Yeast-extracted nucleotides and nucleic acids as promising feed additives for European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) juveniles

Nowadays functional ingredients have a significant potential for improving current low fish meal (FM) aquafeed formulation in sustaining growth and enhancing animal robustness for Mediterranean aquaculture. Among them, nucleotides (NT) and nucleic acids (NA) drew attention for their application in the last two decades. NT are organic molecules involved in many life-supporting pathways, and are the building blocks of NA, which stand as genetic repositories. NT are naturally present in organic ingredients, and among them FM is known to be one of the highest NT sources. When this NT source is seriously limited, fish might be under the minimum NT requirements, especially in fast growing life stages of carnivorous species. Hence, a trial on European sea bass juveniles was carried out, testing two dietary FM levels (FM10, FM20 as 10% and 20% FM, respectively) supplemented with 500 mg kg-1 yeast-originate NT or NA dose over 80 days. Thereafter, fish were exposed to one week of sub-optimal thermal and dissolved oxygen condition (30°C and 4.0 mg/L O2) to further explore the effect of NT and NA inclusion on immune response and gut microbiome alteration. At the end of the growth period NT increased feed intake at both FM dietary levels. FM20 combined with NA and NT further improved growth performance, enhancing lipid efficiency and increased anti-inflammatory TGF-b. After sub-optimal environmental conditions both NT and NA exerted prebiotic functions on gut microbiome by promoting beneficial lactic acid bacteria such as Weissella and Leuconostoc. At the same time NT in 10% FM diet increased the abundance of Bacillus taxon. In conclusion, the combination of NT/NA included at 500 mg kg-1 was able to promote growth when included in 20% FM level, assuming higher nutritional NT requirement when combined with 10% FM. On the other hand, NT/NA added in 10% FM upregulate proinflammatory IL-1b and favor beneficial gut bacterial taxa

Interventional Radiological Management and Prevention of Complications after Pancreatic Surgery: Drainage, Embolization and Islet Auto-Transplantation

Pancreatic surgery still remains burdened by high levels of morbidity and mortality with a relevant incidence of complications, even in high volume centers. This review highlights the interventional radiological management of complications after pancreatic surgery. The current literature regarding the percutaneous drainage of fluid collections due to pancreatic fistulas, percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage due to biliary leaks and transcatheter embolization (or stent–graft) due to arterial bleeding is analyzed. Moreover, also, percutaneous intra-portal islet auto-transplantation for the prevention of pancreatogenic diabetes in case of extended pancreatic resection is also examined. Moreover, a topic not usually treated in other similar reviewsas percutaneous intra-portal islet autotransplantation for the prevention of pancreatogenic diabetes in case of extended pancreatic resection is also one of our areas of focus. In islet auto-transplantation, the patient is simultaneously donor and recipient. Differently from islet allo-transplantation, it does not require immunosuppression, has no risk of rejection and is usually efficient with a small number of transplanted islets

Multifocality and multicentricity are not contraindications for sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer surgery

BACKGROUND: After the availability of the results of validation studies, the sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has replaced routine axillary dissection (AD) as the new standard of care in early unifocal breast cancers. Multifocal (MF) and multicentric (MC) tumors have been considered a contraindication for this technique due to the possible incidence of a higher false-negative rate. This prospective study evaluates the lymphatic drainage from different tumoral foci of the breast and assesses the accuracy of SLNB in MF-MC breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with preoperative diagnosis of MF or MC infiltrating and clinically node-negative (cN0) breast carcinoma were enrolled in this study. Two consecutive groups of patients underwent SLN mapping using a different site of injection of the radioisotope tracer: a) "2ID" Group received two intradermal (ID) injections over the site of the two dominant neoplastic nodules. A lymphoscintigraphic study was performed after each injection to evaluate the route of lymphatic spreading from different sites of the breast. b) "A" Group had periareolar (A) injection followed by a conventional lymphoscintigraphy. At surgery, both radioguided SLNB (with frozen section exam) and subsequent AD were planned, regardless the SLN status. RESULTS: A total 31 patients with MF (n = 12) or MC (n = 19) invasive, cN0 cancer of the breast fulfil the selection criteria. In 2 ID Group (n = 15) the lymphoscintigraphic study showed the lymphatic pathways from two different sites of the breast which converged into one major lymphatic trunk affering to the same SLN(s) in 14 (93.3%) cases. In one (6.7%) MC cancer two different pathways were found, each of them affering to a different SLN. In A Group (n = 16) lymphoscintigraphy showed one (93.7%) or two (6.3%) lymphatic channels, each connecting areola with one or more SLN(s). Identification rate of SLN was 100% in both Groups. Accuracy of frozen section exam on SLN was 96.8% (1 case of micrometastasis was missed). SLN was positive in 13 (41.9%) of 31 patients, including 4 cases (30.7%) of micrometastasis. In 7 of 13 (53.8%) patients the SLN was the only site of axillary metastasis. SLNB accuracy was 96.8% (30 of 31), sensitivity 92.8 (13 of 14), and false-negative rate 7.1% (1 of 14). Since the case of skip metastasis was identified by the surgeon intraoperatively, it would have been no impact in the clinical practice. CONCLUSION: Our lymphoscintigraphic study shows that axillary SLN represents the whole breast regardless of tumor location within the parenchyma. The high accuracy of SLNB in MF and MC breast cancer demonstrates, according with the results of other series published in the literature, that both MF and MC tumors do not represent a contraindication for SLNB anymore

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Sulle condizioni della finanza e della economia pubblica in Italia al primo di dicembre 1909

- Rendiconto generale dell'esercizio 1908-909 #8- Previsioni 1909-10 e 1910-11 #16- Tesoro e credito #27- Incremento nell'entrata e nella spesa #45- Elenco degli allegati #5

Pauli Manuscript Collection: Remarques historiques sur le problème des rapports entre la théorie et l'expérience

Reflection on theory and experiment. Preparation for the 3rd Zurich talks

Speculative Trading in Mean Reverting Markets

Mean reversion is a feature largely recognized for the price processes of many financial securities and especially commodities. In the literature there are examples where some simple speculative strategies, before transaction costs, were devised to earn excess returns from such price processes. Actually, the gain opportunities of mean reversion must be corrected to account for transaction costs, which may represent a major issue. In this work we try to determine sufficient conditions for the parameters of a mean reverting price process as a function of transaction costs, to allow a speculative trader to have positive expectations when deciding to take a position. We estimate the mean reverting parameters for some commodities and correct them for transaction costs to assess whether the potential inefficiency is actually relevant for speculative purposes

Effects of dietary yeast-derived nucleotide and RNA on growth performance, survival, immune responses, and resistance to Vibrio parahaemolyticus infection in Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei)

Nucleotides (NT) and RNA from yeast extracts are gaining interest as high-value feed additives. The present study intended to evaluate the influences of yeast derived-NT and RNA on the growth performance, survival, immune responses, and resistance to Vibrio parahaemolyticus infection in Pacific white shrimp. In Experiment 1, postlarvae were distributed into 7 groups, corresponding to 7 experimental diets: control, NT 0.25, NT 0.50, NT 0.75, RNA 0.25, RNA 0.50, and RNA 0.75 g/kg feed. They were fed the experimental diets for 45 days. Then, their body weights, survival rates, immune parameters, and Vibrio spp. counts in the hepatopancreas and intestines were determined. In Experiment 2, the shrimp from Experiment 1 were challenged by immersion with V. parahaemolyticus at 105 CFU/mL. Each group was fed the same diet for another 10 days to assess the disease resistance performance. The results revealed that the shrimp body weights of all groups were similar suggesting that neither NT nor RNA exerts the growth-promoting effect. However, the average survival rates of the NT and RNA groups were in the range of 89–93 %, significantly higher than that of the control (83 %). These increased survivals were in line with the reduction in the hepatopancreatic and intestinal Vibrio spp. counts and the elevated immune parameters in the NT and RNA-fed shrimp. At day 10 after the bacterial challenge, the highest survival rates were observed in the RNA 0.50 and 0.75 g/kg feed groups (81 % and 82 %, respectively), followed by the RNA 0.25 (70 %) and NT 0.75 g/kg feed (68 %), and significantly higher than the positive control (54 %). In short, both yeast-derived NT and RNA, especially the RNA at the dose of 0.50–0.75 g/kg feed groups, showed promising health benefits effects in the Pacific white shrimp, notably the improved immune function and disease resistance

Interpolazione del DTM HD-1

Il DTM nominato HD-1, in accordo a quanto definito nel precedente Capitolo, deve coprire tutta l'area di progetto e avere una risoluzione confrontabile con quella dei dati in input. Esso viene realizzato tramite interpolazione individuale dei tre DTM di Lombardia, Piemonte e Svizzera sui nodi della griglia creata appositamente in modo da soddisfare i requisiti richiesti. Per effettuare l'interpolazione viene utilizzato ove possibile un modello locale polinomiale bicubico a minimi quadrati e, per i nodi in cui tale approccio non fornisce una stima affidabile, la superficie polinomiale viene ridotta a una bilineare. Nelle aree in cui sono presenti più DTM di input i loro risultati individuali di interpolazione vengono mediati. Nel presente capitolo viene descritta nel dettaglio la procedura adottata per produrre il DTM unificato e per correggere le quote dei nodi che si trovano in aree lacuali. Vengono mostrati e discussi i risultati ottenut