1,720,967 research outputs found
Immunization against Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (HBsAg) in a Cohort of Nursing Students Two Decades after Vaccination: Surprising Feedback
Full text linkHealth-care students can be exposed to biological risks during university training. The persistence of long-term immunogenicity against hepatitis B virus (HBV) was analyzed in a cohort of nursing students two decades after primary vaccination. A total of 520 students were enrolled at the University of Palermo and were evaluated for levels of anti-HBsAg antibodies. ThestudentswereexaminedduringthefirstyearoftheirDegreeCourseandwerecheckedtwoyears later. All students with anti-HBsAg <10 mIU/mL during their first or third year were boosted within onemonth. Theproportionofstudentsthatwerevaccinatedduringadolescenceshowinganti-HBsAg ≥10 mIU/mL was higher than that observed in students who were vaccinated during infancy (69% versus31.7%;p-value<0.001). ReceivingHBVvaccinationatadolescencewassignificantlyassociated with a fourfold increased possibility of having anti-HBsAg titers≥10 mIU/mL (adj-OR = 4.21, 95% CI: 2.43–7.30). Among the students who were checked at the third year and boosted after the first year (n = 279), those who were vaccinated during infancy showed a higher percentage of antibody titers <10 mIU/mL (20.3% versus 8.7% among vaccinated during adolescence; p < 0.01). This study confirms that HBV vaccination at adolescence might determine a higher long-term persistence of anti-HBsAg titers≥10 mIU/mL and that anti-HBV booster could increase levels of anti-HBsAg over a relatively short period, especially in subjects who were vaccinated during infancy
Biphasic pleural mesothelioma in a electrician working in a railway company: case report and current trends in mesotheliomas in Italy
Full text linkBackground: Mesothelioma is an aggressive tumour that can involve the pleura, the peritoneum, and sometimes other mesothelia, such as the pericardium and the tunica vaginalis testis. Scientific communities have known for a long time the causal correlation between exposure to asbestos (work related or not) and the onset of the disease (in 75% - 90% of cases) and the increasing number of asbestos-correlated mesotheliomas expected in the next years. Case presentation: The authors present the case of an electrician, 66-year-old man, died for pleural mesothelioma, working in Palermo in the company of the Italian Railways for a period of about 20 years, exposed to asbestos. Frequently he disassembled and reassembled the ceiling lights in the train carriages and worked in the same workplace where it was made the asbestos removal
from train carriages. The autopsy showed a biphasic pleural mesothelioma, with mainly polymorphic desmoplasticsarcomatous aspects, infiltrating the lung parenchyma, with areas of septal fibrosis and multiple outbreaks of pneumonia
and edema. Conclusions: It is fundamental to know workers’ risks to formulate a correct etiopathogenetic diagnosis, as in this presented case, not apparently in connection with asbestos (electrician worker). Because of the long latency in the genesis of mesothelioma after asbestos exposure (both because of the work and environmental pollution), it is considered appropriate to increase in Italy the activities of the regional centres of the Health System dedicated to health promotion and health surveillance of the former exposed to asbestos, created and
active, unfortunately, only in some regions of our Country
Latent Tuberculosis Infection among Healthcare Students and Postgraduates in a Mediterranean Italian Area: What Correlation with Work Exposure?
Full text linkBackground: Tuberculosis screening is part of the standard protocol for evaluating the risk of infection in healthcare workers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) among students attending various healthcare profession degree courses and postgraduate medical courses at the School of Medicine of the University of Palermo, Italy, and assess the possible professional origin of infection. Methods: In total, 2946 students (2082 undergraduates and 864 postgraduates) took part in a screening program for LTBI between January 2014 to April 2019 using the tuberculin skin test (TST). Students with a positive TST result underwent a Quantiferon-TB test (QFT). Results: Among the 2082 undergraduates, 23 (1.1%) had a positiveTST;theresultwasconfirmedwithQFTfor13(0.62%)ofthem. Amongthe864postgraduate students,24(2.78%)hadapositiveTSTandonly18(2.08%)showedapositiveQTF.Latenttuberculosis infectionsweresignificantlymorefrequentamongpostgraduatesthanundergraduates(2.08% > 0.62%, p < 0.0001). There was a higher number of subjects previously vaccinated for TB (18.87% > 0.24%, p < 0.0001), and of vaccinated subjects found positive for TST and QTF (66.67% > 7.69%, p = 0.001) in the postgraduate group. Conclusion: Latent TB is relatively low among medical school students in our geographic area. Nevertheless, this infectious disease must be regarded as a re-emerging biohazard for which preventive strategies are required to limit the risk of infection, especially among exposed workers
INCREASE IN CORONARY SINUS RHYTHM IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AS POTENTIAL CORRELATE OF COVID-19 INFECTIONS
Full text linkThe COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted human life demonstrating also a substantial impact on cardiac diseases. In particular, some researchers have reported an increased incidence of cardiac arrhythmias in patients with COVID-19, emphasizing the need for further investigations. Accordingly, this study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of cardiac arrhythmias in university students before and after
COVID-19, in order to better understand if this risk increased over time. Cross-sectional study conducted on students attending the University of Palermo from 2015 to 2024. For each subject demographic data,
patient medical history information and information relating to vaccination against Sars-CoV-2 were recorded. Moreover, each visit was associated with the execution of a 12-lead ECG performed at rest in order to assess for alterations of the electrical heart rhythm. During the study period 1,217 patients were
visited, including 401 (33%) males and 815 (67%) females. The median age at the visit was 20.40 years. Overall, we observed a statistically significant increase in the risk of coronary sinus rhythm and respiratory arrhythmia in subjects with a previous diagnosis of COVID-19 (OR=5.0, 95% CI=1.6-16.0 and OR=3.4, 95% CI= 2.4-4.8, respectively). This study is especially compelling as it focuses on an increased
risk of respiratory arrhythmia and coronary sinus rhythm in young healthy subjects after the COVID-19 pandemics. If our results should be confirmed by other more extensive studies they could be relevant to clinicians since they should be aware of cardiac arrhythmias as one of the complications attributable to COVID-19 emergence
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
VALIDAZIONE PRELIMINARE DI UN QUESTIONARIO SUL CARICO EXTRALAVORATIVO NELL’INTERFACCIA CASA-LAVORO IN OTTICA DI GENERE
No full textScopo del presente studio è quello di validare
uno strumento anamnestico parametrico a supporto
del Medico Competente nel rilevare difficoltà individuali del lavoratore legate al genere, con particolare attenzione agli aspetti di conciliazione che potrebbero avere ricadute su problemi di salute e sicurezza in ambito lavorativ
Linee Guida della Società Italiana di Medicina del Lavoro: “Ruolo del medico del lavoro nella gestione e prevenzione della tubercolosi in ambito occupazionale"
No full textLinee Guida della Società Italiana di Medicina del Lavoro sul ruolo del professionista Medico del lavoro nella gestione e prevenzione della tubercolosi nei vari ambiti lavorativ
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
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
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