The role of integrated psychological support in breast cancer patients: a randomized monocentric prospective study evaluating the Fil-Rouge Integrated Psycho-Oncological Support (FRIPOS) program.

Purpose: This study examined the effects of Fil-Rouge Integrated Psycho-Oncological Support (FRIPOS) in a group of women with breast cancer compared with a group receiving treatment as usual (TAU).

Methods: The research design was a randomized, monocentric, prospective study with three time points of data collection: after the preoperative phase (T0), in the initial phase of treatments (T1), and 3 months after the start of treatments (T2). The FRIPOS group (N = 103) and the TAU group (N = 79) completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R) at T0; the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ) C30 and EORTC QLQ-BR23 at T1; and SCL-90-R, EORTC QLQ-C30, and EORTC QLQ-BR23 at T2.

Could the postoperative residual of urine predict the outcome of TVTOmidurethral sling procedure in female patients?

Objective: To assess if the amount of postoperative postvoid residual of urine that is within the normal range (less than 100 mls) could predict the outcome of TVTO (Tension -free vaginal tape obturator) procedure.

Study Design: Second Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Aretaieio Hospital, University of Athens, Greece. Patients that had been submitted to TVTO procedure between 2013 and 2017 were reviewed and outcome was assessed.

Reduced attentional capacity, but normal processing speed and shifting of attention in developmental dyslexia: evidence from a serial task.

We report the performance of a group of adult dyslexics and matched controls in an array-matching task where two strings of either consonants or symbols are presented side by side and have to be judged to be the same or different. The arrays may differ either in the order or identity of two adjacent characters. This task does not require naming - which has been argued to be the cause of dyslexics' difficulty in processing visual arrays - but, instead, has a strong serial component as demonstrated by the fact that, in both groups, Reaction times (RTs) increase monotonically with position of a mismatch.

The perception of assimilation in newly learned novel words.

The present study investigated the mechanisms underlying perceptual compensation for assimilation in novel words. During training, participants learned canonical versions of novel spoken words (e.g.

Lexical and nonlexical processing in developmental dyslexia: a case for different resources and different impairments.

In a group of adult dyslexics word reading and, especially, word spelling are predicted more by what we have called lexical learning (tapped by a paired-associate task with pictures and written nonwords) than by phonological skills. Nonword reading and spelling, instead, are not associated with this task but they are predicted by phonological tasks. Consistently, surface and phonological dyslexics show opposite profiles on lexical learning and phonological tasks.

Learning and consolidation of novel spoken words.

Two experiments explored the neural mechanisms underlying the learning and consolidation of novel spoken words. In Experiment 1, participants learned two sets of novel words on successive days. A subsequent recognition test revealed high levels of familiarity for both sets.

[The role of the public health personnel in the Prevention Department (in the Hygiene Services and Public Health Care and Hygiene of Food and Nutrition): proposal for the future of public health care].

A global and local discussion on Public Health relevance is taking place, including the future role and organization of its services. Noteworthy becomes the role played by Public Health Specialists. This work presents the results of a workshop, carried out following the Guilbert methodology, whose aim was to define Public Health Doctors functions and their related activities.

The cytological screening turned out effective also for adenocarcinoma: a population-based case-control study in Trento, Italy.

To evaluate the effectiveness of a cytological screening to prevent invasive cervical cancer in the province of Trento, a northern Italian area where a population-based cancer registry is active. The history of Pap test was evaluated through a case-control study in 61 population-based invasive cervical cancer patients, incident during 1995-2000, and in 244 age-matched (between 25 and 75 years old) controls. Women who had at least one Pap test had a reduced risk of invasive carcinoma of 80% (odds ratio=0.

Lexical learning and dysgraphia in a group of adults with developmental dyslexia.

We investigated the ability to learn new words in a group of 22 adults with developmental dyslexia/dysgraphia and the relationship between their learning and spelling problems. We identified a deficit that affected the ability to learn both spoken and written new words (lexical learning deficit). There were no comparable problems in learning other kinds of representations (lexical/semantic and visual) and the deficit could not be explained in terms of more traditional phonological deficits associated with dyslexia (phonological awareness, phonological STM).

[Scleroderma and occupational risk factors: a case-control study].

In a hospital-based case-referent study of systemic sclerosis (SSc) and occupational risk factors (55 cases and 171 referents), an excess risk for SSc was observed in men with previous occupational exposure to solvents and certain chemicals (vinyl chloride, formaldehyde). SSc was associated, even though not significantly, with occupational exposure to solvents and silica among women. The possible role of occupational exposures in the etiology of SSc, as well as the methodological limitations of the present study, are discussed.

A case-control study of occupational exposures and systemic sclerosis.

Objectives: A case-control study was conducted in Verona, Italy, to assess the relationship between occupation, occupational exposures and systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Methods: Fifty-five cases (46 female and nine male) and 171 controls were recruited. Interviews provided work histories, including job titles, industry and likelihood of occupational exposure to silica, hand-arm vibration, organic solvents, and other chemicals.

Reproductive factors and the risk of scleroderma: an Italian case-control study.

Objective: To investigate the association between scleroderma (systemic sclerosis; SSc) and reproductive factors in a hospital-based case-control study conducted at the University Hospital of Verona in Northeastern Italy.

Methods: Forty-six confirmed cases of SSc in women (42 with diffuse SSc and 4 with limited SSc) and 153 female control subjects with orthopedic disorders were recruited at the University Hospital. For each subject, information on age at first pregnancy, number of children and abortions, and use of oral contraceptives was obtained by means of a structured questionnaire, and information on the subject's occupational history and lifestyle factors was also sought.

Scleroderma and occupational exposure to hand-transmitted vibration.

Objectives: To determine whether occupational exposure to hand-transmitted vibration is a risk factor for scleroderma (systemic sclerosis, SSc), two case-control studies were conducted in the provinces of Trento and Verona, northeastern Italy.

Methods: In the Trento study, 21 patients with a diagnosis of either systemic or localised scleroderma were recruited from those admitted to all hospitals of the province from 1 January 1976 to 31 December 1991. For each case, two age- and gender-matched controls were selected.

Residential radon and risk of lung cancer in an Italian alpine area.

To evaluate whether residential radon exposure explains the excess mortality for lung cancer in an Italian alpine valley with high natural radioactivity, the authors conducted a population-based case-control study on 138 deceased cases and 291 sex- and year-of-birth-matched controls. Year-long alpha-track measurements of radon were performed in the most recent residence, and information about occupational history and lifetime smoking habits was obtained. The authors adjusted for smoking, and radon was associated with lung cancer risk among men: compared with a radon level of < 40 becquerels (Bq) per cubic meter (m3), the odds ratios for 40-76 Bq/m3, 77-139 Bq/m3, 140-199 Bq/m3, and 200+ Bq/m3 were 2.

[Guidelines for assessment and management of risks caused by benzene for workers at gas stations].

The European regulations classify gasoline as "carcinogenic agent" because of its content of benzene (> 0.1%). Consequently the preventive and protective actions towards the petrol station attendants prescribe, before all, the elimination of the agent or the reduction of the exposure and the risk to the minimum.

Reference values of urinary 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol in the Italian population--validation of analytical method and preliminary results (multicentric study).

The interlaboratory validation of analytical procedures for the assay of urinary 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCP) in the general Italian population is reported. The determinations were performed by high-resolution gas chromatography (HRGS) with electron capture detection and HRGS with mass spectrometry (MS) in 2 laboratories. The urine samples were from 42 participants from 3 regions of Italy.

Verbal short-term store-rehearsal system and the cerebellum. Evidence from a patient with a right cerebellar lesion.

We describe an 18-year-old patient who underwent surgical removal of the right cerebellar hemisphere for the presence of a neoplastic lesion. After surgery, the patient's neuropsychological examination was normal except for a transient selective verbal short-term memory (STM) impairment characterized by reduced verbal digit span and rapid forgetting of verbal material. An extensive examination of the patient's deficit was performed in order to identify which of the two components of STM (phonological short-term store and/or rehearsal system) was impaired.

Urinary excretion of ethylenethiourea in five volunteers on a controlled diet (multicentric study).

Urinary excretion of ethylenethiourea (ETU) was monitored for 8 days in a group of five male non-smoker volunteers on a diet, the items of which were assayed for ETU and carbon sulphide. Urinary excretion of ETU reflected the consumption of wine, fruit and vegetables. Urinary ETU concentrations ranged from 0.

The phonological short-term store-rehearsal system: patterns of impairment and neural correlates.

Two left brain-damaged patients (L.A. and T.

Reference values of urinary ethylenethiourea in four regions of Italy (multicentric study).

The results of a study in which urinary ethylenethiourea (ETU) was assayed in the general population (167 subjects) of four Regions of Italy (Veneto, Lombardy, Piedmont and Trentino Alto Adige) are reported. The results are compared with those in a population of 97 subjects from Rovescala, a hillside wine-producing town a few kilometers from Pavia, where ethylenebisdithiocarbamates are sprayed by helicopter. It was found that an average of 24% of the populations of the four regions, taken together, had urinary ETU levels above detection limits (1.

The production of specific and generic associates of living and nonliving, high- and low-familiarity stimuli in Alzheimer's disease.

The goal of this paper was to address three issues relevant to the semantic-lexical deficit of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients: (1) the nature of the deficit (contrasting the loss of information with the difficulty of intentional access hypothesis), (2) stimulus familiarity effects, (3) semantic category effects (contrasting living with nonliving categories). Sixteen patients affected by AD and 11 matched control subjects were given a naming task, a word-picture matching task and a generative associative naming task, constructed by using as stimuli the same 40 items. Stimuli were either living or nonliving items of high, medium, and low familiarity.

Scleroderma and occupational exposure.

Objectives: A case-referent study was conducted in the province of Trento, Italy, to investigate the possible association between occupational exposure and scleroderma (systemic and localized variants).

Methods: Twenty-one cases of scleroderma were ascertained from the computerized admission files of all of the local hospitals from 1976 to 1991. For each case, two age- and gender-matched referents were selected that were discharged from the hospital on the same day as the case.

[Scleroderma and occupational factors: a case-control study and analysis of literature].

The scientific literature concerning occupational factors associated with scleroderma consists mostly of case report type studies. We therefore undertook a case-control study in the Province of Trento using as data source the Hospital Records System. The annual rate of scleroderma incidence in the period considered (1976-1991) was 5.

Low-back disorders in agricultural tractor drivers exposed to whole-body vibration and postural stress.

The occurrence of low-back pain (LBP) was investigated in a population of 1155 tractor drivers exposed to whole-body vibration (WBV) and postural stress (response rate 91.2%) and in a control group of 220 office workers (response rate 92.2%).

Blood concentration of carbon disulphide in "normal" subjects and in alcoholic subjects treated with disulfiram.

Assay of free and acid labile carbon disulphide (free and total CS2 respectively) in human blood was performed by gas chromatography/spectrometry. The method used a large dynamic head space volume and a "cryogenic trap". Blood CS2 concentration was measured in 42 subjects not occupationally exposed to CS2 (group A) and in 11 alcoholic subjects (group B) treated with disulfiram.