32 research outputs found
Search strings for the study of putative occupational determinants of disease
Objective To identify efficient PubMed search strategies to retrieve articles regarding putative occupational determinants of conditions not generally considered to be work related. Methods Based on MeSH definitions and expert knowledge, we selected as candidate search terms the four MeSH terms describing 'occupational disease', 'occupational exposure', 'occupational health' and 'occupational medicine' (DEHM) alongside 22 other promising terms. We first explored overlaps between the candidate terms in PubMed. Using random samples of abstracts retrieved by each term, we estimated the proportions of articles containing potentially pertinent information regarding occupational aetiology in order to formulate two search strategies (one more 'specific', one more 'sensitive'). We applied these strategies to retrieve information on the possible occupational aetiology of meningioma, pancreatitis and atrial fibrillation. Results Only 20.3% of abstracts were retrieved by more than one DEHM term. The more 'specific' search string was based on the combination of terms that yielded the highest proportion (40%) of potentially pertinent abstracts. The more 'sensitive' string was based on the use of broader search fields and additional coverage provided by other search terms under study. Using the specific string, the numbers of abstracts needed to read to find one potentially pertinent article were 1.2 for meningioma, 1.9 for pancreatitis and 1.8 for atrial fibrillation. Using the sensitive strategy, the numbers needed to read were 4.4 for meningioma, 8.9 for pancreatitis and 10.5 for atrial fibrillation. Conclusions The proposed strings could help health care professionals explore putative occupational aetiology for diseases that are not generally thought to be work relate
Mediterranean monitoring and forecasting operational system for Copernicus Marine Service
The MEDiterranean Monitoring and Forecasting Center (Med-MFC) is part of the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS, http://marine.copernicus.eu/), provided on an operational mode by Mercator Ocean in agreement with the European Commission.
Specifically, Med MFC system provides regular and systematic information about the physical state of the ocean and marine ecosystems for the Mediterranean Sea. The Med-MFC service started in May 2015 from the
pre-operational system developed during the MyOcean projects, consolidating the understanding of regional
Mediterranean Sea dynamics, from currents to biogeochemistry to waves, interfacing with local data collection
networks and guaranteeing an efficient link with other Centers in Copernicus network.
The Med-MFC products include analyses, 10 days forecasts and reanalysis, describing currents, temperature,
salinity, sea level and pelagic biogeochemistry. Waves products will be available in MED-MFC version in
2017. The consortium, composed of INGV (Italy), HCMR (Greece) and OGS (Italy) and coordinated by the
Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change (CMCC, Italy), performs advanced R&D activities and manages
the service delivery.
The Med-MFC infrastructure consists of 3 Production Units (PU), for Physics, Biogechemistry and Waves, a
unique Dissemination Unit (DU) and Archiving Unit (AU) and Backup Units (BU) for all principal components,
guaranteeing a resilient configuration of the service and providing and efficient and robust solution for the maintenance of the service and delivery. The Med-MFC includes also an evolution plan, both in terms of research and operational activities, oriented to increase the spatial resolution of products, to start wave products dissemination, to increase temporal extent of the reanalysis products and improving ocean physical modeling for delivering new products.
The scientific activities carried out in 2015 concerned some improvements in the physical, biogeochemical
and wave components of the system. Regarding the currents, new grid-point EOFs have been implemented in
the Med-MFC assimilation system; the climatological CMAP precipitation was replaced by the ECMWF daily
precipitation; reanalysis time-series have been increased by one year.
Regarding the biogeochemistry, the main scientific achievement is related to the implementation of the carbon
system in the Med-MFC biogeochemistry model system already available. The new model is able to reproduce the principal spatial patterns of the carbonate system variables in the Mediterranean Sea. Further, a key result consists of the calibration of the new variables (DIC and alkalinity), which serves to the estimation of the accuracy of the new products to be released in the next version of the system (i.e. pH and pCO2 at surface).
Regarding the waves, the system has been validated against in-situ and satellite observations. For example, a very good agreement between model output and in-situ observations has been obtained at offshore and/or well-exposed wave buoys in the Mediterranean Sea.PublishedVienna3SR. AMBIENTE - Servizi e ricerca per la Societ
Neutrino physics with the PTOLEMY project: active neutrino properties and the light sterile case
The PTOLEMY project aims to develop a scalable design for a Cosmic Neutrino Background (CNB) detector, the first of its kind and the only one conceived that can look directly at the image of the Universe encoded in neutrino background produced in the first second after the Big Bang. The scope of the work for the next three years is to complete the conceptual design of this detector and to validate with direct measurements that the non-neutrino backgrounds are below the expected cosmological signal. In this paper we discuss in details the theoretical aspects of the experiment and its physics goals. In particular, we mainly address three issues. First we discuss the sensitivity of PTOLEMY to the standard neutrino mass scale. We then study the perspectives of the experiment to detect the CNB via neutrino capture on tritium as a function of the neutrino mass scale and the energy resolution of the apparatus. Finally, we consider an extra sterile neutrino with mass in the eV range, coupled to the active states via oscillations, which has been advocated in view of neutrino oscillation anomalies. This extra state would contribute to the tritium decay spectrum, and its properties, mass and mixing angle, could be studied by analyzing the features in the beta decay electron spectrum
Risk factors for operated carpal tunnel syndrome: a multicenter population-based case-control study
Background. Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a socially and economically relevant disease caused by compression or entrapment of the median nerve within the carpal tunnel. This population-based case-control study aims to investigate occupational/non-occupational risk factors for surgically treated CTS.
Methods. Cases (n = 220) aged 18-65 years were randomly drawn from 13 administrative databases of citizens who were surgically treated with carpal tunnel release during 2001. Controls (n = 356) were randomly sampled from National Health Service registry records and were frequency matched by age-gender-specific CTS hospitalization rates.
Results. At multivariate analysis, risk factors were blue-collar/housewife status, BMI â„ 30 kg/m2, sibling history of CTS and coexistence of trigger finger. Being relatively tall (cut-offs based on tertiles: women â„165 cm; men â„175 cm) was associated with lower risk. Blue-collar work was a moderate/strong risk factor in both sexes. Raised risks were apparent for combinations of biomechanical risk factors that included frequent repetitivity and sustained force.
Conclusion. This study strongly underlines the relevance of biomechanical exposures in both non-industrial and industrial work as risk factors for surgically treated CTS
Evaluation of operational ocean forecasting systems from the perspective of the users and the experts
The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) has an Ocean Decade Implementation Plan (UNESCO-IOC, 2021) that states seven outcomes required for the ocean we want, with the fourth outcome being âA predicted ocean where society understands and can respond to changing ocean conditions.â To facilitate the achievement of this goal, the IOC has endorsed Mercator Ocean International to implement the Decade Collaborative Center (DCC) for OceanPrediction (https://www.mercator-ocean.eu/oceanprediction/, last access: 21 August 2023), which is a cross-cutting structure that will work to develop global-scale collaboration between Decade Actions related to ocean prediction
Risk factors for operated carpal tunnel syndrome: a multicenter population-based case-control study
Omecamtiv mecarbil in chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, GALACTICâHF: baseline characteristics and comparison with contemporary clinical trials
Aims:
The safety and efficacy of the novel selective cardiac myosin activator, omecamtiv mecarbil, in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is tested in the Global Approach to Lowering Adverse Cardiac outcomes Through Improving Contractility in Heart Failure (GALACTICâHF) trial. Here we describe the baseline characteristics of participants in GALACTICâHF and how these compare with other contemporary trials.
Methods and Results:
Adults with established HFrEF, New York Heart Association functional class (NYHA)ââ„âII, EF â€35%, elevated natriuretic peptides and either current hospitalization for HF or history of hospitalization/ emergency department visit for HF within a year were randomized to either placebo or omecamtiv mecarbil (pharmacokineticâguided dosing: 25, 37.5 or 50âmg bid). 8256 patients [male (79%), nonâwhite (22%), mean age 65âyears] were enrolled with a mean EF 27%, ischemic etiology in 54%, NYHA II 53% and III/IV 47%, and median NTâproBNP 1971âpg/mL. HF therapies at baseline were among the most effectively employed in contemporary HF trials. GALACTICâHF randomized patients representative of recent HF registries and trials with substantial numbers of patients also having characteristics understudied in previous trials including more from North America (n = 1386), enrolled as inpatients (n = 2084), systolic blood pressureâ<â100âmmHg (n = 1127), estimated glomerular filtration rate <â30âmL/min/1.73 m2 (n = 528), and treated with sacubitrilâvalsartan at baseline (n = 1594).
Conclusions:
GALACTICâHF enrolled a wellâtreated, highârisk population from both inpatient and outpatient settings, which will provide a definitive evaluation of the efficacy and safety of this novel therapy, as well as informing its potential future implementation
Psychometric properties of the UK and Italian versions of the HSE Stress Indicator Tool: a crosscultural investigation
The Health and Safety Executive Stress Indicator Tool is a short questionnaire developed in the UK for the screening of common psychosocial risk factors leading to work-related stress. Previous research showed that in both the UK and Italy this test fits the same seven-factor solution. Building upon previous findings and by using multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis we investigated the degree of measurement equivalence of the Italian version of the test with its original UK version. Furthermore, we advanced the validation of the tool in Italy by exploring the correlations of its subscales with stress-related outcomes. Two samples of workers were available for analyses: 1,298 Italian employees of private-sector organizations and a sample of 7,589 UK employees from organizations of the same type. Results replicated previous findings: A 7-factor solution of the Indicator Tool was found to be equivalent across the Italian and UK samples. Furthermore, the analyses supported factor variance and factor covariance equivalence in addition to metric equivalence. The Indicator Tool subscales showed significant correlations in the expected direction with stress-related outcomes. The Italian version of the Indicator Tool behaves very consistently with its UK version and may be used for the screening of psychosocial risks in Italian workplaces
Studi di efficacia di attivitĂ preventive nelle comunicazioni ai congressi SIMLII (1989-2003)
La conoscenza dei risultati degli studi riguardanti lâefficacia pratica (effectivness) degli interventi di prevenzione Ăš di rilievo anche in medicina del lavoro. Questa revisione si propone di identificare la produzione scientifica italiana sul tema della evidence based prevention nellâambito degli Atti dei congressi della SocietĂ Italiana della Medicina del Lavoro e Igiene Industriale degli ultimi quindici anni (1989-2003). Una prima selezione delle comunicazioni Ăš stata svolta sulla base di titolo, scopo, tabelle e figure di ogni singolo contributo. In seconda istanza Ăš stato esaminato il testo completo degli articoli selezionati, che sono stati classificati per tipologia dellâintervento preventivo, settore produttivo, disegno dello studio, fattore di rischio indagato. Delle 3215 comunicazioni totali 108 rispondevano ai criteri di selezione stabiliti. Quasi due terzi di esse riportavano interventi di tipo tecnologico, di cui nove consistevano nellâintroduzione di impianti di aspirazione. La grande maggioranza degli studi considerati era di tipo prima-dopo; in quattro casi invece, al fine di valutare lâefficacia di campagne vaccinali, Ăš stato utilizzato il modello del trial (non randomizzato). Circa la metĂ degli studi sulla prevenzione degli infortuni riguardava lâefficacia di interventi formativi. Solo in cinque casi, alla comunicazione congressuale ha fatto seguito la pubblicazione, come articolo scientifico, su riviste indicizzate da Medline. Il numero di studi selezionati (108) corrisponde ad appena il 3,4% del totale delle comunicazioni (3215) di 15 anni di congressi della SIMLII. Questa revisione rivela la presenza di attivitĂ di valutazione di interventi in campo preventivo occupazionale. Tuttavia appare necessario aumentare il numero delle valutazioni di efficacia nel campo della sicurezza e della salute professionale, promuovere la pubblicazione dei risultati ottenuti, e migliorare la qualitĂ del disegno degli studi
Efficacia della sorveglianza sanitaria in Medicina del Lavoro
Medical surveillance is one of the primary instruments in occupational health activities and is considered essential to maintain employees' good health. However, the efficacy of medical surveillance has not been sufficiently tested. The aim of this review was to evaluate the usefulness of medical surveillance, using available literature on Pubmed for the period 2005 to 2014. Although on the basis of a small number of studies, our conclusion is that medical surveillance could be considered effective. Apart from the case of occupational asthma, it must be emphasised that the number of evaluation studies is small, especially in some areas, as well as the one of biomechanical overload