Toxic urban waste's assault on cardiovascular risk

Abstract A cardiovascular health survey of 1203 persons in households located near the hazardous waste disposal sites and in a reference community, was conducted from 2009 until today to assess whether rates of adverse cardiovascular health outcomes were elevated among persons living near the sites. Data included medical records of reported cardiovascular disease certificates and hospital admission for cardiovascular diseases from hospital database. The study areas appeared similar with respect to mortality, cancer incidence, and pregnancy outcomes. In contrast, rate ratios were greater than 1.5 for 2 of 19 reported diseases, i.e., angina pectoris, and strokes. The apparent broad-based elevation in reported diseases and symptoms may reflect increased perception or recall of conditions by respondents living near the sites. Our study found that cardiovascular risk is associated only with PM 2.5 concentrations, derived from uncontrolled burning of municipal solid waste in particular sites of our country. Their analysis demonstrated a relationship between increased levels of eventual fine particulate pollution and higher rates of death and complications from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Management of solid waste releases a number of toxic substances, most in small quantities and at extremely low levels. Because of the wide range of pollutants, the different pathways of exposure, long-term low-level exposure, and the potential for synergism among the pollutants, concerns remain about potential health effects but there are many uncertainties involved in the assessment. Future community-based health studies should include medical and psychosocial assessment instruments sufficient to distinguish between changes in health status and effects of resident reporting tendency

The long-term clinical efficacy of recombinant human nerve growth factor in the treatment of neurotrophic keratitis

Topical recombinant human nerve growth factor (rhNGF) is FDA-approved to treat patients with neurotrophic keratitis (NK), but current clinical trial data only encompasses 1 year of follow up. We hypothesize that a single course of rhNGF can have a long-term, persistent effect on NK healing and related clinical parameters. Therefore, we evaluated the long-term efficacy of rhNGF in a retrospective, consecutive, observational case series from a single-center setting over a 4-year period

Thermodynamic properties of Pb3U11O36

In order to progress in the development of Lead-cooled Fast Reactors, from the safety point of view it is essential to understand the chemical compatibility between liquid lead and uranium oxide. In the present work selected thermodynamic properties of Pb3U11O36, a possible ternary compound coming from fuel-coolant chemical interaction, were determined for the first time. Entropy at 298.15 K was obtained from low temperature heat capacity measurements using the Physical Property Measurement System (PPMS), while the high temperature heat capacity has been measured by a drop calorimeter. The experimental thermodynamic properties were compared with the values computed by means of DFT-GGA simulations, obtaining a very good agreement.JRC.G.I.3-Nuclear Fuel Safet

Trends in Antibiotic Resistance of Nosocomial and Community-Acquired Infections in Italy

The World Health Organization has recently identified three categories of pathogens, namely: critical, high, and medium priority, according to the need for new antibiotics. Critical priority pathogens include carbapenem-resistant microorganism (CPO) such as A. baumannii and P. aeruginosa, K. pneumoniae, and Enterobacter spp., whereas vancomycin-resistant E. faecium (VRE), methicillin and vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) are in the high priority list. We compared the trend of antimicrobial resistants (AMRs) in clinical isolates, divided by year and bacteria spp., of samples obtained from nosocomial and community patients. Patient records were collected, including age, sex, site of infection, isolated organisms, and drug susceptibility patterns. From 2019 to 2022, a total of 113,635 bacterial isolates were tested, of which 11,901 resulted in antimicrobial resistants. An increase in the prevalence of several antibiotics resistant bacteria was observed. Specifically, the percentage of CPO cases increased from 2.62% to 4.56%, the percentage of MRSA increased from 1.84% to 2.81%, and the percentage of VRE increased from 0.58% to 2.21%. AMRs trend resulted in increases in CPO and MRSA for both community and nosocomial. Our work aims to highlight the necessity of preventive and control measures to be adopted in order to reduce the spread of multidrug-resistant pathogens

Is Neuregulin 1 Involved in Determining Cerebral Volumes in Schizophrenia? Preliminary Results Showing a Decrease in Superior Temporal Gyrus Volume

&lt;i&gt;Background/Aims:&lt;/i&gt; Reduced left superior temporal gyrus (STG) volume is one of the most replicated imaging findings in schizophrenia. However, it remains unclear whether genes play any role in our understanding of such structural alteration. It has been proposed that Neuregulin 1 (NRG1) might be a promising gene involved in schizophrenia, because of its role in neurodevelopment and neuroplasticity. In this study, the association between NRG1 and STG anatomy in patients with schizophrenia was explored for the first time. &lt;i&gt;Methods:&lt;/i&gt; We investigated a 1-year treated prevalence cohort of patients with schizophrenia in contact with the South Verona Community-Based Mental Health Service. A blood sample was collected for DNA extraction and brain structure was assessed with an MRI scan. A total of 27 subjects with schizophrenia underwent both assessments and were included in the study. &lt;i&gt;Results:&lt;/i&gt; We investigated the association between the polymorphism SNP8NRG222662 (rs4623364) of NRG1 and volume of the STG. We found that patients homozygous for the C allele had reduced left STG gray and white matter volumes in comparison to those homozygous for the G allele (p &lt; 0.01 and p &lt; 0.001, respectively). &lt;i&gt;Conclusions:&lt;/i&gt; This exploratory study suggests that NRG1 may be involved in determining STG size in schizophrenia, and may play a role in the neurogenetic basis of the language disturbances seen in this disorder. However, due to our small sample size, the results should be regarded as preliminary and replicated in a larger sample.</jats:p

Sicurezza collettiva e diritti fondamentali in tempo di terrorismo. Atti del workshop tenutosi a Ferrara il 26 settembre 2007

Il terrorismo internazionale ha catalizzato l’attenzione sulla necessità preminente di garantire la sicurezza collettiva, spingendo le organizzazioni internazionali ed i singoli stati ad adottare legislazioni preventive ed a potenziare le attività congiunte di intelligence internazionali. Ma le norme d’emergenza sono per loro natura inclini ad incidere sulle libertà fondamentali. Questo volume collettaneo, grazie alla poliedricità dei contributi pubblicati, offre alla curiosità del lettore innumerevoli spunti ed osservazioni che, sotto più profili, tendono alla ricerca di un possibile bilanciamento tra l’esigenza di sicurezza ed il rispetto dei diritti inviolabili della persona. Qui trovano, dunque, ampio spazio riflessioni riguardanti la tutela dei diritti dei migranti e degli stranieri, i limiti all’attività di intelligence, la prassi del black-listing e la tutela giurisdizionale delle libertà fondamentali offerta dai giudici interni, comunitari ed internazionali