Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs in the Carcinogenesisof the Gastrointestinal Tract

It is estimated that underlying infections and inflammatory responses are linked to 15–20% of all deaths from cancer worldwide. Inflammation is a physiologic process in response to tissue damage resulting from microbial pathogen infection, chemical irritation, and/or wounding. Tissues injured throughout the recruitment of inflammatory cells such as macrophages and neutrophils, generate a great amount of growth factors, cytokines, and reactive oxygen and nitrogen species that may cause DNA damage that in turn predisposes to the transformation from chronic inflammation to neoplasia. Cyclooxygenase (COX), playing a key role in cell homeostasis, angiogenesis and tumourigenesis, may represent the link between inflammation and cancer. Currently COX is becoming a pharmacological target for cancer prevention and treatment

Status of the BMV experiment

In this contribution we present the status of the BMV experiment whose goal is to measure the vacuum magnetic birefringence

Environmental pollution from illegal waste disposal and health effects: A review on the triangle of Death.

The term “triangle of death” was used for the first time by Senior and Mazza in the journal The Lancet Oncology referring to the eastern area of the Campania Region (Southern Italy) which has one of the worst records of illegal waste dumping practices. In the past decades, many studies have focused on the potential of illegal waste disposal to cause adverse effects on human health in this area. The great heterogeneity in the findings, and the bias in media communication has generated great healthcare doubts, anxieties and alarm. This paper addresses a review of the up-to-date literature on the “triangle of death”, bringing together the available information on the occurrence and severity of health effects related to illegal waste disposal. The Scopus database was searched using the search terms “waste”, “Campania”, “Naples”, “triangle of death” and “human biomonitoring”. Despite the methodological and sampling heterogeneity between the studies, this review examines the evidence from published data concerning cancer incidence, childhood mortality and birth defects, so that the current situation, knowledge gaps and research priorities can be established. The review aims to provide a contribution to the scientific community, and to respond to the concerns of the general population

Harbour water managment for port structures and sea bottom design, coast proximity navigation managment, water quality control.

Tide is a sea level up-down water motion basically depending on three different phenomena: the Earth-Moon-Sun gravitational relationship, the water surface fluid reaction to atmospheric meteorological dynamic action and the Newtonian vertical adjustment of the sea surface due to atmospheric pressure variations. The first tide component (astro-tide) is periodic and well known in all points of the Earth surface; the second one is directly related to the meteorological phenomenon and then it is foreseeable; the Newtonian component, on the contrary, is not readily predictable by a general hydrostatic law, because the factor “J” that represents the Newtonian transfer (from the atmospheric weight to the consequent sea level) is variable in each harbour area. A statistical study and the related numerical data interpretation of the measurements performed in the Ports of Genoa, La Spezia, Marina di Carrara, Livorno, Piombino, Civitavecchia and Ravenna (belonging to the Italian Newtonian Meteotide Network) show port values of Jph (from 1.4-1.6 cm/hPa to > 2 cm/hPa, on the contrary of the off-shore areas where Jph is about 1 cm/hPa). This phenomenon (hydrobarometric tide wave) produces even double values of harbour sea level fluctuations amplitude in comparison to astronomic tide sea level oscillations, and is characterized by a wavelength from 8-12 h to same days and a 10-25 days/year as mean temporal occurrence in the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea. This is the most relevant ordinary risk factor for our ports activity and structures design. The present note shows a quantitative method to define the values of Jph factor for ports and its use in the Harbour WaterSide Management (HWSM) based on the joined use of barometers, hydrometers and clocks, the preliminary results related to the use of the gravimeters as hydrobarometric predictor in La Spezia Port and two examples of use of Jph factor in the port management: refloating of a landing ship and optimisation of a dock performance as pleasure boats mooring

Transorbital Sonography in Acute Optic Neuritis: A Case-Control Study

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Acute unilateral optic neuritis is associated with a thickening of the retrobulbar portion of the optic nerve as revealed by transorbital sonography, but no comparison has been made between nerve sheath diameter and optic nerve diameter in patients with acute optic neuritis versus healthy controls. We evaluated optic nerve sheath diameter and optic nerve diameter in patients with acute optic neuritis and healthy controls and compared optic nerve sheath diameter and optic nerve diameter with visual-evoked potentials in patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A case-control study was performed in 2 centers. Twenty-one consecutive patients with onset of visual loss during the prior 10 days and established acute noncompressive unilateral optic neuritis were compared with 21 healthy controls, matched for sex and age (±5 years). Two experienced vascular sonographers performed the study by using B-mode transorbital sonography. Visual-evoked potentials were performed on the same day as the transorbital sonography and were evaluated by an expert neurophysiologist. Sonographers and the neurophysiologist were blinded to the status of the patient or control and to clinical information, including the side of the affected eye. RESULTS: The median optic nerve sheath diameter was thicker on the affected side (6.3 mm; interquartile range, 5.9–7.2 mm) compared with the nonaffected side (5.5 mm; interquartile range, 5.1–6.2 mm; P P P = not significant.). Both sides were thicker than those in controls (2.7 mm; interquartile range, 2.5–2.8 mm; P = .001 and .009). No correlation was found between optic nerve sheath diameter and optic nerve diameter and amplitude and latency of visual-evoked potentials in patients with optic neuritis. CONCLUSIONS: Transorbital sonography is a promising tool to support the clinical diagnosis of acute optic neuritis. Further studies are needed to define its specific role in the diagnosis and follow-up of optic neuritis

Use of Framingham Risk Score as a Clinical Tool for the Assessment of Fitness for Work: Results From a Cohort Study

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to validate the use of the Framingham Risk Score (FRS) as clinical tool to predict the risk of diagnosis of unsuitability for work in a cohort of Italian workers. METHODS: A cohort of workers has been observed from January 2006 to March 2014. FRS was calculated at each visit. Health surveillance diagnosis of unsuitability for work was selected as outcome. RESULTS: Two thousand eight hundred fifty seven workers were observed, 58.9% were men, mean age was 51.6 (±6.7), the mean FRS was 15.1% (±10.7%). Increased values of FRS at baseline were associated with increased rate of diagnosis of unsuitability for work (Hazard ratio [HR], 11.2, 95%CI, 3.3 to 37.8). CONCLUSIONS: FRS is a strong predictor of diagnosis of unsuitability for work and should be used as a clinical tool for the assessment of fitness for work in health surveillance

The BMV experiment : a novel apparatus to study the propagation of light in a transverse magnetic field

In this paper, we describe in detail the BMV (Bir\'efringence Magn\'etique du Vide) experiment, a novel apparatus to study the propagation of light in a transverse magnetic field. It is based on a very high finesse Fabry-Perot cavity and on pulsed magnets specially designed for this purpose. We justify our technical choices and we present the current status and perspectives.Comment: To be published in the European Physical Journal

The newtonian approach in the meteorological tide waves forecasting: preliminary observations in the East Ligurian harbours

Sea level oscillations are the superposition of many contributions, among which the main are astronomic and meteorological low-frequency tides. In Ligurian Sea meteo-tide components, being most ample than astronomic fluctuations, drive water exchange in harbours. The present note shows first results about port of Genoa concerning a coherency study between atmospheric variation and corresponding sea level adjustment (meteorological tide). The newtonian forecasting method of meteorological tides is based on measurements of time elapsing between barometric sea level unbalance (Δg) and its meteorological tide compensation (inverse barometer component). Meteorological tide component is independent on the Earth-Moon-Sun gravitational relationships, moreover parameters related to the shifted water mass are too many to describe the phenomenon analytically (basin topography, barometric strength position and time, chemical water quality, off-shore sea circulation, etc.); then, meteorological tide can’t be accurately foreseen by atmospheric pressure measurements only. A gravimeter can detect the geodetic unbalance starting time and a tide-gauge can detect the newtonian compensation (tide wave) coming time. The difference between these two times is the meteorological tide delay. An opportune statistic of this delay provides an experimental law typical for each harbour to forecast the meteo-tide compensation wave delay. This paper describes the methodological procedure adopted and first evidences of the phenomenon in Genoa harbour

Distinct metaplastic and inflammatory phenotypes in autoimmune and adenocarcinoma-associated chronic atrophic gastritis

Background:Autoimmune gastritis (AIG) and adenocarcinoma-associated chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) are both associated with oxyntic atrophy, but AIG patients demonstrate an increased risk of carcinoid tumors rather than the elevated risk of adenocarcinoma observed with CAG. We therefore sought to compare the characteristics of the metaplastic mucosa in AIG and CAG patients. Methods:We examined markers for metaplasia (spasmolytic polypeptide expressing metaplasia (SPEM) and intestinal metaplasia) as well as proliferation (Ki67) and immune cell populations (neutrophils, macrophages, and eosinophils) in gastric sections from 16 female patients with autoimmune thyroiditis and AIG and 17 patients with CAG associated with gastric adenocarcinoma. Results:Both AIG and CAG patients demonstrated prominent SPEM and intestinal metaplasia. However, AIG patients displayed significantly lower numbers of infiltrating macrophages and significantly reduced mucosal cell proliferation as compared to CAG patients. Conclusions:These findings indicate that, while both AIG and CAG patients display prominent oxyntic atrophy and metaplasia, the AIG patients do not show proliferative metaplastic lineages that would predispose to adenocarcinoma

Cost-effectiveness of pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention in men who have sex with men in the UK: a modelling study and health economic evaluation.

BACKGROUND: In the UK, HIV incidence among men who have sex with men (MSM) has remained high for several years, despite widespread use of antiretroviral therapy and high rates of virological suppression. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has been shown to be highly effective in preventing further infections in MSM, but its cost-effectiveness is uncertain. METHODS: In this modelling study and economic evaluation, we calibrated a dynamic, individual-based stochastic model, the HIV Synthesis Model, to multiple data sources (surveillance data provided by Public Health England and data from a large, nationally representative survey, Natsal-3) on HIV among MSM in the UK. We did a probabilistic sensitivity analysis (sampling 22 key parameters) along with a range of univariate sensitivity analyses to evaluate the introduction of a PrEP programme with sexual event-based use of emtricitabine and tenofovir for MSM who had condomless anal sexual intercourse in the previous 3 months, a negative HIV test at baseline, and a negative HIV test in the preceding year. The main model outcomes were the number of HIV infections, quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), and costs. FINDINGS: Introduction of such a PrEP programme, with around 4000 MSM initiated on PrEP by the end of the first year and almost 40 000 by the end of the 15th year, would result in a total cost saving (£1·0 billion discounted), avert 25% of HIV infections (42% of which would be directly because of PrEP), and lead to a gain of 40 000 discounted QALYs over an 80-year time horizon. This result was particularly sensitive to the time horizon chosen, the cost of antiretroviral drugs (for treatment and PrEP), and the underlying trend in condomless sex. INTERPRETATION: This analysis suggests that the introduction of a PrEP programme for MSM in the UK is cost-effective and possibly cost-saving in the long term. A reduction in the cost of antiretroviral drugs (including the drugs used for PrEP) would substantially shorten the time for cost savings to be realised. FUNDING: National Institute for Health Research