Thermal conductivity of lipidic emulsions and its use for production and quality control

Thermal conductivity of lipidic emulsions has been experimentally determined by the probe method. To this purpose a special probe has been designed and built in laboratory, with small diameter (0.6 mm) and a high length to diameter ratio (100). The temperature sensor of the probe (type T thermocouple) and the heater (Pt wire) were properly calibrated. Moreover, the probe performance has been tested by means of a pure liquid (glycerin) having well known thermal conductivity by literature. Differences of about 1.5% at ambient temperature in thermal conductivity values between literature and experiments were found. On lipidic emulsions first thermal conductivity has been measured in the temperature range 1040°C, second the same property as a function of time at constant temperature (40°C), then the values after freezing at –15°C and reheating at 20 °C; and last the kinetics of degeneration. Results show a significant difference between thermal conductivity values of a new emulsion (0.51 W/m K), compared with the creamed one (0.62 W/m K), and the decayed one (0.68 W/m K ). It has also put into evidence why the frozen emulsion cannot be used for intravenous injection, i.e. viscosity increases because of breaking of the oil particles. Finally information about the kinetics of the degeneration process have been obtained. The uncertainty resulting from the calibration and tests justifies the possible use of the measurement technique for process control of production, and also for quality control in the clinical practice

Rock-face temperature at high-elevation sites: a new measuring approach

The Alpine environment and in particular the cryosphere, is responding quickly and with great intensity to climate change. Temperature increase observed in the Alps urge the scientific community to study not only air temperature but also rock temperature, to deepen the knowledge about thermal properties of the potentially unstable geological materials. The metrological traceability of measurements is fundamental for data comparability in space and in time and this can be achieved by the use of calibrated instruments and with the evaluation of measurement uncertainties. Here we present some preliminary results of rock-face temperature analysis based on data acquired at high-elevation sites, by means of sensors with documented traceability to International System of Units Standards and evaluated measurement uncertainty. We found and quantified a strong difference in the hourly rate of temperature increase between air and rock. During summer rock temperature grows more than 8 times over air temperature

"Like a virgin": Absence of rheumatoid arthritis and treponematosis, good sanitation and only rare gout in Italy prior to the 15th century.

Origin of disease has special interest for rheumatologists, for whom absence of etiologic information generally mandates empirical approaches. Hypotheses have been offered that rheumatoid arthritis and syphilis were New World diseases, only transmitted to the Old World subsequent to the passages of Christopher Columbus (1-7). The pertinent search is for polyarticular erosive disease, sparing axial joints (8-10) and for oligostotic or polyostotic periosteal reaction (3, 4). The phenomenon of interest is not the focal periosteal reaction that occurs secondary to trauma (9, 10), but rather the more diffuse reaction indicative of pres- "Like a virgin": Absence of rheumatoid arthritis and treponematosis, good sanitation and only rare gout in Italy prior to the 15th century "Come una vergine": in Italia, niente artrite reumatoide o sifilide, solo poca gotta, e buona sanita prima del XV secolo BM. Rothschild1, A. Coppa2, PP. Petrone3 1Arthritis Center of Northeast Ohio, Youngstown, OH; Department of Internal Medicine, Northeast Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Rootstown, OH; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, OH; Department of Earth Sciences, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA; 2Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e dell'Uomo, Sede di Antropologia, Universita di Roma "La Sapienza", Roma; 3Museo di Antropologia, Centro Musei di Scienze Naturali, Universita di Napoli "Federico II", Napoli RUBRICA LA REUMATOLOGIA NELLA LETTERATURA… Reumatismo, 2004; 56(1):61-66 Reumatismo, 2004; 56(1):61-66 RIASSUNTO Obiettivi: Lo studio e stato condotto con lo scopo di compiere alcune valutazioni e di verificare, anche indirettamente, una serie di ipotesi: 1. che l'artrite reumatoide e la sifilide siano malattie originate nelle Americhe e che siano state trasmesse nel Vecchio Continente successivamente ai viaggi di Cristoforo Colombo; 2. che l'intossicazione da piombo, causa di iperuricemia e quindi di gotta, fosse frequente ai tempi dell'antica Roma; 3. valutare lo stato di salute pubblica in Italia prima del XV secolo, attraverso la stima della prevalenza delle spondiloartriti; 4. valutare la frequenza dei traumi ossei nell'Italia antica, grazie all'analisi dei fenomeni di reazione periosteale focale. Metodi: Gli scheletri provenienti da diversi siti archeologici di epoca diversa (eta del bronzo/peste del 1485-86) sono stati esaminati macroscopicamente per documentare segni di reazione periosteale focale e caratteristiche peculiari di artrite reumatoide, gotta, spondiloartriti e treponematosi ossea. Risultati: L'esame di 688 campioni ha rivelato una bassa frequenza di reazione periosteale con distribuzione focale (perlomeno nel periodo compreso fra 3400-700 anni fa), con una brusca impennata nel XV secolo. Una reazione periosteale di tipo diffuso e stata messa in evidenza solo in singoli soggetti con un quadro isolato di osteoartropatia ipertrofica. Le erosioni ossee sono risultate poco frequenti e sempre con distribuzione oligo-articolare. Non si sono osservate erosioni marginali, a parte un unico caso, a livello metatarsale, con le caratteristiche tipiche della gotta. Erosioni subcondrali, fusione di articolazioni periferiche e coinvolgimento dello scheletro assiale suggestive di spondiloartrite sono state rilevate nell'1-3% dei campioni esaminati, indipendemente dalla datazione del sito archeologico. Conclusioni: L'Italia, prima di Cristoforo Colombo, si presentava "come una vergine". Malattie come artrite reumatoide ed infezioni da treponema (in particolare sifilide) non sarebbero state presenti, fornendo cosi un'ulteriore prova che si tratta di forme morbose originarie delle Americhe. Segni di reazione periosteale dovuta a traumi minori erano rare prima del XV secolo, ovvero ai tempi dell'epidemia di peste del 1485-86. Cio suggerisce il ruolo potenziale di attivita domestiche, piuttosto che di quelle esterne, nello sviluppo di questo particolare tipo di lesione. L'ipotesi di un ruolo dell'intossicazione da piombo come cofattore causale nel declino dell'impero romano appare poco probabile, data la rarita dei casi di gotta osservati. La frequenza di spondiloartriti e risultata ridotta rispetto a quella che si osserva su popolazioni in precarie condizioni igienico-sanitarie, lasciandoci cosi intuire buoni standard di salute pubblica nell'Italia di quei tempi. Indirizzo per la corrispondenza: Prof. Dr. Bruce M. Rothschild The Arthritis Center of Northeast Ohio, 5500 Market Street, Youngstown, OH 44512 e-mail: [email protected] ence of a systemic disease (e.g., treponemal or hypertrophic osteoarthropathy) (9-11). Four thousand years of Italian cemeteries provide fertile ground to assess those hypotheses

Density and distribution of Patella ferruginea in a Marine Protected Area (western Sardinia, Italy): Constraint analysis for population conservation

The endemic limpet Patella ferruginea is the most endangered invertebrate of the Mediterranean Sea. Our study examined a population of P. ferruginea in the Marine Protected Area of Penisola del Sinis - Isola di Mal di Ventre (western Sardinia, Italy). During the summer 2009, we carried out a systematic census of P. ferruginea along a 8114 m georeferenced perimeter of coast in the no take-no entry zone to assess its density, spatial distribution, and morphometric characteristics. Our aim was to provide a detailed map of the distribution of P. ferruginea and to investigate the effects of accessibility, wave exposure and slope of the coast on its occurrence. Patella ferrugineashowed the lowest mean density ever reported (0.02 ind/m) and a unimodal population structure characterised by fewer females and juveniles. Accessibility had a major negative effect on the occurrence of P. ferruginea. Exposure was also an important factor in influencing its density, size composition and specimen position within the mesolittoral, while the slope had little influence. Morphometric analysis showed the dominance of the Rouxi form, while the Lamarcki form was confined to exposed sites. Our results demonstrate a highly endangered population of P. ferruginea and suggest that human pressure represents the main risk factor

Contribution of MUTYH variants to male breast cancer risk: results from a multicenter study in Italy

Inherited mutations in BRCA1, and, mainly, BRCA2 genes are associated with increased risk of male breast cancer (MBC). Mutations in PALB2 and CHEK2 genes may also increase MBC risk. Overall, these genes are functionally linked to DNA repair pathways, highlighting the central role of genome maintenance in MBC genetic predisposition. MUTYH is a DNA repair gene whose biallelic germline variants cause MUTYH-associated polyposis (MAP) syndrome. Monoallelic MUTYH variants have been reported in families with both colorectal and breast cancer and there is some evidence on increased breast cancer risk in women with monoallelic variants. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether MUTYH germline variants may contribute to MBC susceptibility. To this aim, we screened the entire coding region of MUTYH in 503 BRCA1/2 mutation negative MBC cases by multigene panel analysis. Moreover, we genotyped selected variants, including p.Tyr179Cys, p.Gly396Asp, p.Arg245His, p.Gly264Trpfs*7, and p.Gln338His, in a total of 560 MBC cases and 1,540 male controls. Biallelic MUTYH pathogenic variants (p.Tyr179Cys/p.Arg241Trp) were identified in one MBC patient with phenotypic manifestation of adenomatous polyposis. Monoallelic pathogenic variants were identified in 14 (2.5%) MBC patients, in particular, p.Tyr179Cys was detected in seven cases, p.Gly396Asp in five cases, p.Arg245His and p.Gly264Trpfs*7 in one case each. The majority of MBC cases with MUTYH pathogenic variants had family history of cancer including breast, colorectal, and gastric cancers. In the case-control study, an association between the variant p.Tyr179Cys and increased MBC risk emerged by multivariate analysis [odds ratio (OR) = 4.54; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.17-17.58; p = 0.028]. Overall, our study suggests that MUTYH pathogenic variants may have a role in MBC and, in particular, the p.Tyr179Cys variant may be a low/moderate penetrance risk allele for MBC. Moreover, our results suggest that MBC may be part of the tumor spectrum associated with MAP syndrome, with implication in the clinical management of patients and their relatives. Large-scale collaborative studies are needed to validate these findings

A simplified genomic profiling approach predicts outcome in metastatic colorectal cancer

The response of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) to the first-line conventional combination therapy is highly variable, reflecting the elevated heterogeneity of the disease. The genetic alterations underlying this heterogeneity have been thoroughly characterized through omic approaches requiring elevated efforts and costs. In order to translate the knowledge of CRC molecular heterogeneity into a practical clinical approach, we utilized a simplified Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) based platform to screen a cohort of 77 patients treated with first-line conventional therapy. Samples were sequenced using a panel of hotspots and targeted regions of 22 genes commonly involved in CRC. This revealed 51 patients carrying actionable gene mutations, 22 of which carried druggable alterations. These mutations were frequently associated with additional genetic alterations. To take into account this molecular complexity and assisted by an unbiased bioinformatic analysis, we defined three subgroups of patients carrying distinct molecular patterns. We demonstrated these three molecular subgroups are associated with a different response to first-line conventional combination therapies. The best outcome was achieved in patients exclusively carrying mutations on TP53 and/or RAS genes. By contrast, in patients carrying mutations in any of the other genes, alone or associated with mutations of TP53/RAS, the expected response is much worse compared to patients with exclusive TP53/RAS mutations. Additionally, our data indicate that the standard approach has limited efficacy in patients without any mutations in the genes included in the panel. In conclusion, we identified a reliable and easy-to-use approach for a simplified molecular-based stratification of mCRC patients that predicts the efficacy of the first-line conventional combination therapy

Mycobacterium tuberculosis SIT42 Infection in an Abused Dog in Southern Italy

A case of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection is described in a dead adult male dog in Southern Italy. The carcass was found by the Health Authority in a gypsy encampment. It was admitted to our forensic veterinary medicine unit, with a suspicion of cruelty to the animal. Necropsy showed beating and traumatism signs, and mistreating was confirmed. Gross lesions included multiple nodular hepatic lesions, hemorrhagic enteritis with enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes, body cavity effusions, and an adrenal neoplasm. Bacteriological and molecular analyses were carried out on the liver lesions that enabled to identify M. tuberculosis SIT42 (LAM9). Drug-resistance patterns were evaluated by screening mutations on the rpoB and katG genes that showed susceptibility to both rifampin and isoniazid, respectively. Very few studies report canine tuberculosis, and little is known about the disease in Italy. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of Mycobacterium tuberculosis SIT42 infection in a dog in Italy

The zCOSMOS 10k-Bright Spectroscopic Sample

We present spectroscopic redshifts of a large sample of galaxies with I_(AB) < 22.5 in the COSMOS field, measured from spectra of 10,644 objects that have been obtained in the first two years of observations in the zCOSMOS-bright redshift survey. These include a statistically complete subset of 10,109 objects. The average accuracy of individual redshifts is 110 km s^(–1), independent of redshift. The reliability of individual redshifts is described by a Confidence Class that has been empirically calibrated through repeat spectroscopic observations of over 600 galaxies. There is very good agreement between spectroscopic and photometric redshifts for the most secure Confidence Classes. For the less secure Confidence Classes, there is a good correspondence between the fraction of objects with a consistent photometric redshift and the spectroscopic repeatability, suggesting that the photometric redshifts can be used to indicate which of the less secure spectroscopic redshifts are likely right and which are probably wrong, and to give an indication of the nature of objects for which we failed to determine a redshift. Using this approach, we can construct a spectroscopic sample that is 99% reliable and which is 88% complete in the sample as a whole, and 95% complete in the redshift range 0.5 < z < 0.8. The luminosity and mass completeness levels of the zCOSMOS-bright sample of galaxies is also discussed

Tracking a mass mortality outbreak of pen shell Pinna nobilis populations: A collaborative effort of scientists and citizens

A mass mortality event is devastating the populations of the endemic bivalve Pinna nobilis in the Mediterranean Sea from early autumn 2016. A newly described Haplosporidian endoparasite (Haplosporidium pinnae) is the most probable cause of this ecological catastrophe placing one of the largest bivalves of the world on the brink of extinction. As a pivotal step towards Pinna nobilis conservation, this contribution combines scientists and citizens’ data to address the fast- and vast-dispersion and prevalence outbreaks of the pathogen. Therefore, the potential role of currents on parasite expansion was addressed by means of drift simulations of virtual particles in a high-resolution regional currents model. A generalized additive model was implemented to test if environmental factors could modulate the infection of Pinna nobilis populations. The results strongly suggest that the parasite has probably dispersed regionally by surface currents, and that the disease expression seems to be closely related to temperatures above 13.5 °C and to a salinity range between 36.5–39.7 psu. The most likely spread of the disease along the Mediterranean basin associated with scattered survival spots and very few survivors (potentially resistant individuals), point to a challenging scenario for conservation of the emblematic Pinna nobilis, which will require fast and strategic management measures and should make use of the essential role citizen science projects can play.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Management of Asymptomatic Sporadic Nonfunctioning Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (ASPEN) <= 2 cm: Study Protocol for a Prospective Observational Study

Introduction: The optimal treatment for small, asymptomatic, nonfunctioning pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (NF-PanNEN) is still controversial. European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (ENETS) guidelines recommend a watchful strategy for asymptomatic NF-PanNEN <2 cm of diameter. Several retrospective series demonstrated that a non-operative management is safe and feasible, but no prospective studies are available. Aim of the ASPEN study is to evaluate the optimal management of asymptomatic NF-PanNEN ≤2 cm comparing active surveillance and surgery. Methods: ASPEN is a prospective international observational multicentric cohort study supported by ENETS. The study is registered in ClinicalTrials.gov with the identification code NCT03084770. Based on the incidence of NF-PanNEN the number of expected patients to be enrolled in the ASPEN study is 1,000 during the study period (2017–2022). Primary endpoint is disease/progression-free survival, defined as the time from study enrolment to the first evidence of progression (active surveillance group) or recurrence of disease (surgery group) or death from disease. Inclusion criteria are: age >18 years, the presence of asymptomatic sporadic NF-PanNEN ≤2 cm proven by a positive fine-needle aspiration (FNA) or by the presence of a measurable nodule on high-quality imaging techniques that is positive at 68Gallium DOTATOC-PET scan. Conclusion: The ASPEN study is designed to investigate if an active surveillance of asymptomatic NF-PanNEN ≤2 cm is safe as compared to surgical approach