Pre-exposure prophylaxis with hydroxychloroquine does not prevent covid-19 nor virus related venous thromboembolism

Different and several public health strategies have been planned to reduce transmission of pandemic due to SARS-CoV-2 since it started. None drugs have been confirmed as able to prevent viral transmission. Hydroxychloroquine with its immunomodulatory properties has been proposed as potential anti-viral drug in particular for prevention once viral exposure has been happen or in first phases of infection. Furthermore, in several immunological systemic disease hydroxychloroquine was able to reduce the number of thrombotic complications. So, because COVID-19 was associated to immunological imbalance and to thrombotic complications, we retrospectively analyzed the rate of infection in those patients being under treatment with this drug during COVID-19 epidemic outbreak from 8 March until 28 April in particular comparing those with pre-exposure to this treatment and those that were not taking this medication before SARS-CoV-2 viral infections

Anthropic pressures on Nature 2000 Sites: recommendations and monitoring criteria for the pollution emergency response activities within the Orbetello lagoon

L’elevato valore naturalistico e socioeconomico di un Sito Natura 2000 richiede che tutte le attività antropiche che si svolgono al suo interno (es. pesca, turismo, trasporti, attività industriali, etc.) siano gestite in maniera tale da non pregiudicare le specie e gli habitat per i quali l’area è stata designata. Molti di questi Siti sono ambienti di transizione, ovvero zone che costituiscono il passaggio naturale tra terra e mare. La loro posizione di interfaccia tra questi due ambienti li rende ecosistemi unici e biologicamente molto produttivi, sede di meccanismi di regolazione dei processi interattivi della biosfera nelle due fasi, terrestre e marina. In alcuni Siti la presenza di attività antropiche diffuse e prolungate nel tempo ha portato al riscontro di stati di contaminazione elevata, fino all’inclusione di queste zone, o parti di esse, tra i Siti di bonifica di Interesse Nazionale (SIN). Il presente lavoro descrive le linee di indirizzo e le attività di monitoraggio da attuare per la salvaguardia della salute pubblica e dell’ambiente nel corso degli interventi di messa in sicurezza di emergenza predisposti nell’area lagunare antistante l’area industriale Ex Sitoco, all’interno della perimetrazione del SIN di Orbetello, incluso in un Sito di Importanza Comunitaria. Le matrici ambientali potenzialmente a rischio a causa dell’esecuzione di tali interventi sono: acqua, sedimento, biocenosi acquatiche, avifauna, uomo. È altresì importante valutare gli effetti che le ipotetiche modifiche su microscala, apportate a livello di ogni matrice, potrebbero causare nel lungo periodo su macroscala.The high naturalistic and socio-economic value of Natura 2000 sites requires that all human activities performed within their borders (e.g. fishing, tourism, transports, industrial activities) are regulated. Indeed, the site management should assure the effective safeguard of all species and habitats of European interest included in the protected area. A lot of such sites are located in transitional environments, that are areas characterised by a natural progression from the terrestrial to the water environments. Such environments include unique and very productive habitats, and they represent the regulation mechanisms of the interactive processes of the terrestrial and marine biosphere. In some sites, the presence of human activities that are distributed both in space and time has led to high levels of contamination, that in some cases even required their inclusion in Reclamation Sites of National Interest (SIN). The present study describes the planning and monitoring activities to be performed in order to safeguard human and environment health during the actions of MISE in the lagoonal area in front of the industrial area Ex Sitoco, within the borders of the Orbetello SIN, included in a SCI. The environmental parameters that are potentially at risk due to such activities are: water, sediment, water biocenosis, birds, humans. Furthermore, it is important to evaluate the effects that potential variations at the microscale level may cause at the macroscale level

Shielding Calculations on Waste Packages – The Limits and Possibilities of different Calculation Methods by the example of homogeneous and inhomogeneous Waste Packages

For nuclear waste packages the expected dose rates and nuclide inventory are beforehand calculated. Depending on the package of the nuclear waste deterministic programs like MicroShield® provide a range of results for each type of packaging. Stochastic programs like “Monte-Carlo N-Particle Transport Code System” (MCNP®) on the other hand provide reliable results for complex geometries. However this type of program requires a fully trained operator and calculations are time consuming. The problem here is to choose an appropriate program for a specific geometry. Therefore we compared the results of deterministic programs like MicroShield® and stochastic programs like MCNP®. These comparisons enable us to make a statement about the applicability of the various programs for chosen types of containers. As a conclusion we found that for thin-walled geometries deterministic programs like MicroShield® are well suited to calculate the dose rate. For cylindrical containers with inner shielding however, deterministic programs hit their limits. Furthermore we investigate the effect of an inhomogeneous material and activity distribution on the results. The calculations are still ongoing. Results will be presented in the final abstract

Use of intravesical injections of platelet-rich plasma for the treatment of bladder pain syndrome: A comprehensive literature review

Background: Bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC) or primary bladder pain syndrome (PBPS) is a complex and poorly understood condition. This comprehensive review aimed to discuss the potential application of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in the treatment of BPS/IC. The pathophysiology of BPS/IC is characterized by urothelial damage that triggers a chain of events leading to chronic inflammation and other conditions. Frequently, in subjects affected by BPS/IC, recurrent urinary tract infection (rUTI) is associated with difficult therapeutic management. For these reasons, many oral and intravesical treatments (e.g., antibiotic therapy and intravesical anesthetic instillations) have been proposed to alleviate the symptoms of IC/BPS. However, the limitation of these treatments is the short duration of improvement. The purpose of this review is to analyze the efficacy of intravesical PRP injections in subjects with PBS/IC and to try to understand the potential therapeutic effects on the pathophysiology of this disease. Methods: A nonsystematic literature search using Pubmed, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, Medline was performed from January 2000 to August 2021. The following terms were combined to capture relevant publications: “platelet-rich plasma”, “interstitial cystitis”, “PRP”, “bladder pain syndrome”, and “painful bladder syndrome”. Results: After exclusion of non-pertinent studies/articles, we have analyzed 5 studies. In detail, 2 articles concerned preclinical studies in which animal models were used. The authors showed an improvement in the histological pattern with less bleeding in treated subjects, a lower presence of inflammatory cytokines and an increase in the mitotic index of urothelial cells in animals treated with intravesical PRP. In the three prospective clinical trials analyzed, patients with BPS/IC who underwent monthly intravesical PRP injections were found to have a statistically significant improvement in symptoms with modulation of growth factors and inflammatory proteins. Conclusions: New evidence suggests that treatment with intravesical PRP could improve urothelial regeneration and reduces chronic inflammation in BPS/IC, modifying the clinical history of its pathology

Peyronie’s disease may negatively impact the sexual experience of a couple and female sexual function: A single center study

Background: Peyonie’s disease (PD) mostly affects males in the fifth decade of life, with a prevalence in the general population ranging between 0.5% and 20.3%. The pathology of PD is characterized by fibrosis of the tunic albuginea of the cavernous bodies of the penis, with the presence of pain in the erection and penile deformity. This is associated with decreased sexual function for both participants. The objective of the study was to investigate the influence of PD pathology on both male patients’ and their female partners’ sexual spheres, and analyze changes in sexual function and perception following penile correction surgery. Methods: Prospective study, we included male patients with PD and their female partner sexually active. Patients underwent corporoplasty with multiple plications. The male and female sexuality was evaluated before surgery and three months after male treatment by the Female sexual Function Index (FSFI); International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF); Visual Analogical Scale (VAS). Results: From January 2018 to November 2019 we included 35 couple. The female subjects before partner’s surgery presented dyspareunia, loss of sexual desire, inability to achieve orgasm, and sexual dissatisfaction. At three months after surgical treatment there was an improvement of sexual function in both male patients and female partners (desire P<0.0001, arousal P<0.0001, lubrification P<0.0001, orgasm P<0.0001, satisfaction P<0.0001, pain P<0.0001). As regarding male patients the pain decreased significantly (VAS score from 6 to 2.5), while there was no statistically significant improvement in erectile function (P=0.05). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that a viable approach to treatment of PD patients that involves their partners could lead to better functional and psychological results