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Two pyrene based organogelators in which the pyrene moiety has been linked to the diphenylalanine dipeptide have been synthesized. We show how the solvent can tune both the morphology and the optical properties of the organogels: spherical aggregates with quenched emission were obtained in acetonitrile, whereas an entangled fibrillar network with enhanced emission was formed in o-dichlorobenzene. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, circular dichroism and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy experiments suggest that both π-π stacking and hydrogen bonding contribute to the formation of the supramolecular networks. Ultraviolet-visible and steady state emission studies demonstrated the formation of I-aggregates in acetonitrile. In contrast, in o-dichlorobenzene, the formation of J-type aggregates leads to assemblies with enhanced emission. These results give some insight into the important role of the gelling solvent in the morphology of the supramolecular gels and may help in the design of new soft-materials.

Three Alzheimer's disease patients with Pisa syndrome were presented. These patients were treated with cholinesterase inhibitors within a post-marketing surveillance study. The clinical and pharmacological histories of these patients suggest a relation between cholinesterase inhibitors and the pleurothotonus. The diffuse use of cholinesterase inhibitors in the treatment of dementia may cause an increasing number of Pisa syndrome cases.

Increase of acute liver injury in patients taking amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (co-amoxiclav) as compared to those taking amoxicillin has been suggested. To further investigate the potential hepatotoxicity of the two drugs a historical cohort study was conducted in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. One hundred and eighteen potential cases of acute liver injury were identified through the regional hospital information system and medical records were reviewed for all of them. Overall, 12 cases of acute liver injury were identified: 3 cases occurred in the amoxicillin exposure category, 2 among co-amoxiclav group, and 7 in the non-use category. The adjusted estimate of the rate ratio was 5.7 (CI 95% 1.5-22.1) among users of amoxicillin alone and 6.2 (CI 95% 1.3-29.7) among users of co-amoxiclav.

We analysed the pattern of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) use, over the period 1990-92, in a random sample of 76,537 women (45-74 years old) resident in the province of Rome, and in 1994 among all women (45-74 years old) resident in the Umbria region; data were collected through the regional drug prescription monitoring systems. During the three-year period an estimated 3.8% of women were prescribed HRT, among these 42% received estrogen with concomitant progestin therapy. The prevalence of use increased from 1.5% in 1990 to 2.2% in 1992 mainly because of an increased use of skin patches. In the Umbria region, out of the 166,112 women, 2.1% received at least one estrogen prescription. The prevalence of use increased in younger age classes but is almost unchanged over the sixties.

A cohort of 1971 chemical workers licensed to handle ethylene oxide was followed up retrospectively from 1940 to 1984 and the vital status of each subject was ascertained. No quantitative information on exposure was available and therefore cohort members were considered as presumably exposed to ethylene oxide. The cohort comprised 637 subjects allowed to handle only ethylene oxide and 1334 subjects who obtained a licence valid for ethylene oxide as well as other toxic gases. Potential confounding arising from the exposure to these other chemical agents was taken into consideration. Causes of death were found from death certificates and comparisons of mortality were made with the general population of the region where cohort members were resident. Seventy six deaths were reported whereas 98.8 were expected; the difference was statistically significant. The number of malignancies for any site exceeded the expected number (standardised mortality ratio (SMR) = 130; 43 observed deaths; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 94-175) and approached statistical significance. For all considered cancer sites the SMRs were higher than 100 but the excess was only significant (p < 0.05, two sided test) for lymphosarcoma and reticulosarcoma (International Classification of Diseases--9th revision (ICD-9) = 200; SMR = 682; four observed deaths; 95% CI 186-1745). The excess of cases for all cancers of haematopoietic tissue (ICD-9 = 200-208) also approached statistical significance (SMR = 250; six observed deaths; 95% CI 91-544). Focusing the analysis on the subcohort of the ethylene oxide only licensed workers, who are likely to have experienced a more severe exposure to this gas, it became evident that all but one of the observed cases of haematopoietic tissue cancers in the cohort were confined to this subgroup, enhancing the relevant SMR to 700 (95% CI 237-1637) and the SMR of lymphosarcoma and reticulosarcoma to 1693 (95% CI 349-4953).

The epidemiological use of drug prescription data is getting increasing attention in Italy. All Italian citizens are included in the National Health Service (NHS) which reimburses almost every drug prescription. The potential information content of such systems have to be evaluated within a technological context which will allow, for medium term, drug prescription data collection for all of the individuals served by the NHS. The VIDEOFAR project did explore the possible use of drug prescription data for descriptive epidemiological studies, in the evaluation of General Practitioners activity and as a tool for Post-Marketing Drug Surveillance. Some examples are presented in this paper using data derived from Latium Region.

An investigation has been made on structure modifications of E. coli ribosomes following EDTA treatment. When completely deprived of magnesium, the small subunit sediments at 16S while the large one, in the same conditions, shows two components at 17S and 21S. Unfolding causes in both subunits an increase in radius of gyration without substantial change in molecular weight, as shown by light scattering measurements. The occurence of the slower 17S component besides the 21S one has to be connected with a fraction of the large subunit population which presents nucleolytic breaks in its RNA chain. These breaks do not cause fragmentation of the unfolded subunit but lead to a more open configuration sedimenting at lower velocity.

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Depuis la dernière Assemblée générale, notre commission a eu le regret de perdre deux de ses membres les plus éminents: M. Paul Stroobant, directeur de l’Observatoire Royal de Belgique et M. W. H. Pickering, ancien directeur des succursales de l’Observatoire de Harvard à Arequipa (Pérou) et Mandeville (Jamaïque). Les recherches de M. Paul Stroobant se rapportent pour une grande partie aux planètes, notamment Mercure, Vénus, les petites planètes et Saturne dont il étudia pendant des années les anneaux. Il faisait partie de notre Union comme président de la 5e commission et membre de beaucoup d’autres.

WIDESPREAD head louse infestation (Pediculus humanus capitis De Geer) among schoolchildren has been recorded in Italy. An investigation was carried out to evaluate the prevalence and to identify the factors which contribute to the spread of the ediculosis. In this study (March 23 to April 21,1978) 1,988 pupils grouped proportionally to the numerical division in three types of schools were examined. The prevalence of pediculosis in the school population stüdied was 9.6%; no significant differences were detected among the three types of schools examined. Distribution of cases by degree of infestation and hair length was also studied. Distribution of para sitosis seems not to depend on the number of pupils in a class, while it was influenced by the size of the family. In the Elementary and Primary schools prevalence among females was twice that of males, while no relationship was detected between infestation and sex in the Nursery schools.

An analysis of cancer mortality over a 10-year period in Italy is presented. Data are from the Italian part of the Seven Countries Study, an international investigation into the epidemiology of coronary heart disease. The analysis confirms that coronary risk factors provide a useful guide to the prediction of cancer mortality, particularly in association with factors related to age, smoking habits, body weight, and diabetes. (summary in ENG)

An epidemiological study was conducted in the city of Rome and the incidence of malignant melanoma was determined retrospectively for the years 1970-9. All patients had legal residence in Rome and a histological diagnosis of melanoma during that period; only cases of malignant melanoma of the skin (ICD 172, 8th revision) were considered. A total of 17 public and 82 private hospitals were involved in the study with 11 081 and 6127 hospital beds respectively. All the hospitals in the study had one of the following therapeutic and diagnostic facilities: internal medicine, dermatology, oncology, radiology, surgery, plastic surgery, histopathology. Analyses of incidence are based on 500 cases, 237 males and 263 females, collected in the period 1970-9. The data indicate a positive time trend in incidence; the average annual increase is 0.27 cases/year per 100 000. The data show that in a Mediterranean and Latin country such as Italy the incidence of melanoma presents the same ascending trend as that of other Caucasian countries, whether European or not, the slope of the curves is similar for both sexes. The distribution of the primary site for both sexes is closely parallel to that described for all Caucasian populations, the lower limbs being more affected in females and the trunk in males.