95 research outputs found
Biological variations in a long-term ex situ cultivation: a Mediterranean demosponge as model system
The demosponge Tethya citrina Sarà & Melone was subjected to long-term aquarium farming, considering that several species belonging to this genus are a rich source of useful bioactive metabolites. The rearing method in the present research was mainly based on applying parameters taken from the current literature. The sponge's biological activity was assessed in terms of survival and growth over time; status of filtering apparatus; protein banding profiles. Farmed sponges showed a high survival rate and marked reduction in size. In addition, they were frequently affected by massive production of asexual buds. Histological and ultrastructural observations showed a gradual disorganization of the sponge choanocyte chambers, with a drastic reduction in choanocytes and a progressive increase in spherulous cells. Comparative electrophoretic analysis of the protein profiles of wild and reared specimens showed differences in protein composition and abundance between the tested groups. Such data are consistent with the increase in spherulous cells whose content was markedly electron-dense, a feature stressing the proteinaceous nature of these inclusions. Experimental tank-rearing of Tethya provided promising responses in terms of high survival rate of the species and easy reproduction, though the rearing protocol used led to profound morpho-functional changes in the sponge. This confirms the inadequate state of knowledge on farming techniques for this taxon, while also highlighting potential applications in biotechnology of ex situ breeding techniques, in order to modify the sponges' biological responses
Dynamic Obstacle Avoidance for Omnidirectional Mobile Manipulators
The last decade witnessed an unprecedented spread of robotics. The production paradigm of Industry 4.0 and 5.0 yielded collaborative robots in production lines of all sizes. Also, the robots started leaving the industrial scenario to play a leading role in the field of personal assistance. These environments share a common challenge, i.e. the safety of people working and/or living around the robots. Collision avoidance control techniques are essential to improve such aspect, by preventing impacts that can occur between the robot and humans or objects. The paper extends algorithms already developed by the authors for robotic arms to the case of mobile manipulators. The control strategy, which has been refined in the contribution of the robot bodies, has then been tested in two simulated case studies involving an industrial mobile robot and the custom service robot Paquitop, developed at Politecnico di Torino
Is the Salmonella contamination of swine carcasses at slaughter related to the Salmonella load in caecum?
The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the load of Salmonella spp. in caeca and the carcass contamination in an Italian slaughterhouse. The sampling scheme was designed to be representative of the pigs slaughtered in a day and to estimate a 12% prevalence of pigs highly contaminated by Salmonella spp. (HCP, cecal load ≥3log). Environmental swabs were taken before slaughter. Cecal contents and carcass swabs were collected from the same pig. Salmonella MPN were estimated according to ISO6579- 2:2012/A1 and ISO7218:2007/E. The overall Salmonella prevalence were 34.64% and 7.19% for ceca and carcasses respectively, with S. Derby and S. 4,[5],12:i:- being the prevalent serotypes. The HCP prevalence was 11.44%. 7/59 environmental swabs tested positive; when the same serotype was isolated from the environment and from carcasses, the samples were excluded from further analysis. Statistical analysis was performed to investigate the relationship between Salmonella spp. loads in the cecum and contamination of the carcass of the same pig and the prevalence of HCP and the contamination of carcasses on the same day. For this purpose, the days were classified as “high prevalence days” depending on the proportion of caeca resulted positive (≥36%) and as “high load” days depending on the prevalence of HCP (≥10%). A correlation between the contamination of carcasses and the cecal Salmonella loads of the same animal was found (Spearman’s correlation coefficient: 0.2254; p-value=0.0001). No correlation was found between the contamination of carcasses and the categorization of the day of sampling as “high prevalence day”. Conversely, a correlation was found between the contamination of carcasses and the “high load” category of the sampling day (Wilcoxon test, p=0.0011). Notably, not the prevalence of pigs carrying Salmonella spp. but the prevalence of highly contaminated pigs was shown to be related to the contamination of carcasses
Antibiotic consumption on dairy and beef cattle farms of central Italy based on paper registers
Reproductive cycle, number of parities and faecal Salmonella spp. excretion in sows: a longitudinal study
The aim of the study was to evaluate the fecal excretion of Salmonella spp in sows with different number of parties, in distinct periods of the reproductive cycle. Two integrated farms in central Italy have been included in the study. The target populations were primaparous and multiparous (1-5 and more than 5 parities) sows, tested in different periods of the reprouductive cycle: 14 days before parturition (pre-partum), 2-5 days (post-partum), 20 days after parturition (post-partum 2) and gestation (24-31 days post-partum)
The economic impact of moderate stage Alzheimer's disease in Italy: Evidence from the UP-TECH randomized trial
Background: There is consensus that dementia is the most burdensome disease for modern societies. Few cost-of-illness studies examined the complexity of Alzheimer's disease (AD) burden, considering at the same time health and social care, cash allowances, informal care, and out-of-pocket expenditure by families. Methods: This is a comprehensive cost-of-illness study based on the baseline data from a randomized controlled trial (UP-TECH) enrolling 438 patients with moderate AD and their primary caregiver living in the community. Results: The societal burden of AD, composed of public, patient, and informal care costs, was about �20,000/yr. Out of this, the cost borne by the public sector was �4,534/yr. The main driver of public cost was the national cash-for-care allowance (�2,324/yr), followed by drug prescriptions (�1,402/yr). Out-of-pocket expenditure predominantly concerned the cost of private care workers. The value of informal care peaked at �13,590/yr. Socioeconomic factors do not influence AD public cost, but do affect the level of out-of-pocket expenditure. Conclusion: The burden of AD reflects the structure of Italian welfare. The families predominantly manage AD patients. The public expenditure is mostly for drugs and cash-for-care benefits. From a State perspective in the short term, the advantage of these care arrangements is clear, compared to the cost of residential care. However, if caregivers are not adequately supported, savings may be soon offset by higher risk of caregiver morbidity and mortality produced by high burden and stress. The study has been registered on the website www.clinicaltrials.org (Trial Registration number: NCT01700556). Copyright � International Psychogeriatric Association 2015
Renewable Heating and Cooling Solutions for Buildings and Industry
This workshop brought together a selection of H2020 EU-funded projects involving experts from the biomass, geothermal, solar thermal, and heat pump sectors to discuss a common strategy for increasing the use of renewable energy technologies for heating and cooling for buildings and industry
Impact of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on short-term outcome in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction during COVID-19 pandemic: insights from the international multicenter ISACS-STEMI registry
Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is projected to become the third cause of mortality worldwide. COPD shares several pathophysiological mechanisms with cardiovascular disease, especially atherosclerosis. However, no definite answers are available on the prognostic role of COPD in the setting of ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), especially during COVID-19 pandemic, among patients undergoing primary angioplasty, that is therefore the aim of the current study. Methods: In the ISACS-STEMI COVID-19 registry we included retrospectively patients with STEMI treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) between March and June of 2019 and 2020 from 109 high-volume primary PCI centers in 4 continents. Results: A total of 15,686 patients were included in this analysis. Of them, 810 (5.2%) subjects had a COPD diagnosis. They were more often elderly and with a more pronounced cardiovascular risk profile. No preminent procedural dissimilarities were noticed except for a lower proportion of dual antiplatelet therapy at discharge among COPD patients (98.9% vs. 98.1%, P = 0.038). With regards to short-term fatal outcomes, both in-hospital and 30-days mortality occurred more frequently among COPD patients, similarly in pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 era. However, after adjustment for main baseline differences, COPD did not result as independent predictor for in-hospital death (adjusted OR [95% CI] = 0.913[0.658–1.266], P = 0.585) nor for 30-days mortality (adjusted OR [95% CI] = 0.850 [0.620–1.164], P = 0.310). No significant differences were detected in terms of SARS-CoV-2 positivity between the two groups. Conclusion: This is one of the largest studies investigating characteristics and outcome of COPD patients with STEMI undergoing primary angioplasty, especially during COVID pandemic. COPD was associated with significantly higher rates of in-hospital and 30-days mortality. However, this association disappeared after adjustment for baseline characteristics. Furthermore, COPD did not significantly affect SARS-CoV-2 positivity. Trial registration number: NCT 04412655 (2nd June 2020)
Gender Difference in the Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Mechanical Reperfusion and 30-Day Mortality for STEMI: Results of the ISACS-STEMI COVID-19 Registry
Background. Several reports have demonstrated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management and outcome of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The aim of the current analysis is to investigate the potential gender difference in the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mechanical reperfusion and 30-day mortality for STEMI patients within the ISACS-STEMI COVID-19 Registry. Methods. This retrospective multicenter registry was performed in high-volume primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) centers on four continents and included STEMI patients undergoing PPCIs in March–June 2019 and 2020. Patients were divided according to gender. The main outcomes were the incidence and timing of the PPCI, (ischemia time ≥ 12 h and door-to-balloon ≥ 30 min) and in-hospital or 30-day mortality. Results. We included 16683 STEMI patients undergoing PPCIs in 109 centers. In 2020 during the pandemic, there was a significant reduction in PPCIs compared to 2019 (IRR 0.843 (95% CI: 0.825–0.861, p < 0.0001). We did not find a significant gender difference in the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the numbers of STEMI patients, which were similarly reduced from 2019 to 2020 in both groups, or in the mortality rates. Compared to prepandemia, 30-day mortality was significantly higher during the pandemic period among female (12.1% vs. 8.7%; adjusted HR [95% CI] = 1.66 [1.31–2.11], p < 0.001) but not male patients (5.8% vs. 6.7%; adjusted HR [95% CI] = 1.14 [0.96–1.34], p = 0.12). Conclusions. The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the treatment of patients with STEMI, with a 16% reduction in PPCI procedures similarly observed in both genders. Furthermore, we observed significantly increased in-hospital and 30-day mortality rates during the pandemic only among females. Trial registration number: NCT 04412655
Socioeconomic Predictors of the Employment of Migrant Care Workers by Italian Families Assisting Older Alzheimer's Disease Patients: Evidence from the Up-Tech Study
Background: The availability of family caregivers of older people is decreasing in Italy as the number of migrant care workers (MCWs) hired by families increases. There is little evidence on the influence of socioeconomic factors in the employment of MCWs. Method: We analyzed baseline data from 438 older people with moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD), and their family caregivers enrolled in the Up-Tech trial. We used bivariate analysis and multilevel regressions to investigate the association between independent variables - education, social class, and the availability of a care allowance - and three outcomes - employment of a MCW, hours of care provided by the primary family caregiver, and by the family network (primary and other family caregivers). Results: The availability of a care allowance and the educational level were independently associated with employing MCWs. A significant interaction between education and care allowance was found, suggesting that more educated families are more likely to spend the care allowance to hire a MCW. Discussion: Socioeconomic inequalities negatively influenced access both to private care and to care allowance, leading disadvantaged families to directly provide more assistance to AD patients. Care allowance entitlement needs to be reformed in Italy and in countries with similar long-term care and migration systems. � 2015 The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved
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