Occupational Medicine and Hygiene: Applied Research in Italy

The goal of Occupational Medicine and Hygiene is that of ensuring safety, health and well-being at workplaces, mainly assessing and preventing existing occupational risk. Scientific research in this field can provide useful arguments and further evidence upon which effective, efficient and sustainable policies and prevention measures have to be chosen and applied by the occupational physician in work-life. This paper summarizes four original studies, conducted in different professional settings across Italy, focusing critical items, such as stress and violence, biological risk and sleep hygiene. The knowledge obtained can be useful to orientate proper prevention programs aimed at improving workplace health

The commissioning of the CUORE experiment: the mini-tower run

CUORE is a ton-scale experiment approaching the data taking phase in Gran Sasso National Laboratory. Its primary goal is to search for the neutrinoless double-beta decay in 130Te using 988 crystals of tellurim dioxide. The crystals are operated as bolometers at about 10 mK taking advantage of one of the largest dilution cryostat ever built. Concluded in March 2016, the cryostat commissioning consisted in a sequence of cool down runs each one integrating new parts of the apparatus. The last run was performed with the fully configured cryostat and the thermal load at 4 K reached the impressive mass of about 14 tons. During that run the base temperature of 6.3 mK was reached and maintained for more than 70 days. An array of 8 crystals, called mini-tower, was used to check bolometers operation, readout electronics and DAQ. Results will be presented in terms of cooling power, electronic noise, energy resolution and preliminary background measurements

Results from the Cuore Experiment

The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is the first bolometric experiment searching for neutrinoless double beta decay that has been able to reach the 1-ton scale. The detector consists of an array of 988 TeO2 crystals arranged in a cylindrical compact structure of 19 towers, each of them made of 52 crystals. The construction of the experiment was completed in August 2016 and the data taking started in spring 2017 after a period of commissioning and tests. In this work we present the neutrinoless double beta decay results of CUORE from examining a total TeO2 exposure of 86.3kg yr, characterized by an effective energy resolution of 7.7 keV FWHM and a background in the region of interest of 0.014 counts/ (keV kg yr). In this physics run, CUORE placed a lower limit on the decay half- life of neutrinoless double beta decay of 130Te > 1.3.1025 yr (90% C. L.). Moreover, an analysis of the background of the experiment is presented as well as the measurement of the 130Te 2vo3p decay with a resulting half- life of T2 2. [7.9 :- 0.1 (stat.) :- 0.2 (syst.)] x 10(20) yr which is the most precise measurement of the half- life and compatible with previous results

Esemplificazione della Data Envelopment Analysis per la valutazione di efficienza in una grande azienda ospedaliera universitaria

The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is applied by the management control of a huge teaching hospital to evaluate the relative efficiency of human resources. The authors show an experimental approach based on geometrical methods and simple statistical techniques that can be easily performed by basic software procedures. The results are then related to the cost of diagnostic procedures, standardized by the case-mix, and both scatterplot and cluster analysis are produced to find out related area of performance and to plan a strategy for the continuous quality improvementdata envelopment analysis, production frontier, cluster analysis, human resources efficiency, SWOT analysis

Analisi della domanda di salute espressa dalla popolazione straniera irregolare in una regione italiana

Il lavoro si propone, con riferimento alla presenza di immigrati irregolari nella regione Liguria, due obiettivi specifici: i) evidenziare quali siano i servizi sanitari verso cui si dirige prevalentemente la domanda degli stranieri, al fine di desumerne i bisogni e confrontarli con quelli dei residenti; ii) individuare se le modalità di finanziamento attualmente in vigore siano in grado di coprire il fabbisogno di risorse richiesto dalle esigenze degli immigrati irregolari, allo scopo di evidenziarne l’impatto finanziario sulla sostenibilità complessiva del sistema. L’analisi si riferisce al 2005 e riguarda tre tipologie di cure: ricoveri, specialistica e servizi di emergenza

Study on the impact of sexually transmitted infections on Quality of Life, mood and sexual function

BACKGROUND: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) may impact on the patient's physical, psychological and sexual health and negatively influence their Quality of Life (QOL). Studies on this topic are scarce. This study aimed to assess the impact of STIs different from HIV on QOL, mood and sexual functioning in the patients attending our STIs center in comparison with patients affected by chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).METHODS: An anonymous questionnaire was provided. It included 3 validated questionnaires: the European Quality of Life 5 dimensions 5 levels; the Beck Depression Inventory-II for depressive symptoms; the Changes in Sexual Functioning Questionnaire (CSFQ) for sexual functioning.RESULTS: Seventy-three STIs patients and 51 IBD patients participated in the study. The mean EQ-5D-5L questionnaire scores were 86.72 in STIs and 89.21 in IBD patients, without statistically significant difference between the two groups. Symptoms of depression were more common and severe in STIs patients compared to IBD patients. Sexual functioning was slightly worse in STIs patients than in IBD patients.CONCLUSIONS: This is one the very few studies focused on the impact of STIs on patient's physical, psychological and sexual health. Physicians dealing with STIs should consider the possible psychological consequences of the disease

Prevalence of genital HPV infection in STI and healthy populations and risk factors for viral persistence

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a well-established carcinogenic agent. This study aimed to assess prevalence and persistence rate of genital HPV infection in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) patients and healthy subjects. The risk factors influencing the persistence of genital HPV infection were also investigated. The samples were collected with the ThinPrep liquid-based cytology system. Among the HPV-positive patients, those consenting were retested after 12 months. Overall, 145/292 subjects proved HPV positive with a higher prevalence (51%) in STI than in healthy population (43%). The persistence of genital HPV infection was statistically associated with female gender, HR-HPV infection, smoking, andUreaplasma parvuminfection

Prevalence of cervical, oral and anal Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in women

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the most common sexually transmitted infection worldwide. In women with genital infection, the virus can be transmitted by sex to the oral cavity of their partners and then to their own oral cavity. This study aims to establish the prevalence of cervical/anal/oral HPV infection in women attending the Dermatology Unit of the Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy. Between January 2016 and December 2018, the female patients attending the sexually transmitted infections (STI) center and those requiring a full body skin examination for skin cancer screening were recruited. Cervical, anal, oral samples were collected with ThinPrep liquid based cytology preparation system: polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for HPV and cytological evaluation were performed. Overall, 85 STI clinic attendees and 31 “supposed” healthy patients were recruited. Cervical HPV was detected in 60% of the STI patients and 48% of the healthy subjects. In the anal region, 44% of the STI patients and 26% of the healthy population were HPV positive. Cervical and anal HPV infection resulted significantly associated. Moreover, 32% of the STI patients and 29% of the healthy population proved HPV positive in the oral cavity. Surprisingly, in the STI women of our series, prevalence of cervical/anal/oral HPV infection was only slightly higher than in the “presumed” healthy population. The high prevalence of anal-oral infections and the frequent association between anal and cervical infections, provide reason to suggest HPV screening also in the anal and oral regions, which may represent HPV reservoirs and grounds for cancer development. &nbsp