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In an observational study, we analyzed 1293 healthcare workers previously infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), of which 34.1% developed postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (also known as long COVID). Using a multivariate logistic regression model, we demonstrate that the likelihood of developing long COVID in infected individuals rises with the increasing of duration of infection and that 3 doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine are protective, even during the Omicron wave., Competing Interests: Potential conflicts of interest. M. R. reports payment or honoraria for speaking engagements from Fondazione Internazionale Menarini. All other authors report no potential conflicts. All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America.)

Comparisons among the different vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 are important to understand which type of vaccine provides more protection. This study aimed to evaluate the real-life efficacy through symptomatic infection and the humoral response of six different vaccines against SARS-CoV-2-BNT162b2, mRNA-1273, ChAdOx1-S, CoronaVac, Ad26.COV2, and Ad5-nCoV. This multicentric observational longitudinal study involved hospitals from Mexico and Brazil in which volunteers who received complete vaccination schemes were followed for 210 days after the last dose. SARS-CoV-2 Spike 1-2 IgG levels were taken before receiving the first vaccine, 21 days after each dose, and the last sample at six months (+/-1 month) after the last dose. A total of 1132 individuals exposed to five COVID-19 waves were included. All vaccines induced humoral responses, and mRNA vaccines had the highest antibody levels during follow-up. At six months, there was a decline in the SARS-CoV-2 Spike 1-2 IgG antibody titers of 69.5% and 36.4% in subjects with negative and positive history of infection respectively. Infection before vaccination and after complete vaccination scheme correlated with higher antibody titers. The predictors of infection were vaccination with CoronaVac compared to BNT162b2 and ChAdOx1-S. In the presence of comorbidities such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, or dyslipidemia, CoronaVac lowered the risk of infection.

The advent of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 has drastically reduced the level of hospitalization with severe COVID-19 disease in infected individuals. However, the diffusion of variants of concern still challenge the protection conferred by vaccines raised against the wild-type form of the virus. Here, we have characterized the antibody response to the BNT162b2 (Comirnaty) mRNA vaccine in patients infected with the Omicron variant. We analyzed a population of 4354 vaccinated healthcare workers (HCW) from 7 different hospitals in Italy and monitored infection with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron. We correlated infection with the antibody response after vaccination. We found that a lower level of IgG, younger age, and the presence of allergies correlate with increased infection during the Omicron wave, and that infections correlate with wild-type spike protein antibody titers below 350 BAU/mL. These results support the necessity of a fourth booster dose, particularly for individuals with lower levels of antibodies.

Background: Scarce information exists in relation to the comparison of seroconversion and adverse events following immunization (AEFI) with different SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Our aim was to correlate the magnitude of the antibody response to vaccination with previous clinical conditions and AEFI., Methods: A multicentric comparative study where SARS-CoV-2 spike 1-2 IgG antibodies IgG titers were measured at baseline, 21-28 days after the first and second dose (when applicable) of the following vaccines: BNT162b2 mRNA, mRNA-1273, Gam-COVID-Vac, Coronavac, ChAdOx1-S, Ad5-nCoV and Ad26.COV2. Mixed model and Poisson generalized linear models were performed., Results: We recruited 1867 individuals [52 (SD 16.8) years old, 52% men]. All vaccines enhanced anti-S1 and anti-S2 IgG antibodies over time (p<0.01). The highest increase after the first and second dose was observed in mRNA-1273 (p<0.001). There was an effect of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection; and an interaction of age with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, Gam-COVID-Vac and ChAdOx1-S (p<0.01). There was a negative correlation of Severe or Systemic AEFI (AEs) of naïve SARS-CoV-2 subjects with age and sex (p<0.001); a positive interaction between the delta of antibodies with Gam-COVID-Vac (p=0.002). Coronavac, Gam-COVID-Vac and ChAdOx1-S had less AEs compared to BNT162b (p<0.01). mRNA-1273 had the highest number of AEFIs. The delta of the antibodies showed an association with AEFIs in previously infected individuals (p<0.001)., Conclusions: The magnitude of seroconversion is predicted by age, vaccine type and SARS-CoV-2 exposure. AEs are correlated with age, sex, and vaccine type. The delta of the antibody response only correlates with AEs in patients previously exposed to SARS-CoV-2., Registration Number: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT05228912., 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 © 2022 Romero-Ibarguengoitia, González-Cantú, Pozzi, Levi, Mollura, Sarti, Sanz-Sánchez, Rivera-Salinas, Hernández-Ruíz, Armendariz-Vázquez, Del Rio-Parra, Barco-Flores, González-Facio, Azzolini, Barbieri, de Azevedo Dias, Henriques Guimarães Júnior, Bastos-Borges, Acciardi, Paez-Bo, Teixeira and Rescigno.)

In medical radiography, a large area of the human body sometimes needs to be investigated by means of X-ray examinations, for example, the lower spine. With computed radiography (CR) cassettes, due to their large surface area, it is possible to make this type of investigation with a single exposure and use of a single cassette. With flat-panel digital detectors (DR detectors), due to their smaller size and their large cost, it is not possible to make the investigation with a single exposure, but multiple exposures are required according to the extent of the surface to be irradiated, with merging of two or more radiographic images. This operation is called "stitching" because several images are stitched together. We have tested three different modes of performing stitching examinations: linear, rotational and wide. Our purpose was to highlight the differences and issues, taking into account the quality of the images and the simplicity of use, with the goal of choosing the best technique. We evaluated the methods by three different parameters: the image quality, the ease of use (taking into account the time for performing an examination), and the simplicity of development. Each method has good qualities, but also its own problems: choosing the best technique is not easy, because each has advantages and disadvantages. Nowadays, rotational stitching is the most used because the quality of the images is very good and we are confident that the images have no parallax errors. However, this is not an easy system to develop because there are two different mechanical movements to be managed. For this reason, we are improving linear stitching, which is easier, but has a worse image quality. Wide stitching is the system closer to the CR system and has very good image quality, but the difficulty of developing a collimator that allows one to perform the technique presents a big hurdle. We conclude that, even though rotational stitching is complex and expensive, it is the best technique among those investigated.

This paper illustrates the factors and features of the revival of paid care and domestic work in Italy. While Italy is experiencing a boom in the recourse to carers for the elderly, there is not a corresponding expansion in paid private childcare, in spite of growing female employment and limited public services for children. One of the reasons for this is the growing involvement of grandparents in childcare. In Italy, a country characterised by a “Mediterranean welfare regime”, people also have recourse to their own mothers (and fathers) to care for their children, in spite of the fact that they can afford to pay for childminding and babysitting. Thus it is not only (migrant) domestic workers who frequently rely on their parents to care for their own children, an issue widely discussed in the literature on global care chains. Their employers, too, may rely on them. Grandparents, however, have turned out to play an important role in childcare not only in Italy but also in Western countries with better childcare services. Focusing on these issues, the paper contributes both to the debate on global care chains and to that on the role of the family within different welfare systems.

Uterine fibroids are common tumors of the female pelvis. Uterine artery embolization (UAE) is a minimally invasive alternative procedure in appropriate candidates to conventional myomectomy and hysterectomy for symptomatic uterine leiomyoma, reducing or eliminating leiomyoma-related symptoms of bleeding, bulk, and/or pain. In order to completely block the arterial blood supply to the fibroid, UAE is typically performed in both uterine arteries. At 1 year follow-up, the uterus may shrink by up to 55%, however, a re-growth of the fibroid may occur. The rate of major complications and amenorrhea following this procedure is low, ranging in most series from 1% to 3.5% and 1% to 7%, respectively. Nevertheless, the rate of amenorrhea in women over 45 seems to be higher. Women who wish to become pregnant should be cautioned about potential complications during pregnancy. Despite the lack of controlled studies that compared UAE with conventional surgery, and despite limited extended outcome data, UAE has gained rapid acceptance, primarily because this procedure preserves the uterus, is less invasive, and has less short-term morbidity than most surgical options. This review focuses on recent publications evaluating UAE and concludes that it is a safe treatment option, providing substantial improvement in both health-related quality of life and symptom control for most patients, with a very low rate of major complications. Any centre that offers UAE should adhere to published clinical guidelines, maintain ongoing assessment of quality improvement measures, and observe strict criteria to obtain procedural privileges. The gynecologist is likely to be the primary initial consultant to patients who present with myomas symptoms. Therefore, they must be familiar with the indications, exclusions, outcome expectations, and complications of UAE. When hysterectomy is the only option, UAE should be seriously taken into consideration. At this particular moment in time, data are needed from randomized controlled trials comparing UAE with surgical procedures. Current efforts to provide prospective objective assessment of treatment outcomes and complications after UAE will help to optimize women options and clinical guidelines.

Spontaneous preterm labor is still a major problem in perinatal medicine and it is associated to overwhelming risks of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Delaying delivery for hours, days or sometimes weeks may greatly reduce the short- and long-term perinatal morbidity improving fetal maturity of several organs and systems. Inhibition of uterine contractions may in fact allow to take advantage of the prenatal administration of glucocorticosteroids, which have been shown to reduce the incidence and severity of newborn respiratory distress syndrome. Moreover, delaying delivery may allow the transfer in utero to a maternity attached to a neonatal intensive care unit, therefore guaranteeing the best care for the preterm newborn. Every day gained between 22 and 28 weeks gestation increases survival by 3%. However, since most of preterm deliveries happened to be after 29 weeks, newborn survival is a secondary issue while the main aim of delaying labor in these cases is to improve the function of fetal systems and to try to understand if it is the case of prolonging pregnancy balancing risks of a hostile intrauterine environment towards the possible complications of a premature extrauterine life.

Aim: Vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia (VaIN) is an uncommon and poorly understood disease. Risk factors other than human papillomavirus (HPV) infection could be linked to the onset and evolution of some VaIN., Methods: In this paper, the results achieved from the analysis of 75 patients with VaIN are reported. From these cases, women with HIV, previous hysterectomy, autoimmune diseases and radio- and chemotherapy have been excluded. Thus, most of these selected cases should be linked to the HPV infection. They have been examined after a distinction between grade and association with coilocytosis. VaIN preferential localization, mean age of patients and manifestation pattern after vaginal colposcopy have then been examined., Results: Although the population size cannot allow evidences, it seems that VaIN with coilocytosis and VaIN I without coilocytosis have preferential localization in the upper third of the vagina. It does not appear that mean age of patients for each grade of VaIN differs significativly, both associated and not associated with coilocytosis. Finally, after vaginal colposcopy, the pattern of VaIN for each grade is absolutely not typical, and it seems that white thin epithelium or negative Lugol area are usually the manifestation of high grades of VaIN too., Conclusions: These results, if confirmed, could mean that VaIN due to HPV may have a different natural history relating to the site of localization in the vagina and, moreover, that also VaIN of high grade could appear with an innocent vaginal pattern.