A nationally representative survey of hospital malnutrition : the Italian PIMAI (Project: Iatrogenic MAlnutrition in Italy) study

Hospital malnutrition is high in every country it was investigated, but no nationally representative prevalence study, considering potential geographical interfering factors, has yet been performed. We designed a multidisciplinary, cross-sectional, nation-wide survey: the PIMAI study (Project: Iatrogenic MAlnutrition in Italy). Adult (>18 years old) patient inclusion was managed on a four-strata randomisation model according to sex and age (<65 and 6565 years). Malnutrition was defined by analytical criteria related to recent food intake and both physical (body mass index, weight loss, midupper arm anthropometry) and biochemical (albumin, prealbumin and lymphocyte count) malnutrition correlates. Thirteen hospitals (n = 1583) completed the study. The survey is likely to represent the country of Italy. Overall prevalence of malnutrition was 30.7%, with higher rates in the northern macroarea (36.7%) than in central (28.0%), southern (26.9%) and island (16.7%) ones (p < 0.0001). This discrepancy appeared to be mainly related to the prevalence of overweight/obesity. By a multivariate model, malnutrition was significantly lower in males (p < 0.05) and surgical wards (p < 0.002), associated with geography (p < 0.05) and consistently higher in patients aged 6565 years (p < 0.01), presenting with malignancies (p < 0.005) and having multidrug therapy (p < 0.05). The prevalence of hospital malnutrition is high also in Italy. It presents with different geographical distribution also according to overweight prevalence. This evidence should be considered when designing national nutritional policies

An Italian investigation on nutritional risk at hospital admission : the PIMAI (Project: Iatrogenic malnutrition in Italy) study

Background & aims: Nutritional risk on admission to hospital, which turns out to be high in most countries, was investigated. However, when consulting the "malnutrition-mapping" in Europe, the lack of Italian data raises attention. Accordingly, we designed a multidisciplinary, cross-sectional survey: the PIMAI study (Project: Iatrogenic MAlnutrition in Italy). Methods: Patients were enrolled from 13 large (>400 beds) multidisciplinary hospitals. Randomly selected adult (>18-year-old) patients were included according to a 4-strata model by gender and age (<65 and 6565 years). Nutritional risk was assessed by the Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 tool. Results: A total of 1284 patients were evaluated. Overall prevalence of nutritional risk was 28.6% with similar distribution between sexes and higher rates in medical rather than in surgical departments (33.6% vs 22.8%; p < 0.0001). Risk prevalence was markedly heterogeneous among specialties, ranging between 4.8% (ophthalmology) and 62.5% (oncology units). Moreover, in adults aged 18-65 years the prevalence of "risk of malnutrition" was significantly lower than in those 6565 years (18.3% vs 41.9%; p < 0.0001). Conclusions: The prevalence of nutritional risk on admission to hospital is high also in Italy. However, in patients aged 18-65 years nutritional risk appears a less prevalent comorbidity, thus supporting the role of age as an important determinant

Measurement of W Polarisation at LEP

The three different helicity states of W bosons produced in the reaction e+ e- -> W+ W- -> l nu q q~ at LEP are studied using leptonic and hadronic W decays. Data at centre-of-mass energies \sqrt s = 183-209 GeV are used to measure the polarisation of W bosons, and its dependence on the W boson production angle. The fraction of longitudinally polarised W bosons is measured to be 0.218 \pm 0.027 \pm 0.016 where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic, in agreement with the Standard Model expectation

Search for Anomalous Couplings in the Higgs Sector at LEP

Anomalous couplings of the Higgs boson are searched for through the processes e^+ e^- -> H gamma, e^+ e^- -> e^+ e^- H and e^+ e^- -> HZ. The mass range 70 GeV < m_H < 190 GeV is explored using 602 pb^-1 of integrated luminosity collected with the L3 detector at LEP at centre-of-mass energies sqrt(s)=189-209 GeV. The Higgs decay channels H -> ffbar, H -> gamma gamma, H -> Z\gamma and H -> WW^(*) are considered and no evidence is found for anomalous Higgs production or decay. Limits on the anomalous couplings d, db, Delta(g1z), Delta(kappa_gamma) and xi^2 are derived as well as limits on the H -> gamma gamma and H -> Z gamma decay rates

Measurement of W Polarisation at LEP

The three different helicity states of W bosons produced in the reaction e+ e- -> W+ W- -> l nu q q~ at LEP are studied using leptonic and hadronic W decays. Data at centre-of-mass energies \sqrt s = 183-209 GeV are used to measure the polarisation of W bosons, and its dependence on the W boson production angle. The fraction of longitudinally polarised W bosons is measured to be 0.218 \pm 0.027 \pm 0.016 where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic, in agreement with the Standard Model expectation

Bose-Einstein Correlations of Neutral and Charged Pions in Hadronic Z Decays

Bose-Einstein correlations of both neutral and like-sign charged pion pairs are measured in a sample of 2 million hadronic Z decays collected with the L3 detector at LEP. The analysis is performed in the four-momentum difference range 300 MeV < Q < 2 GeV. The radius of the neutral pion source is found to be smaller than that of charged pions. This result is in qualitative agreement with the string fragmentation model

Z Boson Pair-Production at LEP

Events stemming from the pair-production of Z bosons in e^+e^- collisions are studied using 217.4 pb^-1 of data collected with the L3 detector at centre-of-mass energies from 200 GeV up to 209 GeV. The special case of events with b quarks is also investigated. Combining these events with those collected at lower centre-of-mass energies, the Standard Model predictions for the production mechanism are verified. In addition, limits are set on anomalous couplings of neutral gauge bosons and on effects of extra space dimensions

Neutral-Current Four-Fermion Production in e+e- Interactions at LEP

Neutral-current four-fermion production, e+e- -> ffff is studied in 0.7/fb of data collected with the L3 detector at LEP at centre-of-mass energies root(s)=183-209GeV. Four final states are considered: qqvv, qqll, llll and llvv, where l denotes either an electron or a muon. Their cross sections are measured and found to agree with the Standard Model predictions. In addition, the e+e- -> Zgamma* -> ffff process is studied and its total cross section at the average centre-of-mass energy 196.6GeV is found to be 0.29 +/- 0.05 +/- 0.03 pb, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic, in agreement with the Standard Model prediction of 0.22 pb. Finally, the mass spectra of the qqll final states are analysed to search for the possible production of a new neutral heavy particle, for which no evidence is found

Measurement of Exclusive rho+rho- Production in Mid-Virtuality Two-Photon Interactions and Study of the gamma gamma* -> rho rho Process at LEP

Exclusive rho+rho- production in two-photon collisions between a quasi-real photon, gamma, and a mid-virtuality photon, gamma*, is studied with data collected at LEP at centre-of-mass energies root(s)=183-209GeV with a total integrated luminosity of 684.8pb^-1. The cross section of the gamma gamma* -> rho+ rho- process is determined as a function of the photon virtuality, Q^2, and the two-photon centre-of-mass energy, W_gg, in the kinematic region: 0.2GeV^2 < Q^2 <0.85GeV^2 and 1.1GeV < W_gg < 3GeV. These results, together with previous L3 measurements of rho0 rho0 and rho+ rho- production, allow a study of the gamma gamma* -> rho rho process over the Q^2-region 0.2GeV^2 < Q^2 < 30 GeV^2

Measurement of the Running of the Electromagnetic Coupling at Large Momentum-Transfer at LEP

The evolution of the electromagnetic coupling, alpha, in the momentum-transfer range 1800GeV^2 < -Q^2 < 21600GeV^2 is studied with about 40000 Bhabha-scattering events collected with the L3 detector at LEP at centre-of-mass energies 189-209GeV. The running of alpha is parametrised as: alpha(Q^2) = alpha_0/(1-C Delta alpha(Q^2)), where alpha_0=\alpha(Q^2=0) is the fine-structure constant and C=1 corresponds to the evolution expected in QED. A fit to the differential cross section of the e+e- ->e+e- process for scattering angles in the range |cos theta|<0.9 excludes the hypothesis of a constant value of alpha, C=0, and validates the QED prediction with the result: C = 1.05 +/- 0.07 +/- 0.14, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic