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Objectives: To assess the incidence of sensitization and gloves-related symptoms in 10-year follow-up in a group of health care workers (9,660 person-years) using non-powdered latex gloves from 2000 to 2009 and to examine related factors., Materials and Methods: We studied 2,053 health care workers in Trieste Hospitals by means of skin prick test for latex extract, patch tests and medical examinations. We report the incidence of latex sensitization among workers using non-powdered latex gloves., Results: The incidence of latex sensitization, rhinitis, asthma, urticaria, irritant and allergic contact dermatitis were 1.0; 0.12; 0.21; 0.72; 2.39 and 2.50 cases per 1,000 person-years, respectively. Respiratory symptoms and urticaria were positively related with latex sensitization (OR = 8.0; 95 % CL 1.27-48.6), with common allergic respiratory symptoms (OR = 4.19; 95 % CL 1.04-16.8) and with familial atopy (OR = 4.47; 95 % CL 1.1-17.9)., Conclusion: The incidence of latex sensitization and latex-related symptoms were very low but subjects with allergic symptoms related to common allergens are at higher risk. The use of non-latex gloves is suggested for them.

Purpose. To evaluate effects of corneal transplantation on the health-related quality of life and patients' satisfaction. Methods. Patients scheduled for elective penetrating or anterior lamellar keratoplasty completed by telephone interview the SF-12 Health Survey, before and one year after surgery, and a 6-item questionnaire on the satisfaction for graft outcomes. Results. The two questionnaires were answered by 1,223 patients. Transplantation did not influence the PCS-12 in males (ES = -0.01) and had a negative effect in females (ES = -0.18). Both sexes improved their MCS-12 (ES = 0.18 and 0.23, resp.). The majority of patients (83.1%) were satisfied by the outcome of the graft. Conclusions. This is the first report on the use of the SF-12 and one of the few that assess quality of life in patients after corneal transplantation. We showed that grafting improves patients' health-related quality of life results of patients, influencing mental health (i.e., psychological attitude, social interaction, and emotions) with minor effects on physical health (limitation, pain, and vitality).

Purpose: To evaluate corneal graft survival over a 5-year period and to investigate whether factors related to the donor, eye bank practices, the recipient, surgery, and postoperative course influenced the outcome., Methods: Nine hundred ninety-eight patients were randomly selected and monitored in the subsequent 3 years from a cohort of 4500 recipients who underwent penetrating keratoplasty between 2001 and 2004. Cox univariate regression analysis was used to select variables to be included in a multivariate Cox proportional hazards model with a backward selection procedure to identify potential risk factors for graft failure. Graft survival curves were obtained from Kaplan-Meier estimates., Results: Ectasia/thinning was the most common indication (49.1%), followed by regraft (16.1%) and pseudophakic corneal edema (PCE) (9.4%). The overall rate of graft failure was 10.7% with 6 cases of primary graft failure. Adverse reactions and complications (other than graft failure) were reported in 2.7% of patients in the first postoperative week and in 22.8% during the full follow-up period. The probability of 5-year survival was 83.0%, best in eyes with ectasia/thinning (96.0%) and less favorable in PCE (67.0%) and regraft (64.0%). Multivariate analyses showed the following variables to be linked to an increased risk of graft failure: regraft for any reason, all clinical indication except PCE, history of ocular inflammation/infection, pseudophakic/aphakic eye, vitrectomy, graft Descemet folds, adverse reactions/complications, and surgeons' low caseload., Conclusions: Penetrating keratoplasty shows an overall positive prognosis in the long-term. However, the probability of graft survival is largely dependent on the preoperative clinical condition and the lack of complications during follow-up.

The taxonomic identity of the hereditary prokaryotic symbiont of the olive fly Bactrocera oleae (Diptera: Tephritidae) was investigated. In order to avoid superficial microbial contaminants and loosely associated saprophytic biota, flies were surface-sterilized at the larval stage and reared under aseptic conditions until adult emergence. B. oleae flies originating from different geographical locations and collected at different times of the year were tested. Bacterial isolation was undertaken from the cephalic oesophageal bulb, which is known to be a specific site of accumulation for the hosted microsymbionts in the adult insect. Despite evidence of multiplication cycles taking place within the insect, attempts at cultivation of the isolated bacteria ex situ were not productive at any stage, leading to the choice of unculturable status definition. PCR amplification and nucleotide sequencing of the entire 16S rRNA gene consistently yielded a single sequence that displayed marked similarity with enterobacterial lineages, with closest matches (97%) to Erwinia persicina and Erwinia rhapontici. The novel taxon differs from common intestinal bacterial species of fruit flies and from instances of culturable bacteria previously described in B. oleae raised without sterility precautions, which we also observed as minority occupants or occasional contaminants. The symbiont's identity is also distinct from Pseudomonas savastanoi. In all observations, the numerically dominant inhabitant of the olive fly oesophageal organ was the same unculturable organism, whose presence at later stages was also regularly observed in the midgut. A novel species is proposed, by virtue of its unique properties, under the designation 'Candidatus Erwinia dacicola'.

We have studied the Phagocytosis at 32 children who had recurrent respiratory tract infection (RRI). We used a easy method (Phagolux). The seventy-five percent (24/32) of children had a Phagocytosis and/or Opsonisation Deficit during or following the acute respiratory tract infection. All children (except for one who had a C3-deficit) reached normal parameters after (or al least) fourty-five days.