Effect of meteorological and agronomic factors on maize grain contamination by fumonisin

Fumonisins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by fungi such as F.verticilloides. Maize is commonly colonized by several spoilage fungi both in pre- and post-harvest conditions. Field infection prevention is the best solution to contain contamination, using practices aimed at restricting plant stress and limiting the propagation of the disease. This work is focused on understanding the effect of environmental factors on the production of fumonisins in Friuli Venezia Giulia (NE Italy) on maize crops. The analysis has been performed on a dataset covering a period of 14 years (from 2000 to 2013), recording fumonisins contamination and daily meteorological data (air temperature, RH, Rain, Wind speed) for 13 different drying plants and for three different harvest times (early, medium and late). The drying plants collect grain production from an area of about 70.000-100.000 ha. Data were analyzed by full factorial ANOVA and a multiple regression approach was performed using STATA and SEMoLa software. ANOVA test pointed out a significant effect of factors \u201cyear\u201d and \u201charvest time\u201d (p<0.01) for fumonisin content. Instead, location had no significant effect. The best regression model (R2=0. 65, 2... observation) detected a significant correlation between fumonisin concentration and meteorological data in the period from 15th to 31st July. High fumonisin contents were positively correlated with daily thermal excursion, minimum temperature and wet conditions in this period. Silk drying and harvest time resulted as the key factors to contain and study fumonisins contamination in maize. Results will be used to implement a more complex dynamic model

Le varietà di sorgo da granella consigliate per le semine 2017

Nel 33º anno di prove di confronto tra ibridi di sorgo da granella sono stati realizzati 5 campi sperimentali, 2 nel Nord, 2 in Italia centrale e 1 in Sicilia. Le rese medie sono risultate simili a quelle del 2015, pur con notevoli differenze tra i diversi areali di coltivazion

O alcoolismo, suas causas e tratemento nas representacoes sociais de profissionais de Saude da Familia = Alcoholism, its causes and treatment in the social representations constructed by Brazilian Family Health professionals

Health sciences define alcoholism as a multifaceted syndrome. Guidelines for treatment include adoption of the harm reduction paradigm and the essential role of Primary Health Care (PHC) towards the wide range of alcohol problems. This research aimed at understanding the social representations of alcoholism constructed by Brazilian PHC professionals, working at Family Health Centers (FHC). We conducted semi-structured interviews with 40 graduated health professionals who worked in 11 different FHC located in a municipality in southeast Brazil. Data were treated with thematic content analysis. We highlight the following results: professionals objectified the alcoholic as a patient who did not search for treatment and/or who threatened the normal functioning of the FHC; professionals considered social and psychological factors as the main causes of alcoholism; they did not mention the concept of harm reduction, nor well-defined treatment protocols. The causal attribution and the representational field inherent to the social representations contributed to anchor alcoholism as a "plague" of poverty. The FHC were perceived simultaneously as important and impotent towards alcoholism. We conclude that the implementation of alcohol-related care strategies must consider the intergroup relations between professionals and patients

Non invasive cardiac vein mapping: role of mdct-ca

Purpose: Coronary venous anatomy is of primary importance when implanting a pacemaker or a defibrillator device because coronary sinus can be enlarged (or stenotic) depending on chronic heart failure. The aim of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of MDCT-CA in describing the coronary venous tree and in particular the coronary sinus and detecting main venous system variants. Methods and Materials: 515 consecutive patients (318 &42, mean age 62.5 YO) studied for coronary artery disease with 64 slice MDCT-CA were retrospectively examined. The cardiac venous system was depicted using 3D, MPR, cMPR and MIP post-processing reconstructions on an off-line workstation. For each patient image quality, presence and caliber of the coronary sinus (CS), great cardiac vein (GCV), middle vein (MV), anterior interventricular vein (AIV), lateral cardiac vein (LCV), posterior cardiac vein (PCV), small cardiac vein (SCV) and presence of variant of the normal anatomy were recorded. Results: CS, GCV, MV and AIV were visualized in 100 % of the cases. The LCV was visualized in 341/515 patients (66.2%), the PCV in 382/515 patients (74.1%) and the SCV in 168/515 (32.6%) patients. Mean diameter of the CS was 4.5 mm in 392/515 patients without chronic heart failure and 5.8 mm in 123/515 (23.8%) patients chronic heart failure. Conclusion: MDCT-CA allows non invasive mapping for the cardiac venous system and it is a useful tool for pre surgical implants of pacemakers or defibrillators

Coronary artery disease risk stratification: complementary role of coronary artery mdct to exercise test in patients with low-moderate pre test probability

Purpose: Accurate non invasive screening is of primary importance in risk stratification of patients with low-intermediate pre test probability of Coronary heart disease (CHD). Exercise testing is a consolidated technique in the assessment of these patients however with a high rate of false positive to the test. The aim of our study is to assess the role of CA-MDCT in detecting significant disease in patients at low-moderate pre test probability. Methods and Materials: 170 consecutive patients studied between April 2008 and August 2010 with 64 slice CT (Brilliance 64, Philips, The Netherlands) at low (62/170) or moderate (108/170) CAD risk underwent exercise test and CA-MDCT. For each patient we evaluated the FRS score. Each patient was studied with treadmill test. On a per patient basis, lesions were judged as significant if lumen stenosis resulted >50%. All significant diseased patients revealed on CA-MDCT underwent CAG. Concordance between treadmill test and CA-MDCT was performed by means of Spearman test. CABG and 6 months follow-up was considered as the standard of reference. Results: 93/170 cases resulted positive at CA-MDCT while only 75/170 cases were positive at treadmill test. In 52 inconclusive treadmill tests CA-MDCT revealed the presence of significant lesions. Low correlation was found between FRS and CA-MDCT and between FRS and Treadmill test. Conclusion: CA-MDCT can better detect significant diseased patients than Treadmill test. CAD Risk stratification is better estimated by the use of CA-MDCT which is complementary to exercise test especially in cases of inconclusive test