Bladder cancer mortality of workers exposed to aromatic amines: an updated analysis.

none6nonePIOLATTO G; NEGRI E; LAVECCHIA C; PIRA E; DECARLI A; PETO JPIOLATTO G; NEGRI E; LAVECCHIA C; PIRA E; DECARLI A; PETO

Miniaturized and High-Throughput Assays for Analysis of T-Cell Immunity Specific for Opportunistic Pathogens and HIV

Monitoring of antigen-specific T-cell responses is valuable in numerous conditions that include infectious diseases, vaccinations, and opportunistic infections associated with acquired or congenital immune defects. A variety of assays that make use of peripheral lymphocytes to test activation markers, T-cell receptor expression, or functional responses are currently available. The last group of assays calls for large numbers of functional lymphocytes. The number of cells increases with the number of antigens to be tested. Consequently, cells may be the limiting factor, particularly in lymphopenic subjects and in children, the groups that more often require immune monitoring. We have developed immunochemical assays that measure secreted cytokines in the same wells in which peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) are cultured. This procedure lent itself to miniaturization and automation. Lymphoproliferation and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot (ELISPOT) assay have been adapted to a miniaturized format. Here we provide examples of immune profiles and describe a comparison between miniaturized assays based on cytokine secretion or proliferation. We also demonstrate that these assays are convenient for use in testing antigen specificity in established T-cell lines, in addition to analysis of PBMC. In summary, the applicabilities of miniaturization to save cells and reagents and of automation to save time and increase accuracy were demonstrated in this study using different methodological approaches valuable in the clinical immunology laboratory

The "15-minutes station": a case study to evaluate the pedestrian accessibility of railway transport in Southern Italy

The recent sustainability challenges that our world is facing have raised, more than ever, the attention to the mobility of passengers and freight in the European and international agendas. The energy transition that has begun globally requires identifying and adopting safe, resilient, and increasingly sustainable mobility solutions. In this perspective, the modal split of passengers plays an essential role. One of the main encouraged policies is to promote an efficient mass rapid transit in urban and suburban areas. More in detail, when considering rail transport, it is necessary to analyze and evaluate the role of stations from at least two points of view: i) the ease of access to the station; ii) the opportunities that can be easily reached in its surroundings, following the concept of the "15-minutes" city. These two issues should be properly addressed to guarantee the role of railway stations as an access point to the transport system and an infrastructural element that can enhance a territory. Starting from these considerations, this research proposes a GIS-based methodology able to analyse railway stations from two points of view: i) walkability, considering the main functional characteristics of the transport network, and ii) impact on the territory, by identifying the services located in an area corresponding to "15-minutes" distances using active modes. For each railway station, the main activities in a 15-minute walking isochrone can be evaluated, both considering the walking distance on the pedestrian network and taking into account the current walkability of each link based on arc characteristics. This allows to study the accessibility of railway stations based on the current pedestrian network and the potential one with ideal characteristics. The method is applied to a case study located in Sicily (Italy), in the case of some urban stations. The final scope is to design a decision-support framework useful for railway station operators and local decision-makers to support strategic decisions regarding the railway system and the planning of appropriate pedestrian transport networks to increase railway station accessibility

Upper limb work-related musculoskeletal disorders in operating room nurses: A multicenter cross-sectional study

This study aimed to evaluate the association between personal and job characteristics and the risk of upper limb work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) among operating room nurses (ORNs). To this end, we collected data from 148 ORNs working at 8 Italian hospitals and measured any upper limb disabilities experienced in the previous year using the Italian version of the disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand (DASH) questionnaire. The associations between personal and job characteristics and risk of upper limb WMSDs were estimated by unconditional logistic regression models. The prevalence of upper limb WMSDs was 45.9%. Multivariate analysis showed the \u201cfemale gender\u201d and \u201cmonthly hours spent working as a scrub nurse\u201d to be directly associated with a higher DASH score (adjusted OR for gender = 5.37, 95% CI: 1.65\u201317.51, p < 0.01; adjusted OR for monthly hours as scrub nurse = 3.09, 95% CI: 1.33\u20137.19, p < 0.01). Overall, our findings indicate that a full-time job (>120 h/month) as a scrub nurse significantly increases the risk of developing upper limb WMSDs among female ORNs. Thus, to reduce such risk in this particularly sensitive population, we recommend urgent implementation of ergonomic interventions on surgical equipment alongside job rotation and medical surveillance programs

Occupational exposure to formaldehyde and risk of non hodgkin lymphoma: A meta-Analysis

Background: Formaldehyde, a widely used chemical, is considered a human carcinogen. We report the results of a meta-Analyses of studies on the relationship between occupational exposure to formaldehyde and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Methods: We performed a systematic review and meta-Analysis according to international guidelines and we identified 12 reports of occupational populations exposed to formaldehyde. We evaluated inter-study heterogeneity and we applied a random effects model. We conducted a cumulative meta-Analysis and a meta-Analysis according to estimated average exposure of each study population. Results: The meta-Analysis resulted in a summary relative risk (RR) for NHL of 0.93 (95% confidence interval 0.83-1.04). The cumulative meta-Analysis suggests that higher RRs were detected in studies published before 1986, while studies available after 1986 did not show an association. No differences were found between different levels of occupational exposure. Conclusions Notwithstanding some limitations, the results of this meta-Analysis do not support the hypothesis of an association between occupational exposure to formaldehyde and risk of NHL

First Results on Zinc Oxide Thick Film Deposition by Inverted Magnetron Sputtering for Cyclotron Solid Targets Production

The magnetron sputtering technique has been investigated in recent years with ever-growing interest as a verifiable solid target manufacturing technology aimed at the production of medical radionuclides by using low-energy cyclotron accelerators. However, the possible loss of high-cost materials prevents access to work with isotopically enriched metals. The need for expensive materials for the supply of the growing demand for theranostic radionuclides makes the material-saving approach and recovery essential for the radiopharmaceutical field. To overcome the main magnetron sputtering drawback, an alternative configuration is proposed. In this work, an inverted magnetron prototype for the deposition of tens of (Formula presented.) m film onto different substrates is developed. Such configuration for solid target manufacturing has been proposed for the first time. Two (Formula presented.) depositions (20–30 (Formula presented.) m) onto (Formula presented.) backing were carried out and analysed by SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) and XRD (X-ray Diffractogram). Their thermomechanical stability under the proton beam of a medical cyclotron was tested as well. A possible improvement of the prototype and the perspective of its utilisation were discussed

First and subsequent asbestos exposures in relation to mesothelioma and lung cancer mortality

We analysed data from a cohort of 1966 subjects (889 men and 1077 women) employed by an Italian asbestos (mainly textile) company in the period 1946–1984, who were followed-up to 2004. A total of 62 025 person-years of observation were recorded. We computed standardised mortality ratios (SMR) for all causes and selected cancer sites using national death rates for each 5-year calendar period and age group. There were 68 deaths from mesothelioma (25 men and 43 women, 39 pleural and 29 peritoneal) vs 1.6 expected (SMR=4159), and 109 from lung cancer vs 35.1 expected (SMR=310). The SMRs of pleural/peritoneal cancer were 6661 for subjects exposed only before 30 years of age, 8019 for those first exposed before 30 and still employed at 30–39 years of age and 5786 for those first exposed before 30 and still employed at 40 or more years of age. The corresponding SMRs for lung cancer were 227, 446 and 562. The SMR of mesothelioma was strongly related to time since first exposure. The SMR of lung cancer, but not of mesothelioma, appeared to be related to subsequent exposures