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Garasto E, Stefani A, Pierantozzi M, Conti M, Moleti A, Sisto R, Viziano A, Liguori C, Schirinzi T, Mercuri NB, Cerroni R. Hearing dysfunction heralds an increase in non-motor burden and a worse quality of life in Parkinson's disease: new insights from non-motor spectrum. Neurol Sci 2024:10.1007/s10072-024-07487-8. [PMID: 38561486 DOI: 10.1007/s10072-024-07487-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sensorial non-motor symptoms (NMSs) in Parkinson's disease (PD) still lack appropriate investigation in clinical practice. This study aimed to assess if and to what extent auditory dysfunction is associated with other NMSs in PD and its impact on patient's quality of life (QoL). METHODS We selected patients with idiopathic PD, without other concomitant neurological diseases, dementia, or diagnosis of any audiological/vestibular disease. Demographic and clinical data were collected. Patients underwent otoscopic examination, audiological testing with pure tone audiometry (PTA) and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) and completed Non-Motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS) and Parkinson's Disease Questionnaires-39 (PDQ-39). ANCOVA and partial correlation analysis have been used for statistical analysis. RESULTS 60 patients were enrolled and completed PTA and DPOAEs. 32 patients with hearing impairment (HI), assessed by PTA, (hearing threshold ≥ 25 dB) showed similar disease duration, motor impairment, and staging, compared to patients without HI, but higher scores both in NMSS and in PDQ-39, except for cardiovascular (CV), gastrointestinal (GI), urogenital (U) and sexual function (SF) of NMSS. In addition, DPOAEs showed a significant correlation with higher scores both in NMSS and PDQ-39, except for CV, SF, GI, U and perceptual problem subdomains of NMSS. CONCLUSION This study demonstrated that PD patients with HI have a greater burden of NMS and lower related QoL and functioning. Our results highlight the importance to reconsider HI as a NMS, in parallel with the others. HI evaluation, even in asymptomatic patients, may reveal a wider pathology with a worse QoL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Garasto
- UOSD Parkinson's Centre, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Viale Oxford 81, 00133, Rome, Italy
| | - Alessandro Stefani
- UOSD Parkinson's Centre, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Viale Oxford 81, 00133, Rome, Italy
| | - Mariangela Pierantozzi
- UOSD Parkinson's Centre, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Viale Oxford 81, 00133, Rome, Italy
| | - Matteo Conti
- UOSD Parkinson's Centre, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Viale Oxford 81, 00133, Rome, Italy
| | - Arturo Moleti
- Department of Physics, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Via Della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133, Rome, Italy
| | - Renata Sisto
- INAIL Research, Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Via Di Fontana Candida, INAIL Research, Via Di Fontana Candida, 1, 00078, Monteporzio Catone, Rome, Italy
| | - Andrea Viziano
- Department of Physics, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Via Della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133, Rome, Italy
- Department of Clinical Sciences and Translational Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Via Montpellier 1, 00133, Rome, Italy
| | - Claudio Liguori
- UOSD Parkinson's Centre, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Viale Oxford 81, 00133, Rome, Italy
| | - Tommaso Schirinzi
- Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - Nicola Biagio Mercuri
- Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Rocco Cerroni
- UOSD Parkinson's Centre, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Viale Oxford 81, 00133, Rome, Italy.
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Castiglia SF, Trabassi D, Conte C, Gioiosa V, Sebastianelli G, Abagnale C, Ranavolo A, Di Lorenzo C, Coppola G, Casali C, Serrao M. Local Dynamic Stability of Trunk During Gait is Responsive to Rehabilitation in Subjects with Primary Degenerative Cerebellar Ataxia. Cerebellum 2024:10.1007/s12311-024-01663-4. [PMID: 38279000 DOI: 10.1007/s12311-024-01663-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 01/28/2024]
Abstract
This study aimed to assess the responsiveness to the rehabilitation of three trunk acceleration-derived gait indexes, namely the harmonic ratio (HR), the short-term longest Lyapunov's exponent (sLLE), and the step-to-step coefficient of variation (CV), in a sample of subjects with primary degenerative cerebellar ataxia (swCA), and investigate the correlations between their improvements (∆), clinical characteristics, and spatio-temporal and kinematic gait features. The trunk acceleration patterns in the antero-posterior (AP), medio-lateral (ML), and vertical (V) directions during gait of 21 swCA were recorded using a magneto-inertial measurement unit placed at the lower back before (T0) and after (T1) a period of inpatient rehabilitation. For comparison, a sample of 21 age- and gait speed-matched healthy subjects (HSmatched) was also included. At T1, sLLE in the AP (sLLEAP) and ML (sLLEML) directions significantly improved with moderate to large effect sizes, as well as SARA scores, stride length, and pelvic rotation. sLLEML and pelvic rotation also approached the HSmatched values at T1, suggesting a normalization of the parameter. HRs and CV did not significantly modify after rehabilitation. ∆sLLEML correlated with ∆ of the gait subscore of the SARA scale (SARAGAIT) and ∆stride length and ∆sLLEAP correlated with ∆pelvic rotation and ∆SARAGAIT. The minimal clinically important differences for sLLEML and sLLEAP were ≥ 36.16% and ≥ 28.19%, respectively, as the minimal score reflects a clinical improvement in SARA scores. When using inertial measurement units, sLLEAP and sLLEML can be considered responsive outcome measures for assessing the effectiveness of rehabilitation on trunk stability during walking in swCA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Filippo Castiglia
- Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, "Sapienza" University of Rome-Polo Pontino, Corso Della Repubblica 79, 04100, Latina, Italy.
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, 27100, Pavia, Italy.
| | - Dante Trabassi
- Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, "Sapienza" University of Rome-Polo Pontino, Corso Della Repubblica 79, 04100, Latina, Italy
| | - Carmela Conte
- Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, "Sapienza" University of Rome-Polo Pontino, Corso Della Repubblica 79, 04100, Latina, Italy
| | - Valeria Gioiosa
- Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, "Sapienza" University of Rome-Polo Pontino, Corso Della Repubblica 79, 04100, Latina, Italy
| | - Gabriele Sebastianelli
- Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, "Sapienza" University of Rome-Polo Pontino, Corso Della Repubblica 79, 04100, Latina, Italy
| | - Chiara Abagnale
- Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, "Sapienza" University of Rome-Polo Pontino, Corso Della Repubblica 79, 04100, Latina, Italy
| | - Alberto Ranavolo
- Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, "Sapienza" University of Rome-Polo Pontino, Corso Della Repubblica 79, 04100, Latina, Italy
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, INAIL, Via Fontana Candida, 1, Monte Porzio Catone, 00078, Rome, Italy
| | - Cherubino Di Lorenzo
- Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, "Sapienza" University of Rome-Polo Pontino, Corso Della Repubblica 79, 04100, Latina, Italy
| | - Gianluca Coppola
- Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, "Sapienza" University of Rome-Polo Pontino, Corso Della Repubblica 79, 04100, Latina, Italy
| | - Carlo Casali
- Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, "Sapienza" University of Rome-Polo Pontino, Corso Della Repubblica 79, 04100, Latina, Italy
| | - Mariano Serrao
- Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, "Sapienza" University of Rome-Polo Pontino, Corso Della Repubblica 79, 04100, Latina, Italy
- Movement Analysis Laboratory, Policlinico Italia, Piazza del Campidano, 6, 00162, Rome, Italy
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Papaleo ED, D'Alonzo M, Fiori F, Piombino V, Falato E, Pilato F, De Liso A, Di Lazzaro V, Di Pino G. Integration of proprioception in upper limb prostheses through non-invasive strategies: a review. J Neuroeng Rehabil 2023; 20:118. [PMID: 37689701 PMCID: PMC10493033 DOI: 10.1186/s12984-023-01242-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Proprioception plays a key role in moving our body dexterously and effortlessly. Nevertheless, the majority of investigations evaluating the benefits of providing supplemental feedback to prosthetics users focus on delivering touch restitution. These studies evaluate the influence of touch sensation in an attempt to improve the controllability of current robotic devices. Contrarily, investigations evaluating the capabilities of proprioceptive supplemental feedback have yet to be comprehensively analyzed to the same extent, marking a major gap in knowledge within the current research climate. The non-invasive strategies employed so far to restitute proprioception are reviewed in this work. In the absence of a clearly superior strategy, approaches employing vibrotactile, electrotactile and skin-stretch stimulation achieved better and more consistent results, considering both kinesthetic and grip force information, compared with other strategies or any incidental feedback. Although emulating the richness of the physiological sensory return through artificial feedback is the primary hurdle, measuring its effects to eventually support the integration of cumbersome and energy intensive hardware into commercial prosthetic devices could represent an even greater challenge. Thus, we analyze the strengths and limitations of previous studies and discuss the possible benefits of coupling objective measures, like neurophysiological parameters, as well as measures of prosthesis embodiment and cognitive load with behavioral measures of performance. Such insights aim to provide additional and collateral outcomes to be considered in the experimental design of future investigations of proprioception restitution that could, in the end, allow researchers to gain a more detailed understanding of possibly similar behavioral results and, thus, support one strategy over another.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ermanno Donato Papaleo
- Research Unit of Neurophysiology and Neuroengineering of Human-Technology Interaction (NeXTlab), Università Campus Bio-Medico Di Roma, Via Álvaro Del Portillo 21, 00128, Rome, Italy
| | - Marco D'Alonzo
- Research Unit of Neurophysiology and Neuroengineering of Human-Technology Interaction (NeXTlab), Università Campus Bio-Medico Di Roma, Via Álvaro Del Portillo 21, 00128, Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Fiori
- Research Unit of Neurophysiology and Neuroengineering of Human-Technology Interaction (NeXTlab), Università Campus Bio-Medico Di Roma, Via Álvaro Del Portillo 21, 00128, Rome, Italy
| | - Valeria Piombino
- Research Unit of Neurophysiology and Neuroengineering of Human-Technology Interaction (NeXTlab), Università Campus Bio-Medico Di Roma, Via Álvaro Del Portillo 21, 00128, Rome, Italy
| | - Emma Falato
- Research Unit of Neurology, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Università Campus Bio-Medico Di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 21, 00128, Rome, Italy
- Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Via Alvaro del Portillo 200, 00128, Rome, Italy
| | - Fabio Pilato
- Research Unit of Neurology, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Università Campus Bio-Medico Di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 21, 00128, Rome, Italy
- Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Via Alvaro del Portillo 200, 00128, Rome, Italy
| | - Alfredo De Liso
- Research Unit of Neurology, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Università Campus Bio-Medico Di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 21, 00128, Rome, Italy
- Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Via Alvaro del Portillo 200, 00128, Rome, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Di Lazzaro
- Research Unit of Neurology, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Università Campus Bio-Medico Di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 21, 00128, Rome, Italy
- Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Via Alvaro del Portillo 200, 00128, Rome, Italy
| | - Giovanni Di Pino
- Research Unit of Neurophysiology and Neuroengineering of Human-Technology Interaction (NeXTlab), Università Campus Bio-Medico Di Roma, Via Álvaro Del Portillo 21, 00128, Rome, Italy.
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Visentin C, Pellegatti M, Garraffa M, Di Domenico A, Prodi N. Individual characteristics moderate listening effort in noisy classrooms. Sci Rep 2023; 13:14285. [PMID: 37652970 PMCID: PMC10471719 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-40660-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 09/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Comprehending the teacher's message when other students are chatting is challenging. Even though the sound environment is the same for a whole class, differences in individual performance can be observed, which might depend on a variety of personal factors and their specific interaction with the listening condition. This study was designed to explore the role of individual characteristics (reading comprehension, inhibitory control, noise sensitivity) when primary school children perform a listening comprehension task in the presence of a two-talker masker. The results indicated that this type of noise impairs children's accuracy, effort, and motivation during the task. Its specific impact depended on the level and was modulated by the child's characteristics. In particular, reading comprehension was found to support task accuracy, whereas inhibitory control moderated the effect of listening condition on the two measures of listening effort included in the study (response time and self-ratings), even though with a different pattern of association. A moderation effect of noise sensitivity on perceived listening effort was also observed. Understanding the relationship between individual characteristics and classroom sound environment has practical implications for the acoustic design of spaces promoting students' well-being, and supporting their learning performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Visentin
- Department of Engineering, University of Ferrara, Via Saragat 1, 44122, Ferrara, Italy.
- Institute for Renewable Energy, Eurac Research, Via A. Volta/A. Volta Straße 13/A, 39100, Bolzano-Bozen, Italy.
| | - Matteo Pellegatti
- Department of Engineering, University of Ferrara, Via Saragat 1, 44122, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Maria Garraffa
- School of Health Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - Alberto Di Domenico
- Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 31, 66100, Chieti, Italy
| | - Nicola Prodi
- Department of Engineering, University of Ferrara, Via Saragat 1, 44122, Ferrara, Italy
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Stella S, Consonni D, Migliore E, Stura A, Cavone D, Vimercati L, Miligi L, Piro S, Landi MT, Caporaso NE, Curti S, Mattioli S, Brandi G, Gioscia C, Eccher S, Murano S, Casotto V, Comiati V, Negro C, D'Agostin F, Genova C, Benfatto L, Romanelli A, Grappasonni I, Madeo G, Cozzi I, Romeo E, Tommaso S, Carrozza F, Labianca M, Tallarigo F, Cascone G, Melis M, Marinaccio A, Binazzi A, Mensi C. Pleural mesothelioma risk in the construction industry: a case-control study in Italy, 2000-2018. BMJ Open 2023; 13:e073480. [PMID: 37567753 PMCID: PMC10423786 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-073480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Workers in the construction industry have been exposed to asbestos in various occupations. In Italy, a National Mesothelioma Registry has been implemented more than 20 years ago. Using cases selected from this registry and exploiting existing control data sets, we estimated relative risks for pleural mesothelioma (PM) among construction workers. DESIGN Case-control study. SETTING Cases from the National Mesothelioma Registry (2000-2018), controls from three previous case-control studies. METHODS We selected male PM incident cases diagnosed in 2000-2018. Population controls were taken from three studies performed in six Italian regions within two periods (2002-2004 and 2012-2016). Age-adjusted and period-adjusted unconditional logistic regression models were fitted to estimate odds ratios (OR) for occupations in the construction industry. We followed two approaches, one (primary) excluding and the other (secondary) including subjects employed in other non-construction blue collar occupations for >5 years. For both approaches, we performed an overall analysis including all cases and, given the incomplete temporal and geographic overlap of cases and controls, three time or/and space restricted sensitivity analyses. RESULTS The whole data set included 15 592 cases and 2210 controls. With the primary approach (4797 cases and 1085 controls), OR was 3.64 (2181 cases) for subjects ever employed in construction. We found elevated risks for blue-collar occupations (1993 cases, OR 4.52), including bricklayers (988 cases, OR 7.05), general construction workers (320 cases, OR 4.66), plumbers and pipe fitters (305 cases, OR 9.13), painters (104 cases, OR 2.17) and several others. Sensitivity analyses yielded very similar findings. Using the secondary approach, we observed similar patterns, but ORs were remarkably lower. CONCLUSIONS We found markedly increased PM risks for most occupations in the construction industry. These findings are relevant for compensation of subjects affected with mesothelioma in the construction industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simona Stella
- Occupational Health Unit, Regional Operating Center of Lombardy (COR Lombardia), Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Dario Consonni
- Occupational Health Unit, Regional Operating Center of Lombardy (COR Lombardia), Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Enrica Migliore
- COR Piemonte, Cancer Epidemiology Unit, CPO and University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Antonella Stura
- COR Piemonte, Cancer Epidemiology Unit, CPO and University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Domenica Cavone
- COR Puglia, Section of Occupational Medicine 'B Ramazzini', Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Luigi Vimercati
- COR Puglia, Section of Occupational Medicine 'B Ramazzini', Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Lucia Miligi
- COR Toscana, Unit of Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology, Institute for Cancer Research, Prevention and Clinical Network, Florence, Italy
| | - Sara Piro
- COR Toscana, Unit of Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology, Institute for Cancer Research, Prevention and Clinical Network, Florence, Italy
| | - Maria Teresa Landi
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Neil E Caporaso
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Stefania Curti
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Stefano Mattioli
- Department of Environmental and Prevention Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Giovanni Brandi
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Oncology Unit, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Carmela Gioscia
- COR Valle d'Aosta, Valle d'Aosta Health Local Unit, Aosta, Italy
| | - Silvia Eccher
- COR Province of Trento, Provincial Unit of Health, Hygiene and Occupational Medicine, Trento, Italy
| | - Stefano Murano
- COR Province of Bolzano, Alto Adige Health Local Unit, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Veronica Casotto
- COR Veneto, Epidemiological Department, Azienda Zero, Padova, Italy
| | - Vera Comiati
- COR Veneto, Epidemiological Department, Azienda Zero, Padova, Italy
| | - Corrado Negro
- COR Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Clinical Unit of Occupational Medicine, University of Trieste-Trieste General Hospitals, Trieste, Italy
| | - Flavia D'Agostin
- COR Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Clinical Unit of Occupational Medicine, University of Trieste-Trieste General Hospitals, Trieste, Italy
| | - Carlo Genova
- UO Clinica di Oncologia Medica, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genova, Italy
- Dipartimento di Medicina Interna e Specialità Mediche, Università degli Studi di Genova, Genova, Italy
| | - Lucia Benfatto
- COR Liguria, UO Epidemiologia Clinica, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genova, Liguria, Italy
| | - Antonio Romanelli
- COR Emilia-Romagna, Public Health Department, Health Local Unit, Reggio Emilia, Italy
| | - Iolanda Grappasonni
- COR Marche, School of Medicinal and Health Products Sciences, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
| | - Gabriella Madeo
- COR Umbria, Servizio Prevenzione, Sanità Veterinaria e Sicurezza Alimentare, Regione Umbria, Perugia, Umbria, Italy
| | - Ilaria Cozzi
- COR Lazio, Department of Epidemiology, Lazio Regional Health Service, ASL Roma 1, Rome, Lazio, Italy
| | - Elisa Romeo
- COR Lazio, Department of Epidemiology, Lazio Regional Health Service, ASL Roma 1, Rome, Lazio, Italy
| | | | | | | | | | - Giuseppe Cascone
- COR Sicilia, Cancer Registry ASP Ragusa and Sicily Regional Epidemiological Observatory, Ragusa, Italy
| | - Massimo Melis
- COR Sardegna, Regional Epidemiological Center, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Alessandro Marinaccio
- Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene Department, Italian Workers' Compensation Authority (INAIL), Rome, Italy
| | - Alessandra Binazzi
- Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene Department, Italian Workers' Compensation Authority (INAIL), Rome, Italy
| | - Carolina Mensi
- Occupational Health Unit, Regional Operating Center of Lombardy (COR Lombardia), Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
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De Sario M, de'Donato FK, Bonafede M, Marinaccio A, Levi M, Ariani F, Morabito M, Michelozzi P. Occupational heat stress, heat-related effects and the related social and economic loss: a scoping literature review. Front Public Health 2023; 11:1173553. [PMID: 37601227 PMCID: PMC10434255 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1173553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 06/01/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction While there is consistent evidence on the effects of heat on workers' health and safety, the evidence on the resulting social and economic impacts is still limited. A scoping literature review was carried out to update the knowledge about social and economic impacts related to workplace heat exposure. Methods The literature search was conducted in two bibliographic databases (Web of Science and PubMed), to select publications from 2010 to April 2022. Results A total of 89 studies were included in the qualitative synthesis (32 field studies, 8 studies estimating healthcare-related costs, and 49 economic studies). Overall, consistent evidence of the socioeconomic impacts of heat exposure in the workplace emerges. Actual productivity losses at the global level are nearly 10% and are expected to increase up to 30-40% under the worst climate change scenario by the end of the century. Vulnerable regions are mainly low-latitude and low- and middle-income countries with a greater proportion of outdoor workers but include also areas from developed countries such as southern Europe. The most affected sectors are agriculture and construction. There is limited evidence regarding the role of cooling measures and changes in the work/rest schedule in mitigating heat-related productivity loss. Conclusion The available evidence highlights the need for strengthening prevention efforts to enhance workers' awareness and resilience toward occupational heat exposure, particularly in low- and middle-income countries but also in some areas of developed countries where an increase in frequency and intensity of heat waves is expected under future climate change scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuela De Sario
- Department of Epidemiology Lazio Regional Health Service, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Michela Bonafede
- Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene Department, Italian Workers' Compensation Authority (INAIL), Rome, Italy
| | - Alessandro Marinaccio
- Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene Department, Italian Workers' Compensation Authority (INAIL), Rome, Italy
| | - Miriam Levi
- Epidemiology Unit, Department of Prevention, Central Tuscany Local Health Authority, Florence, Italy
| | - Filippo Ariani
- Regional Centre for the Analysis of Data on Occupational and Work-Related Injuries and Diseases, Central Tuscany Local Health Authority, Florence, Italy
| | - Marco Morabito
- Institute of Bioeconomy, National Research Council (IBE-CNR), Florence, Italy
| | - Paola Michelozzi
- Department of Epidemiology Lazio Regional Health Service, Rome, Italy
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Park D, Di Natali C, Sposito M, Caldwell DG, Ortiz J. Elbow-sideWINDER (Elbow-side Wearable INDustrial Ergonomic Robot): design, control, and validation of a novel elbow exoskeleton. Front Neurorobot 2023; 17:1168213. [PMID: 37501781 PMCID: PMC10369055 DOI: 10.3389/fnbot.2023.1168213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Musculoskeletal Disorders associated with the elbow are one of the most common forms of work-related injuries. Exoskeletons have been proposed as an approach to reduce and ideally eliminate these injuries; however, exoskeletons introduce their own problems, especially discomfort due to joint misalignment. The Elbow-sideWINDER with its associated control strategy is a novel elbow exoskeleton to assist elbow flexion/extension during occupational tasks. This study describes the exoskeleton showing how this can minimize discomfort caused by joint misalignment, maximize assistive performance, and provide increased robustness and reliability in real worksites. The proposed medium-level control strategy can provide effective assistive torque using three control units as follows: an arm kinematics estimator, a load estimator, and a friction compensator. The combined hardware/software system of the Elbow-sideWINDER is tested in load-lifting tasks (2 and 7 kg). This experiment focuses on the reduction in the activation level of the biceps brachii and triceps brachii in both arms and the change in the range of motion of the elbow during the task. It is shown that using the Elbow-sideWINDER, the biceps brachii, responsible for the elbow flexion, was significantly less activated (up to 38.8% at 2 kg and 25.7% at 7 kg, on average for both arms). For the triceps brachii, the muscle activation was reduced by up to 37.0% at 2 kg and 35.1% at 7 kg, on average for both arms. When wearing the exoskeleton, the range of motion of the elbow was reduced by up to 13.0° during the task, but it was within a safe range and could be compensated for by other joints such as the waist or knees. There are extremely encouraging results that provide good indicators and important clues for future improvement of the Elbow-sideWINDER and its control strategy.
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Bardelli F, Giacobbe C, Ballirano P, Borelli V, Di Benedetto F, Montegrossi G, Bellis D, Pacella A. Closing the knowledge gap on the composition of the asbestos bodies. Environ Geochem Health 2023; 45:5039-5051. [PMID: 37058192 PMCID: PMC10310571 DOI: 10.1007/s10653-023-01557-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Asbestos bodies (AB) form in the lungs as a result of a biomineralization process initiated by the alveolar macrophages in the attempt to remove asbestos. During this process, organic and inorganic material deposit on the foreign fibers forming a Fe-rich coating. The AB start to form in months, thus quickly becoming the actual interface between asbestos and the lung tissue. Therefore, revealing their composition, and, in particular, the chemical form of Fe, which is the major component of the AB, is essential to assess their possible role in the pathogenesis of asbestos-related diseases. In this work we report the result of the first x-ray diffraction measurements performed on single AB embedded in the lung tissue samples of former asbestos plant workers. The combination with x-ray absorption spectroscopy data allowed to unambiguously reveal that Fe is present in the AB in the form of two Fe-oxy(hydroxides): ferrihydrite and goethite. The presence of goethite, which can be explained in terms of the transformation of ferrihydrite (a metastable phase) due to the acidic conditions induced by the alveolar macrophages in their attempt to phagocytose the fibers, has toxicological implications that are discussed in the paper.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Bardelli
- National Research Council, Institute of Nanotechnology (CNR-Nanotec), Rome, Italy.
- Centre for the Study of Asbestos and Other Toxic Particulate, University of Torino, Turin, Italy.
| | - C Giacobbe
- Xenocs SAS, Grenoble, France
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Grenoble, France
| | - P Ballirano
- Department of Earth Sciences, La Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - V Borelli
- Department of Physiology and Pathology, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - F Di Benedetto
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - G Montegrossi
- National Research Council, Institute of Geoscience and Earth Resources (CNR-IGG), Florence, Italy
| | - D Bellis
- Centre for the Study of Asbestos and Other Toxic Particulate, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - A Pacella
- Department of Earth Sciences, La Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
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9
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Ciulla MG, Gelain F. Structure-activity relationships of antibacterial peptides. Microb Biotechnol 2023; 16:757-777. [PMID: 36705032 PMCID: PMC10034643 DOI: 10.1111/1751-7915.14213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Revised: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 01/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides play a crucial role in innate immunity, whose components are mainly peptide-based molecules with antibacterial properties. Indeed, the exploration of the immune system over the past 40 years has revealed a number of natural peptides playing a pivotal role in the defence mechanisms of vertebrates and invertebrates, including amphibians, insects, and mammalians. This review provides a discussion regarding the antibacterial mechanisms of peptide-based agents and their structure-activity relationships (SARs) with the aim of describing a topic that is not yet fully explored. Some growing evidence suggests that innate immunity should be strongly considered for the development of novel antibiotic peptide-based libraries. Also, due to the constantly rising concern of antibiotic resistance, the development of new antibiotic drugs is becoming a priority of global importance. Hence, the study and the understanding of defence phenomena occurring in the immune system may inspire the development of novel antibiotic compound libraries and set the stage to overcome drug-resistant pathogens. Here, we provide an overview of the importance of peptide-based antibacterial sources, focusing on accurately selected molecular structures, their SARs including recently introduced modifications, their latest biotechnology applications, and their potential against multi-drug resistant pathogens. Last, we provide cues to describe how antibacterial peptides show a better scope of action selectivity than several anti-infective agents, which are characterized by non-selective activities and non-targeted actions toward pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Gessica Ciulla
- Institute for Stem-Cell Biology, Regenerative Medicine and Innovative Therapies, IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy
- Center for Nanomedicine and Tissue Engineering (CNTE), ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda, Milan, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Gelain
- Institute for Stem-Cell Biology, Regenerative Medicine and Innovative Therapies, IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy
- Center for Nanomedicine and Tissue Engineering (CNTE), ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda, Milan, Italy
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10
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Vitturi BK, Rahmani A, Dini G, Montecucco A, Debarbieri N, Bandiera P, Battaglia MA, Manacorda T, Persechino B, Buresti G, Ponzio M, Inglese M, Durando P. Spatial and temporal distribution of the prevalence of unemployment and early retirement in people with multiple sclerosis: A systematic review with meta-analysis. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0272156. [PMID: 35901070 PMCID: PMC9333213 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0272156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background We aimed to summarise the prevalence of unemployment and early retirement among people with MS and analyze data according to a spatio-temporal perspective. Methods We undertook a systematic search of PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, SciVerse ScienceDirect, and Web of Science. We included any peer-reviewed original article reporting the prevalence of unemployment and early retirement in the working-age population with MS. We excluded articles off-topic, with other study designs, whose study sample were unlikely to be representative of the MS population and in case of unavailability of the full text or essential information. A random-effects meta-analysis was used to measure overall prevalence estimates of unemployment and early retirement. We used meta-regression and subgroup analysis to evaluate potential moderators of prevalence estimates and the leave-one-out method for sensitivity analyses. Results Our research identified 153 studies across 29 countries encompassing 188436 subjects with MS. The pooled overall effect size for unemployment and early retirement was 35.6% (95% CI 32.8–38.4; I2 = 99.31) and 17.2% (95% CI 14.6–20.2; I2 = 99.13), respectively. The prevalence of unemployment varied according to the year of publication (p < 0.001) and there was a statistically significant decrease in the prevalence of unemployment over time (p = 0.042). Regarding early retirement, only seven (31.8%) estimates obtained from studies that were published before 2010 were below the overall effect size in comparison to 27 (60.0%) estimates extracted from data published between 2010 and 2021 (p = 0.039). There was a significant difference in prevalence according to countries (p < 0.001). Psychiatric illness was an important clinical feature responsible for patients leaving the workforce in regions with a high MS prevalence. Conclusions Unemployment and early retirement due to MS remain highly prevalent, despite a slight decline in the last decade. The prevalence of unemployment and early retirement varies globally.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alborz Rahmani
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Occupational Medicine Unit, Genoa, Italy
| | - Guglielmo Dini
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Occupational Medicine Unit, Genoa, Italy
| | - Alfredo Montecucco
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Occupational Medicine Unit, Genoa, Italy
| | - Nicoletta Debarbieri
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Occupational Medicine Unit, Genoa, Italy
| | - Paolo Bandiera
- Italian Multiple Sclerosis Association (AISM), Genoa, Italy
| | - Mario Alberto Battaglia
- Scientific Research Area, Italian Multiple Sclerosis Foundation (FISM), Genoa, Italy
- Department of Life Science, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Tommaso Manacorda
- Scientific Research Area, Italian Multiple Sclerosis Foundation (FISM), Genoa, Italy
| | | | | | - Michela Ponzio
- Scientific Research Area, Italian Multiple Sclerosis Foundation (FISM), Genoa, Italy
| | - Matilde Inglese
- Department of Neurosciences, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DiNOGMI) and Center of Excellence for Biomedical Research (CEBR), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy
| | - Paolo Durando
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Occupational Medicine Unit, Genoa, Italy
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11
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Pugliese R, Montuori M, Gelain F. Bioinspired photo-crosslinkable self-assembling peptides with pH-switchable "on-off" luminescence. Nanoscale Adv 2022; 4:447-456. [PMID: 36132689 PMCID: PMC9418485 DOI: 10.1039/d1na00688f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Significant progress has been made in peptide self-assembly over the past two decades; however, the in situ cross-linking of self-assembling peptides yielding better performing nanomaterials is still in its infancy. Indeed, self-assembling peptides (SAPs), relying only on non-covalent interactions, are mechanically unstable and susceptible to solvent erosion, greatly hindering their practical application. Herein, drawing inspiration from the biological functions of tyrosine, we present a photo-cross-linking approach for the in situ cross-linking of a tyrosine-containing LDLK12 SAP. This method is based on the ruthenium-complex-catalyzed conversion of tyrosine to dityrosine upon light irradiation. We observed a stable formation of dityrosine cross-linking starting from 5 minutes, with a maximum peak after 1 hour of UV irradiation. Furthermore, the presence of a ruthenium complex among the assembled peptide bundles bestows unusual fluorescence intensity stability up to as high as 42 °C, compared to the bare ruthenium complex. Also, due to a direct deprotonation-protonation process between the ruthenium complex and SAP molecules, the fluorescence of the photo-cross-linked SAP is capable of exhibiting "off-on-off-on" luminescence switchable from acid to basic pH. Lastly, we showed that the photo-cross-linked hydrogel exhibited enhanced mechanical stability with a storage modulus of ∼26 kPa, due to the formation of a densely entangled fibrous network of SAP molecules through dityrosine linkages. As such, this ruthenium-mediated photo-cross-linked SAP hydrogel could be useful in the design of novel tyrosine containing SAP materials with intriguing potential for biomedical imaging, pH sensing, photonics, soft electronics, and bioprinting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raffaele Pugliese
- Tissue Engineering Unit, Institute for Stem Cell Biology, Regenerative Medicine and Innovative Therapies-ISBReMIT, Fondazione IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza 71013 San Giovanni Rotondo FG Italy
- NeMO Lab, ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda 20162 Milan Italy
| | - Monica Montuori
- Biotechnology and Biosciences Department, University of Milano-Bicocca 20162 Milan Italy
| | - Fabrizio Gelain
- Tissue Engineering Unit, Institute for Stem Cell Biology, Regenerative Medicine and Innovative Therapies-ISBReMIT, Fondazione IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza 71013 San Giovanni Rotondo FG Italy
- Center for Nanomedicine and Tissue Engineering (CNTE), ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda 20162 Milan Italy
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12
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Fanciullacci C, McKinney Z, Monaco V, Milandri G, Davalli A, Sacchetti R, Laffranchi M, De Michieli L, Baldoni A, Mazzoni A, Paternò L, Rosini E, Reale L, Trecate F, Crea S, Vitiello N, Gruppioni E. Survey of transfemoral amputee experience and priorities for the user-centered design of powered robotic transfemoral prostheses. J Neuroeng Rehabil 2021; 18:168. [PMID: 34863213 PMCID: PMC8643009 DOI: 10.1186/s12984-021-00944-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Transfemoral amputees experience a complex host of physical, psychological, and social challenges, compounded by the functional limitations of current transfemoral prostheses. However, the specific relationships between human factors and prosthesis design and performance characteristics have not yet been adequately investigated. The present study aims to address this knowledge gap. METHODS A comprehensive single-cohort survey of 114 unilateral transfemoral amputees addressed a broad range of demographic and clinical characteristics, functional autonomy, satisfaction and attitudes towards their current prostheses, and design priorities for an ideal transfemoral prosthesis, including the possibility of active assistance from a robotic knee unit. The survey was custom-developed based on several standard questionnaires used to assess motor abilities and autonomy in activities of daily living, prosthesis satisfaction, and quality of life in lower-limb amputees. Survey data were analyzed to compare the experience (including autonomy and satisfaction) and design priorities of users of transfemoral prostheses with versus without microprocessor-controlled knee units (MPKs and NMPKs, respectively), with a subsequent analyses of cross-category correlation, principal component analysis (PCA), cost-sensitivity segmentation, and unsupervised K-means clustering applied within the most cost-sensitive participants, to identify functional groupings of users with respect to their design priorities. RESULTS The cohort featured predominantly younger (< 50 years) traumatic male amputees with respect to the general transfemoral amputee population, with pronounced differences in age distribution and amputation etiology (traumatic vs. non-traumatic) between MPK and NMPK groups. These differences were further reflected in user experience, with MPK users reporting significantly greater overall functional autonomy, satisfaction, and sense of prosthesis ownership than those with NMPKs, in conjunction with a decreased incidence of instability and falls. Across all participants, the leading functional priorities for an ideal transfemoral prosthesis were overall stability, adaptability to variable walking velocity, and lifestyle-related functionality, while the highest-prioritized general characteristics were reliability, comfort, and weight, with highly variable prioritization of cost according to reimbursement status. PCA and user clustering analyses revealed the possibility for functionally relevant groupings of prosthesis features and users, based on their differential prioritization of these features-with implications towards prosthesis design tradeoffs. CONCLUSIONS This study's findings support the understanding that when appropriately prescribed according to patient characteristics and needs in the context of a proactive rehabilitation program, advanced transfemoral prostheses promote patient mobility, autonomy, and overall health. Survey data indicate overall stability, modularity, and versatility as key design priorities for the continued development of transfemoral prosthesis technology. Finally, observed associations between prosthesis type, user experience, and attitudes concerning prosthesis ownership suggest both that prosthesis characteristics influence device acceptance and functional outcomes, and that psychosocial factors should be specifically and proactively addressed during the rehabilitation process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Fanciullacci
- The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Pisa), Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera, Pisa, Italy
- Dept. of Excellence in Robotics and AI, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Pisa), Piazza Martiri della Libertà, 33, 56127, Pisa, Italy
| | - Zach McKinney
- The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Pisa), Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera, Pisa, Italy.
- Dept. of Excellence in Robotics and AI, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Pisa), Piazza Martiri della Libertà, 33, 56127, Pisa, Italy.
| | - Vito Monaco
- The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Pisa), Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera, Pisa, Italy
- Dept. of Excellence in Robotics and AI, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Pisa), Piazza Martiri della Libertà, 33, 56127, Pisa, Italy
- Institute of Recovery and Care of Scientific Character (IRCCS), Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi Florence, Florence, Firenze, Italy
| | - Giovanni Milandri
- Rehab Technologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), via Morego, 30, 16163, Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Angelo Davalli
- Centro Protesi INAIL - REPAIR Lab, Via Rabuina, 14, 40054, Vigorso di Budrio, Bologna, Italy
| | - Rinaldo Sacchetti
- Centro Protesi INAIL - REPAIR Lab, Via Rabuina, 14, 40054, Vigorso di Budrio, Bologna, Italy
| | - Matteo Laffranchi
- Rehab Technologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), via Morego, 30, 16163, Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Lorenzo De Michieli
- Rehab Technologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), via Morego, 30, 16163, Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Andrea Baldoni
- The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Pisa), Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera, Pisa, Italy
- Dept. of Excellence in Robotics and AI, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Pisa), Piazza Martiri della Libertà, 33, 56127, Pisa, Italy
| | - Alberto Mazzoni
- The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Pisa), Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera, Pisa, Italy
- Dept. of Excellence in Robotics and AI, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Pisa), Piazza Martiri della Libertà, 33, 56127, Pisa, Italy
| | - Linda Paternò
- The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Pisa), Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera, Pisa, Italy
- Dept. of Excellence in Robotics and AI, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Pisa), Piazza Martiri della Libertà, 33, 56127, Pisa, Italy
| | - Elisa Rosini
- The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Pisa), Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera, Pisa, Italy
- Dept. of Excellence in Robotics and AI, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Pisa), Piazza Martiri della Libertà, 33, 56127, Pisa, Italy
| | - Luigi Reale
- Healthcare Area, Fondazione ISTUD, Via Paolo Lomazzo, 19, 20154, Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Fabio Trecate
- Dept. of Physical Medicine and Functional Re-Education, Istituto Palazzolo, Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, Via Don Luigi Palazzolo, 21, 20149, Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Simona Crea
- The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Pisa), Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera, Pisa, Italy
- Dept. of Excellence in Robotics and AI, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Pisa), Piazza Martiri della Libertà, 33, 56127, Pisa, Italy
- Institute of Recovery and Care of Scientific Character (IRCCS), Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi Florence, Florence, Firenze, Italy
| | - Nicola Vitiello
- The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Pisa), Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera, Pisa, Italy
- Dept. of Excellence in Robotics and AI, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Pisa), Piazza Martiri della Libertà, 33, 56127, Pisa, Italy
- Institute of Recovery and Care of Scientific Character (IRCCS), Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi Florence, Florence, Firenze, Italy
| | - Emanuele Gruppioni
- Centro Protesi INAIL - REPAIR Lab, Via Rabuina, 14, 40054, Vigorso di Budrio, Bologna, Italy
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13
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Fiocchetti M, Bastari G, Cipolletti M, Leone S, Acconcia F, Marino M. The Peculiar Estrogenicity of Diethyl Phthalate: Modulation of Estrogen Receptor α Activities in the Proliferation of Breast Cancer Cells. Toxics 2021; 9:237. [PMID: 34678933 PMCID: PMC8538674 DOI: 10.3390/toxics9100237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2021] [Revised: 09/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Phthalates comprise a group of synthetic chemicals present in the environment because of their wide use as plasticizers and as additives in products for personal care. Among others, diethyl phthalate (DEP) is largely used in products for infants, children, and adults, in which its exposure has been correlated with an increased risk of breast cancer. The adverse health outcomes deriving from phthalate exposure have been associated with their activity as endocrine disruptors (EDCs) of the steroid and thyroid hormone signaling by affecting developmental and reproductive health, and even carcinogenicity. However, the estrogen disruptor activities of DEP are still controversial, and the mechanism at the root of the estrogenic-disrupting action of DEP remains to be clarified. Here, we evaluated the DEP mechanism of action on the activation status of estrogen receptor α (ERα) by analyzing the receptor's phosphorylation as well as both nuclear and extra-nuclear pathways triggered by the receptor to modulate the proliferation of breast cancer cells. Although DEP does not bind to ERα, our results suggest that this phthalate ester exerts multiple parallel interactions with ERα signaling and emphasize the importance to determine an appropriate battery of in vitro methods that will include specific molecular mechanisms involved in the endocrine disruption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Fiocchetti
- Department of Science, University Roma Tre, Viale G. Marconi, 446, 00146 Rome, Italy; (G.B.); (M.C.); (S.L.); (F.A.)
| | | | | | | | | | - Maria Marino
- Department of Science, University Roma Tre, Viale G. Marconi, 446, 00146 Rome, Italy; (G.B.); (M.C.); (S.L.); (F.A.)
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14
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Poliero T, Sposito M, Toxiri S, Di Natali C, Iurato M, Sanguineti V, Caldwell DG, Ortiz J. Versatile and non-versatile occupational back-support exoskeletons: A comparison in laboratory and field studies. Wearable Technol 2021; 2:e12. [PMID: 38486626 PMCID: PMC10936340 DOI: 10.1017/wtc.2021.9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2021] [Revised: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 03/17/2024]
Abstract
Assistive strategies for occupational back-support exoskeletons have focused, mostly, on lifting tasks. However, in occupational scenarios, it is important to account not only for lifting but also for other activities. This can be done exploiting human activity recognition algorithms that can identify which task the user is performing and trigger the appropriate assistive strategy. We refer to this ability as exoskeleton versatility. To evaluate versatility, we propose to focus both on the ability of the device to reduce muscle activation (efficacy) and on its interaction with the user (dynamic fit). To this end, we performed an experimental study involving healthy subjects replicating the working activities of a manufacturing plant. To compare versatile and non-versatile exoskeletons, our device, XoTrunk, was controlled with two different strategies. Correspondingly, we collected muscle activity, kinematic variables and users' subjective feedbacks. Also, we evaluated the task recognition performance of the device. The results show that XoTrunk is capable of reducing muscle activation by up to in lifting and in carrying. However, the non-versatile control strategy hindered the users' natural gait (e.g., reduction of hip flexion), which could potentially lower the exoskeleton acceptance. Detecting carrying activities and adapting the control strategy, resulted in a more natural gait (e.g., increase of hip flexion). The classifier analyzed in this work, showed promising performance (online accuracy > 91%). Finally, we conducted 9 hours of field testing, involving four users. Initial subjective feedbacks on the exoskeleton versatility, are presented at the end of this work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tommaso Poliero
- Department of Advanced Robotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Matteo Sposito
- Department of Advanced Robotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
- Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria (DEIB), Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Stefano Toxiri
- Department of Advanced Robotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Christian Di Natali
- Department of Advanced Robotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Matteo Iurato
- Department of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and Systems Engineering, University of Genoa, Genova, Italy
| | - Vittorio Sanguineti
- Department of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and Systems Engineering, University of Genoa, Genova, Italy
| | - Darwin G. Caldwell
- Department of Advanced Robotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Jesús Ortiz
- Department of Advanced Robotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
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15
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Albano F, Tucci V, Blackshear PJ, Reale C, Roberto L, Russo F, Marotta P, Porreca I, Colella M, Mallardo M, de Felice M, Ambrosino C. ZFP36L2 Role in Thyroid Functionality. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:9379. [PMID: 34502288 PMCID: PMC8431063 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22179379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2021] [Revised: 07/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Thyroid hormone levels are usually genetically determined. Thyrocytes produce a unique set of enzymes that are dedicated to thyroid hormone synthesis. While thyroid transcriptional regulation is well-characterized, post-transcriptional mechanisms have been less investigated. Here, we describe the involvement of ZFP36L2, a protein that stimulates degradation of target mRNAs, in thyroid development and function, by in vivo and in vitro gene targeting in thyrocytes. Thyroid-specific Zfp36l2-/- females were hypothyroid, with reduced levels of circulating free Thyroxine (cfT4) and Triiodothyronine (cfT3). Their hypothyroidism was due to dyshormonogenesis, already evident one week after weaning, while thyroid development appeared normal. We observed decreases in several thyroid-specific transcripts and proteins, such as Nis and its transcriptional regulators (Pax8 and Nkx2.1), and increased apoptosis in Zfp36l2-/- thyroids. Nis, Pax8, and Nkx2.1 mRNAs were also reduced in Zfp36l2 knock-out thyrocytes in vitro (L2KO), in which we confirmed the increased apoptosis. Finally, in L2KO cells, we showed an altered response to TSH stimulation regarding both thyroid-specific gene expression and cell proliferation and survival. This result was supported by increases in P21/WAF1 and p-P38MAPK levels. Mechanistically, we confirmed Notch1 as a target of ZFP36L2 in the thyroid since its levels were increased in both in vitro and in vivo models. In both models, the levels of Id4 mRNA, a potential inhibitor of Pax8 activity, were increased. Overall, the data indicate that the regulation of mRNA stability by ZFP36L2 is a mechanism that controls the function and survival of thyrocytes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Albano
- IEOS-CNR, 80131 Naples, Italy;
- Biogem, Istituto di Biologia e Genetica Molecolare, 83031 Ariano Irpino, Italy; (V.T.); (C.R.); (L.R.); (F.R.); (I.P.); (M.C.)
| | - Valeria Tucci
- Biogem, Istituto di Biologia e Genetica Molecolare, 83031 Ariano Irpino, Italy; (V.T.); (C.R.); (L.R.); (F.R.); (I.P.); (M.C.)
- Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy
| | - Perry J. Blackshear
- Signal Transduction Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC 27709, USA;
- Departments of Medicine and Biochemistry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Carla Reale
- Biogem, Istituto di Biologia e Genetica Molecolare, 83031 Ariano Irpino, Italy; (V.T.); (C.R.); (L.R.); (F.R.); (I.P.); (M.C.)
| | - Luca Roberto
- Biogem, Istituto di Biologia e Genetica Molecolare, 83031 Ariano Irpino, Italy; (V.T.); (C.R.); (L.R.); (F.R.); (I.P.); (M.C.)
| | - Filomena Russo
- Biogem, Istituto di Biologia e Genetica Molecolare, 83031 Ariano Irpino, Italy; (V.T.); (C.R.); (L.R.); (F.R.); (I.P.); (M.C.)
| | - Pina Marotta
- Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, 80121 Napoli, Italy;
| | - Immacolata Porreca
- Biogem, Istituto di Biologia e Genetica Molecolare, 83031 Ariano Irpino, Italy; (V.T.); (C.R.); (L.R.); (F.R.); (I.P.); (M.C.)
| | - Marco Colella
- Biogem, Istituto di Biologia e Genetica Molecolare, 83031 Ariano Irpino, Italy; (V.T.); (C.R.); (L.R.); (F.R.); (I.P.); (M.C.)
- Department of Science and Technology, University of Sannio, 82100 Benevento, Italy
| | - Massimo Mallardo
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnologies, University of Naples “Federico II”, 80131 Naples, Italy;
| | - Mario de Felice
- IEOS-CNR, 80131 Naples, Italy;
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnologies, University of Naples “Federico II”, 80131 Naples, Italy;
| | - Concetta Ambrosino
- Biogem, Istituto di Biologia e Genetica Molecolare, 83031 Ariano Irpino, Italy; (V.T.); (C.R.); (L.R.); (F.R.); (I.P.); (M.C.)
- Department of Science and Technology, University of Sannio, 82100 Benevento, Italy
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16
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Mereu F, Leone F, Gentile C, Cordella F, Gruppioni E, Zollo L. Control Strategies and Performance Assessment of Upper-Limb TMR Prostheses: A Review. Sensors (Basel) 2021; 21:1953. [PMID: 33802231 PMCID: PMC8000641 DOI: 10.3390/s21061953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2021] [Revised: 02/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The evolution of technological and surgical techniques has made it possible to obtain an even more intuitive control of multiple joints using advanced prosthetic systems. Targeted Muscle Reinnervation (TMR) is considered to be an innovative and relevant surgical technique for improving the prosthetic control for people with different amputation levels of the limb. Indeed, TMR surgery makes it possible to obtain reinnervated areas that act as biological amplifiers of the motor control. On the technological side, a great deal of research has been conducted in order to evaluate various types of myoelectric prosthetic control strategies, whether direct control or pattern recognition-based control. In the literature, different control performance metrics, which have been evaluated on TMR subjects, have been introduced, but no accepted reference standard defines the better strategy for evaluating the prosthetic control. Indeed, the presence of several evaluation tests that are based on different metrics makes it difficult the definition of standard guidelines for comprehending the potentiality of the proposed control systems. Additionally, there is a lack of evidence about the comparison of different evaluation approaches or the presence of guidelines on the most suitable test to proceed for a TMR patients case study. Thus, this review aims at identifying these limitations by examining the several studies in the literature on TMR subjects, with different amputation levels, and proposing a standard method for evaluating the control performance metrics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico Mereu
- Unit of Advanced Robotics and Human-Centred Technologies, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, 00128 Rome, Italy; (F.M.); (F.L.); (C.G.); (F.C.)
| | - Francesca Leone
- Unit of Advanced Robotics and Human-Centred Technologies, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, 00128 Rome, Italy; (F.M.); (F.L.); (C.G.); (F.C.)
| | - Cosimo Gentile
- Unit of Advanced Robotics and Human-Centred Technologies, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, 00128 Rome, Italy; (F.M.); (F.L.); (C.G.); (F.C.)
| | - Francesca Cordella
- Unit of Advanced Robotics and Human-Centred Technologies, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, 00128 Rome, Italy; (F.M.); (F.L.); (C.G.); (F.C.)
| | | | - Loredana Zollo
- Unit of Advanced Robotics and Human-Centred Technologies, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, 00128 Rome, Italy; (F.M.); (F.L.); (C.G.); (F.C.)
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17
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Mensi C, Zellino C, Polonioli M, Dallari B, Pesatori AC, Riboldi L, Consonni D. Pleural mesothelioma in a circus worker. J Occup Health 2021; 63:e12250. [PMID: 34350658 PMCID: PMC8344853 DOI: 10.1002/1348-9585.12250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2021] [Revised: 05/17/2021] [Accepted: 06/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To describe an unusual occupational asbestos exposure in a patient with mesothelioma. METHODS Since 2000, the Lombardy Mesothelioma Registry (LMR) collects cases of malignant mesothelioma (MM) occurring among people residing in the Lombardy Region, North-West Italy, with a population of 10 million inhabitants. For each case, clinical records and asbestos exposure are collected. Each case is then classified in agreement with the guidelines of the National Mesothelioma Registry. RESULTS We identified a male (86 years old), former smoker, who had been working for 53 years as a circus truck driver and tamer of lions and tigers. The first circumstance of exposure was the use of an asbestos tape that wrapped around the hoop in the feline jumping show with a flaming hoop. The second one was the presence of insulating panels protecting the engine placed inside the trucks. CONCLUSION A new MM case with an occupational etiology has been found in the public entertainment, an occupational sector not usually considered at risk for the presence of asbestos.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Mensi
- Occupational Health UnitFondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore PoliclinicoMilanItaly
| | - Carolina Zellino
- Occupational Health UnitFondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore PoliclinicoMilanItaly
| | - Marco Polonioli
- Post Graduation School of Occupational MedicineUniversità degli Studi di MilanoMilanItaly
| | - Barbara Dallari
- Occupational Health UnitFondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore PoliclinicoMilanItaly
| | - Angela Cecilia Pesatori
- Occupational Health UnitFondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore PoliclinicoMilanItaly
- Department of Clinical Sciences and Community HealthUniversità degli Studi di MilanoMilanItaly
| | - Luciano Riboldi
- Occupational Health UnitFondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore PoliclinicoMilanItaly
| | - Dario Consonni
- Occupational Health UnitFondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore PoliclinicoMilanItaly
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Di Tocco J, Sabbadini R, Raiano L, Fani F, Ripani S, Schena E, Formica D, Massaroni C. Breath-Jockey: Development and Feasibility Assessment of a Wearable System for Respiratory Rate and Kinematic Parameter Estimation for Gallop Athletes. Sensors (Basel) 2020; 21:E152. [PMID: 33383689 PMCID: PMC7795240 DOI: 10.3390/s21010152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2020] [Revised: 12/18/2020] [Accepted: 12/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
In recent years, wearable devices for physiological parameter monitoring in sports and physical activities have been gaining momentum. In particular, some studies have focused their attention on using available commercial monitoring systems mainly on horses during training sessions or competitions. Only a few studies have focused on the jockey's physiological and kinematic parameters. Although at a glance, it seems jockeys do not make a lot of effort during riding, it is quite the opposite. Indeed, especially during competitions, they profuse a short but high intensity effort. To this extend, we propose a wearable system integrating conductive textiles and an M-IMU to simultaneously monitor the respiratory rate (RR) and kinematic parameters of the riding activity. Firstly, we tested the developed wearable system on a healthy volunteer mimicking the typical riding movements of jockeys and compared the performances with a reference instrument. Lastly, we tested the system on two gallop jockeys during the "137∘ Derby Italiano di Galoppo". The proposed system is able to track both the RR and the kinematic parameters during the various phases of the competition both at rest and during the race.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Di Tocco
- Unit of Measurements and Biomedical Instrumentation, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 00128 Rome, Italy; (J.D.T.); (R.S.); (E.S.)
| | - Riccardo Sabbadini
- Unit of Measurements and Biomedical Instrumentation, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 00128 Rome, Italy; (J.D.T.); (R.S.); (E.S.)
| | - Luigi Raiano
- Unit of Neurophysiology and Neuroengineering of Human Technology Interaction (NeXT), Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 00128 Rome, Italy; (L.R.); (D.F.)
| | - Federica Fani
- Avery Dennison RBIS Italy, Prov.le Bonifica, 64010 Ancarano, Italy; (F.F.); (S.R.)
| | - Simone Ripani
- Avery Dennison RBIS Italy, Prov.le Bonifica, 64010 Ancarano, Italy; (F.F.); (S.R.)
| | - Emiliano Schena
- Unit of Measurements and Biomedical Instrumentation, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 00128 Rome, Italy; (J.D.T.); (R.S.); (E.S.)
| | - Domenico Formica
- Unit of Neurophysiology and Neuroengineering of Human Technology Interaction (NeXT), Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 00128 Rome, Italy; (L.R.); (D.F.)
| | - Carlo Massaroni
- Unit of Measurements and Biomedical Instrumentation, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 00128 Rome, Italy; (J.D.T.); (R.S.); (E.S.)
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19
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Torti M, Fossati C, Casali M, De Pandis MF, Grassini P, Radicati FG, Stirpe P, Vacca L, Iavicoli I, Leso V, Ceppi M, Bruzzone M, Bonassi S, Stocchi F. Effect of family history, occupation and diet on the risk of Parkinson disease: A case-control study. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0243612. [PMID: 33332388 PMCID: PMC7746265 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2020] [Accepted: 11/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The aetiology of Parkinson's disease (PD) is still very controversial, with a peculiar lack of established risk factors or protective behavior. METHODS We carried out a case-control study of 634 idiopathic PD patients admitted from 2011 to 2015 to two hospitals located in central Italy and 532 controls matched by hospital, gender and age (± 5 years). The study questionnaire included questions on host factors, family history, residence, occupation and lifestyle. Odds ratios (ORs) for PD and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated with logistic regression, adjusting for actual and potential confounders. RESULTS A lower OR was observed in females (0.74; 95%CI:0.58-0.96), while older age classes showed a constantly increased risk for PD (p<0.005) starting from the class 65-69 years. Subjects who reported a first degree relative affected by PD showed a borderline increase which was more evident in those enrolled in the urban center of Rome (OR = 1.65; 95%CI: 1.09-2.50). Significant reduction of the risk was associated to current smoking (OR = 0.48; 95%CI: 0.24-0.54), and to vegetables consumption (p<0.03), while borderline increases were associated to meat and cold cut consumption. Occupational activities classified according to ISCO-08 categories did not show increased risk, while higher ORs' were found for pilots and physicians. CONCLUSIONS The results from this study confirmed the higher risk of PD in males and in elderly, and the inverse association with smoking habit. The possible etiological role of familial clustering, dietary habit, and some job tasks is suggested.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margherita Torti
- San Raffaele Pisana Institute for Research and Medical Care, Clinical Trial Center, Rome, Italy
- * E-mail:
| | - Chiara Fossati
- Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome “Foro Italico”, Rome, Italy
| | - Miriam Casali
- San Raffaele Pisana Institute for Research and Medical Care, Clinical Trial Center, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Paola Grassini
- San Raffaele Pisana Institute for Research and Medical Care, Clinical Trial Center, Rome, Italy
| | - Fabiana Giada Radicati
- San Raffaele Pisana Institute for Research and Medical Care, Clinical Trial Center, Rome, Italy
| | - Paola Stirpe
- San Raffaele Pisana Institute for Research and Medical Care, Clinical Trial Center, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Vacca
- San Raffaele Pisana Institute for Research and Medical Care, Clinical Trial Center, Rome, Italy
| | - Ivo Iavicoli
- Department of Public Health University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Veruscka Leso
- Department of Public Health University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Marcello Ceppi
- Unit of Clinical Epidemiology, Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy
| | - Marco Bruzzone
- Unit of Clinical Epidemiology, Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy
| | - Stefano Bonassi
- Unit of Clinical and Molecular Epidemiology, Institute for Research and Medical Care, San Raffaele Pisana, Rome, Italy
- Department of Human Sciences and Quality of Life Promotion, San Raffaele University, Rome, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Stocchi
- San Raffaele Pisana Institute for Research and Medical Care, Clinical Trial Center, Rome, Italy
- Department of Human Sciences and Quality of Life Promotion, San Raffaele University, Rome, Italy
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20
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Venice F, Davolos D, Spina F, Poli A, Prigione VP, Varese GC, Ghignone S. Genome Sequence of Trichoderma lixii MUT3171, A Promising Strain for Mycoremediation of PAH-Contaminated Sites. Microorganisms 2020; 8:E1258. [PMID: 32825267 PMCID: PMC7570066 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms8091258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2020] [Revised: 08/06/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Mono- and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widespread and recalcitrant pollutants that threaten both environmental and human health. By exploiting the powerful enzymatic machinery of fungi, mycoremediation in contaminated sites aims at removing a wide range of pollutants in a cost-efficient and environmentally friendly manner. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques are powerful tools for understanding the molecular basis of biotransformation of PAHs by selected fungal strains, allowing genome mining to identify genetic features of biotechnological value. Trichoderma lixii MUT3171, isolated from a historically PAH-contaminated soil in Italy, can grow on phenanthrene, as a sole carbon source. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of T. lixii MUT3171 obtained with high-throughput sequencing method. The genome of T. lixii MUT3171 was compared with other 14 Trichoderma genomes, highlighting both shared and unique features that can shed a light on the biotransformation of PAHs. Moreover, the genes potentially involved in the production of important biosurfactants and bioactive molecules have been investigated. The gene repertoire of T. lixii MUT3171 indicates a high degrading potential and provides hints on putative survival strategies in a polluted environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Venice
- Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection (IPSP)-SS Turin-National Research Council (CNR), Viale Mattioli 25, 10125 Turin, Italy
| | - Domenico Davolos
- Department of Technological Innovations and Safety of Plants, Products and Anthropic Settlements (DIT), INAIL, Research Area, Via R. Ferruzzi 38/40, 00143 Rome, Italy
| | - Federica Spina
- Department of Life Sciences and System Biology, University of Turin, Viale Mattioli 25, 10125 Turin, Italy
| | - Anna Poli
- Department of Life Sciences and System Biology, University of Turin, Viale Mattioli 25, 10125 Turin, Italy
| | - Valeria Paola Prigione
- Department of Life Sciences and System Biology, University of Turin, Viale Mattioli 25, 10125 Turin, Italy
| | - Giovanna Cristina Varese
- Department of Life Sciences and System Biology, University of Turin, Viale Mattioli 25, 10125 Turin, Italy
| | - Stefano Ghignone
- Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection (IPSP)-SS Turin-National Research Council (CNR), Viale Mattioli 25, 10125 Turin, Italy
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21
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Veronesi G, Baldwin DR, Henschke CI, Ghislandi S, Iavicoli S, Oudkerk M, De Koning HJ, Shemesh J, Field JK, Zulueta JJ, Horgan D, Fiestas Navarrete L, Infante MV, Novellis P, Murray RL, Peled N, Rampinelli C, Rocco G, Rzyman W, Scagliotti GV, Tammemagi MC, Bertolaccini L, Triphuridet N, Yip R, Rossi A, Senan S, Ferrante G, Brain K, van der Aalst C, Bonomo L, Consonni D, Van Meerbeeck JP, Maisonneuve P, Novello S, Devaraj A, Saghir Z, Pelosi G. Recommendations for Implementing Lung Cancer Screening with Low-Dose Computed Tomography in Europe. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:E1672. [PMID: 32599792 PMCID: PMC7352874 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12061672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2020] [Revised: 06/15/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Lung cancer screening (LCS) with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) was demonstrated in the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) to reduce mortality from the disease. European mortality data has recently become available from the Nelson randomised controlled trial, which confirmed lung cancer mortality reductions by 26% in men and 39-61% in women. Recent studies in Europe and the USA also showed positive results in screening workers exposed to asbestos. All European experts attending the "Initiative for European Lung Screening (IELS)"-a large international group of physicians and other experts concerned with lung cancer-agreed that LDCT-LCS should be implemented in Europe. However, the economic impact of LDCT-LCS and guidelines for its effective and safe implementation still need to be formulated. To this purpose, the IELS was asked to prepare recommendations to implement LCS and examine outstanding issues. A subgroup carried out a comprehensive literature review on LDCT-LCS and presented findings at a meeting held in Milan in November 2018. The present recommendations reflect that consensus was reached.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Veronesi
- Faculty of Medicine and Surgery—Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy;
- Division of Thoracic Surgery, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132 Milan, Italy;
| | - David R. Baldwin
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, David Evans Research Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham NG5 1PB, UK;
| | - Claudia I. Henschke
- Department of Radiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; (C.I.H.); (N.T.); (R.Y.)
| | - Simone Ghislandi
- Department of Social and Political Sciences, Bocconi University, 20136 Milan, Italy; (S.G.); (L.F.N.)
| | - Sergio Iavicoli
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL), 00078 Rome, Italy;
| | - Matthijs Oudkerk
- Center for Medical Imaging, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, 9712 CP Groningen, The Netherlands;
| | - Harry J. De Koning
- Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC—University Medical Centre Rotterdam, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands; (H.J.D.K.); (C.v.d.A.)
| | - Joseph Shemesh
- The Grace Ballas Cardiac Research Unit, Sheba Medical Center, Affiliated with the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, 52621 Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel;
| | - John K. Field
- Roy Castle Lung Cancer Research Programme, Department of Molecular and Clinical Cancer Medicine, The University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3BX, UK;
| | - Javier J. Zulueta
- Department of Pulmonology, Clinica Universidad de Navarra, 31008 Pamplona, Spain;
- Visiongate Inc., Phoenix, AZ 85044, USA
| | - Denis Horgan
- European Alliance for Personalised Medicine (EAPM), Avenue de l’Armée Legerlaan 10, 1040 Brussels, Belgium;
| | - Lucia Fiestas Navarrete
- Department of Social and Political Sciences, Bocconi University, 20136 Milan, Italy; (S.G.); (L.F.N.)
| | | | - Pierluigi Novellis
- Division of Thoracic Surgery, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132 Milan, Italy;
| | - Rachael L. Murray
- Division of Epidemiology and Public Health, UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies, Clinical Sciences Building, City Hospital, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG5 1PB, UK;
| | - Nir Peled
- The Legacy Heritage Oncology Center & Dr. Larry Norton Institute, Soroka Medical Center & Ben-Gurion University, 84101 Beer-Sheva, Israel;
| | - Cristiano Rampinelli
- Department of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences, IEO European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, 20141 Milan, Italy;
| | - Gaetano Rocco
- Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA;
| | - Witold Rzyman
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-210 Gdańsk, Poland;
| | | | - Martin C. Tammemagi
- Department of Health Sciences, Brock University, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, Canada;
| | - Luca Bertolaccini
- Division of Thoracic Surgery, IEO European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, 20141 Milan, Italy;
| | - Natthaya Triphuridet
- Department of Radiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; (C.I.H.); (N.T.); (R.Y.)
- Faculty of Medicine and Public Health, Chulabhorn Royal Academy, HRH Princess Chulabhorn College of Medical Science, Bangkok 10210, Thailand
| | - Rowena Yip
- Department of Radiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; (C.I.H.); (N.T.); (R.Y.)
| | - Alexia Rossi
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, 20090 Pieve Emanuele (MI), Italy;
| | - Suresh Senan
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, VU location, De Boelelaan 1117, Postbox 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
| | - Giuseppe Ferrante
- Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Humanitas Clinical and Research Center IRCCS, 20089 Rozzano (MI), Italy;
| | - Kate Brain
- Division of Population Medicine, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF14 4YS, UK;
| | - Carlijn van der Aalst
- Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC—University Medical Centre Rotterdam, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands; (H.J.D.K.); (C.v.d.A.)
| | - Lorenzo Bonomo
- Department of Bioimaging and Radiological Sciences, Catholic University, 00168 Rome, Italy;
| | - Dario Consonni
- Epidemiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, 20122 Milan, Italy;
| | - Jan P. Van Meerbeeck
- Thoracic Oncology, Antwerp University Hospital and Ghent University, 2650 Edegem, Belgium;
| | - Patrick Maisonneuve
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, IEO European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, 20141 Milan, Italy;
| | - Silvia Novello
- Department of Oncology, University of Torino, 10124 Torino, Italy; (G.V.S.); (S.N.)
| | - Anand Devaraj
- Department of Radiology, Royal Brompton Hospital, London SW3 6NP, UK;
| | - Zaigham Saghir
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Herlev-Gentofte University Hospital, 2900 Hellerup, Denmark;
| | - Giuseppe Pelosi
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy
- Inter-Hospital Pathology Division, IRCCS MultiMedica, 20138 Milan, Italy
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Reuter M, Wahrendorf M, Di Tecco C, Probst TM, Chirumbolo A, Ritz-Timme S, Barbaranelli C, Iavicoli S, Dragano N. Precarious employment and self-reported experiences of unwanted sexual attention and sexual harassment at work. An analysis of the European Working Conditions Survey. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0233683. [PMID: 32463826 PMCID: PMC7255602 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0233683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2019] [Accepted: 05/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Unwanted sexual attention (UWSA) and sexual harassment (SH) are prevalent experiences for women in working life and often accompanied by poor health. Despite increasing numbers especially of young people working in insecure and irregular employment settings, there is little empirical evidence if such precarious arrangements are associated with UWSA or SH. To investigate this, we used a representative sample of the European working population consisting of 63,966 employees in 33 countries who participated in the European Working Conditions Survey in 2010 or 2015. Precarious employment (PE) was assessed on the basis of seven indicators and a formative index derived from them: temporary employment, contractual duration < 1 year, schedule unpredictability, involuntary part-time, low information on occupational health and safety risks (OSH), low pay (wage < 60%), and multiple job-holding. We measured self-reported experiences of workplace UWSA during the last month and SH during the last 12 months each using a single-item questionnaire. Multi-level Poisson regressions were used to estimate prevalence ratios for UWSA and SH according to PE adjusted for survey year, age, education, type of household, migration background, job tenure, weekly working hours, occupational position, working sector, company size, workplace gender ratio, and visiting customers or clients. 0.8% of men reported UWSA in the last month and 2.6% of the women. SH in the last year was reported by 0.4% of the men and 1.3% of the women. For both men and women, PE was significantly associated with elevated prevalence of UWSA and SH, in particular when reporting schedule unpredictability, multiple job-holding and low information on OSH. Our results suggest that precariously employed individuals may be more prone to experience unwanted sexual behaviour at the workplace compared with workers in non-precarious settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marvin Reuter
- Institute of Medical Sociology, Centre for Health and Society, Medical Faculty, University of Duesseldorf, Duesseldorf, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Morten Wahrendorf
- Institute of Medical Sociology, Centre for Health and Society, Medical Faculty, University of Duesseldorf, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Cristina Di Tecco
- Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL), Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Monte Porzio Catone Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Tahira M. Probst
- Department of Psychology, Washington State University, Vancouver, Washington, United States of America
| | | | - Stefanie Ritz-Timme
- Institute of Legal Medicine, University Hospital Duesseldorf, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | | | - Sergio Iavicoli
- Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL), Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Monte Porzio Catone Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Nico Dragano
- Institute of Medical Sociology, Centre for Health and Society, Medical Faculty, University of Duesseldorf, Duesseldorf, Germany
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Cellai F, Bonassi S, Cristaudo A, Bonotti A, Neri M, Ceppi M, Bruzzone M, Milić M, Munnia A, Peluso M. Chromatographic Detection of 8-Hydroxy-2'-Deoxyguanosine in Leukocytes of Asbestos Exposed Workers for Assessing Past and Recent Carcinogen Exposures. Diagnostics (Basel) 2020; 10:E239. [PMID: 32326213 PMCID: PMC7235992 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics10040239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2020] [Revised: 04/15/2020] [Accepted: 04/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Asbestos fibers include a group of silicate minerals that occur in the environment and are widely employed in occupational settings. Asbestos exposure has been associated to various chronic diseases; such as pulmonary fibrosis; mesothelioma; and lung cancer; often characterized by a long period of latency. Underlying mechanisms that are behind the carcinogenic effect of asbestos have not been fully clarified. Therefore; we have conducted an epidemiological study to evaluate the relationship between 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG), one of the most reliable biomarkers of oxidative stress and oxidative DNA damage; and asbestos exposure in the peripheral blood of residents in Tuscany and Liguria regions; Italy; stratified by occupational exposure to this carcinogen. Levels of 8-oxodG were expressed such as relative adduct labeling (RAL); the frequency of 8-oxodG per 105 deoxyguanosine was significantly higher among exposed workers with respect to the controls; i.e., 3.0 ± 0.2 Standard Error (SE) in asbestos workers versus a value of 1.3 ± 0.1 (SE) in unexposed controls (p < 0.001). When the relationship with occupational history was investigated; significant higher levels of 8-oxodG were measured in current and former asbestos workers vs. healthy controls; 3.1 ± 0.3 (SE) and 2.9 ± 0.2 (SE), respectively. After stratification for occupational history; a significant 194% excess of adducts was found in workers with 10 or more years of past asbestos exposure (p < 0.001). 8-oxodG can be used for medical surveillance programs of cohorts of workers with past and recent exposures to carcinogens for the identification of subjects requiring a more intense clinical surveillance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filippo Cellai
- Cancer Risk Factor Branch, Regional Cancer Prevention Laboratory, ISPRO-Study, Prevention and Oncology Network Institute, 50139 Florence, Italy; (F.C.); (A.M.)
| | - Stefano Bonassi
- Clinical and Molecular Epidemiology, IRCCS San Raffaele Pisana, 00166 Rome, Italy; (S.B.); (M.N.)
- Department of Human Sciences and Quality of Life Promotion, San Raffaele University, 00166 Rome, Italy
| | - Alfonso Cristaudo
- Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, 56010 Pisa, Italy;
- Occupational Medicine Unit, University of Pisa, 56010 Pisa, Italy;
| | | | - Monica Neri
- Clinical and Molecular Epidemiology, IRCCS San Raffaele Pisana, 00166 Rome, Italy; (S.B.); (M.N.)
| | - Marcello Ceppi
- Unit of Clinical Epidemiology, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16131 Genoa, Italy; (M.C.); (M.B.)
| | - Marco Bruzzone
- Unit of Clinical Epidemiology, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16131 Genoa, Italy; (M.C.); (M.B.)
| | - Mirta Milić
- Mutagenesis Unit, Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia;
| | - Armelle Munnia
- Cancer Risk Factor Branch, Regional Cancer Prevention Laboratory, ISPRO-Study, Prevention and Oncology Network Institute, 50139 Florence, Italy; (F.C.); (A.M.)
| | - Marco Peluso
- Cancer Risk Factor Branch, Regional Cancer Prevention Laboratory, ISPRO-Study, Prevention and Oncology Network Institute, 50139 Florence, Italy; (F.C.); (A.M.)
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Tarakdjian J, Capello K, Pasqualin D, Santini A, Cunial G, Scollo A, Mannelli A, Tomao P, Vonesch N, Di Martino G. Antimicrobial use on Italian Pig Farms and its Relationship with Husbandry Practices. Animals (Basel) 2020; 10:E417. [PMID: 32131557 PMCID: PMC7143824 DOI: 10.3390/ani10030417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2020] [Revised: 02/24/2020] [Accepted: 03/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The analysis of antimicrobial use (AMU) data in livestock allows for the identification of risk factors for AMU, thereby favoring the application of responsible AMU policies on-farm. Herewith, AMU in 36 finishing pig farms in northern Italy from 2015-2017 was expressed as defined daily doses for Italian pigs (DDDita) per population correction unit (DDDita/100kg). A retrospective analysis was then conducted to determine the effects of several husbandry practices on AMU. Overall, AMU ranged between 12 DDDita/100kg in 2015 and 8 DDDita/100kg in 2017, showing no significant trends, due to the large variability in AMU between farms. However, a 66% AMU reduction was observed in 19 farms during 2015-2017. Farm size, number of farm workers, air quality, average pig mortality, and presence of undocked pigs on the farm had no significant effects on AMU. Rather, welfare-friendly farms had 38% lower AMU levels (p < 0.05). In conclusion, animal welfare management seems to be relatively more important than farm structure and other managerial characteristics as drivers of AMU in finishing pig farms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacopo Tarakdjian
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università 10, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy; (K.C.); (D.P.); (A.S.); (G.C.); (G.D.M.)
| | - Katia Capello
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università 10, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy; (K.C.); (D.P.); (A.S.); (G.C.); (G.D.M.)
| | - Dario Pasqualin
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università 10, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy; (K.C.); (D.P.); (A.S.); (G.C.); (G.D.M.)
| | - Andrea Santini
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università 10, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy; (K.C.); (D.P.); (A.S.); (G.C.); (G.D.M.)
| | - Giovanni Cunial
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università 10, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy; (K.C.); (D.P.); (A.S.); (G.C.); (G.D.M.)
| | | | - Alessandro Mannelli
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Torino, 10124 Torino, Italy;
| | - Paola Tomao
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL), Monte Porzio Catone, 00078 Rome, Italy; (P.T.); (N.V.)
| | - Nicoletta Vonesch
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL), Monte Porzio Catone, 00078 Rome, Italy; (P.T.); (N.V.)
| | - Guido Di Martino
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università 10, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy; (K.C.); (D.P.); (A.S.); (G.C.); (G.D.M.)
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Lo Presti D, Carnevale A, D’Abbraccio J, Massari L, Massaroni C, Sabbadini R, Zaltieri M, Di Tocco J, Bravi M, Miccinilli S, Sterzi S, Longo UG, Denaro V, Caponero MA, Formica D, Oddo CM, Schena E. A Multi-Parametric Wearable System to Monitor Neck Movements and Respiratory Frequency of Computer Workers. Sensors (Basel) 2020; 20:E536. [PMID: 31963696 PMCID: PMC7014540 DOI: 10.3390/s20020536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2019] [Revised: 01/15/2020] [Accepted: 01/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Musculoskeletal disorders are the most common form of occupational ill-health. Neck pain is one of the most prevalent musculoskeletal disorders experienced by computer workers. Wrong postural habits and non-compliance of the workstation to ergonomics guidelines are the leading causes of neck pain. These factors may also alter respiratory functions. Health and safety interventions can reduce neck pain and, more generally, the symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders and reduce the consequent economic burden. In this work, a multi-parametric wearable system based on two fiber Bragg grating sensors is proposed for monitoring neck movements and breathing activity of computer workers. The sensing elements were positioned on the neck, in the frontal and sagittal planes, to monitor: (i) flexion-extension and axial rotation repetitions, and (ii) respiratory frequency. In this pilot study, five volunteers were enrolled and performed five repetitions of both flexion-extension and axial rotation, and ten breaths of both quite breathing and tachypnea. Results showed the good performances of the proposed system in monitoring the aforementioned parameters when compared to optical reference systems. The wearable system is able to well-match the trend in time of the neck movements (both flexion-extension and axial rotation) and to estimate mean and breath-by-breath respiratory frequency values with percentage errors ≤6.09% and ≤1.90%, during quiet breathing and tachypnea, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Lo Presti
- Unit of Measurement and Biomedical Instrumentation, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 00128 Rome, Italy; (D.L.P.); (A.C.); (C.M.); (R.S.); (M.Z.); (J.D.T.)
| | - Arianna Carnevale
- Unit of Measurement and Biomedical Instrumentation, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 00128 Rome, Italy; (D.L.P.); (A.C.); (C.M.); (R.S.); (M.Z.); (J.D.T.)
- Department of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 00128 Rome, Italy; (U.G.L.); (V.D.); (C.M.O.)
| | - Jessica D’Abbraccio
- Neuro-Robotic Touch Laboratory, BioRobotics Institute, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, 56025 Pisa, Italy; (J.D.); (L.M.)
| | - Luca Massari
- Neuro-Robotic Touch Laboratory, BioRobotics Institute, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, 56025 Pisa, Italy; (J.D.); (L.M.)
| | - Carlo Massaroni
- Unit of Measurement and Biomedical Instrumentation, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 00128 Rome, Italy; (D.L.P.); (A.C.); (C.M.); (R.S.); (M.Z.); (J.D.T.)
| | - Riccardo Sabbadini
- Unit of Measurement and Biomedical Instrumentation, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 00128 Rome, Italy; (D.L.P.); (A.C.); (C.M.); (R.S.); (M.Z.); (J.D.T.)
| | - Martina Zaltieri
- Unit of Measurement and Biomedical Instrumentation, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 00128 Rome, Italy; (D.L.P.); (A.C.); (C.M.); (R.S.); (M.Z.); (J.D.T.)
| | - Joshua Di Tocco
- Unit of Measurement and Biomedical Instrumentation, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 00128 Rome, Italy; (D.L.P.); (A.C.); (C.M.); (R.S.); (M.Z.); (J.D.T.)
| | - Marco Bravi
- Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 00128 Rome, Italy; (M.B.); (S.M.); (S.S.)
| | - Sandra Miccinilli
- Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 00128 Rome, Italy; (M.B.); (S.M.); (S.S.)
| | - Silvia Sterzi
- Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 00128 Rome, Italy; (M.B.); (S.M.); (S.S.)
| | - Umile G. Longo
- Department of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 00128 Rome, Italy; (U.G.L.); (V.D.); (C.M.O.)
| | - Vincenzo Denaro
- Department of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 00128 Rome, Italy; (U.G.L.); (V.D.); (C.M.O.)
| | - Michele A. Caponero
- Photonics Micro-and Nanostructures Laboratory, ENEA Research Center of Frascati, 00044 Rome, Italy;
| | - Domenico Formica
- NEXT Lab, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 00128 Rome, Italy;
| | - Calogero M. Oddo
- Department of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 00128 Rome, Italy; (U.G.L.); (V.D.); (C.M.O.)
| | - Emiliano Schena
- Unit of Measurement and Biomedical Instrumentation, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 00128 Rome, Italy; (D.L.P.); (A.C.); (C.M.); (R.S.); (M.Z.); (J.D.T.)
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Aprigliano F, Micera S, Monaco V. Pre-Impact Detection Algorithm to Identify Tripping Events Using Wearable Sensors. Sensors (Basel) 2019; 19:E3713. [PMID: 31461908 PMCID: PMC6749342 DOI: 10.3390/s19173713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2019] [Revised: 08/22/2019] [Accepted: 08/26/2019] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the performance of an updated version of our pre-impact detection algorithm parsing out the output of a set of Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) placed on lower limbs and designed to recognize signs of lack of balance due to tripping. Eight young subjects were asked to manage tripping events while walking on a treadmill. An adaptive threshold-based algorithm, relying on a pool of adaptive oscillators, was tuned to identify abrupt kinematics modifications during tripping. Inputs of the algorithm were the elevation angles of lower limb segments, as estimated by IMUs located on thighs, shanks and feet. The results showed that the proposed algorithm can identify a lack of balance in about 0.37 ± 0.11 s after the onset of the perturbation, with a low percentage of false alarms (<10%), by using only data related to the perturbed shank. The proposed algorithm can hence be considered a multi-purpose tool to identify different perturbations (i.e., slippage and tripping). In this respect, it can be implemented for different wearable applications (e.g., smart garments or wearable robots) and adopted during daily life activities to enable on-demand injury prevention systems prior to fall impacts.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Silvestro Micera
- The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, 56127 Pisa, Italy
- Bertarelli Foundation Chair in Translational Neuroengineering, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Vito Monaco
- The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, 56127 Pisa, Italy.
- IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, 20148 Milan, Italy.
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27
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Franceschini G, Bottino M, Millet I, Martello E, Zaltron F, Favretto AR, Vonesch N, Tomao P, Mannelli A. Assessment of the Exposure of Turkey Farmers to Antimicrobial Resistance Associated with Working Practices. Vet Sci 2019; 6:E13. [PMID: 30717204 PMCID: PMC6466403 DOI: 10.3390/vetsci6010013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2018] [Revised: 01/24/2019] [Accepted: 01/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The objective of the present study was the identification of farming practices in the production of turkeys for human consumption, and their ranking in terms of the occupational probability of exposure to antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria, for farm workers. We gathered evidence and data from scientific literature, on risk factors for AMR in farmers, and on the prevalence of those hazards across farming phases. We administered semi-structured interviews to public and private veterinarians in Northern Italy, to obtain detailed information on turkey farming phases, and on working practices. Data were then integrated into a semi-quantitative Failure Modes and Effect Analysis (FMEA). Those working practices, which are characterized by direct contact with numerous animals, and which are carried out frequently, with rare use of personal protection devices resulted as associated with the greatest probability of exposure to AMR. For methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), these included vaccination and administration of any individual therapy, and removal and milling of litter, given the exposure of farmers to high dust level. Indeed, levels of occupational exposure to MRSA are enhanced by its transmission routes, which include direct contact with animal, as well as airborne transmission. Level of exposure to extended spectrum beta lactamase (ESBL) is more strictly associated with direct contact and the oral-fecal route. Consequently, exposure to ESBL resulted and associated with the routinely tipping over of poults turned on their back, and with the individual administration of therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marta Bottino
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, 10124 Turin, Italy.
| | - Ilary Millet
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, 10124 Turin, Italy.
| | - Elisa Martello
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, 10124 Turin, Italy.
| | - Francesca Zaltron
- Department of Law and Political, Economic and Social Sciences, University of Eastern Piedmont, 15121 Alessandria, Italy.
| | - Anna Rosa Favretto
- Department of Law and Political, Economic and Social Sciences, University of Eastern Piedmont, 15121 Alessandria, Italy.
| | - Nicoletta Vonesch
- Department of Medicine, Epidemiology, Occupational Hygiene and the Environment, National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL), 00078 Monte Porzio Catone (Rome), Italy.
| | - Paola Tomao
- Department of Medicine, Epidemiology, Occupational Hygiene and the Environment, National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL), 00078 Monte Porzio Catone (Rome), Italy.
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