In Situ Aerobic Biostimulation of Groundwater at a National Priority Site in Italy

Sarroch plant (CA, Italy) is an industrial area listed in the Italian Priority List of polluted sites. Pollution in groundwater has been addressed thanks to the design of a remediation action based on the aerobic biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons (predominantly mono-aromatic and short-chain aliphatic hydrocarbons) promoted by the injection of oxygen-releasing compounds. The feasibility of biostimulation at the site was preliminary assessed by means of laboratory tests. The direct push injection of the product has been foreseen at 2800 points, distributed along multiple lines perpendicular to the groundwater flow direction, over a total length of approximately 8 km and a total area of 90 hectares. According to the pollutant concentration measured in the different zones of the site, a different number of injection campaigns and injection frequency has been scheduled (3 to 10 campaigns, every 5 to 12 months). The estimated cost for the bioremediation action is 23 million Euros. Compared to the previous project approved in 2010, including a seafront physical barrier and groundwater circulation wells – in situ well stripping, the in situ injection of the oxygen-releasing compounds is an improvement toward a quicker, more effective and sustainable remediation of groundwater at the site. In view of all this, in 2017 the public authorities approved the variant of the project

Multi-Parental Advances Generation Inter-CrossPopulation, to Develop Organic Tomato Genotypes by Participatory Plant Breeding

A Multi-parent Advanced Generation Intercross (MAGIC) tomato population was developed by crossing eight founder lines chosen to include a wide range of variability. The lines were previously genotyped by a genotyping by sequencing approach. The MAGIC population was used to develop genotypes with important agronomic traits and to perform the Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB). Among the 400 plants of generation 4 (G4) of the MAGIC population cultivated in an organic field experiment, 22 individuals were phenotypically selected and a molecular analysis was done for both presence of resistance genes and fruit shape (marker assisted selection) on G5 seedlings. Three selected plants showed both the pyramiding gene of resistance to the main diseases and the ovate gene for pear shape typology. The 400 G10 stable lines that obtained from single seed descent will represent an important genetic resource for the tomato scientific community. The MAGIC population G4 was also cultivated in three organic farms located in North, Central and South Italy to carry out the PPB. The plants showed significant phenotypic differences in development, productivity and fruit color. This variability was used to select families of tomato adapted to low input crop management, different environments, agricultural practices and market condition

Characteristics and patterns of care of endometrial cancer before and during COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has correlated with the disruption of screening activities and diagnostic assessments. Endometrial cancer (EC) is one of the most common gynecological malignancies and it is often detected at an early stage, because it frequently produces symptoms. Here, we aim to investigate the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on patterns of presentation and treatment of EC patients. Methods: This is a retrospective study involving 54 centers in Italy. We evaluated patterns of presentation and treatment of EC patients before (period 1: March 1, 2019 to February 29, 2020) and during (period 2: April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021) the COVID-19 outbreak. Results: Medical records of 5,164 EC patients have been retrieved: 2,718 and 2,446 women treated in period 1 and period 2, respectively. Surgery was the mainstay of treatment in both periods (p=0.356). Nodal assessment was omitted in 689 (27.3%) and 484 (21.2%) patients treated in period 1 and 2, respectively (p<0.001). While, the prevalence of patients undergoing sentinel node mapping (with or without backup lymphadenectomy) has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic (46.7% in period 1 vs. 52.8% in period 2; p<0.001). Overall, 1,280 (50.4%) and 1,021 (44.7%) patients had no adjuvant therapy in period 1 and 2, respectively (p<0.001). Adjuvant therapy use has increased during COVID-19 pandemic (p<0.001). Conclusion: Our data suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the characteristics and patterns of care of EC patients. These findings highlight the need to implement healthcare services during the pandemic

Practice patterns and 90-day treatment-related morbidity in early-stage cervical cancer

To evaluate the impact of the Laparoscopic Approach to Cervical Cancer (LACC) Trial on patterns of care and surgery-related morbidity in early-stage cervical cancer

Wege in die Ernährungszukunft der Schweiz - Leitfaden zu den grössten Hebeln und politischen Pfaden für ein nachhaltiges Ernährungssystem

Aus wissenschaftlicher Sicht ist klar: Unser Ernährungssystem ist nicht nachhaltig. Um unsere Lebens- und Wirtschaftsgrundlagen zu erhalten, braucht es eine Neuausrichtung über die gesamte Wertschöpfungskette. Diese ist gleichzeitig ein Schlüssel zur Erreichung der Agenda 2030 für nachhaltige Entwicklung. SDSN Schweiz hat das wissenschaftliche Gremium Ernährungszukunft Schweiz initiiert, um einen Wegweiser zu entwickeln. Er soll es der Schweiz erlauben, Chancen rechtzeitig anzupacken und unkontrollierbare Kostenfolgen zu vermeiden. Das wissenschaftliche Gremium hat international wegweisende Pionierarbeit geleistet. In einem interdisziplinären wissenschaftlichen Prozess wurde zum ersten Mal für ein Land ein umfassender Handlungspfad zur Neuausrichtung des Ernährungssystems im Einklang mit den Zielen für nachhaltige Entwicklung ausgearbeitet. Die beteiligten Forschenden schaffen damit eine wichtige Grundlage für die weitere politische Diskussion in der Schweiz und international

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Sex difference and intra-operative tidal volume: Insights from the LAS VEGAS study

BACKGROUND: One key element of lung-protective ventilation is the use of a low tidal volume (VT). A sex difference in use of low tidal volume ventilation (LTVV) has been described in critically ill ICU patients.OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine whether a sex difference in use of LTVV also exists in operating room patients, and if present what factors drive this difference.DESIGN, PATIENTS AND SETTING: This is a posthoc analysis of LAS VEGAS, a 1-week worldwide observational study in adults requiring intra-operative ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery in 146 hospitals in 29 countries.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Women and men were compared with respect to use of LTVV, defined as VT of 8 ml kg-1 or less predicted bodyweight (PBW). A VT was deemed 'default' if the set VT was a round number. A mediation analysis assessed which factors may explain the sex difference in use of LTVV during intra-operative ventilation.RESULTS: This analysis includes 9864 patients, of whom 5425 (55%) were women. A default VT was often set, both in women and men; mode VT was 500 ml. Median [IQR] VT was higher in women than in men (8.6 [7.7 to 9.6] vs. 7.6 [6.8 to 8.4] ml kg-1 PBW, P < 0.001). Compared with men, women were twice as likely not to receive LTVV [68.8 vs. 36.0%; relative risk ratio 2.1 (95% CI 1.9 to 2.1), P < 0.001]. In the mediation analysis, patients' height and actual body weight (ABW) explained 81 and 18% of the sex difference in use of LTVV, respectively; it was not explained by the use of a default VT.CONCLUSION: In this worldwide cohort of patients receiving intra-operative ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery, women received a higher VT than men during intra-operative ventilation. The risk for a female not to receive LTVV during surgery was double that of males. Height and ABW were the two mediators of the sex difference in use of LTVV.TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered at Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01601223

"Delirium Day": A nationwide point prevalence study of delirium in older hospitalized patients using an easy standardized diagnostic tool

Background: To date, delirium prevalence in adult acute hospital populations has been estimated generally from pooled findings of single-center studies and/or among specific patient populations. Furthermore, the number of participants in these studies has not exceeded a few hundred. To overcome these limitations, we have determined, in a multicenter study, the prevalence of delirium over a single day among a large population of patients admitted to acute and rehabilitation hospital wards in Italy. Methods: This is a point prevalence study (called "Delirium Day") including 1867 older patients (aged 65 years or more) across 108 acute and 12 rehabilitation wards in Italian hospitals. Delirium was assessed on the same day in all patients using the 4AT, a validated and briefly administered tool which does not require training. We also collected data regarding motoric subtypes of delirium, functional and nutritional status, dementia, comorbidity, medications, feeding tubes, peripheral venous and urinary catheters, and physical restraints. Results: The mean sample age was 82.0 \ub1 7.5 years (58 % female). Overall, 429 patients (22.9 %) had delirium. Hypoactive was the commonest subtype (132/344 patients, 38.5 %), followed by mixed, hyperactive, and nonmotoric delirium. The prevalence was highest in Neurology (28.5 %) and Geriatrics (24.7 %), lowest in Rehabilitation (14.0 %), and intermediate in Orthopedic (20.6 %) and Internal Medicine wards (21.4 %). In a multivariable logistic regression, age (odds ratio [OR] 1.03, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.05), Activities of Daily Living dependence (OR 1.19, 95 % CI 1.12-1.27), dementia (OR 3.25, 95 % CI 2.41-4.38), malnutrition (OR 2.01, 95 % CI 1.29-3.14), and use of antipsychotics (OR 2.03, 95 % CI 1.45-2.82), feeding tubes (OR 2.51, 95 % CI 1.11-5.66), peripheral venous catheters (OR 1.41, 95 % CI 1.06-1.87), urinary catheters (OR 1.73, 95 % CI 1.30-2.29), and physical restraints (OR 1.84, 95 % CI 1.40-2.40) were associated with delirium. Admission to Neurology wards was also associated with delirium (OR 2.00, 95 % CI 1.29-3.14), while admission to other settings was not. Conclusions: Delirium occurred in more than one out of five patients in acute and rehabilitation hospital wards. Prevalence was highest in Neurology and lowest in Rehabilitation divisions. The "Delirium Day" project might become a useful method to assess delirium across hospital settings and a benchmarking platform for future surveys