Pulmonary hypertension and chronic lung disease: where are we headed?

Pulmonary hypertension related to chronic lung disease, mainly represented by COPD and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, is associated with a worse outcome when compared with patients only affected by parenchymal lung disease. At present, no therapies are available to reverse or slow down the pathological process of this condition and most of the clinical trials conducted to date have had no clinically significant impact. Nevertheless, the importance of chronic lung diseases is always more widely recognised and, along with its increasing incidence, associated pulmonary hypertension is also expected to be growing in frequency and as a health burden worldwide. Therefore, it is desirable to develop useful and reliable tools to obtain an early diagnosis and to monitor and follow-up this condition, while new insights in the therapeutic approach are explored

Recurrence of non-hydropic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL): a literature review

Recurrent non-hydropic SSNHL is unfrequent, differential diagnosis is essential to distinguish idiopathic forms from those symptomatic: the clinician should pay attention to vascular disease and retrocochlear neoplasm. Recurrent SSNHL has a poorer prognosis than a single episode of sudden hearing loss. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the incidence and the risk factors of recurrent non-hydropic SSNHL in the literature

Comorbidities in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: an underestimated issue

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive and fibrosing lung disease with a poor prognosis. Between 60% and 70% of IPF patients die of IPF; the remaining causes of death may be due to comorbidities occurring in this ageing population. Interest in the role played by comorbidities in IPF has increased in the past few years. The optimal clinical management of IPF is multifaceted and not only involves antifibrotic treatment, but also vaccinations, oxygen supplementation, evaluation of nutritional status as well as psychological support and patient education. Symptom management, pulmonary rehabilitation, palliative care and treatment of comorbidities represent further areas of clinical intervention. This review analyses the major comorbidities observed in IPF, focusing on those that have the greatest impact on mortality and quality of life (QoL). The identification and treatment of comorbidities may help to improve patients' health-related QoL (i.e. sleep apnoea and depression), while some comorbidities (i.e. lung cancer, cardiovascular diseases and pulmonary hypertension) influence survival. It has been outlined that gathering comorbidities data improves the prediction of survival beyond the clinical and physiological parameters of IPF

A PULVERIZAÇÃO PRÉ-COLHEITA COM TIDIAZURON REDUZ O TEOR DE CÁLCIO E AUMENTA A ABERTURA CARPELAR E A INCIDÊNCIA DE PODRIDÃO CARPELAR EM FRUTOS DE MAÇÃ

Thidiazuron (TDZ; N-phenyl-N’-1,2,3- thiadiazol-5-ylureia) is a substituted phenylurea that shows strong cytokinin-like activity in plant tissues. The product is sprayed at full bloom on apple trees to increase fruit set and improve fruit growth. Besides affecting tree physiology and fruit size, TDZ might influence other aspects related to fruit quality. Treated plants normally bear malformed fruits with a more protruded distal end. This work was carried out to investigate the effects of TDZ on fruit carpel aperture, fruit shape, seed number, fruit calcium content, and moldy core (caused by several pathogens) of apples. Apple trees, cultivars Gala and Fuji, were sprayed at full bloom with TDZ at doses of 0, 5, 10, or 20 g (a.i) ha-1. TDZ caused fruit malformation and an increment of carpel aperture, reduced the concentration of calcium in the fruit skin, and increased the incidence of moldy core in ‘Gala’ (from 0 to 4%) and in ‘Fuji’ (from 29 to 42%). The increase of moldy core by TDZ in apples may be related to decreases on fruit calcium content and increases on carpel aperture.O tidiazuron (TDZ; N-phenil-N’-1,2,3-thiadiazol- 5-ilureia) é uma feniluréia substituida que apresenta forte ação citocinínica em tecidos de plantas. O produto é pulverizado em macieiras na plena floração para aumentar a frutificação efetiva e promover crescimento de frutos. Além de afetar a fisiologia das plantas e crescimento de frutos, o TDZ interfere em outros aspectos relacionados com a qualidade dos frutos. As plantas tratadas normalmente apresentam frutos deformados, com a parte distal protrusa. Este trabalho foi conduzido com o objetivo de avaliar os efeitos do TDZ na abertura carpelar, no formato dos frutos, no número de sementes, nos teores de cálcio e na incidência de podridão carpelar (causada por diversos patógenos) em maçãs. Macieiras, cultivares Gala e Fuji, foram pulverizadas na plena floração com TDZ nas doses de 0, 5, 10 e 20 g (i.a.) ha-1. O TDZ ocasionou deformação e aumento na abertura carpelar, reduziu a concentração de cálcio na película e aumentou a incidência de podridão carpelar em ‘Gala’ (de 0 para 4%) e ‘Fuji’ (de 29 para 42%). O aumento na incidência de podridão carpelar em macieiras pulverizadas com TDZ pode estar relacionado à redução nos teores de cálcio e o aumento na abertura carpelar nos frutos

ALTERAÇÃO NA COMPOSIÇÃO QUÍMICA DAS FASES SÓLIDA E LÍQUIDA DE UM SOLO ÁCIDO PELA APLICAÇÃO DE CALCÁRIO E GESSO AGRÍCOLA

Soil Ca availability depends on both the concentration of Ca in the soil solution and the capability of the solid phase to keep Ca activity unaffected as plant uptake takes place, and these parameters are affected by the Ca source. This study was carried out to quantify the effect of lime or gypsum application on soil parameters related to acidity with emphasis on Ca. Rates of dolomitic lime (0, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 18 Mg ha-1) or agricultural gypsum (0, 3, 6 9 and 12 Mg ha-1) were applied to samples of a very acid soil (Haplumbrept) then incubated for three months at room temperature. After incubation, some Chemical determinations were performed in the solid and liquid phases, and the selectivity coefficients between cations were calculated. Lime increased pH and the exchangeable and soluble values of Ca and Mg, decreased Al in both phases and the soluble K. Addition of gypsum had no effect on soil pH, but increased the exchangeable Ca and the concentration of Ca, Mg, Al and K in the liquid phase. Gypsum was the product that most increased solution Ca despite having lower content of Ca than lime. Thus, gypsum can be a good choice for Ca supplying where high values of Ca in solution are needed or when is required a rapid downward movement of Ca in the profile. Cation preference for the negative charges in the limed soil followed the order: Al > Ca > Mg > K; in the samples that received gypsum, the preference varied with the rate applied and for some cations the behavior was opposite of that verified on limed samples.A disponibilidade de Ca no solo depende da atividade na solução e da capacidade da fase sólida restabelecer a concentração na solução à medida que as plantas o absorvem, e essas características são afetadas pelo solo e pelas fontes de Ca. O presente trabalho objetivou avaliar o efeito de calcário ou de gesso agrícola no aumento das formas de Ca no solo e nas propriedades químicas relacionadas com a acidez e com a disponibilidade de Ca aos vegetais. Doses de calcário dolomítico (0, 3, 6, 9, 12 e 18 Mg ha-1) ou de gesso agrícola (0, 3, 6, 9 e 12 Mg ha-1) foram aplicadas em amostras de um Cambissolo Húmico, que a seguir foram incubadas durante três meses na temperatura ambiente. Ao final desse período, efetuaram-se várias determinações químicas nas fases sólida e líquida do solo e calcularam-se os coeficientes de seletividade entre os cátions. A calagem aumentou o pH e os teores de Ca e Mg trocáveis e solúveis, diminuiu o Al nas duas fases, e o K na fase líquida. A adição de gesso não afetou o pH e aumentou o Ca trocável e a concentração de todos os cátions (Ca, Mg, K e Al) na fase líquida.  O gesso, mesmo tendo menos Ca que o calcário, foi o produto que mais aumentou o Ca solúvel e, por isso, pode ser uma boa alternativa para suprir esse nutriente em situações onde haja necessidade de alta concentração na solução e/ou alta mobilização no perfil. A preferência dos cátions pelas cargas negativas, no solo calcariado, seguiu a ordem: Al > Ca > Mg > K; nos tratamentos com gesso, a preferência variou com a dose e, para alguns nutrientes, o comportamento foi o oposto daquele verificado com a calagem

Charlson comorbidity index, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and undertreatment with renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors predict in-hospital mortality of hospitalized COVID-19 patients during the omicron dominant period

Purpose: To investigate the clinical predictors of in-hospital mortality in hospitalized patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection during the Omicron period. Methods: All consecutive hospitalized laboratory‐confirmed COVID-19 patients between January and May 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients underwent accurate physical, laboratory, radiographic and echocardiographic examination. Primary endpoint was in-hospital mortality. Results: 74 consecutive COVID-19 patients (80.0 ± 12.6 yrs, 45.9% males) were included. Patients who died during hospitalization (27%) and those who were discharged alive (73%) were separately analyzed. Compared to patients discharged alive, those who died were significantly older, with higher comorbidity burden and greater prevalence of laboratory, radiographic and echographic signs of pulmonary and systemic congestion. Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) (OR 1.76, 95%CI 1.07-2.92), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (OR 1.24, 95%CI 1.10-1.39) and absence of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI)/angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) therapy (OR 0.01, 95%CI 0.00-0.22) independently predicted the primary endpoint. CCI ≥7 and NLR ≥9 were the best cut-off values for predicting mortality. The mortality risk for patients with CCI ≥7, NLR ≥9 and not in ACEI/ARBs therapy was high (86%); for patients with CCI <7, NLR ≥9, with (16.6%) or without (25%) ACEI/ARBs therapy was intermediate; for patients with CCI <7, NLR <9 and in ACEI/ARBs therapy was of 0%. Conclusions: High comorbidity burden, high levels of NLR and the undertreatment with ACEI/ARBs were the main prognostic indicators of in-hospital mortality. The risk stratification of COVID-19 patients at hospital admission would help the clinicians to take care of the high-risk patients and reduce the mortality

Conservation status and historical relatedness of Italian cattle breeds

Abstract Background: In the last 50 years, the diversity of cattle breeds has experienced a severe contraction. However, in spite of the growing diffusion of cosmopolite specialized breeds, several local cattle breeds are still farmed in Italy. Genetic characterization of breeds represents an essential step to guide decisions in the management of farm animal genetic resources. The aim of this work was to provide a high-resolution representation of the genome-wide diversity and population structure of Italian local cattle breeds using a medium-density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array. Results: After quality control filtering, the dataset included 31,013 SNPs for 800 samples from 32 breeds. Our results on the genetic diversity of these breeds agree largely with their recorded history. We observed a low level of genetic diversity, which together with the small size of the effective populations, confirmed that several breeds are threatened with extinction. According to the analysis of runs of homozygosity, evidence of recent inbreeding was strong in some local breeds, such as Garfagnina, Mucca Pisana and Pontremolese. Patterns of genetic differentiation, shared ancestry, admixture events, and the phylogenetic tree, all suggest the presence of gene flow, in particular among breeds that originate from the same geographical area, such as the Sicilian breeds. In spite of the complex admixture events that most Italian cattle breeds have experienced, they have preserved distinctive characteristics and can be clearly discriminated, which is probably due to differences in genetic origin, environment, genetic isolation and inbreeding. Conclusions: This study is the first exhaustive genome-wide analysis of the diversity of Italian cattle breeds. The results are of significant importance because they will help design and implement conservation strategies. Indeed, efforts to maintain genetic diversity in these breeds are needed. Improvement of systems to record and monitor inbreeding in these breeds may contribute to their in situ conservation and, in view of this, the availability of genomic data is a fundamental resource