Objectives:
The study aimed to assess and compare the global development in six-month-old infants before and during the pandemic restrictive social distancing measures.
Methods:
This cross-sectional ...nested study involved infants assessed through the Griffiths Scales of Child Development (GSCD) between September 2019 and April 2021. Infants were classified in a pre-COVID or a COVID group, considering the evaluation date and the restrictive measures in place. GSCD subscales and General Development Scores (GDS) were calculated and compared.
Results:
One hundred and four healthy term-born infants were evaluated. GDS in the COVID group (n:70; median: 94; IQR: 90–100) appeared significantly lower than in the pre-COVID group (n:34; median: 98; IQR: 97–103;
p
< 0.001). Language and personal-social-emotional subareas scores appeared the most affected. A decreasing trend of GDS along with the severity of restriction was observed.
Conclusion:
A reduction in infant development scores was observed during pandemic social distancing. Further studies are needed to systematize these findings and to address effective public health policies for infants and families during long-term forced isolation periods.
Abstract Introduction Different irrigation systems have been developed to improve the efficacy and distribution of the irrigants. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of conventional ...endodontic needle irrigation with other irrigant delivery and/or agitation systems on sealer penetration into dentinal tubules. Methods Fifty single-rooted teeth with round-shaped root canals were distributed in 5 homogeneous groups characterized by the different cleansing system used: conventional endodontic needle irrigation, EndoActivator, Irrisafe, Self-Adjusting File, and EndoVac. After instrumentation, all teeth were filled by Thermafil obturators and rhodamine B dye labeled TopSeal sealer. Teeth were transversally sectioned at 2-, 5-, and 7-mm levels from the apex and observed under confocal laser scanning microscope. Maximum, mean, and percentage of sealer penetration inside tubules around the root canal were measured. Moreover, the integrity of the sealer layer perimeter was evaluated. Results No significant differences both in mean ( p > .05) and in maximum penetration depth ( p > .05) were observed among groups, whereas both parameters showed an increased trend within each group from the 2- to the 7-mm level from apex. Similarly, the percentage of penetration around the root canal wall did not differ among groups ( p > .05) and showed an increasing trend within each group from the apical to the coronal portion of the canal. Conclusions Sealer penetration into dentinal tubules is not affected by the irrigant delivery and/or agitation systems studied. Thermafil with TopSeal technique achieves complete sealer perimeter integrity in all groups.
Prompt identification of bloodstream pathogens is essential for optimal management of patients. Significant changes in analytical methods have improved the turnaround time for laboratory diagnosis. ...Less attention has been paid to the time elapsing from blood collection to incubation and to its potential effect on recovery of pathogens. We evaluated the performance of blood cultures collected under typical hospital conditions in relation to the length of their pre-analytical time.
We carried out a large retrospective study including 50,955 blood cultures collected, over a 30-month period, from 7,035 adult septic patients. Cultures were accepted by the laboratory only during opening time (Mon-Fri: 8am-4pm; Sat: 8am-2pm). Samples collected outside laboratory hours were stored at room temperature at clinical wards. All cultures were processed by automated culture systems. Day and time of blood collection and of culture incubation were known for all samples.
A maximum pre-analytical interval of 2 hours is recommended by guidelines. When the laboratory was open, 57% of cultures were processed within 2 h. When the laboratory was closed, 4.9% of cultures were processed within 2 h (P<0.001). Samples collected when the laboratory was closed showed pre-analytical times significantly longer than those collected when laboratory was open (median time: 13 h and 1 h, respectively, P<0.001). The prevalence of positive cultures was significantly lower for samples collected when the laboratory was closed compared to open (11% vs 13%, P<0.001). The probability of a positive result decreased of 16% when the laboratory was closed (OR:0.84; 95%CI:0.80-0.89, P<0.001). Further, each hour elapsed from blood collection to incubation resulted associated with a decrease of 0.3% (OR:0.997; 95%CI:0.994-0.999, P<0.001) in the probability of a positive result.
Delayed insertions of cultures into automated systems was associated with lower detection rates, with potentially important consequences for patients. In each hospital setting the logistic factors able to shorten pre-analytical time should be carefully investigated and specifically targeted.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Natural and technological disasters and health emergencies are increasingly causing human and economic losses and disruptions. Disaster risk reduction can be effectively achieved only through a ...comprehensive approach aimed at connecting and integrating all the actors involved in forecasting, preventing, managing and mitigating disaster risk and its consequences. Furthermore, disaster risks can certainly be minimized by transferring to the relevant institutions and the general public valid and reliable knowledge on the nature, causes and effects of such disasters. A virtuous and effective approach to this matter is shown by the innovative Academic Upgrading Course on Territorial, Environmental and Health Emergencies (EmTASK) offered by the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italy), which has proved to be a powerful tool for sharing experiences and raising attention and awareness on disaster risk reduction needs within both the workforce involved in disaster management and the general public. Before introducing the EmTASK Course, this paper provides an overview of the environmental, socio-economic and health issues related to the main natural and technological disasters recently occurred in Italy, focusing also on epidemics including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Special attention is paid to the Emilia-Romagna region (northern Italy) that was hit by severe disasters in the last decade, caused by earthquakes, floods and landslides. The experience achieved in emergency and disaster management by local, regional and national institutions clearly shows that interdisciplinary policies and interventions, moving beyond traditional public health and emergency responses and activities, are needed to prevent or minimize the effects of disasters. New and innovative approaches, such as the EmTASK education and training initiative, should be pursued and enhanced, since they facilitate the integration of knowledge and experience achieved during past emergencies, and definitely raise preparedness to better cope with risks and related emergencies at different scales and levels.
•Territorial, environmental and health emergencies are recurrent worldwide and Italy is an outstanding example of this.•In the past decades Italy has experienced many natural, technological and health emergencies.•Emilia-Romagna (NItaly) has been hit by a strong earthquake in 2012, by a flood in 2014 and by the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.•Experience in disaster management has proved how interdisciplinary policies are needed to prevent the effects of disasters.•The innovative EmTASK Course promotes a culture of safety information based on an interdisciplinary training approach.
Movements towards midline are part of the age-adequate motor repertoire of infants. They develop contemporaneously to general movements, changing from occasional simple contact to proper midline ...motor patterns.
The aim of this study is to describe the ontogeny of movements towards midline in full term healthy infants.
Parents were asked to record their infant every second week, from term age to 22 weeks post-term.
25 healthy full-term infants.
Three main epochs of development were detected: in the first one, between birth and 4 weeks post-term, movements towards midline were occasional, apparently due to the dominant flexed posture of elbow and knees and the adducted posture of shoulders and hips. In the second epoch, from 4 to 8 weeks, the limbs movements towards midline markedly decreased. In the third one, after 8 weeks, movements towards midline increased again in frequency, first appearing in lower limbs then in upper limbs, first solely as contact and thereafter as manipulation. A temporal overlapping with the occurrence of intermittent or continual fidgety movements was detected.
Movements towards midline progressively change, through a defined timeline, in full term healthy infants. The increased knowledge about the normal age-adequate motor repertoire can help physicians in clinical assessment of high risk infants.
•Movements towards midline change during time from occasional simple contacts to more advanced midline motor patterns.•Movements towards midline increase in frequency first in lower limbs and then in upper limbs.•Movements towards midline develop contemporary to fidgety movements.
There is evidence in literature that the spread of COVID-19 can be influenced by various geographic factors, including territorial features, climate, population density, socioeconomic conditions, and ...mobility. The objective of the paper is to provide an updated literature review on geographical studies analysing the factors which influenced COVID-19 spreading. This literature review took into account not only the geographical aspects but also the COVID-19-related outcomes (infections and deaths) allowing to discern the potential influencing role of the geographic factors per type of outcome.
A total of 112 scientific articles were selected, reviewed and categorized according to subject area, aim, country/region of study, considered geographic and COVID-19 variables, spatial and temporal units of analysis, methodologies, and main findings.
Our literature review showed that territorial features may have played a role in determining the uneven geography of COVID-19; for instance, a certain agreement was found regarding the direct relationship between urbanization degree and COVID-19 infections. For what concerns climatic factors, temperature was the variable that correlated the best with COVID-19 infections. Together with climatic factors, socio-demographic ones were extensively taken into account. Most of the analysed studies agreed that population density and human mobility had a significant and direct relationship with COVID-19 infections and deaths. The analysis of the different approaches used to investigate the role of geographic factors in the spreading of the COVID-19 pandemic revealed that the significance/representativeness of the outputs is influenced by the scale considered due to the great spatial variability of geographic aspects. In fact, a more robust and significant association between geographic factors and COVID-19 was found by studies conducted at subnational or local scale rather than at country scale.
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•Physical and human geographic factors likely had an influence on COVID-19 spread.•In the literature reviewed, temperature is inversely related to COVID-19 infections.•Studies agree that solar UV radiation inversely correlates with COVID-19 outcomes.•Population density and human mobility directly correlate to COVID-19 outcomes.•The review follows a new approach integrating expertise in epidemiology and geography.
To investigate the effectiveness of SARS-CoV2 vaccination in preventing ordinary or intensive care unit (ICU) admissions and deaths among cases registered during a variant transitional pandemic phase ...in the geographically and culturally unique territory of the Province of Bolzano (South Tyrol), an Italian region with low vaccination coverage.
We collected data from 93,643 patients registered as positive for SARS-CoV-2 by health authorities during the winter of 2021-22. The data were analyzed retrospectively using descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression.
925 patients were hospitalized (0.99%), 89 (0.10%) were in intensive care, and 194 (0.21%) died. Vaccinated patients had a significantly lower risk of being hospitalized: adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR): 0.39; 95% CI: 0.33-0.46, ICU admission: aOR: 0.16; 95% CI: 0.09-0.29 and death: aOR: 0.41; 95% CI: 0.29-0.58. Similar risk reductions were also observed in booster-vaccinated patients, independent of sex, age, and predominant variant. Furthermore, the median length of stay (LoS) in the ICU was significantly longer for unvaccinated individuals compared to vaccinated subjects (9 vs. 6 days;
< 0.003).
Primary series vaccination and ongoing campaign booster doses were effective in preventing all severe disease-related outcomes and in reducing ICU Length of Stay, even during a transitional pandemic phase and in a unique territorial context.
Objectives:
To assess the association between students’ financial loss and depressive symptoms during the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and whether this association ...varied by countries having different levels of lockdown measures.
Methods:
This cross-sectional survey, conducted in spring 2020, included 91,871 students from 23 countries. Depressive symptoms were measured using the shortened Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale and information on lockdowns retrieved from the COVID-19 government response tracker. The association between financial loss and depressive symptoms was investigated estimating prevalence ratios (PR) with multilevel Poisson models.
Results:
Some 13% of students suffered financial loss during the lockdown and 52% had a relatively high depression score, with large between-countries differences. Minimally and maximally adjusted models showed a 35% (PR = 1.35, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.29–1.42) and 31% (PR = 1.31, 95% CI = 1.26–1.37) higher prevalence of depressive symptoms in students who lost economic resources compared to students with stable economic resources. No substantial differences in the association were found across countries.
Conclusion:
Depressive symptoms were more frequent among students who suffered financial loss during the pandemic. Policy makers should consider this issue in the implementation of COVID-19 mitigating measures.
Hyaluronic acid (HA) has several clinical applications (aesthetic surgery, dermatology, orthopaedics and ophtalmology). Following recent evidence, suggesting antimicrobial and antiviral properties ...for HA, we investigated its effects on 15 ATCC strains, representative of clinically relevant bacterial and fungal species. The in vitro system employed allowed to assess optical density of broth cultures as a measure of microbial load in a time-dependent manner. The results showed that different microbial species and, sometimes, different strains belonging to the same species, are differently affected by HA. In particular, staphylococci, enterococci,
Streptococcus mutans,
two
Escherichia coli
strains,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida glabrata
and
C. parapsilosis
displayed a HA dose-dependent growth inhibition
;
no HA effects were detected in
E. coli
ATCC 13768 and
C. albicans
;
S. sanguinis
was favoured by the highest HA dose. Therefore, the influence of HA on bacteria and fungi warrants further studies aimed at better establishing its relevance in clinical applications.
Phthalates are non-persistent chemicals largely used as plasticizers and considered ubiquitous pollutants with endocrine disrupting activity. The exposure during sensible temporal windows as ...pregnancy and early childhood, may influence physiological neurodevelopment.
The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between the urinary levels of phthalate metabolites in newborn and infants and the global development measured by the Griffiths Scales of Children Development (GSCD) at six months.
Longitudinal cohort study in healthy Italian term newborn and their mothers from birth to the first 6 months of life. Urine samples were collected at respectively 0 (T0), 3 (T3), 6 (T6) months, and around the delivery for mothers. Urine samples were analyzed for a total of 7 major phthalate metabolites of 5 of the most commonly used phthalates. At six months of age a global child development assessment using the third edition of the Griffith Scales of Child Development (GSCD III) was performed in 104 participants.
In a total of 387 urine samples, the seven metabolites analyzed appeared widespread and were detected in most of the urine samples collected at any time of sampling (66-100%). At six months most of the Developmental Quotients (DQs) falls in average range, except for the subscale B, which presents a DQ median score of 87 (85-95). Adjusted linear regressions between DQs and urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations in mothers at T0 and in infants at T0, T3 and T6 identified several negative associations both for infants' and mothers especially for DEHP and MBzP. Moreover, once stratified by children's sex, negative associations were found in boys while positive in girls.
Phthalates exposure is widespread, especially for not regulated compounds. Urinary phthalate metabolites were found to be associated to GSCD III scores, showing inverse association with higher phthalate levels related to lower development scores. Our data suggested differences related to the child's sex.
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