Variabilità nel numero di paragnati in popolazioni di <i>Hediste diversicolor</i> (Polychaeta, Nereididae) del Mediterraneo occidentale

Con il presente lavoro è stata analizzata la variabilità nel numero di paragnati (dentelli chitinosi) presenti sul faringe del polichete di ambienti salmastri Hediste diversicolor. Il faringe è classicamente suddiviso in 7 zone distribuite in una cintura mascellare (I-IV) e una orale (V-VII+VIII). L'assenza di paragnati nella zona V è uno dei caratteri diagnostici di H. diversicolor. Sono stati raccolti 30 individui in ciascuna delle seguenti località: 1) Fiume Morto e 2) Coltano (Toscana nord occidentale), 3) Migliacciaru (Corsica orientale), 4) Baia di Figari (Corsica sud occidentale) e 5) Stagno di Calich (Sardegna nord occidentale). Il conteggio dei paragnati è stato effettuato allo stereomicroscopio su individui fissati in etanolo al 70%. Per tutte le zone del faringe è stata rilevata una notevole variabilità tra le popolazioni che è risultata significativa mediante ANOVA (tutti i valori di P&lt;0.001). Le due popolazioni corse sono caratterizzate da un numero di paragnati superiore rispetto alle altre e la popolazione di Migliacciaru è risultata più asimmetrica rispetto alle altre. L'ANOVA delle misure di asimmetria (|IIsx-IIdx|, |IVsx-IVdx| e |VIsx-VIdx|) ha dato differenziazione significativa tra le popolazioni solo per le zone II e IV. Data la funzione che i paragnati svolgono nell'alimentazione di H. diversicolor, le differenze osservate tra le popolazioni suggeriscono che esse sono localmente adattate a condizioni trofiche peculiari

Antagonism of the prokineticin system prevents and reverses allodynia and inflammation in a mouse model of diabetes

Neuropathic pain is a severe diabetes complication and its treatment is not satisfactory. It is associated with neuroinflammation-related events that participate in pain generation and chronicization. Prokineticins are a new family of chemokines that has emerged as critical players in immune system, inflammation and pain. We investigated the role of prokineticins and their receptors as modulators of neuropathic pain and inflammatory responses in experimental diabetes. In streptozotocin-induced-diabetes in mice, the time course expression of prokineticin and its receptors was evaluated in spinal cord and sciatic nerves, and correlated with mechanical allodynia. Spinal cord and sciatic nerve pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines were measured as protein and mRNA, and spinal cord GluR subunits expression studied. The effect of preventive and therapeutic treatment with the prokineticin receptor antagonist PC1 on behavioural and biochemical parameters was evaluated. Peripheral immune activation was assessed measuring macrophage and T-helper cytokine production. An up-regulation of the Prokineticin system was present in spinal cord and nerves of diabetic mice, and correlated with allodynia. Therapeutic PC1 reversed allodynia while preventive treatment blocked its development. PC1 normalized prokineticin levels and prevented the up-regulation of GluN2B subunits in the spinal cord. The antagonist restored the pro-/anti-inflammatory cytokine balance altered in spinal cord and nerves and also reduced peripheral immune system activation in diabetic mice, decreasing macrophage proinflammatory cytokines and the T-helper 1 phenotype. The prokineticin system contributes to altered sensitivity in diabetic neuropathy and its inhibition blocked both allodynia and inflammatory events underlying disease

Fulminant septic shock caused by Capnocytophaga canimorsus in Italy: Case report

Capnocytophaga canimorsus infection was recently recognized as a zoonosis. We report the first case of fulminant septic shock in Italy caused by this pathogen. The patient, with a history of splenectomy, died at the main hospital in Brescia with a presumptive diagnosis of sepsis. PCR and sequencing on post mortem samples confirmed C. canimorsus as a causative organism. Our purpose is to alert medical professionals to the virulence of C. canimorsus in asplenic and immunocompromised patients. Keywords: Capnocytophaga canimorsus, septic shock, PCR, sequencin

Plano Municipal da Mata Atlântica de São Paulo: Oficinas Participativas como Parte do Processo de Planejamento

In 2014, the Municipality of São Paulo started the implementation of the Atlantic Forest Municipal Plan, driven by the Atlantic Forest Law and by the revision of the Master Plan that took place in the same year. This article analyzes the process of conducting participatory workshops to identify potential priority areas for conservation and recovery of the Atlantic Forest vegetation in the city of São Paulo as part of the planning activities. The case study relied on information from documents and records, as well as direct and participant observation, collected during the preparation and execution of the workshops. The topics analyzed were: the preparation and organization of workshops, including the political and strategic contexts and communication with stakeholders; the workshops accomplishment, the participation and the results achieved, the lessons learned and the consequences for the whole planning process. Thus, on the one hand it was observed that the workshops captured important information; however, there was a limitation in the number of participants. The limitation resulted from the adoption of a tight schedule coming from the political context of the city at the time, as well as from the number of professionals available and suitable for the workshops. A positive aspect was the improvement in the method promoted between successive workshops. It is concluded that the workshops allowed aggregating the technical knowledge and the local population knowledge, what can be included in the next steps. The presented difficulties refer to obstacles to articulation with other areas of public administration and other agents.La ciudad de São Paulo comenzó, en 2014, el desarrollo del Plan Municipal de Mata Atlántica debido al incentivo de la Ley Forestal del Atlántico y la revisión del Master Plan en el mismo año. Esta investigación analiza el proceso de conducción de los talleres participativos para la identificación de posibles áreas prioritarias para la conservación y restauración de la vegetación de la Mata Atlántica en São Paulo. La investigación tiene como base un estudio de caso apoyado por información de documentos y registros, así como la observación directa y participante obtenida durante la preparación y ejecución de los talleres. Los temas tratados fueron: la preparación y organización de los talleres, incluyendo contextos políticos y estratégicos y la comunicación con las partes interesadas; los talleres, la participación y los resultados obtenidos; y las lecciones aprendidas y las implicaciones para todo el proceso de planificación. Como resultado, se observo que los talleres lograrán identificar información importante para el planeamiento; por el otro, hubo una limitación en el número de participantes en las oficinas. Esta limitación és resultado de un ajustado calendario en el contexto político de la ciudad y el reducido contingente de profesionales disponibles y aptos para los talleres. Un aspecto positivo fue la mejora en el método entre los talleres sucesivos. Se concluye que los talleres lograran añadir la experiencia y el conocimiento de la población local al proceso de planeamiento. Las dificultades identificadas se relacionan con las barreras a la cooperación con otras áreas de la administración pública y otros agentes.O município de São Paulo iniciou, em 2014, a elaboração do Plano Municipal da Mata Atlântica, impulsionado pela Lei da Mata Atlântica e pela revisão do Plano Diretor, que ocorrera no mesmo ano. Este artigo analisa o processo de condução das oficinas participativas para identificação de potenciais áreas prioritárias para conservação e recuperação da vegetação de Mata Atlântica na cidade de São Paulo, como parte do planejamento. O estudo de caso apoiou-se em informações de documentos e registros, bem como em observação direta e participante, coletadas durante a preparação e execução das oficinas. Os temas analisados foram: a preparação e organização das oficinas, incluindo o contexto político, estratégico e a comunicação com partes interessadas; a realização das oficinas, a participação e os resultados atingidos; e as lições aprendidas e consequências para o processo de planejamento como um todo. Como resultado, observou-se que as oficinas capturaram informações importantes; mas houve uma limitação no número de participantes. A limitação resultou da adoção de um cronograma apertado, fruto do contexto político da cidade na época, bem como do contingente de profissionais disponíveis e aptos para as oficinas. Um aspecto positivo foi o aprimoramento no método promovido entre oficinas sucessivas. Concluiu-se que as oficinas permitiram agregar o conhecimento técnico e os saberes da população local para sua utilização nas próximas etapas do plano. As dificuldades presentes referem-se a entraves para articulação com outras áreas da administração pública e com outros agentes para a comunicação com a comunidade

The origin of the mu_e - M_B and Kormendy relations in dwarf elliptical galaxies

The present work is aimed at studying the distribution of galaxies of different types and luminosities along different structural scaling relations to see whether massive and dwarf ellipticals have been shaped by the same formation process. This exercise is here done by comparing the distribution of Virgo cluster massive and dwarf ellipticals and star forming galaxies along the B band effective surface brightness and effective radius vs. absolute magnitude relations and the Kormendy relation to the predictions of models tracing the effects of ram-pressure stripping on disc galaxies entering the cluster environment and galaxy harassment. Dwarf ellipticals might have been formed from low luminosity, late-type spirals that recently entered into the cluster and lost their gas because of a ram-pressure stripping event, stopping their activity of star formation. The perturbations induced by the abrupt decrease of the star formation activity are sufficient to modify the structural properties of disc galaxies into those of dwarf ellipticals. Galaxy harassment induce a truncation of the disc and generally an increase of the effective surface brightness of the perturbed galaxies. The lack of dynamical simulations of perturbed galaxies spanning a wide range in luminosity prevents us to drive any firm conclusion on a possible harassment-induced origin of the low surface brightness dwarf elliptical galaxy population inhabiting the Virgo cluster. Although the observed scaling relations are consistent with the idea that the distribution of elliptical galaxies along the mentioned scaling relation is just due to a gradual variation with luminosity of the Sersic index n, the comparison with models indicates that dwarf ellipticals might have been formed by a totally different process than giant ellipticalsComment: Accepted for publication on A&

Productivity of the English National Health Service : 2016/17 update

This report updates the Centre for Health Economics’ time-series of National Health Service (NHS) productivity growth for the period 2015/16 to 2016/17 and reports trends in output, input and productivity since 2004/05. NHS productivity growth is measured by comparing the growth in outputs produced by the NHS to the growth in inputs used to produce them. NHS outputs include all the activities undertaken for NHS patients wherever they are treated in England, and also accounts for changes in the quality of care provided to those patients. NHS inputs include the number of doctors, nurses and support staff providing care, the equipment and clinical supplies used, and the facilities of hospitals and other premises where care is provided

Agreement on classification of clinical photographs of pigmentary lesions: exercise after a training course with young dermatologists.

Smartphone apps may help promoting the early diagnosis of melanoma. The reliability of specialist judgment on lesions should be assessed. Hereby, we evaluated the agreement of 6 young dermatologists, after a specific training. Clinical judgment was evaluated during 2 online sessions, 1 month apart, on a series of 45 pigmentary lesions. Lesions were classified as highly suspicious, suspicious, non-suspicious or not assessable. Cohen's and Fleiss' kappa were used to calculate intra- and inter-rater agreement. The overall intra-rater agreement was 0.42 (95% confidence interval - CI: 0.33-0.50), varying between 0.12-0.59 on single raters. The inter-rater agreement during the first phase was 0.29 (95% CI: 0.24-0.34). When considering the agreement for each category of judgment, kappa varied from 0.19 for not assessable to 0.48 for highly suspicious lesions. Similar results were obtained in the second exercise. The study showed a less than satisfactory agreement among young dermatologists. Our data point to the need for improving the reliability of the clinical diagnoses of melanoma especially when assessing small lesions and when dealing with thin melanomas at a population level