Prospective study of the burden of acute gastroenteritis and rotavirus gastroenteritis in children less than 5 years of age, in Padova, Italy.

BACKGROUND: Data on the burden of rotavirus gastroenteritis in Europe are needed to help understand the potential impact of introducing new rotavirus vaccines. MATERIALS AND METHODS: As part of prospective observational study (Rotavirus gastroenteritis Epidemiology and Viral types in Europe Accounting for Losses in Public Health and Society Study, REVEAL) conducted in 2004--2005 in seven European countries, we studied, the characteristics of acute gastroenteritis and rotavirus gastroenteritis in children less than 5 years in primary care, emergency room and hospital settings (Padova, Italy). RESULTS: A total of 757 children with acute gastroenteritis were included and enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA) results were available for 725 cases. The overall estimated annual incidence for rotavirus gastroenteritis was 4.7%. Overall, rotavirus gastroenteritis was estimated to account for 43.6% of acute gastroenteritis cases. Among children with acute gastroenteritis (AGE) aged 6-23 months, 61.2% were rotavirus positive. Rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE) was responsible for 68.8% of hospitalizations, 61% of emergency consultations, and 33% of primary care consultations. The most prevalent serotype was G9 (84.4%) followed by G1 (11.8%). The relative risk for rotavirus gastroenteritis of being referred to hospital after an initial consultation in primary care was 3.37 (95% CI: 1.77-6.43) and 3.38 (95% CI: 2.28-5.01) for emergency room referral. Children with rotavirus gastroenteritis generally had more severe disease than children with rotavirus-negative gastroenteritis. CONCLUSION: Rotavirus accounts for a significant proportion of acute gastroenteritis cases in children less than 5 years in Italy, many of whom require frequent primary care consultations, or care in emergency room or hospital settings.

Polarimetric detection of land sediment runoff into the ocean using space shuttle imagery.

A new technique employing optical polarization is used to examine polarized radiation scattered by the sea in a region west of the Island of Hawaii. The technique is a very sensitive indicator of land sediment runoff following a storm.Polarization data acquisition details are described with an approach easily adapted to simplified instrumentation.

Optical properties of continental haze and cumulus and orographic clouds based on Space Shuttle polarimetric observations.

Digitized Space Shuttle imagery in the red, green, and blue spectral regions (0.600, 0.540, and 0.435 µm, respectively) is used to characterize the mean radius and the index of refraction of droplets in cumulus and orographic clouds. The clouds are shown to consist concurrently of submicrometer and supermicrometer droplets, with the percent polarization indicative of the dominant sizes. Cloud development from haze as well as inhomogeneities in the cloud decks can be traced remotely. The absorption properties of clouds can also be determined remotely. An optical depth of continental haze in the same three spectral regions as the clouds is computed from the polarimetric and photometric contributions. Both Mie and Rayleigh scattering are included in the model.

Further definition of lipid-lipoprotein abnormalities in children with various degrees of chronic renal insufficiency.

We characterized the lipid-lipoprotein abnormalities encountered in a series of 45 nonnephrotic uremic children with various degrees of chronic renal insufficiency. A mild hypertriglyceridemia associated with decreased serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels was confirmed. The correlation between high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and creatinine clearance showed a power behavior with a marked decrease in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol below a creatinine clearance value of 40 ml/min/1.73 m2. A number of uremic children accumulate an abnormal population of very low-density lipoprotein particles in their plasma. On agarose gel electrophoresis these particles migrate as a slow moving pre-beta band and are clearly distinguished from the regular fast moving pre-beta very low-density lipoprotein band. This electrophoretic phenomenon has been called double pre-beta lipoproteinemia. The prevalence of double pre-beta lipoproteinemia increased significantly with the degree of impairment of renal function, reaching highest figures in patients on hemodialysis. Accordingly, the very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol/triglyceride ratio also was significantly increased. The double pre-beta lipoproteinemia phenomenon was not detected in any of the control, nonuremic subjects. The clinical importance of double pre-beta lipoproteinemia in uremic plasma is related to its possible atherogenic role.

Broadband reflectance and emissivity of specular and rough water surfaces.

Complex indices of refraction for water near 25 degrees C were obtained from six references, and the most representative values in the wavelength range of 2000 A to 5 cm were selected. These were used to study the polarized reflectance and emissivity of both specular and wind-roughened surfaces as functions of wavelength and viewing angle. Applications to remote sensing of sea surface temperature and wave state are discussed, including effects of salinity.

An infrared stimulable phosphor dosimeter with time lapse indication.

A novel procedure for radiation dosimetry that indicates both the magnitude of the dose and the time elapsed since exposure is described herein. It was tested using an ir stimulable ZnS phosphor to record gamma doses in the range 10(-4) R to 10(4) R. When the phosphor is exposed to two successive ir bands, the dose and time information are separated and retrieved by means of the two stimulated luminescence peaks. Time lapse indicating dosimetry is applicable to particle radiation, as well as electromagnetic radiation. Readout can be performed by other means than ir, and energy detected in other forms than luminescence. The method should prove useful in tracing the causes of large accidental dose exposures of personnel.

Drum dispersion equation for Littrow-type prism spectrometers.

A simple analytic procedure has been developed for calibrating the wavelength drum of a Littrow-type prism spectrometer. Only three measured drum readings are required to specify the drum calibration over a broad wavelength range (uv to ir) with an accuracy of the order of the instrumental accuracy. This procedure can be applied to different prism materials for which measurements of refractive index have been performed. It is based on an approximate expression, derived from geometrical optics, relating the drum reading D(lambda) to the calculated refractive index n(lambda): D= A - B(a(2) - n(2))((1/2)). The index n(lambda) is calculated from the appropriate parametric equation. The temperature for the n(lambda) values need not be exactly that of the prism temperature during measurements. This expression was investigated for wavelengths in the range 0.3 micro to 2.25 micro using a sodium chloride prism. Computed drum positions D agreed with measured drum positions to within experimental error. Unknown wavelengths were computed from their measured drum positions to within the accuracy of the measurements.