Effect of alpine grazing on lipid composition of Asiago d'allevo cheese

The influence of feeding practice (hay vs alpine grazing) on fatty acids profile and vitamin content of Asiago d\u2019Allevo cheese was studied. The trial was carried out in a mountain farm located in the Plateau of 7 Comuni (1150 m a.s.l., Veneto Region, Italy) with 45 lactating cows of Rendena breed. Three cheeses were made by using milk from cows fed hay and concentrate (May, barn) and 6 with milk from cows fed grazing pasture and 3 kg (per cow and day) of concentrate (July and Sept., alpine grazing). Fatty acid composition was determined by gas-chromatography and vitamins A and E were assessed by HPLC. Data were submitted to a one-way ANOVA by using a general linear model. The alpine grazing feeding system resulted in a significantly higher polyunsaturated fatty acids content with specific regard to n-3 group and conjugated fatty acids. The pasture-grazing thesis also significantly increased the amount of and vitamin A and E which could play a positive role as anti-oxidant protecting of double bond system of unsaturated fatty acids during ripening of chees

Influenza dell\u2019alpeggio sulle caratteritiche nutrizionali dei prodotti lattiero- caseari

Cheese production is a typical activity of several mountain areas with economic and historical implications. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of pasture (effect of places of grazing and period) on composition, cholesterol and fat-soluble vitamins content of Asiago d\u2019Allevo cheese made in three different places in the mountains areas of the province of Vicenza. The places of production influenced ash and vitamin E content, while period influenced especially dry matter, fat and carbohydrates content

Endovascular abdominal aneurysm repair and impact of systematic preoperative embolization of collateral arteries: endoleak analysis and long-term follow-up.

PURPOSE: To report our results of endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) over a 10-year period using systematic preoperative collateral artery embolization. METHODS: From 1999 until 2009, 124 patients (117 men; mean age 70.8 years) with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) underwent embolization of patent lumbar and/or inferior mesenteric arteries prior to elective EVAR procedures. Embolization was systematically attempted and, whenever possible, performed using microcoils and a coaxial technique. Follow-up included computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging and abdominal radiography. RESULTS: The technical success for EVAR was 96% (119/124), with 4 patients dying within 30 days (3.2% perioperative mortality) and 1 type III endoleak accounting for the failures. Collateral arteries were occluded spontaneously or by embolization in 60 (48%) of 124 patients. The endoleak rate was 50.9% (74 in 61 patients), most of which were type II (19%). Over a mean clinical follow-up of 60.5±34.1 months (range 1-144), aneurysm sac dimensions decreased in 66 patients, increased in 19 patients, and were stable in 35. The endoleak rate was significantly higher in the patients with increasing sac diameter (p<0.001). Among the patients with patent collateral arteries, 38/64 (59.3%) developed 46 leaks, while 28 leaks appeared in 23 (41%) of 56 patients with collateral artery occlusion (p=0.069). The type II endoleak rate significantly differed between these two groups (47.8% vs. 3.6%, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Preoperative collateral embolization seems to be a valid method of reducing the incidence of type II endoleak, improving the long-term outcome

Long-term Outcomes of a Telementoring Program for Distant Teaching of Endovascular Aneurysm Repair.

To prospectively evaluate the long-term outcomes after a telementoring program for distant teaching of endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) and the degree of EVAR procedure assimilation into routine practice. A telementoring protocol using stepwise introduction of EVAR was implemented between a university care center and a remote vascular health care site; from March 1999 to October 2003, 49 EVAR patients (mean age 72 years; 48 men) were treated during telementoring at the remote center. After the telementoring period, 86 patients (mean age 71 years; 77 men) underwent EVAR procedures carried out at the secondary care center from November 2003 to July 2011. The long-term outcomes were compared between the EVAR procedures performed during telementoring with the procedures performed independently thereafter. No significant difference was appreciated between telementored and not telementored procedures either in 30-day mortality (4.1% vs 2.3%, p=0.621) or in the initial technical success (93.9% vs 97.7%, p=0.353). The telementored group showed no significant difference in overall aneurysm-related mortality (6.1% vs 2.3%, p=0.353) or in the overall complication rates (p=0.985). The reintervention rate was significantly lower among the unmentored procedures (11.6% vs 32.7%, p=0.004). In particular, significantly fewer patients underwent late endovascular procedures (1.2% vs 12.2%, p=0.009) and late percutaneous interventions (7.0% vs 20.4%, p=0.027) after telementoring ceased. The telementoring program followed here allowed excellent EVAR skill assimilation into the routine practice of a remote health care site. Telementoring is a feasible strategy to support skill introduction in remote medical facilities