Lifestyles and socio-cultural factors among children aged 6-8 years from five Italian towns: The MAPEC-LIFE study cohort

Background: Lifestyles profoundly determine the quality of an individual’s health and life since his childhood. Many diseases in adulthood are avoidable if health-risk behaviors are identified and improved at an early stage of life. The aim of the present research was to characterize a cohort of children aged 6–8 years selected in order to perform an epidemiological molecular study (the MAPEC_LIFE study), investigate lifestyles of the children that could have effect on their health status, and assess possible association between lifestyles and socio-cultural factors. Methods: A questionnaire composed of 148 questions was administered in two different seasons to parents of children attending 18 primary schools in five Italian cities (Torino, Brescia, Pisa, Perugia and Lecce) to obtain information regarding the criteria for exclusion from the study, demographic, anthropometric and health information on the children, as well as some aspects on their lifestyles and parental characteristics. The results were analyzed in order to assess the frequency of specific conditions among the different seasons and cities and the association between lifestyles and socio-economic factors. Results: The final cohort was composed of 1,164 children (50.9 boys, 95.4% born in Italy). Frequency of some factors appeared different in terms of the survey season (physical activity in the open air, the ways of cooking certain foods) and among the various cities (parents’ level of education and rate of employment, sport, traffic near the home, type of heating, exposure to passive smoking, ways of cooking certain foods). Exposure to passive smoking and cooking fumes, obesity, residence in areas with heavy traffic, frequency of outdoor play and consumption of barbecued and fried foods were higher among children living in families with low educational and/or occupational level while children doing sports and consuming toasted bread were more frequent in families with high socio-economic level. Conclusions: The socio-economic level seems to affect the lifestyles of children enrolled in the study including those that could cause health effects. Many factors are linked to the geographical area and may depend on environmental, cultural and social aspects of the city of residence

Diethylene Glycol Poisoning From Transcutaneous Absorption

A case of transcutaneous diethylene glycol poisoning with severe acute kidney injury, but a positive outcome, is described. A man without significant medical history was admitted to our hospital due to anuria, gastrointestinal symptoms, and hypertension. Ultrasonography excluded vascular damage and postrenal obstruction. Laboratory tests showed acute kidney injury and metabolic acidosis with increased anion gap; hemodialysis therapy was started. The brother of the patient reported that the patient had been smearing his skin with brake fluid containing diethylene glycol to treat a “dermatitis.” Only supportive therapy was given due to the lack of a specific antidote. Continuous venovenous hemofiltration was performed. The kidney biopsy showed acute toxic proximal tubulonecrosis, without deposition of oxalate crystals. His neurologic condition worsened dramatically; supportive care was continued. Over time, acute kidney injury and neurologic damage gradually improved; 33 days after admission, he went to a rehabilitation unit for 5 months, with complete clinical recovery. Historically, diethylene glycol has been the cause of large-scale poisonings from ingestion of contaminated drugs. The clinical evolution is unpredictable. Treatment is not well defined; early hemodialysis treatment reduces levels of toxic metabolites, and fomepizole could be useful in cases with an early diagnosis. A comparison of the characteristics of diethylene glycol versus ethylene glycol poisoning is given

Lifestyles and socio-cultural factors among children aged 6-8 years from five Italian towns: the MAPEC_LIFE study cohort

Lifestyles profoundly determine the quality of an individual's health and life since his childhood. Many diseases in adulthood are avoidable if health-risk behaviors are identified and improved at an early stage of life. The aim of the present research was to characterize a cohort of children aged 6-8 years selected in order to perform an epidemiological molecular study (the MAPEC_LIFE study), investigate lifestyles of the children that could have effect on their health status, and assess possible association between lifestyles and socio-cultural factors

The RING network: improvement of a GPS velocity field in the central Mediterranean

Since 2004, a continuous Global Positioning System (GPS) network is operated by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) to investigate active tectonic processes in Italy and surrounding regions, which are still largely debated. This important infrastructure, named Rete Integrata Nazionale GPS (RING) network, consists in about 130 stations deployed all over Italy. The development and the realization of a stable GPS monumentation, the integration with seismological instruments and the choice of both satellite and internet data transmission make this network one of the most innovative and reliable CGPS networks in the world. The technologically advanced development of the RING network has been accompanied by the development of different data processing strategies, mainly dependent on the use of different GPS analysis software. The different software-related solutions have been compared for such a large network at different scales and the consistency has been evaluated and quantified within a 0.3 mm/yr RMS value

GPS observations of coseismic deformation following the May 20 and 29, 2012, Emilia seismic events (northern Italy): data, analysis and preliminary models

In May-July 2012, a seismic sequence struck a broad area of the Po Plain Region in northern Italy. The sequence included two Ml >5.5 mainshocks. The first one (Ml 5.9) occurred near the city of Finale Emilia (ca. 30 km west of Ferrara) on May 20 at 02:03:53 (UTC), and the second (Ml 5.8) occurred on May 29 at 7:00:03 (UTC), about 12 km southwest of the May 20 mainshock (Figure 1), near the city of Mirandola. The seismic sequence involved an area that extended in an E-W direction for more than 50 km, and included seven Ml ≥5.0 events and more than 2,300 Ml >1.5 events (http://iside.rm.ingv.it). The focal mechanisms of the main events [Pondrelli et al. 2012, Scognamiglio et al. 2012, this volume] consistently showed compressional kinematics with E-W oriented reverse nodal planes. This sector of the Po Plain is known as a region characterized by slow deformation rates due to the northwards motion of the northern Apennines fold-and-thrust belt, which is buried beneath the sedimentary cover of the Po Plain [Picotti and Pazzaglia 2008, Toscani et al. 2009]. Early global positioning system (GPS) measurements [Serpelloni et al. 2006] and the most recent updates [Devoti et al. 2011, Bennett et al. 2012] recognized that less than 2 mm/yr of SW-NE shortening are accommodated across this sector of the Po Plain, in agreement with other present-day stress indicators [Montone et al. 2012] and known active faults [Basili et al. 2008]. In the present study, we describe the GPS data used to study the coseismic deformation related to the May 20 and 29 mainshocks, and provide preliminary models of the two seismic sources, as inverted from consensus GPS coseismic deformation fields. […

Mutagenic and genotoxic effects induced by PM0.5 of different Italian towns in human cells and bacteria: The MAPEC_LIFE study

Particulate matter (PM) is considered an atmospheric pollutant that mostly affects human health. The finest fractions of PM (PM2.5 or less) play a major role in causing chronic diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the genotoxic effects of PM0.5 collected in five Italian towns using different bioassays. The role of chemical composition on the genotoxicity induced was also evaluated. The present study was included in the multicentre MAPEC_LIFE project, which aimed to evaluate the associations between air pollution exposure and early biological effects in Italian children. PM10 samples were collected in 2 seasons (winter and spring) using a high-volume multistage cascade impactor. The results showed that PM0.5 represents a very high proportion of PM10 (range 10–63%). PM0.5 organic extracts were chemically analysed (PAHs, nitro-PAHs) and tested by the comet assay (A549 and BEAS-2B cells), MN test (A549 cells) and Ames test on Salmonella strains (TA100, TA98, TA98NR and YG1021). The highest concentrations of PAHs and nitro-PAHs in PM0.5 were observed in the Torino, Brescia and Pisa samples in winter. The Ames test showed low mutagenic activity. The highest net revertants/m3 were observed in the Torino and Brescia samples (winter), and the mutagenic effect was associated with PM0.5 (p < 0.01), PAH and nitro-PAH (p < 0.05) concentrations. The YG1021 strain showed the highest sensitivity to PM0.5 samples. No genotoxic effect of PM0.5 extracts was observed using A549 cells except for some samples in winter (comet assay), while BEAS-2B cells showed light DNA damage in the Torino, Brescia and Pisa samples in winter, highlighting the higher sensitivity of BEAS-2B cells, which was consistent with the Ames test (p < 0.01). The results obtained showed that it is important to further investigate the finest fractions of PM, which represent a relevant percentage of PM10, taking into account the chemical composition and the biological effects induced. Results highlighted the importance to further investigate the finest fractions of PM, which represent a relevant percentage of PM10, taking into account its chemical composition and the biological effects induced

Has VZV epidemiology changed in Italy? Results of a seroprevalence study

The aim of the study was to evaluate if and how varicella prevalence has changed in Italy. In particular a seroprevalence study was performed, comparing it to similar surveys conducted in pre-immunization era. During 2013–2014, sera obtained from blood samples taken for diagnostic purposes or routine investigations were collected in collaboration with at least one laboratory/center for each region, following the approval of the Ethics Committee. Data were stratified by sex and age. All samples were processed in a national reference laboratory by an immunoassay with high sensitivity and specificity. Statutory notifications, national hospital discharge database and mortality data related to VZV infection were analyzed as well. A total of 3707 sera were collected and tested. In the studied period both incidence and hospitalization rates decreased and about 5 deaths per year have been registered. The seroprevalence decreased in the first year of life in subjects passively protected by their mother, followed by an increase in the following age classes. The overall antibody prevalence was 84%. The comparison with surveys conducted with the same methodology in 1996–1997 and 2003–2004 showed significant differences in age groups 1–19 y. The study confirms that in Italy VZV infection typically occurs in children. The impact of varicella on Italian population is changing. The comparison between studies performed in different periods shows a significant increase of seropositivity in age class 1–4 years, expression of vaccine interventions already adopted in some regions

Renal involvement in sarcoidosis: histological patterns and prognosis, an Italian survey

Granulomatous interstitial nephritis in sarcoidosis (sGIN) is generally clinically silent, but in &lt;1% causes acute kidney injury (AKI)