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In the aquaculture industry, biocides are routinely used to treat parasitosis in fish, and researchers are continually developing sustainable alternatives that can replace these harsh chemicals. In this context, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a new natural compound, BiokosTM, for the treatment against Epistylis sp. in Carassius auratus fish. The infestation was identified by the presence of whitish plaques on the integument of five animals, and the diagnosis was confirmed through skin scrapings. BiokosTM is a lipopeptide derived from the bacteria Pseudomonas that can destroy the functionality of the cell membrane of ciliated protozoa. The action of BiokosTM does not harm animals and the environment because the compound degrades into amino acids and fatty acids within days. A 0.15 m3 (150 L) aquarium was treated with an Ich-AwayTM water conditioner manufactured by the Danish company Sundew ApS, which has BiokosTM as the active ingredient. Six tablets were added to the water daily for two days, and new skin scrapings were performed. The fish were clinically well and no longer possessed lesions or parasites. The results obtained indicate that BiokosTM can be an innovative and more sustainable alternative for controlling epistyliasis in ornamental fish.

This study introduces a pioneering framework for modeling students' cognitive processes in mathematics education through Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs). By integrating key educational theories-Duval's Semiotic Representation Theory, Niss's Mathematical Competencies, Marton's Variation Theory, and the broad Engagement, Motivation, and Participation framework- the model offers a comprehensive and holistic understanding of students' cognitive landscapes. This research underscores the necessity of a multidimensional approach to capturing the intricate interplay of cognitive, affective, and behavioral factors in students' mathematical learning experiences. The novelty lies in its methodological innovation, employing FCMs to transcend traditional qualitative analyzes and facilitate quantitative insights into students' cognitive processes. This approach is particularly relevant in the current era dominated by digital learning environments and artificial intelligence, where real-time, automated analysis of student interactions is increasingly vital. The proposed FCM has been developed over the years with a data-driven approach; the concepts and relationships in it have been derived from the literature and refined by the author's experience in the field. Illustrated through case studies, the framework's utility is demonstrated in diverse contexts, highlighting how the quantitative data obtained are confirmed by qualitative approach: analyzing the impact of remote learning during the Covid-19 pandemic on student engagement and exploring Augmented Reality's role in enhancing mathematical conceptualization. These applications show the framework's adaptability and its potential to integrate new technologies in educational practices. However, the transition from qualitative to quantitative methodologies poses a challenge, given the prevalent use of qualitative approaches in mathematics education research. Additionally, the technological implementation of the FCM model in educational software presents practical hurdles, necessitating further development to ensure ease of integration and use in real-time educational settings. Future work will focus on bridging these methodological gaps and overcoming technological challenges to broaden the FCM model's applicability and enhance its contribution to advancing mathematics education., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Author(s).)

Blood cancers encompass a group of diseases affecting the blood, bone marrow, or lymphatic system, representing the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide. Leukemias are characterized by the dysregulated proliferation of myeloid and lymphoid cells with different rates of progression (acute or chronic). Among the chronic forms, hairy cell leukemia (HCL) is a rare disease, and no drugs have been approved to date. However, acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is one of the most aggressive malignancies, with a low survival rate, especially in cases with FLT3-ITD mutations. Epigenetic modifications have emerged as promising strategies for the treatment of blood cancers. Epigenetic modulators, such as histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors, are increasingly used for targeted cancer therapy. New hydroxamic acid derivatives, preferentially inhibiting HDAC6 ( 5a-q ), were developed and their efficacy was investigated in different blood cancers, including multiple myeloma (MM), HCL, and AML, pointing out their pro-apoptotic effect as the mechanism of cell death. Among the inhibitors described, 5c , 5g, and 5h were able to rescue the hematopoietic phenotype in vivo using the FLT3-ITD zebrafish model of AML. 5c ( leuxinostat ) proved its efficacy in cells from FLT3-ITD AML patients, promoting marked acetylation of α-tubulin compared to histone H3, thereby confirming HDAC6 as a preferential target for this new class of hydroxamic acid derivatives at the tested doses., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2024 American Chemical Society.)

In a seismic context, it is fundamental to deploy distributed sensor networks for Structural Health Monitoring (SHM). Indeed, regularly gathering data from a structure/infrastructure gives insight on the structural health status, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies can help in exploiting this information to generate early warnings useful for decision-making purposes. With a perspective of developing a remote monitoring platform for the built environment in a seismic context, the authors tested self-sensing concrete beams in loading tests, focusing on the measured electrical impedance. The formed cracks were objectively assessed through a vision-based system. Also, a comparative analysis of AI-based and statistical prediction methods, including Prophet, ARIMA, and SARIMAX, was conducted for predicting electrical impedance. Results show that the real part of electrical impedance is highly correlated with the applied load (Pearson's correlation coefficient > 0.9); hence, the piezoresistive ability of the manufactured specimens has been confirmed. Concerning prediction methods, the superiority of the Prophet model over statistical techniques was demonstrated (Mean Absolute Percentage Error, MAPE < 1.00%). Thus, the exploitation of electrical impedance sensors, vision-based systems, and AI technologies can be significant to enhance SHM and maintenance needs prediction in the built environment.

Despite the large number of data published in Italy on WEPs, there is no database providing a complete knowledge framework. Hence the need to design a database of the Italian alimurgic flora: AlimurgITA. Only strictly alimurgic taxa were chosen, excluding casual alien and cultivated ones. The collected data come from an archive of 358 texts (books and scientific articles) from 1918 to date, chosen with appropriate criteria. For each taxon, the part of the plant used, the method of use, the chorotype, the biological form and the regional distribution in Italy were considered. The 1103 taxa of edible flora already entered in the database equal 13.09% of Italian flora. The most widespread family is that of the Asteraceae (20.22%); the most widely used taxa are Cichorium intybus and Borago officinalis . The not homogeneous regional distribution of WEPs (maximum in the south and minimum in the north) has been interpreted. Texts published reached its peak during the 2001-2010 decade. A database for Italian WEPs is important to have a synthesis and to represent the richness and complexity of this knowledge, also in light of its potential for cultural enhancement, as well as its applications for the agri-food system.

Soluble heterocomplexes consisting of sodium hydride in combination with trialkylaluminum derivatives have been used as anionic initiating systems at 100 °C in toluene for convenient homo-, co- and ter-polymerization of myrcene with styrene and isoprene. In this way it has been possible to obtain elastomeric materials in a wide range of compositions with interesting thermal profiles and different polymeric architectures by simply modulating the alimentation feed and the (monomers)/(initiator systems) ratio. Especially, a complete study of the myrcene-styrene copolymers (PMS) was carried out, highlighting their tapered microstructures with high molecular weights (up to 159.8 KDa) and a single glass transition temperature. For PMS copolymer reactivity ratios, r myr = 0.12 ± 0.003 and r sty = 3.18 ± 0.65 and r myr = 0.10 ± 0.004 and r sty = 3.32 ± 0.68 were determined according to the Kelen-Tudos (KT) and extended Kelen-Tudos (exKT) methods, respectively. Finally, this study showed an easy accessible approach for the production of various elastomers by anionic copolymerization of renewable terpenes, such as myrcene, with commodities.

Background: Balanced sporting activity should be considered a resource in the treatment of eating disorders (ED), in particular of the BED and in obesity and, if conducted and guided by expert preparers and rehabilitators, in some forms of anorexia and in bulimia., Objective: To assess the role of excessive physical activity, predominantly interfering with daily activities by ultimately resulting in greater energy consumption leading to weight loss, and study the diagnostic criteria of bulimia and anorexia nervosa., Methods: A number of literature studies also report the presence of ED among athletes. A 2004 study reported that the prevalence of eating disorders in sports would be 13.5% compared to 4.5% of the control subjects., Results: In general, nutrition is used as a tool for improving performance not only of athletes but also of technicians and coaches. But in the presence of factors of vulnerability towards ED, the tendency to manipulate the weight can result in an eating disorder or the so-called athletic anorexia or the RED-S., Conclusion: It is important to emphasize that not only do professional athletes suffer from it, but also good-looking amateurs and laypersons., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Background: Traditional quantitative structure-activity relationship models usually neglect the molecular alterations happening in the exposed systems (the mechanism of action, MOA), that mediate between structural properties of compounds and phenotypic effects of an exposure., Results: Here, we propose a computational strategy that integrates molecular descriptors and MOA information to better explain the mechanisms underlying biological endpoints of interest. By applying our methodology, we obtained a statistically robust and validated model to predict the binding affinity to human serum albumin. Our model is also able to provide new venues for the interpretation of the chemical-biological interactions., Conclusion: Our observations suggest that integrated quantitative models of structural and MOA-activity relationships are promising complementary tools in the arsenal of strategies aiming at developing new safe- and useful-by-design compounds.

Conservation of agrobiodiversity is a major concern worldwide. Several strategies have been designed and programmed to reduce biodiversity erosion due to anthropic and non-anthropic causes. To this end, we set up a multidisciplinary approach based on the genetic analysis of selected cultivars and recognition of the environmental parameters. We genotyped the sweet cherry cultivars of Campania region in southern Italy by using simple sequence repeats and further investigated them by cluster analysis, disclosing a homogeneous genetic constitution, different from that of commercial accessions. By structure analysis we identified three distinct genetic clusters, each characterized by common and distinct alleles. Survey of the cultivars' geographical distribution by quartic kernel function identified four preferred districts further characterized for soil origin, pedologic, agronomic features and urbanization impact. We correlated these environmental parameters, typical of the identified areas, with the three genetic pools and found a statistically significant association for each cluster. When we overlaid the cultivation traditions and cultural heritage, we found they have a dominant role; on these premises, we generated new territorial maps. In conclusion, we propose a novel methodological approach based on molecular, geo-pedological and cultural parameters with the aim to recognize biocultural refugia and preserve endangered or valuable cultivars.

Aim: The relationship between support at home and rehospitalization has not been extensively studied until now. In particular, little is known about the impact of being assisted by migrant care workers (MCW) and rehospitalization. We aimed at investigating such a relationship in a population of older patients discharged from hospitals., Methods: Our series consisted of 506 patients aged 65 years or older consecutively enrolled in a prospective observational study involving 11 acute care medical wards throughout Italy. The outcome of the study was the occurrence of at least one rehospitalization during 1-year follow up. Information derived from comprehensive geriatric assessment, discharge diagnoses and prescribed drugs were collected during the index hospitalization. Data about formal and informal assistance (spouse, son, other relative, MCW, home nursing) were collected. The relationship between study variables and rehospitalization was assessed using logistic regression., Results: Being assisted by MCW was independently associated with the outcome (OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.10-4.37), as were complete dependency (OR 2.49, 95% CI 1.28-5.79) and overall comorbidity (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.10-1.43). Older age was associated with a lower likelihood of rehospitalization (age 75-84 vs <75 years OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.30-0.92; age≥85 vs <75 years OR 0.30, 95% CI 0.12-0.65)., Conclusions: Being assisted by MCW could contribute to an increase in the rate of use of hospital resources for older complex patients. This finding raises the need for educational efforts targeting MCW., (© 2014 Japan Geriatrics Society.)

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between clinical conditions typically observed in the geriatric patients (geriatric conditions) and adverse drug reactions in older patients admitted to acute care hospitals., Design and Setting: Prospective observational study conducted in 11 acute care medical wards throughout Italy., Participants: Five hundred six patients aged 65 years or older consecutively admitted to participating wards., Measurements: The outcome of the study was the occurrence of any adverse drug reactions during the hospital stay. Geriatric conditions considered in the analysis were basic activities of daily living, history of falls, slow walking speed, malnutrition, dementia, depression, 1 or more unplanned admissions in the previous 3 months, history of stroke, unintentional weight loss, and exhaustion. The relationship between risk factors and outcomes was assessed using logistic regression., Results: Female gender (odds ratio [OR] 2.29; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.18-4.45) and number of medications taken during hospitalization (OR 1.12; 95% CI 1.06-1.18), but not individual Geriatric conditions, were associated with the outcome after correction for potential confounders. However, the simultaneous presence of history of falls and dependency in at least 1 activities of daily living (OR 2.18; 95% CI 1.13-4.19) was associated with adverse drug reactions during stay., Conclusion: The simultaneous presence of history of falls and dependency in at least one activity of daily living defines a condition of particular vulnerability of elderly hospitalized patients to adverse drug reactions. Physicians should be aware of this high-risk condition when prescribing new drugs to disabled older people., (Copyright © 2012 American Medical Directors Association, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

A multitemporal analysis on a humid area in Rome's archaeological site is presented; the floristic data are used as bioindicators for main environmental changes over the last 50 years. By comparing the structural, biogeographical and ecological features of today's florula with the ones of a 1955 survey, and by assessing the new, the rare and the locally disappeared species, it was possible to define and analyse the main floristic changes and their ecological meaning for this site. Our results show that the floristic richness of the area did not differ significantly from 1955. However, the species composition has changed considerably: over 40% of the species have disappeared. More than half of these were rare and typical of humid environments. Approximately the same number of species has appeared but these are mainly ruderal and widespread entities, with the overall result being a progressive and general vulgarization of the local flora. Finally, we analyse the main reasons, linked for the most part to human activities, which led to the reported floristic changes.

Background: Research was carried out in the years 2002-2003 into food, flavouring and feed folk traditions of plants in the Tyrrhenian part of the Basilicata region (southern Italy). This area was colonized in ancient times by Greeks. Data was collected through field interviews, especially of farmers., Methods: Field data were collected through structured interviews. The informants, numbered 49, belonged to families which had strong links with the traditional activities of the area., Results: 61 taxa are cited, belonging to 26 botanical families, amongst which 44 used as food or flavouring and 22 for animal alimentation. Besides 7 taxa are involved in rituals especially connected with agriculture and plant growth., Conclusion: The preservation of some rituals especially concerning agricultural plants is noteworthy in the area, together with a certain degree of continuity in food uses. Knowledge and rediscovery of recipes in human and animal diet could represent an economic potential for the area.

Background: Research was carried out into agricultural and domestic-handicraft uses in folk traditions in the Tyrrhenian sector of the Basilicata region (southern Italy), as it is typically representative of ethnobotanical applications in the Mediterranean area. From the point of view of furnishing a botanical support for the study of local "material culture" data was collected through field interviews of 49 informants, most of whom were farmers., Results: The taxa cited are 60, belonging to 32 botanical families, of which 18 are employed for agricultural uses and 51 for domestic-handicraft folk uses. Data show a diffuse use of plants for many purposes, both in agricultural (present uses 14%; past uses 1%) and for domestic-handicraft use (present uses 40%; past uses 45%); most of the latter are now in decline., Conclusion: 60 data look uncommon or typical of the places studied. Some domestic-handicraft folk uses are typical of southern Italy (e.g. the use of Ampelodesmos mauritanicus for making ties, ropes, torches, baskets or that of Acer neapolitanum for several uses). Other uses (e.g. that of Inula viscosa and Calamintha nepeta for peculiar brooms, and of Origanum heracleoticum for dyeing wool red) are previously unpublished.

Field ethnobotanical survey was undertaken for the period of 2002-2003 in the Tyrrhenian part of the Basilicata region of southern Italy. Data of 56 species of plants belonging to 29 families where gathered through interviews; among the species, 47 are used in human therapy, 6 as insect repellents, 15 in veterinary medicine, 1 for its ichthyotoxic properties and 3 for magic therapeutic purposes. The most important findings in ethnomedicine relate to Nasturtium officinale (renal colic, liver diseases), Foeniculum vulgare subsp. piperitum (mouth ulcers), Leopoldia comosa (toothache, headache), Micromeria graeca subsp. graeca (coughs) and Ceterach officinarum (malaria), while in the ethnoveterinary field, we have Pteridium aquilinum (wolf bites) and Spartium junceum (fractures of animal limbs).

The involvement of fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) in the biology of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) has not previously been investigated. Here we report that FGF-2 prevented etoposide-induced apoptosis in H-510 SCLC cells. Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B signaling did not mediate this effect because FGF-2 failed to activate phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase or protein kinase B. In contrast, the mitogen-activated extracellularly regulated kinase kinase (MEK) was crucial for this response because its inhibition abolished the prosurvival properties of FGF-2. Moreover, in H-69 SCLC cells, the failure of FGF-2 to prevent etoposide-induced apoptosis correlated with uncoupling from MEK activation. However, the introduction of an activated MEK rendered these cells resistant to etoposide killing. Cell rescue relied on de novo protein synthesis, and the anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-X(L) and Bcl-2 were up-regulated in a MEK-dependent fashion within 4 h of FGF-2 treatment. Contrary to previous reports, we found that this up-regulation occurred at the translational rather than the transcriptional level. Indeed, actinomycin D failed to prevent up-regulation of Bcl-X(L) and Bcl-2, and FGF-2 did not increase the mRNA levels or the stability of these proteins. The induction of the pro-apoptotic protein Bad by etoposide was also blocked by FGF-2 in a MEK-dependent fashion. Thus, MEK/extracellularly regulated kinase signaling is critical in the coordinate modulation of both pro- and anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members by FGF-2.