Monensina e digestibilidade aparente em ovinos alimentados com proporções de volumoso/concentrado

The response to the use of ionophores is influenced by several factors, such as the diet energetic density. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of monensin on total tract digestibility in ruminants fed with different diets. Eighteen wethers were randomly exposed to three diets with different concentrate levels (25%, 50% and 75%) without (control) or with monensin (40 mg/animal/day). Experimental period extended for twenty-five days, the last five used for feces and urine collection. The diet consisted of Coast-Cross hay and a concentrate mixture. Monensin increased total tract digestibility of crude protein, independent of the concentrate level (25%-concentrate: 69.6% vs. 65.3%; 50%-concentrate: 72.2% vs. 69.2%; 75%-concentrate: 73.4% vs. 69.8%). There was an interaction between concentrate level and monensin for total tract digestibility of crude fiber (25%-concentrate: 62.0% vs. 61.0%; 50%-concentrate: 53.2% vs. 59.2%; 75%-concentrate: 51.8% vs. 42.7%) and nitrogen balance (25%-concentrate: -3.8 vs. -20.6; 50%-concentrate: -10.4 vs. +2.0; 75%-concentrate: +11.4 vs. +7.9% of absorbed N). The best response to monensin was obtained for the high-concentrate diet and the worst for the 50%-concentrate. Monensin supplementation did not influence dry matter intake, total tract digestibility of dry matter, ether extract, nitrogen-free extract, acid detergent fiber, neutral detergent fiber, gross energy and total digestible nutrients in any diet. It is concluded that monensin response was greater in either high-concentrate or high-forage diets and worst in the 50%-concentrate diet.A resposta obtida com a utilização dos ionóforos é influenciada por diversos fatores, entre eles a densidade energética da dieta. Foram objetivos do presente estudo avaliar os efeitos da monensina sobre a digestibilidade total em ovinos submetidos a diferentes dietas. Dezoito animais machos e castrados foram distribuídos em um delineamento inteiramente casualizado com um arranjo fatorial de tratamentos 2 x 3, correspondentes a zero ou 40 mg de monensina sódica por animal e por dia e 25%, 50% ou 75% de concentrados na dieta, composta por mistura de concentrados, a base de milho e farelo de soja, e feno de Coast-Cross. O experimento teve duração total de 25 dias, sendo os 5 últimos destinados à coleta de fezes e urina. A monensina aumentou a digestibilidade total da proteína bruta, avaliada através de coleta total de fezes, independentemente do nível de fibra utilizado (25% de concentrados: 69,6% vs. 65,3%; 50% de concentrados: 72,2% vs. 69,2%; 75% de concentrados: 73,4% vs. 69,8%). A monensina interagiu com o nível de concentrados da dieta para a digestibilidade total da fibra bruta (25% de concentrados: 62,0% vs. 61,0%; 50% de concentrados: 53,2% vs. 59,2%; 75% de concentrados: 51,8% vs. 42,7%) e retenção nitrogenada (25% de concentrados: -3,8 vs. -20,6; 50% de concentrados: -10,4 vs. +2,0; 75% de concentrados: +11,4 vs. +7,9% do N retido em relação ao absorvido), sendo as melhores respostas obtidas na dieta predominantemente concentrada e as piores na dieta mista. Este produto não alterou o consumo de matéria seca, a digestibilidade total da matéria seca, dos extrativos não nitrogenados, do extrato etéreo, da fibra em detergente ácido, da fibra em detergente neutro, da energia bruta e os nutrientes digestíveis totais em qualquer dieta

Alice em Busca da sua Caixa de Brinquedos: um jogo para apoio a tomada de decisões

This article presents the game  Alice in Search of its Toy Box, which  is being developed through the Alice development environment, and aims to monitor the development of cognitive attributes on the player, such as:  memorization,  planning, decision making (reasoning)

Position Paper of the Italian Association of Medical Oncology on Early Palliative Care in Oncology Practice (Simultaneous Care)

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Cluster analysis of angiotensin biomarkers to identify antihypertensive drug treatment in population studies

Background: The recent progress in molecular biology generates an increasing interest in investigating molecular biomarkers as markers of response to treatments. The present work is motivated by a study, where the objective was to explore the potential of the molecular biomarkers of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) to identify the undertaken antihypertensive treatments in the general population. Population-based studies offer an opportunity to assess the effectiveness of treatments in real-world scenarios. However, lack of quality documentation, especially when electronic health record linkage is unavailable, leads to inaccurate reporting and classification bias. Method: We present a machine learning clustering technique to determine the potential of measured RAAS biomarkers for the identification of undertaken treatments in the general population. The biomarkers were simultaneously determined through a novel mass-spectrometry analysis in 800 participants of the Cooperative Health Research In South Tyrol (CHRIS) study with documented antihypertensive treatments. We assessed the agreement, sensitivity and specificity of the resulting clusters against known treatment types. Through the lasso penalized regression, we identified clinical characteristics associated with the biomarkers, accounting for the effects of cluster and treatment classifications. Results: We identified three well-separated clusters: cluster 1 (n = 444) preferentially including individuals not receiving RAAS-targeting drugs; cluster 2 (n = 235) identifying angiotensin type 1 receptor blockers (ARB) users (weighted kappa κw = 74%; sensitivity = 73%; specificity = 83%); and cluster 3 (n = 121) well discriminating angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) users (κw = 81%; sensitivity = 55%; specificity = 90%). Individuals in clusters 2 and 3 had higher frequency of diabetes as well as higher fasting glucose and BMI levels. Age, sex and kidney function were strong predictors of the RAAS biomarkers independently of the cluster structure. Conclusions: Unsupervised clustering of angiotensin-based biomarkers is a viable technique to identify individuals on specific antihypertensive treatments, pointing to a potential application of the biomarkers as useful clinical diagnostic tools even outside of a controlled clinical setting

Lipidomics, atrial conduction, and body mass index: evidence from association, mediation, and Mendelian randomization models

BACKGROUND: Lipids are increasingly involved in cardiovascular risk prediction as potential proarrhythmic influencers. However, knowledge is limited about the specific mechanisms connecting lipid alterations with atrial conduction. METHODS: To shed light on this issue, we conducted a broad assessment of 151 sphingo- and phospholipids, measured using mass spectrometry, for association with atrial conduction, measured by P wave duration (PWD) from standard electrocardiograms, in the MICROS study (Microisolates in South Tyrol) (n=839). Causal pathways involving lipidomics, body mass index (BMI), and PWD were assessed using 2-sample Mendelian randomization analyses based on published genome-wide association studies of lipidomics (n=4034) and BMI (n=734 481), and genetic association analysis of PWD in 5 population-based studies (n=24 236). RESULTS: We identified an association with relative phosphatidylcholine 38:3 (%PC 38:3) concentration, which was replicated in the ORCADES (Orkney Complex Disease Study; n=951), with a pooled association across studies of 2.59 (95% CI, 1.3-3.9; P=1.1×10-4) ms PWD per mol% increase. While being independent of cholesterol, triglycerides, and glucose levels, the %PC 38:3-PWD association was mediated by BMI. Results supported a causal effect of BMI on both PWD ( P=8.3×10-5) and %PC 38:3 ( P=0.014). CONCLUSIONS: Increased %PC 38:3 levels are consistently associated with longer PWD, partly because of the confounding effect of BMI. The causal effect of BMI on PWD reinforces evidence of BMI's involvement into atrial electrical activity

Autoimmune bullous dermatoses in cancer patients treated by immunotherapy: a literature review and Italian multicentric experience

Cutaneous immune-related adverse events are frequently associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) administration in cancer patients. In fact, these monoclonal antibodies bind the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 and programmed cell death-1/ligand 1 leading to a non-specific activation of the immune system against both tumoral cells and self-antigens. The skin is the most frequently affected organ system appearing involved especially by inflammatory manifestations such as maculopapular, lichenoid, psoriatic, and eczematous eruptions. Although less common, ICI-induced autoimmune blistering diseases have also been reported, with an estimated overall incidence of less than 5%. Bullous pemphigoid-like eruption is the predominant phenotype, while lichen planus pemphigoides, pemphigus vulgaris, and mucous membrane pemphigoid have been described anecdotally. Overall, they have a wide range of clinical presentations and often overlap with each other leading to a delayed diagnosis. Achieving adequate control of skin toxicity in these cases often requires immunosuppressive systemic therapies and/or interruption of ICI treatment, presenting a therapeutic challenge in the context of cancer management. In this study, we present a case series from Italy based on a multicenter, retrospective, observational study, which included 45 patients treated with ICIs who developed ICI-induced bullous pemphigoid. In addition, we performed a comprehensive review to identify the cases reported in the literature on ICI-induced autoimmune bullous diseases. Several theories seeking their underlying pathogenesis have been reported and this work aims to better understand what is known so far on this issue

Recycling of ashes from solid biomass combustion as filler in bituminous mixtures

Fly and bottom ash are the main by-products arising from the combustion of solid biomass. Since the production of energy from this source is increasing worldwide, the processing and disposal of the resulting ash have become environmental and economic issues. Fly and bottom ash are of interest as a construction material because they are composed of very fine particles similar to the fillers normally employed in bituminous and cementitious mixtures. This research investigates the potential use of ash from biomass combustion as filler in bituminous mixtures. The morphological, physical and chemical characteristics of twenty-one different types of ash and two traditional fillers (calcium carbonate and a recovered bituminous mixtures plant filler) were evaluated and discussed. Based on this characterization, several types of ash were selected in order to cover the whole range of morphological, physical and chemical properties. These ashes were subsequently used to create bituminous mastics (filler-bitumen blends), which were studied with the aim of obtaining indicators of bituminous mixture performance. A variety of rheological tests were performed to evaluate workability, rutting resistance, fatigue resistance, low temperature cracking resistance and moisture damage resistance of bituminous mastics. Experimental results showed a wide range of values for almost all the characteristics of the ash and a low correlation with biomass type in terms of origin and chemical composition. A sieving process was found to be necessary in order to improve the properties of the raw materials in terms of grading. Furthermore, mastics containing ashes with high values of porosity of a compacted sample of dry filler (Rigden voids) were found to have low workability, fatigue resistance and low temperature cracking resistance. It was found that in order to limit the Rigden voids values, a milling process should be adopted before biomass ashes reuse. The low content of organic matter and harmful fines and the effectiveness of sieving and milling treatments suggest that biomass ash may be considered as replacements for natural fillers in bituminous mixture

Effect of mixing time and temperature on the viscosity of asphalt rubber containing waxy additives.

Crumb rubber from end-of-life tyres can be employed in the production of asphalt rubber binders by means of the so-called “wet” mixing technology. However, since the physical and chemical interaction between rubber particles and neat binder causes a significant viscosity increase, corresponding bituminous mixtures require higher mixing and compaction temperatures than those of standard mixtures. Such a need leads to the overall increase of energy consumption and to the emission of a greater quantity of fumes during laying operations, thus partially reducing the eco-friendly character of asphalt rubber technology. The problems highlighted above can be in part balanced by making use of viscosity-reduction additives. In the research work described in this paper, the effects of a waxy additive on the flow properties of asphalt rubber were studied by means of viscosity measurements. Tests were carried out by considering both commercial and laboratory-prepared asphalt rubber products. Factors which were analyzed during the experimental investigation included mixing technique, time and temperature. Obtained results suggest that additive efficiency is strongly related with asphalt-rubber mixing time and temperature. When these two parameters are kept constant, a similar viscosity reduction is recorded for both the commercial and laboratory asphalt-rubber