Classification of Septic Shock Phenotypes Based on the Presence of Hypotension and Hyperlactatemia in Cats

open8noBackground: Three different phenotypes of septic shock based on changes in blood pressure and lactate are recognized in people. Dysoxic shock, representing the combination of fluid-refractory hypotension and hyperlactatemia, is characterized by greater disease severity and mortality compared to cryptic shock (hyperlactatemia alone) and vasoplegic shock (hypotension with normal blood lactate). Little is known about septic shock and specifically its phenotypes in cats. Objective: To analyze the characteristics and prognostic implications of three septic shock phenotypes in cats with sepsis. Methods: Cats with septic shock were prospectively included. Septic shock was defined by the presence of hypotension (mean blood pressure <60 mmHg) requiring vasopressor support and/or persistent hyperlactatemia (>4 mmol/L) and classified in three subgroups: dysoxic shock, vasoplegic shock and cryptic shock. Clinical and clinicopathological variables including APPLEfast and APPLEfull scores, occurrence of multi-organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS; presence of at least two dysfunctional organs simultaneously) and outcome were compared among subgroups. Cats with sepsis showing normal blood pressure and lactate concentrations hospitalized during the study period were included as uncomplicated sepsis, and compared to cats with septic shock for selected variables. Length of hospital stay and mortality were evaluated in the whole study population. Odds ratios for mortality were calculated using logistic regression analysis. Significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: The study enrolled 48 cats with uncomplicated sepsis and 37 cats with septic shock (dysoxic shock n = 17; vasoplegic shock n = 11; cryptic shock n = 7). Cats with dysoxic shock had significantly higher APPLEfast and APPLEfull scores compared to vasoplegic and cryptic shock. Mortality rates were not significantly different among cryptic (57%), dysoxic (65%) and vasoplegic shock (91%), while MODS occurrence was significantly lower in cats with cryptic shock (57%) compared to patients affected by dysoxic (94%) and vasoplegic (100%) shock. Cats with septic shock had higher frequency of MODS and greater mortality rate than cats with uncomplicated sepsis. Conclusion: Despite similar in-hospital mortality, cats with dysoxic and vasoplegic shock are characterized by having higher occurrence of multi- organ dysfunction compared to cats affected by cryptic shock. Results from this study suggest novel means of identifying high-risk subgroups of septic cats.openTroia R.; Buzzurra F.; Ciuffoli E.; Mascalzoni G.; Foglia A.; Magagnoli I.; Dondi F.; Giunti M.Troia R.; Buzzurra F.; Ciuffoli E.; Mascalzoni G.; Foglia A.; Magagnoli I.; Dondi F.; Giunti M

The impact of adult diet on parasitoid reproductive performance

Diet is one of the most common influences on parasitoid reproductive traits. The life span, mating ability, fecundity, fertility and sex ratio of parasitoids can be affected by the quality of the adult diet. In the field, parasitoids can rely on different hosts and non-host nutrient sources, such as floral and extrafloral nectar, hemipteran honeydew and pollen, and various artificial diets have been used in mass rearing. In addition, some parasitoid species obtain nutrients by feeding on their host while adult (host feeding). In this review, we summarize current knowledge on the impact of the adult diet on the reproductive behavior of hymenopteran and dipteran parasitoids, with a particular focus on longevity, offspring production and host searching traits. First, we focus on food preferences and learning abilities of parasitoids to discriminate high-quality diets. Second, we analyze the impact of the adult diet on longevity, examining different natural and artificial food sources as well as the effect of their concentration and frequency. Third, we highlight the impact of the adult diet on host foraging. Fourth, we review the impact of adult diet on parasitoid offspring with special reference to (1) egg load, maturation and resorption, (2) parasitism and (3) progeny production and sex ratio. Finally, a number of implications for biological control and integrated pest management are discussed

SMARCE1-related meningiomas: A clear example of cancer predisposing syndrome

We report the case of a 16-year-old girl presenting with spinal clear-cell multiple meningiomas (CCMs). In view of this presentation, we sequenced a bioinformatic panel of genes associated with susceptibility to meningioma, identifying a germline heterozygous variant in SMARCE1. Somatic DNA investigations in the CCM demonstrated the deletion of the wild-type allele (loss of heterozygosity, LOH), supporting the causative role of this variant. Family segregation study detected the SMARCE1 variant in the asymptomatic father and in the asymptomatic sister who, nevertheless, presents 2 spinal lesions. Germline heterozygous loss-of-function (LoF) variants in SMARCE1, encoding a protein of the chromatin-remodeling complex SWI/SNF, have been described in few fa-milial cases of susceptibility to meningioma, in particular the CCM subtype. Our case confirms the role of NGS in investigating predisposing genes for meningiomas (multiple or recurrent), with specific regard to SMARCE1 in case of pediatric CCM. In addition to the age of onset, the presence of familial clustering or the coexistence of multiple synchronous meningiomas also supports the role of a genetic predisposition that deserves a molecular assessment. Additionally, given the incomplete penetrance, it is of great importance to follow a specific screening or follow-up program for symptomatic and asymptomatic carriers of pathogenic variants in SMARCE1

Cerebellar ataxia, neuropathy, vestibular areflexia syndrome due to RFC1 repeat expansion.

Ataxia, causing imbalance, dizziness and falls, is a leading cause of neurological disability. We have recently identified a biallelic intronic AAGGG repeat expansion in replication factor complex subunit 1 (RFC1) as the cause of cerebellar ataxia, neuropathy, vestibular areflexia syndrome (CANVAS) and a major cause of late onset ataxia. Here we describe the full spectrum of the disease phenotype in our first 100 genetically confirmed carriers of biallelic repeat expansions in RFC1 and identify the sensory neuropathy as a common feature in all cases to date. All patients were Caucasian and half were sporadic. Patients typically reported progressive unsteadiness starting in the sixth decade. A dry spasmodic cough was also frequently associated and often preceded by decades the onset of walking difficulty. Sensory symptoms, oscillopsia, dysautonomia and dysarthria were also variably associated. The disease seems to follow a pattern of spatial progression from the early involvement of sensory neurons, to the later appearance of vestibular and cerebellar dysfunction. Half of the patients needed walking aids after 10 years of disease duration and a quarter were wheelchair dependent after 15 years. Overall, two-thirds of cases had full CANVAS. Sensory neuropathy was the only manifestation in 15 patients. Sixteen patients additionally showed cerebellar involvement, and six showed vestibular involvement. The disease is very likely to be underdiagnosed. Repeat expansion in RFC1 should be considered in all cases of sensory ataxic neuropathy, particularly, but not only, if cerebellar dysfunction, vestibular involvement and cough coexist

Academic entrepreneurship and academics’ careers: a multi-dimensional analysis in the UK, Australia and Italy

This thesis aims to improve the understanding of academic entrepreneurship, i.e. academics’ involvement in entrepreneurial activities, and how it is intertwined with academics’ career prospects, interests, and orientations. To do so, the study adopts a micro-meso-macro level analysis, looking at individual variables, as well as how the individual interacts with the contexts in which is embedded. In order to enhance the possibility of exploring the role of each of the three dimensions and their interaction, the study has followed a cross-country comparative design; academics from the STEM sciences were recruited from three research-intensive universities, located in the U.K., Australia and Italy. A sequential mixed-method approach has enabled analysis of both the impact of individual attitudes upon AE, as well as how factors such as work-identity management processes, disciplinary norms, career stage, sex, support received, and career promotion criteria influence academics’ perceptions of the boundaries of ‘science and business’. The outcomes provide valuable insight regarding the implications of the move towards an ‘entrepreneurial university’, by considering the heterogeneity found across groups of academics and the divergencies across national contexts, but also by taking into consideration the persistence of certain traditional values and ethos within academia, as found across all three countries

The impact of increased standard flexibility on disclosure practices : a comparison of the introduction of IFRS 8 in the UK, Germany, France and Italy and its impact on companies' segment disclosures

Following a series of reporting scandals in the early 2000s, several researchers studied the gradual shift toward more principles-based accounting systems. There seems to be a general belief that the adoption of international principles-based accounting standards will improve financial reporting quality worldwide, although little evidence is provided for this claim. At the same time several studies claim that heterogeneity in countries’ environmental factors will not lead to harmonized accounting practices and that important differences will remain even though there is common international accounting system. This study contributes to the literature regarding a shift toward more principles-based standards by investigating the effect of increased requirements’ flexibility on disclosure practices in an international environment characterized by harmonized accounting regulations but heterogeneous disclosure practices. The standards that are used are IFRS 8 Operating segment and its predecessor IAS 14R Segment Reporting. IFRS 8 took effect from January 1 2009. The countries included in the study represent the four largest economies in Europe, namely the UK, Germany, France and Italy. The methodology used is quantitative and follows a positivistic research approach. This study investigates the impact that a regulatory change has on disclosure practices by observing data reported in the annual reports and asserts the eventual differences between the two standards and across the four countries. The study provides evidence of only a marginal change in segment disclosure practices after the introduction of IFRS 8. The change is mostly characterized by a loss of key information indicating that more flexible requirements negatively impact accounting practices. This implies that if the purpose of a regulatory change is to assure a certain level of information, more rigid requirements are to be preferred. Further, this study shows that, opposed to expectations; disclosure practices are more heterogeneous under more rules-based standards. However, there is indication that the reason for increased homogeneity is that companies listed in the UK and Germany, presenting a higher amount of segment information under IAS 14R, have decreased the information under IFRS 8. It seems thus that standard enforceability decreases under more flexible disclosure requirements

Pre- and post-imaginal associative learning for host-borne cues from different trophic contexts in the parasitic wasp Psyttalia concolor (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

Insects rely extensively on learning for the purpose of all major life activities, including reproductive behavior. Among Hymenoptera, it is widely recognized that parasitic wasps can learn several visual and olfactory cues from the host-microhabitat, and the associative learning may occur both at the immature stage as well as at the adult stage. Psyttalia concolor (Szépligeti) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is able to attack fourteen tephritid species on different wild and cultivated plants, including pests of great economic importance, such as the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae), and the olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) (Diptera: Tephritidae). The present research investigates the olfactory stimuli able to affect the P. concolor host-seeking behavior, both during pre-imaginal and adult stage. First, we evaluate the influence of larval and early adult experience on subsequent host seeking in P. concolor females. In two choice ovipositional tests, P. concolor females showed to preferentially oviposit and have higher oviposition success rates on their natal host, but, when P. concolor females were excised from their host puparia, their natal host preference vanished, solidifying the evidence that early adult learning takes place for host selection. Then, we investigate if P. concolor females are able to negatively and positively associate olfactory stimuli. First, we examine how parasitic wasps rely to associative learning for danger to modify innate positive chemotaxis for C. capitata-induced plant volatiles. Trained wasps, nullified (lowest HIPV dosage tested) or reversed (highest HIPV dosage tested) their innate positive chemotaxis for HIPVs. Furthermore, to investigate the exact nature of the olfactory cues affecting the tri-trophic interaction P. concolor-B. oleae-O. europaea, the chemical stimuli arising from the olive fruits were identified. We investigated the presence of olfactory cues leading host location of P. concolor females toward B. oleae larvae infesting different olive cultivars through behavioral assays and gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses. Volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions were peculiar for each cultivar analyzed, but two putative HIPVs were detected in infested fruits, regardless the cultivar, the monoterpene (E)-β-ocimene and the sesquiterpene (E-E)-α-farnesene. Furthermore, we analyzed also the VOC emissions of olives infested in laboratory under controlled conditions. Over seventy volatile compounds were identified on infested and healthy Ascolana fruits, and two were found to increase during B. oleae infestation: (E)-β-ocimene and 2-methyl-6-methylene-1,7-octadien-3-one, and four volatiles decreased: α-pinene, β-pinene, limonene and β-elemene. The attractiveness of the chemicals identified were evaluated in Y-tube assays, toward P. concolor mated females and virgin males. Female wasps showed attraction just for (E)-β-ocimene, while males were attracted by (E)-β-ocimene, α-pinene and limonene, highlighting the presence that the HIPV identified could be used by parasitic wasps as short-range attractant. Indeed, we hypothesized that P. concolor females could detect these volatiles in association with food (i.e. sweet exudates from tephritid-infested decaying fruits) and learn to respond favorably to these cues in subsequent experiences. Trained female P. concolor showed positive chemotaxis to the learned cues in the majority of tested odor combinations, except to both dosages of limonene. Our results add knowledge about the basic ecology of the tephritid parasitoid P. concolor and may improve its performances under field conditions, using HIPVs long lasting dispenser to maintain parasitoid population on a given crop or to monitor its presence. Indeed, in biological control programs P. concolor females could be conditioned before field release, both by training and/or using different mass-rearing hosts in order to prime their response and improve their ability to search for a given tephritid host

Contact Toxicity and Ovideterrent Activity of Three Essential Oil-Based Nano-Emulsions against the Olive Fruit Fly Bactrocera oleae

The control strategies for the olive crop key pest, Bactrocera oleae, involve synthetic chemical insecticides and few eco-sustainable alternatives, such as ovideterrents and lures. In the last few decades, the interest concerning the formulation of botanical based biopesticides increased, but little research investigated the suitability of these approaches for B. oleae control. This research aimed to investigate the residual contact toxicity and the oviposition deterrence of three essential oil (EO)-based nano-emulsions (Pimpinella anisum, Foeniculum vulgare, Mentha × piperita) against B. oleae adult flies. All the nano-emulsions possessed optimal physical characteristics, with droplets dimensions ranging from 115 to 152 nm and low PDI values (<0.2), even after 1 year of storage. Although no notable residual contact toxicity was noted, all the tested formulations reduced the number of oviposition puncture in no-choice tests (percent repellence: mint < fennel < anise). In choice trials, olives treated with fennel and anise EO-formulations at the highest concentration (7.5%, 75 g of EO/L) were less attractive respect to control fruits and a significant reduction of olive punctures was recorded. Nano-biopesticides are promising eco-friendly tools to integrate B. oleae pest management programs and to reduce the use of harmful conventional active ingredients