Pigs’ husbandry as case study to test effects of vegetable residues’ hydrolysates on animals

Soluble biopolymers (SBO) are research products obtained from alkaline hydrolysis of municipal and agriculture bio-residues. They contain a mix of soluble macromolecules with different C types and functional groups. These features make SBO multipurpose products for the chemical industry, agriculture and animal husbandry. As such, they may contribute to the development of bio-based circular economy by recycling renewable carbon over urban and agriculture environments. To foster production and commercialization, assessment of SBO’s compliance with countries’ regulations is mandatory. The authors performed the present in vivo pigs study to investigate quality, safety, and efficacy of SBO’s as animal feed supplement. Total 106 male and female piglets were fed 42 days with protein-based diets containing 0.1 and 0.2 % SBO. Pigs grew from average 7.7 to 26 kg. Average mortality rate was 3.9 %. Relatively to control diets with no added SBO, the diets containing 0.1 and 0.2 % SBO evidenced no significant effects on pigs’ growth, mortality, and anatomy and pathology of dead animals. A previous rabbit study reported similar results for SBO supplemented diets. The authors discuss the economic and environmental implications of the results in relation to SBO potential marketability

Sialoendoscopy: state of the art, challenges and further perspectives. Round Table, 101st SIO National Congress, Catania 2014

This draft of the Official Round Table held during the 101st SIO National Congress is an updated review on sialoendoscopy, a technique used for diagnosis and treatment of obstructive pathologies of salivary glands in a minimally invasive fashion. This review treats many aspects of salivary gland endoscopy, starting from anatomy to deal with the more advanced surgical techniques and analyses the main decisional algorithms proposed in the literature. In addition, particular attention was directed to the current limitations of this technique and to the potential developments that sialoendoscopy could have in the near future

Outcomes of interventional sialendoscopy for obstructive salivary gland disorders: an Italian multicentre study

Sebbene le tecniche scialoendoscopiche abbiano assunto un ruolo fondamentale nel trattamento delle patologie ostruttive dei dotti salivari, in letteratura sono riportati pochi studi multicentrici sullargomento. Questo studio basato sullesperienza di 9 centri italiani è stato condotto su 1152 pazienti (553 donne, età media di 50 anni) per un totale di 1342 procedure scialoendoscopiche, il 44,6% delle quali a carico della ghiandola parotide. Il 12% dei pazienti è stato sottoposto a più interventi. I calcoli salivari sono risultati essere la principale causa di ostruzione (55%), seguiti dalle stenosi e altre malformazioni duttali (16%), dai tappi mucosi (14,5%) e dalla scialodochite (4,7%). La procedura endoscopica è stata portata a termine in 1309 casi mentre in 33 casi è stata interrotta, principalmente a causa della presenza di stenosi duttali complete (21 casi). Dopo una o più procedure il successo terapeutico è stato ottenuto nel 92,5% dei pazienti. Complicanze peri-operatorie e post-operatorie sono state riscontrate nel 5,4% dei casi trattati. La scialoendoscopia rappresenta quindi una procedura efficace e sicura nella diagnosi e nel trattamento delle principali patologie ostruttive dei dotti salivari

Neutralizing antibodies to Omicron after the fourth SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine dose in immunocompromised patients highlight the need of additional boosters

IntroductionImmunocompromised patients have been shown to have an impaired immune response to COVID-19 vaccines.MethodsHere we compared the B-cell, T-cell and neutralizing antibody response to WT and Omicron BA.2 SARS-CoV-2 virus after the fourth dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in patients with hematological malignancies (HM, n=71), solid tumors (ST, n=39) and immune-rheumatological (IR, n=25) diseases. The humoral and T-cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination were analyzed by quantifying the anti-RBD antibodies, their neutralization activity and the IFN-γ released after spike specific stimulation.ResultsWe show that the T-cell response is similarly boosted by the fourth dose across the different subgroups, while the antibody response is improved only in patients not receiving B-cell targeted therapies, independent on the pathology. However, 9% of patients with anti-RBD antibodies did not have neutralizing antibodies to either virus variants, while an additional 5.7% did not have neutralizing antibodies to Omicron BA.2, making these patients particularly vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection. The increment of neutralizing antibodies was very similar towards Omicron BA.2 and WT virus after the third or fourth dose of vaccine, suggesting that there is no preferential skewing towards either virus variant with the booster dose. The only limited step is the amount of antibodies that are elicited after vaccination, thus increasing the probability of developing neutralizing antibodies to both variants of virus.DiscussionThese data support the recommendation of additional booster doses in frail patients to enhance the development of a B-cell response directed against Omicron and/or to enhance the T-cell response in patients treated with anti-CD20