Gospodarski ulov, reprodukcija i prehrambene navike raže zvjezdopjege Raja asterias (Chondrichthyes: Rajidae) u priobalju Tirenskog mora (Italija, sjeverni Mediteran)

A total of 52 “rapido” (towed toothed beam gears) trawls were monitored in late winter-summer of the 1999-2000 period to assess the R. asterias size structure at this time of higher yields as well as 36 fishing operations performed by “volantina” (trawl nets with fairly high vertical opening) during distinct seasons on the continental shelf off the fishing harbour of Fiumicino (central western Italy) to gain data also for that gear. Daily yields recorded for the only boat locally authorised to use “rapido” nets gave median values of 32.0 individuals and 24.35 kg vs. 2.5 rays and 2.80 kg for trawlers fishing at the same time. Comparison of the body sizes at which 50% of the skates had been found mature in our samples (265 gonads examined) showed that most specimens caught by the “rapido” nets were in their juvenile stage. Examination of stomach contents from 129 skates confirmed previous reports that they mainly feed on crustaceans and bony fish and the role of the latter in the diet progressively increases as R. asterias specimens grow older and larger.Istraživana su ukupno 52 potega dredžama (“rapido”) u kasnom zimskom-ljetnom periodu 1999.-2000. godine kako bi se ustanovila veličina raže zvjezdopjege, R. asterias u vrijeme većeg ulova. Obavljeno je 36 ribarstvenih uzorkovanja pomoću “volantina” (koće većeg okomitog raspona) tijekom različitih godišnjih doba na kontinentalnom šelfu pokraj luke Fiumicino (srednji zapadni dio Italije) kako bi se dobili podaci i o ovom ribarskom alatu. Dnevni ulov zabilježen na brodu registriranom za uporabu “rapido” mreža iznosio je 32.0 jedniki i 24.35 kg od toga 2.5 kg raža i 2.80 kg koćarskog ulova istovremeno. Usporedbom veličine tijela uzoraka 50% raža je bilo zrelo (265 ispitanih gonada) što ukazuje na činjenicu da je većina ulovljenih primjeraka “rapido” mrežom bilo u juvenilnom stadiju. Ispitivanje želučanog sadržaja kod 129 raža potvrdilo je dosadašnja izvješća da se pretežito hrane rakovima i koštunjičavim ribama, koje su zastupljenije u prehrani starijih i većih primjeraka R. asterias

Tolerability of vortioxetine compared to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in older adults with major depressive disorder (VESPA): a randomised, assessor-blinded and statistician-blinded, multicentre, superiority trial.

BACKGROUND Major depressive disorder (MDD) is prevalent and disabling among older adults. Standing on its tolerability profile, vortioxetine might be a promising alternative to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in such a vulnerable population. METHODS We conducted a randomised, assessor- and statistician-blinded, superiority trial including older adults with MDD. The study was conducted between 02/02/2019 and 02/22/2023 in 11 Italian Psychiatric Services. Participants were randomised to vortioxetine or one of the SSRIs, selected according to common practice. Treatment discontinuation due to adverse events after six months was the primary outcome, for which we aimed to detect a 12% difference in favour of vortioxetine. The study was registered in the online repository clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03779789). FINDINGS The intention-to-treat population included 179 individuals randomised to vortioxetine and 178 to SSRIs. Mean age was 73.7 years (standard deviation 6.1), and 264 participants (69%) were female. Of those on vortioxetine, 78 (44%) discontinued the treatment due to adverse events at six months, compared to 59 (33%) of those on SSRIs (odds ratio 1.56; 95% confidence interval 1.01-2.39). Adjusted and per-protocol analyses confirmed point estimates in favour of SSRIs, but without a significant difference. With the exception of the unadjusted survival analysis showing SSRIs to outperform vortioxetine, secondary outcomes provided results consistent with a lack of substantial safety and tolerability differences between the two arms. Overall, no significant differences emerged in terms of response rates, depressive symptoms and quality of life, while SSRIs outperformed vortioxetine in terms of cognitive performance. INTERPRETATION As opposed to what was previously hypothesised, vortioxetine did not show a better tolerability profile compared to SSRIs in older adults with MDD in this study. Additionally, hypothetical advantages of vortioxetine on depression-related cognitive symptoms might be questioned. The study's statistical power and highly pragmatic design allow for generalisability to real-world practice. FUNDING The study was funded by the Italian Medicines Agency within the "2016 Call for Independent Drug Research"

Power Electronics of a Real Time Emulator of PEM Fuel Cell Systems

Fuel Cells (FC) systems are characterized by high costs and complex auxiliary devices. For this reason, can be useful to have a FC Emulator (FCE) to replace a real FC system during the development of the power converter for the conditioning of the energy generated by the FC. The FCE must be able to reproduce the nonlinear output voltage-current (V-I) characteristic of the FC. The paper presents a 5 kW FCE power converter aimed to be driven by an optimized parametric model of a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) FC. Both the FC parametric model and the converter control are implemented with a Real-Time prototyping system (RT-LAB

Tbr2-positive intermediate (basal) neuronal progenitors safeguard cerebral cortex expansion by controlling amplification of pallial glutamatergic neurons and attraction of subpallial GABAergic interneurons

Little is known about how, during its formidable expansion in development and evolution, the cerebral cortex is able to maintain the correct balance between excitatory and inhibitory neurons. In fact, while the former are born within the cortical primordium, the latter originate outward in the ventral pallium. Therefore, it remains to be addressed how these two neuronal populations might coordinate their relative amounts in order to build a functional cortical network. Here, we show that Tbr2-positive cortical intermediate (basal) neuronal progenitors (INPs) dictate the migratory route and control the amount of subpallial GABAergic interneurons in the subventricular zone (SVZ) through a non-cell-autonomous mechanism. In fact, Tbr2 interneuron attractive activity is moderated by Cxcl12 chemokine signaling, whose forced expression in the Tbr2 mutants can rescue, to some extent, SVZ cell migration. We thus propose that INPs are able to control simultaneously the increase of glutamatergic and GABAergic neuronal pools, thereby creating a simple way to intrinsically balance their relative accumulation

Association of state and trait anxiety to semen quality of in vitro fertilization patients: A controlled study

Objective: To investigate the relationship between semen quality and state/trait anxiety in patients enrolled in an in vitro fertilization (IVF) program and in control subjects. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Centre for Reproductive Medicine and Biology, European Hospital, Rome. Patient(s): Ninety-four first-Attempt IVF patients and 85 age-matched, random subjects recruited in the period July 2006 through March 2008. Intervention(s): None. Main Outcome Measure(s): Behavioral features of stress, including state and trait anxiety, self-perceived impact of physical disturbance on everyday activities, ethanol consumption, cigarette smoking, and semen parameters such as semen volume, sperm concentration, total count, motility, morphology, and DNA fragmentation. Result(s): Increased levels of both state and trait anxiety were associated with lower semen volume, sperm concentration and count, reduced sperm motility, and increased sperm DNA fragmentation of IVF patients, thus influencing seminal parameters at the macroscopic and cellular/subcellular levels. Similar results were obtained in the controls. Conclusion(s): Our data confirm previous observations with state anxiety and show that trait anxiety also is negatively associated with male fertility. © 2013 American Society for Reproductive Medicine

ARX Regulates Cortical Intermediate Progenitor Cell Expansion and Upper Layer Neuron Formation Through Repression of Cdkn1c

Mutations in the Aristaless-related homeobox (ARX) gene are found in a spectrum of epilepsy and X-linked intellectual disability disorders. During development Arx is expressed in pallial ventricular zone (VZ) progenitor cells where the excitatory projection neurons of the cortex are born. Arx(-/Y) mice were shown to have decreased proliferation in the cortical VZ resulting in smaller brains; however, the basis for this reduced proliferation was not established. To determine the role of ARX on cell cycle dynamics in cortical progenitor cells, we generated cerebral cortex-specific Arx mouse mutants (cKO). The loss of pallial Arx resulted in the reduction of cortical progenitor cells, particularly the proliferation of intermediate progenitor cells (IPCs) was affected. Later in development and postnatally cKO brains showed a reduction of upper layer but not deeper layer neurons consistent with the IPC defect. Transcriptional profile analysis of E14.5 Arx-ablated cortices compared with control revealed that CDKN1C, an inhibitor of cell cycle progression, is overexpressed in the cortical VZ and SVZ of Arx KOs throughout corticogenesis. We also identified ARX as a direct regulator of Cdkn1c transcription. Together these data support a model where ARX regulates the expansion of cortical progenitor cells through repression of Cdkn1c

Direct Conversion of Fibroblasts into Functional Astrocytes by Defined Transcription Factors

Summary: Direct cell reprogramming enables direct conversion of fibroblasts into functional neurons and oligodendrocytes using a minimal set of cell-lineage-specific transcription factors. This approach is rapid and simple, generating the cell types of interest in one step. However, it remains unknown whether this technology can be applied to convert fibroblasts into astrocytes, the third neural lineage. Astrocytes play crucial roles in neuronal homeostasis, and their dysfunctions contribute to the origin and progression of multiple human diseases. Herein, we carried out a screening using several transcription factors involved in defining the astroglial cell fate and identified NFIA, NFIB, and SOX9 to be sufficient to convert with high efficiency embryonic and postnatal mouse fibroblasts into astrocytes (iAstrocytes). We proved both by gene-expression profiling and functional tests that iAstrocytes are comparable to native brain astrocytes. This protocol can be then employed to generate functional iAstrocytes for a wide range of experimental applications. : In this article, Broccoli, Caiazzo, and colleagues developed a direct reprogramming approach to convert fibroblasts into induced astrocytes (iAstrocytes) by forcing the expression of the three astroglial transcription factors NFIA, NFIB, and SOX9. iAstrocytes are functionally comparable to native primary astrocytes as assessed by in vitro analyses and can be transplanted in the mouse brain. This study discloses the possibility to generate also human iAstrocytes for potential translational applications

Rapid Conversion of Fibroblasts into Functional Forebrain GABAergic Interneurons by Direct Genetic Reprogramming

Transplantation of GABAergic interneurons (INs) can provide long-term functional benefits in animal models of epilepsy and other neurological disorders. Whereas GABAergic INs can be differentiated from embryonic stem cells, alternative sources of GABAergic INs may be more tractable for disease modeling and transplantation. We identified five factors (Foxg1, Sox2, Ascl1, Dlx5, and Lhx6) that convert mouse fibroblasts into induced GABAergic INs (iGABA-INs) possessing molecular signatures of telencephalic INs. Factor overexpression activates transcriptional networks required for GABAergic fate specification. iGABA-INs display progressively maturing firing patterns comparable to cortical INs, form functional synapses, and release GABA. Importantly, iGABA-INs survive and mature upon being grafted into mouse hippocampus. Optogenetic stimulation demonstrated functional integration of grafted iGABA-INs into host circuitry, triggering inhibition of host granule neuron activity. These five factors also converted human cells into functional GABAergic INs. These properties suggest that iGABA-INs have potential for disease modeling and cell-based therapeutic approaches to neurological disorders