Long-term research to understand impact of perturbations on lakes: the example of Lake Maggiore

Perturbations linked to the direct and indirect impacts of human activities during the so-called Anthropocene, affect the structure and functioning of lake ecosystems to varying degrees. To understand the patterns and mechanisms of these anthropogenic effects and the extent to which they may drive irreversible changes in ecosystem services, long-term research is required. Studies on the long-term dynamics of plankton may be particularly useful for large and deep lakes whose overall productivity is dominated by pelagic processes. In the open-waters of such lakes, planktonic organisms link and interact with both abiotic and biotic compartments. Here we will analyze 60 years of data on the plankton of the large, deep, subalpine, Lake Maggiore, tracing changes in the pelagic food web which occurred during different phases of the lake\u27s recent evolution. We will document short- to- medium response times by different trophic levels, from microbes, to primary producers and secondary consumers. We will revisit results of past studies based on contemporary and paleolimnological studies and present new analyses to: i) identify any tipping points of the lake trophic evolution, ii) discern effects of recent climatic change, iii) quantify whether inter-annual variability has changed perhaps in responses to changes in thermal stratification regime and warming. By supplementing structural with functional descriptions of long term changes in phyto- and zooplankton communities, we aim to test competing mechanisms underpinning the decade-scale changes we observed

A Case of thyroid metastasis from pancreatic cancer: case report and literature review

Background: Thyroid metastases are clinically rare, and usually occur in patients with a history of prior malignancy and when there are metastases elsewhere. Metastases of pancreatic carcinoma to the thyroid are extremely rare, with only three cases reported in the literature. Case presentation: We report a patient who had a pancreatic carcinoma with metastasis to the thyroid as initial clinical presentation of the disease. A 63-year-old man with a history of weight loss and fatigue presented with cervical lymphadenopathies and a large nodule in the right lobe of the thyroid. A fine needle aspiration of the nodule gave inconclusive cytological results for the origin of the neoplastic cells. An ultrasound-guided core biopsy revealed the presence of a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma infiltrating the thyroid with atrophic thyroid follicles. Immunohistochemical staining of the lesion was strongly positive for Cytokeratin 19 suggesting a pancreatic origin of the metastasis. A contrast CT scan demonstrated an enlargement of the pancreatic body, dilatation of the pancreatic duct, diffuse retroperitoneal, paraaortic and cervical lymphadenopathy and secondary lesions in the liver. Conclusion: Metastases to the thyroid from pancreatic carcinoma are extremely rare. A core biopsy of the lesion excluded a thyroid carcinoma and permitted the diagnosis of the primary neoplasm

A questionnaire for the assessment of violent behaviors in young couples. The Italian version of dating violence questionnaire (DVQ)

In the last years, intimate partner violence (IPV) became a relevant problem for community and for social life, particularly in young people. Its correct assessment and evaluation in the population is mandatory. Our objectives were: Confirm factor structure of Dating Violence Questionnaire (DVQ) and investigate its convergent and divergent validity. The DVQ along with other personality measures were filled by a sample of 418 university students (Females = 310) of average age of 23 y.o. (SD = 4.71). A subsample of participants (223 students) consented in being involved also in retest and filled also the Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (short form) and a brief scale for describing the behavior of the (past) partner after the breaking of the relationship (BRS). The 8-factor structure, with respect to the two other competing models, reported better fit indexes and showed significant correlations with other personality measures. Personality traits, both Neuroticism and Psychoticism, correlated with Sexual Violence, while Detachment correlated only with Neuroticism and Coercion, Humiliation and Physical Violence correlated with only Psychoticism. Extraversion did not report significant relationships with any of the 8 DVQ factors. Also the predictive validity of DVQ was satisfactory with the partner violent reaction to the break of relationship predicted positively predicted by Coercion (b = 0.22) and by Humiliation (b = 0.20) and negatively by Emotional Punishment (b = -0.18). The present results indicate a good factor structure of the questionnaire, and interesting correlations with personality traits, allowing to identify psychological aspects with a predisposing role for anti-social aggressive behaviors. Further studies will be aimed at ascertaining other possible determinants of intimate partner violence and the weight of cultural aspects

Relation of Secondhand Smoking to Mild Cognitive Impairment in Older Inpatients

Up to now, controversy still exists regarding the role of secondhand smoking (SHS) in developing cognitive impairment. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of SHS in hospitalized older patients with cognitive deficit, particularly in those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Smoking history was classified into four groups: never smokers, former-active smokers/no SHS, active smokers, and secondhand smokers, and cognitive function into three levels: normal cognition (C), MCI, and dementia. A total of 933 older subjects with diagnoses of MCI (n = 98), dementia (n = 124), or C (n = 711) were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. As expected, patients with dementia had significantly higher frequency of former-active smokers than cognitively normal. Moreover, patients with MCI showed a significantly higher frequency of active and secondhand smokers than patients with dementia or C. A smoking history is very frequent in older patients with dementia. Patients with MCI had even higher rate of exposure to active or secondhand smoking

Fatty acid profile of milk fat in goat supplemented with iodized salt

Iodine is an essential nutrient of the human and animal diet which is needed for the synthesis of the thyroid hormones. These hormones play an important role in the regulation of fat metabolism. In fact, increased thyroid hormone levels stimulate fat mobilization, leading to increased concentrations of plasma triglyceride (Nikkila and Kekki, 1972) and enhanced oxidation of fatty acids in many tissues. Recently, Bauman et al. (2006) showed the involvement of a protein called spot 14, highly responsive to thyroid hormones, in the regulation of the mammary synthesis of milk fat. However, the effects of Iodine supplementation on plasma and milk fatty acid profile in dairy animals has not been elucidated yet. The aim of this study was to evaluate if the fatty acid (FA) profile of milk changes in goats supplemented with Iodine. Thirty crossbreed dairy goats were divided into 3 groups were used and supplemented with 0 (group 0), 450 (group 1), or 900 (group 2) μg of KI/day per head. Each dose of KI (76.5% of Iodine) was orally administered in water every day for 8 weeks. Milk yield was recorded and milk samples were collected every two weeks. A total of 120 milk samples were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC). Milk yield was not influences by treatments. Milk fat content was the highest (P<0.01) in group 1 (4.65%) compared to group 0 (4.15%) and group 2 (4.17%). Iodine treatments did not influence milk fatty acid profile except for the content of some short-chain fatty acids. In particular, only the contents of C8:0 FA (2.22, 2.24 and 2.12 in groups 0, 1 and 2, respectively; P<0.01) and C10:0 (9.74, 9.49 and 9.02 in groups 0, 1 and 2, respectively; P<0.01) decreased due to supplementation with the highest dose of KI. In conclusion, in this study Iodine supplementation did not show substantial effects on goat’s milk FA profile, probably due to the low doses of KI used. Nevertheless, the observed decrease of some short-chain fatty acids, which are synthesized ex-novo by the mammary gland, in goats supplemented with the highest KI dose tested is compatible with a potential involvement of Iodine or thyroid hormones in the regulation of fat synthesis in the mammary gland

Effect of dietary oil supplementation on fatty acid profile of backfat and intramuscular fat in finishing pigs

Two groups of finishing gilts were fed, for 4 weeks, a commercial feed enriched (2%) with either rapeseed oil or sunflower oil. Pig growth was monitored bi-weekly and the fatty acid composition of backfat and Longissimus muscle was determined after slaughtering. Type of dietary oil affected significantly the fatty acid profile of pork fat, especially the C18:3n-3 concentration which was higher in pigs fed rapeseed oil than in those fed sunflower oil. The content of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) of Longissimus muscle was significantly higher than that of backfat, due to the its higher concentration of C18:1cis9 and C16:1. Differently, the long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) content was higher in backfat than in Longissimus muscle. These results confirm that it is possible to manipulate the fatty acid composition of the diet, in order to improve the health properties of the adipose tissues of pork meat

Indagini limnologiche nell\u27area antistante la Foce del Torrente San Bernardino (Sopralluogo del 2 Dicembre 2008)

No abstract availabl

Surfactant-free synthesis of pure anatase TiO2 nanorods suitable for dye-sensitized solar cells

A non-aqueous, solvothermal method was applied to the synthesis of TiO(2) nanorods in pure anatase crystal phase using Ti(IV)-isopropoxide. The use of benzyl alcohol as both solvent and reactant was investigated in combination with the addition of acetic acid to the reaction mixture. Various values of the AcOH : Ti(OiPr)(4) molar ratio were realized in the synthesis and tested in order to obtain a significant dimensional and morphological control over the resulting TiO(2) nanostructures, as well as to devise a simple and scalable synthetic protocol. On the basis of the experimental results, a substantially modified version of the well-established "benzyl alcohol route' was then designed and developed. X-ray diffractometry and transmission electron microscopy revealed that monodisperse anatase nanorods having a length of about 13-17 nm and a diameter of 5 nm can be obtained when AcOH and Ti(OiPr)(4) are reacted in comparable proportions. Investigation of the characteristic parameters of dye-sensitized solar cells fabricated using the synthesized nanorods as photoanode revealed a power conversion efficiency of about 7.5% corresponding to an improvement of 28% with respect to a commercial spheroidal nanotitania (P25) based reference device

Multifunctional bioinspired sol-gel coatings for architectural glasses

Although several multinational companies have recently released products incorporating bioinspired functional coatings, their practical integration in building envelopes is still an open issue. High production costs associated to the existing vacuum deposition technologies, as well as the difficulties in extending the number of functions achievable by a single coating, represent to date the main limitations to their diffusion on a large scale. This review summarizes the key topics in the field of functional coatings for architectural glasses, focusing in particular on the potential applications of sol-gel based antireflective and self-cleaning coatings, that have received a tremendous attention in the last years. It provides an overview of the recent research efforts aimed to improve their properties and to extend their range of applicability. The bioinspired principles, upon which such coatings are based, are also described and are related to the chemical and morphological properties of such surfaces. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved