On Daphnia (Ctenodaphnia) similis claus, 1876 and other interesting anomopods (crustacea, branchiopoda) from Apulia (Southern Italy)

ItNella presente nota sono riportati i risultati dello studio dei campioni di anomopodi (Branchiopoda) raccolti nell’ambito di indagini faunistiche condotte dal Laboratorio di Zoogeografia e Faunistica dell’Università di Lecce. Sono stati rinvenuti alcuni taxa di interesse da un punto vista tassonomico e faunistico: il rinvenimento di Daphnia (Ctenodaphnia) similis costituisce il primo reperto di questo dafnide in Italia; Pleuroxus letourneuxi, già conosciuto per la Sicilia e la Sardegna, è stato rinvenuto per la prima volta in Italia peninsulare. Viene brevemente discusso il rinvenimento di alcuni taxa poco comuni e dall’incerta posizione sistematica: Daphnia (Ctenodaphnia) bolivari, Macrothrix groenlandica e Ceriodaphnia quadrangula var. hamata. Sulla base dei campioni studiati la Penisola Salentina ed il promontorio del Gargano sembrano ospitare una ricca fauna ad anomopodi che merita di essere studiata più estesamente.EnThis paper refers about the anomopods collected in the frame of a faunistic survey carried out in Apulia by the “Laboratorio di Zoogeografia e Faunistica” of the University of Salento. Some interesting taxa were found. Among these, Daphnia (Ctenodaphnia) similis (Daphniidae) was recorded for the first time in Italy, and Pleuroxus letourneuxi (Chydoridae) in Peninsular Italy. The presence of uncommon taxa with an unclear taxonomical status as Daphnia (Ctenodaphnia) bolivari, Macrothrix groenlandica, and Ceriodaphnia quadrangula var. hamata is briefly discussed. On the basis of samples studied, Salentine Peninsula and Gargano Promontory show a high anomopod species richness and appear to be worth of further, more punctual, studies

On Daphnia (Ctenodaphnia) similis claus, 1876 and other interesting anomopods (crustacea, branchiopoda) from Apulia (Southern Italy)

ItNella presente nota sono riportati i risultati dello studio dei campioni di anomopodi (Branchiopoda) raccolti nell’ambito di indagini faunistiche condotte dal Laboratorio di Zoogeografia e Faunistica dell’Università di Lecce. Sono stati rinvenuti alcuni taxa di interesse da un punto vista tassonomico e faunistico: il rinvenimento di Daphnia (Ctenodaphnia) similis costituisce il primo reperto di questo dafnide in Italia; Pleuroxus letourneuxi, già conosciuto per la Sicilia e la Sardegna, è stato rinvenuto per la prima volta in Italia peninsulare. Viene brevemente discusso il rinvenimento di alcuni taxa poco comuni e dall’incerta posizione sistematica: Daphnia (Ctenodaphnia) bolivari, Macrothrix groenlandica e Ceriodaphnia quadrangula var. hamata. Sulla base dei campioni studiati la Penisola Salentina ed il promontorio del Gargano sembrano ospitare una ricca fauna ad anomopodi che merita di essere studiata più estesamente.EnThis paper refers about the anomopods collected in the frame of a faunistic survey carried out in Apulia by the “Laboratorio di Zoogeografia e Faunistica” of the University of Salento. Some interesting taxa were found. Among these, Daphnia (Ctenodaphnia) similis (Daphniidae) was recorded for the first time in Italy, and Pleuroxus letourneuxi (Chydoridae) in Peninsular Italy. The presence of uncommon taxa with an unclear taxonomical status as Daphnia (Ctenodaphnia) bolivari, Macrothrix groenlandica, and Ceriodaphnia quadrangula var. hamata is briefly discussed. On the basis of samples studied, Salentine Peninsula and Gargano Promontory show a high anomopod species richness and appear to be worth of further, more punctual, studies

MOSTO: A toolkit to facilitate security auditing of ICS devices using Modbus/TCP

The integration of the Internet into industrial plants has connected Industrial Control Systems (ICS) worldwide, resulting in an increase in the number of attack surfaces and the exposure of software and devices not originally intended for networking. In addition, the heterogeneity and technical obsolescence of ICS architectures, legacy hardware, and outdated software pose significant challenges. Since these systems control essential infrastructure such as power grids, water treatment plants, and transportation networks, security is of the utmost importance. Unfortunately, current methods for evaluating the security of ICS are often ad-hoc and difficult to formalize into a systematic evaluation methodology with predictable results. In this paper, we propose a practical method supported by a concrete toolkit for performing penetration testing in an industrial setting. The primary focus is on the Modbus/TCP protocol as the field control protocol. Our approach relies on a toolkit, named MOSTO, which is licensed under GNU GPL and enables auditors to assess the security of existing industrial control settings without interfering with ICS workflows. Furthermore, we present a model-driven framework that combines formal methods, testing techniques, and simulation to (formally) test security properties in ICS networks

Indocyanine green clearance test in liver transplantation: defining cut-off levels for graft viability assessment during organ retrieval and for the prediction of post-transplant graft function recovery - the Liver Indocyanine Green (LivInG) Trial Study Protocol

Introduction Viability assessment of the graft is essential to lower the risk of liver transplantation (LT) failure and need for emergency retransplantation, however, this still relies mainly on surgeon's experience. Post-LT graft function recovery assessment is also essential to aid physicians in the management of LT recipients and guide them through challenging decision making. This study aims to trial the use of indocyanine green clearance test (IGT) in the donor as an objective tool to assess graft viability and in the recipient to assess graft function recovery after LT.Methods and analysis This is an observational prospective single-centre study on consecutive liver transplant donors and recipients.Primary objective To determine the capability of IGT of predicting graft viability at the time of organ retrieval. Indocyanine green will be administered to the donor and the plasma disappearance rate (PDR) measured using the pulsidensitometric method. Some 162 IGT donor procedures will be required (alpha, 5%; beta, 20%) using an IGT-PDR cut-off value of 13% to achieve a significant discrimination between viable and non-viable grafts.Secondary objective IGT-PDR will be measured at different time-points in the LT recipient: during the anhepatic phase, after graft reperfusion, at 24 hours, on day 3 and day 7 after LT. The slope of IGT values from the donor to the recipient will be evaluated for correlation with the development of early allograft dysfunction.Ethics and dissemination This research protocol was approved by Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS Ethics Committee (reference number: 0048466/20, study ID: 3656) and by the Italian National Transplant Center (CNT) (reference number: Prot.11/ CNT2021). Liver recipients will be required to provide written informed consent. Results will be published in international peer-reviewed scientific journals and presented in congresses

A negative expiratory pressure test during wakefulness for evaluating the risk of obstructive sleep apnea in patients referred for sleep studies

OBJECTIVE: Obstructive sleep apnea is characterized by increased upper airway collapsibility during sleep. The present study investigated the use of the negative expiratory pressure test as a method to rule out obstructive sleep apnea. METHODS: Flow limitation was evaluated in 155 subjects. All subjects underwent a diurnal negative expiratory pressure test and a nocturnal sleep study. The severity of sleep apnea was determined based on the apneahypopnea index. Flow limitation was assessed by computing the exhaled volume at 0.2, 0.5, and 1.0 s (V0.2, V0.5, and V1.0, respectively) during the application of a negative expiratory pressure and expressed as a percentage of the previous exhaled volume. Receiver-operating characteristic curves were constructed to identify the optimal threshold volume at 0.2, 0.5, and 1.0 s for obstructive sleep apnea detection. RESULTS: Mean expiratory volumes at 0.2 and 0.5 s were statistically higher (p <0.01) in healthy subjects than in all obstructive sleep apneic groups. Increasing disease severity was associated with lower expiratory volumes. The V0.2 (%) predictive parameters for the detection of sleep apnea were sensitivity (81.1%), specificity (93.1%), PPV (98.1%), and NPV (52.9%). Sensitivity and NPV were 96.9% and 93.2%, respectively, for moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea, and both were 100% for severe obstructive sleep apnea. CONCLUSION: Flow limitation measurement by V 0.2 (%) during wakefulness may be a very reliable method to identify obstructive sleep apnea when the test is positive and could reliably exclude moderate and severe obstructive sleep apnea when the test is negative. The negative expiratory pressure test appears to be a useful screening test for suspected obstructive sleep apnea

Luteal Phase Support Using Subcutaneous Progesterone: A Systematic Review

Luteal phase support (LPS) is crucial in assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycles when the luteal phase has been found to be defective. Such deficiency is most likely related to the supraphysiological steroid levels that usually occurr in stimulated cycles which, in turn, could severely affect luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion and function, thereby negatively influencing the luteal phase. A number of different medications and routes have been successfully used for LPS in ART. Although an optimal protocol has not yet been identified, the existing plethora of medications offer the opportunity to personalize LPS according to individual needs. Subcutaneous administration progesterone has been proposed for LPS and could represent an alternative to a vaginal and intramuscular route. The aim of the present systematic review is to summarize the evidence found in the literature concerning the application of subcutaneous progesterone in ARTs, highlighting the benefits and limits of this novel strategy. With this aim in mind, we carried out systematic research in the Medline, ISI Web of Knowledge, and Embase databases from their inception through to November 2020. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were preferred by the authors in the elaboration of this article, although case-control and cohort studies have also been considered. According to our findings, evidence exists which supports that, in women with a good prognosis undergoing a fresh in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle, subcutaneous Pg is not inferior to vaginal products. In the Frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) cycle, data concerning efficacy is mixed with an increased miscarriage rate in women undergoing a subcutaneous route in oocyte donor recipients. Data concerning the acceptance of the subcutaneous route versus the vaginal route are encouraging despite the different scales and questionnaires which were used. In addition, a cost-effective analysis has not yet been conducted

Granular Cell Dermatofibroma: When Morphology Still Matters

Dermatofibroma, also known as "fibrous histiocytoma", is one of the most common cutaneous soft-tissue tumors. Many variants of dermatofibromas have been described, and knowledge of these variations is important to avoid misdiagnosis of a possibly more aggressive tumor. Histological features of different variants can coexist in the same lesion, but typical common fibrous histiocytoma features are generally found, at least focally, in all cases. However, when cellular changes make up the majority of the lesion, the histopathological diagnosis can become more complex and requires immunohistochemical investigations for correct nosographic classification. We present the case of a cutaneous fibrous histiocytoma, "granular cell" variant, found on the left leg of a 74-year-old woman