Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration in Japanese Akita dogs: a survey

Low serum level of vitamin D has been linked to numerous diseases. The Akita breed of dog shows a high incidence of immune-mediated diseases such as uveodermatologic (UVD) syndrome and sebaceous adenitis (SA). Furthermore, in Japanese Akita dogs, skin depigmentation often appears after birth at different ages, in healthy dogs, and without any other symptoms. In humans poliosis is associated to low vitamin D level. The aim of this survey was to evaluate serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels in Japanese Akita dogs. One hundred and three Akita blood samples were collected for the 25(OH)D evaluation. Age, sex, current disease, presence and location of skin depigmentation, and diet were reported on a medical record. Based on history and clinical examination, dogs were classified according their health status as healthy (HE) or pathological (PA). The overall mean of 25(OH)D concentration was 82.42 ± 26.14 ng/mL, whereas the concentrations in the healthy dogs were significantly higher (84.90 ± 3.36 ng/mL) in comparison with the dogs with diseases (72.13 ± 4.09 ng/mL) (P < 0.01). In this study, the depigmented healthy dogs showed low level of 25(OH)D and very similar to the sick group. The appearance of depigmented areas associated with low levels of vitamin D could be considered as an alert sign in Akitas as well as in humans. However, clinical trials should also be carried out to establish whether vitamin D supplementation could be an effective preventive treatment to limit the onset of immune-mediated diseases in Japanese Akita dogs

Calibration of the Prompt L0 Trigger of the Silicon Pixel Detector for the ALICE Experiment

The ALICE Silicon Pixel Detector (SPD) is the innermost detector of the ALICE experiment at LHC. It includes 1200 front-end chips, with a total of ~107 pixel channels. The pixel size is 50 x 425 μm2. Each front-end chip transmits a Fast-OR signal upon registration of at least one hit in its pixel matrix. The signals are extracted every 100 ns and processed by the Pixel Trigger (PIT) system, to generate trigger primitives. Results are then sent within a latency of 800 ns to the Central Trigger Processor (CTP) to be included in the first Level 0 trigger decision. This paper describes the commissioning of the PIT, the tuning procedure of the front-end chips Fast-OR circuit, and the results of operation with cosmic muons and in tests with LHC beam

GPU acceleration of a model-based iterative method for Digital Breast Tomosynthesis

Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT) is a modern 3D Computed Tomography X-ray technique for the early detection of breast tumors, which is receiving growing interest in the medical and scientific community. Since DBT performs incomplete sampling of data, the image reconstruction approaches based on iterative methods are preferable to the classical analytic techniques, such as the Filtered Back Projection algorithm, providing fewer artifacts. In this work, we consider a Model-Based Iterative Reconstruction (MBIR) method well suited to describe the DBT data acquisition process and to include prior information on the reconstructed image. We propose a gradient-based solver named Scaled Gradient Projection (SGP) for the solution of the constrained optimization problem arising in the considered MBIR method. Even if the SGP algorithm exhibits fast convergence, the time required on a serial computer for the reconstruction of a real DBT data set is too long for the clinical needs. In this paper we propose a parallel SGP version designed to perform the most expensive computations of each iteration on Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). We apply the proposed parallel approach on three different GPU boards, with computational performance comparable with that of the boards usually installed in commercial DBT systems. The numerical results show that the proposed GPU-based MBIR method provides accurate reconstructions in a time suitable for clinical trials

Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders in neuronal xenotransplanted macaques

Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLDs) are a heterogeneous group of lymphoid proliferations that occur in the setting of depressed T-cell function due to immunosuppressive therapy used following solid organ transplantation, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and also xenotransplantation. In the present study, 28 immunosuppressed parkinsonian Macaca fascicularis were intracerebrally injected with wild-type or CTLA4-Ig transgenic porcine xenografts to identify a suitable strategy to enable long-term cell survival, maturation, and differentiation. Nine of 28 (32%) immunosuppressed primates developed masses compatible with PTLD, located mainly in the gastrointestinal tract and/or nasal cavity. The masses were classified as monomorphic PTLD according to the World Health Organization classification. Immunohistochemistry and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analyses revealed that the PTLDs were associated with macaca lymphocryptovirus as confirmed by double-labeling immunohistochemistry for CD20 and Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen 2 (EBNA-2), where the viral protein was located within the CD20+ neoplastic B cells. In sera from 3 distinct phases of the experimental life of the primates, testing by quantitative PCR revealed a progression of the viral load that paralleled the PTLD progression and no evidence of zoonotic transmission of porcine lymphotropic herpesvirus through xenoneuronal grafts. These data suggest that monitoring the variation of macaca lymphocryptovirus DNA in primates could be used as a possible early diagnostic tool for PTLD progression, allowing preemptive treatment such as immunosuppression therapy reduction

Bubble divergences: sorting out topology from cell structure

We conclude our analysis of bubble divergences in the flat spinfoam model. In [arXiv:1008.1476] we showed that the divergence degree of an arbitrary two-complex Gamma can be evaluated exactly by means of twisted cohomology. Here, we specialize this result to the case where Gamma is the two-skeleton of the cell decomposition of a pseudomanifold, and sharpen it with a careful analysis of the cellular and topological structures involved. Moreover, we explain in detail how this approach reproduces all the previous powercounting results for the Boulatov-Ooguri (colored) tensor models, and sheds light on algebraic-topological aspects of Gurau's 1/N expansion.Comment: 19 page

Largeness and SQ-universality of cyclically presented groups

Largeness, SQ-universality, and the existence of free subgroups of rank 2 are measures of the complexity of a finitely presented group. We obtain conditions under which a cyclically presented group possesses one or more of these properties. We apply our results to a class of groups introduced by Prishchepov which contains, amongst others, the various generalizations of Fibonacci groups introduced by Campbell and Robertson

Has the LEADER progamme been effective in promoting local rural development? An evaluation on two Romanian regions

The aim of the research was to evaluate the effects of projects developed by Local Action Groups (LAGs) on the economic development of rural areas in two development regions of Romania: North-West and North-East. Using Propensity Score Matching (PSM) we have compared communes belonging and not belonging to a LAG having similar characteristics, observing their differences in terms of outcome variables (turnover, number and employees in non-agricultural firms). Results show that there is not a statistically significant difference in change (2011-2015) of outcome variables between the two groups, both in the whole sample and in each region. This points to a lack of effectiveness of LAGs projects in promoting non-agricultural rural development. Furthermore, according to regression results, the outcome indicators are significantly affected by the degree of socio-economic development at the beginning of the examined period

rrnDB: documenting the number of rRNA and tRNA genes in bacteria and archaea

A dramatic exception to the general pattern of single-copy genes in bacterial and archaeal genomes is the presence of 1–15 copies of each ribosomal RNA encoding gene. The original version of the Ribosomal RNA Database (rrnDB) cataloged estimates of the number of 16S rRNA-encoding genes; the database now includes the number of genes encoding each of the rRNAs (5S, 16S and 23S), an internally transcribed spacer region, and the number of tRNA genes. The rrnDB has been used largely by microbiologists to predict the relative rate at which microbial populations respond to favorable growth conditions, and to interpret 16S rRNA-based surveys of microbial communities. To expand the functionality of the rrnDB (http://ribosome.mmg.msu.edu/rrndb/index.php), the search engine has been redesigned to allow database searches based on 16S rRNA gene copy number, specific organisms or taxonomic subsets of organisms. The revamped database also computes average gene copy numbers for any collection of entries selected. Curation tools now permit rapid updates, resulting in an expansion of the database to include data for 785 bacterial and 69 archaeal strains. The rrnDB continues to serve as the authoritative, curated source that documents the phylogenetic distribution of rRNA and tRNA genes in microbial genomes

Detection and genetic characterization of domestic cat hepadnavirus in cats with cavitary effusions

: After the identification of the novel domestic cat hepadnavirus (DCH) in 2018, its potential pathogenetic role in feline hepatic diseases has been suggested. Following the detection of DCH in a cat's serum and peritoneal effusion, the aim of this study was to retrospectively investigate the presence of DCH in cats with and without cavitary effusions along with DCH presence in effusions. Stored serum and effusion samples from cats with and without effusions admitted to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of Lodi (Italy) in 2020-2022 were included based on results of hematobiochemical parameters. Effusions were classified based on cytological and physicochemical findings. The likelihood of liver damage was estimated based on clinical and laboratory findings. Samples were tested for DCH presence by quantitative PCR (qPCR). Positive samples were subjected to whole genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. DCH was detected in both serum and peritoneal effusion samples of 2/72 (2.8%) enrolled cats, included in the group with effusions (2/33; 6.1%), with one cat showing inflammatory and the other non-inflammatory effusion. Both DCH-positive cats belonged to the group with a likelihood of liver damage (2/22, 9.1%). Phylogeny showed that the DCH sequences from this study clustered with the prototypic Australian strain but were not included in the clade with other Italian DCH sequences. Results suggest the circulation of different DCH variants in Italy and show the presence of DCH in effusion samples from DCH-positive cats, mirroring the presence of HBV in body fluids from HBV-infected humans. Further studies are still recommended to define the pathogenic role of DCH in cats

Cellulose nano-fibers (CNF) - Sakacin-A active material: production, characterization and application in storage trials of smoked salmon

BACKGROUND: Sakacin-A due to its specific antimicrobial activity may represent a good candidate to develop active packagingsolutions for food items supportingListeriagrowth. In the present study a protein extract containing the bacteriocin sakacin-A,produced byLactobacillus sakeiLb 706 in a low-cost culture medium containing deproteinized cheese whey, was adsorbed ontocellulose nanofibers (CNFs) to obtain an active material to be used as a mat (or a separator) in direct contact with foods.RESULTS: The applied fermentation conditions allowed 4.51g L 121of freeze-dried protein extract to be obtained, characterizedby an antimicrobial activity of near 16 700 AU g 121, that was used for the preparation of the active material by casting. The activematerial was then characterized by infrared spectra and thermogravimetric analyses. Antimicrobial trials were carried outinvitrousingListeriainnocuaasindicatorstrain;resultswerealsoconfirmedinvivo,employingsmokedsalmonfilletsintentionallyinoculated withListeria innocua: its final population was reduced to about 2.5 \u2013 3 Log cycles after 28 days of storage at 6 18Cinpresence of sakacin-A, compared with negative control mats produced without the bacteriocin extract.CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the possibility of producing an antimicrobial active material containing sakacin-Aabsorbed onto CNFs to decreaseListeriapopulation in smoked salmon, a ready-to eat-food product