Cardiac Autonomic Effects of Yearly Athletic Retreats on Elite Basket Players. Usefulness of a Unitary Autonomic Nervous System Indicator

In most sports athletic performance is determined by a combination of hard and soft modifiable components, encompassing physical and psychological elements that can be assessed with modern techniques based respectively on simple friendly methods: analysis of HRV and questionnaires. Specifically a novel % rank Autonomic Nervous System Indicator (ANSI) seems particularly useful also in elite sports. In this investigation we assessed ANSI capacity to detect the expected changes in cardiac autonomic regulation induced in the Italian basketball team by the participation (18 subjects) to the yearly biweekly Alpine training summer camp. We observed that ANSI increased from 58.8 +/- 32.5 to 81.7 +/- 27.5 (at the end of training camp) and did not change further in the subsequent initial weeks of competition season (overall p < 0.001). Congruent changes were observed in non-linear indices. Concomitantly indices of somatic symptoms were slightly reduced just at the end of the alpine training. We conclude that analysis of HRV and questionnaires might offer a simple, useful technique to monitor changes in cardiac autonomic regulation and psychological state in elite athletes providing a convenient additional element to evaluation of training routines also in the fields

Evaluation of different methods to estimate the transfer of immunity in donkey foals fed with colostrum of good IgG quality: A preliminary study

The aims of the present study were to evaluate the correlation between IgG Serum Radial Immunodiffusion (SRID), Electrophoresis Gamma Globulins (EGG), Electrophoresis Total Protein (ETP) and the serum total protein (TP) analyzed by refractometry and by a dry chemistry analyzer (Biuret) and to estimate serum IgG concentrations using serum TP. A total of 36 samples collected at four different times (birth, 6, 12, 24 hours after birth) from nine Amiata donkey foals were evaluated with SRID, EGG, ETP, serum TP Biuret and refractometry. SRID IgG concentration increased significantly over time until T12. Serum TP analyzed with refractometry, electrophoresis and Biuret showed a statistically significant difference between T0 and T6 vs T12 and T24. A good or strong correlation was found between different tests performed. Equations to quantify serum IgG were created and can be used for estimating the donkey foals’ serum IgG in the first day of life. Serum TP refractometry showed a high correlation with SRID IgG (0.91) which may be a particularly useful and economic instrument to estimate the transfer of immunity in donkey foals during the first day of life

Functional Tricuspid Regurgitation Repair at the time of Left-Sided Valve Surgery. the Impact on the Cardiac Rehabilitation Program

Objective: to compare the early post-operative functional status and the efficacy of the cardiac rehabilitation program (CRP) after isolated left-sided valvular surgery or with concomitant tricuspid valve repair (TVR). Methods: we retrospectively enrolled patients admitted to the Cardiac Rehabilitation Unit of our institution from January 2014 to January 2019, following mitral or aortic valve surgery. In agreement with current guidelines, concomitant tricuspid annuloplasty was added to patients with severe functional tricuspid regurgitation (TR) and in those with mild to moderate TR when annulus dilatation was present. A 6-minute walk test (6mWT) was performed within the second day of admission and repeated predischarge. The distances walked on the 6mWT were reported as absolute value and as a percentage of the predicted value, taking into account anthropometric variables. Changes in the 6mWT performance and Barthel index (BI) were assessed to evaluate the impact of CRP on exercise tolerance and functional independence, respectively. Results: of 117 patients, 62 (53%) had isolated left-sided valvular surgery and 55 (47%) had concomitant TVR. There were no significant differences between the two groups in the baseline 6mWT performance and its improvement at the end of CRP. TVR was associated with a worse BI on admission, but with a greater improvement after the CRP and a pre-discharge BI comparable to isolated left-sided surgery. Upon linear regression analysis, diabetes and chronic renal disease were predictors of the baseline 6mWT performance. Conclusion: TVR does not affect the early post-operative functional status and the efficacy of the CRP after valvular surgery

Hepatic lead and copper concentrations in dogs with chronic hepatitis and their relationship with hematology, serum biochemistry, and histopathology

Background: Although the influence of copper ([Cu]) on chronic hepatitis (CH) has been widely studied in dogs, little information is available about the accumulation of other metals. Hypothesis/Objectives: We assessed the concentration of lead ([Pb]) in the livers of dogs with CH with or without abnormal hepatic [Cu] to establish if any association existed between [Pb] and either hematologic or biochemical variables, fibrosis, necrosis and inflammation of the liver on histology. Animals: Thirty-four dogs with CH that had hepatic [Cu] and [Pb] determined. Methods: Retrospective review of medical records of dogs with CH and hepatic [Cu] and [Pb]. Chronic hepatitis was defined using current American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine consensus statement guidelines. Hepatic [Cu] and [Pb] were determined using square wave anodic stripping voltammetry. Dogs were divided into 2 groups based on [Cu]: <400 ppm (LoCu) and ≥400 ppm (HiCu). Results: The median [Cu] and [Pb] were 357 ppm (range, 100-7743 ppm) and 58.7 (range, 6.89-224.4 ppm), respectively. Nineteen dogs had LoCu and 15 dogs had HiCu. Median [Pb] was significantly higher in HiCu compared to LoCu dogs (P <.001). Hepatic [Pb] and [Cu] were significantly correlated (rho = 0.7; P <.001). Dogs with microcytosis had higher [Pb] than did dogs with normal red cell volume (P =.02). Hepatic [Pb] was not correlated with either necroinflammatory or fibrosis scores. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Although additional studies are needed to better understand the clinical role of hepatic [Pb], dogs with abnormal hepatic [Cu] may also have higher hepatic [Pb]. In addition, in dogs with high hepatic [Pb], microcytosis may be present

Techno-economic analysis of a solar thermal plant for large-scale water pasteurization

Water pasteurization has the potential to overcome some of the drawbacks of more conventional disinfection techniques such as chlorination, ozonation and ultraviolet radiation treatment. However, the high throughput of community water systems requires energy-intensive processes, and renewable energy sources have the potential to improve the sustainability of water pasteurization plants. In case of water pasteurization by solar thermal treatment, the continuity of operation is limited by the intermittent availability of the solar irradiance. Here we show that this problem can be addressed by a proper design of the plant layout, which includes a thermal energy storage system and an auxiliary gas boiler. Based on a target pasteurization protocol validated by experiments, a complete lumped-component model of the plant is developed and used to determine the operating parameters and size of the components for a given delivery flow rate. Finally, we report an economic analysis of the proposed plant layout, which allows its optimization for different scenarios based on two design variables, namely the solar multiple and the duration of the thermal energy storage. Based on the analyzed cases, it is found that the proposed plant layouts may yield a unit cost of water treatment ranging from ≈32 EUR-cents m−3 to ≈25 EUR-cents m−3

Techno-economic analysis of a solar thermal plant for large-scale water pasteurization

Water pasteurization has the potential to overcome some of the drawbacks of more conventional disinfection techniques such as chlorination, ozonation and ultraviolet radiation treatment. However, the high throughput of community water systems requires energy-intensive processes, and renewable energy sources have the potential to improve the sustainability of water pasteurization plants. In case of water pasteurization by solar thermal treatment, the continuity of operation is limited by the intermittent availability of the solar irradiance. Here we show that this problem can be addressed by a proper design of the plant layout, which includes a thermal energy storage system and an auxiliary gas boiler. Based on a target pasteurization protocol validated by experiments, a complete lumped-component model of the plant is developed and used to determine the operating parameters and size of the components for a given delivery flow rate. Finally, we report an economic analysis of the proposed plant layout, which allows its optimization for different scenarios based on two design variables, namely the solar multiple and the duration of the thermal energy storage. Based on the analyzed cases, it is found that the proposed plant layouts may yield a unit cost of water treatment ranging from ≈32 EUR-cents m-3 to ≈25 EUR-cents m-3

The chemokine receptor CX3CR1 is directly involved in the arrest of breast cancer cells to the skeleton

Abstract Introduction Skeletal metastases from breast adenocarcinoma are responsible for most of the morbidity and mortality associated with this tumor and represent a significant and unmet need for therapy. The arrival of circulating cancer cells to the skeleton depends first on the adhesive interactions with the endothelial cells lining the bone marrow sinusoids, and then the extravasation toward chemoattractant molecules produced by the surrounding bone stroma. We have previously shown that the membrane-bound and cell-adhesive form of the chemokine fractalkine is exposed on the luminal side of human bone marrow endothelial cells and that bone stromal cells release the soluble and chemoattractant form of this chemokine. The goal of this study was to determine the role of fractalkine and its specific receptor CX3CR1 in the homing of circulating breast cancer cells to the skeleton. Methods We employed a powerful pre-clinical animal model of hematogenous metastasis, in which fluorescent cancer cells are identified immediately after their arrival to the bone. We engineered cells to over-express either wild-type or functional mutants of CX3CR1 as well as employed transgenic mice knockout for fractalkine. Results CX3CR1 protein is detected in human tissue microarrays of normal and malignant mammary glands. We also found that breast cancer cells expressing high levels of this receptor have a higher propensity to spread to the skeleton. Furthermore, studies with fractalkine-null transgenic mice indicate that the ablation of the adhesive and chemotactic ligand of CX3CR1 dramatically impairs the skeletal dissemination of circulating cancer cells. Finally, we conclusively confirmed the crucial role of CX3CR1 on breast cancer cells for both adhesion to bone marrow endothelium and extravasation into the bone stroma. Conclusions We provide compelling evidence that the functional interactions between fractalkine produced by both the endothelial and stromal cells of bone marrow and the CX3CR1 receptor on breast cancer cells are determinant in the arrest and initial lodging needed for skeletal dissemination