How Universal Is a Construct of Loneliness? Measurement Invariance of the UCLA Loneliness Scale in Indonesia, Germany, and the United States.

The UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS-20) and its short version (ULS-8) are widely used to measure loneliness. However, the question remains whether or not previous studies using the scale to measure loneliness are measuring the construct equally across countries. The present study examined the measurement invariance (MI) of both scales in Germany, Indonesia, and the United States (N = 2350). The one-, two-, and three-factor structure of the ULS-20 did not meet the model fit cut-off criteria in the total sample. The ULS-8 met the model fit cut-off criteria and has configural, but not metric invariance because two items unrelated to social isolation were not MI. The final six items (ULS-6) exclusively related to social isolation had complete MI. Participants from the United States scored highest in the ULS-6, followed by participants from Germany and then Indonesia. We conclude that the ULS-6 is an appropriate measure for cross-cultural studies on loneliness.

Development of a disease-specific quality of life questionnaire for children & adolescents with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP-QoL).

Quality of life (QoL) assessment in children with coagulation disorders is a relatively unstudied area. While hemophilia-specific questionnaires (such as Haemo-QoL) are available, no instrument for children with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) has been validated yet. A disease-specific questionnaire for children with ITP was therefore developed (ITP-QoL) in three phases: (a) a preparatory phase; (b) a developmental phase; (c) a pilot testing phase. Since dimensions of Haemo-QoL were considered important for children with ITP, items were adapted, reformulated and additional dimensions were included. Two age-group versions were designed for children (aged 3-7, 8-18 years) and parents in Italian, German, and Swedish languages and were pilot tested.

[Treatment of iron deficiency in infancy with iron-acetyl transferrin]. / II trattamento della carenza marziale delle prime epoche di vita con ferro-acetil-transferrina.

In twenty eight patients with iron deficiency the efficacy of iron-acetil-transferrin treatment (2-3 mg/kg/die) has been evaluated from the changes of the following variables: RBC and reticulocyte count, Hb concentration, MCV, MCH, serum ferritin, serum iron, TIBC, and ZnPP. These variables were assessed before and after three months of treatment in all patients, and after three months from the end of the treatment in thirteen patients. At the end of the treatment there was a significant increase of RBC count, Hb concentration, MCV, MCH, serum ferritin, serum iron, and TIBC, a significant decrease of ZnPP, while reticulocyte count remained essentially unchanged. After three months from the end of the treatment only serum ferritin and ZnPP underwent an additional significant increase and decrease, respectively. In twenty-six patients serum ferritin values returned to normal. The changes of RBC and reticulocyte count, Hb concentration, MCV, serum iron, and TIBC were larger the lower the initial values, suggesting that the efficacy of the treatment is greater the more serious the iron deficiency.

[Pneumoperitoneum without perforation]. / Pneumoperitoneo senza perforazione.

Usually, pneumoperitoneum is due to perforation of a hollow abdominal organ. In the absence of peritoneal symptoms, pneumoperitoneum may be due to other causes. Two patients with pneumoperitoneum without perforation were treated in our department. A 41-year-old female patient was admitted to our hospital with abdominal pain for 12 hours, without vomiting. On abdominal examination fullness of the liver was absent, the abdomen was not distended and there were no signs of peritoneal irritation. The roentgenogram showed free air under the diaphragm. Laparotomy was performed because of the abdominal complaints. No perforation could be found. A 70-year-old female patient was admitted to the hospital because of mild abdominal pain. For a week she had a severe attack of coughing due to bronchitis. Big capacity of air had been blown in the stomach without abnormalities in the roentgenologic examination. The treatment was conservative. Both patients left the hospital in good health. More knowledge of the less frequent causes of pneumoperitoneun without perforation can possibly contribute to to refraining from exploratory laparotomy in these cases.

[New therapeutic trends in thalassemia: oral chelating agents]. / Nuove prospettive terapeutiche per la thalassemia: i chelanti orali.

The future therapeutic strategy for decreasing iron overload in poly-transfused patients will include oral chelation. The product currently undergoing the most intensive experimentation is Ll (1,2-dimethyl-3-hydroxypyrid-4-one). We report here a short-term efficacy study carried out in 10 thalassemic transfusion-dependent pediatric volunteer patients, already closely followed in our Day Hospital, after having provided their informed consent. In our study Ll, when compared to Desferrioxamine, was clearly efficacious and safe.

[Pulmonary hemosiderosis induced by cow's milk proteins: a discussion of a clinical case]. / Emosiderosi polmonare indotta dalle proteine del latte vaccino: discussione di un caso clinico.

Pulmonary hemosiderosis (PH), a rare pathology, usually occurring during infancy and childhood, is characterized by numerous and repeated intra-alveolar bleedings, interstitial iron build-up with consequent progressive fibrosis and severe anemia. PH can be basically divided into 3 different categories: Primitive or idiopathic, involving a primitive deficit of antioxidizing enzymes in the erythrocytes in genetically predisposed subjects; Secondary, subsequent to chronic pneumopathy or cardiopathy; Associated with various pathologies including collagenopathies, glomerulonephritis, myocardiopathies, diabetes, steatorrhea, tireotossicosis. A particular type of Pulmonary Hemosiderosis, associated with allergy to cow's milk, has been described for the first time by Heiner. We present in this paper our personal experience of a young patient suffering from pulmonary hemosiderosis induced by cow's milk protein.