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Multicentre, retrospective cohort study with multivariable Cox proportional-hazards modelling and survival-time inverse-probability-weighting, evaluating the impact of different treatments on survival of proven COVID-19 patients admitted to two Hospitals in the province of Piacenza, Italy. Use of tocilizumab and of high doses of low molecular weight heparin, but not of antivirals (either alone or in combination), azithromycin, and any corticosteroid, was independently associated with lower mortality. Our results support further clinical evaluation of high doses of low molecular weight heparin and tocilizumab as COVID-19 therapeutics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xanthomonas arboricola pv. fragariae is the causal agent of strawberry bacterial leaf blight, and, so far, has been reported in Italy and Turkey. Some years later the description of this new pathovar, and its pathogenicity, was questioned based upon artificial inoculations performed with some strains of the pathogen, including the pathotype strain; it was concluded that it is a non-pathogenic xanthomonad. This notion has also been accepted in other studies aiming at elucidating the molecular characteristics of X. arboricola strains. In the present investigation, we performed again pathogenicity tests using the pathotype strain of X. a. pv. fragariae, namely PD 2780 = LMG 19145 = CFBP 6771, by a spray leaf inoculation technique on strawberry cultivars Candonga, Sabrina and Murano. Similarly, it was also inoculated onto pot-cultivated walnut, hazelnut, peach, apple and kiwifruit plants. All typical symptoms of bacterial leaf blight of strawberry were observed within 25 days after the artificial inoculation on all tested strawberry cultivars. None of the other plant species showed symptoms of disease. We conclude again that the pathotype strain of X. a. pv. fragariae is a pathogenic bacterium. This technique also allowed us to observe typical symptoms of strawberry bacterial blight in a shorter time than that obtained previously by puncturing the major vein of the three leaflets of the leaf. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marble is a natural dimension stone that is widely used in building due to its resistance and esthetic qualities. Unfortunately, some concerns have arisen regarding its production process because quarrying and processing activities demand significant amounts of energy and greatly affect the environment. Further, performing an environmental analysis of a production process such as that of marble requires the consideration of many environmental aspects (e.g., noise, vibrations, dust and waste production, energy consumption). Unfortunately, the current impact accounting tools do not seem to be capable of considering all of the major aspects of the (marble) production process that may affect the environment and thus cannot provide a comprehensive and concise assessment of all environmental aspects associated with the marble production process. Therefore, innovative, easy, and reliable methods for evaluating its environmental impact are necessary, and they must be accessible for the non-technician. The present study intends to provide a contribution in this sense by proposing a reliable and easy-to-use evaluation method to assess the significance of the environmental impacts associated with the marble production process. In addition, an application of the method to an actual marble-producing company is presented to demonstrate its practicability. Because of its relative ease of use, the method presented here can also be used as a 'self-assessment' tool for pursuing a virtuous environmental policy because it enables company owners to easily identify the segments of their production chain that most require environmental enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]