The Impact of a Change in Employment on Three Work-Related Diseases: A Retrospective Longitudinal Study of 10,530 Belgian Employees

BACKGROUND: The literature that has investigated to what extent a change in employment contributes to good health is contradictory or shows inconsistent results. The aim of this study was to investigate whether an association exists between a change in employment and cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and neuropsychological diseases in a sample of 10,530 Belgian workers in a seven-year follow-up study period. METHODS: The following factors were analysed: Demographic variables, a change in employment and the work-related risks. Individuals being on medication for cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and neuropsychological diseases were used as proxies for the three health issues. Logistic regressio…

Self-Perceived Health, Objective Health, and Quality of Life among People Aged 50 and Over: Interrelationship among Health Indicators in Italy, Spain, and Greece

It is well known that self-perceived health (SPH), even if it is a subjective health indicator, is significantly associated with objective health and quality of life (QoL) in the general population. Whether it can be considered an indicator of cognitive functioning and quality of life in the elderly is still an open issue. This study used a data-driven approach to investigate the interrelationship among SPH, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), QoL, and cognitive functioning to answer this question. The study sample included information about 12,831 people living in Italy, Spain, and Greece, extracted from the Survey on Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe, in the year 2015. The additive Ba…

Tamoxifen-loaded polymeric micelles: preparation, physico-chemical characterization and in vitro evaluation studies.

Several samples of polymeric micelles, formed by amphiphilic derivatives of PHEA, obtained by grafting into polymeric backbone of PEGs and/or hexadecylamine groups (PHEA-PEG-C(16) and PHEA-C(16)) and containing different amount of Tamoxifen, were prepared. All Tamoxifen-loaded polymeric micelles showed to increase drug water solubility. TEM studies provided evidence of the formation of supramolecular core/shell architectures containing drug, in the nanoscopic range and with spherical shape. Samples with different amount of encapsulated Tamoxifen were subjected to in vitro cytotoxic studies in order to evaluate the effect of Tamoxifen micellization on cell growth inhibition. All samples of T…

Diagnostic Concordance between Optical Coherence Tomography and Histological Investigations for Immune-Mediated Desquamative Gingivitis: Observational Study

Desquamative gingivitis (DG) denotes a heterogeneous immune-mediated disease for which early diagnosis represents a great challenge. The main aim of this study is to validate diagnostic concordance between specific Optical Coherence Tomography (OTC) patterns for DG related to oral Lichen Planus (OLP), Pemphigus Vulgaris (PV), and Mucous Membrane Pemphigoid (MMP) and definitive histological diagnosis. Forty-three patients with suspected immune-mediated DGs, were progressively recruited. Before biopsy, an OCT preliminary evaluation was performed using specific pre-determined OCT diagnostic patterns (i.e., morphology and localization of blisters, status of the basal membrane, epithelial thickn…

Statistical Advances in Epidemiology and Public Health

The key role of statistical modeling in epidemiology and public health is unquestionable [...]

Electrocardiographic abnormalities, preclinical carotid atherosclerosis and cardiovascular risk in an apparently healthy real-world population. Data from the "No Stroke, No Infarction" project of the Rotary International - district 2110 (Sicily and Malta)

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) represent important causes of morbidity and mortality. Our study aimed to evaluate cardiovascular risk using the EuroSCORE, ECG and carotid ultrasound for prevention purpose in a population of companions aged 50-70 years, asymptomatic and without CVD. Methods: History of CVD, risk factors (RF), ECG and carotid ultrasound were evaluated. Intima-media thickness (IMT) was defined as wall thickness >0.9 mm, while focal thickening ≥1.5 mm protruding into the lumen as asymptomatic carotid plaque (ACP). Results: Totally, 1860 subjects were screened. 393 (21.1%) had no RF, 780 (42%) hypertension, 571 (30.7%) hypercholesterolemia, 557 (29.9%) diabetes, 4…

Evaluating the impact of external job mobility on three health outcomes: a longitudinal study of the IDEWE cohort of Belgian workers

There is large debate in the literature about the relationship between job mobility and health. This thesis contributes to this topic by estimating the impact of work mobility on either cardiovascular, musculoskeletal or neuropsychological diseases in a longitudinal study on a sample of Belgian workers followed-up for seven-years. The occurrence of such diseases was assessed through medication use as proxy. In the first part of this thesis, the focus was on CVD and MSD diseases. To this aim, a logistic regression model for autocorrelated data with repeated measures was applied (while controlling for the time-variant and time-invariant confounders). This longitudinal model was adequate to ta…

Low Frequency of Human Papillomavirus in Strictly Site-Coded Oral Squamous Cell Carcinomas, Using the Latest NHI/SEER-ICD Systems: A Pilot Observational Study and Critical Review.

Simple Summary The incidence of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (OPSCCs) has increased in the last decades, and this seems to be correlated to the infectious epidemiological trend of human papillomavirus (HPV). The prevalence of HPV-positive OPSCCs is approximately 70%, with involvement mainly of the tonsillar area. On the role of HPV in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), very few studies have investigated the prevalence of HPV in strictly site-codified OSCC, excluding the base of the tongue as distinct oropharyngeal entity. As a result, an inappropriate estimation of HPV infection in OSCC has been observed. We investigated HPV status, using a combination of detection methods, in a…

Knowledge and attitudes towards smoking cessation counselling: an Italian cross-sectional survey on tertiary care nursing staff

Background One of the most effective smoking cessation strategies involves care and advice from nurses due to their role in the front line of treatment. Lack of education on smoking cessation counselling may be detrimental, and adequate smoking cessation training during healthcare studies is needed. Objectives The study aimed to examine nurses’ attitudes, belief, and knowledge of smoking cessation counselling; knowledge of the health risks associated with smoking was also assessed. Design A cross-sectional survey on 77 nurses from the nursing staff of Cardiology, Cardiac Intensive Care and Surgical Oncology Units of two tertiary hospitals. Methods Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to assess …

A Preliminary Study on Cranio-Facial Characteristics Associated with Minor Neurological Dysfunctions (MNDs) in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

Background. Craniofacial anomalies and minor neurological dysfunction (MNDs) have been identified, in literature, as risk factors for neurodevelopmental disorders. They represent physical indicators of embryonic development suggesting a possible contributory role of complications during early, even pre-conceptional, phases of ontogeny in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Limited research has been conducted about the co-occurrence of the two biomarkers in children with ASD. This study investigates the associative patterns of cranio-facial anomalies and MNDs in ASD children, and whether these neurodevelopmental markers correlate with intensity of ASD symptoms and overall functioning. Methods. …

Oral Health Status in Subjects with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease: Data from the Zabút Aging Project

Background: The relationship between Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and periodontitis has been recently investigated with heterogenous results. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the oral health status and its relationship with cognitive impairment of participants, enrolled in the Zabút Aging Project, a community-based cohort study performed in a rural community in Sicily, Italy. Methods: A case-control study (20 subjects with AD, 20 with amnestic mild cognitive impairment [aMCI], and 20 controls) was conducted. The protocol included a comprehensive medical and cognitive-behavioral examination. Full-mouth evaluation, microbial analysis of subgingival plaque samples (by RT-PCR analysis), and o…

Social networks and social activities promote cognitive functioning in both concurrent and prospective time: evidence from the SHARE survey

The study aimed to investigate the role of social activities, social networks as well as socioeconomic status (SES) in influencing some aspects of cognitive functioning (immediate and delayed verbal recall tests and semantic verbal fluency) in elderly people over time. This analysis was conducted on a sample of 31,954 healthy elderly people (58% female, mean age 65.54 ± 9.74) interviewed in both the fourth and sixth waves of the Survey on Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), in 2011 and 2015. A structural equation model with measurement component was used to assess the relationship between cognitive function, social life and SES over time. Multilevel ordinal logistic regression w…

Association Between Pollution and Frailty in Older People: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the UK Biobank

Objectives: Frailty is a relevant issue in older people, being associated with several negative outcomes. Increasing literature is reporting that pollution (particularly air pollution) can increase the risk of frailty, but the research is still limited. We aimed to investigate the potential association of pollution (air, noise) with frailty and prefrailty among participants 60 years and older of the UK Biobank study. Design: Cross-sectional. Settings and participants: Older participants (age ≥ 60 years) participating to the UK Biobank. Methods: Frailty and prefrailty presence were ascertained using a model including 5 indicators (weakness, slowness, weight loss, low physical activity, and e…

SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION AND IN VITRO CYTOTOXICITY STUDIES OF A MACROMOLECULAR CONJUGATE OF PACLITAXEL BEARING OXYTOCIN AS TARGETING MOIETY.

The present study describes the experimental synthetic procedure and the characterization of a new polyaspartamide macromolecular prodrug of paclitaxel, bearing oxytocin residues as targeting moieties. In vitro stability studies of bioconjugate, performed in media mimicking biological fluids (buffer solutions at pH 7.4 and 5.5) and in human plasma, evidenced the high stability of the targeting portion (oxytocin)-polymer linkage and the ability of this conjugate to release linked paclitaxel in a prolonged way in plasma. Moreover, preliminary in vitro antiproliferative studies, carried out on MCF-7 cells, that are oxytocin receptor positive cells, showed that the polymeric conjugate has the s…

Evolution of Pediatric Migraine Patients Admitted at an Emergency Department after a 10-Year Follow-Up

Background: Despite its high prevalence, the clinical course of pediatric migraine has not been fully understood, and previous studies present conflicting results. We present here the findings of a 10-year follow-up study involving children with severe migraine pain admitted to our emergency department. Furthermore, all studies were carried out on selected outpatient clinical case studies. Our aim was to evaluate a population of migraine children admitted to an emergency department because of increased severity or frequency of pain or even because of very anxious parents concerning their child’s headache in order to describe their long-term outcomes, whether it differed from that of o…

Inequality in Healthcare Utilization in Italy: How Important Are Barriers to Access?

With the ageing population, equitable access to medical care has proven to be paramount for the effective and efficient management of all diseases. Healthcare access can be hindered by cost barriers for drugs or exams, long waiting lists or difficult access to the place where the needed healthcare service is provided. The aim of this paper is to investigate whether the probability of facing one of these barriers varies among individuals with different socio-economic status and care needs, controlling for geographical variability. Methods. The sample for this study included 9629 interviews with Italian individuals, aged 15 and over, from the second wave (2015) of the European Health Intervie…

PREPARATION, CHARACTERIZATION AND IN VITRO EVALUATION OF TAMOXIFEN-LOADED POLYMERIC MICELLES

Solid lipid nanoparticles containing tamoxifen characterization and in vitro antitumoral activity.

Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) containing tamoxifen, a nons- teroidal antiestrogen used in breast cancer therapy, were prepared by microemulsion and precipitation techniques. Tamoxifen loaded SLNs seem to have dimensional properties useful for parenteral administration, and in vitro plasmatic drug release studies demon- strated that these systems are able to give a prolonged release of the drug in the intact form. Preliminary study of antiproliferative ac- tivity in vitro, carried out on MCF-7 cell line (human breast cancer cells), demonstrated that SLNs, containing tamoxifen showed an antitumoral activity comparable to free drug. The results of char- acterization studies and of in vitro …

The Impact of Single-Level ACDF on Neural Foramen and Disc Height of Surgical and Adjacent Cervical Segments: A Case-Series Radiological Analysis

Background: ACDF has become one of the established procedures for the surgical treatment of symptomatic cervical spondylosis, showing excellent clinical results and effective improvements in neural functions and neck pain relief. The main purpose of ACDF is neural decompression, and it is considered by some authors as an indirect result of the intervertebral distraction and cage insertion and the consequent restoration of the disc space and foramen height. Methods: Radiological data from 28 patients who underwent single-level ACDF were retrospectively collected and evaluated. For neural foramen evaluation, antero-posterior (A-P) and cranio-caudal (C-C) diameters were manually calculated; fo…

Integrated three-dimensional models for noninvasive monitoring and valorization of the Morgantina silver treasure (Sicily)

The Morgantina silver treasure belonging to the Archaeological Museum of Aidone (Sicily) was involved in a three-dimensional (3-D) survey and diagnostics campaign for monitoring the collection over time in anticipation of their temporary transfer to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York for a period of 4 years. Using a multidisciplinary approach, a scientific and methodological protocol based on noninvasive techniques to achieve a complete and integrated knowledge of the precious items and their conservation state, as well as to increase their valorization, has been developed. All acquired data, i.e., 3-D models, ultraviolet fluorescence, x-ray images, and chemical information, will be…

Appropriateness in Dentistry: A Survey Discovers Improper Procedures in Oral Medicine and Surgery

Objectives. The aim of this study was to assess appropriateness of diagnostic exams, treatments, and procedures among Italian dental practitioners.Materials and Methods. A questionnaire with multiple responses on topics of dentistry and oral medicine was administered to a sample of 198 Italian dental practitioners. Information on characteristics of the respondents was also collected. Descriptive statistics and multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) were applied. Data were analyzed using R software (version 3.3.2).Results. The survey respondents included Doctors of Medicine (MD) (54/198 = 27%) with or without specialty in dentistry (33% versus 67%), Doctors of Dental Surgery (DDS) (144/198 =…

Biomarkers Related to Synaptic Dysfunction to Discriminate Alzheimer’s Disease from Other Neurological Disorders

Recently, the synaptic proteins neurogranin (Ng) and α-synuclein (α-Syn) have attracted scientific interest as potential biomarkers for synaptic dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, we measured the CSF Ng and α-Syn concentrations in patients affected by AD (n = 69), non-AD neurodegenerative disorders (n-AD = 50) and non-degenerative disorders (n-ND, n = 98). The concentrations of CSF Ng and α-Syn were significantly higher in AD than in n-AD and n-ND. Moreover, the Aβ42/Ng and Aβ42/α-Syn ratios showed statistically significant differences between groups and discriminated AD patients from n-AD patients, better than Ng or α-Syn…

The long-term effect of job mobility on workers' mental health: a propensity score analysis

Abstract Objectives The main purpose of this longitudinal study was to elucidate the impact of external job mobility, due to a change of employer, on mental health. Methods A cohort of Belgian employees from the IDEWE occupational medicine registry was followed-up for twenty-seven years, from 1993 to 2019. The use of drugs for neuropsychological diseases was considered as an objective indicator of mental health. The covariates were related to demographic, physical, behavioural characteristics, occupational and work-related risks. Propensity scores were calculated with a Cox regression model with time-varying covariates. The PS matching was used to eliminate the systematic differences in sub…

Longitudinal investigation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in older patients in the province of Palermo (Southern Italy) during the early wave of the pandemic.

IntroductionClinical presentation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in old adults from Southern Italy is little known. This study aims to investigate the mortality risk related to risk factors, therapy and clinical course and to suggest prognostic indicators based on day-to-day follow-up of clinical and laboratory findings.Material and methodsIt was designed as a retrospective longitudinal cohort study of adult SARS-CoV-2 patients admitted at Partinico COVID Hospital in Palermo, Southern Italy. Patients were recruited between 4 March and 25 April and followed up until 31 May 2020, day-to-day until death or hospital discharge. Clinical data, laboratory…

Lifestyle medicine and psychological well-being toward health promotion: a cross-sectional study on Palermo (Southern Italy) undergraduates

(1) Aim: To assess the attitude toward Lifestyle Medicine and healthy behaviours among students in the healthcare area and to demonstrate its association to psychological well-being

POLYMERIC CONJUGATES OF DEXAMETASONE

A Preliminary Study on Photic Driving in the Electroencephalogram of Children with Autism across a Wide Cognitive and Behavioral Range.

Intermittent photic stimulation (IPS) is a useful technique in electroencephalography (EEG) to investigate the neurophysiological anomalies of brain activity. Although not an active task, IPS has also been explored in ASD; it is thought to capture local potential oscillators at specific frequencies and perhaps tap into rhythmic activity in a way that general resting-state recordings cannot. Previous studies suggest that individuals with ASD showed photic driving reactivity predominantly at lower frequencies of stimulation. In our study we used IPS to measure rhythmic oscillatory activity in a sample of 81 ASD children. We found a significant correlation linking ASD children with photic driv…

Non-communicable diseases, socio-economic status, lifestyle and well-being in Italy: An additive Bayesian network model

The aim of the paper is to investigate the statistical association, on a sample of Italian subjects, extracted by Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) dataset, between chronic diseases (occurrence or number of chronic diseases) and socio-economic and behavioural determinants (lifestyle indicators, QoL indicators, cognitive functioning variables). To this aim, additive Bayesian network (ABN) analysis was used. The resulting ABN model shows that better educated individuals have better health outcomes, age is direct and gender is an indirect determinant of the number of chronic diseases. Furthermore, self-perceived health is associated with lower number of chronic diseases…

Self-aggregating amphiphilic derivatives of a polyaspartamide

Immune-Mediated Desquamative Gingivitis and Optical Coherence Tomography Diagnostic Patterns: Clinical Implication from a Systematic Review

Desquamative Gingivitis (DG) comprises heterogeneous clinical manifestations of numerous immune-mediated muco-cutaneous diseases. Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) has been proposed as a valuable diagnostic support even if, to date, there are no standardized OCT-diagnostic patterns applicable to DGs. A systematic review was performed to detect existing data on in vivo OCT diagnostic patterns of the most common immune-mediated DGs (i.e., pemphigus vulgaris, mucous membrane pemphigoid and oral lichen planus). It has been found that OCT exhibits specific patterns that address the diagnosis of DG by pemphigus vulgaris (i.e., intraepithelial unilocular blister, reduced epithelial thickness, pre…

Chemical conjugation of dexamethasone to a polyaspartamide and in vitro evaluation studies

Two macromolecular conjugates of dexamethasone containing different drug amounts were synthesized using PHEA as the polymeric carrier and a succinic group as spacer. The content of linked drug was equal to 25.3% w/w (conjugate A) and 12.7% w/w (conjugate B). Both polymeric conjugates, unlike the free drug, were water-soluble and the amount of unlinked drug was evaluated to be approximately about 0.01% w/w. Both conjugates were relatively stable in vitro at pH 7.4 whereas in the presence of esterase only the conjugate B was able to release drug under the used experimental conditions. This dissimilar behavior has been attributed to the distinct macromolecular conformations assumed in aqueous …

Synthesis and characterisation of novel chemical conjugates based on alpha, beta-polyaspartylhydrazide and beta-cyclodextrins

A new family of supramolecular systems based on a synthetic polyaminoacid and cyclic oligosaccharides such as beta-cyclodextrins (beta-CDs) was synthesised. The pharmaceutical potential of these systems arises from the proper combination between the complexing properties of cyclodextrins and the particular pharmacokinetic profile that can be obtained by using macromolecular conjugates with a biocompatible backbone. Five supramolecular conjugates were synthesised by using alpha,beta-polyaspartylhydrazide (PAHy) as a polymeric component and various amounts of two P-CD derivatives. In particular, by reaction of PAHy with beta-CD monoaldehyde, samples named as A(1), A(2) and A(3), bearing, resp…

Caries Severity, Decayed First Permanent Molars and Associated Factors in 6-7 Years Old Schoolchildren Living in Palermo (Southern Italy).

To date, there are very few epidemiologic studies on caries disease in 6–7 year old children living in Sicily (Southern Italy). The first permanent molar (FPM) is the most commonly affected tooth in this target population, and a one-unit increase in the number of decayed FPMs is predictive of caries in other teeth and in adulthood. The primary aim of this research is to estimate the prevalence of caries in 6–7 year old schoolchildren living in Palermo and, as a secondary aim, to estimate the prevalence of affected FPMs. It was designed as a cluster cross-sectional survey on 995 children from 16 schools, selected based on their geographical location, in one of the eight city districts. Carie…

Paediatric Sleep Questionnaire for Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome Screening: Is Sleep Quality Worthy of Note?

Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) is the most severe condition on the spectrum of sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBDs). The Paediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ) is one of the most used and validated screening tools, but it lacks the comprehensive assessment of some determinants of OSAS, specifically anamnestic assessment and sleep quality. This study aims to assess the accuracy of some specific items added to the original PSQ, particularly related to the patient’s anamnestic history and to the quality of sleep, for the screening of OSAS in a paediatric population living in Sicily (Italy). Fifteen specific items, divided into “anamnestic” and “related to sleep quality” were added…

Glycosylated macromolecular conjugates of antiviral drugs with a polyaspartamide.

Two new polymeric conjugates for specific liver targeting were prepared by conjugation of sugar moieties and antiviral drugs to alpha, beta-poly[N-2-(hydroxyethyl)-DL-aspartamide] (PHEA). PHEA-galactopyranosylphenylthiocarbamide-mono-O-succinylganciclovir (conjugate 7) and PHEA-mannopyranosylphenylthiocarbamide-O-succinylacyclovir (conjugate 8) were synthesized according to a multi-step procedure which allowed for obtaining high product yield and process standardization. Conjugate 7 contained 7.5 and 8.5% of galactose and ganciclovir (substituent/repeating unit, mol/mol), respectively, and conjugate 8 contained 14.2 and 10.8% of mannose and acyclovir, respectively. In vitro studies demonstr…

Conservative Surgical Treatment of Bisphosphonate-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw with Er,Cr:YSGG Laser and Platelet-Rich Plasma: A Longitudinal Study

Introduction. The management of bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ), with no evidence-based guidelines, remains controversial. We aimed to evaluate the efficiency of a conservative surgical treatment combining Er,Cr:YSGG laser and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) for the treatment of BRONJ in cancer patients. Methods. We performed a longitudinal cohort study. Inclusion criteria were (1) age ≥ 18 years; (2) cancer diagnosis; (3) treatment with NBP because of the underlying cancer. Results. We consecutively recruited ten patients diagnosed with BRONJ in stage I or II. These patients underwent a surgical laser-assisted therapy together with autologous PRP. At the latest follow-up…