An Investigation of Nurses' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Disinfection Procedures in Italy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study assessed the level of knowledge, attitudes, and practice regarding disinfection procedures among nurses in Italian hospitals.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A face-to-face interview gathered the following information: demographic and practice characteristics; knowledge about the healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and the disinfection practices; attitudes towards the utility of guidelines/protocols and perception of the risks of acquiring/transmitting HAIs; compliance with antisepsis/disinfection procedures; and sources of information.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Only 29% acknowledged that urinary and respiratory tract infections were the two most common HAIs and this knowledge was significantly higher in those with a higher level of education. Attitudes towards the utility of guidelines/protocols for disinfection procedures showed a mean score of 9.1. The results of the linear regression model indicated a more positive attitude in female nurses, in those with a lower number of years of activity, and in those needing additional information about disinfection procedures. Nurses with higher educational level and with a higher perception of risk of transmitting an infectious disease while working were more likely to perform appropriate antisepsis of the surgical wound and handwashing before and after medication.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Plan of successful prevention activities about HAIs and provide pointers to help optimize disinfection procedures and infection prophylaxis and management are needed.</p

Early and Prolonged Antiretroviral Therapy Is Associated with an HIV-1-Specific T-Cell Profile Comparable to That of Long-Term Non-Progressors

Background: Intervention with antiretroviral treatment (ART) and control of viral replication at the time of HIV-1 seroconversion may curtail cumulative immunological damage. We have therefore hypothesized that ART maintenance over a very prolonged period in HIV-1 seroconverters could induce an immuno-virological status similar to that of HIV-1 long-term non-progressors (LTNPs).Methodology/Principal Findings: We have investigated a cohort of 20 HIV-1 seroconverters on long-term ART (LTTS) and compared it to one of 15 LTNPs. Residual viral replication and reservoirs in peripheral blood, as measured by cell-associated HIV-1 RNA and DNA, respectively, were demonstrated to be similarly low in both cohorts. These two virologically matched cohorts were then comprehensively analysed by polychromatic flow cytometry for HIV-1-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cell functional profile in terms of cytokine production and cytotoxic capacity using IFN-gamma, IL-2, TNF-alpha production and perforin expression, respectively. Comparable levels of highly polyfunctional HIV-1-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cells were found in LTTS and LTNPs, with low perforin expression on HIV-1-specific CD8+ T-cells, consistent with a polyfunctional/non-cytotoxic profile in a context of low viral burden.Conclusions: Our results indicate that prolonged ART initiated at the time of HIV-1 seroconversion is associated with immuno-virological features which resemble those of LTNPs, strengthening the recent emphasis on the positive impact of early treatment initiation and paving the way for further interventions to promote virological control after treatment interruption

Aerial Service Vehicles for Industrial Inspection: Task Decomposition and Plan Execution

We propose an autonomous control systemfor Aerial Service Vehicles capable of performing inspection tasks in buildings and industrial plants. In this paper, we present the applicative domain, the high-level control architecture along with some empirical results. The system is assessed on real-world and simulated scenarios representing industrial environment

Imitation Learning and Attentional Supervision of Dual-Arm Structured Tasks

In this work, we present an approach to imitation learning and flexible execution of dual-arm structured tasks. The proposed framework exploits imitation learning and attentional supervision to learn both a set of motion primitives and the associated tasks structure. During the teaching phase, attentional supervision allows the teacher to exploit attention manipulation, like object and verbal cueing, to facilitate the demonstration. In this phase, motion data are automatically segmented, annotated and learned in a compact form for on-line motion generation. During the execution phase, the learned task structure is exploited to synchronize left and right arm movements and to adapt task execution to the operative context. The proposed approach is demonstrated in a simulated kitchen scenario considering a pizza preparation task

New oxidized 4-Oxo Fatty Acids from Hygrophorus discoxanthus

The results are reported from the first investigation of the secondary metabolites of the basidiomycete Hygrophorus discoxanthus (Fr.) Rea. Five new oxidized 4-oxo fatty acids (C16, C18) were isolated from the fruiting bodies and their structures established on the basis of their spectroscopic data and an ozonolysis experiment. Preliminary data indicate a moderate fungicidal activity, suggesting a possible function of these acids as chemical deterrents against mushroom parasites and predators