Efficiency and costs of the health management in an organic dairy farm where we use unconventional medicines

The EU organic regulation explicitly promote the use of unconventional therapies, like homoeopathy and phytotherapy. The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficiency and the costs of these treatment methods. From December 2006 to September 2008, we analyzed the data recorded in an organic dairy farm where the animals are normally treated by classical unicistic homeopathy and phytotherapy, and only when indispensable, by allophaty, antiparasitic drugs, surgery and vaccines. The use of homeopathy resulted to be predominant in comparison with the others treatments. Besides, our trial showed that homeopathy and phytotherapy could be used to treat, with good outcomes, the majority of diseases that occur in a dairy cattle farm, even if, sometimes, conventional medicines have to be used. The costs for unconventional treatments are very low in comparison with conventional ones. This will allow the spreading of unconventional medicines in the Italian organic farms

Co-ordinated stage-dependent enhancement of Plasmodium falciparum antioxidant enzymes and heat shock protein expression in parasites growing in oxidatively stressed or G6PD-deficient red blood cells

BACKGROUND: Plasmodium falciparum-parasitized red blood cells (RBCs) are equipped with protective antioxidant enzymes and heat shock proteins (HSPs). The latter are only considered to protect against thermal stress. Important issues are poorly explored: first, it is insufficiently known how both systems are expressed in relation to the parasite developmental stage; secondly, it is unknown whether P. falciparum HSPs are redox-responsive, in view of redox sensitivity of HSP in eukaryotic cells; thirdly, it is poorly known how the antioxidant defense machinery would respond to increased oxidative stress or inhibited antioxidant defense. Those issues are interesting as several antimalarials increase the oxidative stress or block antioxidant defense in the parasitized RBC. In addition, numerous inhibitors of HSPs are currently developed for cancer therapy and might be tested as anti-malarials. Thus, the joint disruption of the parasite antioxidant enzymes/HSP system would interfere with parasite growth and open new perspectives for anti-malaria therapy. METHODS: Stage-dependent mRNA expression of ten representative P. falciparum antioxidant enzymes and hsp60/70-2/70-3/75/90 was studied by quantitative real-time RT-PCR in parasites growing in normal RBCs, in RBCs oxidatively-stressed by moderate H2O2 generation and in G6PD-deficient RBCs. Protein expression of antioxidant enzymes was assayed by Western blotting. The pentosephosphate-pathway flux was measured in isolated parasites after Sendai-virus lysis of RBC membrane. RESULTS: In parasites growing in normal RBCs, mRNA expression of antioxidant enzymes and HSPs displayed co-ordinated stage-dependent modulation, being low at ring, highest at early trophozoite and again very low at schizont stage. Additional exogenous oxidative stress or growth in antioxidant blunted G6PD-deficient RBCs indicated remarkable flexibility of both systems, manifested by enhanced, co-ordinated mRNA expression of antioxidant enzymes and HSPs. Protein expression of antioxidant enzymes was also increased in oxidatively-stressed trophozoites. CONCLUSION: Results indicated that mRNA expression of parasite antioxidant enzymes and HSPs was co-ordinated and stage-dependent. Secondly, both systems were redox-responsive and showed remarkably increased and co-ordinated expression in oxidatively-stressed parasites and in parasites growing in antioxidant blunted G6PD-deficient RBCs. Lastly, as important anti-malarials either increase oxidant stress or impair antioxidant defense, results may encourage the inclusion of anti-HSP molecules in anti-malarial combined drugs

Solar Array Simulator for Microsatellites Power System Testing

Power systems verification requires the stability of the environmental conditions during the entire testing period, because small variations in irradiance, temperature and solar angle incidence can compromise the test results making difficult the real device performance evaluation. For this reason a traditional photovoltaic module is not a practical power source for laboratory testing, but it is necessary to use instruments that can simulate the I-V characteristic of a solar array. Because of the high cost of these instruments, in the framework of university satellite programs, and the requirement of several devices to simulate each solar array, the design and prototyping of a low-cost system, with the purpose of testing microsatellites power systems, was undertaken at University of Bologn

No red blood cell damage and no hemolysis in G6PD-deficient subjects after ingestion of low vicine/convicine <em>Vicia faba</em> seeds

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