Safer school with near-UV technology: novel applications for environmental hygiene.

Systems capable of disinfecting air and surfaces could reduce the risk of infectious diseases transmission. Aim: to evaluate the effectiveness of near-UV LED ceiling lamps, with a wavelength of 405 nm, in improving environmental hygiene. Between November and December 2020, we conducted an experimental study having a pre-post design in a kindergarten room in Siena where 4 ceiling lamps with 405 nm LED technology were installed. Twice per day, sampling was performed before (T0) and after treatment with near-UV (T1). We used between 8 and 12 pairs of contact plates to sample at various random spots each day. Air samplings were also performed. The plates were incubated at 22 and 36 °C. Significance was set at 95% (p < 0.05). The mean level of Colony Forming Unit (CFU) at T(0) was 249 (95% CI 193.1 - 305.0) at 36 °C and 535.2 (374.3 - 696.1) at 22 °C. The reduction was significant at T(1): by 65% at 36 °C and, 72% at 22 °C. Also, for air contamination: 95.3% (98.4-92.3). A dose threshold of about 5 J/cm2 was identified to have an 80% CFU abatement and remains nearly constant. The advantage of being able to use this technology in the presence of people is very important in the context of controlling environmental contamination.

Disinfecting Slush Machines by an Innovative Near Ultraviolet Light Emitting Diode (UV LED) Technological System.

Background: Microbial contamination of food and beverages is a topic of great interest. The most innovative technologies take advantage from UV light. This study aimed to evaluate a possible configuration of a nUV LED device at a wavelength of 405 nm installed on slush machines in order to reduce the microbial contamination. Study Design and Methods: Study Design and Methods. The study was conducted in the Department of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, University of Siena, Italy. A nUV LED device with 408 nm wavelength was installed and used on the slush machines. The inner walls of the machine tanks were fouled with contaminated slush, to evaluate the effectiveness of nUV radiation in reducing microbial contamination over time. Results: Experiment results on the slush machine showed a statistically significant logarithmic microbial reduction, in relation with the distance from the nUV LED light source. It has also been shown that the reduction of microbes is possible with a proper management of some parameters: the exposure time, the power and wavelength of the light source, the distance and the obstacles between the light source and the target to be irradiated. Conclusion: To reduce the incidence of foodborne diseases it is necessary to take all necessary precautionary measures, and the use of nUV technology has proved to be a crucial element in achieving this goal.

Wind of change: Better air for microbial environmental control.

Background: The COVID19 epidemic highlighted the importance of air in the transmission of pathogens. Air disinfection is one of the key points to reduce the risk of transmission both in the health sector and in public, civil and industrial environments. All bacteria and viruses tested to date can be inactivated by UV-C rays. Laboratory tested UV-C systems are increasingly popular and proposed as effective technologies for air purification; few studies have evaluated their performance in populated indoor environments. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the effectiveness of a UV-C disinfection system for air in a real working context. Methods: This experimental study was conducted between December 2020 and February 2021 in an office of the Department of Molecular and Developmental Medicine of the University of Siena, Italy. A pre-final version air purifier (Cleaning Air T12), capable of treating 210 m3/h of air, was first tested for its ability to filter particulates and reduce microbial air contamination in the absence of people. Subsequently, the experiments were conducted in the presence of 3-5 subjects who worked for several hours in an office. During the tests, microbiological samples of air were collected in real time, switching the system on and off periodically. Air samples were collected and incubated on Petri dishes at 36 °C and 22 °C. Statistical analysis was performed with Stata 16 software assuming a significance level of 95%. An interpolating model was identified to describe the dynamics of contamination reduction when the device operates. Results: Preliminary tests showed a significant 62.5% reduction in Colony-Forming Units (CFUs) with 36 °C incubation. Reductions in the particulate component were also observed. In the main test, comparison of CFU data, between the device-on phase (90 min) and the subsequent device-off phase (60 min), showed statistically significant increase (p = 0.001) of environmental contamination passing from a mean of 86.6 (65.8-107.4) to 171.1 (143.9-198.3) CFU/m3, that is a rise of about 100%. The interpolating model exhibited a good fit of CFU reduction trend with the device on. Conclusions: The system, which mainly uses UV-C lamps for disinfection, was able to significantly reduce environmental and human contamination in real time. Experimental tests have shown that as soon as the device is switched off, after at least half an hour of operation, the healthiness of the air decreases drastically within 10 minutes, bringing the airborne microbial contamination (induced by the presence of operators in the environment) to levels even higher than 150% of the last value with the device on. Re-engineering strategies for system improvement were also discussed.

Diferencias de especie en las concentraciones plasmáticas y tisulares de florfenicol entre ovinos y conejos / Species differences in plasma and tissue concentrations of florfenicol between sheep and rabbits

RESUMEN Objetivo. Comparar las concentraciones plasmáticas y tisulares de florfenicol (FFC) y su metabolito florfenicol amina (FFC-a) entre ovinos y conejos, posterior a la administración intramuscular de 20 mg/kg de FFC. Materiales y métodos. Cinco ovinos Suffolk Down y seis conejos Neozelandés fueron utilizados en el estudio. Se colectaron muestras de sangre, previo a la administración de FFC, y a las 0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3 y 4 horas posteriores al tratamiento. A las 4 horas posteriores al tratamiento, a los animales se les aplicó la eutanasia. Las concentraciones plasmáticas y tisulares de FFC y FFC-a fueron determinadas mediante HPLC. Resultados. Las concentraciones plasmáticas máximas, tasa de absorción, vida media de absorción, tasa de distribución y área bajo la curva de FFC, fueron significativamente mayores en conejos respecto a los ovinos. Asimismo, para FFC-a, las concentraciones plasmáticas máximas y área bajo la curva de concentraciones plasmáticas en el tiempo fueron significativamente mayores en conejos respecto a los ovinos. La proporción de metabolito fue mayor en conejos (12.7±3.07%) en comparación con ovinos (3.99±0.87%) (p<0.05), al igual que las concentraciones tisulares de FFC y FFC-a. Conclusiones. Se observaron diferencias significativas en la farmacocinética y concentraciones tisulares de FFC y FFC-a entre estas dos especies. La mayor concentración de FFC-a en conejos indica un mayor nivel de metabolismo de FFC, respecto a los ovinos. Esto es importante de considerar al momento de establecer dosificaciones y frecuencia de administración de FFC en conejos.

ABSTRACT Objective. The aim of this study was to compare tissue and plasma concentrations of florfenicol (FFC) and its metabolite florfenicol amine (FFC-a) between sheep and rabbits, after intramuscular administration of 20 mg FFC/kg. Materials and methods. Five Suffolk Down sheep and six New Zealand rabbits were used in this study. Blood samples were collected before FFC administration and at 0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3 and 4 hours after treatment. At 4 hours after treatment, euthanasia was applied to animals. Plasma and tissue concentrations of FFC and FFC-a were determined by HPLC. Results. For FFC, maximum plasma concentrations, absorption rate, absorption half-life, distribution rate, and area under the plasma concentration-time curve were all found to be significantly higher in rabbits than in sheep. Similarly, for FFC-a, significantly higher maximum plasma concentrations and area under the concentration-time curve were observed in rabbits as compared to sheep. The metabolite ratio was higher in rabbits (12.7±3.07%) compared to sheep (3.99±0.87%) (p<0.05), as were the tissue concentrations of FFC and FFC-a. Conclusions. Significant differences in the pharmacokinetics and tissue concentrations of FFC, and its metabolite FFC-a, were observed between these two animal species. The higher concentrations of FFC-a in rabbits indicate a greater level of FFC metabolism as compared to sheep. This should be considered when establishing dosage and frequency of FFC administration for rabbits.

Characterization of the cytotoxic effects of the combination of cisplatin and flavanol (-)-epicatechin on human lung cancer cell line A549. An isobolographic approach.

BACKGROUND: Among malignancies, lung cancer is a leading cause of death. Platinum-based therapeutic compounds used to treat lung cancer have not been able to increase the survival of patients and such compounds have a high incidence of adverse and toxic effects. It has been proposed that flavonoids such as catechins may significantly reduce the risk of developing cancer, alongside with other health benefits. The aim of this work was to determine the effect of (-)-epicatechin, the main flavanol found in cocoa, on the proliferation of the lung non-small cell adenocarcinoma cancer cell line A549, and to determine its effects when added simultaneously with cisplatin. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Concentration-response curves for cisplatin and epicatechin were obtained, inhibitory concentrations calculated and an isobolographic analysis was then performed. RESULTS: We found that epicatechin has a concentration-dependent inhibitory effect on proliferation of tumor cells and the isobolographic analysis reveals that the effect of its combination with cisplatin is synergistic. It was also observed that epicatechin promotes cell death by apoptosis. CONCLUSIONS: Epicatechin might be considered for future studies to explore its possible use as coadjuvant in cisplatin-based treatments.

The cosmic ray shadow of the Moon observed with the ANTARES neutrino telescope.

One of the main objectives of the ANTARES telescope is the search for point-like neutrino sources. Both the pointing accuracy and the angular resolution of the detector are important in this context and a reliable way to evaluate this performance is needed. In order to measure the pointing accuracy of the detector, one possibility is to study the shadow of the Moon, i.e. the deficit of the atmospheric muon flux from the direction of the Moon induced by the absorption of cosmic rays. Analysing the data taken between 2007 and 2016, the Moon shadow is observed with 3.5 σ statistical significance. The detector angular resolution for downward-going muons is 0 . 73 ∘ ± 0 . 14 ∘ . The resulting pointing performance is consistent with the expectations. An independent check of the telescope pointing accuracy is realised with the data collected by a shower array detector onboard of a ship temporarily moving around the ANTARES location.

An algorithm for the reconstruction of high-energy neutrino-induced particle showers and its application to the ANTARES neutrino telescope.

A novel algorithm to reconstruct neutrino-induced particle showers within the ANTARES neutrino telescope is presented. The method achieves a median angular resolution of [Formula: see text] for shower energies below 100 TeV. Applying this algorithm to 6 years of data taken with the ANTARES detector, 8 events with reconstructed shower energies above 10 TeV are observed. This is consistent with the expectation of about 5 events from atmospheric backgrounds, but also compatible with diffuse astrophysical flux measurements by the IceCube collaboration, from which 2-4 additional events are expected. A [Formula: see text] C.L. upper limit on the diffuse astrophysical neutrino flux with a value per neutrino flavour of [Formula: see text] is set, applicable to the energy range from 23 TeV to 7.8 PeV, assuming an unbroken [Formula: see text] spectrum and neutrino flavour equipartition at Earth.

[Stress in parents of hospitalized newborns in a neonatal intensive care unit]. / Estrés en padres de recién nacidos hospitalizados en una unidad de paciente crítico neonatal.

The birth of a child that requires hospitalization in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) can be very stressful for parents. OBJECTIVE: To determine the stress level of parents of newborns (NB) hospitalized in a level III NICU in Santiago, and its association with clinical and sociodemographic variables. PATIENTS AND METHOD: Descriptive cross-sectional study. 373 admissions were evaluated. The sampling was non-probabilistic and included parents of RN admitted to the UPCN between 7 and 21 days of hospitalization. Only parents which have visited the RN at least three times were included. INSTRUMENTS: i) Questionnaire to obtain data which could not be obtained from the medical record; ii) Parental Stress Scale: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (PSS:NICU) which measures the perception of parents about stressors from the physical and psychological environment of the UPCN. RESULTS: 100 parents of 59 hospitalized NB participated in the study. The average parental stress was 2.87±0.69. The subscale scores got higher was “Relationship with the baby and parental role”. Complications in pregnancy, prenatal diagnosis or prenatal hospitalization, did not affect the stress level or the presence of prematurity, respiratory diseases, congenital malformations, genopathies or requirement of mechanical ventilation. CONCLUSIONS: Stress levels presented in parents are unrelated to gender and to the studied clinical variables.

Estrés en padres de recién nacidos hospitalizados en una unidad de paciente crítico neonatal / Stress in parents of hospitalized newborns in a neonatal intensive care unit

El nacimiento de un hijo que requiere de hospitalización en una Unidad de Paciente Crítico Neonatal (UPCN) puede ser una situación muy estresante para sus padres. Objetivo: Conocer el nivel de estrés de padres de recién nacidos (RN) hospitalizados en una UPCN nivel III y su asociación con variables clínicas y sociodemográficas. Pacientes y Método: Estudio descriptivo y transversal, se recibieron 373 ingresos en la UPCN. El muestreo fue no probabilístico y se incluyó a padres y madres de RN ingresados a la UPCN que tuvieran al momento de la entrevista una hospitalización mayor a 7 días y menor a 21 días y que al menos hayan visitado al RN en tres oportunidades. Las mediciones se realizaron entre los 7 y 21 días de hospitalización. Instrumentos: i) Cuestionario para datos que no pudieron obtenerse de la ficha clínica; ii) Escala de Estrés Parental: Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos Neonatales (PSS:NICU) que mide la percepción de los padres acerca de los estresores provenientes del ambiente físico y psicológico de las UPCN. Resultados: Participaron 100 padres y madres de 59 RN hospitalizados. El estrés parental promedio fue de 2,87 ± 0,69. La subescala que obtuvo puntajes más altos fue “Relación con el bebé y rol parental”. La presencia de complicaciones del embarazo, diagnóstico prenatal u hospitalización prenatal, no afectó el nivel de estrés, como tampoco la prematurez, patología respiratoria, malformaciones congénitas, genopatías o requerimiento de ventilación mecánica. Conclusiones: Los niveles de estrés no presentan diferencias de género y no guardan relación con las variables clínicas estudiadas.

The birth of a child that requires hospitalization in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) can be very stressful for parents. Objective: To determine the stress level of parents of newborns (NB) hospitalized in a level III NICU in Santiago, and its association with clinical and sociodemographic variables. Patients and Method: Descriptive cross-sectional study. 373 admissions were evaluated. The sampling was non-probabilistic and included parents of RN admitted to the UPCN between 7 and 21 days of hospitalization. Only parents which have visited the RN at least three times were included. Instruments: i) Questionnaire to obtain data which could not be obtained from the medical record; ii) Parental Stress Scale: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (PSS:NICU) which measures the perception of parents about stressors from the physical and psychological environment of the UPCN. Results: 100 parents of 59 hospitalized NB participated in the study. The average parental stress was 2.87±0.69. The subscale scores got higher was “Relationship with the baby and parental role”. Complications in pregnancy, prenatal diagnosis or prenatal hospitalization, did not affect the stress level or the presence of prematurity, respiratory diseases, congenital malformations, genopathies or requirement of mechanical ventilation. Conclusions: Stress levels presented in parents are unrelated to gender and to the studied clinical variables.

Sperm whale long-range echolocation sounds revealed by ANTARES, a deep-sea neutrino telescope.

Despite dedicated research has been carried out to adequately map the distribution of the sperm whale in the Mediterranean Sea, unlike other regions of the world, the species population status is still presently uncertain. The analysis of two years of continuous acoustic data provided by the ANTARES neutrino telescope revealed the year-round presence of sperm whales in the Ligurian Sea, probably associated with the availability of cephalopods in the region. The presence of the Ligurian Sea sperm whales was demonstrated through the real-time analysis of audio data streamed from a cabled-to-shore deep-sea observatory that allowed the hourly tracking of their long-range echolocation behaviour on the Internet. Interestingly, the same acoustic analysis indicated that the occurrence of surface shipping noise would apparently not condition the foraging behaviour of the sperm whale in the area, since shipping noise was almost always present when sperm whales were acoustically detected. The continuous presence of the sperm whale in the region confirms the ecological value of the Ligurian sea and the importance of ANTARES to help monitoring its ecosystems.

Intracranial germ cell tumors: association with Klinefelter syndrome and sex chromosome aneuploidies.

Intracranial germ cell tumors (ICGCTs) occur mainly in male children and adolescents. Polyploidy of the X chromosome and X hypomethylation have been suggested as mechanisms of malignant transformation independently of the histological tumor type. On the other hand, several reports associate these tumors with Klinefelter's syndrome (KS). Recent reports indicate that KS patients have an increased relative risk for development of malignant mediastinal germ cell tumors and also around 8% of male patients with primary mediastinal tumors have KS. In an attempt to explore the frequency of KS amongst patients with ICGCTs and to confirm the presence of X chromosome polyploidies in these tumors, we studied 13 young male patients with ICGCTs. Paraffin-embedded tumoral and normal tissues were studied by FISH. KS was found in 15% of the cases, demonstrating that this constitutive aneuploidy may be related to carcinogenesis. When tumor and non-tumor tissues were compared, statistically significant X and Y chromosome polyploidies in tumors were revealed. These results emphasize that aneuploidies are involved in ICGCT tumorigenesis.

[Dietary interview: a useful tool for data collection]. / Entrevista dietética. Herramientas útiles para la recogida de datos.

Dietary interview is a very useful tool in the process of evaluating the nutritional state of a person and, of course, in the process of dietary counseling, particularly in the case of patients suffering from chronic conditions. The complexity of gathering information at individual or population level requires different models of questionnaires and tools to enhance the identification of the data collected. The current paper is based on the consensus document about dietary interview, made by a working group created during the 1st Meeting of the Spanish Dietitians' and Nutritionists' Association held in Barcelona 2002.

Entrevista dietética. Herramientas útiles para la recogida de datos / Dietary interview: a useful tool for data collection

La entrevista dietética es una herramienta imprescindible en el proceso de evaluación del estado nutricional del individuo y, por supuesto, en cualquier planteamiento de intervención dietética, especialmente en el abordaje de tratamientos dietéticos en enfermos crónicos. La complejidad de la recogida de información tanto a nivel individual como en estudios nutricionales poblacionales, requiere de modelos de cuestionarios consensuados y de herramientas que faciliten la identificación de la información recogida. El siguiente artículo se ha basado en el documento de consenso sobre entrevista dietética, elaborado por un grupo de trabajo constituido durante el I Congreso de la Asociación Española de Dietistas y Nutricionistas, Barcelona, 2002 (AU)

Dietary interview is a very useful tool in the process of evaluating the nutritional state of a person and, of course, in the process of dietary counseling, particularly in the case of patients suffering from chronic conditions. The complexity of gathering information at individual or population level requires different models of questionnaires and tools to enhance the identification of the data collected. The current paper is based on the consensus document about dietary interview, made by a working group created during the 1st Meeting of the Spanish Dietitians’ and Nutritionists’ Association held in Barcelona 2002 (AU)

[The low-birth-weight newborn. The training of mothers for care at home]. / El recien nacido con bajo peso. Preparación a las madres para su atención en el hogar.

In March 1989 the sub-program for reducing low birth-weight was put into practice. As a response to the application of this subsystem a plan was started at the Northern Maternal Hospital in Santiago de Cuba aimed at training these children's mothers in relation to techniques for caring babies. By means of the sources used some aspects regarding these newborn children were assessed, as well as the achievements of the mothers in the course during their hospitalization. The results showed the effectiveness of this plan, the advantages of its being adopted by nurses and its great social significance.

[Treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infections: cefuroxime vs cotrimoxazole]. / Tratamiento de las infecciones del tracto urinario no complicadas: cefuroximo versus cotrimoxazol.

Forty females (ages 15-74) with community-acquired, uncomplicated urinary tract infections were studied. Clinical and microbiological efficacy of cefuroxime (250 mg td) and trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole (160/800 mg td) used for 7 days were evaluated. The microorganisms found in the pre-treatment urinary cultures were: Escherichia Coli (85%), Klebsiella Pneumoniae (12.5%), and E. Agglomerans (2.5%). They were all susceptible to cefuroxime, and 42.5% were resistant to trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole (Kirby-Bauer). These findings show that trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole should not be used empirically while waiting for the results of urinary cultures, and that cefuroxime is a good alternative in these cases. Clinical cure was observed in all, and bacteriological cure in 75% of the pts treated with both antimicrobial agents. Relapses and reinfections were detected during follow-up emphasizing the importance of intra and post-treatment urinary cultures.