Publications by authors named "Sciortino M"

Medical devices used for functional or esthetic purposes improve health and quality of life; however, they are not risk-free. Anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL), associated with breast implants, is a well-known and recognized distinct lymphoma entity. More recently, additional lymphomas have been reported in relation to prosthesis other than breast implants, as these allow the pericyte to develop into a clone that undergoes a maturation process, progressing toward full malignancy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Increased global research is focused on the development of novel therapeutics to combat antimicrobial and antiviral resistance. Pistachio nuts represent a good source of protein, fiber, monounsaturated fatty acids, minerals, vitamins, and phytochemicals (carotenoids, phenolic acids, flavonoids and anthocyanins). The phytochemicals found in pistachios are structurally diverse compounds with antimicrobial and antiviral potential, demonstrated as individual compounds, extracts and complexed into nanoparticles.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Influenza poses a significant public health risk, particularly for severe cases, prompting the need for effective vaccination strategies among pediatric populations in Palermo.
  • A study was conducted in two phases, starting with an educational intervention for family pediatricians (FPs), followed by monitoring the safety and acceptance of the qLAIV vaccine among children.
  • Results showed a vaccination coverage rate of 13.2%, much higher than the average rates in the Palermo LHA and throughout Sicily, with only mild adverse reactions reported, indicating that educational efforts can enhance vaccination rates effectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The continuous emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants caused the persistence of the COVID-19 epidemic and challenged the effectiveness of the existing vaccines. The viral proteases are the most attractive targets for developing antiviral drugs. In this scenario, our study explores the use of HIV-1 protease inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

With the pandemic, there has been a global reduction in influenza virus circulation, with WHO reporting, during 2021/22 season, laboratory testing positivity rate for influenza of less than 3%. Influenza surveillance systems anticipated a peak of influenza cases in the Northern Hemisphere during 2022/2023 season and the Italian Ministry of Health recommended the routinary co-administration of influenza with bivalent COVID-19 vaccines for the 2022/2023 season. At the Vaccination Hub of the University Hospital (UH) of Palermo, more than 700 subjects received influenza and COVID-19 booster doses in co-administration, during the 2021/2022 season.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The World Health Organization is coordinating an international project aimed at systematically reviewing the evidence regarding the association between radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) exposure and adverse health effects. Reproductive health outcomes have been identified among the priority topics to be addressed.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of RF-EMF exposure on male fertility of experimental mammals and on human sperm exposed in vitro.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Asbestos is a significant occupational carcinogen, and despite its ban in Italy since 1992, the country continues to face high rates of asbestos-related diseases (ARDs), particularly in the Province of Palermo from 2010 to 2021.
  • The study identified 245 ARD cases among asbestos-exposed workers, revealing a range of conditions including asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma, with tobacco use notably increasing lung cancer risk.
  • The findings highlight the ongoing public health challenge posed by ARDs, stressing the need for improved data collection and early diagnosis methods to better manage these diseases in affected populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Tobacco use is responsible for over 7 million deaths annually, making smoking the leading cause of preventable mortality globally. Over the last two decades in Italy, the prevalence of smoking among physicians has consistently decreased, while it remains higher and is gradually decreasing among non-physician healthcare workers. The aim of this study was to investigate the Prevalence of smoking habits, attitudes, and knowledge on counteractive strategies among employees in the Primary Healthcare Facilities in the Province of Palermo, Italy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Immunoconjugates use monoclonal antibodies to deliver toxic agents directly to disease sites, but traditional bioconjugation methods can lead to mixed outcomes due to a variety of target residues.
  • A new technique was developed for regioselective bioconjugation between Trastuzumab and a specific chelator (DOTA) using controlled conditions to minimize unwanted conjugates.
  • Analysis revealed specific lysine residues involved in the reaction, with detailed mapping showing varying degrees of DOTA attachment across different antibody domains, resulting in a targeted and effective immunoconjugate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Epstein-Barr (EBV) is a human γ-herpesvirus that undergoes both a productive (lytic) cycle and a non-productive (latent) phase. The virus establishes enduring latent infection in B lymphocytes and productive infection in the oral mucosal epithelium. Like other herpesviruses, EBV expresses its genes in a coordinated pattern during acute infection.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has provoked a global health crisis due to the absence of a specific therapeutic agent. 3CL (also known as the main protease or M) and PL are chymotrypsin-like proteases encoded by the SARS-CoV-2 genome, and play essential roles during the virus lifecycle. Therefore, they are recognized as a prospective therapeutic target in drug discovery against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Breast implant-associated anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) is a rare form of non-Hodgkin T-cell lymphoma associated with breast reconstruction post-mastectomy or cosmetic-additive mammoplasty. The increasing use of implants for cosmetic purposes is expected to lead to an increase in BIA-ALCL cases. This study investigated the main characteristics of the disease and the factors predicting BIA-ALCL onset in patients with and without an implant replacement.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The COVID-19 pandemic posed challenges to communicating accurate information about vaccines because of the spread of misinformation. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) tried to reassure the public by communicating early on about the development and approval of COVID-19 vaccines. The EMA surveyed patients/consumers, healthcare professional organizations, and individual stakeholders, both at the EU level and in an Italian regional context.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The activation of the innate immune response during HSV-1 infection stimulates several transcription factors, such as NF-κB and IRF3, which are critical regulators of IFN-β expression. The released IFN-β activates the ISGs, which encode antiviral effectors such as the PKR. We found that HSV-1 triggers an antiviral transcriptional response during viral replication by activating TBK1-IRF3-NF-κB network kinetically.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The World Health Organization is coordinating an international project aimed at systematically reviewing the evidence regarding the association between radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) exposure and adverse health effects. Within the project, 6 topics have been prioritized by an expert group, which include reproductive health outcomes.

Objectives: According to the protocol published in 2021, a systematic review and meta-analyses on the adverse effects of RF-EMF exposure during pregnancy in offspring of experimental animals were conducted.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The search for alternative clinical treatments to fight resistance and find alternative antiviral treatments for the herpes simplex virus (HSV) is of great interest. Plants are rich sources of novel antiviral, pharmacologically active agents that provide several advantages, including reduced side effects, less resistance, low toxicity, and different mechanisms of action. In the present work, the antiviral activity of Californian natural raw (NRRE) and roasted unsalted (RURE) pistachio polyphenols-rich extracts was evaluated against HSV-1 using VERO cells.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Mediterranean Diet (MD) is a universal model of nutrition that prevents several metabolic, cardiovascular, and oncological diseases. Main objective of the present study was to analyze adherence and knowledge regarding MD principles in a sample of individuals practicing amatorial sports from the Metropolitan Area of Palermo.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 10 Sports Centers, between October 2020 and September 2021, through a previously validated anonymous questionnaire structured in five sections including 74 items.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Rotavirus (RV) is among the most common vaccine-preventable diseases in children under five years of age. Despite the severity of rotavirus pathology in early childhood, rotavirus vaccination for children admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), who are often born preterm and with various previous illnesses, is not performed. This multicenter, 3-year project aims to evaluate the safety of RV vaccine administration within the six main neonatal intensive care units of the Sicilian Region to preterm infants.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Increasing adherence to influenza vaccination among healthcare workers is a public health priority, stated that actually remains far below than international recommendations. During the 2020/2021 pandemic season, COVID-19 vaccines were not yet available until the end of December 2020, and influenza vaccines were the only one available to protect against seasonal respiratory diseases. The main objective of the present study was to assess knowledge, attitudes and adherence to influenza and other vaccinations recommended by the National Immunization Plan 2017-2021 for healthcare workers.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The almond industry produces, by bleaching and stripping, two by-products: blanched skin (BS) and blanch water (BW). The aim of this study was to investigate the nutritional and polyphenolic profile, as well as the antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiviral, and potential prebiotic effects of BS and BW from three different Sicilian cultivars. The total phenols and flavonoids contents were ≥1.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Matching statistics were introduced to solve the approximate string matching problem, which is a recurrent subroutine in bioinformatics applications. In 2010, Ohlebusch et al. [SPIRE 2010] proposed a time and space efficient algorithm for computing matching statistics which relies on some components of a compressed suffix tree - notably, the longest common prefix (LCP) array.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The present study aims to assess the antioxidant and antiviral effectiveness of leaf extracts obtained from L. var. and L.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

is a rich source of bioactive compounds which exhibit various biological effects. In this study, pomegranate peel and leaf ethanolic crude extracts (PPE and PLE, respectively) were phytochemically characterized and screened for antioxidant, antimicrobial and antiviral activity. LC-PDA-ESI-MS analysis led to the identification of different compounds, including ellagitannins, flavonoids and phenolic acids.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Dairy products represent an important source of beneficial substances for humans. At the same time, they can expose the consumers to environmental contaminants ingested by animals through their diet, influencing their health negatively. This experiment aims to evaluate the risk and benefits related to the consumption of typical stretched cheeses, considering their fatty acid (FA) profile and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) content.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Public Health Authorities should prioritize combating vaccine hesitancy through effective health communication, especially in light of Italy's implementation of a mandatory Digital Green Certificate (DGC) for accessing certain workplaces.
  • A study conducted in Palermo revealed that 43.3% of participants' vaccination decisions were influenced by the DGC, with those vaccinated reporting a greater sense of freedom but lower feelings of safety post-vaccination.
  • The results indicate that the DGC contributed to increased vaccination rates and, combined with strong communication strategies, could effectively address vaccine hesitancy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF