Representing the War. Early Twentieth Century Maps and Models in the Fonds of the Italian War History Museum in Rovereto

Abstract. The representation of the areas in which some of the most significant events of the First World War took place has produced a wide range of materials, such as cartography, aerial and terrestrial photos, textual descriptions and field surveys. In addition, war events were also represented through three-dimensional models. Topographic maps and models constitute composite figurations, which are rich in informative data useful for the preservation of the memory of places and for increasing the knowledge of cultural heritage. Hence, these sources need to be studied, described, interpreted and used for future enhancement. The focus of this paper are archival materials from the collections kept at the Italian War History Museum of Rovereto (Museo Storico Italiano della Guerra), in the Trentino-Alto Adige region. Firstly, we will investigate the cartographic fond in order to assess the composition and origin of its materials. Secondly, we will present the Museum's collection of Early-Twentieth Century models. Such precious heritage is not yet part of an exhibition, and is kept in the Museum's warehouses. The paper constitutes the occasion to present the initial results of a still ongoing project by the Geo-Cartographic Centre for Study and Documentation (GeCo) of the University of Trento on the study and analysis of two archival complexes preserved in the abovementioned Museum. In particular, the paper focuses on the heuristic value of such representational devices, which enable an analysis of the different methods and languages through which space is planned and designed, emphasizing the complementarity between different types of visualization

Use of a specification sheet in clinical exams

El presente trabajo tuvo como objetivos obtener información crítica sobre las metodo-logías de enseñanza, aprendizaje y evaluación mediante el empleo de una planilla de especificaciones en el examen oral de Clínica de Rumiantes y Suinos de la Facultad de Veterinaria de la Universidad de la República, y relevar las opiniones de los docentes que han empleado este instrumento a lo largo del período 2013-2018. La planilla se utilizó en 66 períodos, con registro de 1.010 exámenes, y se obtuvo información discriminada por plan de estudio y orientaciones. De acuerdo a la encuesta realizada a los docentes, este instrumento permitió seguir con atención, de forma ordenada y estandarizada, el desempeño del estudiante y facilitó la devolución y retroalimentación de los procesos de enseñanza y aprendizaje en el momento del examen y posterior a este. A pesar de las limitaciones que pueda tener el instrumento, brinda mayores garantías en la evaluación a los estudiantes y los docentes. El examen final es percibido como una instancia compleja, por lo tanto el empleo de este instrumento ha servido de apoyo en las prácticas educativasThe purpose of this paper was to provide critical information on the teaching, learning, and evaluation methodologies using a specification worksheet in the oral examination of the Clinic for Ruminants and Swine in the Faculty of Veterinary, Universidad de la República, and to gather the opinions of the teachers who have employed this instrument during years 2013-2018. The worksheet was used in 66 periods with a 1010 exam record, obtaining information discriminated by study plan and orientations. According to the survey conducted by teachers, the instrument allowed the student performance to be carefully followed in an orderly and standardized manner; and facilitated the return and feedback of the teaching and learning process at the time of the exam and after it. Despite the limitations that the instrument may have, it offers better guarantees in the evaluation for students and teachers. The final exam is perceived as a complex instance. Therefore, the use of this instrument has served as support in educational practice

Modulation of the Muscle Activity During Sleep in Cervical Dystonia

Introduction: Impaired sleep has been reported as an important nonmotor feature in dystonia, but so far, self-reported complaints have never been compared with nocturnal video-polysomnographic (PSG) recording, which is the gold standard to assess sleep-related disorders. Methods: Twenty patients with idiopathic isolated cervical dystonia and 22 healthy controls (HC) underwent extensive clinical investigations, neurological examination, and questionnaire screening for excessive daytime sleepiness and sleep-related disorders. A full-night video PSG was performed in both patients and HC. An ad hoc montage, adding electromyographic leads over the muscle affected with dystonia, was used. Results: When compared to controls, patients showed significantly increased pathological values on the scale assessing self-reported complaints of impaired nocturnal sleep. Higher scores of impaired nocturnal sleep did not correlate with any clinical descriptors but for a weak correlation with higher scores on the scale for depression. On video-PSG, patients had significantly affected sleep architecture (with decreased sleep efficiency and increased sleep latency). Activity over cervical muscles disappears during all the sleep stages, reaching significantly decreased values when compared to controls both in nonrapid eye movements and rapid eye movements sleep. Conclusions: Patients with cervical dystonia reported poor sleep quality and showed impaired sleep architecture. These features however cannot be related to the persistence of muscle activity over the cervical muscles, which disappears in all the sleep stages, reaching significantly decreased values when compared to HC

Novel Approach for Evaluation of Bacteroides fragilis Protective Role against Bartonella henselae Liver Damage in Immunocompromised Murine Model

Bartonella henselae is a gram-negative facultative intracellular bacterium and is the causative agent of cat-scratch disease. Our previous data have established that Bacteroides fragilis colonization is able to prevent B. henselae damages through the polysaccharide A (PSA) in an experimental murine model. In order to determine whether the PSA is essential for the protection against pathogenic effects of B. henselae in immunocompromised hosts, SCID mice were co-infected with B. fragilis wild type or its mutant B. fragilis 1PSA and the effects of infection on murine tissues have been observed by High-Frequency Ultrasound (HFUS), histopathological examination, and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). For the first time, echostructure, hepatic lobes length, vascular alterations, and indirect signs of hepatic dysfunctions, routinely used as signs of disease in humans, have been analyzed in an immunocompromised murine model. Our findings showed echostructural alterations in all infected mice compared with the Phosphate Buffer Solution (PBS) control group; further, those infected with B. henselae and co-infected with B. henselae/B. fragilis 1PSA presented the major echostructural alterations. Half of the mice infected with B. henselae and all those co-infected with B. henselae/B. fragilis 1PSA have showed an altered hepatic echogenicity compared with the renal cortex. The echogenicity score of co-infected mice with B. henselae/B. fragilis 1PSA differed significantly compared with the PBS control group (p < 0.05). Moreover the inflammation score of the histopathological evaluation was fairly concordant with ultrasound findings. Ultrastructural analysis performed by TEM revealed no significant alterations in liver samples of SCID mice infected with B. fragilis wild type while those infected with B. fragilis 1PSA showed the presence of collagen around the main vessels compared with the PBS control group. The liver samples of mice infected with B. henselae showed macro-areas rich in collagen, stellate cells, and histiocytic cells. Interestingly, our data demonstrated that immunocompromised SCID mice infected with B. henselaeand co-infected with B. henselae/B. fragilis ΔPSA showed the most severe morpho-structural liver damage. In addition, these results suggests that the HFUS together with histopathological evaluation could be considered good imaging approach to evaluate hepatic alterations

Abnormalities of pubertal development and gonadal function in Noonan syndrome

BackgroundNoonan syndrome (NS) is a genetic multisystem disorder characterised by variable clinical manifestations including dysmorphic facial features, short stature, congenital heart disease, renal anomalies, lymphatic malformations, chest deformities, cryptorchidism in males.MethodsIn this narrative review, we summarized the available data on puberty and gonadal function in NS subjects and the role of the RAS/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling pathway in fertility. In addition, we have reported our personal experience on pubertal development and vertical transmission in NS.ConclusionsAccording to the literature and to our experience, NS patients seem to have a delay in puberty onset compared to the physiological timing reported in healthy children. Males with NS seem to be at risk of gonadal dysfunction secondary not only to cryptorchidism but also to other underlying developmental factors including the MAP/MAPK pathway and genetics. Long-term data on a large cohort of males and females with NS are needed to better understand the impact of delayed puberty on adult height, metabolic profile and well-being. The role of genetic counselling and fertility related-issues is crucial

A manually annotated Actinidia chinensis var. chinensis (kiwifruit) genome highlights the challenges associated with draft genomes and gene prediction in plants

Most published genome sequences are drafts, and most are dominated by computational gene prediction. Draft genomes typically incorporate considerable sequence data that are not assigned to chromosomes, and predicted genes without quality confidence measures. The current Actinidia chinensis (kiwifruit) 'Hongyang' draft genome has 164\ua0Mb of sequences unassigned to pseudo-chromosomes, and omissions have been identified in the gene models

Old and new oral anticoagulants : food, herbal medicines and drug interactions

The most commonly prescribed oral anticoagulants worldwide are the vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) such as warfarin. Factors affecting the pharmacokinetics of VKAs are important because deviations from their narrow therapeutic window can result in bleedings due to over-anticoagulation or thrombosis because of under-anticoagulation. In addition to pharmacodynamic interactions (e.g., augmented bleeding risk for concomitant use of NSAIDs), interactions with drugs, foods, herbs, and over-the-counter medications may affect the risk/benefit ratio of VKAs. Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) including Factor Xa inhibitors (rivaroxaban, apixaban and edoxaban) and thrombin inhibitor (dabigatran) are poised to replace warfarin. Phase-3 studies and real-world evaluations have established that the safety profile of DOACs is superior to those of VKAs. However, some pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interactions are expected. Herein we present a critical review of VKAs and DOACs with focus on their potential for interactions with drugs, foods, herbs and over-the-counter medications

Identification of genetic variants associated with Huntington's disease progression: a genome-wide association study

Background Huntington's disease is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene, HTT. Age at onset has been used as a quantitative phenotype in genetic analysis looking for Huntington's disease modifiers, but is hard to define and not always available. Therefore, we aimed to generate a novel measure of disease progression and to identify genetic markers associated with this progression measure. Methods We generated a progression score on the basis of principal component analysis of prospectively acquired longitudinal changes in motor, cognitive, and imaging measures in the 218 indivduals in the TRACK-HD cohort of Huntington's disease gene mutation carriers (data collected 2008–11). We generated a parallel progression score using data from 1773 previously genotyped participants from the European Huntington's Disease Network REGISTRY study of Huntington's disease mutation carriers (data collected 2003–13). We did a genome-wide association analyses in terms of progression for 216 TRACK-HD participants and 1773 REGISTRY participants, then a meta-analysis of these results was undertaken. Findings Longitudinal motor, cognitive, and imaging scores were correlated with each other in TRACK-HD participants, justifying use of a single, cross-domain measure of disease progression in both studies. The TRACK-HD and REGISTRY progression measures were correlated with each other (r=0·674), and with age at onset (TRACK-HD, r=0·315; REGISTRY, r=0·234). The meta-analysis of progression in TRACK-HD and REGISTRY gave a genome-wide significant signal (p=1·12 × 10−10) on chromosome 5 spanning three genes: MSH3, DHFR, and MTRNR2L2. The genes in this locus were associated with progression in TRACK-HD (MSH3 p=2·94 × 10−8 DHFR p=8·37 × 10−7 MTRNR2L2 p=2·15 × 10−9) and to a lesser extent in REGISTRY (MSH3 p=9·36 × 10−4 DHFR p=8·45 × 10−4 MTRNR2L2 p=1·20 × 10−3). The lead single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TRACK-HD (rs557874766) was genome-wide significant in the meta-analysis (p=1·58 × 10−8), and encodes an aminoacid change (Pro67Ala) in MSH3. In TRACK-HD, each copy of the minor allele at this SNP was associated with a 0·4 units per year (95% CI 0·16–0·66) reduction in the rate of change of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Total Motor Score, and a reduction of 0·12 units per year (95% CI 0·06–0·18) in the rate of change of UHDRS Total Functional Capacity score. These associations remained significant after adjusting for age of onset. Interpretation The multidomain progression measure in TRACK-HD was associated with a functional variant that was genome-wide significant in our meta-analysis. The association in only 216 participants implies that the progression measure is a sensitive reflection of disease burden, that the effect size at this locus is large, or both. Knockout of Msh3 reduces somatic expansion in Huntington's disease mouse models, suggesting this mechanism as an area for future therapeutic investigation

Role of meningococcal surface-exposed sialic acids in a murine infection model

Neisseria meningitidis is a leading cause of sepsis and meningitis worldwide in humans. It colonizes the upper respiratory tract of healthy and asymptomatic carriers, but it is able to elude host immune defenses and spreads from the bloodstream to the brain causing uncontrolled local inflammation. Both host and bacterial factors seem to be involved in this switch from harmless transitory colonization to devastating disease. Among its virulence factors, surface-exposed sialic acids occupy a prominent position. In serogroup C N. meningitidis, the cssA gene encodes for an UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 2-epimerase that catalyzes the conversion of UDP-N-acetyl-α-D-glucosamine into N-acetyl-D-mannosamine and UDP in the first step of sialic acid biosynthesis. This enzyme is required for the biosynthesis of the (α2→9) linked polysialic acid capsule and for lipooligosaccharide sialylation. In this study, was used a reference serogroup C meningococcal strain 93/4286 and an isogenic cssA knockout mutant 93/4286ΩcssA in order to investigate the pathogenetic role of surface-exposed sialic acids in a meningitis model based on intracisternal inoculation of BALB/c mice. The primary results obtained from the 93/4286ΩcssA in vitro characterization, confirmed that the inactivation of cssA gene did not alter the fitness of this mutant and therefore its invasive abilities in a mouse host. Furthermore, the results obtained from the in vivo experiments, confirmed the key role of surface-exposed sialic acids in meningococcal pathogenesis. The LD50 of the wild type strain 93/4286 was about four orders of magnitude lower than that of the cssA mutant. Compared to the wild type strain, the ability of the mutant to replicate in brain and to spread systemically was severely impaired. Evaluation of brain damage evidenced a significant reduction in cerebral haemorrhages in mice infected with the mutant compared to the wild type strain. Histological analysis showed that the experimental murine model reproduces the typical characteristics of bacterial meningitis, particularly in animals infected with the wild type strain. Moreover, the 80% of the mice infected with the reference strain had a massive bacterial localization accompanied by a significant inflammatory infiltrate in the corpus callosum, indicating a high tropism of the meningococci exposing the sialic acids towards this brain structure and its specific involvement in meningococcal meningoencephalitis. This study proposes a new role of microbial surface-exposed sialic acids in the interplay between N. meningitidis and the host in the pathogenesis of meningococcal disease. Meningococcal meningitis still represents an important challenge for human health worldwide. Therefore, this model could be functional for the study of invasive meningococcal disease since N. meningitidis is a strictly human pathogen characterized by a complex infectious cycle and it is considered the paradigm of genetic variation