[Ethical, deontologic and legal considerations about SIAARTI Document "Clinical ethics recommendations for the allocation of intensive care treatments, in exceptional, resource-limited circumstances".].

On 6 March 2020, the Italian Society of Anaesthesia Analgesia Resuscitation and Intensive care (SIAARTI) published the document "Clinical Ethics Recommendations for Admission to and Suspension of Intensive Care in Exceptional Conditions of Imbalance between Needs and Available Resources". The document, which aims to propose treatment decision-making criteria in the face of exceptional imbalances between health needs and available resources, has produced strong reactions, within the medical-scientific community, in the academic world, and in the media. In the current context of international public health emergency caused by the CoViD-19 epidemic, this work aims to explain the ethical, deontological and legal bases of the SIAARTI Document and to propose methodologic and argumentative integrations that are useful for understanding and placing in context the decision-making criteria proposed.

Information and consent in internet paternity testing: focus on minors' protection in Italy.

Paternity testing in Italy is usually performed by private laboratories and universities having direct contacts with the applicants. Recently, the number of paternity tests offered through laboratory websites has increased in Italy and Europe. The execution of genetic tests, including paternity testing based on DNA analysis, represents a complex act, which contains three main steps.

Paternity testing requested by private parties in Italy: some ethical considerations.

In Italy, judicial and extrajudicial requests for paternity testing have increased in recent years. A retrospective analysis of such private extrajudicial requests received by the legal medicine unit of the Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health of Padua University was conducted to identify problem areas most helpful in determining whether to accept private parties' requests for paternity testing. Such testing is most delicate when a presumptive father may be seeking to disown paternity and when testing is wanted without the consent of a member of the mother-child-father triangle.

Experience of donation and quality of life in living kidney and liver donors.

Italian guidelines on living donation demand that we ascertain the donor's free and informed consent. Assessments to do so have to be conducted by an independent 'third party' who has nothing to do with the medical team treating the recipient. From February 2002 to December 2006, the Veneto Regional Authority's Third Party Commission evaluated 201 living liver and kidney donors.

Withholding/withdrawing treatment from neonates: legislation and official guidelines across Europe.

Representatives from eight European countries compared the legal, ethical and professional settings within which decision making for neonates takes place. When it comes to limiting treatment there is general agreement across all countries that overly aggressive treatment is to be discouraged. Nevertheless, strong emphasis has been placed on the need for compassionate care even where cure is not possible.

[Neonatology. Medicolegal considerations].

The authors underline the relevance of the medical-legal participation and contribution in dealing with the problems of neonatology, and delineate their area of communication in this matter. They first remind the principles (legal, but also ethical) that need to be referred to: the concept of health, the attention of a real interest for the children, and the engagement to protect the life of the newborn, even though premature. Secondly, they discuss some specific questions, as 1) adequate information and communication; 2) informed consent; 3) care and withdraw treatment; 4) communication between different operators, and finally; 5) Ethical Committees as appropriate consultation reference, especially for more complex cases.

The distribution of some polymorphisms in Italy.

A wide data collection on blood group gene frequencies in Italian regions and provinces is presented. This report is the result of a joint collaboration of human geneticists and forensic haematologists started in 1979 and updates a previous work by the same group. The following genetic polymorphisms have been examined: red-cell antigens (ABO, FY, Kell, Kidd, Lewis, Lutheran, MNSs, P, Rhesus), red-cell enzymes (ACP1, ADA, AK1, ESD, GLO1, GPT, PGD, PGM1), plasma proteins (BF, C3, GC, HP, IGK, PI, TF).

Genetic study of red cell esterase D polymorphism by ultrathin layer isoelectric focusing. Distribution in the Veneto population (Italy).

Human red cell Esterase D (EsD) was analyzed by isoelectric focusing (IEF) on ultrathin-layer polyacrylamide gel with a pH range of 5.0-6.0.

The polymorphism of plasminogen (PLG) by ultrathin-layer isoelectric focusing. Distribution in the Veneto population (Italy).

The distribution of plasminogen phenotypes in the population of Veneto was investigated by ultrathin-layer isoelectric focusing. In our sample (n = 1325), the three common phenotypes PLG1, PLG2, PLG2-1 and two further phenotypes PLG1-V and PLG2-V were, observed and the following frequencies calculated: PLG1 = 0.84038; PLG2 = 0.

Problems in probability of paternity interpretation.

This paper discusses the statistical interpretation of blood group findings in paternity testing. As a consequence of the large number of systems now employed, high probabilities of paternity are usual and evaluation problems arise. The purpose of this investigation was to calculate the paternity probabilities for a sample of legitimate families with a true father compared with those obtained in some cases of non-excluded men chosen randomly from the population as the accused fathers for the same mother-child pairs.

Radiation-induced coronary obstructive atherosclerosis and sudden death in a teenager.

An 18-year-old woman, affected by Hodgkin's disease and treated successfully with radiotherapy, died suddenly. The postmortem study showed an acute septal myocardial infarction in the presence of a severe focal atherosclerotic lesion of the anterior descending coronary artery. This suggests that radiation may contribute to the early development of coronary artery disease.

The PGM1 polymorphism as revealed by ultrathin-layer isoelectric focusing in the population of Padua.

The occurrence of PGM1 phenotypes in 589 samples from the population of Padua was investigated by ultrathin-layer isoelectric focusing. All ten phenotypes were observed. Frequencies of the PGM1 alleles (1+ = 0.

The polymorphism of transferrin by ultrathin-layer isoelectric focusing. Tf phenotypes and TfC subtypes in the population of Padua.

The distribution of Tf phenotypes in the population of Padua was investigated by ultrathin-layer isoelectric focusing. In our sample (n = 618) nine phenotypes, Tf C1, C2, C3, C3-1, C2-1, C3-2, C1B, C2B and C1D, were observed and the following frequencies calculated: TfC1 = 0.77837; TfC2 = 0.

Gc subtypes determined by ultrathin-layer isoelectric focusing. Distribution in the Veneto population (Italy).

The distribution of Gc phenotypes in the population of Veneto was investigated by ultrathin-layer isoelectric focusing. In our sample (n = 732) the six common phenotypes, Gc 1S, 1F, 1S1F, 2, 2-1S, 2-1F and a further phenotype, GC 1S1C3, were observed and the following frequencies calculated: Gc 1S = 0.560792; GC 1F = 0.

The detection of A and B antigens on human hair by the absorption-elution technique using LISS and papain-treated test cells.

The absorption-elution technique with low ionic strength solution (LISS) and papain-treated test cells previously used for bloodstains was employed for the detection of ABO antigens on human hair. Antigen identification was always possible, with good intensity of agglutination, even in those cases where classic techniques had given false-negative results. It was possible to obtain positive results with fragments of human hair as small as 0.

Problems in determing A2B group specific properties in blood stains.

Blood stains belonging to various sub-group A combinations were examined by the absorption-elution method (in comparison with Holzer method and mixed agglutination). No difficulties were encountered in the identification of A1, A2, and A1B blood stains, while identification of A antigen in A2B stains was dubious (always negative with the others methods). This seems to be due to low anti-sera titer in relation to A antigen in this subgroup combination.