Use of ATP bioluminescence for assessing the cleanliness of hospital surfaces: A review of the published literature (1990-2012)

Hospital cleanliness tends to be considered by patients and the public as an important indicator of the general quality of healthcare. Tests for detecting the presence of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) as a proxy of microbial contamination are increasing in popularity, and several studies have been conducted on this topic in the last few decades. The aim of the present study was to review the published literature on this topic and summarize and discuss the available results. The review focused on relevant English-language articles that were identified through searches of two databases [PubMed and Scopus (1990-2012)] by using the keywords "ATP", "bioluminescence", "hospital", and "surfaces". Twelve articles were included and analyzed. ATP measurements showed a wide variation, with values ranging from 0 to >500,000 relative light units (RLU)/s before cleaning and from 3 to 500,000. RLU/s after cleaning. ATP benchmarks used by authors ranged from 100 to 500. RLU/s. The percentage of surfaces exceeding the chosen cut-off limit showed a failure rate varying from 21.2% to 93.1% before cleaning and from 5.3% to 96.5% after cleaning. Although the use of ATP bioluminescence can be considered a quick and objective method for assessing hospital cleanliness, it appears to be still poorly standardized at both the national and international level. © 2013 King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences

Evaluation of varicella vaccine effectiveness as public health tool for increasing scientific evidence and improving vaccination programs

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Immunization against Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (HBsAg) in a Cohort of Nursing Students Two Decades after Vaccination: Surprising Feedback

Health-care students can be exposed to biological risks during university training. The persistence of long-term immunogenicity against hepatitis B virus (HBV) was analyzed in a cohort of nursing students two decades after primary vaccination. A total of 520 students were enrolled at the University of Palermo and were evaluated for levels of anti-HBsAg antibodies. ThestudentswereexaminedduringthefirstyearoftheirDegreeCourseandwerecheckedtwoyears later. All students with anti-HBsAg <10 mIU/mL during their first or third year were boosted within onemonth. Theproportionofstudentsthatwerevaccinatedduringadolescenceshowinganti-HBsAg ≥10 mIU/mL was higher than that observed in students who were vaccinated during infancy (69% versus31.7%;p-value<0.001). ReceivingHBVvaccinationatadolescencewassignificantlyassociated with a fourfold increased possibility of having anti-HBsAg titers≥10 mIU/mL (adj-OR = 4.21, 95% CI: 2.43–7.30). Among the students who were checked at the third year and boosted after the first year (n = 279), those who were vaccinated during infancy showed a higher percentage of antibody titers <10 mIU/mL (20.3% versus 8.7% among vaccinated during adolescence; p < 0.01). This study confirms that HBV vaccination at adolescence might determine a higher long-term persistence of anti-HBsAg titers≥10 mIU/mL and that anti-HBV booster could increase levels of anti-HBsAg over a relatively short period, especially in subjects who were vaccinated during infancy

Relaciones interétnicas en el Caribe indígena. Una reconstrucción a partir de los primeros testimonios europeos

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El silencio de los antropólogos. Historia y antropología: una ambigua relación

The history of the relations between history and anthropology, present since the formation of these two disciplinary fields, has recorded periodical approaches and estrangements up to a point of stagnation within each academic realm. In order to find a common ground for confrontation, it is necessary to recover some of the links in this relation, based on the experience of each discipline in their specific research areas. Thus, in this paper some anthopological and historiographical approaches are analysed, convinced as we are that having both disciplines the same object of inquiry, although temporally phased out, the need for a dialogue between them becomes urgent, specially as a response to the menacing epistemological nihilisms that aim at thwarting both views.La historia de las relaciones entre historia y antropología, presentes desde la formación de los dos campos disciplinarios, ha registrado acercamientos y alejamientos periódicos, hasta estancarse dentro de sus barreras universitarias. Por esto, para intentar encontrar un campo común de confrontación, se hace necesario recuperar algunos eslabones de la relación, a partir de la experiencia de cada uno en sus campos específicos de investigación. De esta manera, se analizan algunas posturas antropológicas e historiográficas para entender esta ambigua relación, en el convencimiento de que, siendo el objeto de ambas disciplinas el mismo, aunque desfasado temporalmente, el diálogo se vuelve urgente, sobre todo frente al embate de los nihilismos epistemológicos que avanzan sus pretensiones para desbaratar ambas miradas

El Dorado ilustrado: Las expediciones españolas al Parime (Guayana) 1770-1777

Se estudian las penetraciones europeas en el interior de la Guayana venezolana, entre los ríos Uraricuera y Branco, próxima al lago Parime -una región dónde solía situarse al mítico Dorado-. Asimismo se destaca la geoestrategia española de la Ilustración, siguiéndose con por menor las actuaciones del gobernador de Guayana (Manuel Centurión) dentro de aquella política: expediciones para expulsar a portugueses y la fundación de varios pueblos en la zona, con el fin de consolidar la frontera

Trends in epidemiology: the role of denominator fluctuation in population based estimates

Population estimates are of paramount importance for calculating occurrence and association measures although they can be affected by problems of accuracy and completeness. This study has performed a simulation of the impact of Italian population size variability on incidence rates

Factors affecting hesitancy to mrna and viral vector COVID-19 vaccines among college students in Italy

Vaccine hesitancy (VH) may be significant in jeopardizing efforts to mass containment of COVID-19. A cross-sectional survey was carried out on a sample of 2667 Italian college students, before the COVID-19 vaccines became available for this age group (from 7 May to 31 May 2021). An online survey was created to obtain information about socio-demographic, health-related, and psychological factors linked to mRNA and viral vector COVID-19 vaccines. Statistically significant higher VH (30.4%) and vaccine resistance (12.2%) rates were found for viral vector than mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (7.2% and 1.0%, respectively; p < 0.001). Factors related to viral vector VH were partially different from those related to mRNA VH. Students with greater endorsement on conspiracy statements and negative attitudes toward the vaccine had higher odds of being vaccine-hesitant or-resistant. Students who had received a previous COVID-19 test and who scored higher on the agreeableness personality dimension had lower odds to be vaccine-hesitant or-resistant. The willingness to choose the vaccine was related to the viral vector but not to the mRNA VH. Taking into consideration the factors involved in vaccine hesitancy/resistance in college students could represent a key public health strategy to increase vaccine coverage and reduce viral spreading