[Global evaluation of the mortality and hospitalization in the Italian contaminated sites included in the SENTIERI project].

Since 2006, epidemiological surveillance of populations living in Italian contaminated sites has been ongoing (SENTIERI Project). Updated global estimates of mortality (2013-2017) and hospitalization (2014-2018) are reported. The excess deaths (observed-expected) for the main groups of diseases were calculated for all the 46 sites together.

[From the selection of priority pollutants to the analysis of health data in the SENTIERI Project].

Objectives: evaluation of mortality and hospitalization of residents in five Italian National Priority Contaminated Sites, studied in the SENTIERI Project, for those pathologies which, on the basis of the assessments of international agencies and bodies, are known to have an aetiological connection with exposure to specific environmental pollutants.

Design: ecological study. SETTING AND PARTICIOANTS: resident population in the sites of Trieste and Piombino (steel plants), and Falconara, Livorno, and the industrial area of Milazzo (petrochemical plants and/or refineries).

[The contaminated sites in the SENTIERI Project: an update of legislative, contamination, and sources of environmental exposure aspects in Italy].

In Italy, the problem of contaminated sites was introduced for the first time at a regulatory level with the 'Ronchi Decree' No. 22 of 1997. Subsequently, the regulations that defined most of the contaminated Sites of National Interest (SINs) were Law No.

[SENTIERI Project: a systematic review on the association between sources of environmental exposure in contaminated sites and health outcomes].

Background: the epidemiological surveillance programme carried out in the Italian Contaminated Sites (SENTIERI Project) is based on an a priori evaluation of the epidemiological evidence of a causal association between environmental exposures and health outcomes.

Objectives: to produce an updated review of the epidemiological evidence (January 2009-May 2020) on the association between environmental exposures and health outcomes predefined and published by the SENTIERI working group.

Methods: a systematic review was conducted on MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Web of Science.

[SENTIERI - Epidemiological Study of Residents in National Priority Contaminated Sites. Sixth Report].

Introduction Adn Objectives: The Sixth Report presents the results of the "SENTIERI Project: implementation of the permanent epidemiological surveillance system of populations residing in Italian Sites of Remediation Interest", promoted and financed by the Italian Ministry of Health (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention - CCM Project 2018). The aim of this study is to update the mortality and hospitalization analyses concerning the 6,227,531 inhabitants (10.4% of the Italian population) residing in 46 contaminated sites (39 of national interest and 7 of regional interest).

Optimized office lighting advances melatonin phase and peripheral heat loss prior bedtime.

Improving indoor lighting conditions at the workplace has the potential to support proper circadian entrainment of hormonal rhythms, sleep, and well-being. We tested the effects of optimized dynamic daylight and electric lighting on circadian phase of melatonin, cortisol and skin temperatures in office workers. We equipped one office room with an automated controller for blinds and electric lighting, optimized for dynamic lighting (= Test room), and a second room without any automated control (= Reference room).

Ecological meta-analytic study of kidney disease in Italian contaminated sites.

Introduction: Environmental heavy metals exposure has been associated with kidney disease. There is also some evidence that exposure to solvents may be a risk factor for kidney disease. We estimated the risk of hospitalization for kidney diseases (ICD-9 580-586) and chronic kidney disease (CDK, ICD-9 585) in residents in thirty-four Italian National Priority Contaminated Sites (NPCSs) polluted by heavy metals.

Incidence of Thyroid Cancer in Italian Contaminated Sites.

Some human literature suggests a possible role of endocrine disruptors (EDs) exposure in thyroid cancer (TC) development. We investigated TC incidence in selected Italian National Priority Contaminated Sites (NPCS) with documented presence of EDs considered thyroid carcinogens. Adjusted Standardized Incidence Ratios (SIRs), with their 90% confidence intervals, were computed by gender, and age-specific groups (aged 15-39 years, and 40 years or over) for each NPCS in the period 2006 to 2013.

Residential proximity to an industrial incinerator and risk of soft-tissue sarcoma, 1999-2014.

Background: exposure to dioxins has been associated with an increased risk of soft-tissue sarcoma (STS). In a study relating to 1989-1998, a significant excess of STS was found in the population living within a 2-kilometre radius of an industrial incinerator located inside a Mantua industrial site. In the years 1974-1991, the incinerator burned hazardous chlorine-containing waste that resulted in the emission of dioxins.

Human organoids: a new dimension in cell biology.

Organoids derived from stem cells or tissues in culture can develop into structures that resemble the in vivo anatomy and physiology of intact organs. Human organoid cultures provide the potential to study human development and model disease processes with the same scrutiny and depth of analysis customary for research with nonhuman model organisms. Resembling the complexity of the actual tissue or organ, patient-derived human organoid studies may accelerate medical research, creating new opportunities for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, generating knowledge and tools for preclinical studies, including drug development and testing.

Spatial distribution of kidney disease in the contaminated site of Taranto (Italy).

Background: Exposure to heavy metals has been associated with kidney disease. We investigated the spatial distribution of kidney disease in the industrially contaminated site of Taranto.

Methods: Cases were subjects with a first hospital discharge diagnosis of kidney disease.

Incidence of Breast, Prostate, Testicular, and Thyroid Cancer in Italian Contaminated Sites with Presence of Substances with Endocrine Disrupting Properties.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the incidence of breast (females), prostate, testicular, and thyroid cancer in the Italian National Priority Contaminated Sites (NPCSs), served by cancer registries, where the presence of endocrine disruptors (EDs), reported to be linked to these tumours, was documented. Evidence of carcinogenicity of EDs present in NPCSs was assessed based on evaluation by international scientific institutions and committees. Standardized Incidence Ratios (SIRs) were computed for each NPCS and cancer site between 1996 and 2005.

Comprehensive Analysis of the 16p11.2 Deletion and Null Cntnap2 Mouse Models of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder comprises several neurodevelopmental conditions presenting symptoms in social communication and restricted, repetitive behaviors. A major roadblock for drug development for autism is the lack of robust behavioral signatures predictive of clinical efficacy. To address this issue, we further characterized, in a uniform and rigorous way, mouse models of autism that are of interest because of their construct validity and wide availability to the scientific community.

Guglielmo Riva (1627-1677) and the end of hepatocentrism: a 17th-century painting.

During the seventeenth century, the description of the lymphatic system provided a decisive contribution to resolving the misconceptions of Galenic physiology concerning the production of blood in the liver. The transition from a liver-centered (hepatocentrism) to a heart-centered model (cardiocentrism) was fundamental in the history of medicine, since it allowed the role of the liver and of the heart in the bodily processes to be more correctly identified. The modification of the medical knowledge on the liver and its functions during that period is well represented in a 17th-century painting,"ll Fegato" ("The Liver"), probably belonging to the "anatomical museum" of the Roman surgeon Giovanni Guglielmo Riva (1627-1677).

Incidence of soft tissue sarcomas in an Italian area affected by illegal waste dumping sites.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible association between occurrence of soft tissue sarcomas (STS) and residence in an Italian area affected by illegal practices of dumping and setting fire to both hazardous and solid urban wastes. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were computed separately for STS and some specific STS subtypes. The analysis was performed for the total population and for specific age groups, namely, children, adolescents, and adults.

Ecological studies of cancer incidence in an area interested by dumping waste sites in Campania (Italy).

Cancer incidence was investigated in an area which has been affected by the illegal practices of dumping hazardous waste and setting fire to mismanaged waste. For the 35 municipalities of this area that are served by a Cancer Registry, municipal standardized incidence ratios (SIR) and hierarchical Bayesian estimators (BIR) were computed. Moreover, municipal spatial clustering and a Poisson regression by municipality index of waste-related exposure were performed for 10 cancer types.

No evidence of increased risk of soft tissue sarcomas in the neighborhood of a steel foundry in Verona.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the possible association between occurrence of soft tissue sarcomas in Verona (Italy) and residence near a steel foundry, whose emissions of dioxin-like compounds may be relevant. Exposure to total suspended particulate (TSP) emitted from the plant as estimated by ADMS-urban dispersion model was used as an indirect index of exposure to dioxin-like compounds. Verona municipality was divided in six subareas according to the decreasing levels of estimated TSP exposure, and soft tissue sarcomas cases were mapped according to residence at time of diagnosis.

Multidrug-resistant commensal Escherichia coli in children, Peru and Bolivia.

Using a rapid screening method, we investigated the prevalence of fecal carriage of antimicrobial drug-resistant Escherichia coli in 3,174 healthy children from 4 urban settings in Peru and Bolivia. High resistance rates were observed for ampicillin (95%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (94%), tetracycline (93%), streptomycin (82%), and chloramphenicol (70%). Lower resistance rates were observed for nalidixic acid (35%), kanamycin (28%), gentamicin (21%), and ciprofloxacin (18%); resistance to ceftriaxone and amikacin was uncommon (<0.

Evaluation of a rapid screening method for detection of antimicrobial resistance in the commensal microbiota of the gut.

The assessment of antimicrobial resistance among commensal bacteria is an indicator of the spread of antimicrobial resistance. Rapid screening methods for detection of antimicrobial-resistant faecal Escherichia coli directly on MacConkey plates have been successfully adopted but suffer from lack of standardisation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a direct plating method (DPM) for detection of antimicrobial-resistant faecal E.

Effect of antibiotic pretreatment on resistance.

The emergence of bacterial resistance to antibiotics limits the efficacy of technical developments in the field of infectious diseases. This is particularly true for respiratory tract infections, which are by far the main reason for antibiotic use in developed countries. Antimicrobial resistance among respiratory pathogens involves both gram-positive (primarily Streptococcus pneumoniae) and gram-negative (Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, and the more rare enterobacteriaceae) microorganisms.

Evaluation of automated BACTEC MGIT 960 system for testing susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to four major antituberculous drugs: comparison with the radiometric BACTEC 460TB method and the agar plate method of proportion.

We evaluated the performance of BACTEC MGIT 960 for automated testing of the susceptibility of 133 strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to streptomycin, isoniazid, rifampin, and ethambutol. The BACTEC MGIT 960 results were compared with those obtained with the radiometric BACTEC 460TB system, and when there was disagreement, the method of proportion on agar plates was used as a reference method. Strains resistant to the critical concentration of streptomycin, isoniazid, or ethambutol were also tested with a second, higher concentration.