Fish survey in Angitola lake: in field non-invasive evaluation of weight

The Angitola FISH2O project, granted by Calabria FEP 2007-13 (Code 02/BA/12), aim to survey biodiversity in aquatic ecosystems, in which fishes should represent the main trophic resource within the various food chains relative to the Angitola lake. The final objective is to obtain a monitoring of various species by means of non-invasive techniques. According to Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC), capturing and manipulations of animals were minimized, and the subjects captured were promptly released. Two areas, unequivocally identified by GPS coordinate, were selected at 4 and 10 meters of depths, in which fishing nets1 were positioned. Captured fishes were all manipulated as follows: 1) removed by nets by cutting wires and minimizing stress; 2) placed in basins filled with water; 3) weighted, with an electronic scale, and measured; 4) photographed; 5) clinically evaluated; 6) released as soon as possible. The dead subjects (n=28) were preserved in a portable fridge; they belonged to the following species: Carassius carassius (n=10), Perca fluviatilis (n=8), and Squalius cephalus (n=10). Data collected allowed developing a linear relation between length and weight. The resulting prediction equations and the correlation coefficients (r2) are summarized in table 1. Such equations are intended to have the precision reported only in the species and the sizes described. Even if a more accurate method, which might include all three dimensions of fishes, should be analyzed, accuracy of this method, proved by the high values of r2 is fully acceptable not only in common species but even more in vulnerable and endangered species

Liver Cirrhosis Patients Homozygous for MTHFR C677T Develop Portal Vein Thrombosis 8 Years Earlier Than Wild Type

Background and Aim Age at portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in liver cirrhosis (LC) carriers of the methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) rs1801133 (C -> T667 transition) polymorphism has never been addressed; we compared age at PVT in LC patients genotyped for the MTHFR and explored the interrelated clinical and laboratory factors predicting age at PVT. Approach and Results Retrospective cross-sectional cohort study. PVT participants: MTHFR CC n = 36, MTHFR CT n = 53, MTHFR TT n = 19; age, sex, age at PVT, Child-Pugh score, rs1799963 PT polymorphisms (G -> A 20,210 transition), plasma HC and natural anticoagulants available for all participants. Age at PVT was lower in MTHFR TT than CT and CC (56 +/- 13 vs. 57 +/- 13 vs. 64 +/- 9 years, p = 0.001); median (IQR) plasma HC was higher in MTHFR TT than in the other groups [(17 (9.4, 23.3) vs 13 (8,14.7) vs 11 (8.9, 12.7) mu mol/l, p = 0.03)]. MTHFR TT, male gender and protein C predicted age at PVT (p = 0.02, p = 0.04 and p = 0.08); MTHFR TT and Child-Pugh score predicted plasma HC (p = 0.005 and p = 0.01) as well as low plasma protein C (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.0002). Plasma HC inversely related to protein C in the MTHFR TT group (p < 0.0001). Compound MTHFR TT with PT GA had lower age at PVT compared to MTHFR TT alone (49 +/- 18 vs 58 +/- 12 years). Conclusions MTHFR TT anticipates PVT associated with LC by an average of 8 years; MTHFR TT associates with severity of liver disease and to high plasma HC; the latter may contribute to the prematurity of PVT by interfering with the anticoagulant activity of protein C

Right limbic FDG-PET hypometabolism correlates with emotion recognition and attribution in probable behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia patients

The behavioural variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) is a rare disease mainly affecting the social brain. FDG-PET fronto-temporal hypometabolism is a supportive feature for the diagnosis. It may also provide specific functional metabolic signatures for altered socio-emotional processing. In this study, we evaluated the emotion recognition and attribution deficits and FDG-PET cerebral metabolic patterns at the group and individual levels in a sample of sporadic bvFTD patients, exploring the cognitive-functional correlations. Seventeen probable mild bvFTD patients (10 male and 7 female; age 67.8±9.9) were administered standardized and validated version of social cognition tasks assessing the recognition of basic emotions and the attribution of emotions and intentions (i.e., Ekman 60-Faces test-Ek60F and Story-based Empathy task-SET). FDG-PET was analysed using an optimized voxel-based SPM method at the single-subject and group levels. Severe deficits of emotion recognition and processing characterized the bvFTD condition. At the group level, metabolic dysfunction in the right amygdala, temporal pole, and middle cingulate cortex was highly correlated to the emotional recognition and attribution performances. At the single-subject level, however, heterogeneous impairments of social cognition tasks emerged, and different metabolic patterns, involving limbic structures and prefrontal cortices, were also observed. The derangement of a right limbic network is associated with altered socio-emotional processing in bvFTD patients, but different hypometabolic FDG-PET patterns and heterogeneous performances on social tasks at an individual level exist

Different FDG-PET metabolic patterns at single-subject level in the behavioral variant of fronto-temporal dementia.

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of probable behavioral variant of fronto-temporal dementia (bvFTD) according to current criteria requires the imaging evidence of frontal and/or anterior temporal atrophy or hypoperfusion/hypometabolism. Different variants of this pattern of brain involvement may, however, be found in individual cases, supporting the presence of heterogeneous phenotypes. OBJECTIVE: We examined in a case-by-case approach the FDG-PET metabolic patterns of patients fulfilling clinical criteria for probable bvFTD, assessing the presence and frequency of specific FDG-PET features. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty two FDG-PET scans of probable bvFTD patients were retrospectively analyzed together with clinical and neuropsychological data. Neuroimaging experts rated the FDG-PET hypometabolism maps obtained at the single-subject level with optimized voxel-based Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM). The functional metabolic heterogeneity was further tested by hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis (PCA). RESULTS: Both the SPM maps and cluster analysis identified two major variants of cerebral hypometabolism, namely the "frontal" and the "temporo-limbic", which were correlated with different cognitive profiles. Executive and language deficits were the cognitive hallmark in the "frontal" subgroup, while poor encoding and recall on long-term memory tasks was typical of the "temporo-limbic" subgroup. DISCUSSION: SPM single-subject analysis indicates distinct patterns of brain dysfunction in bvFTD, coupled with specific clinical features, suggesting different profiles of neurodegenerative vulnerability. These findings have important implications for the early diagnosis of bvFTD and for the application of the recent international consensus criteria

Composition and biodiversity of soil and root-associated microbiome in Vitis vinifera cultivar Lambrusco distinguish the microbial terroir of the Lambrusco DOC protected designation of origin area on a local scale

Introduction Wines produced from the same grape cultivars but in different locations possess distinctive qualities leading to different consumer's appreciation, preferences, and thus purchase choices. Here, we explore the possible importance of microbiomes at the soil-plant interface as a determinant of the terroir properties in grapevine production, which confer specific growth performances and wine chemo-sensory properties at the local scale. MethodsIn particular, we investigated the variation in microbial communities associated with the roots of Vitis vinifera cultivar Lambrusco, as well as with surrounding bulk soils, in different vineyards across the "Consorzio Tutela Lambrusco DOC" protected designation of origin area (PDO, Emilia Romagna, Italy), considering viticultural sites located both inside and outside the consortium in two different seasons (June and November 2021). ResultsAccording to our findings, rhizospheric and soil microbiomes show significant structural differences in relation to the sampling site, regardless of seasonality, while endophytic microbiomes seem to be completely unaffected by such variables. Furthermore, a deeper insight into the microbial terroir of PDO areas highlighted the presence of some rhizospheric microorganisms enriched inside the consortium and characterizing the PDO regardless of both sampling season and farming strategy. These include Bacillus, Paenibacillus, and Azospirillum, which are all well-known plant growth-promoting bacteria. DiscussionTaken together, our results suggest a connection between soil and root microbiomes of V. vinifera cultivar Lambrusco and the local designation of origin, emphasizing the potential role of PDO-enriched plant growth-promoting bacteria in vine growing and final quality of the Lambrusco DOC wine

perceived social support and clinical symptomatology in italian university students

Social support can influence the perceptions of individual and social well-being for university students. We sought to verify whether the perceptions of social support correlate with the manifestation of clinical symptoms in young university students. A total of 26 participants, 58% female and 42% male, between the ages of 19 and 27 were included. The following tests were administered: SCL-90-R – scale for the self-evaluation of general psychopathology and MSPSS – self-assessment scale for the perception of social support. The students who perceived low levels of social support had high levels of clinical symptomatology (especially for internalised disorders). The index for a high intensity of symptoms Positive Symptom Total is correlated with a low level of perceived social support. Keywords: Clinical symptomatology, perceived social support, university students

Antiphospholipid Antibodies and Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction. The Multicenter ATHERO-APS Study

The prevalence of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is unknown. A prospective multicenter cohort study including 125 patients was conducted: 91 primary APS (PAPS), 18 APS-SLE, and 16 carriers. HFpEF was diagnosed according to the 2019 European Society of Cardiology criteria: patients with ≥5 points among major and minor functional and morphological criteria including NT-ProBNP > 220 pg/mL, left atrial (LA) enlargement, increased left ventricular filling pressure. Overall, 18 (14.4%) patients were diagnosed with HFpEF; this prevalence increased from 6.3% in carriers to 13.2% in PAPS and 27.8% in APS-SLE. Patients with HFpEF were older and with a higher prevalence of hypertension and previous arterial events. At logistic regression analysis, age, arterial hypertension, anticardiolipin antibodies IgG > 40 GPL (odds ratio (OR) 3.43, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.09-10.77, p = 0.035), anti β-2-glycoprotein-I IgG > 40 GPL (OR 5.28, 1.53-18.27, p = 0.009), lupus anticoagulants DRVVT > 1.25 (OR 5.20, 95% CI 1.10-24.68, p = 0.038), and triple positivity (OR 3.56, 95% CI 1.11-11.47, p = 0.033) were associated with HFpEF after adjustment for age and sex. By multivariate analysis, hypertension (OR 19.49, 95% CI 2.21-171.94, p = 0.008), age (OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.00-1.14, p = 0.044), and aβ2GPI IgG > 40 GPL (OR 8.62, 95% CI 1.23-60.44, p = 0.030) were associated with HFpEF. HFpEF is detectable in a relevant proportion of APS patients. The role of aPL in the pathogenesis and prognosis of HFpEF needs further investigation