ANALISI DEL CONSUMO DI NUOVE SOSTANZE PSICOATTIVE (NSP) SUL TERRITORIO UMBRO

INTRODUZIONE: Le Nazioni Unite e l\u2019Unione Europea hanno da tempo segnalato un crescente e preoccupante fenomeno rappresentato dalla comparsa, sul mercato illecito delle sostanze stupefacenti, di nuove sostanze psicoattive (NSP). La locuzione indentifica droghe o sostanze psicotrope che non sono controllate dalla \u201cConvenzione delle Nazioni Unite del 1961 sui Narcotici\u201d, n\ue9 dalla \u201cConvenzione delle Nazioni Unite del 1971 sulle Sostanze Psicotrope\u201d, ma che possono presentare aspetti per la sanit\ue0 pubblica comparabili a quelli posti dalle sostanze incluse in queste convenzioni. Sul tema delle nuove sostanze psicoattive sono state date indicazioni strategiche sia a livello internazionale, attraverso le Nazioni Unite, l\u2019International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) e la World Health Organization (WHO), sia a livello europeo che nazionale, al fine di supportare i paesi nello sviluppo e nel mantenimento di adeguate risposte Particolare attenzione va dunque incentrata su tale fenomeno, trattandosi di sostanze relativamente alle quali poco \ue8 conosciuto. Proprio per il carattere altamente sperimentale delle NSP, raramente sono disponibili in letteratura dati relativi alla tossicit\ue0 conseguente all\u2019uso nell'uomo e vi \ue8 peraltro ancora poca letteratura circa i meccanismi d\u2019azione delle NSP, la loro capacit\ue0 di indurre dipendenza psichica e/o fisica e la loro potenzialit\ue0 di indurre gravi intossicazioni finanche al narcotismo acuto. L\u2019assunzione di NSP pu\uf2 inoltre rimanere non diagnosticata mediante procedure standard di rilevazione; proprio per tale motivo la continua comparsa di NSP sul mercato illecito delle sostanze stupefacenti rappresenta una sfida per i laboratori di analisi. SCOPI: Rappresentando le NSP un fenomeno relativamente nuovo, il presente studio si pone l\u2019obiettivo di valutare la reale diffusione del consumo di NSP nel territorio umbro. MATERIALI E METODI: Il lavoro di studio \ue8 stato condotto presso il laboratorio di Tossicologia Forense della Sezione di Medicina Legale dell\u2019Universit\ue0 di Perugia. E\u2019 stata individuata una metodica di screening generale per la ricerca mediante cromatografia nelle urine, di alcune NSP. Allo scopo sono stati utilizzati gli standard ufficiali di riferimento delle principali e pi\uf9 note NSP fornite dall\u2019Istituto Superiore di Sanit\ue0 che sono stati aggiunti ad urine bianche di sintesi. E\u2019 stata poi effettuata l\u2019analisi tossicologica su un campione di soggetti potenzialmente esposti: a tal scopo, nei mesi di Gennaio e Febbraio 2020 sono stati analizzati 157 campioni di urina pervenuti negli anni 2018 e 2019 all\u2019Istituto di Medicina Legale di Perugia ai sensi dell\u2019art. 186 e 187 del Codice della Strada e 589 bis del Codice Penale. Trattasi di campioni che pervengono gi\ue0 sottoposti a screening mediante metodica CEDIA. RISULTATI: Il presente studio ha consentito una miglior conoscenza del fenomeno del consumo delle NSP sul territorio umbro, sia dal punto di vista epidemiologico che tossicologico. Ha inoltre messo in luce la fallacit\ue0 della sola applicazione del classico metodo di screening CEDIA, in quanto 2 soggetti con positivit\ue0 CEDIA alle anfetamine sono invece risultati positivi a NSP, 2 soggetti con positivit\ue0 CEDIA per alcune sostanze sono risultati positivi anche ketamina, mentre un soggetto con positivit\ue0 CEDIA agli oppiacei \ue8 risultato invece realmente assuntore di ossicodone. E\u2019 pertanto necessario, al fine della corretta applicazione della Legge, che tutti i soggetti risultati negativi al CEDIA vengano sottoposti ad analisi di secondo livello, al fine di non considerare come negativi, soggetti assuntori e potenzialmente sotto l\u2019effetto di sostanze stupefacenti o psicotrope ed al fine di determinare con esattezza quali molecole vengano assunte al fine di tracciare correttamente il mercato illecito delle sostanze

Municipality of Naples: Parco metropolitano delle Colline di Napoli - Case Studies

The area included in the “Parco Metropolitano delle Colline di Napoli” is not exclusively devoted to production, but also affected by an agricultural activity whose conservation has the safeguard and the restoration of the land as their main purposes. In fact, this area is interested by transformations aimed to the development of semi-natural ecosystems. The area is mainly characterized by steep slopes and rough tracts: the hydrogeological stability of these lands has been possible thanks to the terracing technique; nevertheless, this stability is often threaten by the building expansion. The farmed lands are often bordering on the residential areas or, conversely, some buildings arise from areas devoted to the agriculture. Some remains of the past agricultural activities still present agricultural systems of remarkable importance, both historical and ecological. The progressive isolation of these lands, effectively involved the conservation of traditional factors, such as the cultivated species and the farming techniques. The urban farms, characterized by a subsistence agriculture of the family run and scarce plots, are considered as valuable sources of biodiversity, with a high ecological importance. Therefore, archaic techniques of farming are easy to be found in these rural areas, which produced some varieties of trees nowadays considered in extinction or superseded by industrial cultivars. Apart from the agricultural use, the areas less suitable for farming are characterized by chestnut coppices, maquis vegetation and spontaneous intercropping. The whole set represents a complex environmental system; besides, the abandoned quarries nearby, which used to cause discontinuity in the agricultural landscape, nowadays represent an evocative scenario, together with the cultivated lands

Profiles of intolerance of uncertainty, separation anxiety, and negative affectivity in emerging adulthood: A person-centered approach

Background: Although Intolerance of uncertainty (IU), separation anxiety, and negative affectivity seem theoretically interrelated, no empirical study has considered them jointly so far. However, deepening this topic is clinically relevant, especially during the delicate phase of emerging adulthood. This study aimed to pinpoint psychological profiles based on IU, separation anxiety symptoms, and negative affectivity in a group of Italian non-clinical emerging adults. Such profiles were then compared in terms of key psychological and psychosocial characteristics. Methods: 868 young adults (73 % women) aged 18-26 years entered the study. They completed a socio-demographic survey and self-report tools assessing IU, separation anxiety symptomatology, and personality traits. Subgroups exhibiting distinctive patterns of IU, separation anxiety symptoms, and negative affectivity were identified using latent profile analysis. To deepen disparities in psychological and psychosocial features by profile, analyses of variance and chi-square tests were performed. Results: Three profiles were detected, respectively with high, low, and moderate levels of the variables considered. In each profile, IU, separation anxiety symptoms, and negative affectivity had a consistent trend. The "High-level" profile had the greatest proportion of women and people who had not spent infancy with both parents. Limitations: The sample included mainly women and university students, and data were collected using self-report questionnaires only. Conclusions: IU, separation anxiety symptoms, and negative affectivity can co-occur, highlighting the importance of transdiagnostic interventions. Preventive efforts should be directed to emerging adult women and those who did not spend infancy with both parents, as they may be particularly vulnerable to internalizing distress

LE ARMI DA FUOCO CREATE MEDIANTE LA STAMPA 3D: UN LATO OSCURO DEL PROGRESSO TECNOLOGICO

Questo lavoro ha lo scopo di evidenziare i potenziali pericoli che si nascondono dietro la stampa 3D, una tecnologia nata negli anni \u201880 e da allora rapidamente progredita. Un lato oscuro \ue8 rappresentato dalla possibilit\ue0 di stampare, in materiale termo-plastico, armi da fuoco anche funzionanti che non essendo tracciate hanno ottenuto il nomignolo di \u201cghost-guns\u201d: la loro circolazione rappresenta una cogente problematica, considerato che non essendo rilevabili dai metal detectors e potendo essere rapidamente distrutte dopo l\u2019uso, potrebbero grandemente minacciare la sicurezza sociale. Auspichiamo, come gi\ue0 accaduto in alcune Nazioni estere, che la comunit\ue0 scientifica e gli organi governa- tivi del nostro Paese si interessino a tale fenomeno prevedendo politiche di contrasto negli anni avvenire

Biostimulants for Sustainable Management of Sport Turfgrass

Research on the efficacy of innovative, ecofriendly biostimulants in sport turf management is scarce, with less information available from open-field experiments, and even less pertaining to thatch control-related problems. The objective was to investigate the open-field effectiveness of a commercial product, EM-1, and two newly developed products, ExpA and ExpB, in improving both rhizosphere and turfgrass, Agrostis stoloniferous L., characteristics on a golf green. ExpA and ExpB, identical in microbial composition, were equally effective in significantly increasing chlorophyll synthesis and visual turf quality, as well as in resistance to tearing out, compared to the untreated control 56 days after treatment (DAT). EM-1 showed intermediate trends between the control and novel biostimulants. The inclusion of humic acids and mycorrhizal fungi to the microbial composition in ExpB significantly improved some rhizosphere properties 56 DAT relative to the control. Results on ExpB evidenced a significant decrease in the thatch layer thickness and fresh leaf weight, associated with a significant increase in the humus thickness, organic matter decomposition and evapotranspiration efficiency. An increased dry leaf biomass was also shown. ExpA and EM-1 showed either marginal or intermediate improvements relative to the control. ExpB represents a promising alternative to alleviate negative environmental impacts associated with turf maintenance-related activities

IGHV mutational status of nodal marginal zone lymphoma by NGS reveals distinct pathogenic pathways with different prognostic implications

The precise B cell of origin and molecular pathogenesis of nodal marginal zone lymphoma (NMZL) remain poorly defined. To date, due to the rarity of NMZL, the vast majority of already-published studies have been conducted on a limited number of samples and the technical approach to analyze the immunoglobulin genes was of amplifying rearranged variable region genes with the classical direct sequencing of the PCR products followed by cloning. Here, we studied the B cell Ig heavy-chain repertoires by next-generation sequencing (NGS) in 30 NMZL cases. Most of the cases were mutated (20/28; 71.5%) with homologies to the respective germ line genes ranging from 85 to 97, 83%, whereas 8/28 (28.5%) were unmutated. In addition, our results show that NMZL cases have a biased usage of specific immunoglobulin heavy-chain variable (IGHV) region genes. Moreover, we documented intraclonal diversity in all (100%) of the mutated cases and ongoing somatic hypermutations (SHM) have been confirmed by hundreds of reads. We analyzed the mutational pattern to detect and quantify antigen selection pressure and we found a positive selection in 4 cases, whereas in the remaining cases there was an unspecific stimulation. Finally, the disease-specific survival and the progression-free survival were significantly different between cases with mutated and unmutated IGHV genes, pointing out mutational status as a possible new biomarker in NMZL

Intersigmoid hernia. A forgotten diagnosis, a systematic review of the literature over anatomical, diagnostic, surgical, and medicolegal aspects

Introduction. Intersigmoid hernia is a hernia of the small bowel into the intersigmoid fossa. It is well known to be a rare condition. Recent reports reveal that the preoperative differentiation of intersigmoid hernias is difficult and the diagnosis is often confirmed during the laparotomic exploration. Due to the vague clinical manifestation in most cases, the surgical treatment is frequently delayed. Materials and Methods. In this study, we systematically reviewed the literature up to 2019 covering 114 studies and 124 patients with an intersigmoid hernia. &e purpose of this work is to improve the understanding of the anatomical aspects, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of intersigmoid hernia so as to assist the preoperative differentiation of these hernias when presented as acute abdomen in the emergency department. Results. &e diameter of the intersigmoid recess was reported with mean 2.65 cm (range 1–10 cm, SD 1.15 cm) and the length of the incarcerated small intestine was between 3 cm (min) and 150 cm (max): mean 25.25 cm, SD 35.04 cm. &e diameter of the sigmoid recess was greater in patients who underwent resection due to strangulation (mean 3.31 cm, SD 1.53 cm) compared to those who underwent only reduction of the hernia (mean 2.35 cm, SD 0.74 cm). &e time from onset to operation was less in patients undergoing resection surgery due to throttling (mean 3.03 days, SD 3.01 days) compared to those who underwent only a reduction of hernia incarceration (mean 8.49 days, SD 6.83 days). Conclusion. Intersigmoid hernia is often a forgotten diagnosis and a clinical challange due to its anatomical characteristics

Endocarditis of Native Valve due to Proteus mirabilis: Case Report and Literature Review

AbstractEndocarditis due to Proteus mirabilis is very uncommon and the optimal surgical and/or antibiotic treatment is not well defined. Guidelines from the AHA and ESC recommend prolonged courses of combined antibiotic therapy but information regarding the clinical presentation, the choice of treatment, the surgical management, and the duration of therapy can only be taken from clinical cases reported in literature. We describe a case of native valve endocarditis due to Proteus mirabilis, successfully treated with antibiotic therapy alone with a review of the relevant literature on this topic