Impact of Self-Reported Long-Term Mental Health Morbidity on Help-Seeking and Diagnostic Testing for Bowel-Related Cancer Symptoms: A Vignette Study.

Objective: To investigate if pre-existing mental health morbidity (MHM) might influence help-seeking and willingness to undergo diagnostic investigations for potential colorectal cancer (CRC) symptoms.

Methods: An online vignette survey was completed by 1307 adults aged > 50 years recruited through Prolific, a UK panel provider. Participants self-reported any chronic physical or MHM.

Disability and Participation in Colorectal Cancer Screening: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: The aim of this study is to assess the impact of disability on participation in CRC screening and to determine the overall effect size.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare CRC screening participation in individuals with and without disabilities. The search encompassed five databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Google Scholar, medRxiv).

Assessment and repeatability of aerobic capacity using the Chester Step Test among current, former, and never smokers.

Cigarette smoking contributes to reduced cardiorespiratory performance, which may improve upon cessation. Consequently, former smokers' cardiorespiratory fitness should not be significantly different from that of never-smokers. This study aims to compare V̇O values among current, former, and never smokers and assess the repeatability of measurements using the Chester Step Test (CST).

Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic: Promoting Vaccination and Public Health Resilience, a Narrative Review.

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the critical importance of adaptable and resilient public health systems capable of rapid response to emerging health crises. This paper synthesizes the lessons learned from the COVID-19 vaccination campaign and explores strategies to enhance vaccine uptake in the post-pandemic era. Key challenges identified include logistical, economic, sociocultural, and policy dimensions that impact vaccination efforts, particularly in low-resource settings.

Involvement of the tomato BBX16 and BBX17 microProteins in reproductive development.

BBXs are B-Box zinc finger proteins that can act as transcription factors and regulators of protein complexes. Several BBX proteins play important roles in plant development. Two Arabidopsis thaliana microProteins belonging to the BBX family, named miP1a and miP1b, homotypically interact with and modulate the activity of other BBX proteins, including CONSTANS, which transcriptionally activates the florigen, FLOWERING LOCUS T.

The role of pharmacies in the implementation of vaccination cover- age in Italy. Insights from the preliminary data of the Lombardy Region.

Introduction: The administration of vaccines in pharmacies was not allowed in Italy until 2021. During the COVID-19 pandemic, legislative innovations were introduced that now allow qualified pharmacists to administer anti-flu and anti-COVID-19 vaccines after completing specific training.

Methods: The article provides an overview of legislation concerning vaccinations in Italian pharmacies, followed by a description of the vaccinations carried out by pharmacies participating in the regional vaccination campaign from 2021 to 2023.

The contribution of the private healthcare sector during the COVID-19 pandemic: the experience of the Lombardy Region in Northern Italy.

Introduction: In Lombardy, the first European region hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, for decades the regional public healthcare service has followed a mixed delivery model with extensive involvement of private accredited providers. The study aimed at examining the role of the private sector in delivering healthcare services (diagnosis, hospitalization, and vaccination) during the pandemic.

Study Design: Healthcare system study.

Quality of hospital care and clinical outcomes: a comparison between the Lombardy Region and the Italian national data.

Background: Improving the quality and effectiveness of healthcare is a key priority in health policy. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has exerted considerable pressure on hospital networks, requiring unprecedented reorganization and restructuring actions. This study analyzed data from the Italian National Outcomes Program to compare some volumes and outcomes of public and private accredited hospitals in the Lombardy Region with national data.

Impact of the Covid pandemic on timely cancer diagnosis across European healthcare settings: a scoping review.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic presented unprecedented challenges to European healthcare systems. The study aimed to review the available evidence on the impact of the pandemic on the timely diagnosis of cancer across European countries. The primary objective was to examine changes in diagnostic pathways and stage at diagnosis during the pandemic, compared to the pre-pandemic period, across European countries, taking healthcare system characteristics and COVID-19 policies into account.

Training and career opportunities for residencies in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine: results of a survey on 39 Italian schools.

Introduction: The Italian National Health Service (SSN) is currently grappling. with a complex situation, characterized by a persistent shortage of medical personnel and the divergent aspirations of young medical graduates. Additionally, recent regulatory developments concerning specialist training further contribute to the intricacies of the landscape, calling for a comprehensive analysis of the challenges and opportunities within the sector.

MicroRNAs associated with AGL6 and IAA9 function in tomato fruit set.

Objective: Fruit set is triggered after ovule fertilization, as a consequence of the downregulation of ovary growth repressors, such as the tomato transcription factors Auxin/indole-3-acetic acid 9 (IAA9) and Agamous-like 6 (AGL6). In a recent work, we developed a method to silence IAA9 and AGL6 in tomato ovaries using exogenous dsRNAs. We also produced small RNA libraries from IAA9- and AGL6-silenced ovaries to confirm the presence of siRNAs, derived from exogenous dsRNA, targeting IAA9 and AGL6.

Genesis and prospects of the shortage of specialist physicians in Italy and indicators of the 39 schools of hygiene and preventive medicine.

In Italy, the number of physicians decreased in recent years due to retirements not being replaced by young specialists. To address this shortage of medical personnel, proper planning is needed, taking into consideration the number of accesses in medical schools and residency contracts. The main objective of this study is to deepen the data on the number of physicians, provide a prospective picture and make some suggestions for future planning.

The retinal neurovascular coupling is impaired in men with vasculogenic erectile dysfunction.

The aim of this study was to study the retinal vessels in patients affected by vasculogenic erectile dysfunction (ED), using dynamic vessel analyzer (DVA). Patients with vasculogenic ED and control subjects were prospectively enrolled to undergo a complete urological and ophthalmologic evaluation, including DVA and structural optical coherence tomography (OCT). The main outcome measures were: (1) arterial dilation; (2) arterial constriction; (3) reaction amplitude (the difference between arterial dilation and constriction); and, (4) venous dilation.

Identification of Illicit Conservation Treatments in Fresh Fish by Micro-Raman Spectroscopy and Chemometric Methods.

In the field of food control for fresh products, the identification of foods subjected to illicit conservation treatments to extend their shelf life is fundamental. Fresh fish products are particularly subjected to this type of fraud due to their high commercial value and the fact that they often have to be transported over a long distance, keeping their organoleptic characteristics unaltered. Treatments of this type involve, e.

Nanovector-mediated exogenous delivery of dsRNA induces silencing of target genes in very young tomato flower buds.

RNA interference (RNAi) is a post-translational regulatory mechanism that controls gene expression in plants. This process can be artificially induced by double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecules with sequence homology to target mRNAs. Exogenously applied dsRNA on leaves has been shown to silence virulence genes of fungi and viruses, conferring protection to plants.

Synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic properties of nanostructured lanthanide doped β-NaYF/TiO composite films.

The photocatalytic approach is known to be one of the most promising advanced oxidation processes for the tertiary treatment of polluted water. In this paper, β-NaYF/TiO composite films have been synthetized through a novel sol-gel/spin-coating approach using a mixture of β-diketonate complexes of Na and Y, and Yb, Tm, Gd, Eu as doping ions, together with the TiO P25 nanoparticles. The herein pioneering approach represents an easy, straightforward and industrially appealing method for the fabrication of doped β-NaYF/TiO composites.

Association between Daily Pattern of Physical Activity and Depression: A Systematic Review.

Recent research suggested that daily pattern of physical activity (PA) may have an important association with depression, but findings are limited and contradictory. Our aim was to conduct a systematic review of the literature to summarize the literature evidence on the association between timing of PA and depression. A comprehensive search of PubMed/Medline and Scopus databases has been performed, and a total of five manuscripts have been thoroughly reviewed.

Chemometric Differentiation of Sole and Plaice Fish Fillets Using Three Near-Infrared Instruments.

Fish species substitution is one of the most common forms of fraud all over the world, as fish identification can be very challenging for both consumers and experienced inspectors in the case of fish sold as fillets. The difficulties in distinguishing among different species may generate a "grey area" in which mislabelling can occur. Thus, the development of fast and reliable tools able to detect such frauds in the field is of crucial importance.

Knowledge and attitudes towards Zika virus: an Italian nation-wide cross-sectional study.

Background: Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arthropod-borne virus transmitted through infected mosquitos. The aim of this Italian nation-wide study was to evaluate general population's knowledge and attitudes towards ZIKV, its transmission, and travel-related preventive measures.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between July and August 2017, through a validated questionnaire.

A New Surgical Technique to Deliver Riboflavin Beneath Corneal Epithelium: The Corneal Cross-Linking Epi-Pocket.

Purpose: To describe a new technique to deliver riboflavin into the corneal stroma during Corneal Cross-Linking (CXL) without the removal of corneal epithelium.

Methods: Keratoconus patients underwent CXL for progressive keratoconus. Riboflavin was delivered by manually creating an epithelial pocket (CXL Epi-Pocket).

Challenges and Opportunities of Mass Vaccination Centers in COVID-19 Times: A Rapid Review of Literature.

A mass vaccination center is a location, normally used for nonhealthcare activities, set up for high-volume and high-speed vaccinations during infectious disease emergencies. The high contagiousness and mortality of COVID-19 and the complete lack of population immunity posed an extraordinary threat for global health. The aim of our research was to collect and review previous experiences on mass vaccination centers.

Differentiation between Fresh and Thawed Cephalopods Using NIR Spectroscopy and Multivariate Data Analysis.

The sale of frozen-thawed fish and fish products, labeled as fresh, is currently one of the most common and insidious commercial food frauds. For this reason, the demand of reliable tools to identify the storage conditions is increasing. The present study was performed on two species, commonly sold in large-scale distribution: Cuttlefish () and musky octopus ( spp.

USING THREE-DIMENSIONAL OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY ANGIOGRAPHY METRICS IMPROVES REPEATABILITY ON QUANTIFICATION OF ISCHEMIA IN EYES WITH DIABETIC MACULAR EDEMA.

Purpose: Two-dimensional (2D) optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) is known to be prone to segmentation errors, especially in pathologic eyes. Therefore, our aim was to systematically compare intrasession repeatability between repeated scans for 2D and three-dimensional (3D) OCTA metrics in quantifying retinal perfusion in eyes with diabetic macular edema.

Methods: Diabetic patients with diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema who had two consecutive OCTA imaging scans obtained during the same visit were retrospectively included.

How Hormones and MADS-Box Transcription Factors Are Involved in Controlling Fruit Set and Parthenocarpy in Tomato.

Fruit set is the earliest phase of fruit growth and represents the onset of ovary growth after successful fertilization. In parthenocarpy, fruit formation is less affected by environmental factors because it occurs in the absence of pollination and fertilization, making parthenocarpy a highly desired agronomic trait. Elucidating the genetic program controlling parthenocarpy, and more generally fruit set, may have important implications in agriculture, considering the need for crops to be adaptable to climate changes.