Ecological correlation between diabetes hospitalizations and fine particulate matter in Italian provinces

Background: Exposure to particulate matter has been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. We evaluated the ecological correlation between standardized hospital discharges with diabetes in Italian provinces and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) adjusting for common risk factors, socioeconomic factors and differences in hospitalization appropriateness. Methods: We used cross sectional data aggregated at the province level and available from official institutional databases for years 2008–2010. Covariates included prevalence of adult overweight, obese, smokers, physically inactive, education and income (as average gross domestic product per person, GDP). We reduced the number of covariates to a smaller number of factors for the subsequent statistical model by extracting meaningful components using principal component analysis (PCA). Log-linear multiple regression analysis was used to model diabetes hospital discharges with PCA components and PM2.5 levels and hospitalization appropriateness for men and women. Results: The first PCA components for both men and women were characterized by larger loadings of risk factors (obesity, overweight, physical inactivity, cigarette smoking) and lower socioeconomic factors (educational level and mean GDP). Diabetes hospitalization increases with the first PCA component and decreases with the index of hospitalization appropriateness. In fully adjusted models, diabetes hospitalizations increase with increasing annual PM2.5 concentrations, with a rise of 3.5 % (1.3 %–5.6 %) for men and of 4.0 % (1.5 %-6.4 %) for women per unit of PM2.5 increase. Conclusions: We found a significant ecological relationship between sex and age standardised hospital discharge with diabetes as principle diagnosis and mean annual PM2.5 concentrations in Italian provinces, once that covariates have been accounted for. The relationship was robust to different means of estimating PM2.5 exposure. A large portion of the variance of diabetes hospitalizations was linked to differences of hospital care appropriateness between Italian regions and this variable should routinely be included in ecological analyses of hospitalizations

The coastal military architecture of World War II in Sardinia

[EN] After the Unification of Italy and after the First World War, the Stato Maggiore of the Royal Italian Army had to change the defence strategies and give more attention to coastal defence, because of the changing political relations and the development of military technology. In this overall strategic framework, the island of Sardinia was considered an "outpost of Italy", because of its defensive and offensive importance in the Mediterranean Sea. During World War II coastal defence became the operational priority of the Italian Army. In Sardinia, this was crucial for its proximity to Corsica and Tunisia and as a target of the Allies (after 1943). Consequently, substantial defence forces were introduced: army corps, brigades, mobile divisions, assault guns and gun trucks. The Army started to erect permanent fortification, in particular reinforced concrete structures produced designed according to standardized modules but adapted to the context using the means, resources and techniques available. Along the Sardinian coast, hundreds of bunkers were built and most of them are still existing in a state of neglect, sometimes in contexts of particular of great landscape and environmental value. This paper presents the systematic study of these "modern ruins built in concrete", through the examination of documents found in historical military archives and through a direct investigation of some of the most significant works. Also it offers a cataloguing through the categories of different disciplines (history, architecture, engineering, "Art of War" and ballistics) to encourage their enhancement and conservation, as architectural expression of a particular period of the 20th century history.Mameli, M.; Sanjust, P. (2015). The coastal military architecture of World War II in Sardinia. En Defensive architecture of the mediterranean: XV to XVIII centuries. Vol. II. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 199-206. https://doi.org/10.4995/FORTMED2015.2015.1784OCS19920

SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination in Solid-Organ Transplant Recipients

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has posed significant global challenges for solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients. Mortality rates of COVID-19 in this patient population remain high, despite new available therapeutic options and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination. Priority access to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination for waitlisted candidates and for SOT patients and their family members is recommended since the advantage from vaccination reduces the risk of COVID-19-related complications. However, immunogenicity and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines are lower in waitlisted candidates and SOT recipients than in the general population. Routine systematic assessment of humoral and cellular immune responses after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is controversial, although highly recommended for investigation and improvement of knowledge. SOT recipients should continue to adhere to preventive protective measures despite vaccination and may undergo passive antibody prophylaxis. This article seeks to provide an update on SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and preventive measures in SOT recipients based on existing literature and international guidelines

Non-invasive visual tools for diagnosis of oral cancer and dysplasia: a systematic review

Background: Gold standard for the diagnosis of oral dysplasia (OD) oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and malignant lesions is the histological examination. Several adjunctive diagnostic techniques have been proposed in order to increase the sensitivity (SE) and specificity (SP) of conventional oral examination and to improve the diagnostic first level accuracy. The aim of this study is to perform a systematic review on non-invasive tools for diagnosis of OD and early OSCC. Material and Methods: Medline, Scopus, Web of Knowledge databases were searched, using as entry terms “oral dysplasia AND diagnosis” / ”oral cancer AND diagnosis”. Data extracted from each study included number of lesions evaluated, histopathological diagnosis, SE, SP, positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV), diagnostic accuracy (DA) and the main conclusions. Results: After title and abstract scanning of 11.080 records, we selected 35 articles for full text evaluation. Most evaluated tools were autofluorescence (AF), chemiluminescence (CL), toluidine blu (TL) and chemiluminescence associated with toluidine blue (CLTB). Conclusions: There is a great inhomogeneity of the reported values and there is no significant evidence of superiority of one tool over the other. Further clinical trials with a higher level of evidence are necessary in order to assess the real usefulness visual diagnostic tools

Energy savings in hospital patient rooms: the role of windows size and glazing properties

Abstract Large windows with increased exposure to daylight have strong positive effects on the well-being of building occupants and can provide energy savings when appropriate glazing specifications are employed. The work evaluates the impact of different window sizes and glazing on heating and cooling energy needs in a hospital patient room, in order to investigate the energy savings achievable by adopting wider openings and to identify the most effective glazing types. Simulations have been conducted for different commercially available glazing systems. The authors analyzed the energy performance of a base case window with 25% Window-to-Wall Ratio (WWR) and of a wall-to-ceiling window with 77% WWR, in rooms facing the four different orientations and located in Bologna, Italy. Results show that the adoption of wider windows with appropriate glazing can lower the heating and cooling energy demand

The Role of One- and Two-Dimensional Electrophoretic Techniques in Proteomics of the Lung

The current chapter was designed to keep the reader informed about the present status of pulmonary proteome. Taken together, the results documented here demonstrate that, after a decade of activity, proteomics of pulmonary diseases is catching up with its promise. The constantly growing number of reports in this area supports the view of this approach as one of the decisive methodological tools for the identification/characterization of disease-associated proteins. In terms of experimental procedures, the basic options available for proteomic investigations consist in the identification of proteins through the use of gel-based or gel-free techniques followed by MS. Obviously, the question arises of whether sophisticated technologies (such as the non-gel-based proteomic procedures) may currently be more fruitful, in terms of candidate protein marker identification, than “conventional” (read electrokinetic) approaches. In light of the versatility and high degree of reproducibility shown by these new potent strategies, a positive answer is perhaps not surprising. Nevertheless, as documented in this chapter, despite being less sophisticated than competing ones, gel-based techniques still represent a widely used procedure able to generate a reliable protein “fingerprint” and to produce qualitative and quantitative information on the protein patterns of a variety of human fluids

Cycling training effects on fat metabolism blood parameters

BACKGROUND: Study the acute and middle term (4 weeks training) effect of cycling training on fat blood hematological parameters, urine, fatigue, and general health in recreational well-trained cyclists. METHODS: Nineteen cyclists underwent five blood sample collections: before and after an incremental maximal ramp test 7 days before day 0 (D-0); before and after 1 hour exhaustion trial test at baseline (D-0); and after 28 days of training (D-28). Age 34.5 years (\ub19.5); weight 74.87 kg (\ub16.6); height 177.3 cm (\ub15.2); BMI 26.3 (\ub14.9); VO2max 53.75 mL/kg/ min (\ub16.01); distance cycled 314.7 km/week (\ub1137.1). RESULTS: Acute effect was strong elevating WBC from 6.27\ub12.34 to 9.01\ub13.63 7103/\ub5L, an increase in LDL and total CHOL, in this respect, existing literature is controversial. No changes in body weight or blood pressure was observed after 1 month of regular training albeit lipid profile significantly improved, as well as GOT. CONCLUSIONS: Effect of a short incremental bout of exercise was to temporary elevated all the blood parameters except MCH and MCHC. A month of intensive training (distance cycled: 314.7\ub1137.1 km/week) significantly improved blood lipids profile with no permanent effect on WBC, blood pressure or body weight, but improved post effort lactate concentration and fatigue perception. Hematuria is confirmed to be a rare occurrence in recreational cyclists. Data can be useful for training monitoring and comparisons with similar groups of athletes, where there is a lack of information in literature and for comparing exercise effects

Cellulose nanocrystals polyelectrolyte complexes as flame retardant treatment for cotton fabrics

In this work, polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) are employed as an efficient way for the deposition of functional flame retardant coatings based on cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs). To this aim, CNCs have been combined with branched polyethyleneimine (BPEI) obtaining gel-like PECs to be deposited on cotton by an easy doctor-blading approach. The morphology of the coated fabrics was investigated by scanning electron microscopy. The thermal stability was evaluated by thermogravimetric analyses while the achieved flame retardant properties were assessed by horizontal flammability tests. The deposition of the CNCs/BPEI PECs produces a homogeneous coating capable of self-extinguishing the flame with only 8 % of weight added to the fabric. Post combustion residue investigations highlighted how these CNCs/BPEI PECs can produce a swelled charred barrier consisting of polyaromatic structures embedded within an amorphous carbon. The results reported in this paper open up to a practical and industrially viable strategy for the exploitation of CNCs in the field of flame retardant coatings

The “History” of Desmosines: Forty Years of Debate on the Hypothesis That These Two Unnatural Amino Acids May Be Potential Biomarkers of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Desmosine and isodesmosine (collectively known as desmosines), two unnatural amino acids unique to mature elastin in humans, have been widely discussed as being potential biomarkers of disorders, which involve connective tissue and whose clinical manifestations result in elastin degradation. In particular, experimental data accumulated over the last 40 years have demonstrated that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) excrete higher amounts of urinary desmosines than healthy controls. Based on this evidence, it has been speculated by several authors that these cross-links may be potential biomarkers of COPD with clinical significance. Nevertheless, a strict correlation between the amount of these amino acids and the severity of the disease still has to be demonstrated. For this reason, the debate on the opportunity to consider desmosines as biomarkers of COPD is still open, and the development of sophisticated methods aimed at obtaining very precise measurement of their concentration is still considered technically challenging. The aim of this chapter is to trace the history of this debate through the presentation and discussion of a large number of articles dealing with the detection and quantification of desmosines in different biological fluids, from early years until the present