Meta-analysis of nutritional effects on conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in milk fat of dairy cows

A meta-analysis was carried out on 41 selected studies to obtain more reliable results about the influence of some nutritional factors on conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in milk fat. Data were analysed with a linear mixed model, including the study as random variable, that highlighted a significant effect on milk CLA content of fat source and the physical form of the lipid supplement used in the diet. The content of fat in the diet and the forage/concentrate ratio seem do not have significant effects

Il Catasto Ragionato Informatico delle Grotte Archeologiche – C.R.I.G.A. on-line

Da oltre un secolo è noto in ambiente speleologico, geologico, archeologico che il Carso triestino è un’area ad alta concentrazione di grotte, molte delle quali – 165 stando ai dati dell’Archivio Storico della Società Alpina delle Giulie – con tracce della presenza umana in antico. Le grotte hanno catalizzato l’interesse sia di ricercatori professionisti, sia di appassionati o curiosi, e questo ha comportato il susseguirsi dagli ultimi decenni dell’800 ad oggi di moltissimi interventi di scavo, sistematici e non, che hanno dato una quantità ingente di materiali rimasti largamente inediti. Al fine di recuperare e organizzare la documentazione presente in letteratura e negli archivi, e di contestualizzare le tracce dell’uomo nell’ambiente naturale, in primis nelle singole grotte, una decina di anni fa si è avviato un progetto interdisciplinare che ha coinvolto specialisti di discipline diverse dell’Università degli Studi di Trieste nella costruzione di una banca dati geo-archeologica denominata Catasto Ragionato Informatico delle Grotte Archeologiche – C.R.I.G.A. Al di là della possibilità di soddisfare gli obiettivi originari di ricerca scientifica, il C.R.I.G.A. ha grandi potenzialità anche a fini di didattica, divulgazione, tutela delle grotte e pianificazione degli interventi sul territorio. In considerazione di questi aspetti, il database è stato reso accessibile a chiunque, all’indirizzo web www. units.it/criga. Nel presente contributo si presentano brevemente la storia del C.R.I.G.A., la situazione attuale e le prospettive future.For more than a century, it is well known in speleological, geological and archaeological fields that the Karst Plateau is an area with a high concentration of caves, many of which – 165 according to data from the Historical Archive of the Julian Alpine Society – contain traces of ancient human presence. The caves have attracted the interest of both professional researchers and curious enthusiasts, resulting in a succession of excavation work, systematic and non-systematic, from the last decades of the 1800s up until today, which has produced a large quantity of material that has remained for the most part unpublished. In order to retrieve and organize the documentation found in literature and archives, and to contextualize the traces of mankind in the natural environment, primarily in the single caves, a decade or so ago an interdisciplinary program was started up involving specialists in various fields from the University of Trieste in the creation of geo-archaeological database called the Computerized Cadastre of Archaeological Caves (CRIGA – Catasto Ragionato Informatico delle Grotte Archeologiche). Aside from the possibility to meet the original objectives of scientific research, CRIGA also has great potential for teaching, promotion, cave protection and the planning of operations in the area. In view of these aspects, the database has been made accessible by the general public, at the web address www. units.it/criga. This contribution provides a brief history of CRIGA, its actual situation and its future prospects

Shearing influences the milk fatty acid profile of dairy ewes

In Mediterranean areas shearing is commonly performed during late spring and, therefore, ewes may be exposed to cold stress especially during the night. Short-term periods of cold exposure can increase hepatic glucose production, decrease insulin secretion and increase fat catabolism and plasma non-esterified free fatty acids (NEFA) concentration. These metabolic adaptations to cold exposure can increase the mammary uptake of long-chain fatty acid from plasma. The present study aimed to investigate the metabolic response of dairy ewes to shearing by monitoring their milk fatty acid (FA) profile. Twelve 2-4-year-old Sarda ewes, in mid-late lactation, were used. The trial lasted from 30th May to 9th June 2006. The pre-experimental period (pre-shearing, PrS) was from 30th May to 5th June (shearing day), being followed by the experimental period (post-shearing, PoS) until 9th June. On shearing day, the flock was divided in two groups (6 ewes each) which were then managed differently: non-confined group (NCG) and confined group (CG) which was kept in a sheepfold during the night. Four samplings during PrS and other four during PoS periods were performed. During the trial, ewes were fed concentrate at 1000g/d per head, during the two daily milking, and hay ad libitum, and grazed on green clover (3h/day). Daily milk production was recorded and daily milk samples were collected for analysis of fat content and FA profile. Shearing did not influence milk yield but increased significantly milk fat content (6.37 vs. 6.94% for PrS and PoS, respectively; P<0.01). Ewes confinement during the night did not affect milk yield and its fat content. Shearing modified significantly the FA profile of milk. The concentration of C8, C10, C12 and C16 increased significantly from PrS to PoS. On the other hand, the content of long-chain FA (>C18:0) did not change between PrS and PoS (46.26 vs. 46.40mg/100g of FAME, respectively). These results suggest that the increase of milk fat after shearing was related to the increase of the main FA synthesized by the mammary gland. However, the unexpected increase in the synthesis of short- and medium-chain FA after shearing suggests that these animals were not subjected to cold stress. Therefore, the mechanism involved in the modification of the FA profile caused by shearing in dairy ewes should be elucidated

Moltiplicazione in vitro di <i>Salvia desoleana</i> Atzei e Picci

The Salvia desoleana Atzei and Picci is an endemic species of the Sardinia, perennial, evergreen, with lignified epigeo stock. It is one camefita and, after a short period of rest, it emits, from gems in first 20-30 cm of the stalk, coppers that shall flowering in spring-summer. The cultivated plants persist for numerous years. The parts of the plant used for the extraction of essential oils are the inflorescenze and leaves, time of collection on July. To the plant, the following propriety have been ascripted: antipiretyc, antispasmodic, astringent, hypertensive, stimulating and tonic; coleretic property; peripheral analgesic activity, antiinflammatory activity, antimicrobic property and some depressing effects on the centraI nervous system. It has been demonstrated that it induces apoptosys. It has been performed a study of approach to the adaptability to the cultivation in vitro of the species, in order to carry out the propagation of a high number of plants. The substrates use you in the experimentation were base on basal salts and vitamins of Murashige and Skoog. Lengthening of the buds in cultivation has been taken pIace on an substrates. Formation of callus to the base of the explants has been observed in NAA and 6BA; multiplication on substrates containing NAA and 6BA or IBA. The observed factor of multiplication is of 2-3 new buds for bud in cultivation in the first month, increased to 20 in the second month. It has been induced formation of roots in the buds in cultivation on containing substrate IAA

SAVASA project @ TRECVID 2012: interactive surveillance event detection

In this paper we describe our participation in the interactive surveillance event detection task at TRECVid 2012. The system we developed was comprised of individual classifiers brought together behind a simple video search interface that enabled users to select relevant segments based on down~sampled animated gifs. Two types of user -- `experts' and `end users' -- performed the evaluations. Due to time constraints we focussed on three events -- ObjectPut, PersonRuns and Pointing -- and two of the five available cameras (1 and 3). Results from the interactive runs as well as discussion of the performance of the underlying retrospective classifiers are presented

Zonation of Ribosomal DNA Transcription Defines a Stem Cell Hierarchy in Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancers (CRCs) are composed of an amalgam of cells with distinct genotypes and phenotypes. Here, we reveal a previously unappreciated heterogeneity in the biosynthetic capacities of CRC cells. We discover that the majority of ribosomal DNA transcription and protein synthesis in CRCs occurs in a limited subset of tumor cells that localize in defined niches. The rest of the tumor cells undergo an irreversible loss of their biosynthetic capacities as a consequence of differentiation. Cancer cells within the biosynthetic domains are characterized by elevated levels of the RNA polymerase I subunit A (POLR1A). Genetic ablation of POLR1A-high cell population imposes an irreversible growth arrest on CRCs. We show that elevated biosynthesis defines stemness in both LGR5+ and LGR5− tumor cells. Therefore, a common architecture in CRCs is a simple cell hierarchy based on the differential capacity to transcribe ribosomal DNA and synthesize proteins

Notulae to the Italian native vascular flora: 5.

In this contribution, new data concerning the distribution of native vascular flora in Italy are presented. It includes new records and confirmations to the Italian administrative regions for taxa in the genera Allium, Arabis, Campanula, Centaurea, Chaerophyllum, Crocus, Dactylis, Dianthus, Festuca, Galanthus, Helianthemum, Lysimachia, Milium, Pteris, and Quercus. Nomenclature and distribution updates, published elsewhere, and corrections are provided as supplementary material

Structured reporting for fibrosing lung disease: a model shared by radiologist and pulmonologist

Objectives: To apply the Delphi exercise with iterative involvement of radiologists and pulmonologists with the aim of defining a structured reporting template for high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of patients with fibrosing lung disease (FLD). Methods: The writing committee selected the HRCT criteria\ue2\u80\u94the Delphi items\ue2\u80\u94for rating from both radiology panelists (RP) and pulmonology panelists (PP). The Delphi items were first rated by RPs as \ue2\u80\u9cessential\ue2\u80\u9d, \ue2\u80\u9coptional\ue2\u80\u9d, or \ue2\u80\u9cnot relevant\ue2\u80\u9d. The items rated \ue2\u80\u9cessential\ue2\u80\u9d by &lt; 80% of the RP were selected for the PP rating. The format of reporting was rated by both RP and PP. Results: A total of 42 RPs and 12 PPs participated to the survey. In both Delphi round 1 and 2, 10/27 (37.7%) items were rated \ue2\u80\u9cessential\ue2\u80\u9d by more than 80% of RP. The remaining 17/27 (63.3%) items were rated by the PP in round 3, with 2/17 items (11.7%) rated \ue2\u80\u9cessential\ue2\u80\u9d by the PP. PP proposed additional items for conclusion domain, which were rated by RPs in the fourth round. Poor consensus was observed for the format of reporting. Conclusions: This study provides a template for structured report of FLD that features essential items as agreed by expert thoracic radiologists and pulmonologists

Characteristics and patterns of care of endometrial cancer before and during COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has correlated with the disruption of screening activities and diagnostic assessments. Endometrial cancer (EC) is one of the most common gynecological malignancies and it is often detected at an early stage, because it frequently produces symptoms. Here, we aim to investigate the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on patterns of presentation and treatment of EC patients. Methods: This is a retrospective study involving 54 centers in Italy. We evaluated patterns of presentation and treatment of EC patients before (period 1: March 1, 2019 to February 29, 2020) and during (period 2: April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021) the COVID-19 outbreak. Results: Medical records of 5,164 EC patients have been retrieved: 2,718 and 2,446 women treated in period 1 and period 2, respectively. Surgery was the mainstay of treatment in both periods (p=0.356). Nodal assessment was omitted in 689 (27.3%) and 484 (21.2%) patients treated in period 1 and 2, respectively (p&lt;0.001). While, the prevalence of patients undergoing sentinel node mapping (with or without backup lymphadenectomy) has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic (46.7% in period 1 vs. 52.8% in period 2; p&lt;0.001). Overall, 1,280 (50.4%) and 1,021 (44.7%) patients had no adjuvant therapy in period 1 and 2, respectively (p&lt;0.001). Adjuvant therapy use has increased during COVID-19 pandemic (p&lt;0.001). Conclusion: Our data suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the characteristics and patterns of care of EC patients. These findings highlight the need to implement healthcare services during the pandemic

Practice patterns and 90-day treatment-related morbidity in early-stage cervical cancer

To evaluate the impact of the Laparoscopic Approach to Cervical Cancer (LACC) Trial on patterns of care and surgery-related morbidity in early-stage cervical cancer