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Biomedical subjects

A Cristofolini

Publications and source records attributed to A Cristofolini.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Hantavirus and arenavirus antibody prevalence in rodents and humans in Trentino, Northern Italy.

The spatial and temporal distribution of hantavirus and arenavirus antibody-positive wild rodents in Trentino, Italy, was studied using immunofluorescence assays (IFA) in two long-term sites trapped in 2000-2003, and six other sites trapped in 2002. The overall hantavirus seroprevalence in the bank voles, Clethrionomys glareolus (n=229) screened for Puumala virus (PUUV) antibodies was 0.4%, and that for Apodemus flavicollis mice (n=1416) screened for Dobrava virus (DOBV) antibodies was 0.2%. Antibodies against lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) were found in 82 (5.6%) of the 1472 tested rodents; the seroprevalence being 6.1% in A. flavicollis (n=1181), 3.3% in C. glareolus (n=276), and 14.3% in Microtus arvalis (n=7). Of the serum samples of 488 forestry workers studied by IFA, 12 were LCMV-IgG positive (2.5%) and one DOBV-IgG positive (0.2%), however, the latter could not be confirmed DOBV-specific with a neutralization assay. Our results show a widespread distribution but low prevalence of DOBV in Trentino, and demonstrate that the arenavirus antibodies are a common finding in several other rodent species besides the house mouse.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Application of the OWAS method in the study of work postures among quarry manual workers].

BACKGROUND: Previous ergonomic and epidemiologic studies revealed high postural risk (exceeding the N.I.O.S.H. recommended limits) and relevant damage (significant excess of acute and chronic lumbosacral spinal disease) among the labourers in porphyry quarries in the Province of Trento (Italy). METHODS: An analysis of work postures was made with the OWAS (Ovako Working postures Analysing System) method. RESULTS: A high prevalence of work postures that have a harmful effect on the musculoskeletal system was found. Working methods need to be changed as soon as possible. CONCLUSIONS: The use of the OWAS method permits a detailed analysis of working conditions in order to identify and re-design the activities causing ergonomically problematic postures.

Data Interpretation, Statistical↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Organizational analysis of hospital work: identification of constraint elements and hypothesis of their relationship with nurses' wellbeing].

The paper reports the results of a research project on hospital work in which the analysis of organized work situations in different contexts was made using a method based on a valid organizational theory, with the objective of an ergonomic study on the relationships between organized work and well-being. From the analysis of these different situations, via the application of the Method of Organizational Congruencies, the greatest individual level of danger for well-being was constantly observed in nurses, not only as regards the traditional risks of exposure to physical or biological agents, but also the psychophysical aspecific discomfort related, particularly, both to imposition and to uncertainty in the coordination and control of technical actions and in the coordination and control of individuals. The use of an instrument of organizational analysis and the contribution of specific disciplinary approaches (the theory on stress by H. Selye and the theory on communication by G. Bateson), satisfied the needs of suggesting and understanding the relationships between organization choices and well-being of nurses, with the aim of reducing the conditions of danger for well-being related to organization choices.

Efficiency, Organizational↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Zoonoses transmitted by ticks in forest workers (tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme borreliosis): preliminary results].

In order to investigate the diffusion of infections transmitted by ticks (TBE and Lyme borreliosis) in forest workers, a serological investigation was carried out in the Province of Trento (Northern Italy) on the sera of 465 subjects at potential risk (foresters, hunters, woodcutters, gamekeepers). Antibodies for TBE virus were found in 5 subjects (1.07%) working in the same area, and antibodies for Borrelia burgdorferi were found in 15 subjects (3%). All three clinical cases of TBE identified in the Province of Trento reported that they had been bitten by ticks in the same geographical area. The presence of specific antibodies for TBE virus was tested on the sera of animals grazing in several areas: 4 positive cases were observed in the same area as the human cases reported above.

Agricultural Workers' Diseases↗