PURPOSE: To measure the mammographic radiation dose of different mammographic units and views as compared to the American College of Radiology Recommendations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We measured the kVp, entrance dose and average glandular dose for three mammo-graphic units(two Giotto Hi-Tech Mammography, IMS, Bologna, Italy, one Senographe 500T, GE Medical Systems, Milwaukee, Wis., U.S.A.) in the 26 -33 kV range. Dose measurement for magnification compression view was obtained for two machines and dose measurement for stereotactic views was obtained for one machine. RESULTS: For each machine, the entrance dose was within the range of 3.400 -6.077, 4.383 -11.403, 3.790 -6 . 497 mSv, respectively, and the average glandular dose was within the range of 0.74 -1.96 mGy. The entrance and average glandular dose were 17.14, 18.00 mSv, and 3.73, 3.92 mGy for the magnification compression view and 2.41 -2.92 mSv, 0.50 -0.61 mGy for stereotactic views. The error range of kVp was ~1 1 . 3 ~+1.9 %. CONCLUSION: The entrance dose and average glandular dose were above the limit of the American College of Radiology Recommendations. It is necessary to develop a Korean standard on the basis of the above data.
Italy ; Mammography

BACKGROUND: The present study aims at investigating whether and how (1) job demands and job resources are associated with work-to-private-life interference (WLI) and (2) job resources moderate the relationship between job demands and WLI. METHODS: Data were collected by a self-report questionnaire from three hospitals in Italy. The sample consisted of 889 health-care workers. RESULTS: All job demands (i.e., quantitative demands, disproportionate patient expectations, and verbal aggression) and job resources (i.e., job autonomy, support from superiors and colleagues, fairness, and organizational support), with the exception of skill discretion, were related to WLI. The effects of quantitative demands on WLI were moderated by support from superiors; fairness and organizational support moderate the effects of all job demands considered. Support from colleagues moderated only verbal aggression. Job autonomy did not buffer any job demands. CONCLUSION: The present study suggests that the work context has a central importance in relation to the experience of WLI among health-care workers. The results indicated that intervention in the work context may help to contain WLI. Such interventions would especially be aimed at improving the social climate within the unit and quality of the organizational process.
Aggression ; Climate ; Humans ; Italy

Since the 3rd WIN meeting in 1982 more than 500 participants join the meeting in Val D'Isere every year [1]. One of our authors has attended the meeting more than 10 times. He experienced many physical illnesses while travelling from South Korea to Val D'Isere in France, which is located in the Alps mountain near the border between France and Italy. In order to get there, it is necessary to take airplane, train, and/or bus with a heavy suitcase. During the trip which usually takes more than 15 hours, he experienced headache, gastrointestinal trouble, sleep disturbance and other additional physical illnesses. Therefore, we reviewed the itinerary to Val D'Isere and presented physical illnesses which occurred during a long trip for an academic activity by specialized professionals such as university hospital professors. In addition, we discussed the mechanism of such illnesses and offered possible solutions including medical treatment.
Aircraft ; France ; Headache ; Italy ; Korea* ; Travel Medicine

Diet ; Energy Intake ; Health Behavior ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Italy

OBJECTIVE: Advances in dimensional assessment of children in healthy and clinical populations has renewed interest in the study of temperament. Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) has shown high reliability and internal consistency. Adult and adolescent versions have been translated into a number of languages and validated in cross-cultural studies worldwide. To date only one preschool-TCI-based study has been conducted in early infancy with teachers as observers. The present study is aimed to test an Italian Preschool version of the Temperament and Character Inventory (PsTCI). This is the first replication and the first validation study of TCI on preschoolers with parents as observers. METHODS: 395 preschool children, recruited from pediatric communities and day-care centres throughout Italy, participated in the study. Parents of each child enrolled in the study and completed a PsTCI about the child. Standard psychometric tests of reliability and validation were performed. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analyses demonstrated the presence of distinct domains for temperament and character. TCI dimensions had good internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha ranging values (|0.60|-|0.81|). Gender differences were found for Harm Avoidance (beta=-0.186; p< or =0.001) and Self-Directedness (beta=-0.216; p< or =0.01), and accounted for 5-35arm-38-702- of the observed variance. CONCLUSION: The present work suggests the psychological complexity of Cloninger's model and confirms its application in pre-school children from diverse environmental and cultural backgrounds. The results confirm that Cloninger's instrument for temperament and character evaluations can also be used with different observers and highlight the importance of considering cultural and demographic differences in the assessment of temperament and character in preschoolers.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Humans ; Italy ; Parents ; Psychometrics ; Temperament

Because the perception of infertility in medieval Europe ranged from the extremely religious view of it as a malediction of God or the devil's work, to the reasonable medical conception of it as a sort of disease to treat, it is very difficult to determine the general attitudes of ordinary people towards infertility. This article seeks to elucidate the common social perception of infertility and its treatment in late medieval Europe by analyzing the case of Margherita Datini, an Italian merchant's wife who lived in the 1400s. It relies heavily on the documents left by her and her husband, Francesco Datini; the couple left many records, including letters of correspondence between them. Margherita and those around her regarded infertility not as the devil's curse or a punishment by God but as a disease that can be cured. Margherita and her husband, Francesco, tried hard to cure their infertility. They received treatment and prescriptions from several doctors while also relying on folk remedies, religious therapies, and even magical remedies. The comparative analysis of Datini documents, medical books, and theoretical treatises or prescriptive essays by clerics suggests that the general perception of infertility in medieval Europe was located between the extremely religious and modern medical conceptions of it.
Clergy ; Europe ; Fertilization ; Humans ; Infertility* ; Italy* ; Magic ; Medicine, Traditional ; Prescriptions ; Punishment ; Social Perception* ; Spouses*

Myiasis is a parasitic infestation of vertebrate animal tissues due to maggots of two-winged flies (Diptera) that feed on living or necrotic tissue. Dermatobia hominis occurs widely in tropical parts of Latin America; it is the most common cause of furuncular myiasis in this region. The continuous increase in international travel has increased the possibility of observing this pathology outside endemic countries, especially in travelers returning from the tropics. If clinicians are aware of the possibility of the disease and its treatment options, this dermatosis can be easily managed. However, diagnostic delay is very common because the disease is often misdiagnosed as a bacterial skin infection. Here, we report 2 cases of furuncular myiasis caused by D. hominis in travelers returning to Italy from Latin America. Surgical and noninvasive treatment approaches are also described.
Animals ; Diptera ; Humans ; Italy ; Larva ; Latin America ; Myiasis ; Pathology ; Skin Diseases ; Skin* ; Transients and Migrants* ; Vertebrates

The standard therapy for Helicobacter pylori infection in Korea consists of a triple-drug regimen containing a proton pump inhibitor with two antibiotics such as clarithromycin, amoxicillin, and metronidazole. However, the eradication rate of this regimen is declining and a new regimen should be prompted. Among them, sequential therapy seems to be more effective than the conventional triple therapy. Sequential therapy, however, has only been tried in the limited countries such as Italy. To recommend this therapy in clinical practice, well-designed clinical trials should be performed in Korea since many host factors and bacterial factors influence the treatment outcomes. In this article, we are going to review the basic concepts and the results of previous clinical trials on sequential therapy.
Amoxicillin ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Clarithromycin ; Helicobacter ; Helicobacter pylori ; Italy ; Korea ; Metronidazole ; Proton Pumps

Health Policy ; Humans ; Italy ; Occupational Health Services ; organization & administration ; Safety Management

Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a significant complication of congenital heart disease, which carries a recognized risk of morbidity and mortality. There have been remarkable advances in the field of pulmonary arterial hypertension over the past several decades. At the third world symposium on pulmonary arterial hypertension held in Venice, Italy, 2003, congenital cardiac shunts were classified in the same group as idiopathic pulmonary hypertension. This article discusses the recent advances in understanding the pathology, pathobiology, diagnosis, and treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension associated pediatric congenital heart disease.
Diagnosis ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; Heart Diseases* ; Heart* ; Hypertension* ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; Italy ; Mortality ; Pathology ; Pediatrics