A multi-comprehensive approach to assess the responses of the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis (Lamarck, 1919) to a simulation of a diesel-oil mixture spill.

Oil spills are a major cause of pollution impacting marine ecosystems. In this work, the effects of short-term exposure to three different concentrations of a hydrocarbon mixture (HC), that simulated the action of such an event, were investigated on Mytilus galloprovincialis specimens. Physiological effects were measured using a battery of biomarkers consisting of cellular activity (phagocytosis), immune-related enzymes, chaperonins (HSP70 and HSC70), and histomorphological alterations.

Signals of loss, part two: A phytal community collapsing under extreme-climate conditions on a Mediterranean vermetid reef.

Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of transient extreme climate events that can be catastrophic for ecological communities. We studied the 2014-2022 period along the northern coasts of Sicily (Western Mediterranean Sea), evaluating the ecological impacts on three macroalgae (Ericaria amentacea, Jania rubens, and Padina pavonica) and one complex of species (Laurencia complex) inhabiting the vermetid bioconstructions. All climatological metrics indicate that desiccation conditions occurred in the intertidal zones for many consecutive days during 2022, compared to previous years.

The Interplay of TLR-NFκB Signalling Pathway and Functional Immune-Related Enzymes in the Inflammatory Response of .

The close phylogenetic relationship between ascidians (Tunicata) and vertebrates makes them a powerful model for studying the innate immune system. To better understand the nature and dynamics of immune responses and the mechanisms through which bacterial infections are detected and translated into inflammation in , we applied an approach combining in vivo lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation, immune-labelling techniques and functional enzymatic analyses. The immunohistochemistry showed that Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) were expressed during the inflammatory pharynx response 4 h post-LPS, with the formation of nodules in pharynx vessel lumen.

Global warming-related response after bacterial challenge in Astroides calycularis, a Mediterranean thermophilic coral.

A worldwide increase in the prevalence of coral diseases and mortality has been linked to ocean warming due to changes in coral-associated bacterial communities, pathogen virulence, and immune system function. In the Mediterranean basin, the worrying upward temperature trend has already caused recurrent mass mortality events in recent decades. To evaluate how elevated seawater temperatures affect the immune response of a thermophilic coral species, colonies of Astroides calycularis were exposed to environmental (23 °C) or elevated (28 °C) temperatures, and subsequently challenged with bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS).

Sea anemones, methylmercury, and bacterial infection: A closer look at multiple stressors.

Specimens of the Mediterranean sea anemone Anemonia viridis were exposed to methylmercury (MeHg) and bacterial infection to study their immune responses to a well-known toxic pollutant. Anemones were housed in laboratory conditions and divided into five experimental groups: 1. control (no microinjection); 2.

[The COVID-19 epidemic and total mortality: missed data and the incoming epidemiology].

The generation of rapid information has been an important novelty in the COVID-19 pandemic and a challenge for epidemiology. The methodological frailty and uncertainty of rapid data use has been a consequence. We are talking about an 'intermezzo' epidemiology between the event and the production of consolidated data that opens up great opportunities to the use epidemiology for rapid public health decisions, provided a careful work to be done before emergencies.

Signals of loss: Local collapse of neglected vermetid reefs in the western Mediterranean Sea.

During the summer of 2022, an extensive die-off of Dendropoma cristatum and other marine organisms associated with vermetid reefs was observed in the western Mediterranean Sea (northern coast of Sicily). Quantitative data from more than 300 km of coastal stripe indicated that the percentage of dead D. cristatum specimens, showing empty and/or transversely fractured shells, ranged from 64 to 84 % in populations having a density of 2900-4730 ind.

Plasma miRNA-based signatures in CRC screening programs.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening programs help diagnose cancer precursors and early cancers and help reduce CRC mortality. However, currently recommended tests, the fecal immunochemical test (FIT) and colonoscopy, have low uptake. There is therefore a pressing need for screening strategies that are minimally invasive and consequently more acceptable to patients, most likely blood based, to increase early CRC identification.

Implementation of Failure Mode and Effects Analysis to the specimens flow in a population-based colorectal cancer screening programme using immunochemical faecal occult blood tests: a quality improvement project in the Milan colorectal cancer screening programme.

Background: A multidisciplinary working group applied the Healthcare Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (HFMEA) approach to the flow of kits and specimens for the first-level test of a colorectal cancer screening programme using immunochemical faecal occult blood tests.

Methods: HFMEA comprised four steps: (1) identification and mapping of the process steps (subprocesses); (2) analysis of failure modes and calculation of the risk priority numbers (RPNs); (3) identification of corrective actions; and (4) follow-up and evaluation of corrective actions.

Results: The team identified 9 main failure modes, 12 effects and 34 associated causes.

Road Traffic Pollution and Childhood Leukemia: A Nationwide Case-control Study in Italy.

Background: The association of childhood leukemia with traffic pollution was considered in a number of studies from 1989 onwards, with results not entirely consistent and little information regarding subtypes.

Aim Of The Study: We used the data of the Italian SETIL case-control on childhood leukemia to explore the risk by leukemia subtypes associated to exposure to vehicular traffic.

Methods: We included in the analyses 648 cases of childhood leukemia (565 Acute lymphoblastic-ALL and 80 Acute non lymphoblastic-AnLL) and 980 controls.

[Investigative model for the evaluation of spatio-temporal clusters of childhood cancers].

This paper describes the conceptual framework and the critical issues of investigations of clusters of childhood cancers and defines an investigative model for the health authorities responsible for assessing a suspected cluster, taking into account the guidelines available and considering the most recent advances of the Geographical Information System and of the specific statistical methodology. Three main investigation phases are identified: the first consists in the preliminary study on the health of population living in the area where the cases are defined and aetiological hypotheses are formulated; the second is the cluster evaluation study using statistical methods assessing the spatial heterogeneity and collecting information about potential risk factors; the third is the analytical epidemiological study to test aetiological hypotheses suggested by the previous phases. The residential cohort approach is the most valid to date to assess long-term effects, and allows to reconstruct the lifetime residential history from the population registry.

The EUROMED CANCER network: state-of-art of cancer screening programmes in non-EU Mediterranean countries.

Background: The EUROMED CANCER Network project aims to support non-EU Mediterranean countries in the development of cancer early detection and screening policies.

Methods: Through a structured questionnaire information from 15 countries (Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Croatia, Egypt, Jordan, UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro, Morocco, Palestinian National Authority, Serbia, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey) were collected on cancer epidemiology and control.

Results: Large differences between countries are evident.

Invitation strategies for colorectal cancer screening programmes: The impact of an advance notification letter.

Aim: To estimate the impact of an advance notification letter on participation in sigmoidoscopy (FS) and fecal immunochemical test (FIT) screening.

Methods: Eligible subjects, invited in 3 Italian population based programmes using FS and in 5 using FIT, were randomised (1:1:1), within GP, to: A) standard invitation letter; B) advance notification followed after 1month by the standard invitation; and C) B+indication to contact the general practitioner (GP) to get advice about the decision to be screened. We calculated the 9-month attendance and the incremental cost of each strategy.

SETIL: Italian multicentric epidemiological case-control study on risk factors for childhood leukaemia, non hodgkin lymphoma and neuroblastoma: study population and prevalence of risk factors in Italy.

Background: Aetiology of childhood leukaemia and childhood neoplasm is poorly understood. Information on the prevalence of risk factors in the childhood population is limited. SETIL is a population based case-control study on childhood leukaemia, conducted with two companion studies on non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) and neuroblastoma.

Effects of heat waves on mortality: effect modification and confounding by air pollutants.

Background: Heat waves and air pollution are both associated with increased mortality. Their joint effects are less well understood.

Methods: We explored the role of air pollution in modifying the effects of heat waves on mortality, within the EuroHEAT project.

Estimates of cancer burden in Lombardy.

Aims And Background: Cancer registration in Lombardy covers almost half of the regional population and started in 1976 in the Varese province. The aim of this paper is to provide estimates of the incidence, mortality and prevalence of seven major cancers for the entire Lombardy region in the period 1970-2015.

Methods: The estimates were obtained by applying the MIAMOD method, a statistical back-calculation approach to derive incidence and prevalence figures starting from mortality and relative survival data.