Investigación agraria / Producción y sanidad animales

The take-up of digital technology by young people is a well-known phenomenon and has been subject to socio-cultural analysis in areas such as youth studies and cultural studies. The Teenage Expertise Network (TEN) research project investigates how teenagers develop technological expertise in techno-cultural contexts via the use of a purposefully designed, youth-friendly, online environment – significant in this current age of Internet-mediated learning and rapid technological development. The design of TEN follows principles of ethnographic research adapted to an online environment. This article discusses the design, objectives and outworkings of this new media object, highlighting the tensions associated with conducting online research. This article considers why and how we should reengineer online methodologies and the complexities associated therein. It discusses the classification of this method considering the literature surrounding online data collection methods and virtual ethnography

Filosofia in azienda ?

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Horizon picking for multidimensional data: an integrated approach

3-D seismic surveys generate 5-D data volume. In order to estimate the horizons for interpretation and further processing, the traveltime picking needs to be performed on n-D subsets of this 5-D data volume (n≤5). Horizon picking (HP) is complicated by the irregular sampling, faults, discontinuities, and low signal-to-noise ratio areas. The automatic HP techniques described here are aimed to support the interpreters in the estimation of the events by preserving their depth continuity. The HP is carried out directly on the full n-D dataset and not just iterated on 2-D sliced subsets, this avoids misties among different 2-D slices. The additional advantages are that the proposed method can perform the HP of multiple and irregularly sampled horizons, in addition it can handle discontinuous events by keeping the association with the target in depth. The interpreter is only asked to initialize the HP by providing some seed picks on the target horizon(s), then the algorithm lets the estimate of the horizons grow along all the dimensions simultaneously

In Chronic Hepatitis C Infection, Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cell Accumulation and T Cell Dysfunctions Revert Partially and Late After Successful Direct-Acting Antiviral Treatment

Chronic HCV infection is characterized by several immunological alterations, such as the accumulation of suppressor cells and of hyperactivated T lymphocytes. However, it is unclear whether direct-acting antiviral (DAA)-mediated HCV clearance restores immune dysfunctions. We performed a phenotypic characterization by flow cytometry of different immune cell subsets, including monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (M-MDSCs) and T lymphocytes in 168 patients with persistent HCV infection not treated, under DAA therapies and sustained virological responders. Chronic HCV infection prompted the accumulation of M-MDSCs independently of patient and clinical characteristics, and altered their metabolic properties. HCV RNA was undetectable in the majority of patients just after few weeks of DAA therapy, whereas M-MDSC levels normalized only 6 months after therapy. In addition, HCV infection deeply perturbed the T cell compartment since a re-distribution of memory CD4+ and CD8+ T cells was observed at the expenses of naïve cells, and memory T lymphocytes displayed increased activation. Notably, these features were only partially restored by DAA therapies in the CD4, but not in the CD8, compartment as high immune activation levels persisted in the terminally differentiated memory CD8+ T cells even more than 1 year after sustained virological response. Together, these results suggest that successful DAA therapies do not lead to full immunological reconstitution as fast as viral clearance

Efficacy of eccentric exercise in lower limb tendinopathies in athletes

Tendinopathies are among the most frequent sport injuries, therefore their correct treatment is a crucial issue in sports medicine practice. In most of the cases, these multifactorial conditions are related to overuse and characterized by activity-induced pain, local tenderness and swelling. Although tendinopathies are common, their treatment is not easy. Currently, it is generally accepted that their management should include early functional exercises. Eccentric exercise (EE) is considered a fundamental therapeutic resource, especially for the treatment of Achilles and patellar tendinopathies. This article focuses on the use of EE for the treatment and prevention of the lower limb tendinopathies, evaluates the existing programs and their efficacy, and reviews the possible mechanisms of the healing process and the action of EE on tendon structure. EE-based treatments are useful to improve symptoms and function in lower limb tendinopathies, but more evidence is still required to devise an adequate dose-response model and to determine their long-term effects

Surgical treatment for liver metastases from colorectal carcinoma: results of 228 patients

Aggressive approach, re-resections, intraoperative ultrasound staging, intra-arterial chemotherapy and radiofrequency thermal ablation are justified in multimodal therapeutic strategy of colorectal metastases and seem to improve patients' survival

Obstructive chronic pancreatitis and/or intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs): a 21-year long case report

Context: Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms of the pancreas (IPMNs), usually present with a picture of chronic pancreatitis and must be considered within the differential diagnosis of this condition.Case report: We report a long history of a 58-year-old male who presented with recurrent attacks of pancreatitis. He was treated for chronic pancreatitis until the age of 78 when the diagnosis of IPMN was made, but radical treatment was not possible and he was managed palliatively. The patient died of sepsis and multi-organ failure 21 years following his first presentation.Conclusion: This case highlights possible pitfalls in the diagnosis and treatment of IPMNs, suggests a very long natural history, proposes possible palliative treatment in selected cases and reflects about IPMNs biological position in the chronic pancreatitis-ductal adenocarcinoma chain.<br/