Pleural mesothelioma risk in the construction industry: a case-control study in Italy, 2000-2018

Objectives Workers in the construction industry have been exposed to asbestos in various occupations. In Italy, a National Mesothelioma Registry has been implemented more than 20 years ago. Using cases selected from this registry and exploiting existing control data sets, we estimated relative risks for pleural mesothelioma (PM) among construction workers. DesignCase-control study. SettingCases from the National Mesothelioma Registry (2000-2018), controls from three previous case-control studies. MethodsWe selected male PM incident cases diagnosed in 2000-2018. Population controls were taken from three studies performed in six Italian regions within two periods (2002-2004 and 2012-2016). Age-adjusted and period-adjusted unconditional logistic regression models were fitted to estimate odds ratios (OR) for occupations in the construction industry. We followed two approaches, one (primary) excluding and the other (secondary) including subjects employed in other non-construction blue collar occupations for >5 years. For both approaches, we performed an overall analysis including all cases and, given the incomplete temporal and geographic overlap of cases and controls, three time or/and space restricted sensitivity analyses. ResultsThe whole data set included 15 592 cases and 2210 controls. With the primary approach (4797 cases and 1085 controls), OR was 3.64 (2181 cases) for subjects ever employed in construction. We found elevated risks for blue-collar occupations (1993 cases, OR 4.52), including bricklayers (988 cases, OR 7.05), general construction workers (320 cases, OR 4.66), plumbers and pipe fitters (305 cases, OR 9.13), painters (104 cases, OR 2.17) and several others. Sensitivity analyses yielded very similar findings. Using the secondary approach, we observed similar patterns, but ORs were remarkably lower. ConclusionsWe found markedly increased PM risks for most occupations in the construction industry. These findings are relevant for compensation of subjects affected with mesothelioma in the construction industry

Engineering Reconnaissance Following the October 2016 Central Italy Earthquakes - Version 2

Between August and November 2016, three major earthquake events occurred in Central Italy. The first event, with M6.1, took place on 24 August 2016, the second (M5.9) on 26 October, and the third (M6.5) on 30 October 2016. Each event was followed by numerous aftershocks. As shown in Figure 1.1, this earthquake sequence occurred in a gap between two earlier damaging events, the 1997 M6.1 Umbria-Marche earthquake to the north-west and the 2009 M6.1 L’Aquila earthquake to the south-east. This gap had been previously recognized as a zone of elevated risk (GdL INGV sul terremoto di Amatrice, 2016). These events occurred along the spine of the Apennine Mountain range on normal faults and had rake angles ranging from -80 to -100 deg, which corresponds to normal faulting. Each of these events produced substantial damage to local towns and villages. The 24 August event caused massive damages to the following villages: Arquata del Tronto, Accumoli, Amatrice, and Pescara del Tronto. In total, there were 299 fatalities (www.ilgiornale.it), generally from collapses of unreinforced masonry dwellings. The October events caused significant new damage in the villages of Visso, Ussita, and Norcia, although they did not produce fatalities, since the area had largely been evacuated. The NSF-funded Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance (GEER) association, with co-funding from the B. John Garrick Institute for the Risk Sciences at UCLA and the NSF I/UCRC Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) at BYU, mobilized a US-based team to the area in two main phases: (1) following the 24 August event, from early September to early October 2016, and (2) following the October events, between the end of November and the beginning of December 2016. The US team worked in close collaboration with Italian researchers organized under the auspices of the Italian Geotechnical Society, the Italian Center for Seismic Microzonation and its Applications, the Consortium ReLUIS, Centre of Competence of Department of Civil Protection and the DIsaster RECovery Team of Politecnico di Torino. The objective of the Italy-US GEER team was to collect and document perishable data that is essential to advance knowledge of earthquake effects, which ultimately leads to improved procedures for characterization and mitigation of seismic risk. The Italy-US GEER team was multi-disciplinary, with expertise in geology, seismology, geomatics, geotechnical engineering, and structural engineering. The composition of the team was largely the same for the two mobilizations, particularly on the Italian side. Our approach was to combine traditional reconnaissance activities of on-ground recording and mapping of field conditions, with advanced imaging and damage detection routines enabled by state-of-the-art geomatics technology. GEER coordinated its reconnaissance activities with those of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), although the EERI mobilization to the October events was delayed and remains pending as of this writing (April 2017). For the August event reconnaissance, EERI focused on emergency response and recovery, in combination with documenting the effectiveness of public policies related to seismic retrofit. As such, GEER had responsibility for documenting structural damage patterns in addition to geotechnical effects. This report is focused on the reconnaissance activities performed following the October 2016 events. More information about the GEER reconnaissance activities and main findings following the 24 August 2016 event, can be found in GEER (2016). The objective of this document is to provide a summary of our findings, with an emphasis of documentation of data. In general, we do not seek to interpret data, but rather to present it as thoroughly as practical. Moreover, we minimize the presentation of background information already given in GEER (2016), so that the focus is on the effects of the October events. As such, this report and GEER (2016) are inseparable companion documents. Similar to reconnaissance activities following the 24 August 2016 event, the GEER team investigated earthquake effects on slopes, villages, and major infrastructure. Figure 1.2 shows the most strongly affected region and locations described subsequently pertaining to: 1. Surface fault rupture; 2. Recorded ground motions; 3. Landslides and rockfalls; 4. Mud volcanoes; 5. Investigated bridge structures; 6. Villages and hamlets for which mapping of building performance was performed

Incompiuto trentino

Rifiuti, rottami, rovine, macerie, ruderi, resti, frammenti, scarti, drosscape, sono termini sempre più spesso ricorrenti nel dibattito contemporaneo sulla città e sul paesaggio. Se ne indagano, spesso, la genesi e, con spirito positivista, il possibile approccio operativo al "che farne"; se ne riconoscono le potenzialità – perché questo hanno di buono: essere testimonianza del passato e promessa per il futuro ; si ravvisa l’urgenza di capitalizzare questo singolare patrimonio, se non altro perché,data la scarsità di risorse naturali (di suolo in particolare) ed economiche, avere una dotazione di"beni"a disposizione costituisce già una grande risorsa

Catheter-Related Candidemia Caused by Candida lipolytica in a Patient Receiving Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplantation

Candida lipolytica was recovered from the blood and the central venous catheter in a patient receiving allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. Two C. lipolytica strains from different geographical areas and the ATCC 9773 strain of C. lipolytica were used as controls. C. lipolytica was identified by standard methods. MICs indicated antifungal susceptibilities to amphotericin B, fluconazole, and itraconazole for all strains. In vitro testing and scanning electron microscopy showed that C. lipolytica was capable of producing large amounts of viscid slime material in glucose-containing solution, likely responsible for the ability of the yeast to adhere to catheter surfaces. Restriction fragment length polymorphisms revealed an identical profile for all clinical isolates, unrelated to those observed for the control strains. This finding suggested the absence of microevolutionary changes in the population of the infecting strain, despite the length of the sepsis and the potential selective pressure of amphotericin B, which had been administered to the patient for about 20 days. The genomic differences that emerged between the isolates and the control strains were indicative of a certain degree of genetic diversity between C. lipolytica isolates from different geographical areas

Increased Lipogenesis, Induced by AKT-mTORC1-RPS6 Signaling, Promotes Development of Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma

BACKGROUND & AIMS: De novo lipogenesis is believed to be involved in oncogenesis. We investigated the role of aberrant lipid biosynthesis in the pathogenesis of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: We evaluated expression of enzymes that regulate lipogenesis in human normal liver tissues and HCC and surrounding, nontumor, liver tissues from patients using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, immunoblotting, immunohistochemistry, and biochemical assays. Effects of lipogenic enzymes on human HCC cell lines were evaluated using inhibitors and overexpression experiments. The lipogenic role of the proto-oncogene AKT was assessed in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: In human liver samples, de novo lipogenesis was progressively induced from nontumorous liver tissue toward the HCC. Extent of aberrant lipogenesis correlated with clinical aggressiveness, activation of the AKT-mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway, and suppression of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinases. In HCC cell lines, the AKT-mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1-ribosomal protein S6 pathway promoted lipogenesis via transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms that included inhibition of fatty acid synthase ubiquitination by the USP2a de-ubiquitinase and disruption of the SREBP1 and SREBP2 degradation complexes. Suppression of the genes adenosine triphosphate citrate lyase, acetyl-CoA carboxylase, fatty acid synthase, stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1, or sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1, which are involved in lipogenesis, reduced proliferation, and survival of HCC cell lines and AKT-dependent cell proliferation. Overexpression of an activated form of AKT in livers of mice induced lipogenesis and tumor development. CONCLUSIONS: De novo lipogenesis has pathogenic and prognostic significance for HCC. Inhibitors of lipogenic signaling, including those that inhibit the AKT pathway, might be useful as therapeutics for patients with liver cancer

Pleural mesothelioma risk in the construction industry: a case–control study in Italy, 2000–2018

Objectives Workers in the construction industry have been exposed to asbestos in various occupations. In Italy, a National Mesothelioma Registry has been implemented more than 20 years ago. Using cases selected from this registry and exploiting existing control data sets, we estimated relative risks for pleural mesothelioma (PM) among construction workers.Design Case–control study.Setting Cases from the National Mesothelioma Registry (2000–2018), controls from three previous case–control studies.Methods We selected male PM incident cases diagnosed in 2000–2018. Population controls were taken from three studies performed in six Italian regions within two periods (2002–2004 and 2012–2016). Age-adjusted and period-adjusted unconditional logistic regression models were fitted to estimate odds ratios (OR) for occupations in the construction industry. We followed two approaches, one (primary) excluding and the other (secondary) including subjects employed in other non-construction blue collar occupations for >5 years. For both approaches, we performed an overall analysis including all cases and, given the incomplete temporal and geographic overlap of cases and controls, three time or/and space restricted sensitivity analyses.Results The whole data set included 15 592 cases and 2210 controls. With the primary approach (4797 cases and 1085 controls), OR was 3.64 (2181 cases) for subjects ever employed in construction. We found elevated risks for blue-collar occupations (1993 cases, OR 4.52), including bricklayers (988 cases, OR 7.05), general construction workers (320 cases, OR 4.66), plumbers and pipe fitters (305 cases, OR 9.13), painters (104 cases, OR 2.17) and several others. Sensitivity analyses yielded very similar findings. Using the secondary approach, we observed similar patterns, but ORs were remarkably lower.Conclusions We found markedly increased PM risks for most occupations in the construction industry. These findings are relevant for compensation of subjects affected with mesothelioma in the construction industry