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Biomedical subjects

S Villani

Publications and source records attributed to S Villani.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Chronic bronchitis and urban air pollution in an international study.

OBJECTIVES: The chronic effects of urban air pollution are not well known. The authors' aim was to investigate the association between the prevalence and new onset of chronic bronchitis and urban air pollution. METHODS: Subjects from the general population randomly selected for the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS I) during 1991-93 in 21 centres in 10 countries were followed up from the years 2000 to 2002 (n = 3232 males and 3592 females; average response rate = 65.3%). PM2.5 and elements, with the same equipment at centre level, and home outdoor NO2 in 1634 individuals were measured. Hierarchical models were used. RESULTS: The prevalence and new onset of chronic phlegm during follow up were 6.9% and 4.5%, respectively, 5.3% in males and 3.5% in females. Smoking, rhinitis, poor education, and low social class were associated with (prevalence and new onset of) chronic phlegm in both genders, and occupational exposures in males and traffic intensity (adjusted odds ratio for constant traffic, OR = 1.86; 95% CI 1.24 to 2.77) as well as home outdoor NO2 (OR > 50 microg/m3v < 20 microg3 = 2.71; 95% CI 1.03 to 7.16) among females. PM2.5 and S content at centre level did not show any association with prevalence or new onset of chronic phlegm. Similar results were obtained with chronic productive cough. CONCLUSION: Individual markers of traffic at household level such as reported intensity and outdoor NO2 were risk factors for chronic bronchitis among females.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Micro-organisms and dust exposure in an Italian grain mill.

AIMS: In order to assess possible occupational risk for workers in a grain mill, we evaluated aerial microbiological contamination in different areas of the mill and at different points of the production line. We also measured the concentration of aerodispersed dust particles. METHODS AND RESULTS: An assessment of microbiological contamination levels based on a Global Index of Microbial Contamination per cubic metre (GIMC per m3), an Index of Mesophilic Bacterial Contamination, and an Amplification Index is proposed. The indices were obtained from total and fungal counts. The cleaning sector is the most contaminated area of the mill: the mean GIMC per m3 was 17,213.6. In this area, the average microbial contamination was 11.41 times higher than that in the external environment. The highest concentrations of aerodispersed dust (inhalable 2.763 mg m(-3); respirable 1.400 mg m(-3)) were found in the cleaning area. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed microbiological indices and the concentrations of aerodispersed dust particles show that the most hazardous section of the mill is the cleaning area. The large variation in the data does not depend on seasonal factors, but rather on not easily identifiable conditions of the internal environment which facilitate diffusion and/or proliferation of the micro-organisms. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The proposed microbiological contamination indices and the evaluation of the concentration of dust particles allow the identification of critical positions during the production cycle so that suitable measures to prevent the aerial contamination can be taken.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed2004

Recovery mechanisms are stronger than expected.

The study was aimed at identifying recovery possibility in elderly patients suffering from a first ever stroke and admitted to rehabilitation with concomitant high disability. From 1998 to 1999 one hundred elderly patients were entered consecutively into this study. Disability was measured by functional independence measure (FIM). The FIM value at admission had a median value 23, which indicated a very high post-stroke disability. At discharge the FIM median value was 33. After one year 41 patients were at home. Their median FIM value was 62.5. Thirty-one patients had died over the interval. The death was mainly due to a new stroke, cardiac diseases or acute pneumonia. Six patients were in a nursing home and 22 could not be studied at follow-up.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

The role of climate on the geographic variability of asthma, allergic rhinitis and respiratory symptoms: results from the Italian study of asthma in young adults.

BACKGROUND: Variations in the prevalence of respiratory symptoms according to geo-climatic factors could provide important clues to the knowledge of the aetiology of asthma. METHODS: Geo-climatic variations in the prevalence of current asthma, allergic rhinitis and chronic cough, and phlegm were assessed on a random sample of 18 873 subjects (response rate = 72.7%) from different climatic regions of Italy. An ecological analysis, supported by robust statistical methods, was employed to investigate potential trends. RESULTS: The prevalence of all symptoms was significantly heterogeneous throughout the peninsula. Only asthma-like symptoms showed a north-south trend: the prevalence increased at a decreasing latitude [odds ratio (OR) varies from 0.92 to 0.96, P < 0.05], at a decreasing distance from the sea (OR: 0.90-0.93 for 30 km distance, P < 0.05), at higher annual mean temperatures (OR: 1.11-1.14, P < 0.05) and at smaller annual temperature ranges (OR: 0.94-0.95, P < 0.05). Of the geo-climatic variables considered, temperature range had the greatest influence on most asthma-like symptoms. No association was found between geo-climatic variables and allergic rhinitis or chronic cough and phlegm. CONCLUSIONS: Asthma prevalence seems to be significantly affected by climate as asthma-like symptoms were more common in central-southern Italy, with a Mediterranean climate, than in areas with a continental climate (northern Italy).

Adult↗
PubMed2002

[Distraction osteogenesis in a newborn infant with Pierre-Robin sequence].

BACKGROUND: The prognosis for Pierre Robin sequence is often closely correlated with direct postnatal asphyxia (ARDS) and permanent cerebral damage. Unfortunately, all of the well-known treatments entail many problems, which often lead to medical care of the patient for many years. Distraction osteogenesis was recently introduced as a very promising procedure. We revised this concept for newborn children aged up to 3 months. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The first patient was operated with an extraoral distractor at an age of approx. 3 months. The second patient was operated at an age of approx. 2 months. A new distractor was used, conceived specifically by our department for newborn children. RESULTS: Distraction osteogenesis was successful in both cases. After 20 days the first patient was able to breathe without the tracheotomy cannula. In the second case, we removed the nasopharyngeal tube successfully on the 7th postoperative day. The bilateral length gain amounted to 20 mm in the first case and 15 mm in the second. DISCUSSION: The usual jaw distraction osteogenesis has many disadvantages in babies: scar formation in the places depressed by pins and early pin loss. For the above-mentioned reasons, we developed a new type of extraoral distractor, which solves these problems. Less required space and the absence of pins resulting in fewer disfiguring scars are the clinical advantages of this new distractor.

Facies↗
PubMed2002

The impact of climate and traffic-related NO2 on the prevalence of asthma and allergic rhinitis in Italy.

BACKGROUND: Environmental factors are likely to be involved in explaining the wide geographical variation in asthma and atopic diseases that has been documented in many recent epidemiological studies. AIM: To evaluate to what extent climate and outdoor NO2 pollution can explain the geographical variation in the prevalence of asthma and allergic rhinitis, and to estimate the relative risk for exposure to different levels of these two factors. METHODS: The impact of climate and long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution on asthma and allergic rhinitis was assessed in a cross-sectional study, carried out during 1998 to 2000 on young adults aged 20 to 44 years (n = 18 873), living in 13 areas from two different Italian climatic regions (subcontinental and Mediterranean). RESULTS: Mediterranean areas had a significantly higher prevalence of asthma-like symptoms (P < 0.001), higher annual mean temperature (16.2 degrees C vs. 12.9 degrees C), lower temperature range (16.0 C degrees vs. 22.1 degrees C) and lower NO2 levels (31.46 microg/m3 vs. 57.99 microg/m3) than subcontinental ones. Mediterranean climate was associated with an increased risk of wheeze (OR = 1.23; 95% CI 1.13 to 1.35), tightness in the chest (OR = 1.21; 95% CI 1.11 to 1.33), shortness of breath (OR = 1.21; 95% CI 1.08 to 1.36) and asthma attacks (OR = 1.19; 95% CI 1.07 to 1.31). After adjusting for climate, an increase of 18.3 microg/m3 in NO2 levels moderately increased the risk of asthma attacks (OR = 1.13; 95% CI 0.98 to 1.32), tightness in the chest (OR = 1.11; 95% CI 0.98 to 1.26) and wheeze (OR = 1.11; 95% CI 0.96 to 1.28). When the levels of outdoor NO2 exposure rose, the prevalence of allergic rhinitis increased significantly in the Mediterranean region (OR = 1.38; 95% CI 1.12 to 1.69), but not in the subcontinental one (OR = 1.03; 95% CI 0.83 to 1.28). CONCLUSION: Our results show that the prevalence of asthma increases when annual mean temperature increases and temperature range decreases. Furthermore, climate interacts with NO2 outdoor exposure, increasing the risk for allergic rhinitis in people exposed to high stable temperatures. A long-term role for the effect of traffic pollution on asthma is also suggested.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Determination of the adenosine A(1) agonist N(6)-cyclopentyladenosine in rat blood by solid-phase extraction and HPLC.

A solid-phase extraction procedure has been developed for the isolation of the adenosine A1 receptor agonist N(6)-cyclopentyladenosine from rat blood. The biological samples were spiked with N(6)-cyclopentyladenosine and the analogue N(6)-cyclohexladenosine (internal standard), diluted with sodium hydroxide, loaded onto disposable cartridges with subsequent desorption with methanol and analysis by HPLC. The performance of columns pre-packed with different C18-bonded silica phases or with a polymeric reversed-phase sorbent (Oasis HLB) was assessed. The highest extraction efficiencies (recovery rates>83.3%) for the two N6-alkyl substituted adenosines were achieved by the Oasis HLB cartridges. In addition, the polymeric sorbent provided reproducible recoveries (relative standard deviation<4.8%), whereas large variations (relative standard deviation values, 9--16.3%) in the extraction yields were observed using the conventional silica-based C18 cartridges. The described sample preparation method is rapid, simple, selective and it is suitable for pharmacokinetic studies.

Adenosine↗
PubMed2001

Classification methods for the identification of 'case' in epidemiological diagnosis of asthma.

The identification of the asthmatic 'case' in epidemiological research is a controversial issue. This study was aimed at classifying asthmatic subjects using a statistical decision rule that minimised the misclassification rate with respect to the clinicians' diagnosis. The rule was defined by a combination of predictors that are easily observed in epidemiological studies (asthma-like questions, physiological tests) without necessarily including the clinical opinion of expert physicians. From pooled data on 1103 subjects at the three Italian centres of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) a post-consensus clinicians' diagnosis of asthma was obtained, and seven predictors were selected from among 18 potential candidates (specificity ranged from 64 to 99%, but sensitivity ranged from 22 to 62%). This data set was processed with tree-structured classifier techniques (the Classification And Regression Trees, CART), classical discriminant analysis (Fisher's Linear Discriminant Function, LDF), and the neural network method (Multi-Layer Perceptron, MLP model). The results suggest that modifications of the 'classification tree' provide a more useful decision rule, sensitive (93%) and specific (85%), than either LDF or MLP. The decision tree is readily interpretable from a clinical perspective and uses five out of the seven predictors (in descending hierarchical order: ever had asthma, current asthma, shortness of breath, atopy and wheezing and breathless). The findings seem to indicate a considerable success with respect to previous epidemiological studies and await repetition in other ECHRS populations.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Impact of media on children and adolescents: a 10-year review of the research.

OBJECTIVE: To review the research literature published within the past 10 years regarding the impact of media on children and adolescents. METHOD: Media categories researched with computer technology included television and movies, rock music and music videos, advertising, video games, and computers and the Internet. RESULTS: Research prior to 1990 documented that children learn behaviors and have their value systems shaped by media. Media research since has focused on content and viewing patterns. CONCLUSIONS: The primary effects of media exposure are increased violent and aggressive behavior, increased high-risk behaviors, including alcohol and tobacco use, and accelerated onset of sexual activity. The newer forms of media have not been adequately studied, but concern is warranted through the logical extension of earlier research on other media forms and the amount of time the average child spends with increasingly sophisticated media.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Child and adolescent mental health emergency services in Eastern European former Iron Curtain countries.

This paper describes the evolution of child and adolescent mental health emergency services in Eastern European countries over the past decade since the dissolution of the Iron Curtain. The process of helping countries to organize services, as facilitated by the authors through their training and mentoring of Eastern European mental health professionals, organized by the Children's Mental Health Alliance Foundation, with funding from the Soros Foundation, is described. This paper is a prelude to reports from six Eastern European countries which describe in more detail how child and adolescent mental health emergencies are evaluated and treated locally.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Inclusion complexation of the sunscreen agent 2-ethylhexyl-p-dimethylaminobenzoate with hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin: effect on photostability.

The interaction between the UV filter, 2-ethylhexyl-p-dimethylaminobenzoate, and unmodified and modified alpha-, beta- or gamma-cyclodextrins was studied in water by phase-solubility analysis. Of the cyclodextrins available, only hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin caused a marked increase in the aqueous solubility of 2-ethylhexyl-p-dimethylaminobenzoate. The data from the solubility study indicated the formation of a 1:1 (sunscreen-cyclodextrin) complex. The inclusion of the sunscreen agent into the hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin cavity was confirmed by thermal analysis and by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Irradiation-induced degradation of 2-ethylhexyl-p-dimethylaminobenzoate was reduced by complexation with hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin, this effect being more pronounced in solution (the extent of degradation was 25.5% for the complex compared with 54.6% for free 2-ethylhexyl-p-dimethylaminobenzoate) than in the emulsion vehicle (the extent of degradation was 25.1% for the complex compared with 33.4% for free 2-ethylhexyl-p-dimethylaminobenzoate). Although photodegradation of the sunscreen agent is significantly reduced by formation of the inclusion complex it is important to design a suitable vehicle. Inclusion of 2-ethylhexyl-p-dimethylaminobenzoate-DMAB into the hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin cavity limits interaction of the UV filter with the skin reducing the side-effects of the formulation.

2-Hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin↗
PubMed1998

Determination of glycolic acid in cosmetic products by solid-phase extraction and reversed-phase ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography.

A procedure has been developed for the assay of glycolic acid in cosmetic products by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography using an ion-pairing method. After dissolution in tetrahydrofuran-water (90:10, v/v), samples were purified by solid-phase extraction using silica-based strong anion-exchange cartridges and analysed directly on an Ultrasphere ODS column with UV detection at 210 nm and methanol-phosphate buffer (2:98, v/v), containing tetrabutylammonium iodide, as the mobile phase. Recovery of glycolic acid from different cosmetic matrices was between 92.4 and 96.2% and the precision of the method was better than 5.4% relative standard deviation. The procedure is rapid, simple, selective and it is suitable for routine analyses of commercial cosmetics.

Buffers↗
PubMed1998

[The role of soft tissues in the planning of bimaxillary orthognathic surgery. Review of the literature and two clinical cases].

The authors have investigated the clinical role of the soft tissues and of their influence in the planning phase of the orthognathic surgery, with the purpose to emphasize their capital influence in the face armony. Most of the patients really ask for an aesthetic result, that is in a tight relation with the correct prediction of the morphological changes of the soft tissues. The aesthetics excite nowadays the research, especially in all the surgical fields, and so the orthognatic surgery is more than ever from the soft tissues influenced. Subsequently the authors have investigated the principal indications to the bimaxillary surgery and have suggested a personal diagnostic-therapeutic protocol for a correct and opportune evaluation of the soft tissues relations. Finally the authors have described the whole prediction phase and have shown as the maxillary bones influence the whole facial skelett, and as frequently the chin correction and the rhinoplasty are necessary for a better result in the time.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Psychological distress and its correlates in secondary school students in Pavia, Italy.

Adolescence is a time of social as well as biological transition; nevertheless, there are very few epidemiological studies in this field in Italy. Therefore, we felt it would be useful to conduct a cross-sectional study on a sample of 1346 adolescents aged 14-19 years attending high schools in the Health Authority Area of Pavia (northern Italy) through a multi-dimensional approach, taking into consideration physical and psychological health, life habits, family environment and social life of teen-agers. We used a structured self-administered questionnaire consisting of 264 question items to achieve the study aim, which was to find the variables (among personal data, scholastic, family, relational characteristics and habits) correlated with psychological distress. The results showed that in this sample psychological distress (evaluated by GHQ-30) was significatively (p < 0.005) associated with female sex, problems with school friends and teachers, having at least one immigrant parent (from a region different from that of residence), little love for parents and poor parental psycho-physical health status, staying at home on the weekend, smoking and using psychoactive medicines.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

[Hypodontia: considerations on orthodontic therapy in agenesis of the permanent upper lateral incisor].

The authors have investigated different clinical cases having in common the agenesis of the permanent upper lateral incisors, to evaluate from a clinical and esthetic point of view the possibilities, results and the limits of the orthodontic treatment. These are nowadays increasingly associated with esthetic dentistry, prosthodontics, implantology and finally with dental transplantation. The patients presented the absence of one or both permanent upper lateral incisors or the agenesis of other teeth, sometimes associated with dental crowding or a not favourable intermaxillary relation. Most of the cases were treated with compensatory extraction of the other normal or hypoplastic permanent upper lateral incisor. The results were satisfactory but the mean treatment time was relatively long (56 months, including the retention phase), according to the difficulty of obtaining a good esthetic result in the smile line. The importance of a correct point of time of the interception for the choice of the most adequate therapy is emphasized. The possibility of correcting occlusal relation by means of the orthopedic treatment of the maxillary structures is limited to the end of the deciduous dentition. The diagnostic criteria for a correct and opportune interception of this anomaly are being stressed on. Finally the esthetic problems arising of the orthodontic space closure and the possible solutions were discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

A case of Parinaud's syndrome in a boy with delayed puberty.

The authors describe a case of Parinaud's syndrome in a 14-year-old boy with delayed puberty. The neurological examination and the neuroradiological work-up excluded the presence of cerebral pathological processes except for a pituitary microadenoma. As the sole presence of the microadenoma cannot justify gonadotropin deficiency, the authors in this case favor a form of isolated gonadotropin deficiency, and they suggest that the elevation paralysis can be put in the range of median line defects, such as labiopalatoschisis and hypoplasia of the olfactory bulbs, frequently associated with isolated hypogonadotropic hypogonadism.

Adenoma↗