Welcome to Biomedicine & Prevention

Biomedicine & Prevention is a peer-reviewed, open access journal that publishes original research articles as well as review articles in several areas of the life sciences. The journal’s Editorial Board covers several subject areas mainly focusing on prevention and health promotion. Prevention is covered not as an exclusive health competence discipline but in a holistic way, including environmental sciences, engineering, physics, legal implications and legislation.

In vitro experimental models to study the efficiency of the placental barrier for environmental toxicants: tumor cell lines versus trophoblast primary cells.

Mammalian development is characterized by an evolutionary innovation represented by the trophoblast, which contributes to the formation of the placenta, a transient organ regulating exchange of nutrients, gases and waste material between the mother and the developing fetus. Survival of the fetus relies on proper development of the placenta, which is also responsible for the formation of a selective barrier that protects the embryo, at least in part, from xenobiotics. The barrier function of the placenta has been investigated for viral/bacterial transfer and for drug and nanoparticulate matter access to the fetal compartment. Since species specific structural differences exist, results on the ability of xenobiotics to access the placental barrier obtained from animal studies cannot be automatically transposed to humans. However, in vivo studies on human placenta permeability cannot be performed, and the use of in vitro alternative methods are in great need. In the present mini-review we will present and critically discuss the available in vitro methods that have been so far developed and present a new model system that we have recently established.

An informatics tool to analyse child growth indexes: first results of Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) software

Nowadays, health problems related to malnutrition still threats several countries. Undernutrition problems are more spread in low-income countries and high level of this malnutrition usually led to infant and premature deaths. Obesity and overweight usually ran to several diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. The World Health Organization has been produced the child growth standards. These standards are made through statistical models those give how the examined child is far from healthy growth values. They allow to monitor, prevent and mitigate child malnutrition and growth disorders. This work shows a new software able to analyse large numbers of data regarding the Mid-Upper Arm Circumference. Furthermore, the software elaborates statistical data in graphical forms, such as gaussian and cumulative distributions, scatter plots and warnings.

Displaced Population, Refugees of Multiple Traumas and the World Most Harsh, Injustice and Deterrent Immigration Policies

UNHCR report on forced displacement (2016) has suggested quote that “over the past two decades, the global of forcibly displaced population has grown substantially from 33.9 million 1997 to 65.6 million in 2016, and it remains at record high. The growth was concentrated between 2012 and 2015, driven by the Syrian conflict along other conflicts in the region such as Iraq, as well ”. While focusing on harsh and deterrent policies and refugees of multiple traumas of regions such as Syria, Iraq, Libya, Lebanon and those recently displaced Muslim population of Myanmar (formerly Burma), the core issues presented here will be mainly the highlight of recent policies, suffering of women and children of war regions alongside vision of possible UN long-term solutions. Rehabilitation, meetings their needs and rebuilding lives may be the start of such solution which ultimately aims to support resiliency and invest in building infrastructure that meet essential health-care, educational needs of young children of traumatized refugee families.

Technical Rescue Dynamic Response In High Visibility Events - Operational Concepts And CBRN Aspects

Over the last few years, several situations have emerged related to high visibil-ity events, which are of an extraordinary character and can get sensible targets. The day after 9/11, the entire society and safety and security bodies quickly re-alized that the way terrorist attack had been turned to new and unthinkable tech-niques using any available means and revealing an insane planning capability but utterly effective. The proposed CBRN approach for such events starts from the preventive recognition of indoor and outdoor sensible spots, helped also on the basis of intelligence sources and civil defense planning. Therefore, a dynam-ic rescue apparatus must be sized so as to dispatch Firefighting teams on the spot also for specific surveillance tasks such as environmental monitoring. These actions are carried out by CBRN teams with appropriate mobile detection tools. The aim of the paper is to prove how, taking into account the complexity of some events, it is nevertheless opportune to set up a special national deci-sion-making table whose goal is the predisposition of a capillary and “ad hoc” emergency plan where all the coordination levels from various Stakeholders in-teract in order to best fit this response.

Laboratory and diagnostic test mobile systems: critical issues and perspectives in the field of major disasters

Health Units of the Military Corps of Italian Red Cross (CRI) have proven to be usefully applied in both pace mission (i.e., Operation Ancient Babylon, IRAQ; 2005) and civil (i.e., EUNAVFOR MED Operation; in progress) scenarios, by using articulation unit modules. Evidence is given by the laboratory module of analysis which includes diagnostic emergency tests. The mobile laboratory is the result of a military working group made up of biomedical technicians. New planning perspectives have to be considered for the laboratory module for contrasting technical and logistic criticalities, in particular during major disasters. Test rapidity is strictly related to the critical condition of traumatized patients (i.e., crush syndrome) and/or subjects who have infections (i.e., tuberculosis). To achieve analysis results in a short time the use of point-of-care testing equipment is often required, having characteristics of compactness, autonomy, maximum portability and immediate response. In conclusion, we can establish that the effectiveness of the Mobile Laboratory of the Military Corps of CRI lies in its versatility, by adding operative response capacities in an emergency context, synergically with the main activities of first responders.

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