Laryngeal mask airway in neonatal stabilization and transport: a retrospective study.

Laryngeal mask airway (LMA) may be considered by health caregivers of level I–II hospitals for neonatal resuscitation and stabilization before and during interhospital care, but literature provides little information on this aspect. This study reviewed the use of LMA during stabilization and transport in a large series of neonates. This is a retrospective study evaluating the use of LMA in infants who underwent emergency transport by the Eastern Veneto Neonatal Emergency Transport Service between January 2003 and December 2021. All data were obtained from transport registry, transport forms, and hospital charts. In total, 64/3252 transferred neonates (2%) received positive pressure ventilation with an LMA, with increasing trend over time (p = 0.001). Most of these neonates were transferred after birth (97%), due to a respiratory or neurologic disease (95%). LMA was used before the transport (n = 60), during the transport (n = 1), or both (n = 3). No device-related adverse effects were recorded. Sixty-one neonates (95%) survived and were discharged/transferred from the receiving center

The effect of co-payments on the take-up of prenatal tests

Noninvasive prenatal screening tests help identify genetic disorders in a fetus, but their take-up remains low in several countries. Using a regression discontinuity design, we test the causal effect of a policy that eliminated co-payments for noninvasive screening tests in Italy. We identify the treatment effects by a discontinuity in women's eligibility for a free test based on their conception date. We find that the policy increases the probability of women's undergoing noninvasive screening tests by 5.5 percentage points, and the effect varies by socioeconomic status. We do not find evidence of substitution effects with more expensive and riskier invasive diagnostic tests. In addition, the increase in take-up does not affect pregnancy termination or newborn health. We find some evidence of positive effects on mothers’ health behaviors during pregnancy as measured by reductions in mothers’ weight gain and hospital admissions during pregnancy, but these are statistically significant only at the 10 percent level

Diabetes risk reduction diet and endometrial cancer risk

Diabetes increases endometrial cancer risk. We investigated the role of a diabetes risk reduction diet (DRRD) on the risk of endometrial cancer using data from a multicentric, Italian hospital-based case–control study (1992–2006) enrolling 454 histologically confirmed cases of endometrial cancer and 908 controls matched by age and center. We derived a DRRD score assigning higher scores for higher intakes of cereal fiber, fruit, coffee, polyunsaturated:saturated fatty acid ratio, and nuts and for lower glycemic load and lower intakes of red/processed meat and sugar-sweetened beverages/fruit juices. The odds ratios (OR) of endometrial cancer according to the DRRD score were derived by multiple conditional logistic regression models. The OR for high (DRRD score >24, i.e., third tertile) versus medium–low adherence to the DRRD was 0.73 (95% confidence interval, CI, 0.55–0.97). Similar results were observed after the exclusion of diabetic women (OR 0.75; 95% CI, 0.56–1.00) and allowance for total vegetable consumption (OR 0.80; 95% CI, 0.60–1.07). Inverse associations were observed in most of the analyzed subgroups. The OR for high DRRD combined with high vegetable consumption was 0.45 (95% CI, 0.28–0.73). Our results suggest that diets able to reduce diabetes risk may also reduce endometrial cancer risk. High vegetable consumption combined with high adherence to the DRRD may provide additional benefit in endometrial cancer prevention

PTX3 shapes profibrotic immune cells and epithelial/fibroblast repair and regeneration in a murine model of pulmonary fibrosis

The long pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is protective in different pathologies but was not analyzed in-depth in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). Here, we have explored the influence of PTX3 in the bleomycin (BLM)-induced murine model of IPF by looking at immune cells (macrophages, mast cells, T cells) and stemness/regenerative markers of lung epithelium (SOX2) and fibro-blasts/myofibroblasts (CD44) at different time points that retrace the progression of the disease from onset at day 14, to full-blown disease at day 21, to incomplete regression at day 28. We took advantage of transgenic PTX3 overexpressing mice (Tie2-PTX3) and Ptx3 null ones (PTX3-KO) in which pulmonary fibrosis was induced. Our data have shown that PTX3 overexpression in Tie2-PTX3 compared to WT or PTX3-KO: reduced CD68+ and CD163+ macrophages and the Tryptase+ mast cells during the whole experimental time; on the contrary, CD4+ T cells are consistently present on day 14 and dramatically decreased on day 21; CD8+ T cells do not show significant differences on day 14, but are significantly reduced on day 21; SOX2 is reduced on days 14 and 21; CD44 is reduced on day 21. Therefore, PTX3 could act on the proimmune and fibrogenic microenvironment to prevent fibrosis in BLM-treated mice

The Butterfly Fauna Of The Italian Maritime Alps:Results Of The «Edit» Project

Bonelli, Simona, Barbero, Francesca, Casacci, Luca Pietro, Cerrato, Cristiana, Balletto, Emilio (2015): The butterfly fauna of the Italian Maritime Alps: results of the EDIT project. Zoosystema 37 (1): 139-167, DOI: 10.5252/z2015n1a6, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5252/z2015n1a

Family history of cancer and the risk of cancer: a network of case-control studies

Background The risk of many cancers is higher in subjects with a family history (FH) of cancer at a concordant site. However, few studies investigated FH of cancer at discordant sites. Patients and methods This study is based on a network of Italian and Swiss case-control studies on 13 cancer sites conducted between 1991 and 2009, and including more than 12 000 cases and 11 000 controls. We collected information on history of any cancer in first degree relatives, and age at diagnosis. Odds ratios (ORs) for FH were calculated by multiple logistic regression models, adjusted for major confounding factors. Results All sites showed an excess risk in relation to FH of cancer at the same site. Increased risks were also found for oral and pharyngeal cancer and FH of laryngeal cancer (OR = 3.3), esophageal cancer and FH of oral and pharyngeal cancer (OR = 4.1), breast cancer and FH of colorectal cancer (OR = 1.5) and of hemolymphopoietic cancers (OR = 1.7), ovarian cancer and FH of breast cancer (OR = 2.3), and prostate cancer and FH of bladder cancer (OR = 3.4). For most cancer sites, the association with FH was stronger when the proband was affected at age <60 years. Conclusions Our results point to several potential cancer syndromes that appear among close relatives and may indicate the presence of genetic factors influencing multiple cancer site

Morfotipos de novos isolados de microalgas da Coleção do Laboratório de Biotecnologia de Algas da Embrapa Agroenergia.

São reportados os procedimentos realizados com o objetivo de caracterizar os morfotipos obtidos de colônias de microalgas isoladadas em meio de cultura tendo como fonte principal de Nitrogênio o nitrato (meio BG11) ou amônio (meio BGUF). Estes isolados resultaram do crescimento de microalgas coletadas de lagoas ou poças de água ao longo da Estrada Parque Pantanal, no Mato Grosso do Sul, em viagem realizada em 11 de novembro de 2019. Após crescimento inicial em meio líquido, amostras foram riscadas em placas com meios semissólidos, com posterior repicagem de colônias selecionadas ao acaso para novo crescimento em meio líquido. Então, frações de 1 mL foram separadas, tratadas com solução fixadora (2,5% glutaraldeido em 0,1M cacodilato de sódio, pH 7,2) e montadas em lamínulas, para observação em Microscópio Óptico AxioImage Z2, marca Zeiss, em contraste de interferência diferencial. As microalgas presentes foram registradas digitalmente, usando&#8209;se câmera digital IcC3 e o software Zen&#8209;Zeiss, avaliando&#8209;se os descritores morfológicos visíveis de núcleo, estrutura do talo, forma e cor. A fotodocumentação das microalgas isoladas resultou numa variedade significativa de morfotipos, com predominância de formas cocoides ou assemelhadas, em detrimento de formas filamentosas. Tal resultado indica que é necessário cuidado nos procedimentos iniciais de seleção para não serem isolados apenas microalgas de um macrogrupo específico, limitando&#8209;se o enriquecimento da diversidade de algas numa coleção de diferentes espécies

Efeito de nanopartículas de carbono fluorescentes (Krill A32) no crescimento da microalga Chlorella sorokiniana Embrapa|LBA#39.

As microalgas são organismos fotossintetizantes de elevado interesse biotecnológico. Visando ao aumento da produção de sua biomassa e bioprodutos derivados, muitas estratégias são desenvolvidas e citadas na literatura. Uma abordagem promissora é o uso de nanopartículas de carbono fluorescentes. Neste trabalho, investigou-se o efeito de diversas concentrações do Cdot Krill A32 no crescimento da microalga Chlorella sorokiniana Embrapa|LBA#39 cultivada em microplacas de 96 poços. As concentrações avaliadas foram: 0, 10, 50, 100, 150, 300 e 600 ng/L; 10, 50, 100, 150, 300 e 600 ug/L; e 10, 50, 100, 150, 300 e 600 mg/L. A 50 ng/L o Cdot promoveu aumento do crescimento da microalga em 6%, sendo que as demais concentrações não promoveram alterações estatisticamente significativas ou acarretaram em diminuição do crescimento da microalga, provavelmente devido à indução de estresse oxidativo

Maternal Melatonin Programs the Daily Pattern of Energy Metabolism in Adult Offspring

Background: Shift work was recently described as a factor that increases the risk of Type 2 diabetes mellitus. In addition, rats born to mothers subjected to a phase shift throughout pregnancy are glucose intolerant. However, the mechanism by which a phase shift transmits metabolic information to the offspring has not been determined. Among several endocrine secretions, phase shifts in the light/dark cycle were described as altering the circadian profile of melatonin production by the pineal gland. The present study addresses the importance of maternal melatonin for the metabolic programming of the offspring. Methodology/Principal Findings: Female Wistar rats were submitted to SHAM surgery or pinealectomy (PINX). The PINX rats were divided into two groups and received either melatonin (PM) or vehicle. The SHAM, the PINX vehicle and the PM females were housed with male Wistar rats. Rats were allowed to mate and after weaning, the male and female offspring were subjected to a glucose tolerance test (GTT), a pyruvate tolerance test (PTT) and an insulin tolerance test (ITT). Pancreatic islets were isolated for insulin secretion, and insulin signaling was assessed in the liver and in the skeletal muscle by western blots. We found that male and female rats born to PINX mothers display glucose intolerance at the end of the light phase of the light/dark cycle, but not at the beginning. We further demonstrate that impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and hepatic insulin resistance are mechanisms that may contribute to glucose intolerance in the offspring of PINX mothers. The metabolic programming described here occurs due to an absence of maternal melatonin because the offspring born to PINX mothers treated with melatonin were not glucose intolerant. Conclusions/Significance: The present results support the novel concept that maternal melatonin is responsible for the programming of the daily pattern of energy metabolism in their offspring.Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Aperfeicoameno Cientifico)CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Aperfeicoameno Cientifico