Hymenoptera venom allergy among children in Italy: time for pediatricians to take action

Hymenoptera venom allergy (HVA) is one of the most frequent causes of anaphylaxis following a bee, vespid or ant sting. Real-life data regarding the management of HVA in children are lacking. To address this unmet need, we carried out a survey defining the current management of HVA in children among pediatric allergists in Italy. Educational investments on the improvement of the management of pediatric patients with HVA are urgently needed, and our analysis represents a relevant instrument in targeting a roadmap with this aim. The time for pediatric allergists to take action has come, and a task force from the Rare Allergic Diseases Commission of the Italian Society of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology is working on the topic to improve pediatricians' knowledge and optimize the care of these patients.

Skin cancer risk assessment in dark skinned immigrants: the role of social determinants and ethnicity

OBJECTIVES

Dark-skinned people have a lower incidence rate of skin cancer, in particular melanoma, which is detected at more advanced stages leading to poorer prognoses and long-term outcomes compared to whites. The gap in survival is due to some difficulty in melanoma detection, lack of attention from doctors and awareness by patients. This study aims to assess skin cancer risk awareness in dark-skinned immigrants and to determine the influence of socioeconomic factors and ethnic origin on behaviors.

DESIGN

This is a cross-sectional health facility based study carried out in a 12-month period. A semi-structured questionnaire to assess skin cancer risk awareness and a dermatological examination was offered to dark-skinned immigrants consecutively attending the dermatology department of the National Institute for Health, Migration and Poverty in Rome.

RESULTS

147 dark-skinned immigrants were enrolled, of which 54.4% were males, coming from Africa (53.1%). They were mainly young, aged 18-34 (56.5%). The level of education and length of stay in Italy was significantly related to the awareness about skin cancer: people with a high educational level (OR: 8.1 95% CI: 3.2-23.4) or immigrated more than 4 years before the interview (OR: 2.1 95% CI: 1.0-4.4) have a greater knowledge about skin cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

Education level is the strongest predictive factor of skin cancer awareness, whereas cultural behaviours and personal experience of sunburns are the main factors determining sunlight avoidance. Health promotion programs targeting immigrants must consider cultural differences related to ethnicity and country of origin, and adopt a transcultural approach.

Development of sea bream (Sparus aurata) semen vitrification protocols

The long-term goal of this research project is to set up efficient protocol that can be used to develop a standardized approach for vitrification of marine fish spermatozoa. In particular, the aim of the present study was to develop a vitrification protocol for sea bream (Sparus aurata) spermatozoa. To draw up the protocol, we tested two different dilution media (1% NaCl and Mounib medium), three different vitrification devices (loops, drops and cut straws), different cryoprotectants (CPs) and three different equilibration times (30, 60 and 120 s). The effect of the different vitrification procedures on spermatozoa quality was checked by measuring spermatozoa motility rate and viability, mitochondrial membrane potential and the fertilizing ability of both fresh and post-thawed gametes. The best result was obtained by dropping directly into liquid nitrogen 20 μl of spermatozoa suspension (drop-wise method) diluted with Mounib buffer containing 10% Me₂SO + 10% glycerol. The addition of a mixture of anti-freezing proteins, AFPI and AFPIII, to Mounib buffer significantly increases the spermatozoa quality following vitrification so confirming the usefulness of AFPs in improving the quality of gametes subjected to the vitrification process. The present study proves that vitrification offers an alternative to conventional sperm cryopreservation also in this species.