Incidence of mesothelioma in young people and causal exposure to asbestos in the Italian national mesothelioma registry (ReNaM).

Introduction: The epidemiological surveillance of mesothelioma incidence is a crucial key for investigating the occupational and environmental sources of asbestos exposure. The median age at diagnosis is generally high, according to the long latency of the disease. The purposes of this study are to analyse the incidence of mesothelioma in young people and to evaluate the modalities of asbestos exposure.

Selection-driven adaptation to the extreme Antarctic environment in the Emperor penguin.

The eco-evolutionary history of penguins is characterised by shifting from temperate to cold environments. Breeding in Antarctica, the Emperor penguin appears as an extreme outcome of this process, with unique features related to insulation, heat production and energy management. However, whether this species actually diverged from a less cold-adapted ancestor, more ecologically similar to its sister species, the King penguin, is still an open question.

Role of asbestos clearance in explaining long-term risk of pleural and peritoneal cancer: a pooled analysis of cohort studies.

Objectives: Models based on the multistage theory of cancer predict that rates of malignant mesothelioma continuously increase with time since first exposure (TSFE) to asbestos, even after the end of external exposure. However, recent epidemiological studies suggest that mesothelioma rates level off many years after first exposure to asbestos. A gradual clearance of asbestos from the lungs has been suggested as a possible explanation for this phenomenon.

[A mentalization-based perspective on childhood autism treatment].

Mentalization is a process by which a subject makes sense of both his own mental representations and of those around him. Disturbances in the mentalization process are found in several psychiatric disorders, notably borderline personality disorders for which mentalization-based treatments (MBT) have been developed and evaluated. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) display a theory of mind impairments, which corresponds to disturbances in the mentalization process.

Italian pool of asbestos workers cohorts: mortality trends of asbestos-related neoplasms after long time since first exposure.

Objective: Asbestos is a known human carcinogen, with evidence for malignant mesothelioma (MM), cancers of lung, ovary, larynx and possibly other organs. MM rates are predicted to increase with a power of time since first exposure (TSFE), but the possible long-term attenuation of the trend is debated. The asbestos ban enforced in Italy in 1992 gives an opportunity to measure long-term cancer risk in formerly exposed workers.

Pathology reporting of malignant pleural mesothelioma first diagnosis: A population-based approach.

Accurate pathologic diagnosis and reporting in malignant pleural mesothelioma are essential for clinical care, and cancer registration. Practical guidelines for pathologists are provided in publications and textbooks but it is unclear how these recommendations are applied in routine practice. We investigated the characteristics of pathology reports, and the extent to which they meet guideline standards.

[Time trend in mesothelioma and lung cancer risk in asbestos workers in Italy].

This study aims at investigating, in asbestos exposed workers, the time trend of their risk of mesothelioma and of other neoplasm after very long latency and after the cessation of asbestos exposure. We pooled a large number of Italian cohorts of asbestos workers and updated mortality follow-up. The pool of data for statistical analyses includes 51,988 workers, of which 6,058 women: 54.

[Air pollution in an urban area nearby the Rome-Ciampino city airport].

Objectives: to assess air pollution spatial and temporal variability in the urban area nearby the Ciampino International Airport (Rome) and to investigate the airport-related emissions contribute.

Design And Setting: the study domain was a 64 km2 area around the airport. Two fifteen-day monitoring campaigns (late spring, winter) were carried out.

Familial malignant mesothelioma: a population-based study in central Italy (1980-2012).

Malignant mesothelioma is a sporadic cancer linked to asbestos exposure. Its occurrence among blood relatives (familial mesothelioma) may point to genetic susceptibility or shared exposures. The burden of the familial disease is unknown.

[Occupational exposure to asbestos and incidence of malignant mesothelioma in the Lazio region, years 2001-2009: results of the activities of the regional register].

Background: The Lazio Regional Mesothelioma Registry records the incident cases of Malignant Mesothelioma (MM) in residents in the Region since 2001.

Objectives: Estimate the incidence of MM in the Lazio Region (2001-2009) and assess possible asbestos exposures.

Methods: The MM cases, notified by hospitals, regional protection and workplace safety units, Italian Workers' Compensation Authority, other regions, or extracted from hospital information systems and the regional registry of causes of death, are included in the register after analysis of diagnostic procedures (CT scan, chest X-ray, pathology reports and patients' records).

The psychodynamics of achondroplasia.

From the psychological-social point of view, achondroplasia is a complex disorder; in fact, one must take into consideration aspects of the body image, family-surroundings reaction and possible corrective therapy. The achondroplast has a physical image that coincides with his personality and from this standpoint it does not appear to be problematic in the sense that (if accepted right from the start as such) there is a natural acceptance of the disorder, complicated only by the practical difficulties in adapting to a world created for non-achondroplasts. The medieval court jester, who was generally a well-adapted achondroplast, is proof of what we have been saying.

L-acetylcarnitine in depressed elderly subjects. A cross-over study vs placebo.

An open, cross-over study was performed on a population of 24 geriatric patients hospitalized because of depressive syndrome. They were subdivided, according to Hamilton's Scale as modified for the aged, into low- and high-score subgroups. The study period covered 2 months.

Behavioral versus pharmacological treatments for essential hypertension: a pilot study.

This is the only study so far in which a behavioral treatment is compared with standard pharmacological treatments for essential hypertension. Three groups of five subjects each were compared: 1. pharmacological treatment; 2.