Is depression a real risk factor for acute myocardial infarction mortality? A retrospective cohort study

Background: Depression has been associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular events and a higher mortality in patients with one or more comorbidities. This study investigated whether continuative use of antidepressants (ADs), considered as a proxy of a state of depression, prior to acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is associated with a higher mortality afterwards. The outcome to assess was mortality by AD use. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in the Veneto Region on hospital discharge records with a primary diagnosis of AMI in 2002-2015. Subsequent deaths were ascertained from mortality records. Drug purchases were used to identify AD users. A descriptive analysis was conducted on patients' demographics and clinical data. Survival after discharge was assessed with a Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox's multiple regression model. Results: Among 3985 hospital discharge records considered, 349 (8.8%) patients were classified as AD users'. The mean AMI-related hospitalization rate was 164.8/100,000 population/year, and declined significantly from 204.9 in 2002 to 130.0 in 2015, but only for AD users (-40.4%). The mean overall follow-up was 4.64.1years. Overall, 523 patients (13.1%) died within 30days of their AMI. The remainder survived a mean 5.3 +/- 4.0years. After adjusting for potential confounders, use of antidepressants was independently associated with mortality (adj OR=1.75, 95% CI: 1.40-2.19). Conclusions: Our findings show that AD users hospitalized for AMI have a worse prognosis in terms of mortality. The use of routinely-available records can prove an efficient way to monitor trends in the state of health of specific subpopulations, enabling the early identification of AMI survivors with a history of antidepressant use

Performance engineering for microservices and serverless applications: the RADON approach

Microservices and serverless are becoming integral parts of mod-ern cloud-based applications. Tailored performance engineering isneeded for assuring that the applications meet their requirementsfor quality attributes such as timeliness, resource efficiency, andelasticity. A novel DevOps-based framework for developing mi-croservices and serverless applications is being developed in theRADON project. RADON contributes to performance engineeringby including novel approaches for modeling, deployment optimiza-tion, testing, and runtime management. This paper summarizes thecontents of our tutorial presented at the 11th ACM/SPEC Interna-tional Conference on Performance Engineering (ICPE)

Mense e personale addetto alle cucine: valutazione dei rischi occupazionali

The aim of the study is to evaluate the occupational risks among food service workers and cooks. During the occupational risks assessment the following risk factors must be evaluated: musculoskeletal disorders, chemical risk (cleaning kitchen work surface, dishes, utensils ecc.) biological risk (contact with foods or biological agents) cancerogenic risk (by baking smoke inhalation), and psycho-social stress. In this study the preventive measures and protective equipment to prevent health hazards for these workers have been evaluated (i.e. aspiration hood, adapted ventilation, chosen of less harmful methods of baking, ecc.). In particular the performance of rigid behavioural norms and hygienic procedures is very important for cooks and food service workers to reduce the risk of occupational infections

The importance of passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags for measuring life-history traits of sea turtles

Capture-mark-recapture studies rely on the identification of individuals through time, using markers or tags, which are assumed to be retained. This assumption, however, may be violated, having implications for population models. In sea turtles, individual identification is typically based on external flipper tags, which can be combined with internal passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags. Despite the extensive use of flipper tags, few studies have modelled tag loss using continuous functions. Using a 26-year dataset for sympatrically nesting green (Chelonia mydas) and loggerhead (Caretta caretta) turtles, this study aims to assess how PIT tag use increases the accuracy of estimates of life-history traits. The addition of PIT tags improved female identification: between 2000 and 2017, 53% of green turtles and 29% of loggerhead turtles were identified from PIT tags alone. We found flipper and PIT tag losses were best described by decreasing logistic curves with lower asymptotes. Excluding PIT tags from our dataset led to underestimation of flipper tag loss, reproductive periodicity, reproductive longevity and annual survival, and overestimation of female abundance and recruitment for both species. This shows the importance of PIT tags in improving the accuracy of estimates of life-history traits. Thus, estimates where tag loss has not been corrected for should be interpreted with caution and could bias IUCN Red List assessments. As such, long-term population monitoring programmes should aim to estimate tag loss and assess the impact of loss on life-history estimates, to provide robust estimates without which population models and stock assessments cannot be derived accurately

Mission results from the first GEOSTAR observatory (Adriatic Sea, 1998)

We assess the first mission of the GEOSTAR (GEophysical and Oceanographic STation for Abyssal Research) deep-sea multidisciplinary observatory for its technical capacity, performance and quality of recorded data. The functioning of the system was verified by analyzing oceanographic, seismological and geomagnetic measurements. Despite the mission’s short duration (21 days), its data demonstrated the observatory’s technological reliability and scientific value. After analyzing the oceanographic data, we found two different regimes of seawater circulation and a sharp and deepening pycnocline, linked to a down-welling phenomenon. The reliability of the magnetic and seismological measurements was evaluated by comparison with those made using on-land sensors. Such comparison of magnetic signals recorded by permanent land geomagnetic stations and GEOSTAR during a “quiet” day and one with a magnetic storm confirmed the correct functioning of the sensor and allowed us to estimate the seafloor observatory’s orientation. The magnitudes of regional seismic events recorded by our GEOSTAR seismometer agreed with those computed from land stations. GEOSTAR has thus proven itself reliable for integrating other deep-sea observation systems, such as modular observatories, arrays, and instrumented submarine cablesPublished361-373ope

Acute chest syndrome in children with sickle cell disease: Data from a national AIEOP cohort identify priority areas of intervention in a hub-and-spoke system

: Acute chest syndrome (ACS) is a frequent cause of hospitalization in sickle cell disease (SCD). Despite advances in acute care, many settings still lack knowledge about ACS best practices. After the AIEOP Guidelines were published in 2012, suggesting standardized management in Italy, a retrospective study was performed to assess the diagnostic and therapeutic pathways of ACS in children. From 2013 to 2018, 208 ACS episodes were presented by 122/583 kids in 11 centres. 73 were male, mean age 10.9 years, 85% African, 92% HbSS or Sβ°. In our hub-and-spoke system, a good adherence to Guidelines was documented, but discrepancies between reference centres and general hospitals were noted. Improvement is needed for timely transfer to reference centres, use of incentive spirometry, oxygen therapy and pain management

A putative relay circuit providing low-threshold mechanoreceptive input to lamina I projection neurons via vertical cells in lamina II of the rat dorsal horn

Background: Lamina I projection neurons respond to painful stimuli, and some are also activated by touch or hair movement. Neuropathic pain resulting from peripheral nerve damage is often associated with tactile allodynia (touch-evoked pain), and this may result from increased responsiveness of lamina I projection neurons to non-noxious mechanical stimuli. It is thought that polysynaptic pathways involving excitatory interneurons can transmit tactile inputs to lamina I projection neurons, but that these are normally suppressed by inhibitory interneurons. Vertical cells in lamina II provide a potential route through which tactile stimuli can activate lamina I projection neurons, since their dendrites extend into the region where tactile afferents terminate, while their axons can innervate the projection cells. The aim of this study was to determine whether vertical cell dendrites were contacted by the central terminals of low-threshold mechanoreceptive primary afferents. Results: We initially demonstrated contacts between dendritic spines of vertical cells that had been recorded in spinal cord slices and axonal boutons containing the vesicular glutamate transporter 1 (VGLUT1), which is expressed by myelinated low-threshold mechanoreceptive afferents. To confirm that the VGLUT1 boutons included primary afferents, we then examined vertical cells recorded in rats that had received injections of cholera toxin B subunit (CTb) into the sciatic nerve. We found that over half of the VGLUT1 boutons contacting the vertical cells were CTb-immunoreactive, indicating that they were of primary afferent origin. Conclusions: These results show that vertical cell dendritic spines are frequently contacted by the central terminals of myelinated low-threshold mechanoreceptive afferents. Since dendritic spines are associated with excitatory synapses, it is likely that most of these contacts were synaptic. Vertical cells in lamina II are therefore a potential route through which tactile afferents can activate lamina I projection neurons, and this pathway could play a role in tactile allodynia

PON1 polymorphisms can predict generalized anxiety and depressed mood in patients with multiple chemical sensitivity

Background: Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) is a chronic condition with somatic, cognitive and affective symptoms that follow contact with chemical agents at usually non toxic concentrations. We aimed to assess the role of genetic polymorphisms involved in oxidative stress on anxiety and depression in MCS. Materials & methods: Our study investigated the CAT rs1001179, MPO rs2333227, PON1 rs662 and PON1 rs705379 polymorphisms in MCS. Results: The AG genotype of the PON1 rs662 and the TT and CT genotypes of the PON1 rs705379 were involved in anxiety and depression. Discussion: These results are in line with existing evidence of PON1 involvement in MCS and suggest a further role of this gene in the exhibition of anxiety and depression in this disease

ARIA 2016 Executive Summary Integrated care pathways for predictive medicine across the life cycle

The Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) initiative commenced during a World Health Organization (WHO) workshop in 1999. The initial goals were (i) to propose a new allergic rhinitis classification, (ii) to promote the concept of multi-morbidity in asthma and rhinitis and (iii) to develop guidelines with all stakeholders for global use in all countries and populations. ARIA - disseminated and implemented in over 70 countries globally - is now focusing on the implementation of emerging technologies for individualized and predictive medicine. MASK (MACVIA (Contre les MAladies Chroniques pour un VIeillissement Actif)-ARIA Sentinel NetworK) uses mobile technology to develop care pathways in order to enable the management of rhinitis and asthma by a multi-disciplinary group or by patients themselves. An App (Android and iOS) is available in 20 countries and 15 languages. It uses a visual analogue scale to assess symptom  control and work productivity as well as a clinical decision support system. It is associated with an inter-operable tablet for physicians and other health care professionals. The scaling up strategy uses the recommendations of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing. The aim of the novel ARIA approach is to provide an active and healthy life to rhinitis sufferers, whatever their age, sex or socio-economic status, in order to reduce health and social inequalities incurred by the disease.Keywords: ARIA, rhinitis, ICT, EIP on AHA, mobile technology, AIRWAYS ICP

Multivariate discovery and replication of five novel loci associated with Immunoglobulin G <i>N</i>-glycosylation

Multivariate analysis methods can uncover the relationship between phenotypic measures characterised by modern omic techniques. Here the authors conduct a multivariate GWAS on IgG N-glycosylation phenotypes and identify 5 novel loci enriched in immune system genes