1,720,999 research outputs found
Le principali malattie infettive emergenti degli ultimi decenni.
No full textNell’ambito delle grandi conquiste dell’umanità,il XIX e XX secolo, ed in particolare gli anni a noi più vicini, devono essere ricordati per gli straordinari progressi sulla conoscenza delle malattie infettive che hanno rappresentato per millenni la principale causa di malattia e morte per l’uomo.
Infatti ad opera della batteriologia, ed in particolare dei cosiddetti “cacciatori di microbi”, ossia scienziati, ricercatori, studiosi che con pochi mezzi a disposizione e rischiando esiti negativi (basti citare Jenner, Pasteur, Koch, ecc.) per la maggior parte delle malattie infettive sono stati scoperti gli agenti eziologici. Successivamente, grazie alla messa a punto di vaccini efficaci ed alla scoperta degli antibiotici, unitamente al miglioramento generalizzato delle condizioni di vita, milioni di persone sono state salvate permettendo la diminuzione dell’incidenza e della mortalità per malattie infettive quali il vaiolo, la tubercolosi, il colera, la poliomielite, la difterite, l’influenza ecc.
Gli anni del ‘900 erano iniziati con una progressiva scomparsa delle malattie infettive, ma una modifica sostanziale della catena epidemiologica influenzata da complesse interazioni tra ospite agente patogeno e ambiente fisico,ecologico e sociale ha fatto emergere nuove malattie.
Secondo l’OMS si considerano “malattie infettive emergenti” quelle dovute ad infezioni di nuova identificazione e, quindi precedentemente sconosciute, che possono riguardare la sanità pubblica a livello locale e internazionale.
Nel 1976, in occasione di un convegno dell’American Legion negli Stati Uniti, si verificarono 182 casi di polmonite con 34 decessi attribuiti ad un microrganismo patogeno prima sconosciuto,la Legionella.
Negli anni ’80, fu rilevata una forma di immunodeficienza acquisita dovuta all’HIV, virus responsabile dell’AIDS: la trasmissione all’uomo si deve ad un virus che ha compiuto, come nel 2003 per la SARS (Sindrome Acuta Respiratoria Grave), nel 2005 per l’influenza aviaria (H5 N1) e più recentemente nel 2010 per l’influenza suina (H1 N1), il cosiddetto “salto di specie” dall’animale all’uomo.
Nella malattia di Creutzfeld-Jacob, o malattia della “mucca pazza” (BSE Encefalopatia Spongiforme Bovina), la trasmissione avviene per via alimentare attraverso un prione.
Negli ultimi anni virus che si diffondevano soltanto in alcune aree del mondo hanno mostrato la capacità di emergere e di diffondersi a livello mondiale: in Italia nell’estate del 2007 si sono verificati casi di Chickungunya, virus trasmesso dalla zanzara tigre.
Da quanto esposto è opportuno attuare strategie di prevenzione poichè la storia dell’umanità è sempre stata funestata da epidemie e pandemie che ne hanno condizionato a volte pesantemente l’evoluzione ed il progresso.
Il nostro periodo storico, caratterizzato dalla globalizzazione, dispone di mezzi scientifici e tecnologici ad alto livello in grado di caratterizzare geneticamente gli agenti patogeni e di fare diagnosi precoce nell’uomo.
L’informazione permette di affrontare coscientemente le situazioni di emergenza contenendo così paure ancestrali ed educando la popolazione ad un opportuno comportamento che ogni singola emergenza impone
Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak: What's going on
No full textThe current West African Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak was confirmed in March, 2014, and after months of slow, fragmented responses, the EVD has been recognized as a public health emergency of international concern.
The early diagnosis of the disease is difficult without laboratory testing, because its symptoms can be seen in many other infections. In the wake of international agencies advices, the Italian Ministry of Health, on October 7, 2014, released to the Healthcare Professional Workers (HPWs) the Protocol about the management of cases and contacts within the national territory.
Due to the increasing number of humanitarian groups and HPWs involved in the field, the probability to have new cases of contamination is higher than ever. Proven specific treatments against EVD are not yet available, however, a variety of compounds have been under testing. The most effective are select monoclonal antibodies that have a high neutralizing potential against epitopes of Ebola Virus. For facing the matter, it is important a comprehensive approach according to the recommendations proposed by the international agencies because no single institution or country has all the capacities to respond to a new and emerging inject ions disease
The human papillomavirus vaccination: a review of the cost-effectiveness studies
No full textBackground. The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the
most common sexually transmitted viruses, its infection with certain
subtypes is the primary cause of cervical cancer. Several countries conducted
specific cost-effectiveness evaluations toward HPV vaccination.
The constant growth of healthcare demand, in an economic context
characterized by limited resources, requires that the decision-making
process be based on the comparison of alternative choices. This study
offers an overview of the published cost-effectiveness studies about
HPV vaccination.
Bibliographic Retrieval Method. The research was performed on
the scientific databases MEDLINE and SCOPUS in order to find out
journal articles focused on cost-effectiveness of the HPV vaccination.
The rational for any exclusion criteria of data in the search is mainly
due to lack of relevance to cost-effectiveness information.
Results. The literature results were presented according to different
groups of countries worldwide. A total of 24 articles were finally
retrieved. In spite of the different models and assumptions, most
studies showed the cost-effectiveness of vaccination; only two studies
considered the vaccination as not cost effective.
Conclusion. HPV vaccination may determine a cost reduction for
country-specific National Health Systems. However, the cost-effectiveness
of universal HPV vaccination still remains an open debate. It is
important that economic analysis of universal HPV vaccination adopts
large perspectives than is the case with the existing literature, focusing
on the critical issues that still exist in many areas. Reducing cost,
increasing duration of efficacy, and integrating vaccines into existing
screening and treatment procedures in a cost-effective manner are of
crucial importance even as they are a major challenge.Background. The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the
most common sexually transmitted viruses, its infection with certain
subtypes is the primary cause of cervical cancer. Several countries conducted
specific cost-effectiveness evaluations toward HPV vaccination.
The constant growth of healthcare demand, in an economic context
characterized by limited resources, requires that the decision-making
process be based on the comparison of alternative choices. This study
offers an overview of the published cost-effectiveness studies about
HPV vaccination.
Bibliographic Retrieval Method. The research was performed on
the scientific databases MEDLINE and SCOPUS in order to find out
journal articles focused on cost-effectiveness of the HPV vaccination.
The rational for any exclusion criteria of data in the search is mainly
due to lack of relevance to cost-effectiveness information.
Results. The literature results were presented according to different
groups of countries worldwide. A total of 24 articles were finally
retrieved. In spite of the different models and assumptions, most
studies showed the cost-effectiveness of vaccination; only two studies
considered the vaccination as not cost effective.
Conclusion. HPV vaccination may determine a cost reduction for
country-specific National Health Systems. However, the cost-effectiveness
of universal HPV vaccination still remains an open debate. It is
important that economic analysis of universal HPV vaccination adopts
large perspectives than is the case with the existing literature, focusing
on the critical issues that still exist in many areas. Reducing cost,
increasing duration of efficacy, and integrating vaccines into existing
screening and treatment procedures in a cost-effective manner are of
crucial importance even as they are a major challenge
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
[School teachers' knowledge, attitudes and behaviors towards road safety: results from a multicenter cross-sectional study in Italy]
No full textThe aim of this study is to investigate knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of secondary school teachers towards traffic safety behaviors. The study is concerning data coming from a cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaires filled in by school teachers of Lazio and Campania regions. 262 teachers entered into the study. Among the scooter holders, 69.2% did use helmet; 95.8% of people who drives car uses seatbelts. The scooter and bicycle helmet is considered useful for 99.6% and 57.4% of participants. The accident rate depends on the means of transportation used: 10.8% and 19% for bicycle and scooter riders, respectively, and 44.6%for the car drivers. Regarding injuries using a bicycle, teachers with less than 40 years are less involved in accidents compared to the over 40 years (OR = 0.19; p = 0.05), as well as teachers who are married (OR = 0.16; p = 0.03) compared to the other group (single/widowed/divorced). Car accidents involve less frequently women (OR = 0.60; p = 0.05) compared to males. Road accidents prevention is part of the health priorities indicated in the National Health Plan, the National Prevention Plan and Regional Prevention Plans. School teachers' can play an important role in students' education on road safety, and there is the need to improve knowledge and behaviors in this field
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Osteoporotic distal femur fractures in the elderly: Peculiarities and treatment strategies
No full textDistal femur fractures account for 4-6% of osteoporosis related fractures of the femur in the elderly population. They represent a relevant cause of morbidity and mortality in the geriatric population with a reported 1-year mortality reaching 30%. Non-displaced fractures or even displaced fractures in patients with high operative risk can be treated conservatively. However, operative treatment is the most widely accepted management option for displaced fractures. The advantage resides in early mobilization and weight-bearing, reducing risks related with a prolonged immobilization when compared with conservative treatment. On the other hand, the intrinsic difficulty of fixing an osteoporotic bone is a major concern. The presence of osteosynthesis devices or prosthetic implants in the femur can make the surgical treatment more challenging, sometimes limiting therapeutic options. Aim of the present paper is to review the most recent literature about osteoporotic distal femur fractures in the elderly, including periprosthetic and other hardware related fractures, to highlight current evidence on management options and related results as a guide for the daily clinical practice. (www.actabiomedica.it)
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