La formazione sulla sicurezza sul lavoro: il caso Itinera Servizi alle Imprese Srl

Con l'entrata in vigore della norma Accordo Stato-Regioni del 21/12/2011 di recepimento del D.Lgs. 81/08 in materia di sicurezza sul lavoro, è cambiato l'approccio al tema della sicurezza sul lavoro. La sicurezza sul lavoro tende a diventare sistema integrato alla produzione, sistema all'interno del quale giocano un ruolo decisivo i soggetti che partecipano al processo produttivo. il fattore umano diventa, dunque, elemento centrale di una nuova impostazione della prevenzione, dove prioritario è l'aspetto di coinvolgimento attivo dei lavoratori. Questa esplosione di soggettività e di processi relazionali sottintende un ampliamento dei fabbisogni formativi per la sicurezza. La sicurezza non è più elemento addizionale, ma fattore integrato alla concezione, realizzazione e gestione di un'opera. La pianificazione della sicurezza, come fattore dell'organizzazione della produzione, supera e completa la valutazione del rischio e presuppone il trasferimento ai lavoratori di procedure di lavoro sicuro, perché siano essi stessi protagonisti nella gestione del processo costruttivo. Questa educazione al lavoro sicuro richiama azioni di informazione e formazione specifiche, strutturate per campo di utenza, mirate per contenuti formativi. Viene quindi sancita la centralità dei processi formativi come elementi di qualificazione di risorse umane coinvolte nel ciclo progettuale e produttivo. Pertanto, dopo un'introduzione al tema della sicurezza sul lavoro, l'attenzione si sosterà sulla formazione ed in modo particolare sulla formazione finanziata attraverso l'utilizzo dei Fondi Interprofessionali. Infine, per dare valore all'analisi, verrà analizzato un caso aziendale: la presentazione di un piano formativo da parte dell'agenzia formativa, nonché società di consulenza, Itinera Servizi alle Imprese Srl

Different interactions of fungi with toxic metals

Many papers have reported the uptake and translocation of toxic metals and radionuclides to fruit bodies of edible fungi and also to mycelia biomass. Our aim is to study how to reduce the metal phytotoxicity by mychorrizal fungi pointing at land reclamation and at the detoxification of metal/radionuclides-containing industrial effluents

Thoracic migration of silicone gel after breast implant rupture: a case report and literature review

AbstractNowadays silicone is a widespread material for medical devices. In particular, it is commonly used for implants manufacturing, for that patients undergoing breast augmentation or breast reconstruction after mastectomy. However, the use of silicone implants is not free from risks. Ruptures of silicone breast implants are uncommon, in general post-traumatic or iatrogenic, and usually related to implant's wall weakness of unknown origin but probably due to biochemical reactions that cause wall rupture. As a consequence of a rupture, silicone gel from damaged implants may have a continuity migration to the chest wall, axillae, and upper extremities, resulting in granulomatous inflammation or siliconoma, or a lymphatic migration to axillary lymph nodes. In this regard, silicone thoracic migration is extremely rare, and nowadays a leakage is unlikely to happen with more modern cohesive silicone gel implants. Nevertheless, procedures such as thoracic surgery and thoracotomies may be responsible for accidental breast implant rupture, capsular discontinuity, and eventually intrathoracic silicone migration, especially when dealing with older generations of breast implants. We report a rare case of a 75-year-old woman presenting with pleural silicone effusion, 18 years after a right breast reconstruction for breast cancer, followed by right upper lobe resection for a lung carcinoma. A combination of muscular flap and DTI pre-pectoral breast reconstruction with biological membrane (ADM) has been used for treatment. Literature was reviewed for cases of breast implants free silicone localization in the chest cavity, focusing on previous surgeries, anamnestic relevances, and surgical management.Level of Evidence: Level V, risk/prognostic study

Vesiculation of Red Blood Cells in the Blood Bank: A Multi-Omics Approach towards Identification of Causes and Consequences

Microvesicle generation is an integral part of the aging process of red blood cells in vivo and in vitro. Extensive vesiculation impairs function and survival of red blood cells after transfusion, and microvesicles contribute to transfusion reactions. The triggers and mechanisms of microvesicle generation are largely unknown. In this study, we combined morphological, immunochemical, proteomic, lipidomic, and metabolomic analyses to obtain an integrated understanding of the mechanisms underlying microvesicle generation during the storage of red blood cell concentrates. Our data indicate that changes in membrane organization, triggered by altered protein conformation, constitute the main mechanism of vesiculation, and precede changes in lipid organization. The resulting selective accumulation of membrane components in microvesicles is accompanied by the recruitment of plasma proteins involved in inflammation and coagulation. Our data may serve as a basis for further dissection of the fundamental mechanisms of red blood cell aging and vesiculation, for identifying the cause-effect relationship between blood bank storage and transfusion complications, and for assessing the role of microvesicles in pathologies affecting red blood cells

Genomic Characterization of Arcobacter butzleri Isolated From Shellfish: Novel Insight Into Antibiotic Resistance and Virulence Determinants

Arcobacter (A.) butzleri is an emerging pathogenic microorganism, whose taxonomy has been recently suggested to be emended to the Aliarcobacter (Al.) butzleri comb. nov. Despite extensive taxonomic analysis, only few fragmented studies have investigated the occurrence and the prevalence of virulence and antibiotic resistance determinants of this species in strains isolated from shellfish. Herein we report for the first time the whole genome sequencing and genomic characterization of two A. butzleri strains isolated from shellfish, with particular reference to the antibiotic, heavy metals and virulence determinants. This study supported the taxonomic assignment of these strains to the Al. butzleri species, and allowed us to identify antibiotic and metal resistance along with virulence determinants, also additional to those previously reported for the only two A. butzleri strains from different environments genomically characterized. Moreover, both strains showed resistance to β-lactams, vanocomycin, tetracycline and erythromycin and susceptibility to aminoglycosides and ciprofloxacin. Beside enlarging the availability of genomic data to perform comparative studies aimed at correlating phenotypic differences associated with ecological niche and geographic distribution with the genetic diversity of A. butzleri spp., this study reports the endowment of antibiotic and heavy metal resistance and virulence determinants of these shellfish-isolated strains. This leads to hypothesize a relatively high virulence of A. butzleri isolated from shellfish and prompt the need for a wider genomic analysis and for in vitro and in vivo studies of more strains isolated from this and other ecological niches, to unravel the mechanism of pathogenicity of this species, and the potential risk associated to their consumption

Evaluation of the Acceleration and Deceleration Phase-Rectified Slope to Detect and Improve IUGR Clinical Management

Objective. This study used a new method called Acceleration (or Deceleration) Phase-Rectified Slope, APRS (or DPRS) to analyze computerized Cardiotocographic (cCTG) traces in intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), in order to calculate acceleration- and deceleration-related fluctuations of the fetal heart rate, and to enhance the prediction of neonatal outcome. Method. Cardiotocograms from a population of 59 healthy and 61 IUGR fetuses from the 30th gestation week matched for gestational age were included. APRS and DPRS analysis was compared to the standard linear and nonlinear cCTG parameters. Statistical analysis was performed through the -test, ANOVA test, Pearson correlation test and receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves (). Results. APRS and DPRS showed high performance to discriminate between Healthy and IUGR fetuses, according to gestational week. A linear correlation with the fetal pH at birth was found in IUGR. The area under the ROC curve was 0.865 for APRS and 0.900 for DPRS before the 34th gestation week. Conclusions. APRS and DPRS could be useful in the identification and management of IUGR fetuses and in the prediction of the neonatal outcome, especially before the 34th week of gestation

Progressively de-differentiated pancreatic cancer cells shift from glycolysis to oxidative metabolism and gain a quiescent stem state

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is typically characterized by high chemoresistance and metastatic spread, features mainly attributable to cancer stem cells (CSCs). It is of central interest the characterization of CSCs and, in particular, the study of their metabolic features in order to selectively identify their peculiarities for an efficient therapeutic approach. In this study, CSCs have been obtained by culturing different PDAC cell lines with a specific growth medium. Cells were characterized for the typical stem/mesenchymal properties at short-, medium-, and long-term culture. Metabolomics, proteomics, analysis of oxygen consumption rate in live cells, and the effect of the inhibition of lactate transporter on cell proliferation have been performed to delineate the metabolism of CSCs. We show that gradually de-differentiated pancreatic cancer cells progressively increase the expression of both stem and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition markers, shift their metabolism from a glycolytic to an oxidative one, and lastly gain a quiescent state. These quiescent stem cells are characterized by high chemo-resistance, clonogenic ability, and metastatic potential. Re-differentiation reverts these features, re-activating their proliferative capacity and glycolytic metabolism, which generally correlates with high aggressiveness. These observations add an important piece of knowledge to the comprehension of the biology of CSCs, whose metabolic plasticity could be exploited for the generation of promising and selective therapeutic approaches for PDAC patients