Role of epidemiology applied to a local area based on a study carried out in the community of Fiorano Modenese (ceramic district).

Mortality data in the province of Modena 1987-1996 show an excess for lung cancer in the municipality of Fiorano Modenese. In order to characterize the risk factors involved, a case-control study was carried out. Exposure to particulate matter was associated with lung cancer (OR 2.4 IC 95% 1.2-4.7). In the meantime, also as a consequence of this study, Fiorano Modenese Council started actions and obligations to control air pollutants emissions. The study is described as an example of good integration between local epidemiological knowledge and preventive interventions by Local Administration; problems and doubts surfacing from this experience are also pointed out

Whole-cell pertussis vaccination and decreased Risk of IgE-mediated food allergy: a nested case-control study

BACKGROUND:Rates of food allergy have increased markedly in Australia and other high- income countries in recent years. On the basis of ecological observations, and the known immunologic characteristics of whole-cell pertussis (wP) compared with acellular pertussis (aP) vaccines, we hypothesized that wP vaccination in infancy protects against the development of food allergy. OBJECTIVE:To determine whether infants who receive wP in infancy were less likely to develop IgE-mediated food allergy than those who received aP. METHODS:Retrospective cohort-nested case-control study of Australian children born in the period 1997 to 1999, the period of transition from using wP-containing to aP-containing vaccines. Children diagnosed with IgE-mediated food allergy were individually matched to 10 controls by date of birth, socioeconomic decile, and jurisdiction of birth. The odds ratio of vaccination with wP versus aP among cases and matched controls was calculated using conditional logistic regression. RESULTS:The odds ratio of receiving the first dose as wP (rather than aP) among cases of food allergy compared with controls was 0.77 (95% CI, 0.62-0.95). The results of secondary analyses (any dose as wP vs aP-only, and wP-only vs aP-only) were broadly similar. CONCLUSIONS:Australian infants who received wP vaccines were less likely to be diagnosed with food allergy in childhood than contemporaneous children who received aP vaccines. If a protective effect is confirmed in a randomized controlled trial, wP or mixed wP and aP vaccination schedules could form part of an effective strategy for combating the rise in food allergies.Marie J.Estcourt, Dianne E.Campbell, Michael S.Gold, Peter Richmond, Katrina J.Allen, Helen E.Quinn ... et al

Níveis de cromo orgânico em rações para frangos de corte mantidos sob estresse por calor no período de um a 42 dias de idade Levels of dietary chromiumin rations for male broilers kept under heat stress from one to 42 days of age

Avaliou-se o efeito da suplementação de cromo sobre o desempenho e o rendimento de cortes de frangos, mantidos em ambiente de alta temperatura, no período de um a 42 dias de idade. Foram utilizados 400 frangos de corte, machos, da linhagem Cobb, em um delineamento experimental inteiramente ao acaso, com cinco tratamentos, 0, 350, 700, 1.050 e 1.400ppb de cromo na ração, oito repetições e 10 aves por repetição. Nos períodos de um a 21 e de um a 42 dias de idade, não houve influência dos tratamentos sobre o ganho de peso, o consumo de ração e a conversão alimentar das aves, mas observou-se que o consumo de cromo aumentou de forma linear. Os tratamentos não influenciaram os pesos absoluto e relativo de nenhum dos cortes, peito, coxa e sobrecoxa, avaliados aos 42 dias de idade. A suplementação de até 1.400ppb de cromo na ração não influenciou o desempenho e o rendimento de cortes nobres de frangos de corte mantidos em estresse por calor, no período de um a 42 dias de idade.<br>The effect of dietary organic chromium supplementation on the performance and yield of prime cuts of male broilers from one to 42 days of age reared under high environmental temperature was evaluated. Four-hundred Cobb male broilers, averaging 38±0.14g were distributed in a simple sample random design with five treatments (0; 350; 700; 1,050; and 1,400ppb of chromium in ration), eight replicates, and ten birds per replicates. In periods from one to 21 and from one to 42 days of age, the treatments did not influence the weight gain, the food intake, and the feed:gain ratio of the birds. However, the chromium intake increased in a linear way. No effect of both absolute and relative weights of all evaluated cuts (breast, thigh, and drumstick) was observed. The dietary chromium supplementation up to 1,400ppb did not influence the performance and the carcass traits of the male broilers kept under heat stress from one to 42 days of age

Santi, culti e simboli nell'etā della secolarizzazione: (1815-1915)

Gli autori portano alla luce alcune questioni cruciali dell'Otto-Novecento, offrendo un preciso quadro della storia religiosa dell'epoca. Le modificazioni intervenute in ambito istituzionale e agiografico, la riproposizione di vecchi culti e il radicarsi di altri, l'affermazione di nuovi modelli di santità e la formazione di miti sacri e profani sono i grandi temi attraverso i quali gli autori dipingono svolte e contraddizioni del vissuto religioso dell'Otto-Novecento

PocketPlant3D: Analysing canopy structure using a smartphone

Leaf angle and curvature are considered important by breeders for increasing plant productivity. We developed a smartphone app (PocketPlant3D) that makes use of the device accelerometer and magnetometer to measure leaf insertion angle and the leaf angles from the insertion to the tip, in turn used to reconstruct the 3D distribution of the angles of photosynthetic tissues. Starting from these angles, PocketPlant3D derives the mean leaf tilt angle (MTA) and the parameters of the Campbell and \uce\ub2 leaf angle distributions (LAD), as well as a new leaf curvature indicator. The app was compared with other methods for quantifying precision in measuring leaf insertion angle on maize and sweetcorn (4320 leaf insertion angle measurements) via a ring test. Both precision metrics (repeatability and reproducibility) were similar for the different methods, with the exception of the digital inclinometer, which was the less precise. Concerning the analysis of canopy structure (a total of more than 72,000 angles were measured), PocketPlant3D allowed two genotypes to be discriminated for MTA and, especially, for the parameters of the two LADs and for the curvature indicator, whereas the two genotypes presented similar leaf insertion angles. The completeness of the information collected and the time effectiveness make PocketPlant3D a useful tool for phenotyping activities and ecophysiological studies