OBJECTIVE To evaluate the characteristics of hospital discharge diagnoses of influenza measured by using specific International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9 CM) codes. SUBJECTS AND METHODS The study was conducted for the 3 years 2007, 2008 and 2011. The database included (1) administrative and clinical data on Sicilian patients admitted to acute care ...

The prevalence, epidemiology, and genomovar status of Burkholderia cepacia complex strains recovered from Italian cystic fibrosis (CF) patients were investigated using genetic typing and species identification methods. Four CF treatment centers were examined: two in Sicily, one in central Italy, and one in northern Italy. B. cepacia complex bacteria were isolated from 59 out of 683 CF patients ...

Mutations in PINK1, a mitochondrially targeted serine/threonine kinase, cause autosomal recessive Parkinson's disease (PD). Substantial evidence indicates that PINK1 acts with another PD gene, parkin, to regulate mitochondrial morphology and mitophagy. However, loss of PINK1 also causes complex I (CI) deficiency, and has recently been suggested to regulate CI through phosphorylation of NDUFA10/...

BACKGROUND Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF) is an acute febrile, zoonotic disease caused by Rickettsia conorii and transmitted to humans by the brown dogtick Rhipicephalus sanguineus. Nearly four hundred cases are reported every year (mainly from June to September) on the Italian island of Sicily. The aim of the study was to analyze the clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients with ...

Industrialized societies which continue to use fossil fuel energy sources are considering adoption of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology to meet carbon emission reduction targets. Deep geological storage of CO(2) onshore faces opposition regarding potential health effects of CO(2) leakage from storage sites. There is no experience of commercial scale CCS with which to verify predicted ...

MARTÍNEZ DEL POZO, J.Á. and ANFUSO, G., 2008. Spatial approach to medium-term coastal evolution in south Sicily (Italy): implications for coastal erosion management. Journal of Coastal Research, 24(1), 33–42. West Palm Beach (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Four sets of maps and aerial photographs have been integrated into a Geographic Information System (GIS) project to investigate coastal changes a...