Factors associated with the subjective health complaints among adolescents: Results from the ASSO Project

2019

Objectives. Subjective health complaints (e.g. headache and feeling low) are common among adolescents. The objective of this study was to identify the factors associated with the subjective health of adolescents from a population-based point of view. Material and methods. A sample of 712 students was recruited within the web-based Project ASSO (Adolescents and Surveillance System for the Obesity prevention), funded by the Italian Ministry of Health and piloted in Palermo. A 0-100 quantitative score (arbitrarily named "psychosomatic malaise index") based on the frequency of occurrence of seven subjective health complaints was created and used as outcome; socio-demographic characteristics, me…

Design, implementation, and evaluation of the adolescents and surveillance system for the obesity prevention project

2016

Abstract The Adolescents Surveillance System for Obesity prevention (ASSO) Project aimed at developing standardized and web-based tools for collecting data on adolescents’ obesity and its potential determinants. This has been implemented and piloted in the local area of Palermo city, Italy. The aim of the present study is to provide an overview of the Project's design, implementation, and evaluation, highlighting all the aspects for a potential scale-up of the surveillance system on the whole national territory and abroad, as a sustainable and effective source of data. The overall structure and management, the ASSO-toolkit, the ASSO-NutFit software, and all developed and used procedures for…

Deformation history during chain building deduced by outcrop structural analysis: The case of the Sicilian fold-and-thrust belt (Central Mediterranea…

2015

Abstract The Sicilian fold-and-thrust belt is located in the central Mediterranean area, and it represents the south-eastern arcuate segment of the Apennine-Maghrebide orogen. The tectonic evolution of the Sicilian belt is documented after outcrop analysis of small-scale structural features carried out throughout the region. Results are consistent with the following four main deformation stages having affected the study area, from the oldest to the youngest: (i) multilayer weakening; (ii) folding-and-thrusting, (iii) extension, and (iv) renewed thrusting. The first deformation stage included three different substages (layer-parallel shortening, bed-parallel simple shear and fold nucleation)…

Factors associated with poor adherence to MMR vaccination in parents who follow vaccination schedule.

2014

Due to median vaccination coverage far from elimination level, Italy is still an European country with high number of measles cases per million of people. In this study we explored potential socioeconomic, medical and demographic factors which could influence the propensity of family members for measles vaccination schedule. A cross-sectional study was performed through a questionnaire administered to the parents of children who received the first dose of MMR vaccine in two different vaccination centers in the Palermo area from November 2012 to May 2013. Overall, the role played by internet (OR 19.8 P = 0.001) and the large number of children in a family (OR 7.3 P ≤ 0.001) were the factors …

Comparative validity of the ASSO - Food Frequency Questionnaire for the web-based assessment of food and nutrients intake in adolescents

2015

Background : A new web-based food frequency questionnaire (the ASSO–FFQ) was developed within the ASSO Project funded by the Italian Ministry of Health. Objective : The aim of the present study is to assess the validity of the ASSO–FFQ at food groups, energy, and nutrients level. Design and subjects : The validation study compared the ASSO–FFQ against a weighted food record (WFR) measuring foods, beverages and supplements intake, compiled during the week following the ASSO–FFQ administration. Ninety-two subjects aged 14–17, recruited from secondary schools in Palermo (Italy), completed the ASSO–FFQ and WFR. The intake of 24 food groups, energy, and 52 nutrients were taken as main outcomes. …

Hydraulic properties of fault zones in porous carbonates, examples from central and southern Italy

2016

We present the results of in situ permeability measurements performed, using a portable field permeameter, on normal and strike-slip fault zones that crosscut high-porosity carbonate grainstones. The measurement sites expose in the Cretaceous Orfento Formation of the Majella Mountain (Abruzzo, Italy), and the Lower Pleistocene deposits of the Favignana Island (Sicily, Italy). Nine small-displacement, compactive shear banding-based fault zones have been tested in the field. The fault offset ranges between 10 and 200 centimeters. The acquired permeability data indicate a two orders of magnitude decrease of porosity and permeability from the host rock to the cataclastic fault cores. A clear de…

Qualitative analysis of determinants of measles, mumps, rubella vaccine uptake in European parents

2015

Background Parental concerns about measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination negatively influence decision to vaccinate their children, this leading to the recently reported vaccine coverage drop in Europe. The ESCULAPIO project, funded by the Italian National Centre for Disease Prevention and Control of the Ministry of Health (CCM), is investigating the main factors underlying decisions on vaccinations, in order to implement targeted campaigns and plan effective strategies. Methods A systematic literature review was carried out on studies describing the determinants underlying MMR vaccination uptake in European parents. Results A total of 45 studies were included in the analysis. The mo…

A regional-scale discontinuity in western Sicily revealed by a multidisciplinary approach: A new piece for understanding the geodynamic puzzle of the…

2015

The results of an integrated stratigraphic, structural, geophysical, and geochemical study reveal the presence of a crustal discontinuity in western Sicily that, at present, runs roughly N-S along a band from San Vito Lo Capo to Sciacca (SVCS). The boundary between the two zones of this discontinuity is nearly orthogonal to the main thrust propagation of the Sicilian thrust-and-fold belt. The different Permian to Tertiary sedimentary evolution recorded by the two zones appears related to this discontinuity, with thick carbonate platforms in the western sector facing deep-water successions in the eastern one. The presence of Upper Triassic reefs, huge megabreccias bodies, and widespread subm…

Tectonic evolution of the Sicilian Thrust System (central Mediterranean)

2012

The Sicilian Thrust System (STS) is a south-verging (Africa-verging) fold-and-thrust belt including a Mesozoic-Paleogene sedimentary sequence. This thrust stack owes its origin to the deformation of pre-orogenic strata deposited in different palaeogeographic domains belonging to passive margins of the African plate. The STS was deformed during the Neogene, following the closure of the Tethys Ocean and the continental collision between the Sardo-Corso Block and the North Africa margins. The thrust pile was detached from the underlying basement during the Miocene-Pleistocene. The regional-scale structural setting recognized allows us to reconstruct the tectonic evolution of the STS as follows…

Fluid storage and migration properties of sheared Neptunian dykes

2019

Abstract Neptunian dykes are widely reported along the Tethyan carbonate platforms and are commonly considered as subsurface baffles or barriers to fluid flow. However, the fluid storage and migration properties of sheared Neptunian dykes are poorly known. For this reason, we investigate the inner structure and fluid flow properties of two Neptunian dykes, which can be characterized by different architectures if involved or not in brittle shearing processes. The dykes strike ca. WNW-ESE and crosscutting the tight Jurassic limestones exposed at Maranfusa Mt., NW Sicily, Italy. The unsheared and sheared Neptunian dykes are almost sub-vertical and at high-angle with respect to the horizontal p…

Integration of HVSR measures and stratigraphic constraints for seismic microzonation studies: the case of Oliveri (ME)

2014

Abstract. Because of its high seismic hazard the urban area of Oliveri has been subject of first level seismic microzonation. The town develops on a large coastal plain made of mixed fluvial/marine sediments, overlapping a complexly deformed substrate. In order to identify points on the area probably suffering relevant site effects and define a preliminary Vs subsurface model for the first level of microzonation, we performed 23 HVSR measurements. A clustering technique of continuous signals has been used to optimize the calculation of the HVSR curves. 42 reliable peaks of the H/V spectra in the frequency range 0.6–10 Hz have been identified. A second clustering technique has been applied t…

Information sources and knowledge on vaccination in a population from southern Italy: The ESCULAPIO project

2016

Vaccine knowledge of the general population is shaped by different information sources and strongly influences vaccination attitudes and uptake. The CCM-Italian Ministry of Health ESCULAPIO project attempted to identify the role of such information sources, in order to address adequate strategies to improve information on vaccines and vaccine preventable diseases. In the present study, data on 632 adults from Southern Italy regarding information sources were collected, and their perceived and actual knowledge on vaccinations were compared and analyzed in relation to socio-demographic characteristics and information sources. The main reported reference sources were general practitioners (GPs…

Influenza vaccination coverage among medical residents: An Italian multicenter survey

2014

Although influenza vaccination is recognized to be safe and effective, recent studies have confirmed that immunization coverage among health care workers remain generally low, especially among medical residents (MRs). Aim of the present multicenter study was to investigate attitudes and determinants associated with acceptance of influenza vaccination among Italian MRs. A survey was performed in 2012 on MRs attending post-graduate schools of 18 Italian Universities. Each participant was interviewed via an anonymous, self-administered, web-based questionnaire including questions on attitudes regarding influenza vaccination. A total of 2506 MRs were recruited in the survey and 299 (11.9%) of t…

Burden and viral aetiology of influenza-like illness and acute respiratory infection in intensive care units

2015

The purpose of this investigation was to study the viral aetiology of influenza-like illness (ILI) and acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI) among patients requiring intensive care unit admission. A cross-sectional retrospective study was carried out in Sicily over a 4-year period. A total of 233 respiratory samples of patients with ILI/ARTI admitted to intensive care units were molecularly analyzed for the detection of a comprehensive panel of aetiologic agents of viral respiratory infections. About 45% of patients was positive for at least one pathogen. Single aetiology occurred in 75.2% of infected patients, while polymicrobial infection was found in 24.8% of positive subjects. Influe…

Methodological issues in a cross-sectional survey on cervical cancer screening using telephone interviews in Sicily (Italy): a SWOT analysis

2019

Objective A cross-sectional study on knowledge, perceptions, and adherence to cervical cancer screening was conducted using telephone interviews of Sicilian women that were performed in 2016. This study aimed to identify areas that need to be addressed to improve the validity of data collection and to minimize possible biases. Methods We performed a qualitative study through SWOT analysis, which is a multidimensional method based on evaluation of Strengths (S), Weaknesses (W), Opportunities (O), and Threats (T) of the research project. The contents of the SWOT forms underwent categorical, inductive, and deductive data analysis using the long table analysis method. Results The full availabil…

The web-based ASSO-food frequency questionnaire for adolescents: relative and absolute reproducibility assessment

2014

Background A new food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) has been recently developed within the Italian Adolescents and Surveillance System for the Obesity prevention (ASSO) Project; it was found to be appropriate for ranking adolescents in food and nutrient levels of intake. The aim of this study was to assess the relative and absolute reproducibility of the ASSO-FFQ for 24 food groups, energy and 52 nutrients. Methods A test-retest study was performed on two ASSO-FFQs administered one month apart of each other to 185 adolescents, aged 14–17 and attending secondary schools in Palermo (Italy). Wilcoxon test assessed differences in median daily intakes between the two FFQs. Agreement was evaluate…

Pap Testing in a High-Income Country with Suboptimal Compliance Levels: A Survey on Acceptance Factors among Sicilian Women

2018

Cervical cancer screening is uncommon, especially in low-income countries and among lower socioeconomic status people in high-income countries. The aims of this study were to examine the adherence of Sicilian women to Pap testing and to identify the determinants of this in a population with a secondary prevention attitude lower than high-income countries and the national average. A cross-sectional study called &ldquo

TREND DI NOTIFICA DELLE PRINCIPALI TOSSINFEZIONI ALIMENTARI IN CALABRIA E SICILIA PRIMA E DOPO L'ABOLIZIONE DEL LIBRETTO DI IDONEITA' SANITARIA PER A…

2012

Soft-sediment deformation structures (SSDS) in Pleistocene calcarenites of Favignana island (Sicily, Italy)

2013

Determinants of European parents' decision on the vaccination of their children against measles, mumps and rubella: A systematic review and meta-anal…

2016

ABSTRACT Low measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) immunization levels in European children highlight the importance of identifying determinants of parental vaccine uptake to implement policies for increasing vaccine compliance. The aim of this paper is to identify the main factors associated with partial and full MMR vaccination uptake in European parents, and combine the different studies to obtain overall quantitative measures. This activity is included within the ESCULAPIO project, funded by the Italian Ministry of Health. ORs and CIs were extracted, sources of heterogeneity explored and publication bias assessed. Forty-five papers were retrieved for the qualitative study, 26 of which were i…

The integration of surface and subsurface stratigraphic data with HVSR measures for studies of seismic microzonation: the case of Oliveri (ME)

2013

Because of its high seismic hazard the urban area of Oliveri has been subject of a study on seismic microzonation at first level (OPCM 3907/2010). The urban area develops on a large coastal plain made of Late Pleistocene and Holocene mixed fluvial/marine sediments, that mainly consist of silty sands and gravels. The eastern part of this plain is dominated by the alluvial deposits of the Elicona torrent. The coastal and alluvial sediments overlap a complexly deformed substrate made of Hercynian metamorphites (Aspromonte unit), the Capo d’Orlando Flysch, the Antisicilide Argille Scagliose and Pleistocene clays and calcarenites. This area is affected by high uplift rates as recently estimated …

Survey on attitudes, behaviours and perceptions of General Practitioner trainees towards influenza vaccination in Western Sicily (Italy)

2011

Influence of the Plio-Pleistocene tectonics on the evolution of the Purgatorio polje (north-western Sicily)

2013

The evolution of large landforms such as polje are related in most cases to geological events affecting a specific areal context and/or to climatic events which, in combination with the tectonics, affect the karst base level, in a more or less pronounced manner depending on the proximity of limestone karst mountains to the coastline. The genesis of these aforementioned forms depends primarily on structural and lithological factors, their evolution is instead controlled by tectonic and climaticeustatic factors in the reliefs close to the coast. In the inland, due to the distance from the coast, the effects of the latter factors on the karstification process could be less, or very bland, in r…

L’aderenza ai programmi vaccinali per la prima infanzia nella popolazione di origine straniera regolarmente residente. L’esperienza di quattro centri…

2013

A MESOZOIC PALEOMARGIN in WESTERN SICILY, its TERTIARY EVOLUTION and its PRESENT-DAY SEISMOGENETIC POTENTIAL

2013

Studio multicentrico su attitudini, pratiche e conoscenze dei Medici in Formazione Specialistica relativamente alla vaccinazione antinfluenzale.

2012

Analisi della scarsa attitudine alla vaccinazione antinfluenzale dei medici italiani del futuro: risultati di uno studio multicentrico condotto in 18…

2014

Introduzione: Nel corso della stagione influenzale, gli Operatori Sanitari (OS) rappresentano una delle categorie lavorative maggiormente investite dalla responsabilità di limitare la diffusione della patologia influenzale tra i pazienti ospedalizzati e contemporaneamente di proteggere se stessi garantendo la continuità dell'assistenza sanitaria nei periodi di maggiore assenteismo lavorativo e sovraccarico delle attività assistenziali (picco influenzale stagionale). La vaccinazione antinfluenzale, ormai riconosciuta sicura ed efficace, rappresenta ancora oggi una argomento di dibattito tra gli OS, nonostante le raccomandazioni dei Center for Disease Control and Prevention Statunitense ed Eu…

Carta geologica del versante meridionale delle Madonie Occidentali

2014

Analisi dei dati di notifica delle malattie trasmesse con gli alimenti (MTA), in Italia dal 1996 al 2009, in relazione all’abolizione del libretto di…

2013

Introduzione La procedura della certificazione del LISA prevista da una legge del lontano 1962, è stata messa in discussione, quale strumento efficace e costo-efficace di prevenzione primaria, fin dalla fine degli anni ’80. La sua abolizione ha modificato il programma di Sanità pubblica in cui era inserito, facendo maggiore spazio a strumenti di autocontrollo, formazione sanitaria e responsabilizzazione del personale della filiera alimentare. Lo scopo del presente lavoro è di effettuare, per tutto il territorio italiano, un confronto fra i dati delle notifiche delle principali MTA relativi al periodo antecedente con quelli del periodo successivo all’abolizione del LISA. Materiali e Metodi I…

La Promozione della Salute nelle scuole: misure antropometriche in un campione di una popolazione scolastica di un Comune Siciliano.

2012

MECCANISMI DI DEFORMAZIONE IN ROCCE CARBONATICHE STRATIFICATE: IMPLICAZIONI PER LA CIRCOLAZIONE DEI GEOFLUIDI

2014

Nel presente lavoro è stata condotta un’analisi quali/quantitativa degli elementi strutturali che caratterizzano alcuni affioramenti carbonatici presenti nella zona di catena esterna della Sicilia occidentale (Monte Maranfusa e Montangna Grande), e nella zona di avampaese in Sicilia sud-orientale (Monti Iblei). Le proprietà petrofisiche delle rocce carbonatiche (porosità, permeabilità), sono strettamente legate all’evoluzione diagenetica di quest’ultime e cambiano in funzione della natura, dell’organizzazione e della forma degli elementi che le costituiscono (grani, pori, cemento, minerali, ecc.). Tali proprietà sono inoltre fortemente condizionate dalla natura delle discontinuità tettonich…

Residui di prodotti fitosanitari in campioni biologici umani ed impatto sulla salute.

2012

A regional-scale discontinuity in western Sicily revealed by a multidisciplinary approach: A new piece for understanding the geodynamic puzzle of the…

2015

The results of an integrated stratigraphic, structural, geophysical, and geochemical study reveal the presence of a crustal discontinuity in western Sicily that, at present, runs roughly N-S along a band from San Vito Lo Capo to Sciacca. The boundary between the two zones of this discontinuity is nearly orthogonal to the main thrust propagation of the Sicilian thrust-and-fold belt. The different Permian to Tertiary sedimentary evolution recorded by the two zones appears related to this discontinuity, with thick carbonate platforms in the western sector facing deepwater successions in the eastern one. The presence of Upper Triassic reefs, huge megabreccia bodies, and widespread submarine vol…

Deformation mechanism and hydraulic properties of normal and strike-slip fault zones in porous carbonates outcropping in central and southern Italy.

2013

Deformation of porous carbonate grainstones takes generally place by compactive shear banding, which initially produce single bands that may evolve during incremental strain into zones of multiple bands and, eventually, fault zones with discrete slip surfaces. The several processes associated to increased deformation are recorded in the aforementioned structural elements. In fact, they are characterized by a different texture, porosity, dimensional attributes (length, thickness, displacement). Fault zones are characterized by inner fault cores made of cataclastic material surrounded by thicker damage zones including single bands and zones of bands. In this work, we present the results of in…

Strutture deformative sindeposizionali nelle calcareniti Pleistoceniche del settore orientale dell'Isola di Favignana (Sicilia, Italia)

2013

INCIDENZA DELL'INFLUENZA LIKE-ILLNESS TRA I MEDICI IN FORMAZIONE SPECIALISTICA ITALIANI: RISULTATI DI UNO STUDIO MULTICENTRICO

2014

Preliminary results of fault-related permeability structures associated to the Scicli-Ragusa fault segments, Hyblean Plateau, Sicily

2010

Nella zona di Ragusa (Plateau Ibleo, Sicilia sud-orientale) la presenza di bitume all’interno di rocce carbonatiche di età oligo-miocenica, caratterizzate da una porosità primaria oggi compresa tra 0 e 10% (Formazione Ragusa, permette di osservare il ruolo esercitato da faglie e fratture nella circolazione degli idrocarburi. Con l’obiettivo quindi di effettuare studi mirati alla caratterizzazione petrofisica delle diverse tipologie di faglie e fratture affioranti, è stato condotto uno studio di terreno preliminare, che ha permesso la definizione dell’assetto geologico-strutturale della porzione occidentale del Plateau Ibleo, lungo il sistema di faglie denominato Scicli-Ragusa. Inoltre, sull…

Integration of stratigraphic data with HVSR measures for studies of seismic microzonation: the case of Oliveri (ME)

2013

The seismic microzoning is a technique of analysis of a territory which aims to recognize, at a small scale, the local geological and geomorphologic conditions that may significantly affect the characteristics of the seismic motion, generating stress on structures that could produce permanent and critical effects. In other words, this technique has the objective to predict and evaluate possible site effects as a result of an earthquake. The first phase of the seismic microzoning is the detailed partition of the territory in homogeneous areas with respect to the expected behavior of soils during an earthquake. The seismic micro-zoning is a tool for prevention and reduction of seismic risk pa…

Preliminary results of fault-related permeability structures associated in the Scicli-Ragusa fault, Hyblean Plateau, Sicily.

2010

Preliminary results of a multi-scale structural analisys in an analogue carbonate reservoir (Hyblean Plateau, Sicily, Italy)

2010

With the aim of studying the multi-scale fault architecture and permeability in hydrocarbon-rich porous carbonate rocks, we are currently involved in a project focused on the structural analysis of fractured and faulted platform-to-ramp carbonates cropping out in the Hyblean Plateau (Sicily, Italy). The Hyblean Plateau is part of the Maghrebian foreland and forms the northern portion of the African plate. The plateau is a NE-oriented structural high crosscut by a large-scale N10°-20°E oriented strike-slip fault system, named Scicli-Ragusa, which was affected by right-lateral kinematics during the Upper Miocene-Lower Pliocene. Some authors documented a recent activity of the Scicli-Ragusa fa…

Formation mechanisms of Neptunian dikes in the Jurassic carbonates of Monte Maranfusa (western Sicily)

2013

Younger sediment infilling open fissures exposed on the sea floor are defined as neptunian dikes. These are peculiar features of carbonate platform successions deposited along the plate margins bounding the western Tethys during the Late Triassic time. During middle-Early Jurassic, a large part of these carbonate platforms were drowned, and became submerged plateaux covered by pelagic sediments during Jurassic (“Rosso Ammonitico”) and Cretaceous times (“Scaglia”). In western Sicily, several Neptunian dikes crop out (Monte Kumeta, Rocca Busambra, Monte Maranfusa, Monte Magaggiaro, etc.). They cut across mainly the carbonate sediments of the Inici Formation and in some cases the pelagic limes…

Salvate Eva in Sicilia: indagine conoscitiva 2016 sull’adesione allo screening organizzato del cervicocarcinoma.

2017

In Sicilia, a fronte di un incremento dell’estensione dello screening organizzato del cervicocarcinoma, non corrisponde un aumento dell’adesione. Nei mesi di gennaio-giugno 2016 è stata condotta un’indagine trasversale somministrando un questionario standardizzato a un campione di 365 donne, per descrivere le ragioni del fenomeno e promuovere interventi mirati. Per le variabili di atteggiamento e conoscenza è stato utilizzato l’Health Belief Model, che ha esplorato la percezione della donna della suscettibilità (rischio di sviluppare il cancro), della gravità della patologia e dei benefici derivanti dal pap-test. Dai risultati emerge che il 66,6% delle intervistate ha effettuato un pap- tes…