A synoptic characterization of the dust transport and associated thermal anomalies in the Mediterranean basin

Presentación realizada para las XXXII Jornadas Científicas de la Asociación Meteorológica Española y 13º Encuentro Hispano-Luso de Meteorología celebrados en Alcobendas (Madrid), del 28 al 30 de mayo de 2012

Dietary Management in IBS Patients

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic, relapsing functional disorder of the gastrointestinal tract characterized by abdominal pain, bloating, and changes in bowel habits lacking a known structural or anatomic explanation. According to the Rome IV criteria, IBS consists of a set of altered bowel habits over a period of time and includes abdominal pain and discomfort. The pathogenesis of IBS is not completely understood, although it has been noted that various mechanisms are involved determining the onset of symptoms. The risk factors include antibiotics, enteric infection, food intolerance, altered pain perception, altered brain-gut interaction, dysbiosis, increased intestinal permeability, visceral hypersensitivity, and increased activation of the gut mucosal immune system. There has been interest regarding the possible role of food in IBS. Diet is crucial for managing IBS; it plays an important role both in the genesis and in the improvement of symptoms. The aim of the study was to summarize the evidence from the literature, which explains those causes tending to promoting IBS symptoms, such as food content short-chain carbohydrates and the presence of food allergy or food intolerance

Activation of Muscarinic M1 Acetylcholine Receptors Induces Long-Term Potentiation in the Hippocampus

Muscarinic M1 acetylcholine receptors (M1Rs) are highly expressed in the hippocampus, and their inhibition or ablation disrupts the encoding of spatial memory. It has been hypothesized that the principal mechanism by which M1Rs influence spatial memory is by the regulation of hippocampal synaptic plasticity. Here, we use a combination of recently developed, well characterized, selective M1R agonists and M1R knock-out mice to define the roles of M1Rs in the regulation of hippocampal neuronal and synaptic function. We confirm that M1R activation increases input resistance and depolarizes hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons and show that this profoundly increases excitatory postsynaptic potential-spike coupling. Consistent with a critical role for M1Rs in synaptic plasticity, we now show that M1R activation produces a robust potentiation of glutamatergic synaptic transmission onto CA1 pyramidal neurons that has all the hallmarks of long-term potentiation (LTP): The potentiation requires NMDA receptor activity and bi-directionally occludes with synaptically induced LTP. Thus, we describe synergistic mechanisms by which acetylcholine acting through M1Rs excites CA1 pyramidal neurons and induces LTP, to profoundly increase activation of CA1 pyramidal neurons. These features are predicted to make a major contribution to the pro-cognitive effects of cholinergic transmission in rodents and humans

Juno/JIRAM: Planning and commanding activities

In the context of space missions, where science is the most important goal, careful planning and detailed commanding are fundamental. The planning and commanding phases are activities whose complexity depends on the instrument characteristics, environmental constraints and scientific goals. The purpose of this work is to describe in detail these activities for the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) on board the Juno spacecraft, a NASA mission to Jupiter. To maximize the scientific return, we fully employ the flexibility offered by the JIRAM operational modes to efficiently plan observations of various Jovian targets, in spite of the harsh Jovian radiation environment and the spinning state of the Juno spacecraft. Moreover, the JIRAM observations are limited by the challenging pointing and timing scheme of the mission, which impose constraints on both the observation planning and instrumental commanding

How future surgery will benefit from SARS-COV-2-related measures: a SPIGC survey conveying the perspective of Italian surgeons

COVID-19 negatively affected surgical activity, but the potential benefits resulting from adopted measures remain unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the change in surgical activity and potential benefit from COVID-19 measures in perspective of Italian surgeons on behalf of SPIGC. A nationwide online survey on surgical practice before, during, and after COVID-19 pandemic was conducted in March-April 2022 (NCT:05323851). Effects of COVID-19 hospital-related measures on surgical patients' management and personal professional development across surgical specialties were explored. Data on demographics, pre-operative/peri-operative/post-operative management, and professional development were collected. Outcomes were matched with the corresponding volume. Four hundred and seventy-three respondents were included in final analysis across 14 surgical specialties. Since SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, application of telematic consultations (4.1% vs. 21.6%; p < 0.0001) and diagnostic evaluations (16.4% vs. 42.2%; p < 0.0001) increased. Elective surgical activities significantly reduced and surgeons opted more frequently for conservative management with a possible indication for elective (26.3% vs. 35.7%; p < 0.0001) or urgent (20.4% vs. 38.5%; p < 0.0001) surgery. All new COVID-related measures are perceived to be maintained in the future. Surgeons' personal education online increased from 12.6% (pre-COVID) to 86.6% (post-COVID; p < 0.0001). Online educational activities are considered a beneficial effect from COVID pandemic (56.4%). COVID-19 had a great impact on surgical specialties, with significant reduction of operation volume. However, some forced changes turned out to be benefits. Isolation measures pushed the use of telemedicine and telemetric devices for outpatient practice and favored communication for educational purposes and surgeon-patient/family communication. From the Italian surgeons' perspective, COVID-related measures will continue to influence future surgical clinical practice

Lo sviluppo locale in territori fragili

URBANISTIC

Dieta e microbiota intestinale: Due facce di una stessa medaglia?

Gut microbiota is a complex ecosystem, resident in the digestive tract, exerting multiple functions that can have a significant impact on the pathophysiology of the host organism. The composition and functions of this "superorganism" are influenced by many factors, and among them, the host's dietary habits seem to have a significant effect. Dietary changes in the evolution of human history and in the different stages of life of the human subjects are responsible for qualitative and functional modification of gut microbiota. At the same time, the different dietary models adopted in worldwide geographic areas take into account the inter-individual differences concerning composition and microbial function. This close relationship between diet, gut microbiota and host seems, in fact, to be responsible for the protection or predisposition to develop several metabolic, immunological, neoplastic and functional diseases. Thus, several studies have evaluated the impact of diet and lifestyle modification strategies on gut microbiota composition and functions which, in turn, seems to affect the effectiveness of such therapeutic measures. Gut microbiota manipulation strategies, as complementary to dietary modifications, represent a fascinating field of research, even if consolidated data are still lacking

How to improve the doctor-patient relationship:the role of the symptoms and food diary

The use of patient\u2019s diaries in Gastroenterology In the diagnostic and therapeutic work-up, which represents a relevant component of the complex patient-doctor relationship, the listening and understanding by the doctor of the patient\u2019s personal and medical history is crucial. However, this communicative moment may be difficult and misleading for several reasons, e.g. the inability of the patient to fully recall his symptoms, but also difficulties for the doctor to understand the timely evolution of the clinical picture and its relationship with the daily activities. Research has shown that patient recall of symptoms is unreliable, possibly showing inaccuracies and biases. Recognition of recall's shortcomings has led to the use of diaries, which are intended to capture experiences close to the time of occurrence, thus limiting recall bias and producing more accurate data. Furthermore, clinical diaries represent a way for the patient to assess his own health status without clinician bias or interpretation. Self-reported diaries are also useful tools for both researchers and clinicians in collecting numerous subjective and behavioural variables relevant to research and clinical practice. Diaries have been used in different clinical conditions, such as to measure pain, sleep, coping with smoking urges, illness or injury and health care use, medication taking, exercise, eating-related behaviours. Different types of diaries are available and have been tested in clinical practice: paper-and-pencil and electronic diaries. The available literature regarding both the systematic reviews and the comparative studies has identified the main limits of the paper-and-pencil diaries: the patient\u2019s literacy, the time to complete the daily diaries, the social acceptability of self-monitoring in public situation, the difficulties in determining when the diary is completed; beside the main limitation for electronic diaries is represented by the technical functioning and use of the device. Gastrointestinal diseases represent a field where the patient\u2019s diary could have an important role not only in the patient-doctor relationship, but also in the overall clinical management. In fact the recognition and measurement of gastrointestinal symptoms is subject to several difficulties. This is particularly true in patients with functional dyspepsia or irritable bowel syndrome, very frequent conditions since they affect 20-40% of adults in the western world, whose definition is based on only clinical parameters. In fact functional dyspepsia is defined as a pain, or discomfort, localized at the epigastrium, with possibly associated symptoms such as postprandial fullness or heartburn, while irritable bowel syndrome is characterized by an abdominal pain, or discomfort, associated with a change in stool frequency or form. Since there are no biological markers for these two pathological conditions, clinical studies rely entirely on patient\u2019s diary. Furthermore, since in most cases symptoms are related, if not induced, by food ingestion, it is very important, from a diagnostic and therapeutic point of view, to identify the possible causative role of nutrient/s in inducing abdominal symptoms. Dietary recall is a widely used diagnostic tool, with two main indications: to self-monitor one\u2019s eating behaviour and food consumption on a daily basis as a part of an intervention and to record in detail all foods consumed for a computerized nutrient analysis for outcome assessment. In fact self-monitoring food intake is considered the cornerstone of behavioural treatment of obesity and other chronic disorders that can be managed by dietary modification and control, such as diabetes, dylipidemia and end stage renal disease. Also in this field, most of the available studies have compared different types of diaries, e.g. paper-based or digital based (for recording food intake: computerized assessment, personal digital assistants, digital photography and small cards) and most frequently they deal separately with clinical symptoms and food intake. On the contrary, the ideal condition could be represented by the simultaneous presence, in the self-reported diary, of both the symptoms occurring in the daily life and the nutrient assumption. However, very few studies have been performed using this type of diary in patients with functional gastrointestinal diseases. In the present chapter a critical analysis of the data actually available and a proposal for future studies will be performed