The early introduction of percutaneous renal biopsy in Italy

The early introduction of percutaneous renal biopsy in Italy.BackgroundPercutaneous renal biopsy, based on the use of an aspiration needle and the patient in the sitting position, was first described by Iversen and Brun in 1951. In 1954, Kark and Muehrcke described the use of the cutting Vim-Silverman needle on patients in the prone position, with a substantial improvement in the rate of success. The 1961 CIBA Foundation Symposium on renal biopsy marked the coming of age of this technique. During the 1950s in Italy, several individuals played a part in promoting and developing percutaneous renal biopsy. Because this pioneer work has received insufficient attention, we describe the contributions of Italians to the early introduction of this technique.MethodsThe Italian and international literature about percutaneous renal biopsy of the period 1951 through 1965 was reviewed. In addition, structured interviews with surviving members of the Italian researchers who first used renal biopsy were conducted.ResultsThe first renal biopsies in Italy were performed in 1951 in Pisa by the group of Ernico Fiaschi (1913–1989). In their hands, renal biopsy became a tool to investigate the pathogenesis of renal diseases in particular, while simultaneously using the early application of immunofluorescence and electron microscopy. In 1954, Pietro Leonardi (1914–1991) and Arturo Ruol (born 1924) introduced renal biopsy in Padova; they used this technique extensively and published one of the first monographs on the subject. In 1957, Vittorio Bonomini (born 1928) introduced renal biopsy in Bologna, and in subsequent years used this technique to focus on the study of pyelonephritis.ConclusionsOur historical research shows that Italian groups were among the first to use and develop percutaneous renal biopsy both as a clinical tool and an investigative tool. This article gives international credit to their work

Lupus nephritis: Correlation of interstitial cells with glomerular function

Lupus nephritis: Correlation of interstitial cells with glomerular function. Mononuclear inflammatory cells were studied using monoclonal antibodies in the interstitium and glomeruli of 35 renal biopsy specimens from patients with lupus nephritis already taking immunosuppressants. The aims of this study were to assess the composition and significance of the infiltrate, and to assess correlations with immediate glomerular function and ability to predict the future course of the disease. The majority of interstitial cells were T lymphocytes and monocytes/macrophages. The number of interstitial CD4 +ve T helper/ inducer lymphocytes was greater than that of CD8 +ve T cytotoxic/ suppressor cells in only 19 out of 35 biopsies, the mean CD4:CD8 ratio being only 1.5 ± 1.2. NK cells and B lymphocytes were a minor component only. Some expression of IL-2, transferrin and C3b receptors was seen on interstitial cells, but HLA-DR expressing cells were much in excess of controls and the number of tubular cells expressing HLA-DR was also increased. The number of interstitial T cells, CD4 +ve cells and monocytes/macrophages was highly correlated with the extent of chronic damage judged by optical microscopy. There was also an association between glomerular function at biopsy and numbers of interstitial T cells, CD8 +ve cells, monocytes/macrophages and DR expressing cells. Subsequent decline in renal function, however, was associated only with numbers of monocytes/macrophages and the rather small number of C3b receptor-positive cells. The presence of tubulointerstitial immune aggregates of Ig and/or C in 63% of patients was associated with greater numbers of NK cells. As previously described, the degree of renal function at biopsy correlated with a chronicity index based on optical microscopy. No correlations were found between numbers or types (mostly monocyte/macrophages) of intraglomerular leukocytes and clinical or biopsy features, except that more proliferative types showed greater leukocyte numbers. One hypothesis consistent with our findings is that interstitial T cells and monocytes may be important determinants of pathogenesis and progression of lupus nephritis. While several mechanisms may play an initial role, interstitial monocytes may be the major factor in chronic injury

A review of data on abundance, trends in abundance, habitat use and diet of ice-breeding seals in the Southern Ocean

The development of models of marine ecosystems in the Southern Ocean is becoming increasingly important as a means of understanding and managing impacts such as exploitation and climate change. Collating data from disparate sources, and understanding biases or uncertainties inherent in those data, are important first steps for improving ecosystem models. This review focuses on seals that breed in ice habitats of the Southern Ocean (i.e. crabeater seal, Lobodon carcinophaga; Ross seal, Ommatophoca rossii; leopard seal, Hydrurga leptonyx; and Weddell seal, Leptonychotes weddellii). Data on populations (abundance and trends in abundance), distribution and habitat use (movement, key habitat and environmental features) and foraging (diet) are summarised, and potential biases and uncertainties inherent in those data are identified and discussed. Spatial and temporal gaps in knowledge of the populations, habitats and diet of each species are also identified

Negative experimental evidence for magneto-orbital dichroism - supplemental information

A light beam can carry both spin angular momentum (SAM) and orbital angular momentum (OAM). SAM is commonly evidenced by circular dichroism (CD) experiments {\em i. e.} differential absorption of left and right-handed circularly polarized light. Recent experiments, supported by theoretical work, indicate that the corresponding effect with OAM instead of SAM is not observed in chiral matter. Isotropic materials can show CD when subjected to a magnetic field (MCD). In Ref. ~\onlinecite{Mathevet2012} we report a set of experiments, under well defined conditions, searching for magnetic orbital dichroism (MOD), differential absorption of light as a function of the sign of its OAM. We experimentally demonstrate that this effect, if any, is smaller than a few $10^{-4}$ of MCD for the Nd:YAG $^4I_{9/2}\rightarrow^4F_{5/2}$ transition. This transition is essentially of electric dipole nature. We give an intuitive argument suggesting that the lowest order of light matter interaction leading to MOD is the electric quadrupole term. We give here more experimental details and extra measurements.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures. Supplemental material for a publication in Optics Expres

Integrating robotics into wildlife conservation: testing improvements to predator deterrents through movement

Background Agricultural and pastoral landscapes can provide important habitat for wildlife conservation, but sharing these landscapes with wildlife can create conflict that is costly and requires managing. Livestock predation is a good example of the challenges involving coexistence with wildlife across shared landscapes. Integrating new technology into agricultural practices could help minimize human-wildlife conflict. In this study, we used concepts from the fields of robotics (i.e., automated movement and adaptiveness) and agricultural practices (i.e., managing livestock risk to predation) to explore how integration of these concepts could aid the development of more effective predator deterrents. Methods We used a colony of captive coyotes as a model system, and simulated predation events with meat baits inside and outside of protected zones. Inside the protected zones we used a remote-controlled vehicle with a state-of-the art, commercially available predator deterrent (i.e., Foxlight) mounted on the top and used this to test three treatments: (1) light only (i.e., without movement or adaptiveness), (2) predetermined movement (i.e., with movement and without adaptiveness), and (3) adaptive movement (i.e., with both movement and adaptiveness). We measured the time it took for coyotes to eat the baits and analyzed the data with a time-to-event survival strategy. Results Survival of baits was consistently higher inside the protected zone, and the three movement treatments incrementally increased survival time over baseline except for the light only treatment in the nonprotected zone. Incorporating predetermined movement essentially doubled the efficacy of the light only treatment both inside and outside the protected zone. Incorporating adaptive movement exponentially increased survival time both inside and outside the protected zone. Our findings provide compelling evidence that incorporating existing robotics capabilities (predetermined and adaptive movement) could greatly enhance protection of agricultural resources and aid in the development of nonlethal tools for managing wildlife. Our findings also demonstrate the importance of marrying agricultural practices (e.g., spatial management of livestock at night) with new technology to improve the efficacy of wildlife deterrents

A coupled terrestrial and aquatic biogeophysical model of the Upper Merrimack River watershed, New Hampshire, to inform ecosystem services evaluation and management under climate and land-cover change

Accurate quantification of ecosystem services (ES) at regional scales is increasingly important for making informed decisions in the face of environmental change. We linked terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem process models to simulate the spatial and temporal distribution of hydrological and water quality characteristics related to ecosystem services. The linked model integrates two existing models (a forest ecosystem model and a river network model) to establish consistent responses to changing drivers across climate, terrestrial, and aquatic domains. The linked model is spatially distributed, accounts for terrestrial–aquatic and upstream–downstream linkages, and operates on a daily time-step, all characteristics needed to understand regional responses. The model was applied to the diverse landscapes of the Upper Merrimack River watershed, New Hampshire, USA. Potential changes in future environmental functions were evaluated using statistically downscaled global climate model simulations (both a high and low emission scenario) coupled with scenarios of changing land cover (centralized vs. dispersed land development) for the time period of 1980–2099. Projections of climate, land cover, and water quality were translated into a suite of environmental indicators that represent conditions relevant to important ecosystem services and were designed to be readily understood by the public. Model projections show that climate will have a greater influence on future aquatic ecosystem services (flooding, drinking water, fish habitat, and nitrogen export) than plausible changes in land cover. Minimal changes in aquatic environmental indicators are predicted through 2050, after which the high emissions scenarios show intensifying impacts. The spatially distributed modeling approach indicates that heavily populated portions of the watershed will show the strongest responses. Management of land cover could attenuate some of the changes associated with climate change and should be considered in future planning for the region