A Case-Crossover Study to Investigate the Effects of Atmospheric Particulate Matter Concentrations, Season, and Air Temperature on Accident and Emergency Presentations for Cardiovascular Events in Northern Italy.

Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) has multiple adverse effects on human health, high temperatures are also associated with adverse health outcomes, and the frequency of cardiovascular events (CVEs) varies with season. We investigated a hypothesized increase in PM-related accident and emergency (A&E) presentations for CVE with high temperature, warm season, days of high influenza incidence, and in people with a cancer diagnosis, using a time-stratified case-crossover study design. Outcomes were associations of A&E presentation for CVE with atmospheric PM ≤ 10 μm (PM), season, and air temperature.

Idiopathic calcium nephrolithiasis with pure calcium oxalate composition: clinical correlates of the calcium oxalate dihydrate/monohydrate (COD/COM) stone ratio.

Pure calcium oxalate is the most frequent type of idiopathic kidney stone composition. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) allows to detect the ratio of calcium oxalate dihydrate (COD) and monohydrate (COM) crystals in stones, but the clinical significance of this parameter remains uncertain. The objective of this observational study was to verify the association of clinical and laboratory parameters of kidney stone disease with COD/COM ratio in a group of 465 (322 M, age 46 ± 14) patients suffering from idiopathic calcium nephrolithiasis with pure calcium oxalate stones (≥ 97%).

Insights about urinary hippuric and citric acid as biomarkers of fruit and vegetable intake in patients with kidney stones: The role of age and sex.

Objectives: Urinary hippuric acid (HA) and citrate can represent useful biomarkers of fruit and vegetable (FAV) intake in nephrolithiasis. However, their clinical significance across the life span has been poorly investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the two biomarkers with FAV intake across different age groups and sexes in a large group of stone formers (SFs).

Understanding the gut-kidney axis in nephrolithiasis: an analysis of the gut microbiota composition and functionality of stone formers.

Objectives: The involvement of the gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of calcium nephrolithiasis has been hypothesised since the discovery of the oxalate-degrading activity of , but never comprehensively studied with metagenomics. The aim of this case-control study was to compare the faecal microbiota composition and functionality between recurrent idiopathic calcium stone formers (SFs) and controls.

Design: Faecal samples were collected from 52 SFs and 48 controls (mean age 48±11).

Determinants of calcium and oxalate excretion in subjects with calcium nephrolithiasis: the role of metabolic syndrome traits.

Background: The association of metabolic syndrome (MetS) traits with urinary calcium (UCE) or oxalate excretion (UOE) is uncertain in calcium stone formers (CSFs). Our aim was to investigate this association in a large group of Caucasian CSFs.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed data of CSFs evaluated at our Kidney Stone Clinic from 1984 to 2015.

Are the autoimmune/inflammatory syndrome induced by adjuvants (ASIA) and the undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD) related to each other? A case-control study of environmental exposures.

The autoimmune/inflammatory syndrome induced by adjuvants (ASIA) is an entity that includes different autoimmune conditions observed after exposure to an adjuvant. Patients with undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD) present many signs and symptoms of ASIA, alluding to the idea that an exposure to adjuvants can be a trigger also for UCTD. The aim of this case-control study was to investigate exposure to adjuvants prior to disease onset in patients affected by UCTD.

Calcium urolithiasis course in young stone formers is influenced by the strength of family history: results from a retrospective study.

The role of the strength of family history of stones (FHS), i.e., degree of relatives with the disease, on the course of calcium urolithiasis (CU) is not fully understood, particularly in young patients where genetic background has the greatest influence on disease expression.

Neuroactive Steroids in First-Episode Psychosis: A Role for Progesterone?

Neuroactive steroids may play a role in the pathophysiology of psychotic disorders, but few studies examined this issue. We compared serum levels of cortisol, testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, and progesterone between a representative sample of first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients and age- and gender-matched healthy subjects. Furthermore, we analyzed the associations between neuroactive steroids levels and the severity of psychotic symptom dimensions.

Low-Tech Scavenger Hunt Model for Student Orientation.

Scavenger hunts are an effective, fun way of orienting new students to the library. The low-tech nature and small scale of the scavenger hunt program described here might be more suitable for health sciences libraries than other models, particularly for libraries with small staffs. This model also includes a unique optional element useful for library marketing.

The influence of maternal and paternal history on stone composition and clinical course of calcium nephrolithiasis in subjects aged between 15 and 25.

Our aim was to compare the influence of maternal history of stones (MHS) and paternal history of stones (PHS) on composition of calculi and disease course in a group of patients with calcium nephrolithiasis (CN) aged between 15 and 25, the age range with the maximal influence of family history on disease expression. One-hundred thirty-five patients (68 F) with CN and one stone-forming parent were retrospectively selected from the database of our outpatient stone clinic, and categorized according to MHS or PHS. Data about stone disease course and composition of passed calculi, determined by chemical analysis or Fourier-transformed infrared spectrophotometry, were collected together with information on blood chemistry and 24-h urinary profile of lithogenic risk.

Idiopathic Calcium Nephrolithiasis and Hypovitaminosis D: A Case-control Study.

Objective: To investigate the association between vitamin D deficiency (25-hydroxyvitamin D <20 ng/mL) and idiopathic calcium nephrolithiasis (ICN).

Methods: A total of 884 patients with ICN (363 males, mean age of 51 ± 14) and 967 controls (162 males, mean age of 59 ± 15) from an area with no food fortification policy were considered following a case-control study design. Patients were enrolled at a third-level outpatient stone clinic.

Family history influences clinical course of idiopathic calcium nephrolithiasis: case-control study of a large cohort of Italian patients.

Aim: To evaluate the contribution of family history of stones (FHS), up to second-degree relatives, on clinical course (age of first renal colic, bilateral disease, retained calculi, recurrences, urological procedures) of idiopathic calcium nephrolithiasis (ICN) and urinary parameters of lithogenic risk, a case-control study was carried out.

Method: Clinical records of 2080 patients with ICN were evaluated and categorized according to FHS. Data about clinical course of disease and urinary parameters of lithogenic risk were collected.

The prevalence and incidence of systemic lupus erythematosus in children and adults: a population-based study in a mountain community in northern Italy.

Objectives: To estimate prevalence and incidence of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in paediatric and adult populations in Italy.

Methods: The study was carried out in Valtrompia, a valley in northern Italy, where a relatively close community lives, in 2009-2012. The only referral centre for SLE in the area is the Rheumatology Unit of the University Hospital of Brescia.

Clinical characterization of antiphospholipid syndrome by detection of IgG antibodies against β2 -glycoprotein i domain 1 and domain 4/5: ratio of anti-domain 1 to anti-domain 4/5 as a useful new biomarker for antiphospholipid syndrome.

Objective: It has been suggested that only antibodies against domain 1 (D1) of β2 -glycoprotein I (β2 GPI) are pathogenic and diagnostic. The role of antibodies against other β2 GPI domains is still debated. This study was undertaken to evaluate the clinical relevance of domain specificity profiling of anti-β2 GPI IgG antibodies in antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) patients and in control groups of patients with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases and in asymptomatic antiphospholipid antibody (aPL) carriers.

Hippuric acid in 24 h urine collections as a biomarker of fruits and vegetables intake in kidney stone formers.

This work aimed to underline the prospects of hippuric acid, a product of the metabolism of polyphenols, as a new biomarker of fruits and vegetables intake associated with lithogenic risk. Biochemical parameters of lithogenic risk and hippuric acid were measured in the 24 h urine collections of a cohort of 696 Italian kidney stone formers divided into two subgroups according to their different dietary habits. The link between lithogenic risk parameters and hippuric acid was assessed and this compound was revealed as a valuable biomarker of fruits and vegetables intake in kidney stone formers.

First-episode psychosis and migration in Italy (PEP-Ita migration): a study in the Italian mental health services.

Background: It has been frequently reported a higher incidence of psychotic disorders in immigrants than in native populations. There is, however, a lack of knowledge about risk factors which may explain this phenomenon. A better understanding of the causes of psychosis among first-generation migrants is highly needed, particularly in Italy, a country with a recent massive migration.

Helping improve dissemination of research: Toastmasters is a novel mechanism.

Competencies for health professionals and students often include the ability to transfer knowledge to different audiences in a variety of ways. Consultation, presentation, teaching, multimedia, and posters are some examples. A recent question on a national listserv about writing, editing, and proofreading services in health sciences libraries prompted this column about a potentially novel way of helping students and faculty in health disciplines to improve their abilities to communicate professionally.

The impact of substance use at psychosis onset on First Episode Psychosis course: results from a 1 year follow-up study in Bologna.

Objectives: Substance abuse is a well established risk factor for First-Episode Psychosis (FEP), but its influence on FEP course is less clear. Starting from our baseline observation that substance users were younger than non-users at the psychosis onset, we hypothesized that substance use at baseline could be an independent risk factor for a worse clinical course.

Methods: An incidence cohort of patients with FEP collected in an 8year period (2002-2009) at the Bologna West Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) was assessed at baseline and at 12month follow-up.

Twenty-five years of idiopathic calcium nephrolithiasis: has anything changed?

Idiopathic calcium nephrolithiasis (ICN) is a disease whose prevalence is rising. Our aim was to assess whether lifestyle indicators and habits of calcium stone formers in Italy have changed over the last 25 years, trying to establish a connection with the diffusion of Internet access. Therefore we examined the database of the Stone Clinic of Parma University Hospital and extracted 1952 (1192 M, 760 F) patients with ICN who underwent a full clinical and laboratory evaluation from 1986 to 2010.

Daily use, especially of high-potency cannabis, drives the earlier onset of psychosis in cannabis users.

Unlabelled: Cannabis use is associated with an earlier age of onset of psychosis (AOP). However, the reasons for this remain debated.

Methods: We applied a Cox proportional hazards model to 410 first-episode psychosis patients to investigate the association between gender, patterns of cannabis use, and AOP.

Current cannabis use and age of psychosis onset: a gender-mediated relationship? Results from an 8-year FEP incidence study in Bologna.

This study examined the relationship between gender, illicit drug use and age of onset of psychosis. We analysed data from an epidemiologically based cohort of 160 subjects with first-episode psychosis from community mental health centers. Cannabis was associated with an earlier onset of psychosis compared to other drugs, especially among women.

Decreased transcriptional activity of calcium-sensing receptor gene promoter 1 is associated with calcium nephrolithiasis.

Background: CaSR gene is a candidate for calcium nephrolithiasis. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) encompassing its regulatory region were associated with calcium nephrolithiasis.

Aims: We tested SNPs in the CaSR gene regulatory region associated with calcium nephrolithiasis and their effects in kidney.