growth and nitrogen metabolism of sea bass fed graded levels of nucleic acid nitrogen from yeast or rna extract as partial substitute for protein nitrogen from fish meal

Some studies carried out in mammalian models have shown de novo synthesis and salvage of nucleotides to be a costly metabolic process and a dietary supplementation with nucleic acids (NA) or nucleotides has been suggested to result in a protein sparing action (Sanderson and He, 1994). On the other hand, high levels of dietary NA could have toxic effects and lead to disturbance in protein, lipid and carbohydrate metabolism in monogastric animals lacking uricase activity, an enzyme involved in NA degradation (Clifford and Story, 1976). So far, there is no clear indication of such effects in fish fed nucleic acid-enriched diets (Tacon and Cooke, 1980; Rumsey et al., 1992; Fournier et al., 2002). The aim of this experiment was to investigate growth response and N metabolism in juvenile sea bass (D. labrax) fed diets supplying graded levels of nucleic acid N from dry brewer's yeast or RNA extract as partial substitutes for protein nitrogen provided by fish meal

Pea protein concentrate as a substitute for fish meal protein in sea bass diet

Pea seeds, even if lower in protein than oilseed meals, have been shown to successfully replace moderate amounts of fish meal protein in diets for carnivorous fish species (Kaushik et al., 1993, Gouveia and Davies, 2000). A further processing of such pulses provides concentrated protein products which look very promising as fish meal substitutes in aquafeeds (Thiessen et al., 2003). The aim of the present study was to evaluate nutrient digestibility, growth response, nutrient and energy retention efficiencies and whole body composition of sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax, L.) fed complete diets in which a pea protein concentrate (PPC) was used to replace graded levels of fish meal protein

Human west nile virus lineage 2 infection: Epidemiological, clinical, and virological findings

West Nile virus (WNV) lineage 2 is expanding and causing large outbreaks in Europe. In this study, we analyzed the epidemiological, clinical, and virological features of WNV lineage 2 infection during the large outbreak that occurred in northern Italy in 2018. The study population included 86 patients with neuroinvasive disease (WNND), 307 with fever (WNF), and 34 blood donors. Phylogenetic analysis of WNV full genome sequences from patients' samples showed that the virus belonged to the widespread central/southern European clade of WNV lineage 2 and was circulating in the area at least since 2014. The incidence of WNND and WNF progressively increased with age and was higher in males than in females. Among WNND patients, the case fatality rate was 22%. About 70% of blood donors reported symptoms during follow-up. Within the first week after symptom onset, WNV RNA was detectable in the blood or urine of 80% of patients, while 20% and 40% of WNND and WNF patients, respectively, were WNV IgM-seronegative. In CSF samples of WNND patients, WNV RNA was typically detectable when WNV IgM antibodies were absent. Blunted or no WNV IgM response and high WNV IgG levels were observed in seven patients with previous flavivirus immunity

Cu-exchanged 3D-printed geopolymer/ZSM-5 monolith for selective catalytic reduction of NOx

Cu-exchanged zeolites with MFI structure, such as ZSM-5, represent effective catalysts for SCR processes when the application requires a good thermal stability under a wide range of temperature as for the after-treatment of exhaust gas from diesel engine. The production of zeolite in a structured form, mandatorily required for mobile applications, is quite complex due to the poor adhesion of the material. In this paper 3D-printed geopolymers containing about 37 % ZSM-5 are proposed as potentially structured catalysts for SCR applications. The production of the monolith and the pre-treatment necessary to introduce copper as active exchanged cation are investigated. The effect of pre-treatments on the physical and morphological structure of both geopolymer and zeolite and on the nature of copper introduced in the subsequent step was studied using characterization techniques such as SEM, XRD, N2 physisorption and Temperature Programmed Reduction (TPR)

On the accuracy of ion measurements using a neutral cluster and air ion spectrometer

Here, we present a calibration of the Neutral cluster and Air Ion Spectrometer (NAIS, Airel Ltd.) for the size and concentration of ions in the mobility-diameter size-range 0.98-29.1 nm. Previous studies raised accuracy issues in size and concentration determination and highlighted the importance of used data inversion algorithm. Therefore, we investigated the performance of the NAIS by using five inversion methods. The presented results illustrate that the size information given by the NAIS is very accurate, regardless of the version of the data inversion. The number concentrations determined by the NAIS were 15%-30% too low especially at the lower end of the measurement size range (<5 nm), whereas concentrations at diameters 19.6 nm and larger were overestimated by up to 8%. With the correction presented in this study, the uncertainty of the ion concentration measurement of the NAIS can be reduced to less than 10%, allowing the NAIS to be used in quantitative ion cluster studies and more accurate determination of formation and growth rates.Peer reviewe

Malignant struma ovarii harboring a unique NRAS mutation: case report and review of the literature

Struma ovarii (SO), a rare tumor containing at least 50% of thyroid tissue, represents approximately 5% of all ovarian teratomas; its malignant transformation rate is reported to occur in up to 10% of cases and metastases occur in about 5-6% of them. We describe a 36-year old woman who underwent laparoscopic left annessectomy two years earlier because of an ovarian cyst. Follow-up imaging revealed a right adnexal mass, ascitis and peritoneal nodes that were diagnosed as comprising a malignant SO with peritoneal secondary localizations at histopathology performed after intervention. Restaging with F-18-FDG-PE T/CT scan, abdominal CT and ultrasonography showed abnormalities in the perihepatic region and presacral space and left hypochondrium localizations. The patient underwent thyroidectomy, hepatic nodulectomy and cytoreductive peritonectomy: histopathological examination did not show any malignant disease in the thyroid and confirmed the presence of peritoneal localizations due to malignant SO; molecular analysis detected NRAS Q61K mutation in exon 3, whereas no mutations were identified on the BRAF gene. The patient underwent radioiodine treatment: serum Tg was decreased at first follow-up after three months of I-131-therapy. We believe that our case raises some interesting considerations. First, pathologists should be aware of this entity and should check for the presence of point mutations suggesting an aggressive disease behavior, which could be beneficial for an optimal therapeutic approach. Second, although most of the knowledge in this field comes from case reports, efforts should be made to standardize the management of patients affected by malignant SO, including use of practice guidelines

Measuring atmospheric ion bursts and their dynamics using mass spectrometry

Atmospheric ions are produced after a cascade of reactions starting from initial ionization by high energetic radiation. Such ionization bursts generate ions that rapidly react and generate a suite of ion products. Primary ions are in the atmosphere originate from radioactive decay, gamma radiation from the soil or cosmic ray events. In this work, we modified an existing instrumentation and developed a novel setup for detecting ion bursts. The setup consists of a continuous flow ionization chamber coupled to Atmospheric Pressure interface Time-Of-Flight (APi-TOF) mass spectrometer. The APi-TOF sampling rate was set to 100 Hz in order to detect individual ion bursts from ionization events. Besides counting the individual ionization events, the developed setup is able to follow the rapidly changing chemical composition of ions during ion burst cascade. The setup can give us insights into the primary ionization mechanisms and their importance in atmospheric ion and aerosol dynamics.Peer reviewe