Dioxins levels in breast milk of women living in Caserta and Naples : Assessment of environmental risk factors

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Gastroenteritis Outbreak at Holiday Resort, Central Italy

Gastroenteritis Outbreak at Holiday Resort, Central Ital

Study of an intrinsically safe infrastructure for training and research on nuclear technologies

Within European Partitioning & Transmutation research programs, infrastructures specifically dedicated to the study of fundamental reactor physics and engineering parameters of future fast-neutron-based reactors are very important, being some of these features not available in present zero-power prototypes. This presentation will illustrate the conceptual design of an Accelerator-Driven System with high safety standards, but ample flexibility for measurements. The design assumes as base option a 70MeV, 0.75mA proton cyclotron, as the one which will be installed at the INFN National Laboratory in Legnaro, Italy and a Beryllium target, with Helium gas as core coolant. Safety is guaranteed by limiting the thermal power to 200 kW, with a neutron multiplication coefficient around 0.94, loading the core with fuel containing Uranium enriched at 20% inserted in a solid-lead diffuser. The small decay heat can be passively removed by thermal radiation from the vessel. Such a system could be used to study, among others, some specific aspects of neutron diffusion in lead, beam-core coupling, target cooling and could serve as a training facility

Economic aspects and managerial implications of the new technology in the treatment of low back pain

BACKGROUND: The Human Body Posturizer (HPB), an innovative therapeutic tool able to correct postural changes dynamically, fits perfectly in this framework. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper is to consider the potential economic benefits of using the Human Body Posturizer both in terms of direct and indirect cost reduction in one year. METHODS: This study was carried out using an estimation method in order to investigate the possible economic impact related to the adoption of the HBP in subjects with low back pain as an attempt to quantify the costs (direct and indirect) generated at different levels of the path therapeutic. RESULTS: The use of therapy with HBP would generate a saving of € 971.40/year in case of sub-Acute LBP and amounted to € 2,922.90/year in case of chronic low back pain. CONCLUSION: This paper provides guidance on the potential economic benefits resulting from the adoption of the Human Body Posturizer as an innovative therapeutic approach by the Italian Health System

Ticlopidine-induced cholestasis

Objective: To investigate the effect of ticlopidine on bile secretion and liver ultrastructure in an attempt to reproduce in vitro ticlopidine-induced cholestatic syndrome in humans. Design: Bile flow, bile salt secretion, enzyme (lactic dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase) release in the perfusate and liver ultrastructure were studied in isolated perfused rat liver after exposure to ticlopidine. Results: A single pulse of 10 or 30 mg ticlopidine (33 or 99[mu]mol/l solution) induced no significant change in bile flow and bile salt secretion. When three consecutive 10 mg pulses of ticlopidine were administered (33[mu]mol/l solution perfused for 15-25 min, 40-50 min and 65-75 min; n = 7), the last ticlopidine administration induced a progressive 45% inhibition of bile flow associated with a 53% inhibition of bile salt secretion (P<0.02 versus controls). Ultrastructural observation of cholestatic livers showed some features of intrahepatic cholestasis with numerous electron dense bile bodies and granules in the hepatocyte cytoplasm, but without necrosis or significant damage of intracellular organelles. The bile canaliculus appeared to be almost normal. Conclusions: Repeated acute administration of ticlopidine promotes marked cholestasis in isolated perfused rat liver, reproducing the adverse effect of the drug in humans. These findings show that cholestasis may be caused directly by ticlopidine or by its hepatic metabolites rather than by a drug hypersensitivity

Impaired human gallbladder lipid absorption in cholesterol gallstone disease and its effects on cholesterol solubility in bile

Abstract: Background & Aims: The role of the gallbladder in gallstone pathogenesis is still unclear. We examined the effects of gallbladder mucosal lipid absorption on lipid composition and cholesterol crystallization in bile. Methods: The in vitro-isolated, intra-arterially perfused gallbladder model was used (1) to compare the absorption rates of lipids from standard bile by gallbladders obtained from 7 patients with cholesterol gallstones and 6 controls; and (2) to measure the microscopic cholesterol crystal detection time in cholesterol-enriched pig bile before and after lipid absorption by the pig gallbladder. Results: Control gallbladders, but not cholesterol gallstone gallbladders, significantly reduced cholesterol (P < 0.02) and phospholipid (P < 0.01) and increased bile salt (P < 0.01) molar percentages in bile over a 5-hour period by efficient and selective cholesterol and phospholipid absorption. A histomorphometric study of the epithelial cells showed significantly higher values for nuclear density (P < 0.01) and nuclear (P < 0.05) and cytoplasmic (P < 0.05) areas in the cholesterol gallstone than the control group. Sequential microscopy of cholesterol-enriched pig bile showed significantly shorter cholesterol filament (P < 0.01) and typical cholesterol plate (P < 0.02) detection times before than after exposure of bile to the gallbladder lipid absorption. Conclusions: In cholesterol gallstone disease, the human gallbladder epithelium loses its capacity to selectively and efficiently absorb cholesterol and phospholipids from bile, even if it is hyperplastic and hypertrophic. This epithelial dysfunction eliminates the positive effect that the normal gallbladder exerts on cholesterol solubility in bile and might be a pathogenetic cofactor for cholesterol gallstone formation

THE HUMAN GALLBLADDER INCREASES CHOLESTEROL SOLUBILITY IN BILE BY DIFFERENTIAL LIPID ABSORPTION: A STUDY USING A NEW IN VITRO MODEL OF ISOLATED INTRA-ARTERIALLY PERFUSED GALLBLADDER

Abstract: In this study, we first developed and validated a new in vitro isolated, intra-arterially perfused, gallbladder model and then applied the method to investigate the absorption of biliary lipids by the gallbladder wall and the effect of this process on the composition of human bile. Oxygenated and glucose-added buffer was perfused through the cystic artery to maintain organ viability. A standard pooled natural bile, radiolabeled with H-3-cholesterol and C-14-palmitoyl-linoleoyl-phosphatidylcholine, was instilled in the lumen via a cystic duct catheter. Changes in bile volume and lipid concentrations were monitored at time intervals to evaluate the disappearance of lipids from bile caused by gallbladder absorptive function. Organ viability was demonstrated by stable lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) organ release and oxygen consumption throughout the experiments. In the pig, disappearance rates of lipids from bile were similar in vitro and in vivo, demonstrating the validity of the isolated in vitro model for functional studies. By applying our in vitro isolated preparation to the human gallbladder, we found that 23% of cholesterol and 32% of phosphatidylcholine, but only 9% of bile salts, disappeared from bile in 5 hours. As a consequence, at the end of the experiments, cholesterol (P < .05) and phospholipid (P < .05) molar percentages were significantly reduced, while the bile salt (P < .05) molar percentage was significantly increased with respect tc, values at the beginning of the studies. Our findings are of pathophysiological relevance and support the concept that the human gallbladder modifies the relative composition of biliary lipids in such a way as to increase cholesterol solubility in bile

An outbreak of gastroenteritis in a holiday resort in Italy: epidemiological survey, implementation and application of preventive measures

A major gastroenteritis outbreak was reported in a vacation resort in Central Italy in 2003. A total of 183 cases were identified. The case-control study identified a statistically significant correlation between the disease and sea bathing, use of sanitary facilities in bungalows and of common showers. Stool samples taken from people affected were found positive for Norovirus (68%, 13 of 19 samples), Rotavirus (38%, 1 of 14 samples) and Campylobacter (7%, 3 of 8 samples). Environmental investigations revealed serious faecal contamination of the groundwater and the presence of Norovirus in the seawater near the resort. The mixing of groundwater and seawater with the non-drinking water system - which was also found to be connected to the drinking water system - had a primary role in the onset and spread of infection within the village. The complete absence of any gastroenteritis epidemics among the site guests since 2006 demonstrates the effectiveness of the environmental corrective measures taken

Experiences in Delivering Teaching and Learning Practices in Establishments of Veterinary Education of the Mediterranean Region Under COVID-19 Pandemic: From Crisis to Opportunities

International audienceIn this study, the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic crisis on veterinary education in selected members of the Mediterranean Networkof Veterinary Education Establishments (Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Italy, Turkey, Jordan, Morocco, and Tunis) was analyzed. The challengespresented by the pandemic and new approaches and practices adopted by different veterinary education establishments in the Mediterraneanregion to address the long-term consequences of coronavirus disease 2019 on veterinary education were highlighted. Although countries in thisregion followed different epidemiological policies, restrictions of access of veterinary students to teaching hospitals, extramural facilities, andlaboratories were prolonged over the entire time during 2020 and 2021 in most of the veterinary education establishments. It could be concludedthat strengthening the existing networks of veterinary education establishments in the region by sharing experiences, standardization of curricula(regional and international accreditation), and networking are seen as an opportunity for improvement of the quality of teaching and competencein this digital era. Unfortunately, more work is still required to achieve such an ambitious agenda including galvanization of public demands for quality education, political will to implement changes, and securing financial support and other resources to continue program development across the regio

Full Genome Characterization of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Causing a Fatal Infection in an Immunocompromised Patient in Tunisia

Human orthopneumovirus (HRSV) is a virus belonging to the Pneumovirus genus that causes lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) in infants worldwide. In Tunisia, thousands of infants hospitalized for LRTI are found to be positive for HRSV but no whole genome sequences of HRSV strains circulating in this country are available thus far. In this study, five nasal swab samples collected at different time points from a three-month-old female baby with severe immunodeficiency that was hospitalized for acute bronchiolitis were investigated by next generation sequencing. The Tunisian sequences from this study originated from samples collected in 2021, belong to the ON1 genotype of HRSV-A, and are clustered with European sequences from 2019 and not from 2020 or 2021. This is most likely related to local region-specific transmission of different HRSV-A variants due to the COVID-19 related travel restrictions. Overall, this is the first report describing the whole genome sequence of HRSV from Tunisia. However, more sequence data is needed to better understand the genetic diversity and transmission dynamic of HRSV