Archaic figurines of women holding a dove recovered from in and around the Thesmophorion of S. Francesco Bisconti at Morgantina (Sicily) can be associated with a fragmentary terracotta throne now in ...Vienna. It is possible that this throne was made for one or both of the famous acrolithic sculptures that represented the goddesses Demeter and Kore, from the same sanctuary. The strong East Greek influence on Sicilian archaic sculpture is noted, as well as the possibility that the acrolithic group and the throne may have been made locally with the participation of itinerant artists. Both the throne and the acrolithic sculptures may represent a built, rather than a glyptic, approach to sculpture making, which would anticipate the achievements of the Classical period in chryselephantine sculpture on a much larger scale.
The study aimed to investigate the role of social activities, social networks as well as socioeconomic status (SES) in influencing some aspects of cognitive functioning (immediate and delayed verbal ...recall tests and semantic verbal fluency) in elderly people over time. This analysis was conducted on a sample of 31,954 healthy elderly people (58% female, mean age 65.54 ± 9.74) interviewed in both the fourth and sixth waves of the Survey on Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), in 2011 and 2015. A structural equation model with measurement component was used to assess the relationship between cognitive function, social life and SES over time. Multilevel ordinal logistic regression was applied to explain satisfaction with social network in relation to different types of social network across countries. Being equipped with good cognitive skills did not seem to be predictive of their maintenance over time (latent coefficient = 0.24,
p
value = 0.34). On the contrary, the subject’s social and participatory life, understood as satisfying one’s social network and engaging in diversified non-professional social activities, seemed to play a crucial role in the maintenance of cognitive functions in the elderly (latent coefficient = 3.5,
p
value = 0.03). This research suggests that a socially active and participatory lifestyle mitigates the effects of the physiological process of brain aging.
One of the most effective smoking cessation strategies involves care and advice from nurses due to their role in the front line of treatment. Lack of education on smoking cessation counselling may be ...detrimental, and adequate smoking cessation training during healthcare studies is needed.
The study aimed to examine nurses' attitudes, belief, and knowledge of smoking cessation counselling; knowledge of the health risks associated with smoking was also assessed.
A cross-sectional survey on 77 nurses from the nursing staff of Cardiology, Cardiac Intensive Care and Surgical Oncology Units of two tertiary hospitals.
Cronbach's alpha was calculated to assess the questionnaire's internal consistency, and three composite indicators were computed to assess the three dimensions of the questionnaire (knowledge, attitude, belief). Furthermore, a stepwise linear regression model was used to predict the attitude to be engaged in smoking cessation counselling, related to demographic and behavioural variables, as well as knowledge and belief indicators. The analysis was stratified by Unit.
Nurses from three Units had a significantly different attitude score (2.55 ± 0.93 for Cardiology, 2.49 ± 0.72 for Cardiac Intensive Care and 2.09 ± 0.59 for Surgical Oncology Unit) (
-value = 0.0493). Analogously, knowledge of smoking cessation counselling was reported to be higher for Cardiac Intensive Care Unit nurses (3.19 ± 0.70) compared to Surgical Oncology nurses (2.73 ± 0.74) (
-value = 0.021). At the multivariable analysis, attitude towards smoking cessation counselling was significantly related to the nurse's belief about counselling, for Cardiology staff (coeff = 0.74, 95% CI 0.32-1.16,
-value = 0.002) and for Surgical Oncology staff (coeff = 0.37, 95% CI 0.01-0.72,
-value = 0.042).
Incorporation of smoking cessation interventions in nurses' and nursing managers' education could improve the nursing staff's attitude, belief, and knowledge regarding smoking cessation counselling, which would lead to the inclusion of tobacco prevention and cessation as an integral part of patient care.
The main purpose of this longitudinal study was to elucidate the impact of external job mobility, due to a change of employer, on mental health.
A cohort of Belgian employees from the IDEWE ...occupational medicine registry was followed-up for twenty-seven years, from 1993 to 2019. The use of drugs for neuropsychological diseases was considered as an objective indicator of mental health. The covariates were related to demographic, physical, behavioural characteristics, occupational and work-related risks. Propensity scores were calculated with a Cox regression model with time-varying covariates. The PS matching was used to eliminate the systematic differences in subjects' characteristics and to balance the covariates' distribution at every time point.
The unmatched sample included 11,246 subjects, with 368 (3.3%) that changed their job during the baseline year and 922 (8.2%) workers that left their employer during the follow-up. More than half of the matched sample were males, were aged less than 38 years old, did not smoke, were physically active, and normal weighted, were not exposed to shift-work, noise, job strain or physical load. A strong association between job mobility and neuropsychological treatment was found in the matched analysis (HR = 2.065, 95%CI = 1.397-3.052, P-value < 0.001) and confirmed in the sensitivity analysis (HR of 2.012, 95%CI = 1.359-2.979, P-value < 0.001). Furthermore, it was found a protective role of physical activity and a harmful role of job strain on neuropsychological treatment.
Our study found that workers with external job mobility have a doubled risk of treatment with neuropsychological medication, compared to workers without job mobility.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Recently, the synaptic proteins neurogranin (Ng) and α-synuclein (α-Syn) have attracted scientific interest as potential biomarkers for synaptic dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases. In this ...study, we measured the CSF Ng and α-Syn concentrations in patients affected by AD (n = 69), non-AD neurodegenerative disorders (n-AD = 50) and non-degenerative disorders (n-ND, n = 98). The concentrations of CSF Ng and α-Syn were significantly higher in AD than in n-AD and n-ND. Moreover, the Aβ42/Ng and Aβ42/α-Syn ratios showed statistically significant differences between groups and discriminated AD patients from n-AD patients, better than Ng or α-Syn alone. Regression analyses showed an association of higher Ng concentrations with MMSE < 24, pathological Aβ 42/40 ratios, pTau, tTau and the ApoEε4 genotype. Aβ 42/Ng was associated with MMSE < 24, an AD-related FDG-PET pattern, the ApoEε4 genotype, pathological Aβ 42 levels and Aβ 42/40 ratios, pTau, and tTau. Moreover, APO-Eε4 carriers showed higher Ng concentrations than non-carriers. Our results support the idea that the Aβ 42/Ng ratio is a reliable index of synaptic dysfunction/degeneration able to discriminate AD from other neurological conditions.
To date, there are very few epidemiologic studies on caries disease in 6-7 year old children living in Sicily (Southern Italy). The first permanent molar (FPM) is the most commonly affected tooth in ...this target population, and a one-unit increase in the number of decayed FPMs is predictive of caries in other teeth and in adulthood. The primary aim of this research is to estimate the prevalence of caries in 6-7 year old schoolchildren living in Palermo and, as a secondary aim, to estimate the prevalence of affected FPMs. It was designed as a cluster cross-sectional survey on 995 children from 16 schools, selected based on their geographical location, in one of the eight city districts. Caries data were recorded using the International Caries Detection and Assessment System for each tooth surface. The relation between socio-economic status, behavioural determinants, and clinical information and the number of teeth with initial caries (IC), moderate caries (MC), or extensive caries (SC) was analysed through the ordinal logistic regression. Among the 995 schoolchildren, 662 (66.5%) had at least one lesion and 742 (74.6%) had FPMs. Of the latter, 238 (32.0%) were affected by IC, 86 (11.6%) were affected by MC, and only 3 (0.4%) were affected by SC. During multivariable analysis, there was evidence of an increased risk of MC and SC related to the deprivation of the district in which the children lived and went to school, as well as to the protective role of parental education and employment. The same significant determinants were found for IC and MC FPMs. The study showed the important role of socio-economic determinants, unhealthy behaviours, and social deprivation related to the increased risk of moderate and extensive caries in 6-7 year old schoolchildren. Investigating this target population is very important, as early development of caries in FPMs may have serious consequences in the prognostics of oral health in an adult.
The aim of this study was to evaluate HPV status in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), as coded by the latest classifications and applying a combination of detection methods used in clinical ...practice. Forty-two patients with suspect OSCC were consecutively recruited. Patients underwent an incisional biopsy for histological OSCC diagnosis and HPV identification by PCR DNA and p16 IHC. All lesions were coded by the latest ICD-0-3.2 site/histology classifications, as proposed for OSCC by the National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Programs. Moreover, a comparative analysis review, critically evaluated by the same site-coded systems and HPV detection methods, was performed. In 40 confirmed cases of OSCC, the frequency of HPV infection was 10% (4/40). Among positive patients, two cases were PCR DNA/p16 IHC positive (high-risk HPV 51, high-risk HPV 67), two cases were PCR DNA positive/p16 IHC negative (high-risk HPV 31 + 68, high-risk HPV 66). Applying the latest site coding systems for OSCC, the frequency of HPV infection in this study and in similar, reviewed investigations was low (from 3.3% to 12.5%). These results suggested no significant HPV role in oral carcinogenesis, particularly where an updated site-coded classification of OSCCs (categorically excluding the base of the tongue) had been performed.
: Reinfections occur as a response to natural infections wanes and novel strains of SARS-CoV-2 emerge. The present research explored the correlation between sex, age, COVID-19 vaccination, prior ...infection hospitalization, and SARS-CoV-2 reinfection in Sicily, Italy.
: A population-based retrospective cohort study was articulated using the vaccination flux from a regional registry and the Sicilian COVID-19 monitoring system of the Italian Institute of Health. Only adult Sicilians were included in the study, and hazard ratios were calculated using Cox regression.
: Partial vaccination provided some protection (adj-HR: 0.92), when compared to unvaccinated individuals; furthermore, reinfection risk was reduced by full vaccination (adj-HR: 0.43), and the booster dose (adj-HR: 0.41). Males had a lower risk than females of reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 (adj-HR: 0.75). Reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 was diminished by hospitalization during the first infection (adj-HR: 0.78). Reinfection risk was higher among those aged 30-39 and 40-49 compared to those aged 18-29, whereas those aged 60-69, 70-79, and 80+ were statistically protected. Reinfection was significantly more frequent during the wild-type-Alpha, Delta, Delta-Omicron, and Omicron dominance/codominance waves compared to the wild type.
: This study establishes a solid base for comprehending the reinfection phenomenon in Sicily by pinpointing the most urgent policy hurdles and identifying some of the major factors. COVID-19 vaccination, one of the most effective public health tools, protects against reinfection, mostly caused by the Omicron strain. Elderly and hospitalized people's lower risk suggests stricter PPE use.
With the ageing population, equitable access to medical care has proven to be paramount for the effective and efficient management of all diseases. Healthcare access can be hindered by cost barriers ...for drugs or exams, long waiting lists or difficult access to the place where the needed healthcare service is provided. The aim of this paper is to investigate whether the probability of facing one of these barriers varies among individuals with different socio-economic status and care needs, controlling for geographical variability.
The sample for this study included 9629 interviews with Italian individuals, aged 15 and over, from the second wave (2015) of the European Health Interview Survey, which was conducted in all EU Member States. To model barriers to healthcare, two-level variance components of logistic regression models with a nested structure given by the four Italian macro-areas were considered.
Of the barriers considered in this study, only two were found to be significantly associated with healthcare utilization. Specifically, they are long waiting lists for specialist service accessibility (adjOR = 1.20, 95% CI (1.07; 1.35)) and very expensive exams for dental visit accessibility (adjOR = 0.84, 95% CI (0.73; 0.96)). Another important result was the evidence of an increasing north-south gradient for all of the considered barriers.
In Italy, healthcare access is generally guaranteed for all of the services, except for specialist and dental visits that face a waiting time and financial barriers. However, barriers to healthcare were differentiated by income and sex. The north-south gradient for healthcare utilization could be explained through the existing differences in organizational characteristics of the several regional healthcare services throughout Italy.
Introduction
Clinical presentation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in old adults from Southern Italy is little known. This study aims to investigate the ...mortality risk related to risk factors, therapy and clinical course and to suggest prognostic indicators based on day-to-day follow-up of clinical and laboratory findings.
Material and methods
It was designed as a retrospective longitudinal cohort study of adult SARS-CoV-2 patients admitted at Partinico COVID Hospital in Palermo, Southern Italy. Patients were recruited between 4 March and 25 April and followed up until 31 May 2020, day-to-day until death or hospital discharge. Clinical data, laboratory tests and treatment data were extracted from medical records and epidemiologic information was obtained by clinical history and the medical interview.
Results
Forty-seven patients (median age = 75 IQR: 59.50–86.00) were followed up during a 87 days observation period, accounting for a total of 1,035 person days. At the end of follow-up, 28 (60%) patients were discharged and 19 (40%) died, so that the estimated incidence density rate was 0.018 deaths per day (18 SARS-CoV-2-related deaths per 1,000 patient days). Diabetes (HR = 8.13, 95% CI: 1.91–34.67), chronic kidney failure (HR = 5.86, 95% CI: 1.36–25.21), dementia (HR = 7.84, 95% CI: 1.80–34.20), and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio > 7 (HR = 10.37, 95% CI: 2.24–48.14) were found as significant prognostic factors.
Conclusions
The joint evaluation of dementia, diabetes, chronic kidney failure and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio showed an optimal prognostic value already in the first week of follow-up. The day-to-day follow-up provides essential information for clinical monitoring and treatment of the disease in a hospital setting and improves the disease’s home management, especially for older patients with frailty.
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