Bathymetric and longitudinal distribution analyysis of the rockfish Helicolenus Dactylopterus (Delaroche, 1809) in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea (central Mediterranean)

This study provides information on bathymetric and longitudinal distribution heterogeneity of the rockfish Helicolenus dactylopterus in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea. Data were drawn from experimental bottom trawl (1996-2002) plus bottom trap (2001-02) surveys. The frequency of occurrence and mean relative density (N/km2) and biomass (kg/km2) indexes were calculated for two survey seasons (spring and autumn), four geographic sectors and three depth strata. MANOVA was used to test fish abundance among years, sectors and strata. Analysis of the length-frequency distributions was carried out by two-way (gears and depths) ANOVA, post hoc multiple comparisons for testing differences among depths and Student’s t test for testing differences between gears. Length-weight relationship was also estimated and the allometric coefficient was tested with the Student’s t test. The results showed a significant positive bathymetric gradient of sizes both for trawl and trap surveys; at same depths, fish caught by traps were significantly longer than those caught by trawl. In spring surveys, significant differences were found among strata for both abundance indexes; in autumn surveys, significant differences between depth strata were found only for density indices. The distribution and abundance patterns of H. dactylopterus along the southern Tyrrhenian Sea was homogeneous among sectors. Length-weight relationship showed a significant positive allometric growth

High Prevalence of Arcobacter Carriage in Older Subjects with Type 2 Diabetes

Arcobacters are potential pathogens related to diarrheic infections and, rarely, septicaemia. This study evaluated the prevalence of arcobacters in stool samples of subjects with (n = 38) and without (n = 61) type 2 diabetes by using cultural and molecular techniques. Three Arcobacter positive cultures were found, all among diabetic subjects, whereas molecular analysis showed a carriage rate of 79% and 26.2% in subjects with and without type 2 diabetes (P < .001), respectively. The multivariate analysis showed that type 2 diabetes (β = 1.913; 95%CI: 2.378–19.285; P < .0001) and age (β = 1.744; 95%CI: 2.077–15.766; P = .001) were the only factors independently associated with arcobacters colonization in this population. Our study demonstrated a high prevalence of arcobacters colonization in type 2 diabetic and older subjects. The clinical significance and the potential health risk associated with these emerging species remain to be determined

Credit spread in the European green bond market: A daily analysis of the Covid-19 pandemic impact.

Financial crises and economic downturns provide a unique opportunity to investigate the behaviour of investors and financial instruments and shed light on the market’s anticipation of future economic growth. In view of the current crisis, we examine how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the European green bond market. Using daily data from Thomson Reuter’s Refinitiv, we conducted event studies on corporate credit spread changes over the period from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020. Our results reveal that green bonds’ credit spreads increased significantly after the start of the coronavirus outbreak. However, as the fear of the pandemic eased in response to positive news about the vaccines, green bonds’ credit spreads fell below conventional bonds. Overall, green bonds showed a higher risk exposure and lower resilience to distress while profiting during an upside. Our paper provides the first evidence about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the announcement of vaccines’ effectiveness on the European corporate green bond market. Our results suggest several key points that are relevant to both investors and issuers under the unprecedented conditions created by the pandemic

Helicobacter pylori infection might be responsible for the interconnection between type 1 diabetes and autoimmune thyroiditis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Higher serological prevalence rates of helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection have been reported in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) and autoimmune thyroiditis (AT). Patients with T1DM are at increased risk for developing other autoimmune diseases, most commonly AT. It is unknown whether H. pylori infection could explain the high prevalence of thyroid autoantibodies and AT in T1DM. The aim of the current study was to evaluate anti-thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO) and anti-thyroglobulin (anti-Tg) autoantibodies in correlation with anti-H. pylori IgG and IgA in young patients with T1DM.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Anti-H. Pylori IgG, IgA, anti-TPO and anti-Tg antibodies titers were measured in 162 euthyroid patients with T1DM and 80 healthy controls matched for age, sex and socioeconomic status.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Seroprevalence of H. pylori was significantly higher in patients with T1DM than in healthy controls; 79% vs. 51.2%, p < 0.001. Anti H. pylori IgG was positive in 61.1% of patients with T1DM and 30% of controls, p < 0.001, anti H. pylori IgA was positive in 74% of patients with T1DM and 32.5% of controls, p < 0.001. Thyroid autoimmunity was also significantly higher in patients with T1DM than in controls; 56.7% vs. 6.2%, p < 0.001. Anti-TPO was positive in 25.3% of patients with T1DM and 3.7% of controls, p < 0.001, anti-Tg was positive in 47.5% of patients with T1DM and 6.2% of controls, p < 0.001. With simple and multiple regression analysis anti-H. pylori IgG and IgA titers were positively and significantly correlated with Anti-TPO and anti-Tg titers in patients with T1DM.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>our results support the idea of a connection between H. pylori infection and the occurrence of anti-TPO, anti-Tg autoantibodies and AT in young patients with T1DM. So, H. pylori infection could be considered as an environmental trigger for development of AT in T1DM. Young patients with T1DM should be screened for H. pylori infection.</p

On the Occurrence of the Blunthead Puffer, Sphoeroides pachygaster

The record of Sphoeroides pachygaster reveals the presence of the species in the Strait of Messina (Central Mediterranean Sea). The adult species was captured on 15 march 2012. It measured 280 mm of total length and weighed 461.5 g. Morphometric measurements (mm) and meristic counts were reported in this paper

Semantic Web Service Composition in the NeP4B Project: Challenges and Architectural Issues

Semantic Web service discovery and composition frameworks proposed so far assume for the most part a centralized registry that holds information of all the Web services available at any given time. This solution does not well cope with the scalability and flexibility requirements of dynamic, fast changing contexts. As part of the NeP4B project, in this paper we propose an alternative peer to peer architecture based on the Goal concept