Development and preliminary data on the use of a mobile app specifically designed to increase community awareness of invasive pneumococcal disease and its prevention

PublishedGiven the growing use and great potential of mobile apps, this project aimed to develop and implement a user-friendly app to increase laypeople's knowledge and awareness of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). Despite the heavy burden of IPD, the documented low awareness of IPD among both laypeople and healthcare professionals and far from optimal pneumococcal vaccination coverage, no app specifically targeting IPD has been developed so far. The app was designed to be maximally functional and conceived in accordance with user-centered design. Its content, layout and usability were discussed and formally tested during several workshops that involved the principal stakeholders, including experts in IPD and information technology and potential end-users. Following several workshops, it was decided that, in order to make the app more interactive, its core should be a personal “checker” of the risk of contracting IPD and a user-friendly risk-communication strategy. The checker was populated with risk factors identified through both Italian and international official guidelines. Formal evaluation of the app revealed its good readability and usability properties. A sister web site with the same content was created to achieve higher population exposure. Seven months after being launched in a price- and registration-free modality, the app, named “Pneumo Rischio,” averaged 20.9 new users/day and 1.3 sessions/user. The first in-field results suggest that “Pneumo Rischio” is a promising tool for increasing the population's awareness of IPD and its prevention through a user-friendly risk checker.The development of the app is a part of the project on increasing the population's awareness of invasive pneumococcal disease and has been supported by sponsorship from Pfizer S.r.l. The sponsor had no role in the app design and development. The authors thank Progetti di Impresa Srl for creating the app and website

Severity of left ventricular remodeling defines outcomes and response to therapy in heart failure Valsartan heart failure trial (Val-HeFT) echocardiographic data

AbstractObjectivesThe objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that the severity of left ventricular remodeling predicts the response to treatment and outcomes in chronic heart failure.BackgroundReversal of remodeling should produce the most favorable outcome in patients with the most severe remodeling.MethodsIn 5,010 heart failure patients on background therapy and randomized to valsartan and placebo, serial recordings of left ventricular internal diastolic diameter (LVIDd) and ejection fraction (EF) were read at sites that had to meet qualifying standards before participating. Baseline LVIDd and EF were pooled across treatments and retrospectively grouped by quartiles Q1 to Q4, representing best to worst. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were obtained by the log-rank test. Q1 was compared with Q4 for mortality and combined mortality and morbidity (M + M) from Cox regression risk ratios (RRs). Valsartan versus placebo changes from baseline in LVIDd and EF were analyzed by quartiles from analysis of covariance. Valsartan and placebo were compared by RRs for M + M.ResultsSurvival rates were greater in the better quartiles for LVIDd and EF (p < 0.00001). The RR for Q1 versus Q4 in events approached 0.5 for both LVIDd and EF (p < 0.0001). An LVIDd decrease and EF increase were quartile-dependent and greater with valsartan than placebo at virtually all time points. The RR for M + M outcomes favored valsartan in the worse quartiles.ConclusionsStratification by baseline severity of remodeling showed that patients with worse LVIDd and EF are at highest risk for an event, yet appear to gain the most anti-remodeling effect and clinical benefit with valsartan treatment

Radar-Based Analysis of Convective Storms overNorthwestern Italy

Thunderstorms may cause large damages to infrastructures and population, therefore the possible identification of the areas with the highest occurrence of these events is especially relevant. Nevertheless, few extensive studies of these phenomena with high spatial and temporal resolution have been carried out in the Alps and none of them includes North-western Italy. To analyze thunderstorm events, the data of the meteorological radar network of the regional meteorological service of Piedmont region (ARPA Piemonte) have been used in this work. The database analyzed includes all thunderstorms occurred during the warm months (April to September) of a 6-year period (2005–2010). The tracks of each storm have been evaluated using a storm tracking algorithm. Several characteristics of the storms have been analyzed, such as the duration, the spatial and the temporaldistribution, the direction and the distance travelled. Obtained results revealed several important characteristics that may be useful for nowcasting purposes providing a first attempt of radar-based climatology in the considered region

Sibling relationships and family functioning in siblings of early adolescents, adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder

The purpose of the study was to investigate how family functioning (defined as the ability that family members hold to manage stressful events, and intimate and social relationships), the degree to which family members feel happy and fulfilled with each other (called family satisfaction), and the demographical characteristics of siblings (age and gender) impacted on sibling relationships. The Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems and Behavioral Systems constituted the theoretical frameworks that guided our study. Eighty-six typically developing adolescents and young adults having a sister or a brother with autism spectrum disorder were enrolled. Results indicated that the youngest age group (early adolescents) reported to engage more frequently in negative behaviors with their siblings with ASD than the two older age groups (middle adolescents and young adults). No significant differences were found among the three age groups regarding behaviors derived from attachment, caregiving and affiliative systems. Family satisfaction and age significantly predicted behaviors during sibling interactions. Suggestions on prevention and intervention programs were discussed in order to prevent parentification among typically developing siblings and decrease episodes of quarrels and overt conflicts between brothers and sisters with and without AS

Science of atmospheric phenomena with JEM-EUSO

The main goal of the JEM-EUSO experiment is the study of Ultra HighEnergy Cosmic Rays (UHECR, 10^19 - 10^21 eV ), but the method which will be used (detection of the secondary light emissions induced by cosmic rays in the atmosphere) allows to study other luminous phenomena. The UHECRs will be detected through the measurement of the emission in the range between 290 and 430 m, where some part of Transient Luminous Events (TLEs) emission also appears. This work discusses the possibility of using the JEM-EUSO Telescope to get new scientific results on TLEs. The high time resolution of this instrument allows to observe the evolution of TLEs with great precision just at the moment of their origin. Thepaper consists of four parts: review of the present knowledge on the TLE, presentation of the results of the simulations of the TLE images in the JEM-EUSO telescope, results of the Russian experiment Tatiana-2 and discussion of the possible progress achievable in this field with JEM-EUSO as well as possible cooperation with other space projects devoted to the study of TLE-TARANIS and ASIM. In atmospheric physics, the study of TLEs became one of the main physical subjects of interest after their discovery in 1989. In the years 1992 - 1994 detection was performed fromsatellite, aircraft and space shuttle and recently from the International Space Station. These events have short duration (milliseconds) and small scales (km to tens of km) and appear at altitudes 50 - 100 km. Their nature is still not clear and each new experimental data can be useful for a better understanding of these mysterious phenomena.Fil: Adams, J. H.. University of Alabama in Huntsville; Estados UnidosFil: Ahmad, S.. Ecole Polytechnique; FranciaFil: Albert, J. N.. Univ Paris-Sud; FranciaFil: Allard, D.. Univ Paris Diderot; FranciaFil: Anchordoqui, L.. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Estados UnidosFil: Andreev, V.. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Anzalone, A.. INAF - Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica di Palermo; ItaliaFil: Arai, Y.. High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK); JapónFil: Asano, K.. Tokyo Institute of Technology; JapónFil: Ave Pernas, M.. Universidad de Alcala (UAH); EspañaFil: Barrillon, P.. Univ Paris-Sud; FranciaFil: Batsch, T.. Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics; RusiaFil: Bayer, J.. University of Tubingen; AlemaniaFil: Bechini, R.. Universita’ di Torino; ItaliaFil: Belenguer, T.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial (INTA); EspañaFil: Bellotti, R.. Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare; ItaliaFil: Belov, K.. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Berlind, A. A.. Vanderbilt University; Estados UnidosFil: Bertaina, M.. Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare; ItaliaFil: Biermann, P. L.. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT); AlemaniaFil: Biktemerova, S.. Joint Institute for Nuclear Research; RusiaFil: Blaksley, C.. Univ Paris Diderot; FranciaFil: Blanc, N.. Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM); SuizaFil: Blecki, J.. Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences (CBK; PoloniaFil: Blin-Bondil, S.. Ecole Polytechnique; FranciaFil: Blumer, J.. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT),; AlemaniaFil: Bobik, P.. Institute of Experimental Physics; EslovaquiaFil: Bogomilov, M.. University of Sofia; BulgariaFil: Bonamente, M.. University of Alabama in Huntsville; Estados UnidosFil: Supanitsky, Alberto Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; ArgentinaFil: The JEM-EUSO Collaboration

Primary hepatitis A vaccination failure is a rare although possible event: results of a retrospective study

A case of Hepatitis A occurred in a traveller in spite of a complete course of immunization with a combined HAV and HBV vaccine [Taliani G, Sbaragli S, Bartoloni A, Santini MG, Tozzi A, Paradisi F Hepatitis A vaccine failure: how to treat the threat. Vaccine 2003;21(31):4505-6]. A retrospective study was per-formed to evaluate whether the failure was primary or could be attributed to a specific lot of vaccine or to its inadequate handling and/or storage. Two distinct populations of vaccinees were selected in a 1:2 proportion. The case group (N=31) included subjects who were vaccinated in the same period and with the same lot and batch of vaccine as the case. The control group (N=62) included subjects who received different lot and batch of the same vaccine as the case group. A persisting antibody response to HAV vaccine was found among all subjects (anti-HAV > 20 mIU/ml). The overall anti-HBs seropositivity rate (anti-HBs > 10 mIU/ml) was 74%, without significant difference between the case (77%) and the control group (73%; P > 0.05). The reported Hepatitis A case can be attributed to a rare primary vaccine failure rather than to inefficacy of a specific lot of vaccine or to inappropriate vaccine handling or storage. Our study supports the indications for use of combined Hepatitis A+B immunization in travellers at risk for both infections, but stresses the need for information on correct hygienic behaviours while abroad. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

New technologies and firm organization : the case of electronic traceability systems in French agribusiness

This paper considers the relationship between the adoption of electronic traceability systems (ETSs) and the organization of firms. More precisely, it analyzes the respective roles of a firm's organizational structure, and organizational changes, in the process of ETS adoption in agribusiness. We use data from the French "Organizational Changes and Computerization" survey from 2006. We test a probit model to demonstrate the organizational structure and organizational changes underlying the firm's ETS adoption choice. Results show that ETS adoption is strongly favored by organizations with heavy hierarchical structures, standardized managerial practices and contractual mechanisms with external partners. This adoption process seems to coevolve with the organization: firms that implemented an ETS during the observed period (2003-2006) have experienced the most important organizational changes in terms of managerial practices, information systems and contractual relations, as well as the strengthening of the intermediate levels in the hierarchy