Amaranthus grain as a new ingredient in diets for dairy cows: productive, qualitative, and in vitro fermentation traits

Background: In recent decades, grain amaranths have attracted attention due to their valuable combination of nutritional traits, with higher protein and oil content than conventional cereals. Before they can be proposed as an unconventional ingredient in animal feed, many aspects still need to be investigated from field production to nutritive value. The present research aimed to study the agronomic traits, proximate composition, and digestibility/degradability, fatty acid profile, antioxidant activity, and total phenolic content of two grain amaranth species, Amaranthus cruentus and Amaranthus hypochondriacus (for a total of six accessions), grown in a Mediterranean environment. Results: Both species showed seed yields comparable to or higher than the traditional cereal crops in the same environment. On the whole, A. cruentus resulted in a higher seed production than A. hypochondriacus. Mexico and Montana accessions, both belonging to A. cruentus, showed the highest yield (3.73 t ha-1 , on average). Few differences emerged in nutritive value between species and accessions: the Illinois accession of A. cruentus showed the best performance in terms of in vitro degradability and gas production, but not for volatile fatty acid production; the fermentation kinetics was slowest in the Illinois accession and fastest in the Montana accession of A. cruentus and the India accession of A. hypochondriacus. Conclusion: From a health perspective, the Nebraska accession of A. hypochondriacus represents the best accession, with the lowest saturated fatty acid content and the highest polyunsaturated fatty acid content. © 2022 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry

A technology evaluation method for assessing the potential contribution of energy technologies to decarbonisation of the Italian production system

A methodology focused on technology evaluation is proposed to give a footprint of the development potential of energy technologies in Italy. The approach focuses on the impact on climate, the potential in terms of R&D, the competitiveness of Italian companies and their diffusion on the territory. A reference Catalogue was realised in the framework  of the ‘Technical Board on Decarbonisation of the Economy’, established by the Italian Presidency of the Council of Ministers. 36 datasheets, containing quantitative and qualitative information on Technology Readiness Level (TRL), efficiency, environmental and economic impacts and policy aspects were filled by 70 experts for each technology. Some data were extracted from the Catalogue - TRL, CO2 emissions, developers, and centres of excellence - and further analysed with other information relating to the Italian production and innovation system collected from the National Enterprise Registry (ASIA). Companies and research centres  are involved in development of technologies based on Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and Energy Storage (ES) with different levels of TRL and high potential for mitigating effects on climate. However, their distribution shows a rather inhomogeneous presence at territorial level. This evaluation provided useful elements to elaborate policy measures to support the diffusion of energy technologies

Systemic antibiotic prescribing to paediatric outpatients in 5 European countries: A population-based cohort study

Background: To describe the utilisation of antibiotics in children and adolescents across 5 European countries based on the same drug utilisation measures and age groups. Special attention was given to age-group-specific distributions of antibiotic subgroups, since comparison in this regard between countries is lacking so far.Methods: Outpatient paediatric prescriptions of systemic antibiotics during the years 2005-2008 were analysed using health care databases from the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy and Germany. Annual antibiotic prescription rates per 1,000 person years were estimated for each database and stratified by age (≤4, 5-9, 10-14, 15-18 years). Age-group-specific distributions of antibiotic subgroups were calculated for 2008.Results: With 957 prescriptions per 1000 person years, the highest annual prescription rate in the year 2008 was found in the Italian region Emilia Romagna followed by Germany (561), the UK (555), Denmark (481) and the Netherlands (294). Seasonal peaks during winter months were most pronounced in countries with high utilisation. Age-group-specific use varied substantially between countries with regard to total prescribing and distributions of antibiotic subgroups. However, prescription rates were highest among children in the age group ≤4 years in all countries, predominantly due to high use of broad s

Better Outcomes For Everybody (BOFE) evaluates the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a pharmacist-led intervention, delivered by community pharmacists in collaboration with physicians, in improving disease control, compared with usual care, in asthma and COPD patients during and after COVID-19: study protocol for a pragmatic, parallel randomised controlled trial

Introduction: In 2025, more than 400 million people will have asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) will be the third leading cause of death by 2030. This trial, called better outcomes for everybody (BOFE), will evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a pharmacist-led intervention delivered by community pharmacists in collaboration with physicians to asthma and COPD patients to improve disease control compared with usual care. Methods: A pragmatic parallel 2-arm randomized controlled trial will be conducted in one Italian region (Sicily). A 2:1 randomization and sample size of 900 adult patients (450 with asthma, 450 with COPD) will be sufficient to detect a difference of 15% between the intervention and control groups using a dichotomized score (controlled versus non-controlled) of the Asthma Control Test (ACT) and the Clinical Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Questionnaire (CCQ) with a two tails, 99% power and 5% significance level. A hundred pharmacists will recruit 9 consecutive patients each and administer either ACT or CCQ according to the patients’ disease. Patients will be followed up for 12 months, and the pharmacists will meet their patients every three months. The control group will receive usual care, the intervention a bespoke, structured, and systematic consultation immediately after baseline and 6 months later. The primary outcomes are asthma and COPD control at baseline and 12 months. Secondary outcomes: risk of uncontrolled asthma and COPD, number of active ingredients, pharmaceutical care issues, adherence to medications, minimal clinically important differences in asthma and COPD, and a full health economic evaluation. The analysis will follow an intention-to-treat principle. Generalized estimating equations will be used to test the primary outcomes. Ethics approval was obtained. Discussion: This is the first study conducted in Italy to assess the effectiveness and cost�effectiveness of a pharmacist-led intervention in asthma and COPD patients at the same time. This research could introduce a new model of care that can be adapted to other chronic conditions in primary care settings. The results will be disseminated to service users and their families via media, healthcare professionals via professional training and meetings, and researchers via conferences and publications

抗うつ薬レボキセチンの有効性評価：連続変数（HAM-Dスコア）と2値変数（有効率）に基づくメタアナリシス

博士（医学）神戸大

Staging of osteonecrosis of the jaw requires computed tomography for accurate definition of the extent of bony disease

Management of osteonecrosis of the jaw associated with antiresorptive agents is challenging, and outcomes are unpredictable. The severity of disease is the main guide to management, and can help to predict prognosis. Most available staging systems for osteonecrosis, including the widely-used American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) system, classify severity on the basis of clinical and radiographic findings. However, clinical inspection and radiography are limited in their ability to identify the extent of necrotic bone disease compared with computed tomography (CT). We have organised a large multicentre retrospective study (known as MISSION) to investigate the agreement between the AAOMS staging system and the extent of osteonecrosis of the jaw (focal compared with diffuse involvement of bone) as detected on CT. We studied 799 patients with detailed clinical phenotyping who had CT images taken. Features of diffuse bone disease were identified on CT within all AAOMS stages (20%, 8%, 48%, and 24% of patients in stages 0, 1, 2, and 3, respectively). Of the patients classified as stage 0, 110/192 (57%) had diffuse disease on CT, and about 1 in 3 with CT evidence of diffuse bone disease was misclassified by the AAOMS system as having stages 0 and 1 osteonecrosis. In addition, more than a third of patients with AAOMS stage 2 (142/405, 35%) had focal bone disease on CT. We conclude that the AAOMS staging system does not correctly identify the extent of bony disease in patients with osteonecrosis of the jaw

Study on statistical methods for classification of multivariate observations in quality inspection

textabstractAim: In the last decade, new glucose lowering drugs (GLDs) have been launched, and also several warnings regarding their safety. The cardiovascular safety of thiazolidinediones (TZD) has been questioned. We analyzed the prescription pattern of GLDs from 2000 to November 2009 in the United Kingdom (UK) using the THIN database with special focus on the effects of the safety warnings about rosiglitazone issued in May 2007 and January 2008. Methods: Annual prevalence and incidence of GLD prescriptions were measured. For TZD, the monthly prevalence and incidence of prescription were calculated from May 2006 to January 2009. The switching pattern around the FDA alert and the characteristics of subjects starting treatment with TZD before and after the alerts were observed. Results: The prevalence of prescriptions of GLDs increased during the 10year period, metformin increasing more than three times. Rosiglitazone prevalence showed an increased trend until May 2007, (2.3/1000 person-years) and decreased thereafter (January 2009: 1.1/1000 person-years). The use of pioglitazone increased surpassing rosiglitazone from April 2008 onwards. The incidence of rosiglitazone use decreased sharply after May 2007 (0.8/1000 person-years). The prevalence of use of other therapies remained rather stable from 2000 to 2007 but increased afterwards. After May 2007, rosiglitazone users were increasingly switched to pioglitazone. There was an increased proportion of new users of pioglitazone with cardiovascular risk after the alerts. Conclusions: The prescription of GLDs in the UK has increased in the last decade. For TZDs, it changed after May 2007 as well as the characteristics of the subjects treated with them

Prescribing pattern of glucose lowering drugs in the United Kingdom in the last decade: a focus on the effects of safety warnings about rosiglitazone

Aim In the last decade, new glucose lowering drugs (GLDs) have been launched, and also several warnings regarding their safety. The cardiovascular safety of thiazolidinediones (TZD) has been questioned. We analyzed the prescription pattern of GLDs from 2000 to November 2009 in the United Kingdom (UK) using the THIN database with special focus on the effects of the safety warnings about rosiglitazone issued in May 2007 and January 2008. Methods Annual prevalence and incidence of GLD prescriptions were measured. For TZD, the monthly prevalence and incidence of prescription were calculated from May 2006 to January 2009. The switching pattern around the FDA alert and the characteristics of subjects starting treatment with TZD before and after the alerts were observed. Results The prevalence of prescriptions of GLDs increased during the 10year period, metformin increasing more than three times. Rosiglitazone prevalence showed an increased trend until May 2007, (2.3/ 1000 person-years) and decreased thereafter (January 2009: 1.1/1000 person-years). The use of pioglitazone increased surpassing rosiglitazone from April 2008 onwards. The incidence of rosiglitazone use decreased sharply after May 2007 (0.8/1000 person-years). The prevalence of use of other therapies remained rather stable from 2000 to 2007 but increased afterwards. After May 2007, rosiglitazone users were increasingly switched to pioglitazone. There was an increased proportion of new users of pioglitazone with cardiovascular risk after the alerts. Conclusions The prescription of GLDs in the UK has increased in the last decade. For TZDs, it changed after May 2007 as well as the characteristics of the subjects treated with them

Mappatura delle professioni culturali emergenti e loro percorsi formativi

La ricerca, commissionata dalla Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, ha avuto come territorio di riferimento il Piemonte, la Liguria e la Valle d’Aosta, regioni d'azione della Fondazione. La ricerca ha mirato a produrre tre output: - una mappatura delle professioni culturali, con particolare focus sulle emergenti; - una mappatura dell’offerta formativa ad oggi; - la definizione delle competenze necessarie nel settore culturale sul medio - lungo periodo. L’obiettivo generale della ricerca è stato quindi quello di costruire un quadro del lavoro e delle professioni culturali, con una particolare attenzione a quelle emergenti e di approfondire le caratteristiche dei percorsi formativi ad esse collegati. Tali obiettivi generali, sono stati poi declinati nei seguenti obiettivi specifici: - la ricognizione delle definizioni di “professione culturale”; - un approfondimento e un’analisi delle caratteristiche delle figure professionali presenti ed emergenti nel settore con un’attenzione sia all’individuazione delle competenze necessarie sia alle caratteristiche e alle condizioni dei lavoratori, alle loro traiettorie e identità; - un approfondimento e un’analisi dell’o erta formativa esistente (formale e non formale), nonché l’individuazione di fabbisogni formativi e di eventuali gap tra l’attuale o erta e le figure professionali e competenze nel prossimo triennio. Nella ricerca è stato assunto come angolo di osservazione privilegiato il punto di vista dei principali protagonisti del mondo culturale nelle tre regioni in cui opera la Fondazione Compagnia di S. Paolo (Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d’Aosta). In particolare sono stati coinvolti gli enti beneficiari e proponenti dell’attività istituzionale ed erogativa della Compagnia di San Paolo - Obiettivo Cultura, le società fornitrici della Fondazione e i loro lavoratori e alcuni esperti del mondo della cultura