Gender-differences of in vitro colonic motility after chemo- and radiotherapy in humans.

Background: The aim of the present in vitro study was to investigate, in different genders, motor responses in surgical colonic specimens from patients with rectal cancer undergoing and not undergoing chemotherapy with capecitabine and radiotherapy. Methods: This in vitro study was conducted from October 2015 to August 2017 at the Experimental Pharmacology Laboratory at the National Institute “S. de Bellis” after collecting samples at the Department of Surgery. Segments of sigmoid colon were obtained from 15 patients (Male (M)/Female (F) = 8/7; control group, CG) operated on for elective colorectal resection for rectal cancer without obstruction and 14 patients (M/F = 7/7; study group, SG) operated on for elective colorectal resection for rectal cancer who also received chemotherapy, based on capecitabine twice daily, and radiotherapy. Isometric tension was measured on colonic circular muscle strips exposed to increasing carbachol or histamine concentrations to obtain concentration-response curves. The motor responses to electrically evoked stimulation were also investigated. Results: In males, carbachol and histamine caused concentration-dependent contractions in the CG and SG. An increased sensitivity and a higher response to carbachol and histamine were observed in SG than CG (P < 0.01). On the contrary, in females, the response to carbachol was not significantly different in CG from the SG and the maximal responses to carbachol were greater in CG than in SG (P < 0.001). The same applied to histamine for half-maximal effective concentrations and maximal response in that they were not significantly different in CG from the SG. Electrically evoked contractions were significantly more pronounced in males, especially in the SG (P < 0.05). Conclusions: This preliminary in vitro study has shown gender differences in motor responses of colonic circular muscle strips in patients who had received chemotherapy with capecitabine and radiotherapy

Germline-Focused Analysis of Tumour-Only Sequencing: Recommendations from the ESMO Precision Medicine Working Group.

It is increasingly common in oncology practice to perform tumour sequencing using large cancer panels. For pathogenic sequence variants in cancer susceptibility genes identified on tumour-only sequencing, it is often unclear whether they are of somatic or constitutional (germline) origin. There is wide-spread disparity regarding both the extent to which systematic 'germline-focused analysis' is performed upon tumour sequencing data and for which variants follow-up analysis of a germline sample is performed. Here we present analyses of paired sequencing data from 17,152 cancer samples, in which 1494 pathogenic sequence variants were identified across 65 cancer susceptibility genes. From these analyses, the European Society of Medical Oncology Precision Medicine Working Group Germline Subgroup have generated (i) recommendations regarding germline-focused analyses of tumour-only sequencing data, (ii) indications for germline follow-up testing and (iii) guidance on patient information-giving and consent

Dietary analysis of two sympatric marine turtle species in the eastern Mediterranean

This is the final version. Available from Springer via the DOI in this record. Data and any available visuals, such as figures and tables, will be provided upon reasonable request to the corresponding author. Any codes created to assist in data analysis and/or any software application utilised in the current study will be provided upon reasonable request submitted to the corresponding author.Dietary studies provide key insights into threats and changes within ecosystems and subsequent impacts on focal species. Diet is particularly challenging to study within marine environments and therefore is often poorly understood. Here, we examined the diet of stranded and bycaught loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in North Cyprus (35.33° N, 33.47° E) between 2011 and 2019. A total of 129 taxa were recorded in the diet of loggerhead turtles (n = 45), which were predominantly carnivorous (on average 72.1% of dietary biomass), foraging on a large variety of invertebrates, macroalgae, seagrasses and bony fish in low frequencies. Despite this opportunistic foraging strategy, one species was particularly dominant, the sponge Chondrosia reniformis (21.5%). Consumption of this sponge decreased with increasing turtle size. A greater degree of herbivory was found in green turtles (n = 40) which predominantly consumed seagrasses and macroalgae (88.8%) with a total of 101 taxa recorded. The most dominant species was a Lessepsian invasive seagrass, Halophila stipulacea (31.1%). This is the highest percentage recorded for this species in green turtle diet in the Mediterranean thus far. With increasing turtle size, the percentage of seagrass consumed increased with a concomitant decrease in macroalgae. Seagrass was consumed year-round. Omnivory occurred in all green turtle size classes but reduced in larger turtles (> 75 cm CCL) suggesting a slow ontogenetic dietary shift. Macroplastic ingestion was more common in green (31.6% of individuals) than loggerhead turtles (5.7%). This study provides the most complete dietary list for marine turtles in the eastern Mediterranean.European CommissionErwin Warth FoundationKarşıyaka Turtle WatchAngela WadsworthMaureen and Tony HutchinsonKuzey Kıbrıs TurkcellMAVA FoundationNatural Environment Research Council (NERC)University of Exete

Evaluating the effect of biochar addition on the anaerobic digestion of swine manure: application of Py-GC/MS

The anaerobic digestion process of swine manure was studied when char was used as supplement for improving performance. The use of pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) was proposed for assessing the organic matter degradation. The assessment on biogas production was carried out using samples of swine manure (SM) supplemented with char in one case and pre-treated by microwave irradiation in the other. This experimental set-up allows for the comparison of the biological degradation observed under these two different configurations and therefore aids in understanding the effect of char particles on the process. Results showed similar performance for both systems, with an average improvement of 39% being obtained in methane production when compared to the single digestion of SM. The analysis of digestate samples by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Py-GC/MS showed improved degradation of proteins, with the Py-GC/MS technique also capable of identifying an increase in microbial-derived material when char was added, therefore highlighting the relevant role of carbon conductive particles on biological systems. Py-GC/MS along with the use of FTIR spectroscopy has proven to be useful tools when evaluating anaerobic digestion

Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccination during Pregnancy and Effects in Infants.

BACKGROUND: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the dominant cause of severe lower respiratory tract infection in infants, with the most severe cases concentrated among younger infants. METHODS: Healthy pregnant women, at 28 weeks 0 days through 36 weeks 0 days of gestation, with an expected delivery date near the start of the RSV season, were randomly assigned in an overall ratio of approximately 2:1 to receive a single intramuscular dose of RSV fusion (F) protein nanoparticle vaccine or placebo. Infants were followed for 180 days to assess outcomes related to lower respiratory tract infection and for 364 days to assess safety. The primary end point was RSV-associated, medically significant lower respiratory tract infection up to 90 days of life, and the primary analysis of vaccine efficacy against the primary end point was performed in the per-protocol population of infants (prespecified criterion for success, lower bound of the 97.52% confidence interval [CI] of ≥30%). RESULTS: A total of 4636 women underwent randomization, and there were 4579 live births. During the first 90 days of life, the percentage of infants with RSV-associated, medically significant lower respiratory tract infection was 1.5% in the vaccine group and 2.4% in the placebo group (vaccine efficacy, 39.4%; 97.52% CI, -1.0 to 63.7; 95% CI, 5.3 to 61.2). The corresponding percentages for RSV-associated lower respiratory tract infection with severe hypoxemia were 0.5% and 1.0% (vaccine efficacy, 48.3%; 95% CI, -8.2 to 75.3), and the percentages for hospitalization for RSV-associated lower respiratory tract infection were 2.1% and 3.7% (vaccine efficacy, 44.4%; 95% CI, 19.6 to 61.5). Local injection-site reactions among the women were more common with vaccine than with placebo (40.7% vs. 9.9%), but the percentages of participants who had other adverse events were similar in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: RSV F protein nanoparticle vaccination in pregnant women did not meet the prespecified success criterion for efficacy against RSV-associated, medically significant lower respiratory tract infection in infants up to 90 days of life. The suggestion of a possible benefit with respect to other end-point events involving RSV-associated respiratory disease in infants warrants further study. (Funded by Novavax and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02624947.)

Harmful Elements in Estuarine and Coastal Systems

Estuaries and coastal zones are dynamic transitional systems which provide many economic and ecological benefits to humans, but also are an ideal habitat for other organisms as well. These areas are becoming contaminated by various anthropogenic activities due to a quick economic growth and urbanization. This chapter explores the sources, chemical speciation, sediment accumulation and removal mechanisms of the harmful elements in estuarine and coastal seawaters. It also describes the effects of toxic elements on aquatic flora and fauna. Finally, the toxic element pollution of the Venice Lagoon, a transitional water body located in the northeastern part of Italy, is discussed as a case study, by presenting the procedures adopted to measure the extent of the pollution, the impacts on organisms and the restoration activities

Germline-focused analysis of tumour-detected variants in 49,264 cancer patients: ESMO Precision Medicine Working Group recommendations.

BACKGROUND: The European Society for Medical Oncology Precision Medicine Working Group (ESMO PMWG) was reconvened to update its 2018/19 recommendations on follow-up of putative germline variants detected on tumour-only sequencing, which were based on an analysis of 17 152 cancers. METHODS: We analysed an expanded dataset including 49 264 paired tumour-normal samples. We applied filters to tumour-detected variants based on variant allele frequency, predicted pathogenicity and population variant frequency. For 58 cancer-susceptibility genes, we then examined the proportion of filtered tumour-detected variants of true germline origin [germline conversion rate (GCR)]. We conducted subanalyses based on the age of cancer diagnosis, specific tumour types and 'on-tumour' status (established tumour-gene association). RESULTS: Analysis of 45 472 nonhypermutated solid malignancy tumour samples yielded 21 351 filtered tumour-detected variants of which 3515 were of true germline origin. 3.1% of true germline pathogenic variants were absent from the filtered tumour-detected variants. For genes such as BRCA1, BRCA2 and PALB2, the GCR in filtered tumour-detected variants was >80%; conversely for TP53, APC and STK11 this GCR was <2%. CONCLUSION: Strategic germline-focused analysis can prioritise a subset of tumour-detected variants for which germline follow-up will produce the highest yield of most actionable true germline variants. We present updated recommendations around germline follow-up of tumour-only sequencing including (i) revision to 5% for the minimum per-gene GCR, (ii) inclusion of actionable intermediate penetrance genes ATM and CHEK2, (iii) definition of a set of seven 'most actionable' cancer-susceptibility genes (BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2, MLH1, MSH2, MSH6 and RET) in which germline follow-up is recommended regardless of tumour type