The Pandora’s box: Morphological diversity within the genus Amphiglena Claparède, 1864 (Sabellidae, Annelida) in the Mediterranean Sea, with description of nine new species

in the Mediterranean Sea has been widely underestimated. Examined material derived from both new collections along the Italian coast, including four CO2 vents/hydrothermal systems, and from a re-examination of older material previously attributed to A. mediterranera (Leydig, 1851) which was so far the only species of the genus reported for the Mediterranean area. The analysis revealed the presence of different taxa also consistent with a previous molecular analysis conducted on material from the Gulf of Naples and the Salento coast (Ionian Sea). This led to an increase in the number of species in the genus and to highlight the occurrence in the Mediterranean Sea of a high diversity within the genus. A key to the Mediterranean Sea species of Amphiglena is also provided. Some taxa, however, remain for the moment undescribed due to the poor preservation of the old material, and the lack of the type material for this taxon. A major revision of all the Mediterranean material previously attributed to A. mediterranea from both morphological and molecular points of view is needed

. Ecological role and phylogenetic position of a new habitat-forming species (Canalipalpata, Sabellidae) from the Mediterranean mesophotic soft-bottoms

This study presents a description of Bispira riccardi sp. nov., a new habitat-forming sabellid polychaete from the mesophotic NW Mediterranean Sea. Individuals, up to 20 cm long, show a peculiar morphology of radioles, thoracic uncini, companion chaetae and ventral shield of the collar. The phylogenetic position of this new taxon in the genus Bispira has been validated using nuclear (18S rRNA) and mitochondrial (COI) markers. Aggregations of B. riccardi sp. nov. were found by ROV on horizontal muddy bottoms between 56 and 85 m, in areas subjected to high trophic inputs. Patches are fragmented and dense (up to 943 individuals m 2) probably accounting for various hectares. A 5-days continuous monitoring, carried out using an autonomous lander, revealed that the contraction of the branchial crown was positively affected by temperature and current, rapidly responding to meteorological events. The filtering activity and high density of these fields suggest a considerable impact on the pelagic-benthic coupling and the amount of organic matter in the sediments. Indeed, meiofaunal abundance and diversity within the aggregations resulted significantly higher than in outer stations. These findings highlight the undisclosed potential of the deep Mediterranean Sea for sabellid diversity and their importance as habitat-forming species on mesophotic soft bottoms

Personalizing Cancer Pain Therapy: Insights from the Rational Use of Analgesics (RUA) Group

Introduction: A previous Delphi survey from the Rational Use of Analgesics (RUA) project involving Italian palliative care specialists revealed some discrepancies between current guidelines and clinical practice with a lack of consensus on items regarding the use of strong opioids in treating cancer pain. Those results represented the basis for a new Delphi study addressing a better approach to pain treatment in patients with cancer. Methods: The study consisted of a two-round multidisciplinary Delphi study. Specialists rated their agreement with a set of 17 statements using a 5-point Likert scale (0 = totally disagree and 4 = totally agree). Consensus on a statement was achieved if the median consensus score (MCS) (expressed as value at which at least 50% of participants agreed) was at least 4 and the interquartile range (IQR) was 3–4. Results: This survey included input from 186 palliative care specialists representing all Italian territory. Consensus was reached on seven statements. More than 70% of participants agreed with the use of low dose of strong opioids in moderate pain treatment and valued transdermal route as an effective option when the oral route is not available. There was strong consensus on the importance of knowing opioid pharmacokinetics for therapy personalization and on identifying immediate-release opioids as key for tailoring therapy to patients’ needs. Limited agreement was reached on items regarding breakthrough pain and the management of opioid-induced bowel dysfunction. Conclusion: These findings may assist clinicians in applying clinical evidence to routine care settings and call for a reappraisal of current pain treatment recommendations with the final aim of optimizing the clinical use of strong opioids in patients with cancer

New combinations of two Pseudobranchiomma species (Annelida: Sabellidae): The difficulty in establishing a boundary layer among genera within the Sabellinae

Due to the presence of companion chaetae on the thoracic notopodia, a feature unnoticed on the material of the original description, the species Pseudobranchiomma tarantoensis (Knight-Jones ; Giangrande, 2003) and P. marmarensis (cinar ; Gi-angrande, 2018) are here transferred to different genera; the former to the genus Sabella Linnaeus, 1767 and the latter to Bispira Kroyer, 1856. A discussion on the boundary existing among the genera belonging to the clade Sabellinae is made, underlying the importance of the thoracic uncini shape, which shows consistency with species separation from a molecular point of view

Doctors commitment and long-term effectiveness for cost containment policies: lesson learned from biosimilar drugs

Agency is a pervasive feature of the health care market, with doctors acting as agents for both patients and the health care system. In a context of scarce resources, doctors are required to take opportunity cost into account when prescribing treatments, while cost containment policies cannot overlook their active role in determining health care resource allocation. This paper addresses this issue, investigating the effects of cost containment measures in the market of biosimilar drugs that represent a viable and cost-saving strategy for the reduction of health care expenditure. The analysis focuses on a particular region in Italy, where several timely policies to incentivize biosimilar prescribing were launched

Perspectives for Exploitation of <i>Sabella spallanzanii</i>’s Biomass as a New Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) By-Product: Feeding Trial on <i>Amphiprion ocellaris</i> Using Sabella Meal

This paper is part of a series of studies aimed at understanding the potential exploitation of the biomass of the polychaete worm Sabella spallanzanii (Gmelin, 1791), which is obtained as a by-product of an innovative Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) system. IMTA systems are designed according to an ecosystem approach with the aim to reduce marine monoculture impact while further increasing production via exploitation of valuable by-products. S. spallanzanii can remove large amounts of suspended matter by filtering large volumes of water per hour and performs well as an extractive organism under IMTA; however, it currently lacks any economic value, thus hindering its sustainable large-scale implementation. However, S. spallazanii has the potential to become competitive as a newcomer in fish bait, as an ornamental organism, and in fish feed markets. Notably, sabella meal has already been successfully tested as an attractant in an innovative fish feed. Here, we refer to the use of sabella meal as the main component (60%) in the formulation of a novel aquarium fish feed. Following the biochemical analysis of farmed sabella meal, the experimental feed was formulated by adding spirulina (25%) and dry garlic (15%) in such proportion as to be isoproteic and isoenergetic to the commercial control feed. After preliminary observations of the palatability of sabella meal for several tropical fish species, the novel experimental feed was tested on ocellaris clownfish, Amphiprion ocellaris (Cuvier, 1830), by evaluating their growth response in a 70-day feeding trial. The fish seemed to enjoy the experimental feed at least as much as the control, and both the control and treatment groups showed no significant differences in weight gain (p = 0.46), specific growth rate (p = 0.76), and feed conversion ratio (p = 0.48), reinforcing the suitability of S. spallanzanii as a viable source of animal proteins to be employed in the fish feed industry in a circular economy perspective

High-Resolution Analysis of Mononuclear Phagocytes Reveals GPNMB as a Prognostic Marker in Human Colorectal Liver Metastasis

Patients with colorectal liver metastasis (CLM) present with heterogenous clinical outcomes and improved classification is needed to ameliorate the therapeutic output. Macrophages (Mϕ) hold promise as prognostic classifiers and therapeutic targets. Here, stemming from a single-cell analysis of mononuclear phagocytes infiltrating human CLM, we identified two Mϕ markers associated with distinct populations with opposite clinical relevance. The invasive margin of CLM was enriched in pro-inflammatory monocyte-derived Mϕ (MoMϕ) expressing the monocytic marker SERPINB2, and a more differentiated population, tumor-associated Mϕ (TAM), expressing glycoprotein nonmetastatic melanoma protein B (GPNMB). SERPINB2+ MoMϕ had an early inflammatory profile, whereas GPNMB+ TAMs were enriched in pathways of matrix degradation, angiogenesis, and lipid metabolism and were found closer to the tumor margin, as confirmed by spatial transcriptomics on CLM specimens. In a cohort of patients, a high infiltration of SERPINB2+ cells independently associated with longer disease-free survival (DFS; P = 0.033), whereas a high density of GPNMB+ cells correlated with shorter DFS (P = 0.012) and overall survival (P = 0.002). Cell–cell interaction analysis defined opposing roles for MoMϕ and TAMs, suggesting that SERPINB2+ and GPNMB+ cells are discrete populations of Mϕ and may be exploited for further translation to an immune-based stratification tool. This study provides evidence of how multi-omics approaches can identify nonredundant, clinically relevant markers for further translation to immune-based patient stratification tools and therapeutic targets. GPNMB has been shown to set Mϕ in an immunosuppressive mode. Our high dimensional analyses provide further evidence that GPNMB is a negative prognostic indicator and a potential player in the protumor function of Mϕ populations

Recent progress in L-H transition studies at JET: Tritium, Helium, Hydrogen and Deuterium

We present an overview of results from a series of L-II transition experiments undertaken at JET since the installation of the ITER-like-wall (JET-ILW), with beryllium wall tiles and a tungsten divertor. Tritium, helium and deuterium plasmas have been investigated. Initial results in tritium show ohmic L-H transitions at low density and the power threshold for the L-H transition (P-LH) is lower in tritium plasmas than in deuterium ones at low densities, while we still lack contrasted data to provide a scaling at high densities. In helium plasmas there is a notable shift of the density at which the power threshold is minimum ((n) over bar (e,min)) to higher values relative to deuterium and hydrogen references. Above (n) over bar (e,min) (He) the L-H power threshold at high densities is similar for D and He plasmas. Transport modelling in slab geometry shows that in helium neoclassical transport competes with interchange-driven transport, unlike in hydrogen isotopes. Measurements of the radial electric field in deuterium plasmas show that E-r shear is not a good indicator of proximity to the L-H transition. Transport analysis of ion heat flux in deuterium plasmas show a non-linearity as density is decreased below (n) over bar (e,min). Lastly, a regression of the JET-ILW deuterium data is compared to the 2008 ITPA scaling law