Recommendations for pneumococcal immunization outside routine childhood immunization programs in Western Europe

The global burden of pneumococcal diseases is high, with young children and adults ≥50 years of age at highest risk of infection. Two types of vaccine are available for the prevention of pneumococcal diseases caused by specific Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes: the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23) and the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7, PCV10, and PCV13). Despite pneumococcal immunization programs in adults and children, the burden in adults has remained high. Most European countries have national or local/regional vaccination recommendations. The objective of this review was to provide an overview of the government recommendations for pneumococcal vaccination outside routine childhood vaccination programs for 16 Western European countries as of August 2014. We found that recommendations for pneumococcal immunization across Europe are complex and vary greatly among countries in terms of age groups and risk groups recommended for vaccination, as well as which vaccine should be administered. Clarifying or simplifying these recommendations and improving their dissemination could help to increase pneumococcal vaccine uptake and decrease the high burden of pneumococcal diseases in adults, both through a direct effect of the vaccine and via a herd effect in unvaccinated individuals

Does divergence from normal patterns of integration increase as chromosomal fusions increase in number? A test on a house mouse hybrid zone

Chromosomal evolution is widely considered an important driver of speciation because it can promote the establishment of reproductive barriers. Karyotypic reorganization is also expected to affect the mean phenotype, as well as its development and patterns of phenotypic integration, through processes such as variation in genetic linkage between QTL regions or between regulatory regions and their targets. Here we explore the relationship between chromosomal evolution and phenotypic integration by analysing a well-known house mouse parapatric contact zone between a highly derived Robertsonian race (2n = 22) and populations with standard karyotype (2n = 40). Populations with hybrid karyotypes are scattered throughout the hybrid zone connecting the two parental races. Using mandible shape data and geometric morphometrics, we test the hypothesis that patterns of integration progressively diverge from the “normal” integration pattern observed in the standard race as they accumulate Robertsonian fusions. We find that the main pattern of integration observed between the posterior and anterior part of the mandible can be largely attributed to allometry. We find no support for a gradual increase in divergence from normal patterns of integration as fusions accumulate. Surprisingly, however, we find that the derived Robertsonian race (2n = 22) has a distinct allometric trajectory compared to the standard race. Our results suggest that either individual fusions disproportionately affect patterns of integration or that there are mechanisms which “purge” extreme variants in hybrids (e.g., reduced fitness of hybrid shape).publishe

Family Medicine and Primary Healthcare: The Past, Present and Future.

As defined by the World Health Organisation in the conference held in Alma Ata, Kazakhstan, in 1978, "Primary health care is essential health care based on practical, scientifically sound, and socially acceptable methods and technology made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community through their full participation and at a cost that the community and country can afford to maintain at every stage of their development in the spirit of self-reliance and self-determination" [...]

Challenges in Dental Statistics: Data and Modelling

The aim of this work is to present the reflections and proposals derived from the first Workshop of the SISMEC STATDENT working group on statistical methods and applications in dentistry, held in Ancona (Italy) on 28th September 2011. STATDENT began as a forum of comparison and discussion for statisticians working in the field of dental research in order to suggest new and improve existing biostatistical and clinical epidemiological methods. During the meeting, we dealt with very important topics of statistical methodology for the analysis of dental data, covering the analysis of hierarchically structured and over-dispersed data, the issue of calibration and reproducibility, as well as some problems related to survey methodology, such as the design and construction of unbiased statistical indicators and of well conducted clinical trials. This paper gathers some of the methodological topics discussed during the meeting, concerning multilevel and zero-inflated models for the analysis of caries data and methods for the training and calibration of raters in dental epidemiology

Evolutionary and demographic correlates of Pleistocene coastline changes in the Sicilian wall lizard Podarcis wagleriana

Aim Emergence of coastal lowlands during Pleistocene ice ages might have provided conditions for glacial expansions (demographic and spatial), rather than contraction, of coastal populations of temperate species. Here, we tested these predictions in the insular endemic Sicilian wall lizard Podarcis wagleriana. Location Sicily and neighbouring islands. Methods We sampled 179 individuals from 45 localities across the whole range of P. wagleriana. We investigated demographic and spatial variations through time using Bayesian coalescent models (Bayesian phylogeographic reconstruction, Extended Bayesian Skyline plots, Isolation‐with‐migration models) based on multilocus DNA sequence data. We used species distribution modelling to reconstruct present and past habitat suitability. Results We found two main lineages distributed in the east and west portions of the current species range and a third lineage restricted to a small area in the north of Sicily. Multiple lines of evidence from palaeogeographic (shorelines), palaeoclimatic (species distribution models), and multilocus genetic data (demographic and spatial Bayesian reconstructions) indicate that these lineages originated in distinct refugia, located in the north‐western and south‐eastern coastal lowlands, during Middle Pleistocene interglacial phases, and came into secondary contact following demographic and spatial expansions during the last glacial phase. Main conclusions This scenario of interglacial contraction and glacial expansion is in sharp contrast with patterns commonly observed in temperate species on the continent but parallels recent findings on other Mediterranean island endemics. Such a reverse expansion–contraction (EC) dynamic has been likely associated with glacial increases of climatically suitable coastal lowlands, suggesting this might be a general pattern in Mediterranean island species and also in other coastal regions strongly affected by glacial marine regressions during glacial episodes. This study provides explicit predictions and some methodological recommendations for testing the reverse EC model in other region and taxa

Pulse-duration dependence of the isotopic effect in simple molecular ions driven by strong laser fields

In this paper we discuss isotopic effects in simple molecular ions subjected to strong laser fields. We show that the intensity of the emitted spectra strongly depends upon both the nuclear mass of the molecular ions and the laser pulse duration. In particular, for short pulse duration [up to 8 optical cycles (o.c.)], we confirm the trend described in the most studied case in which the high-order harmonic generation is more efficient for heavier isotopes; in contrast, an interesting physical phenomenon is predicted for pulses longer than 16 o.c. characterized by an inverse effect in which lighter molecular species are responsible for higher-order harmonic emission

Caries experience among adolescents in southeast Italy

Abstract Background/purpose According to WHO recommendations, 12-year-olds are considered an important target group for evaluating the level of dental caries among children with permanent teeth, and are often chosen for international comparisons. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the current oral health status of 12-year-old children in southeast Italy, stratified by gender and residential area. Materials and methods The survey was conducted on 431 children enrolled by multistage cluster sampling. A dental caries experience index (decayed, missing, and filled permanent teeth; DMFT) was recorded at schools by a team of examiners trained at the start of the study. Statistical analyses by Chi-square, Fisher's exact, and Wilcoxon tests were performed using SAS version 9.1 software for PCs. We applied the Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial regression model in the STATA package. Results Caries prevalence was recorded in 38.3% of the sample. Estimated means and 95% confidence intervals of the DMFT index by gender were: 1.15 (0.91–1.39) for males, 1.26 (1.02–1.5) for females, and 1.21 (1.03–1.39) for the total sample. The D component of the index was dominant. The mean number of caries found in southeast Italy was significantly higher than the national mean ( t =3.125, P=0.002), but significantly lower than the mean for south Italy ( t =−2.125, P=0.03). Results of the regression model showed that only the mother and father's nationality and educational level contributed to the DMFT. Conclusions The oral health situation of 12-year-old children from southeast Italy seems to be in line with that in other Western European countries

Use of digital technologies in public health: a narrative review.

BACKGROUND AND AIM Websites, social media networks and mobile applications constitute important communication tools, while simultaneously enabling the population to increase their knowledge of health issues. This study aims to describe digital health experiences in Public Health to examine the different possible uses of digital technologies by Public Health Operators (PHOs) and Health Care Workers (HCWs) and the role these tools play in the efficiency of the health interventions undertaken. METHODS A narrative literature survey was conducted by consulting the PubMed and Scopus databases to find articles relevant to the topic of interest. The selection criteria adopted for manuscript screening involved including the survey studies dealing with the use of digital means such as new media in Public Health, published between 1 January 2012 and 31 May 2021. RESULTS Based on the keywords, 2,019 manuscripts were identified, of which 45 were included. The articles were grouped according to the digital tool (social media network, mobile application and websites) employed by PHOs and/or HCWs in health promotion initiatives. Specifically, this was broken down into: i) the use of social media in public health: 24 articles, ii) the use of mobile applications: 10 articles, iii) the use of websites: 8 articles and iv) the use of the three digital tools combined: 3 articles. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study indicate that digital technologies may play a useful role in Public Health to improve communication between health professionals and patients, provide quality care even remotely and facilitate the achievement of health outcomes for the population from a Health Literacy perspective

Tuberculosis and the strategy for the New Millennium: not simply “more of same”

Since the beginning of human history, tuberculosis (TB) has threatened the wellbeing of mankind. The last Global Tuberculosis Report, published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2013, highlighted the significant burden in morbidity and mortality that Mycobacterium tuberculosis still bears in the world today [1]...

Laser driven structured quantum rings

In this work we study harmonic emission from structured quantum rings (SQRs). In SQRs, electrons trapped in two-dimensional structures are further confined by an external potential composed of N scattering centers arranged on a circle. We build a suitable one-dimensional model Hamiltonian describing this class of systems and analytically solve the associated Schödinger equation. We find that the solution can be expressed in terms of Mathieu functions and focus on the specific case of N = 6. By exactly solving the time-dependent Schödinger equation, we then show how the harmonic response to linearly polarized lasers strongly depends on the ring physical parameters. The results illustrate how the additional degrees of freedom introduced by these parameters provide important handles to control the emitted spectrum that in some cases extends into the XUV region