Adherence to perindopril/amlodipine/atorvastatin combination according to the administration strategy.

Aims: To compare adherence to perindopril/amlodipine/atorvastatin combination administrated as a polypill (one pill) vs separate tablets.

Methods: Using the healthcare utilization database of Lombardy (Italy), 1 110 patients who received the perindopril/amlodipine/atorvastatin polypill during 2019-2021 were matched with 1 110 patients prescribed the same combination in separate tablets or as two antihypertensive drugs in a single tablet and the lipid-lowering drug tablet separately. Adherence to treatment was assessed over the year after the first perindopril/amlodipine/atorvastatin dispensation as the proportion of the follow-up days covered by prescription (PDC).

Unraveling Pneumomediastinum in COVID-19 Patients: Insights from a High-Volume-Center Case-Control Study.

Background: Pneumomediastinum (PNM) is a severe complication in COVID-19 patients, potentially exacerbating morbidity and requiring heightened clinical attention. This study aims to identify risk factors, clinical characteristics, and outcomes associated with PNM in COVID-19 patients hospitalized for respiratory failure in our institution.

Methods: Among 4513 patients admitted in our institution and testing positive for COVID-19 infection during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy (1 March 2020 to 31 July 2020), we conducted a single-center, retrospective case-control study focusing our analysis on those with severe disease (respiratory failure).

Polyvinyl alcohol-based capsule shells manufactured by injection molding as ready-to-use moisture barriers for the development of delivery systems.

In this work, feasibility of injection molding was demonstrated for manufacturing capsule shells. 600 µm-thick prototypes were successfully molded with pharmaceutical-grade low-viscosity polyvinyl alcohols (PVAs), possibly added with a range of different fillers. They showed reproducible weight and thickness (CV < 2 and 5, respectively), compliant behavior upon piercing (holes diameter analogous to the reference), tunable release performance (immediate and pulsatile), and moisture protection capability.

Activity of ceftolozane/tazobactam and imipenem/relebactam against clinical isolates of Enterobacterales and Pseudomonas aeruginosa collected in Greece and Italy-SMART 2017-2021.

Purpose: The current study evaluated the in vitro activities of ceftolozane/tazobactam (C/T), imipenem/relebactam (IMI/REL), and comparators against recent (2017-2021) clinical isolates of gram-negative bacilli from two countries in southern Europe.

Methods: Nine clinical laboratories (two in Greece; seven in Italy) each collected up to 250 consecutive gram-negative isolates per year from lower respiratory tract, intraabdominal, urinary tract, and bloodstream infection samples. MICs were determined by the CLSI broth microdilution method and interpreted using 2022 EUCAST breakpoints.

The Association between Mid-Upper Arm Circumference and Blood Pressure in an Italian Population of School-Aged Children and Adolescents with Lipid Disorders.

Many anthropometric measurements have been investigated concerning their association with blood pressure (BP) in paediatric age groups. This study aims to find a relationship between mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) and BP in a population of children and adolescents aged 1-18 years. 5853 subjects (2977 females and 2876 males) were studied.

Impact of the Sars-Cov-2 outbreak on the initial clinical presentation of new solid cancer diagnoses: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic might have delayed cancer diagnosis and management. The aim of this systematic review was to compare the initial tumor stage of new cancer diagnoses before and after the pandemic.

Methods: We systematically reviewed articles that compared the tumor stage of new solid cancer diagnoses before and after the initial pandemic waves.

A Multicenter ICET-A Study on Age at Menarche and Menstrual Cycles in Patients with Transfusion-Dependent Thalassemia (TDT) who Started Early Chelation Therapy with Different Chelating Agents.

Introduction: To evaluate the effect of early chelation therapy (≤ 3 years) with a variety of chelating agents on age at menarche and menstrual characteristics in patients with transfusion-dependent thalassemia (TDT).

Design: A retrospective multicenter study promoted by the International Network of Clinicians for Endocrinopathies in Thalassemia and Adolescent Medicine (ICET-A).

Setting: Eight of 13 International Thalassemia Centers (61.

Development and Validation of a New Tool to Improve the Accuracy of the Hospital Mass-Casualty Incident Response Plan Activation: The PEMAAF Score.

Introduction: Effective response to a mass-casualty incident (MCI) entails the activation of hospital MCI plans. Unfortunately, there are no tools available in the literature to support hospital responders in predicting the proper level of MCI plan activation. This manuscript describes the scientific-based approach used to develop, test, and validate the PEMAAF score (Proximity, Event, Multitude, Overcrowding, Temporary Ward Reduction Capacity, Time Shift Slot [Prossimità, Evento, Moltitudine, Affollamento, Accorpamento, Fascia Oraria], a tool able to predict the required level of hospital MCI plan activation and to facilitate a coordinated activation of a multi-hospital network.

Special Issue: 18th Congress of the Polish Biophysical Society.

The 18th Congress of the Polish Biophysical Society took place at the Faculty of Physics of the University of Warsaw in Warsaw, Poland, in September 2022. In total, 111 attendees (Attendance Profile: 107 in-person, 4 remote; Italy 1, Lithuania 1, Poland 104, United Kingdom 1, United States 4) participated in the event. The authors of lectures and posters at the Congress were invited to prepare their presentations in the form of articles in this special issue of the European Biophysics Journal.

Preparation and evaluation of βcyclodextrin-based nanosponges loaded with Budesonide for pulmonary delivery.

Budesonide (BUD) is a glucocorticosteroid used to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Despite this, it is a hydrophobic compound with low bioavailability. To address these hurdles, non-toxic and biocompatible βcyclodextrin-based nanosponges (βCD-NS) were attempted.

Psychological Reactions during and after a Lockdown: Self-Efficacy as a Protective Factor of Mental Health.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of home confinement/social isolation (i.e., lockdown), imposed to reduce large-scale spread of a disease in the population, on the mental health of individuals.

Proceedings of the 25th Analytical Ultracentrifugation Workshops and Symposium.

The 25th International Analytical Ultracentrifugation (AUC) Workshops and Symposium (AUC2022) took place at the University of Lethbridge in Lethbridge, Canada, in July 2022. In total, 104 attendees (Attendance Profile: 104 attendees, 69 in-person, 35 remote. Brazil 1, Canada 24, China 1, Czech Republic 2, Finland 1, France 3, Germany 22, India 3, Italy 1, Japan 4, Spain 1, Switzerland 3, Taiwan 1, United Kingdom 5, United States 32) participated in the event and presented the latest advances in the field.

Transnational comparison of the impact of COVID-19 on medicolegal death investigations and the administration of justice: Early stages of the pandemic.

COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on arguably every sector of our criminal justice system. To assess the impact that this global health crisis has had on our medicolegal investigations and administration of justice during the early stages of the pandemic, this research aims to give voice to the lived experiences of medicolegal death investigators (coroners, medical examiners and pathologists). This research involved in-depth interviews and follow-ups with experienced personnel from Canada (3), Italy (1), the United Kingdom (1) and the United States (4).

Prognostic Value of the Platelet-lymphocyte Ratio for Glioblastoma: A Systematic Review.

Background: Glioblastoma is the most common type of malignant glioma and is 1 of the most frequent primary tumors during adult life. The platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) has been studied as an inflammatory marker associated with the prognosis of glioblastoma in previous studies. Considering the morbidity associated with this condition, it is important that there are other ways of assessing the prognosis that do not require invasive methods.

Primary SARS-CoV-2 Infections, Re-infections and Vaccine Effectiveness during the Omicron Transmission Period in Healthcare Workers of Trieste and Gorizia (Northeast Italy), 1 December 2021-31 May 2022.

: To evaluate the incidence of primary and recurrent COVID-19 infections in healthcare workers (HCWs) routinely screened for SARS-CoV-2 by nasopharyngeal swabs during the Omicron wave. : Dynamic Cohort study of HCWs ( = 7723) of the University Health Agency Giuliano Isontina (ASUGI), covering health services of the provinces of Trieste and Gorizia (Northeast Italy). Cox proportional hazard model was employed to estimate the risk of primary as well as recurrent SARS-CoV-2 infection from 1 December 2021 through 31 May 2022, adjusting for a number of confounding factors.

Adult essential extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) skills for use in an e-learning program for ICU physicians, nurses and perfusionists: a consensus by a modified Delphi questionnaire.

Background: Education in ECMO starts with basic theory and physiology. For this type of training, self-assessment e-learning modules may be beneficial. The aim of this study was to generate consensus on essential ECMO skills involving various professional groups involved in caring for ECMO patients.

What is life? Active particles tools towards behavioral dynamics in social-biology and economics.

This review paper is devoted to study the conceptual difficulties that mathematics meets when attempting to describe the complexity of living matter focusing on the challenging perspective of developing a mathematical theory for living systems including mutations and selection. The quest starts with the identification of a number of common complexity features of living systems. Then, mathematical structures are derived to include these features, while mathematical models are derived by inserting in the structures models of individual based interactions.

Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Colonoscopy Surveillance After Polyp Removal: A Pooled Analysis of Randomized Trials.

Background And Aims: Artificial intelligence (AI) tools aimed at improving polyp detection have been shown to increase the adenoma detection rate during colonoscopy. However, it is unknown how increased polyp detection rates by AI affect the burden of patient surveillance after polyp removal.

Methods: We conducted a pooled analysis of 9 randomized controlled trials (5 in China, 2 in Italy, 1 in Japan, and 1 in the United States) comparing colonoscopy with or without AI detection aids.

SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Health Care Workers of Trieste (North-Eastern Italy), 1 October 2020-7 February 2022: Occupational Risk and the Impact of the Omicron Variant.

Vaccination coverage against COVID-19 among health care workers (HCWs) of the University Health Agency Giuliano-Isontina (ASUGI) of Trieste (North-eastern Italy) by 1 January 2022 was 90.4% with at least one vaccine dose, 84.9% with at least 2 doses, and 75.

Travel-associated extensively drug-resistant typhoid fever: a case series to inform management in non-endemic regions.

Background: Extensively drug-resistant (XDR) typhoid fever is a threat to travelers to Pakistan. We describe a multicontinental case series of travel-acquired XDR typhoid fever to demonstrate the global spread of the problem and encourage preventive interventions as well as appropriate empiric antimicrobial use.

Methods: Cases were extracted from the GeoSentinel database, microbiologic laboratory records of two large hospitals in Toronto, Canada, and by invitation to TropNet sites.