Comparison of the therapeutic effect of treatment with antibiotics or nutraceuticals on clinical activity and the fecal microbiome of dogs with acute diarrhea

Dogs with acute diarrhea are often presented to clinical practice and, although this generally represents a self-limiting condition, antibiotics are still frequently used as treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects in dogs with acute non-hemorrhagic diarrhea of the administration of an antibiotic combination in comparison to a nutraceutical product. Thirty dogs were enrolled and randomly assigned to two groups: 15 dogs (group A) received a nutraceutical commercial product while 15 dogs (group B) received an antimicrobial combination of metronidazole and spiramycin. For each dog, the Canine Acute Diarrhea Severity Index, the fecal microbiota and the Dysbiosis Index were assessed. Both stool consistency and frequency decreased on day 2 in the dogs of group A compared to baseline, while in group B, these parameters significantly decreased at days 3 and 4. The global concern for rising antibiotic resistance associated with indiscriminate use of antimicrobials, in both humans and animals, suggests the necessity of avoiding empirical and injudicious use of these molecules in diarrheic dogs. These results suggest that the nutraceutical treatment had a similar clinical effect compared to the antibiotic formulation, representing a valid antibiotic-sparing therapeutic approach in canine acute diarrhea

Cardiac overexpression of melusin protects from dilated cardiomyopathy due to long-standing pressure overload.

We have previously shown that genetic ablation of melusin, a muscle specific beta 1 integrin interacting protein, accelerates left ventricle (LV) dilation and heart failure in response to pressure overload. Here we show that melusin expression was increased during compensated cardiac hypertrophy in mice subjected to 1 week pressure overload, but returned to basal levels in LV that have undergone dilation after 12 weeks of pressure overload. To better understand the role of melusin in cardiac remodeling, we overexpressed melusin in heart of transgenic mice. Echocardiography analysis indicated that melusin over-expression induced a mild cardiac hypertrophy in basal conditions (30% increase in interventricular septum thickness) with no obvious structural and functional alterations. After prolonged pressure overload (12 weeks), melusin overexpressing hearts underwent further hypertrophy retaining concentric LV remodeling and full contractile function, whereas wild-type LV showed pronounced chamber dilation with an impaired contractility. Analysis of signaling pathways indicated that melusin overexpression induced increased basal phosphorylation of GSK3beta and ERK1/2. Moreover, AKT, GSK3beta and ERK1/2 were hyper-phosphorylated on pressure overload in melusin overexpressing compared with wild-type mice. In addition, after 12 weeks of pressure overload LV of melusin overexpressing mice showed a very low level of cardiomyocyte apoptosis and stromal tissue deposition, as well as increased capillary density compared with wild-type. These results demonstrate that melusin overexpression allows prolonged concentric compensatory hypertrophy and protects against the transition toward cardiac dilation and failure in response to long-standing pressure overload

Melusin gene (ITGB1BP2) nucleotide variations study in hypertensive and cardiopathic patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Melusin is a muscle specific signaling protein, required for compensatory hypertrophy response in pressure-overloaded heart. The role of Melusin in heart function has been established both by loss and gain of function experiments in murine models. With the aim of verifying the hypothesis of a potential role of the Melusin encoding gene, <it>ITGB1BP2</it>, in the modification of the clinical phenotype of human cardiomyopathies, we screened the <it>ITGB1BP2 </it>gene looking for genetic variations possibly associated to the pathological phenotype in three selected groups of patients affected by hypertension and dilated or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We analyzed <it>ITGB1BP2 </it>by direct sequencing of the 11 coding exons and intron flanking sequences in 928 subjects, including 656 hypertensive or cardiopathic patients and 272 healthy individuals.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Only three nucleotide variations were found in patients of three distinct families: a C>T missense substitution at position 37 of exon 1 causing an amino acid change from His-13 to Tyr in the protein primary sequence, a duplication (IVS6+12_18dupTTTTGAG) near the 5'donor splice site of intron 6, and a silent 843C>T substitution in exon 11.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The three variations of the <it>ITGB1BP2 </it>gene have been detected in families of patients affected either by hypertension or primary hypertrophic cardiomyopathy; however, a clear genotype/phenotype correlation was not evident. Preliminary functional results and bioinformatic analysis seem to exclude a role for IVS6+12_18dupTTTTGAG and 843C>T in affecting splicing mechanism.</p> <p>Our analysis revealed an extremely low number of variations in the <it>ITGB1BP2 </it>gene in nearly 1000 hypertensive/cardiopathic and healthy individuals, thus suggesting a high degree of conservation of the melusin gene within the populations analyzed.</p

From prison to community corrections programs: a survey of two innovative social-housing inclusion projects in Veneto

reservedIl sistema carcerario italiano presenta da tempo alcune lacune e problematiche rilevanti ed è influenzato da una cultura che trova le sue fondamenta nel paradigma retributivo, il quale sostiene la punizione del reo tramite la reclusione. Con la Legge 26 luglio 1975, n.354, sono state introdotte le misure alternative alla detenzione, le quali possono essere concesse ai detenuti, qualora in possesso di determinati requisiti previsti dalla legge, allo scopo di scontare la totalità oppure una parte della pena in percorsi di esecuzione penale esterna, ovvero eseguendo la misura non più entro le mura del carcere, ma all’interno della comunità, favorendo la rieducazione e il reinserimento sociale. Tuttavia, risultano esserci detenuti ai quali viene preclusa la possibilità di accedere a queste misure perché privi di risorse abitative, economiche e lavorative adeguate. In considerazione di tale criticità, nonché allo scopo di deflazione della popolazione carceraria e, soprattutto, di limitazione dei contagi causati dall’emergenza epidemiologica da COVID-19, nel 2020 sono stati promossi e finanziati da parte della Cassa delle Ammende e della Regione Veneto due progetti di inclusione socio-abitativa denominati “Progetto di inclusione sociale per persone senza fissa dimora in misura alternativa” e “Programma di intervento della Cassa delle Ammende per fronteggiare l’emergenza epidemiologica da Covid-19 negli istituti penitenziari”. Tali interventi hanno consentito ad alcuni detenuti privi di risorse idonee di scontare una parte o l’intera pena presso talune strutture territoriali, pubbliche e private, che hanno aderito alle due progettualità e si sono rese disponibili ad accogliere le persone destinatarie delle misure alternative alla detenzione. Mediante l’avvio della “Ricerca di inclusione socio-abitativa sul progetto di Cassa delle Ammende COVID-19” in collaborazione tra l’Università degli Studi di Padova e l’Ufficio Interdistrettuale di Esecuzione Penale Esterna di Venezia, si è proceduto ad una valutazione della validità e dell’impatto dei due progetti tramite l’utilizzo dello strumento del questionario, somministrato ai beneficiari e ad un gruppo di controllo. Inoltre, è stato somministrato un questionario alle strutture che hanno aderito alle progettazioni, in modo da rilevare anche la loro esperienza

Galerí­a de imágenes II: Encuentro Nacional de Mujeres. Fotografí­as de Vanina de Acetis. Reseña de Celestina Alessio

Fotografí­as y reseña del Encuentro Nacional de Mujereres del 2017