Genetic characterization of four native Italian shepherd dog breeds and analysis of their relationship to cosmopolitan dog breeds using microsatellite markers

Very little research into genetic diversity of Italian native dog breeds has been carried out so far. In this study we aimed to estimate and compare the genetic diversity of four native Italian shepherd dog breeds: the Maremma, Bergamasco, Lupino del Gigante and Oropa shepherds. Therefore, some cosmopolitan dog breeds, which have been widely raised in Italy for a long time past, have also been considered to check possible influence of these dog populations on the Italian autochthonous breeds considered here. A total of 212 individuals, belonging to 10 different dog breeds, were sampled and genotyped using 18 autosomal microsatellite loci. We analyzed the genetic diversity of these breeds, within breed diversity, breed relationship and population structure. The 10 breeds considered in this study were clearly genetically differentiated from each other, regardless of current population sizes and the onset of separate breeding history. The level of genetic diversity explained 20% of the total genetic variation. The level of H E found here is in agreement with that found by other studies. The native Italian breeds showed generally higher genetic diversity compared with the long established, well-defined cosmopolitan dog breeds. As the Border Collie seems closer to the Italian breeds than the other cosmopolitan shepherd dogs considered here, a possible utilization of this breed to improve working performance in Italian traditional working shepherd dogs cannot be ignored. The data and information found here can be utilized in the organization of conservation programs planned to reduce inbreeding and to minimize loss of genetic variability

A Competitive Approach for Designing Multi-Antenna Cognitive Access Networks

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Molecular Response in One-Photon Absorption via Natural Thermal Light vs Pulsed Laser Excitation

Photoinduced biological processes occur via one photon absorption in natural light, which is weak, CW and incoherent, but are often studied in the laboratory using pulsed coherent light. Here we compare the response of a molecule to these two very different sources within a quantized radiation field picture. The latter is shown to induce coherent time evolution in the molecule, whereas the former does not. As a result, the coherent time dependence observed in the laboratory experiments will not be relevant to the natural biological process. Emphasis is placed on resolving confusions regarding this issue that are shown to arise from aspects of quantum measurement and from a lack of appreciation of the proper description of the absorbed photon.Comment: Revised (now published) manuscript: Replaces ArXiv:1109.002

Clinical Outcomes of Shunting in Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus. A Multicenter Prospective Observational Study

Background: Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) is characterized by the triad of dementia, gait disturbance and urinary incontinence, all potentially reversible following a ventricu-loperitoneal shunt (VPS). This study aims to evaluate the clinical outcomes of shunting in normal pressure hydrocephalus following a new standardized protocol. Methods: This study is designed according to the STROBE guidelines. Demographical, clinical, surgical and radiological data were collected from May 2015 to November 2019. Gait, balance and incontinence data based on the NPH European scale were collected before and after one, six and twelve months of treatment with a VPS. Clinical symptoms and changes of the stoke volume, measured on phase-contrast MRI, were used to evaluate improvement after VPS surgery. Results: One hundred and eighty-one consecutive patients met the inclusion criteria. The mean age was 73.1 years (59–86) and mean follow-up was 38.3 months (13–50). The gait (58.5 ± 14.3 to 70.1 ± 13.4, p < 0.001), the balance (66.7 ± 21.5 to 71.7 ± 22.1, p = 0.001), continence domain (69.9 ± 20.5 to 76 ± 20, p = 0.002) scores and neuropsychological scales showed a statistically significant improvement over the follow-up. The overall improvement after 12 months was present in 91.2% of patients. An overall complication rate of 8.8% and a reoperation rate of 9.4% were recorded, respectively. Conclusions: Surgical treatment by VPS for NPH improves symptoms in most patients, when accurately selected. A standardized protocol and a multidisciplinary team dedicated to this disorder is needed to achieve an early and correct diagnosis of NPH. Follow-up with stroke volume measurement is a valuable tool for the early diagnosis of shunt malfunction or the need for valve adjustment

A Stimulated Raman Loss spectrometer for metrological studies of quadrupole lines of hydrogen isotopologues

We discuss layout and performance of a high-resolution Stimulated Raman Loss spectrometer that has been newly developed for accurate studies of spectral lineshapes and line center frequencies of hydrogen isotopologues and in general of Raman active transitions. Thanks to the frequency comb calibration of the detuning between pump and Stokes lasers and to an active alignment of the two beams, the frequency accuracy is well below 100 kHz. Over the vertical axis the spectrometer benefits from shot-noise limited detection, signal enhancement via multipass cell, active flattening of the spectral baseline and measurement times of few seconds over spectral spans larger than 10 GHz. Under these conditions an efficient averaging of Raman spectra is possible over long measurement times with minimal distortion of spectral lineshapes. By changing the pump laser, transitions can be covered in a very broad frequency span, from 50 to 5000 $\mathrm{cm^{-1}}$, including both vibrational and rotational bands. The spectrometer has been developed for studies of fundamental and collisional physics of hydrogen isotopologues and has been recently applied to the metrology of the Q(1) 1-0 line of $\mathrm{H_2}$

Effects of probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus D2/CSL (CECT 4529) on the nutritional and health status of boxer dogs

Background The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of Lactobacillus acidophilus D2/CSL (CECT 4529) probiotic strain on nutritional status and faecal and microbiological parameters in a group of purebred boxers. Methods Forty healthy adult boxer dogs were randomly assigned to a treated (LACTO) group receiving a commercial diet supplemented with L acidophilus D2/CSL (CECT 4529) to a final concentration of 5.0 x 109 colony-forming unit/kg of food, and a control (CTR) group receiving the same diet but without the probiotic (placebo). Nutritional status (body weight, skinfold thickness, body condition score) and faecal quality parameters were analysed. Results No differences in body weight and skin thickness were found during the whole experimental period. Dogs in the LACTO group showed a significantly higher body condition score than those in the CTR group (4.86\ub10.55 v 4.65\ub10.65), and no significant differences were recorded in body weight and skinfold thickness. The LACTO group showed a significantly lower faecal moisture (in per cent) compared with the CTR group (0.67\ub10.007 v 0.69\ub10.007). Faecal hardness (in kg) was higher in the LACTO group than in the CTR group (0.86\ub10.047 v 0.70\ub10.051), and faecal score also improved in the LACTO group (3.78\ub10.95 v 4.25\ub10.91). A significant difference in total Escherichia coli counts as well as in lactobacilli counts between the CTR and LACTO groups was only detected at 28 days. Conclusion Supplementation of L acidophilus D2/CSL (CECT 4529) significantly improved the nutritional status and faecal parameters of dogs

Scanning Electron Microscope Cytochemistry of Blood Cells

The backscattered electron imaging (BEI) mode of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has been applied to study various histo-cytochemical reactions in biological specimens since the early seventies. Due to numerous, recent technical improvements the BEI mode of SEM now belongs to the routine of many SEM laboratories. For cytochemistry, BEI has been mainly used to: visualize intracellular structures and organelles; recognize the different cell types in heterogeneous populations or tissues; study the correlations between enzymatic activities and cell surface features. We have evaluated the most relevant results obtained in the study of blood cells and the possible future applications of these techniques