Search results for " Occupational"
showing 10 items of 4161 documents
The effectiveness of influenza vaccination in preventing hospitalisations of elderly individuals in two influenza seasons: a multicentre case-control…
2017
Influenza vaccination may limit the impact of influenza in the community. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of influenza vaccination in preventing hospitalisation in individuals aged ≥ 65 years in Spain. A multicentre case–control study was conducted in 20 Spanish hospitals during 2013/14 and 2014/15. Patients aged ≥ 65 years who were hospitalised with laboratory-confirmed influenza were matched with controls according to sex, age and date of hospitalisation. Adjusted vaccine effectiveness (VE) was calculated by multivariate conditional logistic regression. A total of 728 cases and 1,826 matched controls were included in the study. Overall VE was 36% (95% confidence inte…
Somatosensory Brain Function and Gray Matter Regional Volumes Differ According to Exercise History : Evidence from Monozygotic Twins
2017
Associations between long-term physical activity and cortical function and brain structure are poorly known. Our aim was to assess whether brain functional and/or structural modulation associated with long-term physical activity is detectable using a discordant monozygotic male twin pair design. Nine monozygotic male twin pairs were carefully selected for an intrapair difference in their leisure-time physical activity of at least three years duration (mean age 34 ± 1 years). We registered somatosensory mismatch response (SMMR) in EEG to electrical stimulation of fingers and whole brain MR images. We obtained exercise history and measured physical fitness and body composition. Equivalent ele…
Predictors of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Titers two decades after vaccination in a cohort of students and post-graduates of the Medical School at th…
2017
Introduction and objective. The introduction of a vaccine against hepatitis B virus (HBV) for newborn babies in Italy in 1991, extended to 12-year-old children for the first 12 years of application, has been a major achievement in terms of the prevention of HBV infection. The objective of this study was to analyse the long-term immunogenicity and effectiveness of HBV vaccination among healthcare students with different working seniorities. Materials and method. A cross-sectional observational study of undergraduate and postgraduate students attending the Medical School of the University of Palermo was conducted from January 2014 – July 2016. HBV serum markers were performed with commercial …
Exposure to Bisphenol A and Phthalates during Pregnancy and Ultrasound Measures of Fetal Growth in the INMA-Sabadell Cohort
2016
Background: Prenatal exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates may affect fetal growth; however, previous findings are inconsistent and based on few studies. Objectives: We assessed whether prenatal exposure to BPA and phthalates was associated with fetal growth in a Spanish birth cohort of 488 mother–child pairs. Methods: We measured BPA and eight phthalates [four di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate metabolites (DEHPm), mono-benzyl phthalate (MBzP), and three low-molecular-weight phthalate metabolites (LMWPm)] in two spot-urine samples collected during the first and third trimester of pregnancy. We estimated growth curves for femur length (FL), head circumference (HC), abdominal circumference (A…
Disease severity in patients with visceral leishmaniasis is not altered by co-infection with intestinal parasites
2017
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a neglected tropical disease that affects the poorest communities and can cause substantial morbidity and mortality. Visceral leishmaniasis is characterized by the presence of Leishmania parasites in the spleen, liver and bone marrow, hepatosplenomegaly, pancytopenia, prolonged fever, systemic inflammation and low body mass index (BMI). The factors impacting on the severity of VL are poorly characterized. Here we performed a cross-sectional study to assess whether co-infection of VL patients with intestinal parasites influences disease severity, assessed with clinical and haematological data, inflammation, cytokine profiles and BMI. Data from VL patients was s…
No pre-zygotic isolation mechanisms between Schistosoma haematobium and Schistosoma bovis parasites: From mating interactions to differential gene ex…
2021
Species usually develop reproductive isolation mechanisms allowing them to avoid interbreeding. These preventive barriers can act before reproduction, “pre-zygotic barriers”, or after reproduction, “post-zygotic barriers”. Pre-zygotic barriers prevent unfavourable mating, while post-zygotic barriers determine the viability and selective success of the hybrid offspring. Hybridization in parasites and the underlying reproductive isolation mechanisms maintaining their genetic integrity have been overlooked. Using an integrated approach this work aims to quantify the relative importance of pre-zygotic barriers in Schistosoma haematobium x S. bovis crosses. These two co-endemic species cause sch…
Interim 2017/18 influenza seasonal vaccine effectiveness: combined results from five European studies
2018
Between September 2017 and February 2018, influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, A(H3N2) and B viruses (mainly B/Yamagata, not included in 2017/18 trivalent vaccines) co-circulated in Europe. Interim results from five European studies indicate that, in all age groups, 2017/18 influenza vaccine effectiveness was 25 to 52% against any influenza, 55 to 68% against influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, -42 to 7% against influenza A(H3N2) and 36 to 54% against influenza B. 2017/18 influenza vaccine should be promoted where influenza still circulates. Funding: The five studies have received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 634446 to conduct the study in…
Antibody trapping: A novel mechanism of parasite immune evasion by the trematode Echinostoma caproni
2017
Background Helminth infections are among the most prevalent neglected tropical diseases, causing an enormous impact in global health and the socioeconomic growth of developing countries. In this context, the study of helminth biology, with emphasis on host-parasite interactions, appears as a promising approach for developing new tools to prevent and control these infections. Methods/Principal findings The role that antibody responses have on helminth infections is still not well understood. To go in depth into this issue, work on the intestinal helminth Echinostoma caproni (Trematoda: Echinostomatidae) has been undertaken. Adult parasites were recovered from infected mice and cultured in vi…
Case-based surveillance of measles in Sicily during 2012-2017: The changing molecular epidemiology and implications for vaccine strategies.
2018
Following the indication of the World Health Organization, a national plan for the elimination of measles was approved in Italy and this included the improvement of the molecular surveil- lance of measles viruses and the interruption of indigenous transmission of the disease. Nevertheless, large outbreaks continue to occur in almost all regions of the country, includ- ing Sicily. Here we describe the epidemiology and molecular dynamics of measles viruses as a result of the measles surveillance activity carried out by the “Reference Laboratory for Measles and Rubella” in Sicily over a 5-year period. Biological samples of 259 suspected measles cases were tested for viral RNA detection and a t…
Does education protect against depression? Evidence from the Young Finns Study using Mendelian randomization
2018
Using participants (N = 1733) drawn from the nationally representative longitudinal Young Finns Study (YFS) we estimate the effect of education on depressive symptoms. In 2007, when the participants were between 30 and 45 years old, they reported their depressive symptoms using a revised version of Beck's Depression Inventory. Education was measured using register information on the highest completed level of education in 2007, which was converted to years of education. To identify a causal relationship between education and depressive symptoms we use an instrumental variables approach (Mendelian randomization, MR) with a genetic risk score as an instrument for years of education. The genet…