Biomonitoring of the hematological, biochemical and genotoxic effects of the mixture cypermethrin plus chlorpyrifos applications in bovines.

External antiparasitic agents applied in bovine production represent a risk to consumers of meat products, especially if the conditions of their use are not strictly respected. The post-mortem control of residues in meat is an activity that must be updated and reinforced by the biomonitoring of live animals and the use of analytical tools to help identifying signs of early warning risks. The objective of the present study was to carry out a pre-slaughter biomonitoring approach in Aberdeen Angus cattle and crosses (n = 12) with the application of a commercial formulation of cypermethrin plus chlorpyrifos.

Epidemiologic Assessment of Concussions in an NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Team.

Background: Among collegiate sports, ice hockey and wrestling have been reported to have the highest rates of concussion injury. Recent literature has shown that among all sports, female soccer players had the highest rate of concussion injury at the high school level. Sport-specific analysis will increase our knowledge of epidemiologic characteristics of this serious injury in young soccer players, where "heading" is commonly involved during participation.

Autotitrating external positive end-expiratory airway pressure to abolish expiratory flow limitation during tidal breathing in patients with severe COPD: a physiological study.

Background: The optimal noninvasive application of external positive end-expiratory pressure (EPAP) to abolish tidal-breathing expiratory flow limitation (EFL) and minimise intrinsic positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) is challenging in COPD patients. We investigated whether auto-titrating EPAP, using the forced oscillation technique (FOT) to detect and abolish EFL, would minimise PEEP, work of breathing and neural respiratory drive (NRD) in patients with severe COPD.

Methods: Patients with COPD with chronic respiratory failure underwent auto-titration of EPAP using a FOT-based algorithm that detected EFL.

Ki-67 Index of 55% Distinguishes Two Groups of Bronchopulmonary Pure and Composite Large Cell Neuroendocrine Carcinomas with Distinct Prognosis.

Background: Little information is available concerning prognostic factors for bronchopulmonary large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas (BP-LCNECs) and even less is known about combined LCNECs (Co-LCNECs). We investigated whether an integrated morphological, immunohistochemical, and molecular approach could be used for their prognostic evaluation.

Methods: Morphological (including combined features), proliferative (mitotic count/Ki-67 index), immunohistochemical (napsin A, p40, TTF-1, CD44, OTP, SSTR2A, SSTR5, mASH1, p53, RB1, and MDM2), and genomic (TP53, RB1, ATM, JAK2, KRAS, and STK11) findings were analyzed in BP-LCNECs from 5 Italian centers, and correlated with overall survival (OS).

Charcot-Marie-Tooth Type 2B: A New Phenotype Associated with a Novel Mutation and Inhibited EGFR Degradation.

The rare autosomal dominant Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2B (CMT2B) is associated with mutations in the gene, involved in the late endocytic pathway. CMT2B is characterized by predominant sensory loss, ulceromutilating features, with lesser-to-absent motor deficits. We characterized clinically and genetically a family harboring a novel pathogenic variant and performed structural and functional analysis of the mutant protein.

Alteration of the late endocytic pathway in Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2B disease.

The small GTPase RAB7A regulates late stages of the endocytic pathway and plays specific roles in neurons, controlling neurotrophins trafficking and signaling, neurite outgrowth and neuronal migration. Mutations in the RAB7A gene cause the autosomal dominant Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2B (CMT2B) disease, an axonal peripheral neuropathy. As several neurodegenerative diseases are caused by alterations of endocytosis, we investigated whether CMT2B-causing mutations correlate with changes in this process.

Effects of Chickpea in Substitution of Soybean Meal on Milk Production, Blood Profile and Reproductive Response of Primiparous Buffaloes in Early Lactation.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the use of chickpea meal in substitution of soybean meal on plasma metabolites, reproductive response, milk yield and composition and milk coagulation traits of primiparous buffaloes in early lactation. Eighteen primiparous buffaloes were blocked by age, body weight and days in milk and equally allotted to two experimental groups from 10 to 100 days of lactation. The experimental diets consisted of the same forage integrated with two different isonitrogenous and isoenergetic concentrates containing either 210 g/kg of soybean meal or 371 g/kg chickpea.

Does the use of a head mounted display increase the success of risk awareness and perception training (RAPT) for drivers?

The PC-based driver training programme, Risk Awareness and Perception Training (RAPT) has been successful in improving young drivers' hazard anticipation and mitigation responses in both simulator and on-road studies. The current research aimed to evaluate the success of an adaptation of this training for the UK context, along with investigating the impact of the presentation modality on RAPT effectiveness. Traditionally RAPT has been delivered on a PC monitor, which does not allow the same range of head and eye movements that drivers use when on the road.

Multispectral autofluorescence dermoscope for skin lesion assessment.

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common type of skin cancer. Diagnosis and edge assessment of BCC lesions are based on clinical and dermoscopy evaluation, which are strongly dependent on the expertise and training of the physician. There is a high rate of underdiagnosis because BCC is frequently confused with certain common benign lesions and is often indistinguishable from the surrounding healthy tissue.

The interaction between cannabis use and a CB1-related polygenic co-expression index modulates dorsolateral prefrontal activity during working memory processing.

Convergent findings indicate that cannabis use and variation in the cannabinoid CB1 receptor coding gene (CNR1) modulate prefrontal function during working memory (WM). Other results also suggest that cannabis modifies the physiological relationship between genetically induced expression of CNR1 and prefrontal WM processing. However, it is possible that cannabis exerts its modifying effect on prefrontal physiology by interacting with complex molecular ensembles co-regulated with CB1.

Transcutaneous laryngeal ultrasonography: a reliable, non-invasive and inexpensive preoperative method in the evaluation of vocal cords motility-a prospective multicentric analysis on a large series and a literature review.

Thyroidectomy is a largely performed intervention and its rate has sharply increased. The most feared postoperative complication is the recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis, which is the most frequent cause of medicolegal litigations. Therefore, surgeons have introduced the preoperative evaluation of vocal cords function through laryngoscopy.

The Impact of Shift-Work and Night Shift-Work on Thyroid: A Systematic Review.

Thyroid hormones are regulated by the pituitary thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), whose secretion presents a circadian rhythmicity. Indeed, it is conceivable that shift- and night shift-work, affecting sleep-wake rhythms, may impact thyroid functionality. Therefore, the aim of the present review was to provide an overview on the association between shift- and night shift-work and thyroid hormonal changes and disease development.

Prostate Benign Diseases.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been increasingly used in the detection, localization, and staging of prostate cancer. Because of its excellent soft tissue contrast and multiplane imaging, it can be also very useful in the evaluation of benign prostate diseases. Prostatic benign disorders have a high prevalence, vastly represented by benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostatitis.

Two-step investigation of lung cancer detection by sniffer dogs.

Early detection of lung cancer (LC) is a priority since LC is characterized by symptoms mimicking other respiratory conditions, but it remains the leading cause of oncological disease death. Properly trained dogs can perceive the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) related to cancer thanks to their acute sense of smell. The use of dogs for LC detection could be advantageous: reliably trained dogs would represent a valuable, cost-effective, non-invasive method of screening, which gives a clear-cut yes/no response.

Activation of Myd88-Dependent TLRs Mediates Local and Systemic Inflammation in a Mouse Model of Primary Sjögren's Syndrome.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are important mediators of chronic inflammation in numerous autoimmune diseases, although the role of these receptors in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) remains incompletely understood. Previous studies in our laboratory established Myd88 as a crucial mediator of pSS, although the disease-relevant ligands and the upstream signaling events that culminate in Myd88 activation have yet to be established. The objective of this study was to identify specific Myd88-dependent TLR-related pathways that are dysregulated both locally and systemically in a mouse model of pSS [NOD.

A Pattern of Cognitive Deficits Stratified for Genetic and Environmental Risk Reliably Classifies Patients With Schizophrenia From Healthy Control Subjects.

Background: Schizophrenia risk is associated with both genetic and environmental risk factors. Furthermore, cognitive abnormalities are established core characteristics of schizophrenia. We aim to assess whether a classification approach encompassing risk factors, cognition, and their associations can discriminate patients with schizophrenia (SCZs) from healthy control subjects (HCs).

Increasing the Astrophysical Reach of the Advanced Virgo Detector via the Application of Squeezed Vacuum States of Light.

Current interferometric gravitational-wave detectors are limited by quantum noise over a wide range of their measurement bandwidth. One method to overcome the quantum limit is the injection of squeezed vacuum states of light into the interferometer's dark port. Here, we report on the successful application of this quantum technology to improve the shot noise limited sensitivity of the Advanced Virgo gravitational-wave detector.

ActEarly: a City Collaboratory approach to early promotion of good health and wellbeing.

Economic, physical, built, cultural, learning, social and service environments have a profound effect on lifelong health. However, policy thinking about health research is dominated by the 'biomedical model' which promotes medicalisation and an emphasis on diagnosis and treatment at the expense of prevention. Prevention research has tended to focus on 'downstream' interventions that rely on individual behaviour change, frequently increasing inequalities.

Hay or silage? How the forage preservation method changes the volatile compounds and sensory properties of Caciocavallo cheese.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the forage preservation method (silage vs. hay) on volatile compounds and sensory properties of a traditional Caciocavallo cheese during ripening. A brown-midrib sudangrass hybrid was cultivated on a 7-ha field and at harvesting it was half ensiled in plastic silo bags and half dried to hay.

Evaluation of the genotoxic potential of cypermethrin, chlorpyrifos and their subsequent mixture, on cultured bovine lymphocytes.

Cypermethrin (CYP) and chlorpyrifos (CPF) are insecticides/parasiticides used in the production of fruits, vegetables and beef cattle. These substances or their metabolites are frequently reported as residues in food, whose consumption in a diet implies a genotoxic risk. The potential for chronic toxicity of CYP and CPF is unclear, and only a few genotoxicological evaluations based on their mixture have been performed.

"The heart supporters": systematic review for ventricle assist devices in congenital heart surgery.

Ventricular assist device (VAD) implantation is a widely used procedure in children with cardiac failure refractory to medical therapy as a long-term bridge to recovery or transplant. This strategy has proved to be of an enormous advantage in the cure of these children. The aim of this review is to evaluate the current strategies used for clinical monitoring of paediatric patients with a VAD, focusing on the management of several aspects such as anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy, haemorrhagic and thrombotic complications, as well as the effects that VADs have on the exposure, effectiveness and the safety of drugs.

p-Type conductivity mechanism and defect structure of nitrogen-doped LiNbO from first-principles calculations.

Most metal-doped lithium niobates (LiNbO3, LN) exhibit n-type conductivity. The absence of p-type conductive LiNbO3 limits its application. Based on the finding that p-type conductive LiNbO3 can be realized by doping with a non-metallic element N, we investigate the most stable defect configurations and formation energies of LiNbO3 doped with non-metal nitrogen (LN:N) by first-principles calculations.

The Relationships Between Ataxia and Cognition in Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 2.

The clinical spectrum of spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 includes motor manifestations and cognitive disturbances in executive functions, memory, and visuoconstructive skills. The relationships between severity of motor disturbances and altered cognition are poorly known. In this study, we assessed patients with spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 and age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects by a test battery including the Mini-mental State Examination, the Wisconsin Card Sorting test, and the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised.

Human health-related properties of chromones: an overview.

Natural compounds occurring throughout the world are scientifically and practically valuable because of their unique and beneficial properties to control a wide range of disorders in the human body. Chromones are attracting increasing attention as novel therapeutic agents due to their effective bioactivities for human health. Accordingly, the present overview article was designed to scan the biological and pharmacological performance of chromones, including their anti-inflammatory, anticancer, anti-oxidant, and anti-microbial activities.