SARS-CoV-2 Breakthrough Infections: Incidence and Risk Factors in a Large European Multicentric Cohort of Health Workers.

Background: The research aimed to investigate the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections and their determinants in a large European cohort of more than 60,000 health workers. Methods: A multicentric retrospective cohort study, involving 12 European centers, was carried out within the ORCHESTRA project, collecting data up to 18 November 2021 on fully vaccinated health workers. The cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections was investigated with its association with occupational and social-demographic characteristics (age, sex, job title, previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, antibody titer levels, and time from the vaccination course completion). Results: Among 64,172 health workers from 12 European health centers, 797 breakthrough infections were observed (cumulative incidence of 1.2%). The primary analysis using individual data on 8 out of 12 centers showed that age and previous infection significantly modified breakthrough infection rates. In the meta-analysis of aggregated data from all centers, previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and the standardized antibody titer were inversely related to the risk of breakthrough infection (p = 0.008 and p = 0.007, respectively). Conclusion: The inverse correlation of antibody titer with the risk of breakthrough infection supports the evidence that vaccination plays a primary role in infection prevention, especially in health workers. Cellular immunity, previous clinical conditions, and vaccination timing should be further investigated

Proteolytic Activity of Escherichia coli Oligopeptidase B Against Proline-Rich Antimicrobial Peptides.

Oligopeptidase B (OpdB) is a serine peptidase widespread among bacteria and protozoa that has emerged as a virulence factor despite its function has not yet been precisely established. By using an OpdB-overexpressing Escherichia coli strain, we found that the overexpressed peptidase makes the bacterial cells specifically less susceptible to several proline-rich antimicrobial peptides known to penetrate into the bacterial cytosol, and that its level of activity directly correlates with the degree of resistance. We established that E. coli OpdB can efficiently hydrolyze in vitro cationic antimicrobial peptides up to 30 residues in length, even though they contained several prolines, shortening them to inactive fragments. Two consecutive basic residues are a preferred cleavage site for the peptidase. In the case of a single basic residue, there is no cleavage if proline residues are present in the P1 and P2 positions. These results also indicate that cytosolic peptidases may cause resistance to antimicrobial peptides that have an intracellular mechanism of action, such as the proline-rich peptides, and may contribute to define the substrate specificity of the E. coli OpdB

Work/vision relationship in a preventive medicine context: Initial guidelines for a correct ergophthalmologic approach proposed by the Italian Group for the Study of Work/Vision Relationships. Part 2: Methods

In view of the numerous problems concerning the relationship between work and vision, the Italian Group for the Study of Work/Vision Relationships has developed a document that sets out initial guidelines for environmental monitoring and health surveillance in ergophthalmology. Particular emphasis is given to fact-finding inspections and collection of subjective assessments that will enable the occupational health physician to identify any adverse factors in the working environment and assess the visual effort of the operators. The importance of cooperation between occupational health physician and ophthalmologists in the various phases of ergophthalmological assessment is stressed. An analytical list is provided of the parameters that the ophthalmologist should measure during eye examination as well as the appropriate assessments that the occupational health physician should perform if an ophthalmological specialist is not available. Suggestions for periodic controls on the basis of visual effort and ophthalmological status are made. It is the task of the occupational health physician to establish the fitness or otherwise of the patients for the job, and for this the Group is preparing further documents

Work/vision relationship in a preventive medicine context: Inital guidelines for a correct ergophthalmologic approach proposed by the Italian Group for the Study of Work/Vision Relationships. Part 1: Presentation

Modern technology poses numerous and complex problems concerning the implications for health in the work/vision relationship. While many of the hypotheses made in the past about the possibility of serious eye alterations in non-industrial workers have not been confirmed by recent investigations, considerable attention is at present being addressed to the short- and long-term effects of office work, especially in the case of tasks requiring prolonged visual effort 'at near point'. The prevalence of asthenopia in such workers is rather high, between 40 and 80%. The considerable aspecificity of the symptoms and the shortcomings in assessment of exposure in most of the research done so far has meant that no clear and unequivocable causal relationship between work involving intense visual effort and onset of asthenopia has been established. Nevertheless, from an analysis of the literature three main guidelines for a correct ergophthalmologic assessment can be identified: a) ophthalmologic assessments that will detect any transitory inefficiencies of the accomodation and convergence system; b) specific analysis of the technical and illumination conditions with special attention to the distribution of the natural and artificial light sources; c) quantification of airborne pollutants that have a potential irritative effect on the 'ocular surface'. Other environmental parameters that could be considered are electric and magnetic fields in the vicinity of VDTs and PCs and the microclimate of the workplace

Linee guida per la Sorveglianza Sanitaria in agricoltura

Nel Dicembre 2012 gli Organismi Dirigenti della Societ\ue0 Italiana di Medicina del Lavoro e Igiene Industriale (SIMLII) si sono impegnati in un programma ambizioso ed impegnativo volto ad aggiornare, entro la fine del 2014, la vigente normativa di tutte le linee guida fino ad oggi pubblicate. L\u2019agricoltura rappresenta tradizionalmente un importante settore dell\u2019economia italiana. Queste Linee Guida SIMLII per la Sorveglianza Sanitaria in agricoltura rappresentano un importantissimo strumento di supporto all\u2019attivit\ue0 del Medico Competente impegnato in questo delicato settore

Linee Guida per la Sorveglianza Sanitaria in Agricoltura

Volume di linee guida per la sorveglianza sanitaria in agricoltura. Sono affrontati i principali fattori di rischio, le mansioni e le tipologie di esposizione