Pre-operational short-term forecasts for Mediterranean Sea biogeochemistry

Operational prediction of the marine environment is recognised as a fundamental research issue in Europe. We present a pre-operational implementation of a biogeochem- ical model for the pelagic waters of the Mediterranean Sea, developed within the framework of the MERSEA-IP Euro- pean project. The OPATM-BFM coupled model is the core of a fully automatic system that delivers weekly analyses and forecast maps for the Mediterranean Sea biogeochem- istry. The system has been working in its current configura- tion since April 2007 with successful execution of the fully automatic operational chain in 87% of the cases while in the remaining cases the runs were successfully accomplished af- ter operator intervention. A description of the system devel- oped and also a comparison of the model results with satel- lite data are presented, together with a measure of the model skill evaluated by means of seasonal target diagrams. Future studies will address the implementation of a data assimila- tion scheme for the biogeochemical compartment in order to increase the skill of the model’s performance

Health-related quality of life assessment in eating disorders: adjustment and validation of a specific scale with the inclusion of an interpersonal domain

Purpose: Quality of life is a fundamental aspect of both clinical practice and research on eating disorders (ED) due to the significant impacts these disorders have on everyday life. Disorder-specific scales can improve the quality of research and findings and offer greater sensitivity and responsiveness. However, no specific instrument is available in Italian for ED. The aim of this paper is to adjust and to validate a reliable scale with specific items regarding physical and interpersonal well-being. Methods: The Italian version of the Eating Disorder Quality of Life (IEDQOL) scale was developed, on the basis of the original English scale, with the addition of items pertaining to physical well-being and interpersonal interactions. In this study, 180 ED patients and 190 healthy controls from the community were enrolled both from inpatient units and outpatient services. A statistical analysis with an exploratory factorial approach was performed in order to validate the tool. Results: The results showed that the IEDQOL has very good psychometric properties with test–retest validity and sensitivity between patients and controls (d = 2.17 for total score). Moreover, the interpersonal domain showed excellent psychometric values (Cronbach’s α > 0.70 in all the subgroups) and a robust correlation with other quality of life constructs. Conclusion: Future studies on the Italian population should use IEDQOL as outcome element that can be useful also with other disorder-specific psychopathological constructs and corroborate the reliability of the data. Future research in the ED field should only use this specific tool. Level of evidence: Case–control analytic study, Level III

13q Deletion Syndrome Involving RB1: Characterization of a New Minimal Critical Region for Psychomotor Delay.

Retinoblastoma (RB) is an ocular tumor of the pediatric age caused by biallelic inactivation of the RB1 gene (13q14). About 10% of cases are due to gross-sized molecular deletions. The deletions can involve the surrounding genes delineating a contiguous gene syndrome characterized by RB, developmental anomalies, and peculiar facial dysmorphisms. Overlapping deletions previously found by traditional and/or molecular cytogenetic analysis allowed to define some critical regions for intellectual disability (ID) and multiple congenital anomalies, with key candidate genes. In the present study, using array-CGH, we characterized seven new patients with interstitial 13q deletion involving RB1. Among these cases, three patients with medium or large 13q deletions did not present psychomotor delay. This allowed defining a minimal critical region for ID that excludes the previously suggested candidate genes (HTR2A, NUFIP1, PCDH8, and PCDH17). The region contains 36 genes including NBEA, which emerged as the candidate gene associated with developmental delay. In addition, MAB21L1, DCLK1, EXOSC8, and SPART haploinsufficiency might contribute to the observed impaired neurodevelopmental phenotype. In conclusion, this study adds important novelties to the 13q deletion syndrome, although further studies are needed to better characterize the contribution of different genes and to understand how the haploinsufficiency of this region can determine ID. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Pre-operational short-term forecasts for Mediterranean Sea biogeochemistry

Operational prediction of the marine environment is recognised as a fundamental research issue in Europe. We present a pre-operational implementation of a biogeochem- ical model for the pelagic waters of the Mediterranean Sea, developed within the framework of the MERSEA-IP Euro- pean project. The OPATM-BFM coupled model is the core of a fully automatic system that delivers weekly analyses and forecast maps for the Mediterranean Sea biogeochem- istry. The system has been working in its current configura- tion since April 2007 with successful execution of the fully automatic operational chain in 87% of the cases while in the remaining cases the runs were successfully accomplished af- ter operator intervention. A description of the system devel- oped and also a comparison of the model results with satel- lite data are presented, together with a measure of the model skill evaluated by means of seasonal target diagrams. Future studies will address the implementation of a data assimila- tion scheme for the biogeochemical compartment in order to increase the skill of the model’s performance.MERSEA-IP, EU projectPublished25-394.6. Oceanografia operativa per la valutazione dei rischi in aree marineJCR Journalope

Reference values for alanine aminotransferase, α-amylase, aspartate aminotransferase, γ-glutamyltransferase and lactate dehydrogenase measured according to the IFCC standardization during uncomplicated pregnancy

7noneCattozzo, G.; Calonaci, A.; Albeni, C.; Guerra, E.; Franzini, M.; Ghezzi, F.; Ceriotti, F.Cattozzo, G.; Calonaci, A.; Albeni, C.; Guerra, E.; Franzini, M.; Ghezzi, Fabio; Ceriotti, F