{"title":"Sigma-1 receptors: a new pathway for the modulation of store-operated calcium entry.","authors":"Juan A Rosado","doi":"10.1042/BJ20151144","DOIUrl":"10.1042/BJ20151144","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>SOCE (store-operated Ca(2+) entry) is a ubiquitous mechanism for Ca(2+) influx in animal cells. In a recent issue of the Biochemical Journal, Brailoiu and colleagues reported that cocaine attenuates SOCE in rat brain microvascular endothelial cells, via a mechanism that requires the expression and activation of the sigma-1 receptor, a chaperone located in the endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondrion interface that modulates intracellular Ca(2+) homoeostasis and cell survival. This study envisages a pathway through which cocaine modulates endothelial function via regulation of SOCE. The regulation of SOCE by sigma-1 receptors provides a novel and important pathway in Ca(2+) signalling. </p>","PeriodicalId":89162,"journal":{"name":"Italian journal of public health","volume":"9 1","pages":"e9-e10"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1042/BJ20151144","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90869372","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yuanzhang Li, E. Schwarz, S. Bahn, R. Yolken, D. Niebuhr
{"title":"High Dimensional Regression on Serum Analytes","authors":"Yuanzhang Li, E. Schwarz, S. Bahn, R. Yolken, D. Niebuhr","doi":"10.2427/8672","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2427/8672","url":null,"abstract":"Regression of high dimensional data is particularly difficult when the number of observations is limited. Principal Component Analysis, canonical correlation analysis and factor analysis are commonly used methods to reduce data dimensions, but usually cannot find the most significant linear combination. The goal is usually to find a particular partition of the space X consisting of all independent factors. In this paper, we propose an approach to high dimensional regression for applications where N>K or N<K, where N is the sample size, k is the dimension of space X. The approach starts by finding the most significant linear combination and one of the most insignificant directions to decompose the sample space into two subspaces and reduce the dimension. Further, we examine the contributions of individual variables to those most significant vectors by the coefficients of the combinations to reduce the total number of variables in the selected space without losing the power of the prediction. We use the proposed approach to determine the potential association of 51 serum analytes with schizophrenia using data derived from a case control study (n=208). Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed approach can significantly improve dimension reduction.","PeriodicalId":89162,"journal":{"name":"Italian journal of public health","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68882054","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Time to revisit Geoffrey Rose: strategies for prevention in the genomic era?","authors":"H. Burton, G. Sagoo, P. Pharoah, R. Zimmern","doi":"10.2427/8665","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2427/8665","url":null,"abstract":"Geoffrey Rose, in his article “Sick individuals and sick populations” highlighted the need to distinguish between prevention for populations and prevention for high risk individuals. In this article we revisit some of these concepts in light of the burgeoning literature on “personalised medicine” and of findings from our investigations into personalised cancer prevention as part of an EU research gene-environment study on hormone related cancers, the Collaborative Oncological Gene- environment Study (COGS). We suggest that Rose’s high risk strategy may be modified by segmenting the population by risk (in our example genetic risk) into a number of individual strata, to each of which differential interventions may be applied. We call this “stratified prevention”, and argue that such an approach will lead to consequential advantages in efficiency, effectiveness and harm minimisation.","PeriodicalId":89162,"journal":{"name":"Italian journal of public health","volume":"510 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68881866","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Female genital mutilation of minors in Italy: is a harmless and symbolic alternative justified?","authors":"M. Pietro, A. A. Teleman, M. Faggioni","doi":"10.2427/7533","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2427/7533","url":null,"abstract":"In 2004, Omar Abdulcadir - a gynecologist of the Centre for the prevention and therapy of female genital mutilation (FMG) at the Careggi Hospital (Florence) - proposed a “harmless and symbolic” alternative to FMG, which consists in the puncture of the clitoris under local anesthesia, in order to allow the outflow of some drops of blood (1). The intention behind the symbolic alternative is to avoid more severe forms of FGM while respecting cultural heritage. The proposal of this alternative procedure, which was sustained by the leaders of 10 local African immigrant communities, has encountered ample criticism (1). However, the question is: is the puncture of the clitoris prohibited by the Italian Law n. 7/2006? If it is not, could it be considered a method of reducing health risks caused by the more invasive forms of FGM (2)? Or could it culturally legitimize FGM, causing a greater difficulty in the attempts to prevent and eradicate FGM in Italy?","PeriodicalId":89162,"journal":{"name":"Italian journal of public health","volume":"9 1","pages":"68-70"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68881166","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
G. Calamusa, E. Amodio, C. Costantino, M. D. Pasquale, Viviana Gelsomino, M. Morici, Angelo Palmeri, Sabrina Maria Termini, A. Firenze, M. F. Massenti, F. Vitale
{"title":"Body mass index and factors associated with overweight and obesity: a crosssectional in a small city of Western Sicily (Italy)","authors":"G. Calamusa, E. Amodio, C. Costantino, M. D. Pasquale, Viviana Gelsomino, M. Morici, Angelo Palmeri, Sabrina Maria Termini, A. Firenze, M. F. Massenti, F. Vitale","doi":"10.2427/7539","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2427/7539","url":null,"abstract":"Background : although the epidemiological features of overweight and obesity have been well described, especially for very populous urban areas, less evidences are available for small urban areas. The aim of the present work was to assess BMI and factors associated with overweight and obesity in a representative sample of general population of a small city of Western Sicily (Italy). Methods : four hundred and eleven randomly selected adult subjects from general population living in a small Sicilian city with 7 144 inhabitants were interviewed by a standardized questionnaire investigating life-styles, eating habits, anthropometric measurements (weight, height and BMI) and socio-economic deprivation. Results : the standardized prevalence of overweight and obesity were 43.8% and 18.3%, respectively. The multivariate analysis has indicated an increased risk of BMI≥25 in subjects 40-59 years old (OR=2.3; 95% CI=1.2-4.4) in comparison with 18-39 years old, in males (OR=2.8; 95% CI=1.6-4.7) in comparison with females, and in participants who had a higher socio-economic deprivation (OR=1.3; 95% CI=1.1-1.7). Conclusions : in small urban areas some demographic factors and socio-economic deprivation can be considered important risk factors for increased BMI also after controlling for the most common confounding factors.","PeriodicalId":89162,"journal":{"name":"Italian journal of public health","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68881519","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
P. Valentini, L. Gargiullo, M. Ceccarelli, O. Ranno
{"title":"Health status of internationally adopted children. The experience of an Italian “GLNBI” paediatric centre","authors":"P. Valentini, L. Gargiullo, M. Ceccarelli, O. Ranno","doi":"10.2427/7527","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2427/7527","url":null,"abstract":"Background : according to ISTAT (National Institute of Statistics-Italy), in 2011 20.7% of the foreign population in Italy is composed by children, either coming along with their families or alone, like in international adoptions. Immigrant children have some peculiarities related to their previous living conditions, although there are no significant differences between immigrant and native children’ diseases. Methods : in 3.5 years we evaluated every adoptee that reached our university centre, by using GLNBI (Gruppo di Lavoro Nazionale del Bambino Immigrato) diagnostic – aiding protocol, in order to assess infectious diseases, nutritional deficiencies, immunization status, intestinal parasitosis or other pathologies; this protocol is actually applied only in research centres. Results : we evaluated 358 international adoptees from 4 different Zones of the world; average age at first visit was approximately 5 years. Health certifications concerning vaccination history records were considered “valid” in 59.2% (212/358), 49.5% (105/212) of which had a complete panel of immunization. QuantiFERON®_TB Gold In-Tube (QTF) test resulted negative in 94.0% cases (313/333) and positive in 6.0% (20/333). HIV, HCV and Syphilis tests resulted in 0.3% positive test for each serology (1/358). Cysticercosis’ serology was positive in 8.9% (32/358) using immunoenzymatic assay (not confirmed by immunoblotting) and Toxocariasis in 13.1% (47/358). Parasitological investigation of faeces were found positive on 42.7% (153/358) children, throat swabs in 11.5% (41/358) children. There were 82.4% (295/358) abnormal blood count, 41.9% (150/358) low ferritin, 89.9% (322/358) endocrine abnormalities and 20.4% (73/358) various pathologies evaluated by specialists. Conclusions : pathologies affecting our study group are the same affecting other categories of immigrant children, because they often share similar living conditions as orphanage or crowded residencies, low and poor intake of appropriate nutrients for growing ages, leading to malnutrition, vitamin D deficiency, iron deficiency anaemia and intestinal parasitosis. Vaccination records are often not available or reliable. A similar protocol could therefore be helpfully used as an initial management of children coming from a different setting.","PeriodicalId":89162,"journal":{"name":"Italian journal of public health","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68881583","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Mannocci, L. Semyonov, R. Saulle, N. Skroza, C. Potenza, A. Boccia, G. Torre
{"title":"Association between smoking habits and acne vulgaris. A case-control study","authors":"A. Mannocci, L. Semyonov, R. Saulle, N. Skroza, C. Potenza, A. Boccia, G. Torre","doi":"10.2427/7536","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2427/7536","url":null,"abstract":"Background : acne vulgaris, is one of the most common skin disorder. Previous studies about the role of smoke in the pathogenesis of acne reported contradictory results. The aim of this study was to conduct a case-control study investigating the relationship between tobacco smoking and acne. Methods : a case-control study was performed during the period September 2009 - February 2010. A questionnaire was administrated to each participant, to assess the association acne - smoke. Cases were outpatients of the Dermatologic Ambulatory of the “Fiorini” Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome (Italy). Controls were age and gender-matched to the cases. The ratio cases-controls was 1:2. A univariate and a multiple logistic regression analysis were conducted; Odds Ratio (OR ) and the relative 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were assessed. The statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results : crude OR for the association acne - smoke was 7.26 (IC=2.27-23.18); adjusted OR for sex and age was 5.47 (IC=1.67-17.97). Of 93 cases, 6 had a severe grade of acne (6.5%), 19 had an intermediate grade of acne (20.4%), and 68 had a mild grade of acne (73.1%). No one of the smokers had a severe grade of acne, one had an intermediate grade of acne and 11 had mild acne; these differences are not statistically significant. Conclusions : the association between acne and smoke shows an increased risk (OR=7.26) with a statistically significant CI. Moreover, people ≥ 18 years of age have twice the risk compared to persons < 18 years of age (OR=2.31).","PeriodicalId":89162,"journal":{"name":"Italian journal of public health","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68881339","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Right to health of immigrant minors in Italy and Europe","authors":"M. Sisto, L. Gargiullo, O. Ranno, P. Valentini","doi":"10.2427/7526","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2427/7526","url":null,"abstract":"Undermined survival is usually the reason to migrate: wars, persecutions, famines, natural calamities are just few examples, as well as cultural, economic, social or religious issues. The diversity of these reasons thus correlates with the extreme variability of migrants typologies and their origin countries. Nowadays it has been reached a sufficient stability of the phenomenon, also testified by the growing number of family unities in Italy and all over the Europe, and by the birth of several children in the welcoming country.","PeriodicalId":89162,"journal":{"name":"Italian journal of public health","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68881552","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Rosano, E. Ronda, F. Benavides, L. Cacciani, G. Baglio, A. Spagnolo
{"title":"Work-related health problems among resident immigrant workers in Italy and Spain","authors":"A. Rosano, E. Ronda, F. Benavides, L. Cacciani, G. Baglio, A. Spagnolo","doi":"10.2427/7528","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2427/7528","url":null,"abstract":"Background : in both Spain and Italy the number of immigrants has strongly increased in the last 20 years, currently representing more than the 10% of workforce in each country. The segregation of immigrants into unskilled or risky jobs brings negative consequences for their health. The objective of this study is to compare prevalence of work-related health problems between immigrants and native workers in Italy and Spain. Methods : data come from the Italian Labour Force Survey (n=65 779) and Spanish Working Conditions Survey (n=11 019), both conducted in 2007. We analyzed merged datasets to evaluate whether interviewees, both natives and migrants, judge their health being affected by their work conditions and, if so, which specific diseases. For migrants, we considered those coming from countries with a value of the Human Development Index lower than 0.85. Logistic regression models were used, including gender, age, and education as adjusting factors. Results : migrants reported skin diseases (Mantel-Haenszel pooled OR=1.49; 95%CI: 0.59-3.74) and musculoskeletal problems among those employed in agricultural sector (Mantel-Haenszel pooled OR=1.16; 95%CI: 0.69-1.96) more frequently than natives; country-specific analysis showed higher risks of musculoskeletal problems among migrants compared to the non-migrant population in Italy (OR=1.17; 95% CI: 0.48-1.59) and of respiratory problems in Spain (OR=2.02; 95%CI: 1.02-4.0). In both countries the risk of psychological stress was predominant among national workers. Conclusions : this collaborative study allows to strength the evidence concerning the health of migrant workers in Southern European countries.","PeriodicalId":89162,"journal":{"name":"Italian journal of public health","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68881595","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Fransen, H. Wildschut, J. Mackenbach, E. Steegers, M. Essink‐bot
{"title":"Midwives unable to overcome language barriers in prenatal care","authors":"M. Fransen, H. Wildschut, J. Mackenbach, E. Steegers, M. Essink‐bot","doi":"10.2427/7531","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2427/7531","url":null,"abstract":"Background : the present study aims to explore to what extent midwives experience barriers in providing information about prenatal screening for Down syndrome to women from diverse ethnic backgrounds, and to assess their competences to overcome these barriers. Methods : midwives from 24 Dutch midwifery practices in Rotterdam completed a structured webbased questionnaire (n=57). Data were obtained on perceived ethnic-related differences and barriers in providing information on prenatal screening, preparedness to provide cultural competent care, and the use of translated materials and professional translators. A group interview was conducted to further explore the results emerging from the questionnaire (n=23). Results : almost all midwives (95%) experienced barriers in informing women from non-Western ethnic backgrounds about prenatal screening. Midwives especially felt incompetent to provide information to pregnant women that hardly speak and understand Dutch. In total 58% of the midwives reported that they never used translated information materials and 88% never used professional interpreters in providing information on prenatal screening. The main reasons for this underutilization were unawareness of the availability of translated materials and unfamiliarity with the use of professional interpreters. Conclusions : although language barriers were reported to be the main difficulty in providing cultural competent care to patients from diverse ethnic backgrounds, only a minority of the midwives used translated materials or professional interpreters. In order to enable all pregnant women to make an informed decision whether or not to participate in prenatal screening, midwives’ competences to address language barriers should be increased.","PeriodicalId":89162,"journal":{"name":"Italian journal of public health","volume":"9 1","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68881639","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}