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Corruption has found very fertile ground in the health sector. Many studies demonstrate the negative relationship between sustainability and corruption. However, relatively little is known at this time about how to prevent corruption in healthcare organizations (HCOs), and thus to recover the important sustainability of the entire healthcare system. After noticing this gap in the literature, the authors’ aim in undertaking this study was twofold: first, to analyze the current state of knowledge about how Italian HCOs adopt corruption prevention plans in compliance with the National Plan issued by the National Anti-Corruption Authority; second, to identify some clusters of HCOs which represent different adoption patterns of corruption prevention interventions and to classify these HCOs. For these purposes, the authors studied 68 HCOs along 13 dimensions that characterized the corruption prevention plans. The empirical results showed that the HCOs were not fully compliant with the anti-corruption legislation. At the same time, the authors identified three clusters of HCOs with different patterns of anti-corruption prevention interventions. The clusters that adopted some specific interventions seemed to be more sustainable than others.

Histopathological diagnosis using Formalin-Fixed Paraffin Embedded (FFPE) tissues is essential for the prognostic and therapeutic management of cancer patients. Pathologists are being confronted with increasing demands, from both clinicians and patients, to provide immunophenotypic and gene expression data from FFPE tissues to allow the planning of personalized therapeutic regimens. Recent improvements in the protocols for pre-analysis processing of pathological tissues aim to better preserve cellular details and to conserve antigens and nucleic acid sequences. These developments have been recently patented. The international protocol for the transporting of surgical specimens from the surgical theatre to the pathology department is to immerse the specimen in formalin. The alternative method of sealing the specimens into bags under a vacuum and then cooling is a well-accepted and environmentally safe procedure that overcomes the many drawbacks linked to transfer in formalin. Importantly, RNA is notoriously poorly preserved in FFPE tissue. Due to this, successful procedures for the extraction of genetic information from archival tissues have been the object of several studies and patents. Novel molecular approaches for RT-qPCR and gene array analysis on FFPE tissues are presented here. Moreover, a major advance is reported in this study, the observation that tissue fixation in cold conditions allows a much better preservation of nucleic acid sequences.

Coal will continue to be the main energy source in China for the immediate future, although the environmental pollution and ecological impacts of each stage in the full life cycle of coal mining, transportation, and combustion generate large quantities of external costs. The Late Permian coals in southwestern (SW) China usually contain high amounts of fluorine (F), arsenic (As), and ash, which together with high-F clays cause abnormally high levels of endemic fluorosis, As poisoning, and lung cancer in areas where coal is mined and burned. In this paper, we estimate the external costs of the life cycle of coal. The results show that the externalities of coal in SW China are estimated at USD 73.5 billion or 284.3 USD/t, which would have accounted for 6.5 % of the provincial GDP in this area in 2018. The external cost of human health accounts for 87.2% of the total external costs, of which endemic skeletal fluorosis diseases and related lung cancers have the most important impact. Our study provides a more precise estimate of externalities compared with its counterparts in other provinces in China. Therefore, several policy recommendations would be proposed to internalize the external cost.

In the light of the COP27 Climate Change Conference, the concept of the circular economy has come to the fore with promotion of reuse and recycling of appliances and materials from electronics to clothes. This concept has not been widely taken up by healthcare systems. In this perspective article, we discuss the idea of the circular economy and how, by extension, the concept of "circular medicine" with optimised hospital and medical clinic waste recycling might be promoted in the context of better stewardship of resources in healthcare management.

Prenatal ethanol exposure produces severe changes in brain, liver, and kidney through mechanisms involving growth factors. These molecules regulate survival, differentiation, maintenance, and connectivity of brain, liver, and kidney cells. Despite the abundant available data on the short and mid-lasting effects of ethanol intoxication, only few data show the long-lasting damage induced by early ethanol administration. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in nerve growth factor (NGF), brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in brain areas, liver, and kidney of 18-mo-old male mice exposed perinatally to ethanol at 11% vol or to red wine at the same ethanol concentration. The authors found that ethanol per se elevated NGF, BDNF, HGF, and VEGF measured by ELISA in brain limbic system areas. In the liver, early exposure to ethanol solution and red wine depleted BDNF and VEGF concentrations. In the kidney, red wine exposure only decreased VEGF. In conclusion, the present study shows that, in aged mice, early administration of ethanol solution induced long-lasting damage at growth factor levels in frontal cortex, hippocampus, and liver but not in kidney. Otherwise, in mice exposed to red wine, significant changes were observed in the liver and kidney but not in the hippocampus and frontal cortex. The brain differences in ethanol-induced toxicity when ethanol is administered alone or in red wine may be related to compounds with antioxidant properties present in the red wine.

Allanblackia floribunda Oliv. is one of the most commonly used medicinal plant in Cameroon. The stem bark of the plant is traditionally used for its aphrodisiac and antihypertensive properties.To validate the traditional uses of Allanblackia floribunda stem bark ethanol extract through the evaluation of their aphrodisiac and vasorelaxant properties.The extract's ability to increase sexual desire and the frequencies of erection (mount), intromission and prolonged latency of ejaculation were studied on adult male rats. The vasodilator effect was investigated using isolated rat aorta rings. Tests were conducted using fractions obtained by reverse phase column-chromatography (CC), after the acquisition of the HPLC fingerprint of the ethanol extract, resulted the most active in previous studies.The CC allowed the isolation of five fractions whose aphrodisiac and vasodilator activities were tested and compared with those of the whole extract. Four compounds were identified and characterized, three of them, Fukugiside, Morelloflavone and Volkensiflavone, are secondary metabolites known to be in Allanblackia floribunda; the fourth, Spicataside, is a biflavonoid glycoside known to be present in the genus Garcinia but never found neither in Allanblackia floribunda nor in Allanblackia genus. The crude ethanolic extract (CEE) induced a relaxation on aorta rings with EC50=11±2μg/mL and Morelloflavone displayed a similar activity with EC50=42±6μg/mL; for all the other compounds only the vasodilation % at the maximum concentration assessable (90μg/mL) was determined: 30±8 (Fukugiside), 24±6 (Spicataside), 33±4 (Morelloflavone+Volkensiflavone), 47±1 (Volkensiflavone). Regarding the activity on male sexual behaviour, only CEE and Fukugiside showed activity in the 9 parameters evaluated.These results may support the traditional uses of Allanblackia floribunda as aphrodisiac plant with antihypertensive properties suggesting the phytocomplex as responsible for the claimed activity.

Dittrichia viscosawhich belongs to theAsteraceaefamily is frequently used to treat hematomas and skin disorders in Mediterranean herbal medicine. This study aims to validate its antioxidant effects and its potential on healing wounds. The ethanolic extract ofD. viscosaleaves was formulated as 2.5% and 5% (w/w) in ointment bases on the beeswax and sesame oil. During this study, the ethanolicD. viscosaextract, ointments containing 2.5% and 5% ofD. viscosaextract, and the vehiculum were assessed for their total phenol content (TPC), caffeoylquinic acid content (CQC), and antioxidant activities using complementary methods (TAC, the DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, and the BCB). The effects on wound healing of obtained ointments were evaluated by excision of the wound in a mice model for 12 days. Subsequently, the excised wound areas were measured at the3rd,9th, and12thdays. The skin tissues were isolated for histological studies. The ointments containingD. viscosaextract (2.5%, 5%) possessed a considerable TPC, CQC, radical scavenging potential, and antioxidant activities compared to the vehiculum. Treated animals with ointments containingD. viscosaextract at 2.5% and 5% showed almost and totally healed wounds compared to the vehiculum and control groups, evidenced by good skin regeneration and reepithelialization. The present work showed the role ofD. viscosaantioxidants exerted by its polyphenolic compounds, in particular, caffeoylquinic acids, in enhancing wound healing.

Over the past two years, the world’s population has been tested by the COVID-19 health emergency. This has changed population habits worldwide by encouraging a sedentary lifestyle and overnutrition. Isolation and reduction of social life, for most of the population, was mandatory but it quickly became a new lifestyle. Nowadays, we are encountering the consequences with an increase in nutritional associated disorders and conditions that cause illnesses in the general population. These disorders include diet excesses that lead to obesity and diet deficiencies and malnutrition which could rapidly lead to death. These eating disorders are very complex to manage because they become mental disorders which can negatively impact physical or mental health. This work will disucss the benefits associated with the mindfulness–exercise–nutrition (MEN) technique. From a nutritional point of view it will focus on the nutritional effect of a plant-based diet, such as the Mediterranean diet (MD) which has a high tryptophan content which can increase serotonin (the “feel good” hormone) levels. The MEN technique takes a multidisciplinary approach and aims to integrate healthy behaviors into clinical practice using healthy eating, active living, and mindfulness. This method includes controlled physical movements, stretching techniques such as yoga, and aerobic exercise to achieve optimal mental and physical health. This literature review, carried out using the PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases, aims to investigate the latest research on this topic. This study may be useful for healthcare professionals and clinicians and may help patients to be more self-aware, encouraging them to lead a healthier lifestyle, make thoughtful choices, and ameliorate their mental health. The final aim of this study is to promote physiological homeostasis and well-being.