Immigrazione, salute e mortalità degli stranieri in Italia

*** Sommario *** 1.Introduzione. 2. Gli stranieri in Italia: un fenomeno dalle molte facce. 3. La salute della popolazione straniera residente in Italia. 3.1. Salute percepita, malattie croniche e limitazioni delle attività. 3.2.Ospedalizzazione, salute riproduttiva, infortuni e malattie professionali. 4. La mortalità degli stranieri residenti. 4.1. La mortalità infantile. 4.2. La mortalità degli adulti: totale e per causa. 5. Conclusioni: un futuro difficile da prevedere. *** SINTESI *** Lo scopo principale di questo lavoro è quello di presentare un’analisi della salute e della mortalità degli stranieri residenti nel nostro paese alla luce delle informazioni esistenti, partendo, però, da un quadro il più ampio possibile dell’immigrazione e delle caratteristiche della popolazione straniera. La prima parte del lavoro è, pertanto, dedicata alla descrizione dell’evoluzione del fenomeno migratorio, condotta partendo dalle statistiche ufficiali disponibili. In particolare, viene evidenziata la sua complessità e articolazione in termini di paesi di provenienza dei migranti, considerando le motivazioni del loro spostamento e le caratteristiche demografiche e sociali, con cenni alle modalità di insediamento sul territorio italiano e all’inserimento nel mercato del lavoro. La seconda parte del lavoro affronta il tema delle condizioni di salute degli immigrati/stranieri, facendo ricorso ai dati dell’indagine realizzata dall’Istituto nazionale di statistica (Istat) nel 2009 su “Reddito e condizioni di vita delle famiglie con stranieri” e prendendo in esame tre dimensioni del fenomeno: la salute percepita, le limitazioni delle attività legate alle condizioni di salute (o salute funzionale) e la presenza di malattie croniche. Le rilevazioni correnti disponibili consentono di rivolgere uno sguardo anche alle condizioni di accesso ai servizi sanitari e di analizzare la salute riproduttiva, gli incidenti sul lavoro e le malattie professionali. Questi aspetti particolari consentono di mettere in luce alcune delle questioni più significative delle condizioni di salute della popolazione straniera che vive sul territorio italiano

Embryo transfer and related technologies in sheep reproduction

This paper reviews the status of embryo transfer and the major technologies applied to preimplantation of embryos in sheep. Embryo production from superovulated ewes is hindered by an unpredictable response to hormonal treatment. Progress in this area should be expected by an appropriated control of follicular development with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist or antagonist prior to gonadotrophin administration. Simple protocols for the cryopreservation of sheep embryos by vitrification are already available and the development of frozen-thawed blastocysts to term is close to the fresh ones. Further research is required to identify factors able to promote the maturation in vitro of oocytes, namely those obtained from prepubertal animals. Semen and embryo sexing procedures are available in cattle although much less attention was paid to their application to sheep. Among all the reproductive technologies, cloning with embryonic and foetal cells has progressed dramatically in sheep and nuclear transfer has been used to produce transgenic animals as an alternative to pronuclear injection. The production of the first lamb cloned from a somatic cell opened new opportunities in animal breeding as well as exciting lines of basic research. The overall conclusions are that, apart from superovulation, the application of in vitro technologies is likely to evolve rapidly and once applied, a great impact on traditional and new animal productions should be expected. However, a better understanding of the changes in gene expression, induced in embryos by different in vitro manipulation procedures, is necessary to prevent abnormal foetal development. Cette revue traite du transfert d’embryons et des principales biotechnologies appliquées à l’embryon ovin. La production d’embryons, après superovulation, est limitée par la réponse non reproductible au traitement hormonal. Un progrès pourrait venir d’un contrôle approprié du développement folliculaire avec un agoniste ou antagoniste de GnRH appliqué avant le traitement gonadotrope. Des protocoles simples pour la congélation d’embryons ovins par vitrification sont disponibles et, après décongélation, le développement à terme de blastocystes congelés est proche de celui des embryons frais. De nouvelles recherches seront nécessaires pour identifier les facteurs capables de stimuler la maturation in vitro des ovocytes, en particulier ceux d’animaux prépubères. Le sexage des spermatozoïdes et des embryons est possible chez les bovins, mais peu appliqué chez les ovins. De toutes les techniques de reproduction, c’est celle du clonage à partir de cellules embryonnaires ou foetales qui a le plus progressé; le transfert nucléaire a été utilisé pour produire des animaux transgéniques, comme alternative à l’injection dans les pronoyaux. La production du premier agneau cloné à partir d’une cellule somatique a ouvert de nouvelles perspectives en élevage et en recherche fondamentale. En conclusion, excepté dans le domaine de la superovulation, les biotechnologies vont évoluer rapidement; leur application aura certainement un grand impact sur les méthodes traditionnelles et nouvelles de production. Cependant, une meilleure connaissance des effets sur l’expression de gènes embryonnaires induits par les manipulations in vitro serait nécessaire pour éviter un développement foetal anormal

Two culture systems showing a biphasic effect on ovine embryo development from the 1-2 cell stage to hatched blastocysts

This study compared the effect of using either CZB or TCM 199 media on both the development of 1-2 cell ovine embryos from superovulated ewes to the blastocyst stage (Experiment 1), and the hatching process of ovine blastocysts developed in vitro (Experiment 2). For the first 5 d, the CZB medium showed higher rates of embryo development than the TCM 199 medium (p < 0.001). The embryos reaching the > 16 cell stage were 79 vs 52% and 74 vs 20% with or without an oviductal monolayer, respectively, and those reaching the blastocyst stage were 71 vs 46% and 46 vs 13% with or without cells. The CZB medium was less able to support the hatching process of the blastocysts obtained in the first experiment than was the TCM-199 medium + 10% FCS (fetal calf serum) with cells (31 vs 92%; p < 0.001) or without cells (13 vs 66%; p < 0.001). No blastocysts completely escaped from the zona pellucida (ZP) in the CZB medium compared with 80 and 61 % in the TCM 199 medium with or without cells, respectively. In Experiment 3, 47% of the blastocysts migrated through the artificial opening of the ZP and hatched completely. After 24 h of culture in the CZB medium, however, they showed blastocoelic cavity breakdown. During the preliminary cleavages, the ovine embryos developed better in CZB medium than in TCM 199, but the latter was more efficient in promoting the hatching process of the blastocysts. Les effets d’un milieu de culture, CZB, et d’un milieu de culture, TCM 199 + 10% de sérum de veau foetal, ont été observés sur le développement in vitro d’embryons d’ovins du stade 1-2 cellules au stade blastocyste (expérience 1) et dans le processus d’éclosion des blastocystes produits lors de l’expérience précédente (expérience 2). Le milieu CZB exerce un effet positif sur le développement embryonnaire par rapport au milieu TCM 199 après culture jusqu au stade > 16 cellules (79 vs 52 % et 74 vs 20%) ou jusqu’au stade blastocyste (71 vs 46% et 46 vs 13%) en présence de cellules et en l’absence de cellules tubaires respectivement. Le processus d’éclosion est plus faible dans le milieu CZB que dans le milieu TCM 199 soit en présence (31 vs 92%) soit en l’absence (13 vs 66%) de cellules tubaires respectivement. Dans le CZB (expérience 3), 47% des blastocystes éclosent par une fente artificielle dans la zone pellucide, mais, après 24 h de culture, la cavité blastocoelique se dégonfle. Ces résultats montrent que le milieu CZB est plus indiqué pour le développement précoce d’embryons ovins alors que le milieu TCM 199 est plus efficace au moment de la phase d’éclosion

A Methodological Approach For The Effective Infiltration Assessment In A Coastal Groundwater

Accurate estimates of spatial and temporal distribution of groundwater recharge are of utmost importance to protect groundwater systems. In coastal areas, the fragility of the systems makes such estimates critical for the correct management and protection of water resources from saltwater intrusion. The Muravera coastal plain, in the south-eastern Sardinia, has been studied since 1960, due to important saltwater intrusion phenomena. Since the early fifties, the natural hydrodynamic equilibrium between groundwater, surface-water and seawater has been deeply modified by the construction of four dams across the Flumendosa river and the development of agriculture, tourism and aquaculture activities along the coast. To implement an integrated and sustainable management system addressed to slow down the process of saltwater intrusion and, on the other, satisfy human requirements, it is important to develop a flexible scenario analysis system that considers changes of land-use and inputs to the hydrogeological system, also in relation to climate change. In this study, the innovative Soil Water Balance code (SWB) has been applied to the Muravera plain groundwater body to calculate spatial and temporal variations of groundwater recharge. The code calculates the recharge (R) by using geographic system (GIS) data layers in combination with tabular climatological data. It is based on a modified Thornthwaite - Mather soil water balance approach, with components of the soil water balance calculated at a daily time-step. A combined experimental approach of hydrogeological, satellite remote sensing and pedological methodologies has been applied to derive data layers describing local features of: (1) land-use classification, (2) hydrologic soil group, (3) flow direction, and (4) soil-water capacity. The code has proved to be promising for the effective infiltration assessment and it can be easily updated with high resolution data acquired in the field and from satellite images

Impact of alien insect pests on Sardinian landscape and culture

Geologically Sardinia is a raft which, for just under thirty million years, has been crossing the western Mediterranean, swaying like a pendulum from the Iberian to the Italian Peninsula. An island so large and distant from the other lands, except for its "sister" Corsica, has inevitably developed an autochthonous flora and fauna over such a long period of time. Organisms from other Mediterranean regions have added to this original contingent. These new arrivals were not randomly distributed over time but grouped into at least three great waves. The oldest two correspond with the Messinian salinity crisis about 7 million years ago and with the ice age, when, in both periods, Sardinia was linked to or near other lands due to a fall in sea level. The third, still in progress, is linked to human activity. Man has travelled since ancient times and for many centuries introduced allochthonous species to Sardinia which radically modified the native flora and fauna, but always at a very slow and almost unnoticeable rate. The use of sailing or rowing boats, with their low speeds, hindered the transport of living organisms from one place to another. The use of the steam boat, introduced around 1840 but widely diffuse around 1870-1880, opened the doors to more frequent arrivals and also to organisms from the American Continent. This technical innovation had an influence over the whole world economy, with its well-known grain crisis, and coincided in Sardinia with the arrival of Roman dairymen, producers of pecorino cheese and the beginning of the expansion of sheep farming which would continue uninterrupted until the present day. In this period of sudden social and environmental change, an insect was introduced which would turn out to be probably the most economically devastating agricultural pest in Europe: the Grape Phylloxera. The vineyard and wine business collapsed first in France then in Italy. The Phylloxera arrived in Sardinia in 1883 and wine production crashed a very short time later and only resumed after the distribution of American vine rootstock at the beginning of the 20th Century. From then, vine cultivation in Europe was modified with the essential use of this rootstock. Since then methods of transport have increased enormously in number and speed. The number of allochthonous and invasive species has increased proportionally: some of them along with exotic plants which are cultivated on the island, others following man in his activities. Often these new pests attack and destroy ornamental plants which have become part of the Sardinian landscape, causing it to change; just as often their presence requires methods of pest management which are different from the traditional methods on specific crops; finally in at least one case (the Asian tiger mosquito) they pose a threat to our health

Rapporto sulla popolazione. Le molte facce della presenza straniera in Italia

Al di là delle emergenze recenti, l’immigrazione straniera è un fenomeno le cui origini risalgono a circa quaranta anni fa: proprio i demografi italiani furono tra i primi a segnalarne l’importanza, analizzandone cause, caratteristiche e conseguenze. Questo Rapporto permette di seguire la pluridecennale evoluzione dell’immigrazione e della presenza straniera in Italia, con attenzione alle specificità dei diversi contesti territoriali. Una ricca e affidabile documentazione statistica consente di illustrare le origini e le caratteristiche degli stranieri, i loro comportamenti demografici, l’inserimento nel mercato del lavoro e le condizioni di integrazione. Tra le questioni affrontate si segnalano quelle, rilevantissime, dei profughi, della cittadinanza e delle seconde generazioni

Notulae to the Italian alien vascular flora: 14

In this contribution, new data concerning the distribution of vascular flora alien to Italy are presented. It includes new records, confirmations, and status changes for Italy or for Italian administrative regions. Nomenclatural and distribution updates, published elsewhere, and corrections are provided as Suppl. materia

Notulae to the Italian alien vascular flora: 14

In this contribution, new data concerning the distribution of vascular flora alien to Italy are presented. It includes new records, confirmations, and status changes for Italy or for Italian administrative regions. Nomenclatural and distribution updates, published elsewhere, and corrections are provided as Suppl. material

Clinical features and comorbidity pattern of HCV infected migrants compared to native patients in care in Italy: A real-life evaluation of the PITER cohort

Background: Direct-acting antivirals are highly effective for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, regardless race/ethnicity. We aimed to evaluate demographic, virological and clinical data of HCV-infected migrants vs. natives consecutively enrolled in the PITER cohort. Methods: Migrants were defined by country of birth and nationality that was different from Italy. Mann-Whitney U test, Chi-squared test and multiple logistic regression were used. Results: Of 10,669 enrolled patients, 301 (2.8%) were migrants: median age 47 vs. 62 years, (p < 0.001), females 56.5% vs. 45.3%, (p < 0.001), HBsAg positivity 3.8% vs. 1.4%, (p < 0.05). Genotype 1b was prevalent in both groups, whereas genotype 4 was more prevalent in migrants (p < 0.05). Liver disease severity and sustained virologic response (SVR) were similar. A higher prevalence of comorbidities was reported for natives compared to migrants (p < 0.05). Liver disease progression cofactors (HBsAg, HIV coinfection, alcohol abuse, potential metabolic syndrome) were present in 39.1% and 47.1% (p > 0.05) of migrants and natives who eradicated HCV, respectively. Conclusion: Compared to natives, HCV-infected migrants in care have different demographics, HCV genotypes, viral coinfections and comorbidities and similar disease severity, SVR and cofactors for disease progression after HCV eradication. A periodic clinical assessment after HCV eradication in Italians and migrants with cofactors for disease progression is warranted