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Objective: The study aimed to investigate perceptions and determinants of the overall impact on life and work domains among a community of knowledge workers after 18 months of forced work from home due to the pandemic., Methods: A cross-sectional study with a retrospective assessment was conducted early in 2022 at the National Research Council of Italy. Five single-item questions explored the perceived impact on life domain while a 7-item scale the impact on the work domain. Bivariate analyses and multivariate regressions were used to evaluate the associations between impacts and some key factors defined by 29 ad hoc closed questions., Results: More than 95% of the 748 respondents reported a perceived change in at least one item of the life domain. For each of these items, although a large group of subjects has reported that working from home had no impact (from 27 to 55%), in the rest of the sample the positive evaluation (from 30 to 60%) clearly prevailed over the negative one. Overall, most of the subjects (64%) rated the impact on the work experience positively. Relationship with colleagues and participation in the work context were the items where the greatest number of negative rates was concentrated (27 and 25%, respectively). On the other hand, positive perceptions prevailed over both negative perceptions and lack of impact perceptions on the subjects of organizational flexibility and quality of work. The frequency of work-room sharing, home-work commute time and changes in sedentary lifestyle, have been identified as common explanatory factors of perceived impacts on both domains., Conclusion: Overall, respondents reported positive rather than negative perceived impacts of forced work from home in both their lives and work. The obtained results suggest that policies to promote the physical and mental health of employees, strengthen inclusion and maintain a sense of community are necessary to improve workers' health and prevent the effects of perceived isolation on research activities., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Bodini, Leo, Rissotto, Mincarone, Fusco, Garbarino, Guarino, Sabina, Scoditti, Tumolo and Ponzini.)

To describe radiographic key patterns on Chest X-ray (CXR) in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection, assessing the prevalence of radiographic signs of interstitial pneumonia. To evaluate pattern variation between a baseline and a follow-up CXR. 1117 patients tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection were retrospectively enrolled from four centers in Lombardy region. All patients underwent a CXR at presentation. Follow-up CXR was performed when clinically indicated. Two radiologists in each center reviewed images and classified them as suggestive or not for interstitial pneumonia, recording the presence of ground-glass opacity (GGO), reticular pattern or consolidation and their distribution. Pearson's χ 2 test for categorical variables and McNemar test (χ 2 for paired data) were performed. Patients mean age 63.3 years, 767 were males (65.5%). The main result is the large proportion of positive CXR in COVID-19 patients. Baseline CXR was positive in 940 patients (80.3%), with significant differences in age and sex distribution between patients with positive and negative CXR. 382 patients underwent a follow-up CXR. The most frequent pattern on baseline CXR was the GGO (66.1%), on follow-up was consolidation (53.4%). The most common distributions were peripheral and middle-lower lung zone. We described key-patterns and their distribution on CXR in a large cohort of COVID-19 patients: GGO was the most frequent finding on baseline CXR, while we found an increase in the proportion of lung consolidation on follow-up CXR. CXR proved to be a reliable tool in our cohort obtaining positive results in 80.3% of the baseline cases., (© 2020. The Author(s).)

Aim: To comparatively investigate the effects of hyperpolypharmacy and potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) on functional decline in older patients after hospital discharge., Methods: Our series consisted of 733 patients aged ≥65 consecutively enrolled in a multicenter observational longitudinal study. PIMs were defined on the basis of updated versions of Beers and STOPP criteria. The occurrence of functional decline was defined as the loss of independency in at least 1 basic activity of daily living (BADL) from discharge through 3-month follow-up visit., Results: After adjusting for several potential confounders, hyperpolypharmacy (OR = 2.20; 95%CI = 1.11-4.37) and Beers violations (OR = 1.99; 95%CI = 1.17-3.49) were significantly associated with functional decline, while STOPP (OR = 1.10; 95%CI = 0.64-1.88) and combined Beers + STOPP violations (OR = 1.72; 95%CI = 0.97-3.05) were not. In logistic regression models simultaneously including both hyperpolypharmacy and PIMs, hyperpolypharmacy was always associated with functional decline (OR = 1.98; 95%CI = 1.0-3.97 in the model including Beers violations; OR = 2.19; 95%CI = 1.11-4.35 in the model including STOPP violations; OR = 2.04; 95%CI = 1.02-4.06 in the model including combined Beers and STOPP violations). Beers violations (OR = 1.89; 95%CI = 1.09-3.28) also remained significantly associated with the outcome in this latter analysis, but not STOPP or combined Beers and STOPP violations., Conclusions: Hyperpolypharmacy, and to a lesser extent Beers violations predict functional decline in older patients discharged from acute care hospitals, whilst STOPP criteria are no longer associated with the outcome after adjusting for potential confounders. Hyperpolypharmacy is associated with functional decline independent of PIMs., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Backgrounds: Chronic kidney disease (CKD), anemia, and mobility limitation are important predictors of mortality. We aimed at investigating the interactions between estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), anemia, and physical performance on 1-year mortality in older patients discharged from acute care hospitals., Methods: Four hundred and eighty seven patients enrolled in a multicenter, prospective observational study were included in the analysis. eGFR was estimated by the Berlin Initiative Study 1 equation. Anemia was defined on the basis of hemoglobin values. Mobility limitation was rated by the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). Covariates included demographics, nutritional status, cognitive performance, and comorbidity. The outcome of the study was mortality over 1-year follow-up. Interactions among study variables were investigated by survival tree analysis., Results: eGFR < 30 mL/min/1.73 m(2), anemia, and SPPB = 0-4 were significantly associated with mortality, as were hypoalbuminemia and cognitive impairment. Survival tree analysis showed that compared to patients with SPPB ≥ 4 and eGFR ≥ 46.7 mL/min/1.73 m(2) (ie, patients with the least mortality), patients with SPPB < 4 and hemoglobin < 12.2 g/dL had the highest risk of mortality [hazard ratio (HR) = 28.9, 95%CI 10.3-81.2]. Patients with SPPB ≥ 4 and eGFR < 46.7 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and those with SPPB > 4, hemoglobin ≥ 12.2g/dL, and eGFR ≥ 58.6 mL/min/1.73 m(2) had intermediate risk (HR = 6.58, 95%CI = 2.15-20.2, and HR = 15.11, 95%CI=4.42-51.7, respectively). Having SPPB < 4, hemoglobin ≥ 12.2 g/dL, and eGFR<58.6 mL/min/l.73 m(2) was not significantly associated with increased mortality (HR = 2.95, 95%CI = 0.74-11.8)., Conclusions: Interactions among eGFR, anemia, and mobility limitation define different profiles of risk in older patients discharged from acute care hospitals, which deserve to be considered to identify patients needing special care and careful follow-up after discharge., (© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Ethnic food consumption is a quickly growing reality within Chinese communities, which have a well-organized "internal" food market for both Asian and ethnic foods produced in the European Union. The main problems associated with these markets are related to hygienic conditions, certifications of accomplishment, and personnel management. Moreover, controls and identification of the products are difficult because of cultural and linguistic barriers. In this study, five markets managed by the Chinese were visited, and the conformity of the reported label information found on different kinds of food (prepackaged or loose) was assessed by a collaboration between the Local Authorities of Control of the Prato territory, which hosts the largest Chinese community in Italy, and of native speakers of Chinese. All visited markets presented products (n = 75) with non-conformities: lack of translation (6%) and incomplete/mistaken translation of the commercial name (72%) and place of production (12%). In addition to the legal implications of the observed non-compliances, certain sanitary issues were taken into consideration. In fact, a number of the products that belong to risk categories could be misclassified in a non-risk category. Lastly, missing ingredients or complete alteration of their commercial names may represent health threats in cases of allergen ingestion by allergic or intolerant consumers.