The re-emergence of dengue virus in non-endemic countries: a case series.

Background: Dengue has been designated a major international public health problem by the World Health Organization. It is endemic in most tropical and sub-tropical countries, which are also popular tourist destinations. Travelers are at significant risk of acquiring the disease and also contribute to its spread to non-endemic countries where the vector is present.

Immunization status of children in foster homes: the first Italian data.

Background: The aim of this paper was to evaluate vaccination coverage among children living in forest homes.

Methods: Data come from pediatric evaluation of a sample of children in group-homes in Rome, between September 2011 and April 2012, and compared vs. general population group.

A novel technique to prevent the loss of graft material through the antrostomy after sinus surgery: technical note.

Maxillary sinus surgery has been shown to be a reliable procedure for increasing vertical bone height prior to implant placement. A variety of grafting materials have been proposed, with particulate bone substitutes showing similar clinical results to autogenous bone when rough surfaces implants are used. A barrier membrane is usually placed external to the grafted sinus, covering the antrostomy.

Tuberculosis: medico-legal aspects.

Tuberculosis is a diffusive infectious disease whose typical behaviour differentiates it from other infectious diseases spread by human-to-human transmission (flu, chicken pox, cholera, etc.) that follow a classic epidemic pattern. Indeed, in the presence of a known source of Koch bacilli that is capable of spreading the bacteria by air, not all exposed individuals inhale the bacteria, not all those who inhale them absorb them, not all those who absorb the bacteria are unable to eliminate them, not all who are able to eliminate them do so using delayed hypersensitivity, not all those who react with delayed hypersensitivity suffer lasting tissue damage (among other things, minor), not all who suffer tissue damage have anatomical sequelae, and not all those who have anatomical sequelae, however minimal, become carriers of bacilli in the latent period.

Second generation imaging of nuclear/cytoplasmic HIV-1 complexes.

The ability to visualize fluorescent HIV-1 particles within the nuclei of infected cells represents an attractive tool to study the nuclear biology of the virus. To this aim we recently developed a microscopy-based fluorescent system (HIV-IN-EGFP) that has proven valid to efficiently visualize HIV-1 complexes in the nuclear compartment and to examine the nuclear import efficiency of the virus. The power of this method to investigate viral events occurring between the cytoplasmic and the nuclear compartment is further shown in this study through the analysis of HIV-IN-EGFP in cells expressing the TRIMCyp restriction factor.

Antitoxin use and pediatric intensive care for viper bites in Rome, Italy.

In Italy viper bites represent an uncommon event, though envenomation can cause severe complications, more in children than adults, because of dose/body size ratio. We present a case series within a selected population: 10 Italian cases (from Rome surroundings) of viperbites requiring PICU admission, over a 5-year interval. Five children showed a systemic involvement, whereas the remaining patients showed a damage.

Utility of intranasal Ketamine and Midazolam to perform gastric aspirates in children: a double-blind, placebo controlled, randomized study.

Background: We performed a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a sedation protocol based on intranasal Ketamine and Midazolam (INKM) administered by a mucosal atomizer device in uncooperative children undergoing gastric aspirates for suspected tuberculosis.

Primary Outcome: evaluation of Modified Objective Pain Score (MOPS) reduction in children undergoing INKM compared to the placebo group.

Secondary Outcomes: evaluation of safety of INKM protocol, start time sedation effect, duration of sedation and evaluation of parents and doctors' satisfaction about the procedure.

Long-term effects of hospital water network disinfection on Legionella and other waterborne bacteria in an Italian university hospital.

Objective And Design: Legionella control still remains a critical issue in healthcare settings where the preferred approach to health risk assessment and management is to develop a water safety plan. We report the experience of a university hospital, where a water safety plan has been applied since 2002, and the results obtained with the application of different methods for disinfecting hot water distribution systems in order to provide guidance for the management of water risk.

Interventions: The disinfection procedures included continuous chlorination with chlorine dioxide (0.

Increased levels of neurotrophins in the cerebrospinal fluid of children with Epstein-Barr virus meningoencephalitis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of children with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-induced meningoencephalitis (ME) in order to establish a possible correlation with laboratory findings and neurological manifestations.

Methods: A prospective observational clinical study was performed on 10 children with viral ME, five of them with EBV-induced ME. As controls, we used CSF samples collected from children admitted with febrile seizures.

Active and Healthy Ageing as a Wicked Problem: The Contribution of a Multidisciplinary Research University.

The quest for an active and healthy ageing can be considered a "wicked problem." It is a social and cultural problem, which is difficult to solve because of incomplete, changing, and contradictory requirements. These problems are tough to manage because of their social complexity.

Colorimetric detection of human papilloma virus by double isothermal amplification.

We developed a polymerase reaction free, low-cost and sensitive assay for the colorimetric detection of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), based on the use of a smart design exploiting magnetic microbeads, chimeric RNA/DNAzyme oligonucleotides, and double signal amplification. This method allows obtaining a fast response with a detection limit of 10 pM, avoiding the amplification of the target via traditional PCR.

Gold-nanoparticle-based colorimetric discrimination of cancer-related point mutations with picomolar sensitivity.

Point mutations in the Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homologue (KRAS) gene are being increasingly recognized as important diagnostic and prognostic markers in cancer. In this work, we describe a rapid and low-cost method for the naked-eye detection of cancer-related point mutations in KRAS based on gold nanoparticles. This simple colorimetric assay is sensitive (limit of detection in the low picomolar range), instrument-free, and employs nonstringent room temperature conditions due to a combination of DNA-conjugated gold nanoparticles, a probe design which exploits cooperative hybridization for increased binding affinity, and signal enhancement on the surface of magnetic beads.

Ductopenia and fetal liver-like architecture as unique and evocative sign of Turner syndrome.

Background: Turner syndrome is the most common genetic disorder in females. In most subjects, with a normal physical appearance at birth, the diagnosis is suspected long after birth because of short stature, delayed puberty, primary or secondary amenorrhea or infertility. Abnormalities of liver function tests are reported in literature, with a prevalence ranging from 20% to 80%.

Current practice and recent advances in pediatric pain management.

Background: Differently from the adult patients, in pediatric age it is more difficult to assess and treat efficaciously the pain and often this symptom is undertreated or not treated. In children, selection of appropriate pain assessment tools should consider age, cognitive level and the presence of eventual disability, type of pain and the situation in which it is occurring. Improved understanding of developmental neurobiology and paediatric analgesic drugs pharmacokinetics should facilitate a better management of childhood pain.

[Management of acute coronary syndromes in elderly patients: a single-center experience].

Demographic studies show an ever increasing number of subjects >65 years among the Italian population. In particular, subjects aged >75 years represent nowadays 9% of the Italian population and are expected to exceed 14% by 2030. In the district of Crema (Italy), subjects aged >75 years are 16 000, and are expected to reach 25 000 by 2030.

Congenital cytomegalovirus infection: current strategies and future perspectives.

Introduction: Cytomegalovirus is the most common cause of congenital infections in humans and it produces considerable morbidity in newborns.

Aims: The present study reviews current concepts on epidemiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment, future strategies and prognosis of children with congenital cytomegalovirus infection.

Results: Congenital cytomegalovirus infection can be symptomatic or not at birth, but about 10-20% of them all will exhibit neurological damage when followed up.

Prevention and treatment of postoperative infections after sinus elevation surgery: clinical consensus and recommendations.

Introduction. Maxillary sinus surgery is a reliable and predictable treatment option for the prosthetic rehabilitation of the atrophic maxilla. Nevertheless, these interventions are not riskless of postoperative complications with respect to implant positioning in pristine bone.

A longitudinal follow-up study of saffron supplementation in early age-related macular degeneration: sustained benefits to central retinal function.

Objectives. In a previous randomized clinical trial (Falsini et al. (2010)), it was shown that short-term Saffron supplementation improves retinal flicker sensitivity in early age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

IVIG treatment for VZV-related acute inflammatory polyneuropathy in a child.

Acute inflammatory polyneuropathy is an inflammatory demyelinating disease triggered by an autoimmune mechanism. It follows an infection or an immunisation after a free interval of 2-30 days. We report a case of a 14-year-old boy who develops an acute rapidly progressive paraplegia, urine incontinence and positive Lasegue a week after a characteristic chickenpox rash.

Change in sinus membrane dimension following sinus floor elevation: a retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: To investigate: (1) the effect of the lateral window technique for maxillary sinus augmentation on sinus membrane thickness, and (2) to identify factors associated with the mean postoperative surgical space.

Material And Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 37 sinuses corresponding to 37 consecutive patients referred for maxillary sinus augmentation procedures aiming to increase with deproteinized bovine bone the surgical space for dental implant placement in the posterior maxilla. A total of 74 preoperative and postoperative computed tomography were analyzed with regard to the thickness of the sinus membrane.

A twenty-year retrospective study of pediatric tuberculosis in two tertiary hospitals in Rome.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is among the top 10 causes of child death worldwide. Nevertheless, childhood disease has been neglected by tuberculosis control programs.

Methods: This was a retrospective study of patients < 16 years of age diagnosed with active TB in 2 tertiary hospitals in Rome (Italy), between 1990 and 2009.

Chest wall TB and low 25-hidroxy-vitamin D levels in a 15-month-old girl.

Parietal chest wall tuberculosis is an extremely rare manifestation of tuberculosis (TB) in children. We present the case of a 15 month-old girl presenting with a chest wall lesion initially thought to be of neoplastic origin and eventually diagnosed as chest wall TB, which was treated with surgical debridement and specific antitubercular therapy. The girl had not-measurable 25-hidroxy-vitamin D levels, an increasingly recognized risk factor for the development of active TB.

Pediatric hepatitis C infection: to treat or not to treat...what's the best for the child?

Objectives: Pediatric hepatitis C mainly occurs through mother to child transmission, to date. Children usually present a mild disease, but they are not spared from its long-term complications. Thus this infection cannot be underestimated in children and intervention is necessary.