Selected Papers from the pHealth 2021 Conference, Genoa, Italy, 8-10 November 2021

This Special Issue of the Journal of Personalized Medicine presents extended versions of selected contributions to pHealth 2021, the 18th International Conference on Wearable Micro and Nano Technologies for Personalized Health, held on 8-10 November 2021 in Genoa, Italy [...]

A SOA-Based Solution to Monitor Vaccination Coverage Among HIV-Infected Patients in Liguria

Vaccination in HIV-infected patients constitutes an essential tool in the prevention of the most common infectious diseases. The Ligurian Vaccination in HIV Program is a proposed vaccination schedule specifically dedicated to this risk group. Selective strategies are proposed within this program, employing ICT (Information and Communication) tools to identify this susceptible target group, to monitor immunization coverage over time and to manage failures and defaulting. The proposal is to connect an immunization registry system to an existing regional platform that allows clinical data re-use among several medical structures, to completely manage the vaccination process. This architecture will adopt a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) approach and standard HSSP (Health Services Specification Program) interfaces to support interoperability. According to the presented solution, vaccination administration information retrieved from the immunization registry will be structured according to the specifications within the immunization section of the HL7 (Health Level 7) CCD (Continuity of Care Document) document. Immunization coverage will be evaluated through the continuous monitoring of serology and antibody titers gathered from the hospital LIS (Laboratory Information System) structured into a HL7 Version 3 (v3) Clinical Document Architecture Release 2 (CDA R2)

From the experience of \u201cPLANT\u201d and \u201cPYRGY\u201d EU Projects onwards: interdisciplinary link of medicinal plant science with history and art

The iconography of medicinal and aromatic plant in art masterpieces can be an interesting contribution to the ethnobotanical knowledge related to the historic period when the artefact was produced. Along herbarium specimens, sometimes misrepresenting the morphological characters, the images inside artistic expressions not meant for scientific purposes, and often related to complex symbolic meanings, are of interest also from the botanical and the pharmaceutical point of view. Within the work of the EU project \u201cPlants in European Masterpieces (PLANT)\u201d we considered 100 species of ethnobotanical interest into 25 paintings and frescoes of XVI century in the Genoese museums or in other museums but having Genoa as a subject. Part of the dissemination activities of the EU project \u201cStrategia d\u2019impresa in settori di nicchia per l\u2019economia agroindustriale del Mediterraneo (PYRGI)\u201dwere devoted to the comparative study of a Genoese collection of pharmacy jars, pharmacy recipes of pharmacopoeias used in the past in Liguria, and aromatic and medicinal plants of the Ligurian area. For both projects a relational database ad hoc developed, having specific tables for all the three main sections of study (art, botany and pharmaceutical and ethnobotanical knowledge), was produced. These databases were the backbones of the PLANT desktop application and of the web site for PYRGI respectively. The hyperlink trees allow the user to navigate among reconstructions of ancient recipes, the botanical information and the related masterpiece. The ongoing research is focused on other paintings of the Genoese collections of the Musei di Strada Nuova. The painting I santi Sebastiano, Giovanni Battista e Francesco; Madonna con il Bambino e Angeli (1502-1503) by Filippino Lippi, is of particular relevance, with 43 entities; 36 of which are herbaceous species. 18 taxa are clearly identifiable, belonging to Pteridophtyes (2 taxa) and Angiosperm Dicotyledons (16 taxa)

Surgical management of rhinosinusitis in onco-hematological patients

ObjectivesIn onco-hematological diseases, the incidence of paranasal sinuses infection dramatically increase and requires a combination of medical and surgical therapy. Balloon dilatation surgery (DS) is a minimally invasive, tissue preserving procedure. The study evaluates the results of DS for rhinosinusitis in immunocompromised patients.MethodsA retrospective chart review was conducted in 110 hematologic patients with rhinosinusitis. Twenty-five patients were treated with DS technique and 85 patients with endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). We considered the type of anesthesia and the extent of intra- and postoperative bleeding. Patients underwent Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-20) to evaluate changes in subjective symptoms and global patient assessment (GPA) questionnaire to value patient satisfaction.ResultsLocal anesthesia was employed in 8 cases of DS and in 15 of ESS. In 50 ESS patients, an anterior nasal packing was placed and in 12 cases a repacking was necessary. In the DS group, nasal packing was required in 8 cases and in 2 cases a repacking was placed (P=0.019 and P=0.422, respectively). The SNOT-20 change score showed significant improvement of health status in both groups. However the DS group showed a major improvement in 3 voices: need to blow nose, runny nose, and facial pain/pressure. The 3-month follow-up GPA questionnaire showed an higher satisfaction of DS group.ConclusionBalloon DS represents a potentially low aggressive treatment and appears to be relatively safe and effective in onco-hematologic patients. All these remarks may lead the surgeon to consider a larger number of candidates for surgical procedure

Standards and Principles to Enable Interoperability and Integration of 5P Medicine Ecosystems

Health and social care ecosystems are currently a matter of foundational organizational, methodological and technological paradigm changes towards personalized, preventive, predictive, participative precision (5P) medicine. For designing and implementing such advanced ecosystems, an understanding and correct representation of structure, function and relations of their components is inevitable. To guarantee consistent and conformant processes and outcomes, the specifications and principles must be internationally standardized. Summarizing the first author's Keynotes over the last 15 years of pHealth conferences, the paper discusses concepts, standards and principles of 5P medicine ecosystems including their design and implementation. Furthermore, a guidance to find and to deploy corresponding international standards in practical projects is provided.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Camada popular emergente: um novo contexto para a comunicação publicitária de instituições de ensino superior

O cenário político, econômico e social vividos pelo Brasil nas últimas décadas trouxeram novos contextos para a comunicação, sendo o fenômeno da camada popular emergente um deles. Tal contingente revelou-se fundamental para a expansão das instituições de ensino superior (IES), o que demandou uso de estratégias de comunicação de marketing focadas nesse público. O objetivo é analisar a comunicação publicitária envolvida na relação das IES para com a camada popular emergente por uma pesquisa de natureza qualitativa e exploratória, referencial teórico e estudo documental por meio da análise de conteúdo de anúncios publicitários veiculados no jornal Metrô News, tipificado para a camada popular emergente. Os resultados apontam que a camada popular emergente oferece novos insumos para as decisões estratégicas das IES e para sua comunicação publicitária

Comunicação especializada e a estratégia de preço baixo.

Nos últimos anos, o Brasil mostra novas atividades de marketing e comunicação. Uma delas é decorrente do aumento do poder aquisitivo dos segmentos sociais de menor renda. Corporações consideram esse novo nicho de mercado em sua comunicação uma vez que possui grande potencial de consumo, fazendo com que empresas e anunciantes reestruturem seus produtos, serviços e marcas tendo em vista o “preço baixo”. O objetivo deste trabalho é realizar, por meio de referencial teórico e descrição de anúncios publicitários publicados na mídia, limitada análise dos fatores que caracterizam a comunicação de marketing de anunciantes focados na estratégia de preço baixo. Para isso são eleitos os eixos teóricos da comunicação de marketing, estratégia de preço baixo e consumidores emergentes. O resultado mostra que a comunicação contextualizada no preço baixo reúne elementos especiais no seu conteúdo, caso da consciência de preço como diferencial, figuras e personagens estereotipados, discurso linear, valores sociais aspirados pelos emergentes, apelos ao custo-benefício e relação preço-qualidade.si

Camada popular emergente: um novo contexto para a comunicação publicitária de instituições de ensino superior

Os cenários político, econômico e social vividos pelo Brasil nas últimas décadas trouxeram novos contextos para a comunicação, sendo o fenômeno da camada popular emergente um deles. Tal contingente revelou-se fundamental para a expansão das instituições de ensino superior (IES), o que demandou uso de estratégias de comunicação de marketing focadas nesse público. O objetivo é analisar a comunicação publicitária envolvida na relação das IES para com a camada popular emergente por uma pesquisa de natureza qualitativa e exploratória, referencial teórico e estudo documental por meio da análise de conteúdo de anúncios publicitários veiculados no jornal Metrô News, tipificado para a camada popular emergente. Os resultados apontam que a camada popular emergente oferece novos insumos para as decisões estratégicas das IES e para sua comunicação publicitária

Real-Life Management of Patients with Retinal Vein Occlusion Using I-Macula Web Platform

Aim. Real-life evaluation in the management of patients affected by macular edema secondary to retinal vein occlusion. Material and Methods. A retrospective, observational study using the I-Macula Web platform. Results. Thirty-five patients (37 eyes; 15 females and 20 male) affected by RVO were analysed. At 12 months, there was a statistically significant improvement of best-corrected visual acuity (p = 0 0235) and central macular thickness (p < 0 0001). The mean change in visual acuity was 8.9 letters. Twenty-seven eyes underwent DEX implant (n = 62; mean: 2.29) only. Of these, 8, 4, 14, and 1 eyes underwent 1, 2, 3, and 4 DEX implants, respectively. The remaining 10 eyes were also injected with ranibizumab (n = 49; mean: 4.9). At 12 months, 12 eyes (32.5%) presented a dry macula, whereas the remaining 25 eyes (67.5%) still had macular edema. Mean interval between the first and second treatment (T1) and between the second and third treatment (T2) were 5.15 and (T2) 3.7 months, respectively. Where only DEX implants were received, T1 and T2 was 5.1 and 4.9 months, respectively. Conclusions. This study confirms that DEX implants and/or anti-VEGF drugs improve visual acuity and central macular thickness in patients affected by RVO