Area Of North-east Italy Research Articles

Sharing the post-earthquake situation for emergency response management in transborder areas: The e-Atlas tool

Usually, the response after a disastrous event requires decision-makers in emergency operative rooms to quickly outline and understand the current post-event situation, for planning and defining strategies for a contextualized response. Moreover, in many cases, disastrous events affect cross-border territories and/or involve multiple organizations in responding to the demand generated by the event. These cases require a harmonized and coordinated response by all the institutions/subjects involved in emergency management. To address this challenge, this paper proposes the e-Atlas (emergency atlas) tool for showing and sharing information that embraces a response management perspective to explicitly support decision-makers in managing the criticalities of a post-earthquake situation. The e-Atlas has been designed and tested to: i) acquire sensible information for allowing decision-makers to understand in almost real-time the post-earthquake situational picture, and ii) share the representation of the situational picture among different users, allowing each of them to use it according to its specific requirements. Applications of the tool are illustrated, to show how it is used in a transborder context in the North-East area of Italy.

COVID-19 and its impact on acute coronary syndrome in-hospital epidemiology: a multifactorial analysis from a single-center Hospital in the north-east region of Italy

We analyze all possible, multifactorial correlations between coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and epidemiological in-hospital epidemiologic variations in ischemic heart disease burden. We developed a simple retrospective study surveying all acute coronary syndrome cases reporting an epidemiological analysis of a single-center University Italian Hospital located in the north-east area of Italy in the city of Gorizia, comparingdata collected in two months (February and March) about the definite diagnosis of myocardial infarction in the years 2019 and 2020 (COVID-19 peak exposure interval) respectively. We retrospectively analyzed data regarding the two months of February and March 2020 about admissions to our Intensive Cardiac Care Unit (ICCU) with a confirmed diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome. Differences among the two study periods were assessed using the χ2 test. Statistical significances were set at P<0.05. All analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS software version 24.0 (IBM Corp. Armonk, NY, USA). We showed a remarkable decrease of acute coronary syndrome cases diagnosed and admitted to our Intensive Cardiac Care Unit when comparing the interval period between February and March 2019 to the same months of 2020. This rate was significantly lower than either the rate during the earlier period in the same year [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.63 to 0.80; P<0.001]. We showed an overall decrease in diagnosis of acute coronary syndromes during the COVID-19 pandemic; we relate this amount decrease in diagnosis to general underuse of cardiologic public services leading to a reduced number of admissions for acute coronary syndrome cases and possibly undertreatment and death of out-of-hospital, silenced critical clinical cardiologic pictures due to a generalized fear of COVID-19 in-hospital contagion.

HPV genotypes distribution in Chlamydia trachomatis co-infection in a large cohort of women from north-east Italy.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) and Chlamydia trachomatis are pathogens with oncogenic potential associated with persistent infections. Epidemiological data on C. trachomatis infection status, C. trachomatis/HPV co-infection and the relationship between HPV genotypes in Italian women are only preliminary. The aim of the present study was to characterize the relationship between HPV genotypes and C. trachomatis in an extending cohort of asymptomatic immunocompetent women from an area of north-east Italy. A retrospective study was conducted using Luminex technology on cervical swabs from asymptomatic immunocompetent women, comprising 921 attending the prevention centre for the Cervical Cancer Program and 6214 who had been referred to the Sexually Transmitted Infections Center, with clinical indications of HPV and C. trachomatis infections. A quantitative real-time PCR was performed to assess chronic C. trachomatis infection by heat-shock protein 60 (Hsp60) gene expression. The overall prevalence of the investigated pathogens was 39 % (359/921) for HPV and 4 % (251/6214) for C. trachomatis. The Hsp60 gene was detected in 57 % of the women infected with C. trachomatis. HPV co-infection was present in 58 % of C. trachomatis-infected women. A high prevalence of co-infection was found in women with chronic C. trachomatis infection (68 %, P = 0.0002), especially in women ≤ 25 years (72 %) where HPV multiple infections were found in 78 % (P = 0.022). HPV genotype distribution showed that uncommon low-risk genotypes were associated with C. trachomatis. These results indicate a high frequency of co-detection of multiple HPV genotypes in chronically infected young women and suggest that the expression of the C. trachomatis Hsp60 gene may favour HPV infection.

Skeletonema marinoi (Bacillariophyceae) sensitivity to herbicides and effects of temperature increase on cellular responses to terbuthylazine exposure

The North East area of Italy is an intensively farmed area, where the use of herbicides has increased dramatically during the last years. Some of the most detected herbicides are triazine compounds, such as: simazine (SIM), terbuthylazine (TBA), its degradation product desethyl-terbuthylazine (D-TBA) and other herbicides, such as metolachlor (MET). In this paper, the sensitivity of the diatom Skeletonema marinoi to the most detected herbicides (TBA, D-TBA, SIM and MET) was preliminarily studied. All the pollutants tested significantly inhibited the diatom growth and photosynthetic efficiency (from the concentration of 15μgL−1) with the exception of TBA which had the strongest effects on S. marinoi starting from the concentration of 5μgL−1. Consequently, cellular physiological responses to TBA exposure (1, 5, 10, 20 and 30μgL−1) were further studied at increasing temperature conditions (15, 20 and 25°C). Inhibition of growth rate and photosynthetic efficiency was observed earlier and determined by lower TBA levels than those affecting cell growth. These responses were significantly enhanced at increasing temperature conditions when growth rates were higher than those measured at 15°C. Carbon cell content increased in the cultures exposed to high concentrations of TBA (from 20μgL−1) compared to the controls, especially at high temperatures. Cell chlorophyll significantly increased from the added concentration of 10μgL−1 of TBA at all the temperatures and, as a consequence, also the Chl:C ratio significantly increased. The C:N ratio followed the pattern of nitrate uptake and was characterized, at all the temperatures, by low values during the lag phase in cultures with 20 and 30μgL−1 of TBA; in these conditions, in fact, the nutrient in the medium was exhausted later then in the controls. Only cultures exposed to 30μgL−1 of TBA at 25°C, which stopped to take up nutrients earlier and could not increase chlorophyll levels, did not display any growth capacity. This study shows that S. marinoi is affected by TBA concentrations lower than those affecting some harmful flagellate species frequently observed in the Adriatic Sea. Thus, it raises the question of the combined effects of herbicides pollution and high temperature pressures on phytoplankton composition.

Genetic Variability and Geographic Typicality of Italian Former Prosecco Grape Variety Using PCR-Derived Molecular Markers

This study uses PCR-derived marker systems to investigate the extent and distribution of genetic variability of 80 Italian Prosecco accessions coming from Prosecco DOC area (north-east area of Italy). The studied samples include genotypes from Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia region. In order to verify the varietal identity of the samples, analyses based on 22 SSR loci were performed, and two grape varieties were found: Prosecco tondo and Prosecco lungo. In addition to microsatellite analysis, intra-varietal variability study was performed using AFLP, SAMPL, ISSR, and M-AFLP molecular markers. This molecular approach could discriminate different Prosecco tondo accessions coming from Treviso hills, from Veneto plain, from Friuli Venezia Giulia region, and from Padua hills (Serprina samples). As concerning Prosecco lungo variety, it was possible to discriminate molecularly the accessions from Veneto region and those from Friuli Venezia Giulia region. The molecular analysis allowed a distinction of the Prosecco genotypes on the basis of their geographic origins with plant-specific markers able to differentiate all Prosecco accessions. In this paper, the studied grape variety is termed Prosecco and not Glera (which is the present name) because the sampled vineyards were established many years ago when the name of the variety was Prosecco.

Quality of Life in Adult Celiac Disease in a Mountain Area of Northeast Italy

The aim of this study was to evaluate the health-related quality of life in patients diagnosed as having celiac disease and to study the factors involved in its impairment of quality of life. We conducted a cross-sectional study in a randomized sample of patients with celiac disease by administering the Celiac Disease Questionnaire distributed by mail. The association between the quality of life and sociodemographic and clinical variables was verified by means of a stepwise multiple regression model. One hundred ninety-one questionnaires were returned (participation rate = 63.66%), and 187 were analyzed. Women comprised 78.61% of the participants, and the median age was 36 years, 10 months. The mean summary total score in the Celiac Disease Questionnaire was 154.53 (possible range 1-196; higher scores equate with higher quality of life), and the score was lower in the subscale of emotion. Women scored significantly lower than men. Participants with the symptomatic disease scored significantly lower than the nearly asymptomatic patients in the total score and in all the subscales. Symptomatic patients need interventions for improving their quality of life, in particular psychological support.

Pandemic influenza A (H1N1v) infection in pediatric population: a multicenter study in a North-East area of Italy

Background -Data on clinical presentation, morbidity and mortality of 2009 pandemic influenza virus (H1N1v) in paediatric population are still emerging; most of the data so far available came from selected cohorts of children admitted to tertiary care paediatric hospitals.Methods -An observational study involving all the 19 Divisions of Paediatrics of the Veneto Region was conducted with the aim of investigating into the demographic and clinical characteristics, the treatment, the outcome and the risk factors for disease severity of H1N1v infection occurring in children.Results -Two hundred children, median age of 4.15 years (range 0-15) were enrolled from the last week of October till the first week of January 2010 for an overall hospitalization rate of 23/100.000. At least one underlying medical condition was found in 44% of patients. Fever and cough were the most frequent symptoms (93% and 65% respectively). 11 patients (6%) were admitted to a PICU and 5 (2.5%) required mechanical ventilation. Antiviral therapy was administered in 103 patients (51.5%) Death occurred in 2 patients (1%); both had severe prior medical conditions. Pre-existing neurologic diseases (OR 7.82; 95%CI: 1.15-53.34), the presence of hypoxemia (OR 10.47; 95%CI: 2.12-51.70) and anemia (Haemoglobin < 10 g/dL) (OR 14.15; 95%CI: 2.36-84.64) were risk factor for Intensive Care Unit admission.Conclusions -This observational study in a given area of North-East Italy confirms the rather favourable prognosis of children with influenza A H1N1 (2009). Pre-existing conditions, and which is new, significant anemia, are risk factors for a complicated course.

Dentists' Perceptions, Attitudes, Knowledge, and Experience about Child Abuse and Neglect in Northeast Italy

The aim of this study was to analyze dentists' perceptions, attitudes, knowledge and experience about child abuse and neglect (CAN) in an area of northeast Italy and the factors affecting the recognition and reporting of CAN cases. One hundred six dentists working in both public and private sectors in the provinces of Padua and Treviso were interviewed by a single operator. Descriptive and assessing association analyses were carried out. Dentists' perceptions about CAN is low, and these professionals have a poor attitude toward confronting it according to the code of conduct and laws. Available information and education are also poor Education affects the detection and the reporting of CAN cases in a relevant way. Female gender is another factor that affects the attitude and the perception of CAN. The results, which are consistent with other studies, show that there is a general lack of knowledge about CAN that prevents dentists from detecting and identifying suspected cases. Despite its frequent occurrence among dental patients, neglect is the least known and identified type of abuse. Education is the critical element in enhancing the ability of professionals to detect cases.

Asthma is not a common cause of severe chronic respiratory failure in non-smokers: ALOT study

Little is known about the long-term natural history of asthma and the long-term clinical and functional consequences in non-smoking patients. From a functional point of view, non-smoking asthmatic patients may have a significantly greater decline in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) compared with non-asthmatic subjects and may develop chronic irreversible (fixed) airflow limitation. This has been related to the physiological consequences of chronic airway inflammation causing airway remodeling. However these lesions are all potentially reversible and there is little radiological evidence indicating lung destruction (pulmonary emphysema), which is potentially irreversible, in non-smoking asthmatics. Severe chronic respiratory failure is the major cause of mortality in patients with severe chronic lung diseases. Domiciliary long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) is an accepted treatment for patients with severe chronic respiratory failure. Our reasoning, therefore, was that if asthma is a cause of severe chronic respiratory failure in non-smokers we should be able to find non-smoking asthmatics within a large population of patients on LTOT. The aim of our study (Asthma and Long-term Oxygen Therapy, "ALOT") was to investigate the prevalence of non-smoking asthmatics in patients on LTOT in a multi-centre, cross-sectional study. Between June and September 2003 we screened all subjects on long-term domiciliary oxygen therapy in three different hospitals in the North-East area of Italy (within the provinces of Ferrara and Bologna). Taken collectively, we have found one-hundred and eighty-four patients on LTOT. We have reviewed their clinical data (age, sex, smoking, history and physical examination, arterial blood gas analysis, pulmonary function). 114 patients (all smokers) fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for COPD. Seventy patients (all smokers) had other diseases. We were unable to find any non-smokers in our screened population of subjects on long-term domiciliary oxygen therapy. Furthermore, there was no past history of asthma and/or acute wheezing episodes in either of the patient groups. This data suggests that asthma is an uncommon cause of severe chronic respiratory failure necessitating long-term domiciliary oxygen therapy in non-smokers and supports the current consensus that asthma and COPD are different diseases with differing stages of severity and the concept that long-term avoidance of active smoking is fundamental for the prevention of severe chronic respiratory failure.

The spectrum of eating disorders: prevalence in an area of Northeast Italy

This study aims at exploring the prevalence of eating disorders in a sample of adolescents living in a community in Northeast Italy. It takes into account age and gender differences in a mixed male–female sample of 1000 school-aged adolescents corresponding to 10% of the young population aged 15–19 years of the district. The study was based on self-reported questionnaires, including the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT), the Bulimic Investigatory Test of Edinburgh (BITE), and the Body Attitudes Test (BAT). The cases at risk were identified on the basis of the suggested validated cutoff for a clinically relevant syndrome. Females scored higher than males at all ages, body mass index levels, and socio-economic status levels. We found 100 females (15.8%) and 8 males (2.8%) scoring higher than the suggested cutoff for caseness on the EAT (cutoff=30); 26 females (4.1%) and 1 male (0.3%) scoring higher than the suggested cutoff for caseness on the BITE (cutoff=20); 287 females (45.5%) and 24 males (8.6%) scoring higher than the suggested cutoff for caseness on the BAT (cutoff=36). We did not find any gradient between age and socioeconomic status and the scores on the eating disorder inventories. BAT scores predicted with sharp precision the presence of an abnormal psychometric pattern on the EAT and the BITE. The prevalence of psychometric patterns that indicate an eating disorder seems in our adolescent sample higher than those reported in previous similar studies carried out in the North of Italy. The use of self-report inventories is a limitation in drawing definitive conclusions on the rates of eating disorder in this area; however, bodily dissatisfaction seems to be psychologically linked to abnormal eating patterns.

Social desirability and eating disorders. A community study of an Italian school-aged sample.

To explore the links between social desirability and eating disorders in a sample of adolescents in a north-east area of Italy. A mixed male-female sample of 1000 school-aged adolescents, corresponding to 10% of the young population aged 15-19 years living in the district, were investigated with self-reported questionnaires, including the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT), the Bulimic Investigatory Test of Edinburgh (BITE), the Body Attitudes Questionnaire (BAT), and an Italian version of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MC-SDS). Females scored higher than males at all eating disorder inventories. In both genders there was a negative relationship (in all cases P < 0.01) between scores at the eating disorder inventories and those at the MC-SDS. When analysing eating disorder "caseness", as measured by cut-off, "cases" reported significantly lower scores than "non-cases" at the MC-SDS in both genders. Personality traits measured by the MC-SDS, such as defensiveness, self-esteem, and dependence from approval, might contribute to the development of abnormal eating patterns at risk of eating disorders.

Epidemiology of myasthenia gravis in a north-east area of Italy: II: C. Angelini, G.F. Micaglio, V. Sartori. University of Padova, Regional Neuromuscular Center, Padova. M.P. Riviera, G. Ferrari, E. Fincati, G. Tomelleri, Verona. F. Valassi, Gorizia. C. Marchini, Udine, G. Lovaste, Trento. P. Parisen-Toldin, Vicenza. R. Zanetti, Mirano. E. Pasinato, Bassano. G. Toffolo, Feltre. S. Guzzon, Monselice. A. Todros, M.

Epidemiology of myasthenia gravis in a north-east area of Italy: II: C. Angelini, G.F. Micaglio, V. Sartori. University of Padova, Regional Neuromuscular Center, Padova. M.P. Riviera, G. Ferrari, E. Fincati, G. Tomelleri, Verona. F. Valassi, Gorizia. C. Marchini, Udine, G. Lovaste, Trento. P. Parisen-Toldin, Vicenza. R. Zanetti, Mirano. E. Pasinato, Bassano. G. Toffolo, Feltre. S. Guzzon, Monselice. A. Todros, M.