Alternative somatic cell count traits exploitable in genetic selection for mastitis resistance in Italian Holsteins

The aim of the present study was to characterize alternative somatic cell count (SCC) traits that could be exploited in genetic selection for mastitis resistance. Data were from 66,407 first-parity Holsteins in 404 herds. Novel SCC traits included average somatic cell score (SCS, log-transformation of SCC) in early lactation (SCS_150), standard deviation of SCS of the entire lactation (SCS_SD), the presence of at least one test-day (TD) SCC >400,000 cells/mL in the lactation, and the ratio of number of TD SCC >400,000 cells/mL to total number of TD in the lactation. Novel traits and lactation-mean SCS (SCS_LM) were analyzed using linear mixed or logistic regression models, including month of calving, year of calving, number of TD, and milk yield as fixed effects, and herd and residual as random terms. A multitrait linear animal model was applied to a random subset of 152 herds (n = 22,695 cows) to assess heritability of and genetic correlations between SCC traits. Alternative SCC traits were affected by the environmental factors included in the model; in particular, results suggested a seasonal effect and a tendency toward an improvement of the udder health status in the last years. Association was also found between novel SCC traits and milk production. Alternative SCC traits exhibited coefficients of additive genetic variation that were similar to or larger than that of traditional SCS_LM. Heritability of novel SCC traits was smaller than heritability of SCS_LM (0.126 \ub1 0.014), ranging from 0.044 \ub1 0.008 (SCS_SD) to 0.087 \ub1 0.010 (SCS_150). Genetic correlations between SCC traits ranged from 0.217 \ub1 0.096 (SCS_150 and SCS_SD) to 0.969 \ub1 0.010 (SCS_LM and SCS_150). Alternative SCC traits exhibited additive genetic variation that is potentially exploitable in breeding programs of Italian Holstein population to improve resistance to mastitis

A critical review of palladium organometallic anticancer agents

With the aim of overcoming the well-known limitations of platinum-based antineoplastic drugs, recent efforts have focused on the development of new anticancer agents containing metals other than platinum. Among these agents, organopalladium compounds have received significant recent attention due to their generally high stability under physiological conditions. A significant number of these compounds have shown promising in vitro and in vivo antiproliferative activity toward several cisplatin-sensitive and cisplatin-resistant tumors and have sometimes exhibited a different mechanism of action compared to platinum-based drugs. In this review, recent advances in the field of organopalladium compounds as potential anticancer agents are discussed

Palladium(II)-η3-Allyl Complexes Bearing N-Trifluoromethyl N-Heterocyclic Carbenes: A New Generation of Anticancer Agents that Restrain the Growth of High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer Tumoroids

The first palladium organometallic compounds bearing N-trifluoromethyl N-heterocyclic carbenes have been synthesized. These η3-allyl complexes are potent antiproliferative agents against different cancer lines (for the most part, IC50 values fall in the range 0.02–0.5 μm). By choosing 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane (PTA) as co-ligand, we can improve the selectivity toward tumor cells, whereas the introduction of 2-methyl substituents generally reduces the antitumor activity slightly. A series of biochemical assays, aimed at defining the cellular targets of these palladium complexes, has shown that mitochondria are damaged before DNA, thus revealing a behavior substantially different from that of cisplatin and its derivatives. We assume that the specific mechanism of action of these organometallic compounds involves nucleophilic attack on the η3-allyl fragment. The effectiveness of a representative complex, 4 c, was verified on ovarian cancer tumoroids derived from patients. The results are promising: unlike carboplatin, our compound turned out to be very active and showed a low toxicity toward normal liver organoids

Synthesis and anticancer activity of Pt(0)-olefin complexes bearing 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane and N-heterocyclic carbene ligands

A series of Pt(0)-η2-olefin complexes bearing 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane (PTA) or N-heterocyclic carbenes are prepared following different synthetic strategies depending on the nature of coordinated alkene and spectator ligands. These new platinum(0) derivatives have been tested in vitro as anticancer agents toward three different tumor (human ovarian cancer A2780 and A2780cis and K562 myelogenous leukemia) and one non-tumor (Hacat keratinocytes) cell lines, proving to be in several cases highly and selectively cytotoxic against ovarian cancer cells. Furthermore, this antiproliferative effect is associated with the activation of an apoptosis process. In particular, complexes equipped with PTA as spectator ligand give comparable IC50 values on A2780 (cisplatin sensitive) and A2780cis (cisplatin resistant) cell lines, indirectly proving that these new Pt(0) substrates act with a mechanism of action conceivably different from cisplatin. This hypothesis is also confirmed by the fact that our compounds, in contrast to cisplatin, are not able to promote erythroid-differentiation activity on the K562 myelogenous leukemia cell line

Development of a scale to measure the psychological resources of grit in adults

Grit has been linked to increased performance, retention and well-being in various fields. Defined as having perseverance and passion for long-term goals, grit is a personality trait related to one's perseverance of effort (perseverance) and consistency of interests (passion) toward their goals. In the fifteen years since the original grit scale was published, many studies have investigated factors that promote grit. However, a scale has not yet been developed measuring characteristics that can contribute to higher levels of grit. This study aimed to develop a novel scale to measure the psychological resources of grit. The Delphi technique was used to obtain consensus from an international panel of academics and practitioners who are experts in grit and related constructs. A total of 30 participants rated 100 scale items conducted over three rounds of online surveys. Experts agreed that items selected for the final scale (n = 20) were essential, with 85% rating these as important or very important. This scale would be a helpful diagnostic tool for practitioners involved in staff development and support building capabilities that contribute to goal achievement

Synthesis of novel olefin complexes of palladium(0) bearing monodentate NHC, phosphine and isocyanide spectator ligands

We have synthesized and characterized seventeen new bis-NHC, mixed NHCâ\u80\u93phosphines or NHCâ\u80\u93isocyanides Pd(0) olefin complexes that can potentially act as catalysts. The complexes were characterized by standard spectroscopic methods and elemental analysis and in two cases by SC-XRD technique. We have analyzed with particular care the thermodynamic and kinetic conditions governing the one-pot synthesis of the mixed complexes. In this respect we tried to validate our results by a dedicated computational study on the mutual distribution of the isomers that could be potentially formed. However, the computational result is not clear-cut owing to the not significant value of the calculated Î\u94G0. Finally, in one case we have measured the rate of the exchange reaction between not particularly encumbered olefins

Synthesis and characterization of novel olefin complexes of palladium(0) with chelating bis(N-heterocyclic carbenes) as spectator ligands

We have synthesized several novel palladium(0) olefin complexes stabilized by strong σ-donating bis-chelating carbene ligands characterized by one or two CH2spacers and electron-withdrawing olefins. Although it appears obvious that the σ-donating carbenes and electron-withdrawing olefins should cooperate in the stabilization of the ensuing complexes, the limit of their coexistence was not hitherto clear. On the basis of previously measured stabilizing capability of the olefins toward Pd(0) complexes we were able to synthesize ten complexes (nine new and one synthesized by a different protocol from that of the literature). The less electron-withdrawing olefin capable of stabilizing the complex was dimethylfumarate. However, the most interesting results were obtained with the (Z)-1,2-bis(p-tolylsulfonyl)ethene (cis-sulf) which instantly isomerizes upon coordination and in the case of the derivative bearing the olefin tetramethyl ethene-1,1,2,2-tetracarboxylate (tmetc) whose decomposition in CD2Cl2yields the saturated tetramethyl ethane-1,1,2,2-tetracarboxylate (D2). The solid-state structure of the complex 4d bearing the bis-carbene 1,1′-dibenzyl-3,3′methylenediimidazol-2,2′-diylidene and the olefin (E)-1,2-bis(p-tolylsulfonyl)ethene (trans-sulf) was also determined