Publications by authors named "Licata M"

Diagnosing non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD) in patients unable to produce sputum spontaneously requires invasive procedures to obtain valid respiratory specimens. In this retrospective study, we evaluated the results of microbiological tests performed on respiratory samples of 132 patients affected by NTM-PD. In the diagnostic workout, 98 patients performed both induced sputum (IS) and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and were enrolled in our study.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Ethiopian mustard and safflower are oilseed crops that have potential for use as biofuel feedstock, with their agricultural residues also providing renewable energy opportunities on farms.
  • The study compared the yield and energy characteristics of these crops over two years in Sicily, finding Ethiopian mustard yielded more seeds (2.9 t/ha) and agricultural residues (7.8 t/ha) than safflower, with different moisture contents in their residues but similar heating values.
  • Ethiopian mustard showed greater energy potential (91.27 GJ/ha) for renewable energy use, while safflower offered higher economic profitability due to its seed sale price (484 € ha).
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: The abscopal effect is a systemic immune response characterized by metastases regression at sites distant from the irradiated lesion. This systematic review aims to explore the immunological mechanisms of action underlying the abscopal effect and to investigate how hyperthermia (HT) can increase the chances of radiotherapy (RT) triggering systemic anti-tumor immune responses.

Methods: This review is created in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * A systematic review of 49 studies (27 qualitative and 22 quantitative) analyzed the barriers and enablers to delivering SNAP-W care, revealing that the majority of issues stem from environmental context and resources, which affected 96% of studies.
  • * Key barriers included insufficient time, limited access to resources, and inadequate organizational support, while beliefs about the consequences of care were also significant in hindering effective antenatal care delivery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Two phages belonging to phage cluster AK were isolated from soil samples collected in Newburgh, NY in 2021. Both are lytic with a genome organization typical of siphoviruses except for two genes encoding minor tail proteins with pyocin-knob domains found early in the genome, before the terminase gene.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Antenatal clinical guidelines recommend antenatal care providers routinely assess the smoking status of all pregnant women at the first antenatal visit and, for women who are current smokers, provide cessation support at the first and all subsequent visits. This study aimed to assess women's receipt of comprehensive guideline-recommended care for smoking during pregnancy and the maternal and service characteristics associated with such care.

Aims And Methods: A telephone survey was conducted with women who were recently pregnant and received antenatal care from public maternity services in one Australian local health district.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Sage ( L.) is a medicinal and aromatic plant (MAP) belonging to the family. Its morphological, productive and chemical characteristics are affected by abiotic and biotic factors.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: E-cigarette use has rapidly increased amongst young people in Australia, however the prevalence of use amongst pregnant people is not known. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of e-cigarette use and dual use of e-cigarettes and tobacco cigarettes, characteristics associated with use and reasons for use amongst a sample of pregnant Australian people attending public antenatal clinics.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 4024 pregnant people attending antenatal appointments, between July 2021 and December 2022, in one local health district in New South Wales, Australia.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Developing an effective mRNA therapeutic often requires maximizing protein output per delivered mRNA molecule. We previously found that coding sequence (CDS) design can substantially affect protein output, with mRNA variants containing more optimal codons and higher secondary structure yielding the highest protein outputs due to their slow rates of mRNA decay. Here, we demonstrate that CDS-dependent differences in translation initiation and elongation rates lead to differences in translation- and deadenylation-dependent mRNA decay rates, thus explaining the effect of CDS on mRNA half-life.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Globally, guideline-recommended antenatal care for smoking cessation is not routinely delivered by antenatal care providers. Implementation strategies have been shown to improve the delivery of clinical practices across a variety of clinical services but there is an absence of evidence in applying such strategies to support improvements to antenatal care for smoking cessation in pregnancy. This study aims to determine the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of implementation strategies in increasing the routine provision of recommended antenatal care for smoking cessation in public maternity services.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To develop a differential diagnosis of a mass retrieved alongside skeletal remains in the crypt of the church of Santissima Annunziata of Valenza (Province of Alessandria, Northern Italy).

Material: A calcified mass measuring 40 × 39 mm and 17.62 × 16.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the implementation and acceptability of gestational weight gain (GWG) care as recommended by Australian clinical guidelines for pregnant women, focusing on weight assessment and dietary advice.
  • It found that only 13.1% of women reported receiving weight assessments at both their first and a subsequent antenatal visit, and less than one-third received comprehensive advice on GWG, diet, and physical activity.
  • Factors such as being younger, identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, having a higher pre-pregnancy BMI, experiencing a first pregnancy, and living in lower socio-economic conditions were associated with higher likelihoods of receiving care and advice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In Italy, tuberculosis (TB) incidence in the last decade has remained constant at under 10 cases/100,000 inhabitants. In the Philippines, TB annual incidence is greater than 500 cases/100,000 inhabitants. Omalizumab is a humanized anti-IgE monoclonal antibody approved for the treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Smoking, alcohol consumption and weight gain outside recommendations during pregnancy are preventable health risk factors associated with poorer health outcomes for mother and infant. Clustering of these risk factors further increases the risk and severity of outcomes. Limited research has explored the characteristics of pregnant women that are associated with clustering of these risks and women's preferences for receiving support.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We discuss the coexistence of a postmortem cut and a pathological alteration, recorded on a skeleton belonging to an adult man that was discovered during the archaeological investigations of the cemetery of the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Vercelli (northern Italy, 18-19 century). The skull presents an oblique cleft, which from the top of the frontal bone bends towards the occipital, and the left styloid process is elongated compared to normal values (48 mm). The elongated styloid process is due to the ossification of the styloid ligament which has several possible causes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Safflower ( L.) is a promising oilseed crop for cultivation in central Southern Italy due to its high tolerance to drought and salinity stress and appreciable seed and oil yields. The genetic diversity of cultivars and climate factors can affect fatty acid composition and yield traits.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: This paper aims to present one of the first osteoarchaeological cases of orbital osteomyelitis and provides the best diagnostic criteria to identify its pathophysiological changes.

Materials: A well-preserved skeleton of an adult male from the medieval cemetery of Sant' Agostino in Caravate, Italy.

Methods: Macroscopic, tomographic, and histological analyses were performed using standard methods.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Autonomic nervous system activity in cirrhotic portal hypertension is linked to hyperdynamic circulation. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a validated noninvasive method to assess the sympathovagal balance. To investigate the correlation between HRV parameters and degree of portal hypertension, we studied a cohort of patients with cirrhosis accounting for etiology and treatments.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an incurable motor neuron disease whose etiology remains unresolved; nonetheless, mutations of superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) have been associated with several variants of ALS. Currently available pharmacologic interventions are only symptomatic and palliative in effect; therefore, there is a pressing demand for more effective drugs. This study examined potential therapeutic effects of growth hormone secretagogues (GHSs), a large family of synthetic compounds, as possible candidates for the treatment of ALS.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Exclusive breastfeeding to six months of age is a major global public health priority. Several characteristics are known to be associated with early cessation of breastfeeding, however, limited evidence exists regarding whether women's reported reasons for cessation are associated with maternal, pregnancy and infant characteristics. The aims of this study were to: i) describe women's reported intention to breastfeed and their subsequent breastfeeding practices; ii) describe women's reported reasons for breastfeeding cessation prior to the infant being five months of age; and iii) examine associations between these factors and maternal, pregnancy and infant characteristics.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Clinical guideline recommendations for addressing modifiable risk factors are not routinely implemented into preconception and antenatal care. This review assessed the effectiveness of implementation strategies in improving health professional provision of preconception and antenatal care addressing tobacco smoking, weight management and alcohol consumption.

Methods: A systematic review of randomised and non-randomised studies with a parallel comparison group was conducted.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This work presents the neoplastic bone changes found in the lower limb of a medieval skeleton from the church of Sant' Agostino in Caravate (Northern Italy). After briefly assessing the individual's overall pathological picture, a differential diagnosis for the neoplastic changes is now proposed. These changes were analysed macroscopically and radiographically and subsequently evaluated considering the paleopathological and clinical literature available.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Controversies and skepticism about vaccination have existed as long as vaccination itself. Today and yesterday, the authority of religious leaders has a fundamental role to convince members of their congregations to accept or reject vaccination. Our contribution tells of the stratagem used by the Italian doctor Luigi Sacco to make the faithful lean towards the vaccination using their faith as a means.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF