COVID-19 detection from exhaled breath.

The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus emerged in 2019 causing a COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in 7 million deaths out of 770 million reported cases over the next 4 years. The global health emergency called for unprecedented efforts to monitor and reduce the rate of infection, pushing the study of new diagnostic methods. In this paper, we introduce a cheap, fast, and non-invasive COVID-19 detection system, which exploits only exhaled breath.

Symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections after full schedule BNT162b2 vaccination in seropositive healthcare workers: a case series from a single institution.

We report 11 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in healthcare workers (HCW) for COVID-19 and seropositive after the second dose of the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine. Based on voluntary-based surveillance, they tested positive for different strains of SARS-CoV-2, as Spike gene sequencing showed. Five of them reported mild symptoms.

Multicomponent intervention provided by GPs to reduce cardiovascular risk factors: evaluation in an Italian large sample.

Background: The cardiovascular risk increases in a multiplicative way when patients present more risk factors simultaneously. Moreover, the General Practitioners (GPs) play a crucial role in risk factors prevention and reduction. This work aimed to evaluate a multicomponent intervention in the Primary Care Department in an Italian Local Health Unit.

Workplace drug testing on urine samples: evidence for improving efficacy of a first-level screening programme.

Background: Previous reports revealed poor performance in identifying drugs of abuse users through first-level workplace drug testing (WDT), based on urine samples. In a cross-sectional study, we evaluated: (i) the effect of creatinine normalization of drug values from diluted urine samples (creatinine levels ≤ 20 mg/dL) on the prevalence of drug users; (ii) the independent procedure-related predictors of positivity and dilution.

Methods: Workers' urine samples were collected at the workplace or at our certified laboratory between 2008 and 2012.

[Occupational physicians' new attributions and responsibilities].

Background: With the introduction in Italy of the Law regarding alcohol abuse and addiction (Law No.125/01), new tasks and responsibilities were assigned to occupational physicians. This law establishes that in working activities with a high risk of industrial accidents, or which may cause a risk for the safety and health of others, workers are forbidden to consume alcoholic beverages during working hours.

[Stabilometric parameters associated with musculoskeletal diseases in a group of traffic policemen].

As reported by previous literature, the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders is high in population of local police officers, due to several risk factors, including awkward posture, jolt/vibrations and stress. The results of our study reveal that the most common musculoskeletal symptoms among local police officers are cervicobrachial pain, low back pain and sciatica. Low-back pain is associated with tasks exposing to awkward posture of the spine (traffic policemen and policemen involved in office-based duties); cervical and upper extremity disorders are related to the exposure to vibrations and to the upper limb posture held by motorcycle police.

[Reliability of the Karasek scale in the assessment of perceived occupational stress and gender-related differences in scores. The SEMM study].

In recent years more attention has been paid to the relationship between work organization and job stress and chronic-degenerative diseases. Aims of this report are the assessment of the reliability and internal consistency of the Karasek's Job Content Questionnaire-JCQ and to assess age-specific distributions of core JCQ scores between the gender groups. The study has been carried out in a large group of employees (n.

[Differences of mortality risk for all causes and for cardiovascular diseases among occupational classes in men living the Northern Italy].

To assess socio-occupational (SO) class differences in 8-year risk of all-cause and cardiovascular (CVD) death in an North Italian prospective epidemiological study, five cohorts (four population-based and one factory-based) were investigated at baseline from 1986 to 1995. Follow-up procedures allow to sensor 4339 35-74 years old men up to the end of 1998 for all-cause and cardiovascular deaths. Coronary risk factors were measures according to the standardised methods of MONICA Project.