Saint Camillus International University of Health Sciences (UniCamillus) is a private University recognised by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research in November 2017. It is located in Rome.
Proximity to vegetation is linked to lower mortality, making urban greening a key public health strategy. This study quantified preventable deaths associated with green-space exposure in the Florentine plain (Tuscany, Italy), integrating population, deprivation, and satellite data at the census tract level, while accounting for model uncertainty. Exposure was measured in 2015 as the mean NDVI within 300 m of each tract. Deaths in 2021 were redistributed from municipalities to tracts by age–sex structure and deprivation. Mortality impacts among adults over 35 were estimated under counterfactual scenarios: NDVI thresholds (0.5, 0.7), + 0.1 absolute and + 20
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most prevalent bacterial infections worldwide, posing a significant health burden, particularly in the context of rising antimicrobial resistance. The increasing ineffectiveness of conventional antibiotics has necessitated the exploration of alternative therapeutic approaches, especially those derived from natural plant-based sources. This study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of Cymbopogon citratus (lemongrass) leaf extracts against multidrug-resistant uropathogens. Extracts were prepared using three solvents: methanol, ethanol, and n-hexane, and tested against three clinically relevant bacterial strains: Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Enterobacter hormaechei subsp. xiangfangensis. Phytochemical screening revealed that extracts contained a wide variety of bioactive compounds, including alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, terpenoids, phenols, coumarins, and volatile oils. Further analysis using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy identified characteristic functional groups, including O–H, C–H, C = O, C = C, and N–H, indicating the presence of alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, alkenes, and amines, which are often associated with antimicrobial activity. Antibacterial assays showed that the methanolic extract exhibited the strongest inhibitory activity. In disc diffusion tests, it produced the largest zones of inhibition: 14 mm against Escherichia coli, 14 mm against Bacillus subtilis, and 13 mm against Enterobacter hormaechei subsp. xiangfangensis. Minimum inhibitory concentration values further confirmed its superior potency, with results of 3.12 mg/mL for Escherichia coli, 6.25 mg/mL for Bacillus subtilis, and 12.5 mg/mL for Enterobacter hormaechei subsp. xiangfangensis. The extract also showed bactericidal activity, with minimum bactericidal concentrations of 12.5 mg/mL for Escherichia coli and 25 mg/mL for the other two strains. In summary, this study provides strong evidence that Cymbopogon citratus, particularly when extracted with methanol, possesses significant antibacterial and antioxidant properties against multidrug-resistant uropathogens. These findings support its potential use as a complementary or alternative therapeutic agent in managing resistant urinary tract infections, offering a promising natural strategy to address the growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance. IMPACT STATEMENT. Methanolic extracts of Cymbopogon citratus demonstrated strong antibacterial and bactericidal activity against multidrug-resistant uropathogens, including Escherichia coli and Enterobacter hormaechei subsp. xiangfangensis. Phytochemical and FTIR analyses confirmed the presence of bioactive functional groups associated with antimicrobial effects. These findings highlight lemongrass as a promising plant-based candidate for developing complementary therapies to address antimicrobial resistance in urinary tract infections and support further pharmacological standardization and clinical investigation.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS:Premature deaths of bodybuilders have raised questions about the safety and associated risks of this discipline. The main objective of this study was to analyse mortality risk in a large international population of bodybuilders. METHODS:Male athletes who performed International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) competitions between 2005 and 2020 were identified and classified according to age, division and level. A standardized web-search, tailored to detect deaths, was performed for each athlete using specific keywords, with follow-up through July 2023. Mortality rates have been calculated both as the overall incidence rate during the monitored period as well as the annual incidence rate of those who participated in at least one competition within the previous year, i.e. currently competing athletes. RESULTS:A total of 20 286 athletes competing in 730 IFBB events were identified with an average follow-up of 8.1 ± 3.8 years (i.e. 190 211 athlete-years of surveillance). During the study period, 121 deaths were identified: 73 were considered sudden deaths, of which 46 were classified as sudden cardiac deaths (SCD), including 11 currently competing athletes (mean age 34.7 ± 6.1 years). The incidence of SCD in currently competing athletes was 32.83 cases per 100 000 athlete-years. Available autopsies of SCD cases consistently showed cardiomegaly and ventricular hypertrophy. Professional bodybuilders had a higher risk of SCD than amateurs (HR 5.23 [3.58-7.64]). CONCLUSIONS:The results of this study should alert the bodybuilding and medical communities to the need for improved preventive measures to promote safer sports participation.
To tackle the disease-related process in early pre-dementia Lewy Body Dementia, we investigated the changes of functional brain networks and their cognitive relevance. A cohort of 38 Mild Cognitive Impairment with Lewy Bodies (MCI-LB) subjects and one of 24 healthy controls (HC) underwent neuropsychological assessment and resting state (RS) functional and structural MRI. Functional connectivity (FC) between ROIs belonging to a set of RS networks, including the Salience Network (SN), Fronto-Parietal (FPN), Default Mode (DMN), Dorsal and Ventral Attention (DAN and VAN), Somato-Motor (SMN), Visual (VN) and Language (LN) was estimated and compared between cohorts. Finally, neuropsychological scores were correlated with FC of MCI-LB and HC separately. Compared to HC, MCI-LB exhibited lower FC between DAN, FPN and LN. Higher inter-network FC was found between FPN and SN, FPN and DMN, SN and SMN and DAN and SMN. In MCI-LB the correlational analysis revealed significant positive and negative associations between cognitive performance and FC values between nodes. In conclusion, we found a possible compensation mechanism between nodes in SN and FPN, and FPN and DMN following disconnection between the control system of the FPN and the top down attention system. The complex compensatory mechanisms involving multiple networks may not be efficient to counteract the cognitive impairment in MCI-LB. Overall, in MCI-LB we found an aberrant engagement of the networks that are not primarily involved in the performance of specific tasks.
Background: Stress shielding, which occurs when there is a mismatch between the stiffness of the implant and the bone, can alter load transfer and drive peri-implant bone remodeling, particularly in low-density bone. Methods: We compared the biomechanical responses of one-piece implants made of Ti-6Al-4V, Y-TZP, and CFR-PEEK. We modelled the bone as linearly isotropic in the transverse direction and the implants as linearly isotropic with a fully bonded interface. A static load of 200 N was applied at an inclination of 30° buccal-to-lingual, with the transverse bone bottom faces fully constrained. Results: The peak cortical von Mises stress was highest for Y-TZP (87 MPa), followed by Ti-6Al-4V (57 MPa) and CFR-PEEK (approximately 37 MPa). Peak cortical von Mises strain showed the same relative order of magnitude: 3450 µε, 3103 µε, and 1523 µε, respectively. The stress-shielding factor (SSF) revealed that shielding was present in the mid-apical regions. Y-TZP exhibited the greatest shielding (SSF: 0.844-0.877), followed by Ti-6Al-4V (SSF: 0.380-0.568) and CFR-PEEK (SSF: 0.375-0.437). No crestal shielding was observed (SSF < 0). Conclusions: Overall, implants with higher stiffness increased crestal stress concentration and deepened peri-implant shielding. Meanwhile, CFR-PEEK improved load sharing and produced a more homogeneous mechanical stimulus in low-density bone.
