Impact on Macro-Benthic Communities of Hydraulic Dredging for Razor Clam Ensis minor in the Tyrrhenian Sea

Bivalve molluscs fishery is of great importance along the Italian coasts, both in economic and landing terms, and different edible bivalve species are harvested both in Adriatic and Tyrrhenian Seas. A medium-term assessment of the impact of the hydraulic dredges targeting razor clam Ensis minor on macro-benthic community was made during two surveys carried out in winter 2017 and late spring – summer 2018 in central Tyrrhenian Sea, which represents the main fishing ground for this species. The study area was located between 1 and 4 m depth, within 0.3 nautical miles from the coast. A net sampler (40 cm width, 18 cm height, and 14 mm mesh size) was mounted on a commercial dredge (3 m width) and enabled to collect specimens of the smallest sizes for the entire community present in the areas. A control area was identified where fishing does not occur, in order to compare exploited and not exploited sea bottoms. The results show that benthic assemblages found in dredged areas are characterized by species living in high-energy habitat, due to the closeness to the shore, and thus showing a high resilience at medium-term disturbs. Differences in species richness were not clearly evident both for the entire community and for the mollusc assemblages evaluated over the two surveys, among the control and the impacted areas, with few exceptions mainly depending on local conditions and anthropic pressure. Thus, even if the benthic community is typical of a moderately disturbed environment, the effects of fishing on the community structure are still discernible over and above the natural variation

Development of a questionnaire on nutritional knowledge for the obese hospitalized patient: the NUTRIKOB questionnaire

IntroductionDifferent approaches, involving different areas and figures, are useful for the rehabilitation of obese subjects through a multidisciplinary hospital path. A focal point of rehabilitation is represented by education on healthy eating by increasing the dietary knowledge patients. Few tools investigating food knowledge are available in Italy: therefore, the need has emerged to develop easy-to-use tools for clinical practice that allow to detect food knowledge to set up a more targeted food re-education. The following work aimed at building and validating a questionnaire capable of investigating the dietary knowledge of the population affected by obesity.MethodsA pool of experts carried out a review of the literature, gathering all the information necessary to select and construct the best set of questions and the format of the final project of the questionnaire. During statistical analysis the validity, reproducibility and stability of the questionnaire were investigate in a sample of 450 subjects with obesity.ResultsEarly analysis disclosed that 5 questions of the original questionnaire had no discriminating power. The successive validation phases were successful, confirming good content validity, stability and reproducibility over time.DiscussionThe questionnaire has all the characteristics to be considered a valid tool for investigating dietary knowledge in the obese population. The psychometric tests confirmed a good internal consistency of the structure, a validity of the content, a good reproducibility and stability over time

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none2CAPRARI E.; R. LUCCHETTICaprari, E.; Lucchetti, Robert

Flexible Turtle Excluder Device (TED): an effective tool for Mediterranean coastal multispecies bottom trawl fisheries

The effect of a flexible Turtle Excluder Device (TED) on the catching efficiency and performance of a commercial bottom trawl was tested in a gear comparison study for a Mediterranean coastal multispecies bottom trawl fishery. The device affected neither bottom trawl technical performances (horizontal and vertical net opening and door spread) nor did it increase the required towing force, hence fuel consumption remained constant. Comparison of commercial catches for the major species demonstrated that using the TED did not affect catching efficiency, while it reduced the amount of debris. The device did not influence the size of commercial species, leaving the selective performance of the trawl unmodified. Underwater video camera recordings documented that fish caught in the net swam through the grid and easily reached the cod-end, missing the TED escape opening. Easy storage and improved catch retention compared with previous devices tested in this area make the present flexible TED a practical and valuable solution to reduce turtle bycatch in coastal Mediterranean demersal multispecies fisheries

Stress, coping and adherence to immunosuppressive medications in kidney transplantation: a comparative study

ABSTRACT CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE : Adherence to medication is a key issue relating to outcomes from transplantation and it is influenced by several factors, such as stress and coping strategies. However, these factors have been poorly explored. We aimed to compare stress and coping strategies between adherent and nonadherent renal transplant recipients who were receiving immunosuppression. DESIGN AND SETTING : We conducted a comparative, cross-sectional and observational study at a university-based transplantation clinic in Juiz de Fora, Brazil. METHODS :Fifty patients were recruited and classified as adherent or nonadherent following administration of the Basel Assessment of Adherence to Immunosuppressive Medications Scale. Stress was evaluated using the Lipp Stress Symptom Inventory for Adults and coping strategies were assessed using the Ways of Coping Scale. RESULTS : The study included 25 nonadherent patients and 25 controls with a mean age of 44.1 ± 12.8 years and median post-transplantation time of 71.8 months. Stress was present in 50% of the patients. Through simple logistic regression, nonadherence was correlated with palliative coping (OR 3.4; CI: 1.02-11.47; P < 0.05) and had a marginal trend toward significance with more advanced phases of stress (OR 4.7; CI: 0.99-22.51; P = 0.053). CONCLUSION :Stress and coping strategies may have implications for understanding and managing nonadherent behavior among transplantation patients and should be considered among the strategies for reducing nonadherence

A high protein diet is more effective in improving insulin resistance and glycemic variability compared to a mediterranean diet—a cross-over controlled inpatient dietary study

The optimal dietary pattern to improve metabolic function remains elusive. In a 21-day randomized controlled inpatient crossover feeding trial of 20 insulin-resistant obese women, we assessed the extent to which two isocaloric dietary interventions—Mediterranean (M) and high protein (HP)—improved metabolic parameters. Obese women were assigned to one of the following dietary sequences: M–HP or HP–M. Cardiometabolic parameters, body weight, glucose monitoring and gut microbiome composition were assessed. Sixteen women completed the study. Compared to the M diet, the HP diet was more effective in (i) reducing insulin resistance (insulin: Beta (95% CI) = −6.98 (−12.30, −1.65) µIU/mL, p = 0.01; HOMA-IR: −1.78 (95% CI: −3.03, −0.52), p = 9 × 10(−3)); and (ii) improving glycemic variability (−3.13 (−4.60, −1.67) mg/dL, p = 4 × 10(−4)), a risk factor for T2D development. We then identified a panel of 10 microbial genera predictive of the difference in glycemic variability between the two diets. These include the genera Coprococcus and Lachnoclostridium, previously associated with glucose homeostasis and insulin resistance. Our results suggest that morbidly obese women with insulin resistance can achieve better control of insulin resistance and glycemic variability on a high HP diet compared to an M diet