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V Mastrandrea

Publications and source records attributed to V Mastrandrea.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Trends of lung cancer mortality in Italy in relation to consumption of tobacco products.

This paper examines changes with time of mortality from lung cancer in Italy during the years 1950-1979 in relation to changes in smoking habits since 1900. In both sexes and for all ages mortality rose throughout this period, although for women the rates and the relative increases per year have been consistently much lower than for men. Between 1950-1952 and 1977-1979 the age-adjusted death rate per 100,000 men rose almost five times (from 10.01 to 49.55) whereas that for women only doubled (from 2.65 to 5.74), so that the male/female ratio increased from 3.78 to 8.65. In men successive cohorts show an increase of age-specific death rate, but there are indications that for men born after 1925 the mortality rate is beginning to level off. In women over 50 years of age mortality continues to rise, but below this age it tends to level off and decline. Analysis of the consumption of different types of tobacco products since 1900 suggests that the trends of mortality with time in different birth cohorts are explicable in terms of changes of use of cigarettes.

Adult↗

Incidence of childhood cancer in the province of Perugia (Italy).

This paper reports the incidence of childhood cancer in the Province of Perugia (Italy) in 1975-1979 and compares it with that reported in other areas in Italy and other western countries. Over the period studied the new cases of cancers in children under 15 years of age, recorded in the Province of Perugia, were 51 in males and 36 in females. The mean annual incidence rates per 100,000 were 17.93 in males and 13.51 in females so that the male to female ratio of rates was 1.33. The most common neoplasms were leukemia (4.92 per 100,000 in males and 5.25 in females), brain tumours (3.87 in males and 1.50 in females), nephroblastomas (1.40 in males and 1.50 in females), lymphomas (2.81 in males and 0.37 in females). This distribution, in general, is the same as that observed in many other white populations. However some differences in the incidence value rates between the Province of Perugia and other areas of western countries are pointed out both for the cancers as a whole and for certain histologic types.

Adolescent↗

Human intravenous and intramuscular pharmacokinetics of amoxicillin.

Amoxicillin was administered at doses of 500 mg and 1000 mg, intravenously and intramuscularly to normal volunteers in a parallel study. Intramuscular amoxicillin was 100% bioavailable at both dose levels. Mean peak serum levels observed for the 500 mg and 1000 mg doses, respectively, were: i.v. (5 min after dosing) 46 and 74 micrograms/ml; i.m. (30 min after dosing) 14 and 21 micrograms/ml. Six hour trough levels ranged between 0.5 and 0.9 micrograms/ml. Between 50% and 60% of the doses were excreted in urine as intact amoxicillin in the 24 h after dosing. Almost 90% of this excretion occurred in the first 3 h after dosing. There was a statistically significant increase in mean clearance, after i.v. dosing, from the 500 mg level (14.8 l/h) to the 1000 mg level (20.7 l/h) implying that amoxicillin pharmacokinetics are non-linear over this range. Since there was very little difference between mean renal clearances at these dose levels (9.2 and 11.7 l/h, respectively) this clearance change might be due to enhancement of non-renal clearance. It would not be expected that this non-linearity would have any therapeutic influence.

Absorption↗

Mortality from cancer of the digestive system in Italy: 1950-1975 cross-sectional rates and cohort analysis.

In this study of mortality from cancer of the digestive system in Italy, 1950-1975, both cross-sectional rates and cohort analysis were used. The study found that in both sexes age-standardized rates for cancer of the colon, rectum, liver and biliary tract, and pancreas are increasing whereas the rates for cancer of the stomach are decreasing. Rates for esophagus cancer have remained fairly constant. Cohort analysis showed different trends for selected sites. As to cancer of the stomach, for both sexes, cohorts born up until about 1881 have constant or increasing rates; cohorts born after 1881 have declining rates. For cancer of the esophagus in males the rates reach a peak in the 1896 birth-cohort; cohorts born prior to 1896 show an increase in rates and cohorts born later show a decline. For cancer of the colon, liver and biliary tract, and pancreas, the rates rise constantly for all ages and all cohorts in both sexes. The rates for cancer of the rectum rise after age 75 whereas below that age the rates tend to level off and decline.

Adolescent↗

Sensitivity to lytic agents and DNA base composition of several aerobic spore-bearing bacilli.

The authors studied the possible relationship between a genetic characteristic, like DNA base composition, and certain phenotypic characteristics, i.e., sensitivity to lytic agents, morphology of colonies, and biochemical reactions in 34 strains of spore-bearing bacilli. From the results obtained two groups of bacilli have been identified. The first group includes the species B. subtilis, B. pumilus, B. licheniformis, and B. firmus and one strain of B. megaterium. The mean value of the GC% of the DNA is 44.22 +/- 1.76. All the strains examined are highly sensitive to lysozyme and resistant to sodium lauryl sulphate (S.L.S.); the surface colonies have a "rhizoid" appearance and the microcolonies on slide microculture are star-shaped. The second group includes the species B. cereus, B. cereus var. mycoides, B. anthracis, and B. thuringiensis. The mean value of the GC% of the DNA is 33.65 +/- 0.59. All the strains belonging to this group are resistant to both lysozyme and S.L.S., and the surface macro-colonies and the microcolonies have a "medusae head" appearance. The two groups also have certain different biochemical reactions; e.g., anaerobic growth and the egg yolk reaction, with few exception, are negative for the first group and positive for the second; furthermore, the strains in the first group (with rare exceptions) cause fermentation in the three carbohydrates, glucose, arabinose, and xylose, while glucose only is fermented by all strains with one exception in the second group. The position of B. megaterium is not yet clear, although one strain may certainly be included in the first group. Lysis by lipase is extremely variable and does not correlate with any of the other characteristics studied. The other species studied in relation to the characteristics, considered in our research (B. coagulans, B. macerans, B. polymyxa, B. laterosporus, B. alvei, B. circulans, B. stearothermophilus, and B. brevis), are not susceptible to grouping, either in the first, or in the second or even in a separate group.

Bacillus↗

Cause of death risk in relation to general mortality in zones with different degrees of urbanization.

This investigation deals with the distribution of mortality of four groups of causes (Diseases of the Circulatory System, of the Respiratory System, of the Digestive System, Injuries and Poisonings) in the coastal (urban area), hill (semi-urban area) and mountain (rural area) zones of the Marche (a region of Central Italy) with the aim of evaluating the risk of death from a specific cause in relation to mortality from all causes. Besides the Age Standardized Mortality Rates (ASDR), both the Relative Standardized Mortality Ratios (RSMR) and the Standardized Proportional Mortality Ratios (SPMR) were utilized.--The results obtained showed that the RSMR and the ASDR had the same trend when the urgan area and the rural area were compared--excluding the diseases of the circulatory system--the risk of death from causes was higher in the urban area. On the contrary, comparing the semi-urban area with the urban area and the rural area, dissonant behaviour between the two parameters was revealed.--The results obtained with the RSMR and with the SPMR were almost always similar.--To determine the significance of the deviation between expected number and observed number of deaths, the procedure for estimating the relation of mortality from specific causes to that from all causes (adaptation of Mantel-Haenszel method) was used. The deviation of the observed from expected number of deaths in the mountain zone, taking the coastal zone as control, was statistically significant or very close to significance for each cause with the exception of injuries and poisonings in females and diseases of the circulatory system in both sexes.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗

[Cellular lysis and dissociative phase of the genus Bacillus].

The sensitivity of the dissociative variants "R", "RS" and "S" of the spore-forming bacilli to some lytic agents (lysozyme, sodium lauryl sulphate, lipase, trypsin and some of their associations) has been studied. The research has been carried out on 32 strains: 14 "R", 14 "RS" and 4 "S" of different species of the genus Bacillus. The results have shown that the sensitivity to the studied lytic agents is strictly correlated, not to the species, but to the dissociative phases: these results are in accordance with those obtained in previous researches, carried out by the same Authors, on other characters, both morphological and biological, of the same variants. Thus, also through this way, it is possible to reach the conclusion that within this genus, there is more similarity among the different species of the same dissociative phase than among different dissociative variants of the same species. The results obtained in the present study allow to advance hypothesis, based also on the data of the literature, about the composition of the cell walls of the three above mentioned dissociative variants of the strains belonging to the genus Bacillus.

Bacillus↗

Ten-year survival and age at diagnosis of women with breast cancer from a population-based study in Umbria, Italy.

We analyzed the 10-year survival of 1,512 women with breast cancer in relation to age at diagnosis. The incident cases were from an ad hoc investigation in Umbria, a region of central Italy, for the period 1978-1982. The follow-up was carried out by an automatic link with the RENCAM (Nominative register of causes of death) and verified at the Register's Offices of the various towns of the region. Observed survival at 1 year was 0.89, at 3 years 0.75, at 5 years 0.64 and at 10 years 0.47. Median survival was 9.0 years. Relative survival at 1, 3, 5, 10 years was respectively 0.91, 0.79, 0.71 and 0.59. Women < 35 years of age had a better prognosis both at 5 (0.83) and 10 years (0.69) from diagnosis. Thereafter, survival decreased with increasing age. The exception to this trend was women in the 45-49 and 60-64 year age ranges, for which survival was greater than the previous age range classes by 6% and 13%, respectively, at 5 years from diagnosis and 6% and 14% at 10 years. Comparison of data from Umbria and Italian and European Registries shows that the prognosis for Umbrian women with breast cancer is quite good.

Adult↗

Risk factors for sensitization to AnisakiS simplex: a multivariate statistical evaluation.

Anisakis simplex is a nematode belonging to the Anisakidae family. The ingestion of third stage larvae in uncooked or undercooked seafood may cause human diseases known as anisakiasis and anisakidosis. A total of 400 (159 atopic and 241 non-atopic) subjects living in an area of southern Italy (Bari district) were consecutively evaluated to identify the association of some factors (sex, age, atopy, consumption of uncooked seafood and sensitization to dust mites) with the risk of Anisakis simplex sensitization. Patients were investigated on history of atopy and allergic diseases and were skin prick tested with commercial allergen extracts of Anisakis simplex, Acarus siro, Lepidoglyphus destructor, Tyrophagus putrescentiae, Glycyphagus domesticus, Euroglyphus maynei, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and Dermatophagoides farinae. Our results suggest that atopic subjects have a lower risk of Anisakis allergy than non-atopic subjects and show the association of Anisakis simplex sensitization with the consumption of uncooked seafood (anchovies and squid), increasing age and sensitization to Glycyphagus domesticus.

Animals↗

[Characterization of species of the genus Clostridium by gas chromatographic analysis of the fatty acids produced during metabolism].

Volatile and non volatile fatty acids deriving from the bacterial metabolism of different sugars were determined by gas-chromatography to better characterize Clostridium tertium and Clostridium ramosum. The data obtained were also used for numerical taxonomic analysis and dendrograms were elaborated to study the taxonomic relationships between the two species.

Carbohydrate Metabolism↗