol dependence in Italian services: a mail questionnaire.

PubMed

Bardazzi, Gabriele; Merluzzi, Jo-Anne; Voller, Fabio; Fontana, Aldo; Abenavoli, Ludovico; Leggio, Lorenzo; Addolorato, Giovanni

2006-08-01

It is well known that Complementary Medicine (CM) is extensively used in western countries for the treatment of many afflictions. CM has been recently promoted in addiction treatment. To evaluate CM use in alcohol dependence we planned a mail questionnaire for Italian alcohol services. We sent out 612 questionnaires. Health services that were unable to respond to the questionnaire within a 20-day limit period were contacted by phone and if we obtained agreement to participate in the study the questionnaire was sent by fax. We obtained 312 (51.82%) completed questionnaires. Only 16.50% of Italian services use CM for alcohol dependence treatment and acupuncture is utilized more frequently than other methods (phytotherapy, homeopathy, etc.). In Italian alcohol services CM is identified as an instrument incorporated into traditional alcohol treatments (self-help groups, drug treatment, etc.) and not an alternative method. In fact, health services that use it as a principal method of treatment were a rare event in our study (1%). CM plays an integrated role with traditional forms of alcohol treatment in Italian alcohol services and this utilization could be useful to reduce drop-outs and improve alcohol treatment compliance.

Synergies between human space exploration and science in the asteroid redirect mission and the potential Italian participation in the asteroid redirect robotic mission phase⋆

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tantardini, Marco; Flamini, Enrico

2017-07-01

In 2010, the study proposal called Asteroid Retrieval Mission (ARM) was selected by the Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS) at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). ARM had, as its main goal, the ambition to give a feasible, and realistic from a budget standpoint, destination to NASA Human Space Exploration (HSE) after the International Space Station (ISS), fulfilling President Obama's goal to have astronaut reach and interact with an asteroid (NEO) by 2025. ARM was formulated exploiting synergies between HSE and science, and with benefits also for technology development and in-space validation. In 2013, ARM, renamed Asteroid Redirect Mission, became a NASA program with the support of the White House. The Italian Space Agency (ASI) expressed interest to participate in the robotic phase of ARM, called Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission (ARRM). This presentation, given at the XIII National (Italian) Congress of Planetary Sciences, had the goal to introduce ARM to the Italian scientific community to gather proposals for the possible Italian participation in NASA ARRM, such as ASI payloads that could be possibly hosted on NASA ARRM.

ITALIAN PEAK AND ITALIAN PEAK MIDDLE ROADLESS AREAS, IDAHO AND MONTANA.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Skipp, Betty; Lambeth, Robert H.

1984-01-01

The Italian Peak and Italian Peak Middle Roadless Areas, in southwestern Montana and east-central Idaho, contain areas of probable mineral-resource potential based on combined geologic, geophysical, and geochemical studies and prospect examination. Small areas along the western, southern, and northeastern boundaries of the roadless areas have probable mineral resource potential for zinc, lead, silver, and uranium. An area of probable resource potential just east of and including a part of the Birch Creek mining district, may contain stratabound and fault-controlled silver and base metals, even though geochemical anomalies are low, and extensive prospecting has not identified any significant mineralization. The roadless areas are a part of the overthrust belt, and oil and gas possibilities must be assessed.

The G209A mutation in the alpha-synuclein gene is not detected in familial cases of Parkinson disease in non-Greek and/or Italian populations.

PubMed

Wang, W W; Khajavi, M; Patel, B J; Beach, J; Jankovic, J; Ashizawa, T

1998-12-01

To determine whether the G-to-A substitution at nucleotide 209 (G209A) mutation in the alpha-synuclein gene is responsible for familial Parkinson disease (PD) in the US population. Polymerase chain reaction-based DNA analysis of consecutive patients with PD and family history of PD. A university-affiliated movement disorder clinic and a Veterans Affairs clinical research laboratory. Forty-four patients with PD and family history of PD and 29 patients with sporadic PD, all with no known Greek and/or Italian background. None of the DNA samples showed the G209A mutation. The G209A mutation is rare in US patients with familial PD.

Validation of the Italian version of the Stanford Presenteeism Scale in nurses.

PubMed

Cicolini, Giancarlo; Della Pelle, Carlo; Cerratti, Francesca; Franza, Marcello; Flacco, Maria E

2016-07-01

To ascertain the validity and reliability of the Italian version of the Stanford Presenteeism Scale (SPS-6). Presenteeism has been associated with a work productivity reduction, a lower quality of work and an increased risk of developing health disorders. It is particularly high among nurses and needs valid tools to be assessed. A validation study was carried out from July to September 2014. A three-section tool, made of a demographic form, the Stanford Presenteeism Scale (SPS-6) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) was administered to a sample of nurses, enrolled in three Italian hospitals. Cronbach's α for the entire sample (229 nurses) was found to be 0.72. A significant negative correlation between SPS and perceived stress scores evidenced the external validity. The factor analysis showed a two-component solution, accounting for 71.2% of the variance. The confirmatory factor analysis showed an adequate fit. The Italian SPS-6 is a valid and reliable tool for workplace surveys. Since the validity and reliability of SPS-6 has been confirmed for the Italian version, we have now a valid tool that can measure the levels of presenteeism among Italian nurses. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The oral food desensitization in the Italian allergy centres.

PubMed

Meglio, P; Caminiti, L; Pajno, G B; Dello Iacono, I; Tripodi, S; Verga, M C; Martelli, A

2015-05-01

Attempts aimed at inducing food tolerance through oral food desensitization (OFD) for the treatment of IgE-mediated food allergies are increasing. In Italy, a number of allergy centres offer this procedure. To collect information on how these centres are organized, how patients are selected, the methods used to administer OFD and how adverse reactions are managed. A questionnaire was e-mailed to all the Italian allergy centres offering OFD. The survey shows a high degree of variability between centres. A correct diagnosis of food allergy is crucial for selecting patients for OFD. In the Italian allergy centres, oral food challenges are mostly open label (84%), but in 16% of cases they are single-blind (8%) or double-blind (8%). A high proportion of allergy centres (83%) offer OFD to children presenting forms of anaphylaxis triggered by traces--or very low doses--of food allergen. The majority of allergy centres (76%) enroll patients over 3 years of age, with 44% enrolling patients above the age of 5. Not-controlled asthma, unreliability of parents in the management of OFD and/or risk of adverse events, are the main reasons for exclusion from the procedure. Although OFD may sometimes be successful and may be considered a valid alternative to an elimination diet, further randomized controlled trials are needed, in order to clarify some controversial points, such as the characteristics of the child undergoing OFD, and the methods of food preparation and administration. Moreover, further studies should further investigate OFD safety, efficacy and costs.

[Research on antiemetics: an Italian model of success].

PubMed

Roila, F

1998-01-01

At the beginning of the 80's the Italian Group for Clinical Research (G.O.I.R.C.) identified chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting as one of the most distressing adverse events, and decided to plan and execute clinical trials on antiemetics in order to reduce this negative impact on patients. Therefore, some consecutive double-blind randomized trials were conducted on cisplatin-treated patients. The first was a dose-finding study on four different high-doses of domperidone, followed by a study comparing two different high-doses of metoclopramide, and a study comparing the addition of a corticosteroid to high-dose metoclopramide with respect to metoclopramide alone. Finally, a study demonstrating that a combination of a higher dose of metoclopramide (3 mg/kg x 2) plus dexamethasone and diphenhydramine was significantly superior with respect to a lower dose of metoclopramide (1 mg/kg x 4) combined with methylprednisolone was carried out. With the introduction of the 5-HT3 receptor antagonists the interest for antiemetic therapy increased and other Italian gynecological and medical oncology centres became involved in the antiemetic research. The Italian Group for Antiemetic Research was formed in 90's and its first study demonstrated the superiority of a combination of a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist plus dexamethasone with respect to the standard three drug combination of high doses of metoclopramide in the prevention of cisplatin-induced acute emesis. In the following years, the Group contributed to the identification of the best antiemetic prophylaxis for acute emesis induced by moderately emetogenic chemotherapy, and for delayed emesis induced by cisplatin. Also a drug utilization review on antiemetics in clinical practice has recently been carried out. Today, the interest of the Group is concentrated in studying the optimal antiemetic prophylaxis for delayed emesis induced by moderately emetogenic chemotherapy. The rules always followed by the Italian Group for Antiemetic Research are: --complete independence of judgement on the efficacy and the tolerability of antiemetic drugs from the pharmaceutical companies; --priority of ethical problems in designing clinical trials; --strict adherence to the methodological problems of antiemetic research and--complete autonomy concerning the study planned, the data computerization and the data elaboration. In the last twelve years approximately 70 Italian centres have enrolled their patients into the studies of the Italian Group for Antiemetic Research.

Intake of different types of dairy and its prospective association with risk of type 2 diabetes: The Rotterdam Study.

PubMed

Brouwer-Brolsma, E M; van Woudenbergh, G J; Oude Elferink, S J W H; Singh-Povel, C M; Hofman, A; Dehghan, A; Franco, O H; Feskens, E J M

2016-11-01

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is increasing. Several studies have suggested a beneficial effect of several major dairy nutrients on insulin production and sensitivity. Conversely, harmful effects have been suggested as well. This study aimed to investigate the impact of the full-range of dairy products and its association with incidence T2DM in Dutch adults aged ≥55 years participating in the Rotterdam Study. Dairy intake was assessed with a validated FFQ, including total, skimmed, semi-skimmed, full-fat, fermented, and non-fermented dairy, and subclasses of these product groups. Verified prevalent and incident diabetes were documented. Cox proportional hazards regression and spline regression were used to analyse data, adjusting for age, sex, alcohol, smoking, education, physical activity, body mass index, intake of total energy, energy-adjusted meat, and energy-adjusted fish intake. Median total dairy intake was 398 g/day (IQR 259-559 g/day). Through 9.5 ± 4.1 years of follow-up, 393 cases of incident T2DM were reported. Cox and spline regression did not point towards associations of total dairy consumption, dairy consumption based on fat content, non-fermented or fermented dairy consumption, or individual dairy product consumption with incident T2DM. The HR for total dairy intake and T2DM was 0.93 (95% CI: 0.70-1.23) in the upper quartile (P-for trend 0.76). This prospective cohort study did not point towards an association between dairy consumption and T2DM. Copyright © 2016 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Italian Registry of Antiphospholipid Antibodies.

PubMed

Finazzi, G

1997-01-01

The clinical importance of antiphospholipid antibodies (APA) derives from their association with a syndrome of venous and arterial thrombosis, recurrent fetal loss and thrombocytopenia known as the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). The Italian Registry of Antiphospholipid Antibodies was set up in 1989 for the purpose of collecting a large number of patients with lupus anticoagulant (LA) or anticardiolipin antibodies (ACA) for clinical studies in order to obtain more information on the clinical features of APS. The Italian Registry has completed two clinical studies and proposed an international trial on the treatment of APS patients. These activities of the Registry are reviewed herein. Additional information has been obtained from pertinent articles and abstracts published in journals covered by the Science Citation Index and Medline. The first study of the Registry was a retrospective analysis of enrolled patients which showed that: a) the prevalence of thrombosis and thrombocytopenia was similar in cases with idiopathic APA or APA secondary to systemic lupus erythematosus, and b) the rate of thrombosis was significantly reduced in patients with severe thrombocytopenia but not in those with only a mild reduction of the platelet count. The second study was a prospective survey of the natural history of the disease, showing that a) previous thrombosis and ACA titer > 40 units were independent predictors of subsequent vascular complications; b) a history of miscarriage or thrombosis is significantly associated with adverse pregnancy outcome; c) hematological malignancies can develop during follow-up and patients with APA should be considered at increased risk of developing NHL. Thus the possibility of a hematologic neoplastic disease should be borne in mind in the initial evaluation and during the follow-up of these patients. The latest initiative of the Registry was the proposal of an international, randomized clinical trial (WAPS study) aimed at assessing the efficacy and safety of high-dose warfarin in preventing recurrent thrombosis in patients with APA and vascular disease. The study is scheduled to start in March 1997.

An Exploratory Study of Sustainable Development at Italian Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vagnoni, Emidia; Cavicchi, Caterina

2015-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to outline the current status of the implementation of sustainability practices in the context of Italian public universities, highlighting the strengths and gaps. Design/methodology/approach: Based on a qualitative approach, an exploratory study design has been outlined using the model of Glavic and Lukman (2007) focusing…

Classification of Professional Values Based on Motivational Content: An Exploratory Study on Italian Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pallini, Susanna; Bove, Giuseppe; Laghi, Fiorenzo

2011-01-01

This study applies a multidimensional scaling (MSD) technique to investigate the structural validity of the Work Values Inventory for Adolescents with a sample of Italian students. The MSD results indicated the presence of two underlying orthogonal dimensions: individuality versus sociality and conservation versus exploration. Implications for…

Organizational Justice: Personality Traits or Emotional Intelligence? An Empirical Study in an Italian Hospital Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Di Fabio, Annamaria; Palazzeschi, Letizia

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of personality traits and emotional intelligence in relation to organizational justice. The Organizational Justice Scale, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised Short Form, and the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory were administered to 384 Italian nurses. The emotional intelligence…

Group-Based Life Design Counseling in an Italian Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Di Fabio, Annamaria; Maree, Jacobus Gideon

2012-01-01

This study examined the effectiveness of group-based Life Design Counseling using the Career-Story Interview. Written exercises were used to implement the seven topics in the Career-Story Interview. The present study employed an experimental design that involved two groups of Italian entrepreneurs from the agricultural and trade sectors, namely an…

L'identificazione etnico-linguistica in comunita infantili plurinazionali (Ethnolinguistic Identification in a Multinational Children's Community).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Franchi, Annalisa

1988-01-01

Analyzes the results of a study undertaken in Switzerland, which was designed to determine the degree of integration of non-Italian children in Italian-language nursery schools in the German part of Switzerland. Attempts to synthesize the ethnic and lingusitic elements of the study are made. (CFM)

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations in Medical Research: Perceptions and Experiences of Older Italians, Their Families, Ethics Administrators and Researchers

PubMed Central

Woodward-Kron, Robyn; Hughson, Jo-anne; Parker, Anna; Bresin, Agnese; Hajek, John; Knoch, Ute; Phan, Tuong Dien; Story, David

2016-01-01

Background Low-participation of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) patients in medical research remains a problem in migrant and refugee destination countries such as Australia. The aims of this study were to explore i) CALD persons’ perceptions and experiences of the medical system and medical research, in this case, older Italian Australians; and ii) the views of research professionals on CALD patient participation in medical research. Design and Methods A qualitative study was conducted in Melbourne, Australia, in 2015 utilising in-depth interviews and focus groups with four stakeholder groups: older Italian Australians (n=21); adult children of older Italian Australians (n=10); hospital Human Research Ethics Committee administrators (n=4); and clinical researchers (n=4). The data were analysed for content and thematic analysis. Results Themes for the CALD and family group were getting by in medical interactions; receptivity to medical research: testing the waters; and, receptivity to technology for support: passive versus active. Themes for the researcher and HREC groups about CALD patient participation in research were: exclusion; cultural factors; and e-consent. Conclusions Our findings from four stakeholder perspectives and experiences confirm that there were considerable cultural, linguistic, and resourcing barriers hindering the participation of older Italian-Australians in medical research. Furthermore, our findings showed that in this study setting there were few enabling strategies in place to address these barriers despite the national ethics guidelines for equitable participation in research. The findings informed the creation of a multimedia tool whose purpose is to address and improve representation of CALD groups in clinical research. Significance for public health Many people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds remain excluded from medical research such as clinical trials due to a range of language and cultural factors that can be amplified when this population is ageing. This exclusion has implications for the ability of CALD populations to benefit from participating in medical research and for applying research findings to CALD populations. It is essential to develop and implement strategies to include CALD communities in medical research and to uphold the ethical obligation of obtaining informed consent to research. The findings of this study have guided the development of a tablet-based resource which can be used in clinical and community contexts to raise awareness about the purpose of medical research. The resource has been carefully designed to be appropriate for participants' cultural background as well as their preferred language and literacy level. Such a resource has potential to address some of the cultural and linguistic barriers to clinical trial participation of CALD populations. PMID:27190978

'Self body-management and thinness in youth: survey study on Italian girls'.

PubMed

Di Giacomo, Dina; De Liso, Giulia; Ranieri, Jessica

2018-06-08

Adherence to the thinness model, self-acceptance such as self-esteem is psychological dynamics influencing the young age and emerging adulthood of women life. The purpose of this study was to investigate the girls and young women' ability to deal with the adherence to thinness model according to their self-body management thought daily self-perception of ownhabits and aptitude. We analysed their emotional patterns and body management to elucidate the Italian phenomenon. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 2287 Italian female distribute in range age 15-25 years old and distributed in girl and young women groups. We conducted a Survey study by snowball sampling technique. Our results showed that girls had higher emotional pattern scores when their weight and shape fit the thinness model: skinny girls felt positively about their body even if when they did not take adequate care of it. Italian girls consider the underweight body mass index an adherence model. Findings suggest the urgent need to plan prevention programme to model healthy behaviours about their daily good practice overcoming social and cultural models based on appearance.

Pediatric gastrointestinal bleeding: Perspectives from the Italian Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology

PubMed Central

Romano, Claudio; Oliva, Salvatore; Martellossi, Stefano; Miele, Erasmo; Arrigo, Serena; Graziani, Maria Giovanna; Cardile, Sabrina; Gaiani, Federica; de’Angelis, Gian Luigi; Torroni, Filippo

2017-01-01

There are many causes of gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) in children, and this condition is not rare, having a reported incidence of 6.4%. Causes vary with age, but show considerable overlap; moreover, while many of the causes in the pediatric population are similar to those in adults, some lesions are unique to children. The diagnostic approach for pediatric GIB includes definition of the etiology, localization of the bleeding site and determination of the severity of bleeding; timely and accurate diagnosis is necessary to reduce morbidity and mortality. To assist medical care providers in the evaluation and management of children with GIB, the “Gastro-Ped Bleed Team” of the Italian Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (SIGENP) carried out a systematic search on MEDLINE via PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/) to identify all articles published in English from January 1990 to 2016; the following key words were used to conduct the electronic search: “upper GIB” and “pediatric” [all fields]; “lower GIB” and “pediatric” [all fields]; “obscure GIB” and “pediatric” [all fields]; “GIB” and “endoscopy” [all fields]; “GIB” and “therapy” [all fields]. The identified publications included articles describing randomized controlled trials, reviews, case reports, cohort studies, case-control studies and observational studies. References from the pertinent articles were also reviewed. This paper expresses a position statement of SIGENP that can have an immediate impact on clinical practice and for which sufficient evidence is not available in literature. The experts participating in this effort were selected according to their expertise and professional qualifications. PMID:28293079

Mature and immature teratoma: A report from the second Italian pediatric study.

PubMed

Terenziani, Monica; D'Angelo, Paolo; Inserra, Alessandro; Boldrini, Renata; Bisogno, Gianni; Babbo, Gian Luca; Conte, Massimo; Dall' Igna, Patrizia; De Pasquale, Maria Debora; Indolfi, Paolo; Piva, Luigi; Riccipetitoni, Giovanna; Siracusa, Fortunato; Spreafico, Filippo; Tamaro, Paolo; Cecchetto, Giovanni

2015-07-01

Teratomas demonstrate a benign clinical behavior, however they may recur with malignant components or as teratoma, and in a small group of patients prognosis could be fatal. After the first Italian study, we collected cases of teratoma, alongside the protocol for malignant germ cell tumors. Patients with teratoma were collected from 2004 to 2014. Teratomas were classified according to the WHO classifications, as mature and immature. Patients with pathological aFP and/or bHCG, and those with a malignant germ cell component were not included. The study enrolled 219 patients (150 mature, 69 immature teratomas) with a median age at diagnosis of 42 months. The primary sites involved were: 118 gonadal and 101 extragonadal teratomas. Two females with ovarian teratoma had a positive family history. Complete and incomplete surgeries were performed in 85% and 9% of cases. Seventeen events occurred: six females had a second metachronous tumor (5 contralateral ovarian teratoma, 1 adrenal neuroblastoma) and 11 teratomas relapsed/progressed (3 mature, 8 immature teratomas). Two patients died, one of progressive immature teratoma and one of surgical complications. At a median follow up of 68 months, the event-free, relapse-free, and overall survival rates were 90.6%, 94.3%, 98.6%, respectively. Teratomas show a good prognosis, especially the mature ones: surgery and follow-up remain the standard approach. Incomplete surgery in immature teratoma is the group at greatest risk of relapse. Bilateral ovarian tumors are a possibility, and the rare family predisposition to ovarian mature teratoma warrants further analyses. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Pediatric gastrointestinal bleeding: Perspectives from the Italian Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology.

PubMed

Romano, Claudio; Oliva, Salvatore; Martellossi, Stefano; Miele, Erasmo; Arrigo, Serena; Graziani, Maria Giovanna; Cardile, Sabrina; Gaiani, Federica; de'Angelis, Gian Luigi; Torroni, Filippo

2017-02-28

There are many causes of gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) in children, and this condition is not rare, having a reported incidence of 6.4%. Causes vary with age, but show considerable overlap; moreover, while many of the causes in the pediatric population are similar to those in adults, some lesions are unique to children. The diagnostic approach for pediatric GIB includes definition of the etiology, localization of the bleeding site and determination of the severity of bleeding; timely and accurate diagnosis is necessary to reduce morbidity and mortality. To assist medical care providers in the evaluation and management of children with GIB, the "Gastro-Ped Bleed Team" of the Italian Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (SIGENP) carried out a systematic search on MEDLINE via PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/) to identify all articles published in English from January 1990 to 2016; the following key words were used to conduct the electronic search: "upper GIB" and "pediatric" [all fields]; "lower GIB" and "pediatric" [all fields]; "obscure GIB" and "pediatric" [all fields]; "GIB" and "endoscopy" [all fields]; "GIB" and "therapy" [all fields]. The identified publications included articles describing randomized controlled trials, reviews, case reports, cohort studies, case-control studies and observational studies. References from the pertinent articles were also reviewed. This paper expresses a position statement of SIGENP that can have an immediate impact on clinical practice and for which sufficient evidence is not available in literature. The experts participating in this effort were selected according to their expertise and professional qualifications.

LCA to choose among alternative design solutions: the case study of a new Italian incineration line.

PubMed

Scipioni, A; Mazzi, A; Niero, M; Boatto, T

2009-09-01

At international level LCA is being increasingly used to objectively evaluate the performances of different Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management solutions. One of the more important waste management options concerns MSW incineration. LCA is usually applied to existing incineration plants. In this study LCA methodology was applied to a new Italian incineration line, to facilitate the prediction, during the design phase, of its potential environmental impacts in terms of damage to human health, ecosystem quality and consumption of resources. The aim of the study was to analyse three different design alternatives: an incineration system with dry flue gas cleaning (without- and with-energy recovery) and one with wet flue gas cleaning. The last two technological solutions both incorporating facilities for energy recovery were compared. From the results of the study, the system with energy recovery and dry flue gas cleaning revealed lower environmental impacts in relation to the ecosystem quality. As LCA results are greatly affected by uncertainties of different types, the second part of the work provides for an uncertainty analysis aimed at detecting the extent output data from life cycle analysis are influenced by uncertainty of input data, and employs both qualitative (pedigree matrix) and quantitative methods (Monte Carlo analysis).

A Genome-wide Association Study of Myasthenia Gravis

PubMed Central

Renton, Alan E.; Pliner, Hannah A.; Provenzano, Carlo; Evoli, Amelia; Ricciardi, Roberta; Nalls, Michael A.; Marangi, Giuseppe; Abramzon, Yevgeniya; Arepalli, Sampath; Chong, Sean; Hernandez, Dena G.; Johnson, Janel O.; Bartoccioni, Emanuela; Scuderi, Flavia; Maestri, Michelangelo; Raphael Gibbs, J.; Errichiello, Edoardo; Chiò, Adriano; Restagno, Gabriella; Sabatelli, Mario; Macek, Mark; Scholz, Sonja W.; Corse, Andrea; Chaudhry, Vinay; Benatar, Michael; Barohn, Richard J.; McVey, April; Pasnoor, Mamatha; Dimachkie, Mazen M.; Rowin, Julie; Kissel, John; Freimer, Miriam; Kaminski, Henry J.; Sanders, Donald B.; Lipscomb, Bernadette; Massey, Janice M.; Chopra, Manisha; Howard, James F.; Koopman, Wilma J.; Nicolle, Michael W.; Pascuzzi, Robert M.; Pestronk, Alan; Wulf, Charlie; Florence, Julaine; Blackmore, Derrick; Soloway, Aimee; Siddiqi, Zaeem; Muppidi, Srikanth; Wolfe, Gil; Richman, David; Mezei, Michelle M.; Jiwa, Theresa; Oger, Joel; Drachman, Daniel B.; Traynor, Bryan J.

2016-01-01

IMPORTANCE Myasthenia gravis is a chronic, autoimmune, neuromuscular disease characterized by fluctuating weakness of voluntary muscle groups. Although genetic factors are known to play a role in this neuroimmunological condition, the genetic etiology underlying myasthenia gravis is not well understood. OBJECTIVE To identify genetic variants that alter susceptibility to myasthenia gravis, we performed a genome-wide association study. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS DNA was obtained from 1032 white individuals from North America diagnosed as having acetylcholine receptor antibody–positive myasthenia gravis and 1998 race/ethnicity-matched control individuals from January 2010 to January 2011. These samples were genotyped on Illumina OmniExpress single-nucleotide polymorphism arrays. An independent cohort of 423 Italian cases and 467 Italian control individuals were used for replication. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES We calculated P values for association between 8114394 genotyped and imputed variants across the genome and risk for developing myasthenia gravis using logistic regression modeling. A threshold P value of 5.0 × 10−8 was set for genome-wide significance after Bonferroni correction for multiple testing. RESULTS In the over all case-control cohort, we identified association signals at CTLA4 (rs231770; P = 3.98 × 10−8; odds ratio, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.25–1.49), HLA-DQA1 (rs9271871; P = 1.08 × 10−8; odds ratio, 2.31; 95% CI, 2.02 – 2.60), and TNFRSF11A (rs4263037; P = 1.60 × 10−9; odds ratio, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.29–1.53). These findings replicated for CTLA4 and HLA-DQA1 in an independent cohort of Italian cases and control individuals. Further analysis revealed distinct, but overlapping, disease-associated loci for early- and late-onset forms of myasthenia gravis. In the late-onset cases, we identified 2 association peaks: one was located in TNFRSF11A (rs4263037; P = 1.32 × 10−12; odds ratio, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.44–1.68) and the other was detected in the major histocompatibility complex on chromosome 6p21 (HLA-DQA1; rs9271871; P = 7.02 × 10−18; odds ratio, 4.27; 95% CI, 3.92–4.62). Association within the major histocompatibility complex region was also observed in early-onset cases (HLA-DQA1; rs601006; P = 2.52 × 10−11; odds ratio, 4.0; 95% CI, 3.57–4.43), although the set of single-nucleotide polymorphisms was different from that implicated among late-onset cases. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Our genetic data provide insights into aberrant cellular mechanisms responsible for this prototypical autoimmune disorder. They also suggest that clinical trials of immunomodulatory drugs related to CTLA4 and that are already Food and Drug Administration approved as therapies for other autoimmune diseases could be considered for patients with refractory disease. PMID:25643325

The Evolution of Italian Radicalism, 1780-1914: A Historiographical Review.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lovett, Clara M.

1988-01-01

Discusses the norms within which Italian historical literature is produced, stating that they are important generally to the work of Italian historians and particularly in understanding the recent historical literature on Italian radicalism. Surveys the post-World War II progress of the historiography of Italian radicalism, recommending areas of…

Emotion socialization practices in Italian and Hong Kong-Chinese mothers.

PubMed

Fiorilli, Caterina; De Stasio, Simona; Di Chicchio, Carlo; Chan, Siu Mui

2015-01-01

Parents' emotion socialization practices are their ways of handling their children's emotional experiences in light of cultural expectations surrounding emotions. Such practices are thought to significantly affect children's social adjustment. We compared the parenting practices of Italian and Hong Kong Chinese samples in an ethnological validation study of the maternal responses to children's emotion scale (MRCES). Participants were 71 Italian mothers (M = 39.45) and 71 Hong Kong-Chinese mothers (M = 37.75) with children aged 6-9 years. The results confirmed the two-factor structure identified by the scale's authors, namely coaching/emotion-encouraging and emotion dismissing approaches, respectively. Each of the two factors displayed satisfactory internal consistency. The Chinese mothers obtained higher scores than the Italian mothers on both subscales. Our findings suggested that parents' emotion socialization practices for coping with children's emotions received different degrees of emphasis and were underpinned by different meaning in the Hong Kong and Italian cultural groups. These cultural differences are discussed in relation to their effect on children's socio-emotional development.

The disease burden of human cystic echinococcosis based on HDRs from 2001 to 2014 in Italy

PubMed Central

Brundu, Diego; Stegel, Giovanni; Loi, Federica; Rolesu, Sandro; Masu, Gabriella; Ledda, Salvatore; Masala, Giovanna

2017-01-01

Background Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is an important neglected zoonotic parasitic infection belonging to the subgroup of seven Neglected Zoonotic Disease (NZDs) included in the World Health Organization’s official list of 18 Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). CE causes serious global human health concerns and leads to significant economic losses arising from the costs of medical treatment, morbidity, life impairments and fatality rates in human cases. Moreover, CE is endemic in several Italian Regions. The aim of this study is to perform a detailed analysis of the economic burden of hospitalization and treatment costs and to estimate the Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) of CE in Italy. Methods and findings In the period from 2001 to 2014, the direct costs of 21,050 Hospital Discharge Records (HDRs) belonging to 12,619 patients with at least one CE-related diagnosis codes were analyzed in order to quantify the economic burden of CE. CE cases average per annum are 901 (min—max = 480–1,583). Direct costs include expenses for hospitalizations, medical and surgical treatment incurred by public and private hospitals and were computed on an individual basis according to Italian Health Ministry legislation. Moreover, we estimated the DALYs for each patient. The Italian financial burden of CE is around € 53 million; the national average economic burden per annum is around € 4 million; the DALYs of the population from 2001 to 2014 are 223.35 annually and 5.26 DALYs per 105 inhabitants. Conclusion In Italy, human CE is responsible for significant economic losses in the public health sector. In humans, costs associated with CE have been shown to have a great impact on affected individuals, their families and the community as a whole. This study could be used as a tool to prioritize and make decisions with regard to a surveillance system for this largely preventable yet neglected disease. It demonstrates the need of implementing a CE control program aimed at preventing the considerable economic and social losses it causes in high incidence areas. PMID:28746395

Diffusion, outcomes and implementation of minimally invasive liver surgery: a snapshot from the I Go MILS (Italian Group of Minimally Invasive Liver Surgery) Registry.

PubMed

Aldrighetti, Luca; Ratti, Francesca; Cillo, Umberto; Ferrero, Alessandro; Ettorre, Giuseppe Maria; Guglielmi, Alfredo; Giuliante, Felice; Calise, Fulvio

2017-09-01

The Italian Group of MILS (I Go MILS) prospective registry was established in 2014 with the goals to create a hub for data and projects on a national basis and to promote the diffusion and implementation of MILS programs on a national scale. The primary endpoint of the present study is to give a snapshot of the real diffusion and outcomes of MILS in Italy, while analyzing the role of the registry in the implementation of MILS programs nationwide. The I Go MILS Registry is a prospective and intention-to-treat registry opened to any Italian center performing MILS, without restriction criteria based on number of procedures. The Registry is developed through the eClinical, an electronic platform for the management of clinical trials and is based on 34 clinical variables, regarding indication, intra- and postoperative course. Clinical outcomes and data regarding implementation of MILS activity have been analyzed for the aim of the study. Between November 2014 and June 2017, data from 1678 MILS performed in 48 centers have been collected (mean number of procedures per center 35, range 1-302). 22% of procedures were performed for benign and 78% for malignant disease (HCC constituted the 49.1% and CRLM the 31.2% of malignant tumors). Major liver resections (>3 liver segments), including right and left hepatectomies, trisectionectomies and ALPPS procedures were 10% of the series. Mean blood loss was 200 ± 230 mL Morbidity rate was 20.5% and mortality was 0.3%. 10.4% of cases were converted to open approach. Median length of stay was 5 days. MILS/total resections ratio in 13 experienced centers increased from 14 to 30% after Registry establishment. MILS programs are well established in Italy, with progressive increase both in the number of cases and in the numerosity of centers. The I Go MILS Registry is playing a crucial role in monitoring the development of MILS in the real world on a national basis while giving a significant contribution to the implementation of MILS programs.

Italian Version of the Self-Description Questionnaire-III.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maggi, Stefania

2001-01-01

Developed an Italian version of the Self-Description Questionnaire (SDQ-III) and studied the reliability and factorial validity of this translated instrument. Results show that the translated version has psychometric properties similar to those of the original English version. (SLD)

Effects of a temporary HDPE cover on landfill gas emissions: multiyear evaluation with the static chamber approach at an Italian landfill.

PubMed

Capaccioni, Bruno; Caramiello, Cristina; Tatàno, Fabio; Viscione, Alessandro

2011-05-01

According to the European Landfill Directive 1999/31/EC and the related Italian Legislation ("D. Lgs. No. 36/2003"), monitoring and control procedures of landfill gas emissions, migration and external dispersions are clearly requested. These procedures could be particularly interesting in the operational circumstance of implementing a temporary cover, as for instance permitted by the Italian legislation over worked-out landfill sections, awaiting the evaluation of expected waste settlements. A possible quantitative approach for field measurement and consequential evaluation of landfill CO(2), CH(4) emission rates in pairs consists of the static, non-stationary accumulation chamber technique. At the Italian level, a significant and recent situation of periodical landfill gas emission monitoring is represented by the sanitary landfill for non-hazardous waste of the "Fano" town district, where monitoring campaigns with the static chamber have been annually conducted during the last 5 years (2005-2009). For the entire multiyear monitoring period, the resulting CO(2), CH(4) emission rates varied on the whole up to about 13,100g CO(2) m(-2)d(-1) and 3800 g CH(4) m(-2)d(-1), respectively. The elaboration of these landfill gas emission data collected at the "Fano" case-study site during the monitoring campaigns, presented and discussed in the paper, gives rise to a certain scientific evidence of the possible negative effects derivable from the implementation of a temporary HDPE cover over a worked-out landfill section, notably: the lateral migration and concentration of landfill gas emissions through adjacent, active landfill sections when hydraulically connected; and consequently, the increase of landfill gas flux velocities throughout the reduced overall soil cover surface, giving rise to a flowing through of CH(4) emissions without a significant oxidation. Thus, these circumstances are expected to cause a certain increase of the overall GHG emissions from the given landfill site. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Clinical worthlessness of genetic prediction of common forms of diabetes mellitus and related chronic complications: A position statement of the Italian Society of Diabetology.

PubMed

Buzzetti, R; Prudente, S; Copetti, M; Dauriz, M; Zampetti, S; Garofolo, M; Penno, G; Trischitta, V

2017-02-01

We are currently facing several attempts aimed at marketing genetic data for predicting multifactorial diseases, among which diabetes mellitus is one of the more prevalent. The present document primarily aims at providing to practicing physicians a summary of available data regarding the role of genetic information in predicting diabetes and its chronic complications. Firstly, general information about characteristics and performance of risk prediction tools will be presented in order to help clinicians to get acquainted with basic methodological information related to the subject at issue. Then, as far as type 1 diabetes is concerned, available data indicate that genetic information and counseling may be useful only in families with many affected individuals. However, since no disease prevention is possible, the utility of predicting this form of diabetes is at question. In the case of type 2 diabetes, available data really question the utility of adding genetic information on top of well performing, easy available and inexpensive non-genetic markers. Finally, the possibility of using the few available genetic data on diabetic complications for improving our ability to predict them will also be presented and discussed. For cardiovascular complication, the addition of genetic information to models based on clinical features does not translate in a substantial improvement in risk discrimination. For all other diabetic complications genetic information are currently very poor and cannot, therefore, be used for improving risk stratification. In all, nowadays the use of genetic testing for predicting diabetes and its chronic complications is definitively of little value in clinical practice. Copyright © 2016 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Incidence, prevalence, costs and quality of care of type 1 diabetes in Italy, age 0-29 years: The population-based CINECA-SID ARNO Observatory, 2002-2012.

PubMed

Bruno, G; Pagano, E; Rossi, E; Cataudella, S; De Rosa, M; Marchesini, G; Miccoli, R; Vaccaro, O; Bonora, E

2016-12-01

To assess temporal trend in incidence (2003-12) and prevalence (2002-12) of type 1 diabetes in children and young adults, direct costs and selected indicators of quality of care under the coverage of the universalistic Italian National Health System (NHS). The ARNO Observatory, a healthcare monitoring system based on administrative data, identified a population-based multiregional cohort of subjects aged 0-29 years. Type 1 diabetes was defined by at least two prescriptions of insulin over 12 months and continuous insulin-treatment in the following year. Indicators of quality of care and directs costs were assessed in persons with diabetes and in people without diabetes, individually matched for age, gender and health unit (1:4 ratio). We identified 2357 incident cases of type 1 diabetes aged 0-29 years (completeness of ascertainment, 99%). Incidence rates were similar in ages 0-14 (15.8, 95% CI 14.9-16.8) and 15-29 years (16.3, 15.4-17.2), with no significant trend. Prevalence increased from 137 to 166.9/100,000, particularly in the age 15-29 years. Direct costs accounted for € 2117 in persons with diabetes and € 292 in control individuals. A statistically significant decreasing trend in hospitalization for acute complications was evident (p < 0.001), which was almost completely due to ketoacidosis. People with at least one HbA1c measurement over the year were 48.5%. We showed high incidence and increasing prevalence of type 1 diabetes in young adults in Italy, which impact on direct costs under the universalistic coverage of the NHS. Copyright © 2016 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Building blocks of the GIPU, Italian Group of Ultrastructural Pathology.

PubMed

Papa, V; Costa, R; Cenacchi, G

2016-06-01

The Italian Group of Ultrastructural Pathology, GIPU, is a scientific organization committed to promote the art and science of Electron Microscopy (EM) in the pathology field in Italy, sharing its professional work with a public audience. The history of the GIPU goes back to 1990s when a founder group set up the Italian Group of Ultrastructural Diagnostic (GIDU) in Milan. The central focus of annual meetings was on EM, transmission and scanning one, about interesting cases in which it was instrumental in diagnosis. In the 1990s, ultrastructure was still the gold standard for cell/tissue morphology, biology, biochemistry, diagnostic pathology, and played an important role in tailored medicine. So, especially transmission EM, could play a critical role in the diagnosis of various diseases as in human as in animals. Best topics of the annual scientific meetings of the group were kidney, muscle, heart, and liver pathology, infertility, neuropathology, respiratory diseases, skin diseases, storage diseases, tumor pathology, infectious diseases, parasitology, veterinary pathology and more. Nowadays, EM is a method whose importance for diagnosis and pathology is well established: it is still essential in several pathologies, helpful in others, and welcome implemented in eclectic research pathology. Omission of EM likely makes the studies suboptimal and wasteful. So, from 2007 the name of the group has been changed to the Italian Group of Ultrastructural Pathology (GIPU) to favor broader applications of EM also to pathology research field. During last decades, GIDU/GIPU has interconnected with international (Society for Ultrastructural Pathology) and european (European Society of Pathology and Joint Meeting with the European Electron Microscopy Working Group) scientific society, according its statute. By 1991, GIPU has had 40 members: membership in this Group is still open and welcome to all pathologists, PhD, electron microscopy technologists, pathology trainees, and researchers interested in pathology and electron microscopy. © Copyright Società Italiana di Anatomia Patologica e Citopatologia Diagnostica, Divisione Italiana della International Academy of Pathology.

Forms of Mediation: The Case of Interpreter-Mediated Interactions in Medical Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baraldi, Claudio

2009-01-01

This paper analyses the forms of mediation in interlinguistic interactions performed in Italian healthcare services and in contexts of migration. The literature encourages dialogic transformative mediation, empowering participants' voices and changing cultural presuppositions in social systems. It may be doubtful, however, whether mediation can…

Attitudes to Bilingual Education in Slovenia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Novak Lukanovic, Sonja; Limon, David

2014-01-01

The two different models of bilingual/multilingual education that have been developed in Slovenia since the 1950s in the regions of Prekmurje (minority language Hungarian) and Slovene Istria (Italian) are the result of international agreements, education and language policies, social and demographic factors. The basic aim in both cases is to help…

Investigating Linguistic Relativity through Bilingualism: The Case of Grammatical Gender

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kousta, Stavroula-Thaleia; Vinson, David P.; Vigliocco, Gabriella

2008-01-01

The authors investigated linguistic relativity effects by examining the semantic effects of grammatical gender (present in Italian but absent in English) in fluent bilingual speakers as compared with monolingual speakers. In an error-induction experiment, they used responses by monolingual speakers to establish a baseline for bilingual speakers…

Designing and assessing weather-based financial hedging contracts to mitigate water conflicts at the river basin scale. A case study in the Italian Alps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bellagamba, Laura; Denaro, Simona; Kern, Jordan; Giuliani, Matteo; Castelletti, Andrea; Characklis, Gregory

2016-04-01

Growing water demands and more frequent and severe droughts are increasingly challenging water management in many regions worldwide, exacerbating water disputes and reducing the space for negotiated agreements at the catchment scale. In the lack of a centralized controller, the design and deployment of coordination and/or regulatory mechanisms is a way to improve system-wide efficiency while preserving the distributed nature of the decision making setting, and facilitating cooperation among institutionally independent decision-makers. Recent years have witnessed an increased interest in index-based insurance contracts as mechanisms for sharing hydro-meteorological risk in complex and heterogeneous decision making context (e.g. multiple stakeholders and institutionally independent decision makers). In this study, we explore the potential for index-based insurance contracts to mitigate the conflict in a water system characterized by (political) power asymmetry between hydropower companies upstream and farmers downstream. The Lake Como basin in the Italian Alps is considered as a case study. We generated alternative regulatory mechanisms in the form of minimum release constraints to the hydropower facilities, and designed an insurance contract for hedging against hydropower relative revenue losses. The fundamental step in designing this type of insurance contracts is the identification of a suitable index, which triggers the payouts as well as the payout function, defined by strike level and slope (e.g., euros/index unit). A portfolio of index-based contracts was designed for the case study and evaluated in terms of revenue floor, basis risk and revenue fluctuation around the mean, both with and without insurance. Over the long term, the insurance proved to be capable to keep the minimum revenue above a specified level while providing a greater certainty on the revenue trend. This result shows the possibility to augment farmer's supply with little loss for hydropower companies, thus helping in mitigating the conflict between the stakeholders.

Italian for Business and Communication: Research Methodology and Creation of a Syllabus.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iandoli, Louis J.

This paper discusses the development and content of a third-year Italian course entitled "Italian for Business and Communication," taught at Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts. Since there are few texts that focus on business Italian, the instructor conducted on-site research at three Italian companies in Milan. Observations and…

Nomenclature and diagnosis of gluten-related disorders: A position statement by the Italian Association of Hospital Gastroenterologists and Endoscopists (AIGO).

PubMed

Elli, Luca; Villalta, Danilo; Roncoroni, Leda; Barisani, Donatella; Ferrero, Stefano; Pellegrini, Nicoletta; Bardella, Maria Teresa; Valiante, Flavio; Tomba, Carolina; Carroccio, Antonio; Bellini, Massimo; Soncini, Marco; Cannizzaro, Renato; Leandro, Gioacchino

2017-02-01

"Gluten-related disorders" is a term that encompasses different diseases induced by the ingestion of gluten-containing food. Because of their incidence the scientific community has been intensively studying them. To support gastroenterologists with a correct nomenclature and diagnostic approach to gluten-related disorders in adulthood. The Italian Association of Hospital Gastroenterologists and Endoscopists (AIGO) commissioned a panel of experts to prepare a position statement clarifying the nomenclature and diagnosis of gluten-related disorders, focusing on those of gastroenterological interest. Each member was assigned a task and levels of evidence/recommendation have been proposed. The panel identified celiac disease, wheat allergy and non-celiac gluten sensitivity as the gluten-related disorders of gastroenterological interest. Celiac disease has an autoimmune nature, wheat allergy is IgE-mediated while the pathogenesis of non-celiac gluten sensitivity is still unknown as is the case of non-IgE mediated allergy. Diagnosis should start with the serological screening for celiac disease and wheat allergy. In case of normal values, the response to a gluten-free diet should be evaluated and a confirmatory blind food challenge carried out. Gluten-related disorders are clinically heterogeneous. Patients should be carefully managed and specific protocols applied for a correct differential diagnosis in gastroenterological setting. Copyright © 2016 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

First results of Liguria-Trento transplant network project: a model for a macroregional network and real-time registry in Italy.

PubMed

Valente, R; Cambiaso, F; Santori, G; Ghirelli, R; Gianelli, A; Valente, U

2004-04-01

In Italy, health-care telematic is funded and supported at the level of national government or regional institutions. In 1999, the Italian Ministry of Health started to fund the Liguria-Trento Transplant Network (LTTN) project, a health research project with the aim to build an informative system for donor management and transplantation activity in a macroregional area. At the time of LTTN project proposal, no published Transplant Network Informative System fulfilled Italian rules on telematic management of electronic documentation concerning transplantation activity. Partnership of LTTN project were two Regional Transplant Coordinating Centres, Nord Italia Transplant Interregional Coordinating Centre and the Italian Institute of Health/National Transplant Coordinating Centre. Project Total Quality Management methods were adopted. Technological and case analysis followed ANSI-HL7, CEN-TC251, and Object-Oriented Software Engineering standards. A low-tech prototype powered by a web access relational database is running on a transplant network including web-based clients located in 17 intensive care units, in Nord Italia Transplant Interregional Coordinating Centre, and at the Italian Institute of Health/National Transplant Coordinating Centre. LTTN registry includes pretransplant, surgical, and posttransplant phases regarding liver, kidney, pancreas, and kidney-pancreas transplantation in adult and pediatric recipients. Clinical specifications were prioritized in agreement with the RAND/UCLA appropriateness method. Further implementation will include formal rules for data access and output release, fault tolerance, and a continuous registry evolution plan.

Daytime napping, sleep duration and increased 8-year risk of type 2 diabetes in a British population.

PubMed

Leng, Y; Cappuccio, F P; Surtees, P G; Luben, R; Brayne, C; Khaw, K-T

2016-11-01

Few studies have prospectively examined the relationship between daytime napping and risk of type 2 diabetes. We aimed to study the effects of daytime napping and the joint effects of napping and sleep duration in predicting type 2 diabetes risk in a middle- to older-aged British population. In 1998-2000, 13 465 individuals with no known diabetes participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer-Norfolk study reported daytime napping habit and 24-h sleep duration. Incident type 2 diabetes cases were identified through multiple data sources until 31 July 2006. After adjustment for age and sex, daytime napping was associated with a 58% higher diabetes risk. Further adjustment for education, marital status, smoking, alcohol intake, physical activity, comorbidities and hypnotic drug use had little influence on the association, but additional adjustment for BMI and Waist Circumference attenuated the Odds ratio (OR) (95% CI) to 1.30 (1.01, 1.69). The adjusted ORs (95% CI) associated with short and long sleep duration were 1.46 (1.10, 1.90) and 1.64 (1.16, 2.32), respectively. When sleep duration and daytime napping were examined together, the risk of developing diabetes more than doubled for those who took day naps and had less than 6 h of sleep, compared to those who did not nap and had 6-8 h of sleep. Daytime napping was associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, particularly when combined with short sleep duration. Further physiological studies are needed to confirm the interaction between different domains of sleep in relation to diabetes risk. Copyright © 2016 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Environmental and economic aspects of water kiosks: Case study of a medium-sized Italian town

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Torretta, Vincenzo, E-mail: vincenzo.torretta@uninsubria.it

2013-05-15

The consumption of bottled water in Italy began in the 1970s. Since then, this usage has grown considerably, also as a result of changes in habits. The environmental impact as a result of the water production chain is very significant; it would be considered, for example, the use of plastic bottles, the consumption of oil in the production of the bottles, the emission of air from the vehicles that transport the bottles, non-recycled plastic packaging, etc. In this study, considering the comparison between two situations, use of bottled water and use of water kiosk (WK), an environmental and economic impactmore » evaluation has been done. The study considered the production of a WK in a town with 9000 inhabitants, which supplies controlled, still and sparkling water, with an organoleptic quality higher than tap water coming from the aqueduct. In particular, taking into consideration the environmental aspects, specific attention was paid both to CO{sub 2} emissions and PET bottle waste reduction. The economic impact evaluation was carried out from the consumer’s point of view. In order to provide a supply service that was economically sustainable, a calculation was done with the aim of determining a specific fee for the supplied water. Moreover, a comparison has been made between quality parameters achieved with the analysis of water from aqueducts with the limits established in the Italian legislation and the parameters of several Italian water brands. The study has the aim at considering the opportunity to follow a different people’s habits, closer to the concept of sustainability, reducing the environmental charge related to the realization, transport and consumption of plastic water bottles without significant reduction of the quality of the service and with convenient and interesting economic implications. In fact the results of the study show that the alternative of WKs is more efficient in economic and environmental terms respect to the use of bottled water.« less

Environmental and economic aspects of water kiosks: case study of a medium-sized Italian town.

PubMed

Torretta, Vincenzo

2013-05-01

The consumption of bottled water in Italy began in the 1970s. Since then, this usage has grown considerably, also as a result of changes in habits. The environmental impact as a result of the water production chain is very significant; it would be considered, for example, the use of plastic bottles, the consumption of oil in the production of the bottles, the emission of air from the vehicles that transport the bottles, non-recycled plastic packaging, etc. In this study, considering the comparison between two situations, use of bottled water and use of water kiosk (WK), an environmental and economic impact evaluation has been done. The study considered the production of a WK in a town with 9000 inhabitants, which supplies controlled, still and sparkling water, with an organoleptic quality higher than tap water coming from the aqueduct. In particular, taking into consideration the environmental aspects, specific attention was paid both to CO2 emissions and PET bottle waste reduction. The economic impact evaluation was carried out from the consumer's point of view. In order to provide a supply service that was economically sustainable, a calculation was done with the aim of determining a specific fee for the supplied water. Moreover, a comparison has been made between quality parameters achieved with the analysis of water from aqueducts with the limits established in the Italian legislation and the parameters of several Italian water brands. The study has the aim at considering the opportunity to follow a different people's habits, closer to the concept of sustainability, reducing the environmental charge related to the realization, transport and consumption of plastic water bottles without significant reduction of the quality of the service and with convenient and interesting economic implications. In fact the results of the study show that the alternative of WKs is more efficient in economic and environmental terms respect to the use of bottled water. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. 133842 PACIFIC AVE. ITALIANATE BUILDING ON LEFT IS THE ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

1. 1338-42 PACIFIC AVE. ITALIANATE BUILDING ON LEFT IS THE CITIZENS BANK AND THE IRVING BUILDING (1888-89). A HOMOGENEOUS DESIGN FOR THREE SEPERATE PROPERTY OWNERS, DESIGNED BY CARL AUGUST DARMER. - Union Depot Area Study, Tacoma, Pierce County, WA

Teachers and Decision-Making Processes: An Italian Exploratory Study on Individual and Collaborative Decisions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parmigiani, Davide

2012-01-01

This research was aimed at highlighting the decision-making processes of Italian teachers; in particular, we have focused on individual and collaborative decisions developed both during meetings and in the classroom. The study has underlined the features of teachers' decisions when decisions are made in groups and individually. A questionnaire was…

Career Search Self-Efficacy, Family Support, and Career Indecision with Italian Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nota, Laura; Ferrari, Lea; Solberg, V. Scott H.; Soresi, Salvatore

2007-01-01

Family support has been found to influence both career self-efficacy beliefs and career decision making. The purpose of this study was to verify whether career search self-efficacy could mediate the relationship between family support and career indecision. Using a sample of 253 Italian youth, the study found that, for male adolescents attending a…

A Multimedia Program Combining Special Purposes Italian with the Study of the Italian Economy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Calvi, Licia; Geerts, Walter

This paper describes the first phase of a project that applies multimedia and hypermedia technology to the study of modern languages. The approach differs from taditional ones in that language is not viewed from a conversational or grammatical perspective but through scenarios imitating the contexts of natural language use. In this phase, the…

The Process of Stress Assignment in Reading Aloud: Critical Issues from Studies on Italian

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sulpizio, Simone; Burani, Cristina; Colombo, Lucia

2015-01-01

In polysyllabic languages the assignment of stress is crucial for understanding the reading process. Here we review empirical evidence, drawn mainly from studies on Italian, and discuss critical issues in understanding reading. We first discuss the lexical and sublexical mechanisms responsible for stress assignment and propose that the former is…

Italian regional health system structure and expected cancer survival.

PubMed

Vercelli, Marina; Lillini, Roberto; Quaglia, Alberto; Capocaccia, Riccardo

2014-01-01

Few studies deal with the association of socioeconomic and health system resource variables with cancer survival at the Italian regional level, where the greatest number of decisions about social and health policies and resource allocations are taken. The present study aimed to describe the causal relationships between socioeconomic and health system resource factors and regional cancer survival and to compute the expected cancer survival at provincial, regional and area levels. Age-standardized relative survival at 5 years from diagnosis of cases incident in 1995-1998 and followed up to 2004 were derived by gender for 11 sites from the Italian Association of Cancer Registries data bank. The socioeconomic and health system resource variables, describing at a regional level the macro-economy, demography, labor market, and health resources for 1995-2005, came from the Health for All database. A principal components factor analysis was applied to the socioeconomic and health system resource variables. For every site, linear regression models were computed considering the relative survival at 5 years as a dependent variable and the principal components factor analysis factors as independent variables. The factors described the socioeconomic and health-related features of the regional systems and were causally related to the characteristics of the patient taken in charge. The models built by the factors allowed computation of the expected relative survival at 5 years with very good concordance with those observed at regional, macro-regional and national levels. In the regions without any cancer registry, survival was coherent with that of neighboring regions with similar socioeconomic and health system resources characteristics. The models highlighted the causal correlations between socioeconomic and health system resources and cancer survival, suggesting that they could be good evaluation tools for the efficiency of the resources allocation and use.

Anterior cruciate ligament injury profile in Italian Serie A1-A2 women's volleyball league.

PubMed

Devetag, Francesca; Mazzilli, Massimiliano; Benis, Roberto; LA Torre, Antonio; Bonato, Matteo

2018-01-01

The aim of this study was to assess how anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures with subsequent surgery reconstruction impact on the professional career of A1-A2 Italian women's volleyball league players. Using an observational study with a retrospective case-series design for ACL ruptures, 125 teams with 1488 players were monitored. Subjects had to report level, role, injury modality, lower limb injured, laterality, period of the season and age. A total of 34 ACL ruptures were reported. Thirty-three (97%) were non-contact and 1 (3%) with contact. Twenty-one (61.7%) occurred in landing from a jump attack, 3 (8.8%) in landing from wall jump, 1 (3%) with apparent contact and 9 (26.5%) in other landing conditions. The most injured knee was the left limb (22, 64.7%) respect to the right limb (12, 35.3%). Fourteen (41.2%) ruptures occurred in spikers, 10 (29.4%) in middle blockers, 6 (17.6%) in setters, 3 (8.8%) in liberos and 1 (3%) in opposite hitters. Nine (26.5%) occurred in pre-season period, 16 (47%) in the first round, 4 (11.8%) in the second round, and 5 (14.7%) during play-off. The average age of the first ACL rupture was 23±3 years. We observed that female volleyball players of A1-A2 Italian volleyball league occurred mostly in a left non-contact ACL rupture during a landing condition and the spikers were the players most at risk. Therefore, it is desirable that coaches teach players variations of landing in order to avoid possible chronic overloading of ACL.

Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT): recommendations from the Italian College of Breast Radiologists (ICBR) by the Italian Society of Medical Radiology (SIRM) and the Italian Group for Mammography Screening (GISMa).

PubMed

Bernardi, Daniela; Belli, Paolo; Benelli, Eva; Brancato, Beniamino; Bucchi, Lauro; Calabrese, Massimo; Carbonaro, Luca A; Caumo, Francesca; Cavallo-Marincola, Beatrice; Clauser, Paola; Fedato, Chiara; Frigerio, Alfonso; Galli, Vania; Giordano, Livia; Giorgi Rossi, Paolo; Golinelli, Paola; Morrone, Doralba; Mariscotti, Giovanna; Martincich, Laura; Montemezzi, Stefania; Naldoni, Carlo; Paduos, Adriana; Panizza, Pietro; Pediconi, Federica; Querci, Fiammetta; Rizzo, Antonio; Saguatti, Gianni; Tagliafico, Alberto; Trimboli, Rubina M; Zappa, Marco; Zuiani, Chiara; Sardanelli, Francesco

2017-10-01

This position paper, issued by ICBR/SIRM and GISMa, summarizes the evidence on DBT and provides recommendations for its use. In the screening setting, DBT in adjunct to digital mammography (DM) increased detection rate by 0.5-2.7‰ and decreased false positives by 0.8-3.6% compared to DM alone in observational and double-testing experimental studies. The reduction in recall rate could be less prominent in those screening programs which already have low recall rates with DM. The increase in radiation exposure associated with DM/DBT protocols has been solved by the introduction of synthetic mammograms (sDM) reconstructed from DBT datasets. Thus, whenever possible, sDM/DBT should be preferred to DM/DBT. However, before introducing DBT as a routine screening tool for average-risk women, we should wait for the results of randomized controlled trials and for a statistically significant and clinically relevant reduction in the interval cancer rate, hopefully associated with a reduction in the advanced cancer rate. Otherwise, a potential for overdiagnosis and overtreatment cannot be excluded. Studies exploring this issue are ongoing. Screening of women at intermediate risk should follow the same recommendations, with particular protocols for women with previous BC history. In high-risk women, if mammography is performed as an adjunct to MRI or in the case of MRI contraindications, sDM/DBT protocols are suggested. Evidence exists in favor of DBT usage in women with clinical symptoms/signs and asymptomatic women with screen-detected findings recalled for work-up. The possibility to perform needle biopsy or localization under DBT guidance should be offered when DBT-only findings need characterization or surgery.

Small field output factors evaluation with a microDiamond detector over 30 Italian centers.

PubMed

Russo, Serenella; Reggiori, Giacomo; Cagni, Elisabetta; Clemente, Stefania; Esposito, Marco; Falco, Maria Daniela; Fiandra, Christian; Giglioli, Francesca Romana; Marinelli, Marco; Marino, Carmelo; Masi, Laura; Pimpinella, Maria; Stasi, Michele; Strigari, Lidia; Talamonti, Cinzia; Villaggi, Elena; Mancosu, Pietro

2016-12-01

The aim of the study was a multicenter evaluation of MLC&jaws-defined small field output factors (OF) for different linear accelerator manufacturers and for different beam energies using the latest synthetic single crystal diamond detector commercially available. The feasibility of providing an experimental OF data set, useful for on-site measurements validation, was also evaluated. This work was performed in the framework of the Italian Association of Medical Physics (AIFM) SBRT working group. The project was subdivided in two phases: in the first phase each center measured OFs using their own routine detector for nominal field sizes ranging from 10×10cm 2 to 0.6×0.6cm 2 . In the second phase, the measurements were repeated in all centers using the PTW 60019 microDiamond detector. The project enrolled 30 Italian centers. Micro-ion chambers and silicon diodes were used for OF measurements in 24 and 6 centers respectively. Gafchromic films and TLDs were used for very small field OFs in 3 and 1 centers. Regarding the measurements performed with the user's detectors, OF standard deviations (SD) for field sizes down to 2×2cm 2 were in all cases <2.7%. In the second phase, a reduction of around 50% of the SD was obtained using the microDiamond detector. The measured values presented in this multicenter study provide a consistent dataset for OFs that could be a useful tool for improving dosimetric procedures in centers. The microDiamond data present a small variation among the centers confirming that this detector can contribute to improve overall accuracy in radiotherapy. Copyright © 2016 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cancer incidence and mortality for all causes in HIV-infected patients over a quarter century: a multicentre cohort study.

PubMed

Raffetti, Elena; Albini, Laura; Gotti, Daria; Segala, Daniela; Maggiolo, Franco; di Filippo, Elisa; Saracino, Annalisa; Ladisa, Nicoletta; Lapadula, Giuseppe; Fornabaio, Chiara; Castelnuovo, Filippo; Casari, Salvatore; Fabbiani, Massimiliano; Pierotti, Piera; Donato, Francesco; Quiros-Roldan, Eugenia

2015-03-12

We aimed to assess cancer incidence and mortality for all-causes and factors related to risk of death in an Italian cohort of HIV infected unselected patients as compared to the general population. We conducted a retrospective (1986-2012) cohort study on 16 268 HIV infected patients enrolled in the MASTER cohort. The standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) and standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were computed using cancer incidence rates of Italian Cancer Registries and official national data for overall mortality. The risk factors for death from all causes were assessed using Poisson regression models. 1,195 cancer cases were diagnosed from 1986 to 2012: 700 AIDS-defining-cancers (ADCs) and 495 non-AIDS-defining-cancers (NADCs). ADC incidence was much higher than the Italian population (SIR = 30.8, 95% confidence interval 27.9-34.0) whereas NADC incidence was similar to the general population (SIR = 0.9, 95% CI 0.8-1.1). The SMR for all causes was 11.6 (11.1-12.0) in the period, and it decreased over time, mainly after 1996, up to 3.53 (2.5-4.8) in 2012. Male gender, year of enrolment before 1993, older age at enrolment, intravenous drug use, low CD4 cell count, AIDS event, cancer occurrence and the absence of antiretroviral therapy were all associated independently with risk of death. In HIV infected patients, ADC but not NADC incidence rates were higher than the general population. Although overall mortality in HIV infected subjects decreased over time, it is about three-fold higher than the general population at present.

Is the perception of dysphonia severity language-dependent? A comparison of French and Italian voice assessments.

PubMed

Ghio, Alain; Cantarella, Giovanna; Weisz, Frédérique; Robert, Danièle; Woisard, Virginie; Fussi, Franco; Giovanni, Antoine; Baracca, Giovanna

2015-04-01

In this cross-language study, six Italian and six French voice experts evaluated perceptually the speech of 27 Italian and 40 French patients with dysphonia to determine if there were differences based on native language. French and Italian voice specialists agreed substantially in their evaluations of the overall grade of dysphonia and moderately concerning roughness and breathiness. No statistically significant effects were found related to the language of the speakers with the exception of breathiness, a finding that was interpreted as being due to different voice pathologies in the patient groups. It was concluded that the perception of the overall grade of dysphonia and breathiness is not language-dependent, whereas the significant difference in the perception of roughness may be related to a perception/adaption process.

Evaluation of Legionella pneumophila contamination in Italian hotel water systems by quantitative real-time PCR and culture methods.

PubMed

Bonetta, Sa; Bonetta, Si; Ferretti, E; Balocco, F; Carraro, E

2010-05-01

This study was designed to define the extent of water contamination by Legionella pneumophila of certain Italian hotels and to compare quantitative real-time PCR with the conventional culture method. Nineteen Italian hotels of different sizes were investigated. In each hotel three hot water samples (boiler, room showers, recycling) and one cold water sample (inlet) were collected. Physico-chemical parameters were also analysed. Legionella pneumophila was detected in 42% and 74% of the hotels investigated by the culture method and by real-time PCR, respectively. In 21% of samples analysed by the culture method, a concentration of >10(4) CFU l(-1) was found, and Leg. pneumophila serogroup 1 was isolated from 10.5% of the hotels. The presence of Leg. pneumophila was significantly influenced by water sample temperature, while no association with water hardness or residual-free chlorine was found. This study showed a high percentage of buildings colonized by Leg. pneumophila. Moreover, real-time PCR proved to be sensitive enough to detect lower levels of contamination than the culture method. This study indicates that the Italian hotels represent a possible source of risk for Legionnaires' disease and confirms the sensitivity of the molecular method. To our knowledge, this is the first report to demonstrate Legionella contamination in Italian hotels using real-time PCR and culture methods.

Diagnosis and management of newly diagnosed childhood autoimmune haemolytic anaemia. Recommendations from the Red Cell Study Group of the Paediatric Haemato-Oncology Italian Association

PubMed Central

Ladogana, Saverio; Maruzzi, Matteo; Samperi, Piera; Perrotta, Silverio; Del Vecchio, Giovanni C.; Notarangelo, Lucia D.; Farruggia, Piero; Verzegnassi, Federico; Masera, Nicoletta; Saracco, Paola; Fasoli, Silvia; Miano, Maurizio; Girelli, Gabriella; Barcellini, Wilma; Zanella, Alberto; Russo, Giovanna

2017-01-01

Autoimmune haemolytic anaemia is an uncommon disorder to which paediatric haematology centres take a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. The Red Cell Working Group of the Italian Association of Paediatric Onco-haematology (Associazione Italiana di Ematologia ed Oncologia Pediatrica, AIEOP) developed this document in order to collate expert opinions on the management of newly diagnosed childhood autoimmune haemolytic anaemia. The diagnostic process includes the direct and indirect antiglobulin tests; recommendations are given regarding further diagnostic tests, specifically in the cases that the direct and indirect antiglobulin tests are negative. Clear-cut definitions of clinical response are stated. Specific recommendations for treatment include: dosage of steroid therapy and tapering modality for warm autoimmune haemolytic anaemia; the choice of rituximab as first-line therapy for the rare primary transfusion-dependent cold autoimmune haemolytic anaemia; the indications for supportive therapy; the need for switching to second-line therapy. Each statement is provided with a score expressing the level of appropriateness and the agreement among participants. PMID:28151390

The development procedures and tools applied for the attitude control software of the Italian satellite SAX

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hameetman, G. J.; Dekker, G. J.

1993-11-01

The Italian satellite (with a large Dutch contribution) SAX is a scientific satellite which has the mission to study roentgen sources. One main requirement for the Attitude and Orbit Control Subsystem (AOCS) is to achieve and maintain a stable pointing accuracy with a limit cycle of less than 90 arcsec during pointings of maximal 28 hours. The main SAX instrument, the Narrow Field Instrument, is highly sensitive to (indirect) radiation coming from the Sun. This sensitivity leads to another main requirement that under no circumstances the safe attitude domain may be left. The paper describes the application software in relation with the overall SAX AOCS subsystem, the CASE tools that have been used during the development, some advantages and disadvantages of the use of these tools, the measures taken to meet the more or less conflicting requirements of reliability and flexibility, and the lessons learned during development. The quality of the approach to the development has proven the (separately executed) hardware/software integration tests. During these tests, a neglectible number of software errors has been detected in the application software.

Long-term simulations of thermal and hydraulic characteristics in a mountain massif: The Mont Blanc case study, French and Italian Alps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maréchal, J. C.; Perrochet, P.; Tacher, L.

1999-08-01

The use of hydrothermal simulation models to improve the prediction of water inflows in underground works during drilling is tested in the Mont Blanc tunnel, French and Italian Alps. The negative thermal anomaly that was observed during the drilling of this tunnel in 1960 is reproduced by long-term, transient hydrothermal simulations. Sensitivity analysis shows the great inertia of thermal phenomena at the massif scale. At the time of tunnel drilling, the massif had not reached thermal equilibrium. Therefore, a set of simulation scenarios, beginning at the end of the last glacial period, was designed to explain the anomaly encountered in the tunnel in 1960. The continuous cooling of alpine massifs due to infiltration of waters from the surface has occurred for 12,000 years and is expected to continue for about 100,000 years. Comparisons of water-discharge rates simulated in the tunnel with those observed indicate that this hydrothermal method is a useful tool for predicting water inflows in underground works.

The biological response chain to pollution: a case study from the "Italian Triangle of Death" assessed with the liverwort Lunularia cruciata.

PubMed

Basile, Adriana; Loppi, Stefano; Piscopo, Marina; Paoli, Luca; Vannini, Andrea; Monaci, Fabrizio; Sorbo, Sergio; Lentini, Marco; Esposito, Sergio

2017-12-01

The liverwort Lunularia cruciata, known for being a species tolerant to pollution able to colonize urban areas, was collected in the town of Acerra (South Italy) to investigate the biological effects of air pollution in one of the three vertices of the so-called Italian Triangle of Death. The ultrastructural damages observed by transmission electron microscopy in specimens collected in Acerra were compared with samples collected in the city center of Naples and in a small rural site far from sources of air pollution (Riccia, Molise, Southern Italy). The biological response chain to air pollution was investigated considering vitality, photosynthetic efficiency, heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) induction and gene expression levels, and chlorophyll degradation and related ultrastructural alterations. Particularly, a significant increment in Hsp70 expression and occurrence, and modifications in the chloroplasts' ultrastructure can be strictly related to the environmental pollution conditions in the three sites. The results could be interpreted in relation to the use of these parameters as biomarkers for environmental pollution.

First evidence of a large CHEK2 duplication involved in cancer predisposition in an Italian family with hereditary breast cancer.

PubMed

Tedaldi, Gianluca; Danesi, Rita; Zampiga, Valentina; Tebaldi, Michela; Bedei, Lucia; Zoli, Wainer; Amadori, Dino; Falcini, Fabio; Calistri, Daniele

2014-07-01

CHEK2 is a multi-cancer susceptibility gene whose common germline mutations are known to contribute to the risk of developing breast and prostate cancer. Here, we describe an Italian family with a high number of cases of breast cancer and other types of tumour subjected to the MLPA test to verify the presence of BRCA1, BRCA2 and CHEK2 deletions and duplications. We identified a new 23-kb duplication in the CHEK2 gene extending from intron 5 to 13 that was associated with breast cancer in the family. The presence and localisation of the alteration was confirmed by a second analysis by Next-Generation Sequencing. This finding suggests that CHEK2 mutations are heterogeneous and that techniques other than sequencing, such as MLPA, are needed to identify CHEK2 mutations. It also indicates that CHEK2 rare variants, such as duplications, can confer a high susceptibility to cancer development and should thus be studied in depth as most of our knowledge of CHEK2 concerns common mutations.

English as a Foreign Language in Bilingual Language-minority Children, Children with Dyslexia and Monolingual Typical Readers.

PubMed

Bonifacci, Paola; Canducci, Elisa; Gravagna, Giulia; Palladino, Paola

2017-05-01

The present study was aimed at investigating literacy skills in English as a foreign language in three different groups of children: monolinguals with dyslexia (n = 19), typically developing bilinguals (language-minority) (n = 19) and a control group of monolinguals (Italian) (n = 76). Bilinguals were not expected to fail in English measures, and their gap with monolinguals would be expected to be limited to the instructional language, owing to underexposure. All participants were enrolled in Italian primary schools (fourth and fifth grades). A non-verbal reasoning task and Italian and English literacy tasks were administered. The Italian battery included word and non-word reading (speed and accuracy), word and non-word writing, and reading comprehension; the English battery included similar tasks, except for the non-word writing. Bilingual children performed similarly to typical readers in English tasks, whereas in Italian tasks, their performance was similar to that of typical readers in reading speed but not in reading accuracy and writing. Children with dyslexia underperformed compared with typically developing children in all English and Italian tasks, except for reading comprehension in Italian. Profile analysis and correlational analyses were further discussed. These results suggest that English as a foreign language might represent a challenge for students with dyslexia but a strength for bilingual language-minority children. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Muscle dysmorphia in different degrees of bodybuilding activities: validation of the Italian version of Muscle Dysmorphia Disorder Inventory and Bodybuilder Image Grid.

PubMed

Santarnecchi, Emiliano; Dèttore, Davide

2012-06-01

The purpose of the study was to validate two measures of muscle dysmorphia (MD) into the Italian language. The sample included three participant groups: (1) competing bodybuilders, (2) non-competing bodybuilders, and (3) non-bodybuilding controls. In general the Italian versions of the scales showed psychometric utility that is consistent with the original instruments. The severity of MD was greater for competing bodybuilders than non-competing bodybuilders and controls. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Naples: the historic capital of Italian paediatrics].

PubMed

Farnetani, I; Farnetani, F

2008-06-01

No other Italian city has contributed to the birth and development of paediatrics more than Naples. This is why it can be considered the historic capital of Italian paediatrics. Here are the main reasons: Luigi Somma was the first professor of Italian paediatrics whereas Francesco Fede was the first president of the Italian Paediatrics Association. Neapolitan paediatricians have been the most numerous amongst the founder members. The first three Italian journals of paediatrics were founded in Naples as well as the journal ''La Pediatria'' which was the most distributed and long-lasting journal in this field. Moreover, Neapolitans have been the most numerous presidents of the Italian Paediatrics Association, while Rocco Jemma was the one who remained the longest in charge. ''Rocco Jemma's school'' taught not only to most professors in paediatrics who afterwards taught in most Italian universities, but also four out of five paediatricians who took charge of the position as president. The first regional department of the Italian Paediatrics Association was founded in Naples as well as the Association of Nipiology.

Mobile Learning in Foreign Language Learning: Podcasts and Lexicon Acquisition in the Elementary Instruction of Italian

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Unterrainer, Eva Maria

2012-01-01

This paper illustrates the research design (including the pilot study) of a work-in-progress study aimed at examining the potential of bilingual podcasts for the vocabulary acquisition in Italian as an L3 in the Austrian school context for beginning learners. The longitudinal study tries to link findings of the Lexical Approach (Lewis, 1993, 1997)…

A genome-wide association meta-analysis identifies a novel locus at 17q11.2 associated with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

PubMed Central

Fogh, Isabella; Ratti, Antonia; Gellera, Cinzia; Lin, Kuang; Tiloca, Cinzia; Moskvina, Valentina; Corrado, Lucia; Sorarù, Gianni; Cereda, Cristina; Corti, Stefania; Gentilini, Davide; Calini, Daniela; Castellotti, Barbara; Mazzini, Letizia; Querin, Giorgia; Gagliardi, Stella; Del Bo, Roberto; Conforti, Francesca L.; Siciliano, Gabriele; Inghilleri, Maurizio; Saccà, Francesco; Bongioanni, Paolo; Penco, Silvana; Corbo, Massimo; Sorbi, Sandro; Filosto, Massimiliano; Ferlini, Alessandra; Di Blasio, Anna M.; Signorini, Stefano; Shatunov, Aleksey; Jones, Ashley; Shaw, Pamela J.; Morrison, Karen E.; Farmer, Anne E.; Van Damme, Philip; Robberecht, Wim; Chiò, Adriano; Traynor, Bryan J.; Sendtner, Michael; Melki, Judith; Meininger, Vincent; Hardiman, Orla; Andersen, Peter M.; Leigh, Nigel P.; Glass, Jonathan D.; Overste, Daniel; Diekstra, Frank P.; Veldink, Jan H.; van Es, Michael A.; Shaw, Christopher E.; Weale, Michael E.; Lewis, Cathryn M.; Williams, Julie; Brown, Robert H.; Landers, John E.; Ticozzi, Nicola; Ceroni, Mauro; Pegoraro, Elena; Comi, Giacomo P.; D'Alfonso, Sandra; van den Berg, Leonard H.; Taroni, Franco; Al-Chalabi, Ammar; Powell, John; Silani, Vincenzo; Brescia Morra, Vincenzo; Filla, Alessandro; Massimo, Filosto; Marsili, Angela; Viviana, Pensato; Puorro, Giorgia; La Bella, Vincenzo; Logroscino, Giancarlo; Monsurrò, Maria Rosaria; Quattrone, Aldo; Simone, Isabella Laura; Ahmeti, Kreshnik B.; Ajroud-Driss, Senda; Armstrong, Jennifer; Birve, Anne; Blauw, Hylke M.; Bruijn, Lucie; Chen, Wenjie; Comeau, Mary C.; Cronin, Simon; Soraya, Gkazi Athina; Grab, Josh D.; Groen, Ewout J.; Haines, Jonathan L.; Heller, Scott; Huang, Jie; Hung, Wu-Yen; Jaworski, James M.; Khan, Humaira; Langefeld, Carl D.; Marion, Miranda C.; McLaughlin, Russell L.; Miller, Jack W.; Mora, Gabriele; Pericak-Vance, Margaret A.; Rampersaud, Evadnie; Siddique, Nailah; Siddique, Teepu; Smith, Bradley N.; Sufit, Robert; Topp, Simon; Vance, Caroline; van Vught, Paul; Yang, Yi; Zheng, J.G.

2014-01-01

Identification of mutations at familial loci for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has provided novel insights into the aetiology of this rapidly progressing fatal neurodegenerative disease. However, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of the more common (∼90%) sporadic form have been less successful with the exception of the replicated locus at 9p21.2. To identify new loci associated with disease susceptibility, we have established the largest association study in ALS to date and undertaken a GWAS meta-analytical study combining 3959 newly genotyped Italian individuals (1982 cases and 1977 controls) collected by SLAGEN (Italian Consortium for the Genetics of ALS) together with samples from Netherlands, USA, UK, Sweden, Belgium, France, Ireland and Italy collected by ALSGEN (the International Consortium on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Genetics). We analysed a total of 13 225 individuals, 6100 cases and 7125 controls for almost 7 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We identified a novel locus with genome-wide significance at 17q11.2 (rs34517613 with P = 1.11 × 10−8; OR 0.82) that was validated when combined with genotype data from a replication cohort (P = 8.62 × 10−9; OR 0.833) of 4656 individuals. Furthermore, we confirmed the previously reported association at 9p21.2 (rs3849943 with P = 7.69 × 10−9; OR 1.16). Finally, we estimated the contribution of common variation to heritability of sporadic ALS as ∼12% using a linear mixed model accounting for all SNPs. Our results provide an insight into the genetic structure of sporadic ALS, confirming that common variation contributes to risk and that sufficiently powered studies can identify novel susceptibility loci. PMID:24256812