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There are growing evidence of clinical manifestations other than acute respiratory syndrome in severe acute respiratory syndrome associated with coronavirus 2-infected children. In our multicenter retrospective analysis, we observed among 127 severe acute respiratory syndrome associated with coronavirus 2 positive children that the presence of gastrointestinal symptoms was more frequently associated with severe and critical phenotype (P = 0.029). Moreover, having gastrointestinal symptoms was more frequently reported in patients who developed cardiac impairment.

The Resilformed LIFE project aims to preserve forest ecosystems in the Mediterranean against the risks resulting from climate change, through naturalization, increase biodiversity and improved responsiveness in the recovery process from destabilizing events. The article illustrates the best practices identified through the analysis provided by the project and the system to evaluate different interventions summarized in a survey form.

The purpose of this work is to investigate the link between an altered intestinal mcro-biota or dysbiosis and chronic inflammatory disorders, in particular inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Along with probiotics, faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) opts to be a promising therapeutic treatment for restoring the bacterial homeostasis of the hu-man intestine and reducing the risk of colorectal carcinogenesis. Microbiota is the com-plex microbial flora that resides in the gut establishing a mutually beneficial relation-ship. Alteration of the microbiota’s composition, termed as dysbiosis, may lead to pathological conditions. Treatment with probiotics can restore the normal commensal flora in IBD. Intestinal microbiota affects the circadian rhythm which in turn regulates the expression of different genes in GALT (gut associated lymphoid tissue) playing a role in the prevention of inflammation and colorectal cancer (CRC) progression. This article highlights the involvement of different microbial strains in the pathogenesis of dysbiosis and in the creation of a carcinogenic milieu caused by an altered stimulation of the immune system. Therapies targeting the equilibrium of the microbiota to switch off chronic inflammation and prevent the progression to CRC seem to be a promising therapeutic tool for a variety of inflammation-associated diseases.

In view of an ecological and environmentally use of the biomass drew from forest operations, it is utterly important to well know the forest ecosystems characterizing the regional territory and in particular the pilot area of the Proforbiomed project. In this way it was possible to acquire specific information on the forest types in the area, its ecological and structural characteristics and the evolutionary dynamics. The information gathered have been fundamental in order to detect the most suitable forest management policies and interventions, able to put together the use of biomass and an increased of forest ecosystems stability.The studies carried out in the pilot area of the Proforbiomed project can be considered representative of a fair part of the regional territory what concerns the social, economic and environmental context. This work has the purpose of providing an overview and a short description of the consistency of forests potentially available for biomass production within the pilot area of the Proforbiomed project in Sicily.

Nell’ottica di un utilizzo energetico sostenibile delle biomasse provenienti dalle utilizzazioni forestali è di fondamentale importanza conoscere la consistenza e le esigenze ecologiche delle formazioni forestali che caratterizzano il territorio regionale. In questo lavoro è illustrato uno studio sulla consistenza e sulle caratteristiche ecologiche e strutturali dei rimboschimenti presenti nel territorio dei Monti Sicani. L’analisi è finalizzata a quantificare la disponibilità di biomassa forestale residuale ottenibile dalla gestione sostenibile di tali popolamenti e valutare il possibile uso energetico. L’analisi è stata condotta sulla base dei dati disponibili per l’area di studio presso il Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali dell’Università di Palermo. La stima della biomassa disponibile (ramaglia e fusti) si è basata sulla pianificazione di un diradamento da realizzare nelle aree a selvicoltura attiva in funzione della densità/grado di copertura e della pendenza. I risultati dell’analisi confermano che i quantitativi di biomassa ricavabili dalla gestione sostenibile dei rimboschimenti dei Monti Sicani risultano adeguati per ipotizzare la realizzazione di piccoli impianti di cogenerazione a scala di territorio comunale. The paper describes the reasons that led the Regional Department of Rural and Territorial Development to take part in the PROFORBIOMED Project. They can be summarized by the need to dispose of a tool for the sustainable management of all the state-owned forests of the Region. As a matter of fact, the Project aims at developing a model of sustainable forest management, through the recovery and reuse of wood scraps from ordinary silvicultural operations, to be used for the production of power and heat inside of a process adopting natural renewable energy sources. The main actions taken and the methodologies adopted are described, as well as the principles and instruments required for the setting up and execution of the work. Some of the most relevant are: the drafting of “Forest Management Plans”, the “Short Supply Chain” and the “Biomass Traceability Protocol”, together with the application of “Best Practices” of Management and the “Monitoring of impacts” caused by the woody biomass extraction procedures. The “forest – wood – energy” chain developed and proposed is exclusively related to the territory pertaining to one municipality, and with CHP plants fed with biomass exclusively produced within the territory of each municipality, in strict compliance with the “sustainable forest management” principles, as well as with the fundamental principle of “short supply chain”. For these reasons the CHP plans proposed shall be sized according to the biomass available in each municipality, with the possibility of integrating residual forest biomass with other waste wood resources potentially available in the territory and coming from prunings in agricultural activities. Therefore, the replicable model prepared and proposed by PROFORBIOMED aims at appraising from the economic point of view a waste product, such is currently considered the residual forest biomass from the forests of Sicily, and at the same time significantly improving the natural environment, thanks to the reduction in oil consumption.

The COVID-19 pandemic has surprised the entire population. The world has had to face an unprecedented pandemic. Only, Spanish flu had similar disastrous consequences. As a result, drastic measures (lockdown) have been adopted worldwide. Healthcare service has been overwhelmed by the extraordinary influx of patients, often requiring high intensity of care. Mortality has been associated with severe comorbidities, including chronic diseases. Patients with frailty were, therefore, the victim of the SARS-COV-2 infection. Allergy and asthma are the most prevalent chronic disorders in children and adolescents, so they need careful attention and, if necessary, an adaptation of their regular treatment plans. Fortunately, at present, young people are less suffering from COVID-19, both as incidence and severity. However, any age, including infancy, could be affected by the pandemic.Based on this background, the Italian Society of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology has felt it necessary to provide a Consensus Statement. This expert panel consensus document offers a rationale to help guide decision-making in the management of children and adolescents with allergic or immunologic diseases.

Milk is an important food of the daily diet. Many countries include it in their dietary recommendations due to its content in several important nutrients that exert beneficial effects on human health. Human milk is a newborn's first food and plays an important role in the growth, development, and future health of every individual. Cow milk is the type of milk most consumed in the world. However, its relatively high content of saturated fats raises concerns about potential adverse effects on human health, although epidemiological studies have disproved this association. Indeed, dairy consumption appear to be linked to a lower risk of mortality and major cardiovascular disease events. In the last few years many researchers have begun to focus their attention on both the production and quality of cow milk as well as the analysis of milk from other animal species to evaluate their effect on human health. The need to investigate the composition and metabolic effects of milk from other animal species arises from the adverse reactions of individuals in several groups to certain components of cow milk. It has emerged that donkey milk compared with that of other animal species, is the nearest to human milk and an excellent substitute for it. Milk from various animal species shows substantial differences in nutritional composition and distinct metabolic effects. In this review, we discussed the main compositional features and metabolic effects of 3 types of milk: human, cow, and donkey milk.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most frequent bacterial diseases in infants and children. Physician adherence to recommendations is notoriously often poor, but no data are available on UTIs management in the emergency setting. In this multicenter national study, we investigated the policies regarding UTIs management in children aged 2 months to 3 years in Italian emergency units. Between April and June 2021, directors of the emergency units were invited to answer an online survey on the following items: diagnostic approach to children with fever without an apparent source, therapeutic approach to UTIs, the use of kidney and urinary tract ultrasound, and the criteria for hospitalization. A total of 121 (89%) out of 139 of invited units participated in the study. Overall, units manage children with a suspected or confirmed UTI according to available recommendations for most of the items. However, in almost 80% (n = 94) of units, a sterile perineal bag is used to collect urine for culture. When urine is collected by cathether, heterogeneity exists on the threshold of bacterial load considered for UTI diagnosis. Conclusions: Available recommendations on UTIs in children are followed by Italian emergency units for most of the items. However, the methods to collect urine specimens for culture, one of the crucial steps of the diagnostic work-up, often do not align with current recommendations and CFU thresholds considered for diagnosis largely vary among centers. Efforts should be addressed to validate and implement new child and family friendly urine collection techniques. What is Known:• Several guidelines are published on the management of children with suspected or confirmed urinary tract infection.• No data are available on the management of pediatric urinary tract infections in the emergency setting. What is New:• Almost 80% of the Italian emergency units employ a sterile perineal bag to collect urine for culture.• Diagnostic CFU thresholds largely vary among centers.

Packaging is considered one of the most interesting technological aspects of food production and is a constantly evolving subject in food production. The type of packaging is important for the quality and safety of the product and for the visual appearance of the product to be immediately evaluated by consumers. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of four different types of modified atmosphere packaging (ATM) and vacuum packaging (VP) currently used by a company in central Italy, on the main qualitative characteristics of beef. For these two traditional and two new solutions with reduced environmental impact and compostable were evaluated. For each type of packaging, two different products were analyzed: steaks and hamburgers. The samples, immediately after production, were transported to the laboratory in refrigerated containers. Several parameters (color, pH, water holding capacity, drip loss, and microbiological characteristics) were evaluated at time 0 and after 7 (T7), 14 (T14) and 21 days (T21) of storage in the dark and at refrigeration temperature (+4 degrees C +/- 2 degrees C). The results showed that the two types of packaging have very similar effects on the water-retaining capacity of the steaks. More noticeable differences were recorded by the colorimetric analysis: for both steaks and hamburgers, the products packaged in the traditional packaging appeared brighter and redder than those packaged in the new alternatives. The microbiological analysis of the steaks showed higher values in the "new" packaging. The formation of abundant ropy slime was observed in one of the samples in the "new" modified atmosphere package at T21. The results of this study showed that the technological characteristics (in particular, the color) and the microbiological characteristics of the steaks and hamburgers were better in "old" packaging, with a better appearance and a longer shelf life. The results obtained show how the research for eco-sustainable products for packaging must be addressed, taking into account the effect of the materials on the qualitative and hygienic-sanitary characteristics of the meat.

In this work, we investigate the correlation between ragweed pollen concentration and conjunctival, nasal, and asthma symptom severity in patients allergic to ragweed pollen using ambient pollen exposure in the Milan area during the 2014 ragweed season We calculate the pollen/symptom thresholds and we assess the effectiveness of ragweed allergen immunotherapy (AIT). A total of 66 participants allergic to ragweed (Amb a 1) were enrolled in the study and divided into two groups: AIT treated (24) and no AIT treated (42). Pollen counts and daily symptom/medication patient diaries were kept. Autoregressive distributed lag models were used to develop predictive models of daily symptoms and evaluate the short-term effects of temporal variations in pollen concentration on the onset of symptoms. We found significant correlations between ragweed pollen load and the intensity of symptoms for all three symptom categories, both in no AIT treated (τ = 0.341, 0.352, and 0.721; and ρ = 0.48, 0.432, and 0.881; p-value $$\tau$$ τ = 0.46, 0.610, and 0.66; and ρ = 0.692, 0.805, and 0.824; p-value

Airborne particulate (PM) components from fossil fuel combustion can induce oxidative stress initiated by reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are strongly correlated with airway inflammation and asthma. A valid biomarker of airway inflammation is fractionated exhaled nitric oxide (FENO). The oxidative potential of PM2.5 can be evaluated with the dithiothreitol (DTT) dosage, which represents both ROS chemically produced and intracellular ROS of macrophages. This correlates with quality indicators of the internal environment and ventilation strategies such as dilution and removal of airborne contaminants.

Dal recente dibattito storiografico sulla romanizzazione, caratterizzato da una maggiore apertura ad approcci comparativi, emerge l’esigenza di introdurre nuove categorie storiche. Si suggerisce l’introduzione dei concetti di métissage (preferibile a quello di «creolizzazione » e di ibridità, che oggi emerge come caratteristica fondamentale di un mondo globalizzato. Prima di verificare le esperienze di métissage dell’impero romano, occorre però esaminare i presupposti ideologici delle varie tendenze storiografiche sulle relazioni tra romani e indigeni. Vengono esaminati vari esempi, con particolare interesse al rapporto romani/ berberi nell’Africa del Nord., Traina Giusto. Romanizzazione, «métissages», ibridità : alcune riflessioni. In: Mélanges de l'École française de Rome. Antiquité, tome 118, n°1. 2006. Antiquité. pp. 151-158.

In the XVth chapter of his monograph Armenia in the Period of Justinian, Nikolaj Adontz traced a short but important outline of the problems of land tenure in the kingdom of Greater Armenia. Adontz eventually praised the documentary value of the History of Armenia (Patmut‘iwn Hayoc‘) by Movsēs Xorenats‘i, a historian who nowadays is considered with suspicion. In his historiographical work, he claims that the Arsacid dynasty founded the basis of the society of the kingdom of Greater Armenia, including the organization of landed property. Accordingly, Xorenats‘i is, to a certain extent, more sensitive to the Realien than the other contemporary Armenian historiographers, who prefer to concentrate on social relations rather than considering the material and administrative aspects of rural economy.

Il contributo tratta dell'evoluzione degli istituti familiari romani, prendendo le mosse dalla struttura arcaica della 'familia' in Roma antica per proseguire con una dettagliata analisi di persistenze e mutamenti nell'età del principato. Gli interventi essenziali in materia sono dati dalle riforme di Augusto, a partire dal 17 a.C., che incidono in modo strutturale sui percorsi della legislazione successiva.

Il contributo tratta dell'espansione di Roma in Italia dal punto di vista politico, ma soprattutto giuridico. Analizza criticamente gli strumenti di politica interna (assemblee popolari, tributi, accesso alla tutela giudiziaria) ed esterna che condussero Roma all'egemonia nel Mediterraneo, soprattutto sotto il profilo della progressiva estensione della cittadinanza romana agli stranieri.

Background: there are no standard practice in the induction of colitis by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic (TNBS) acid. Usually, the repeated administration of TNBS is preferred, because it will result in a local Th1 response that has the characteristics of Crohn's disease. material and Methods: A total of 30 rats were randomized into two groups, consisting of a saline control group of ten rats and a TNBS groups of 20 rats. After the animals were anesthesized, 0,5 ml of either 0,9 % saline 8controls) or TNBS 50 mg/Kg dissolved in 50% ethanol were instilled into the colon through a rubber catheter. The experiment was repeated weekly for four weeks, then, the rats were killed at day 40, and the distal colon removed. results: At day 40, the bowel wall basically normal in the control group. In the TNBS group, the bowel lumen became narrow with tickened wall, and the mucosal surface presented adherent membrane with brown black, linear ulcers, proliferous lymphocites tissue, inflammatory granulomas and submucosal neutrophil infiltration. The median score of the severity of the colonic damage was 0 in the control group, and 4,75 (range 4-5) in the TNBS group; the mean weight of the rats was 180+35 g in the TNBS group, while it was 215+25 in the control group. Conclusions: The presented experiment is a cost-effective and safe method to induce Crohn-like colonic damage using a lower dose of TNBS, thus avoiding the risk of a massive loss of rats. This model is rather suitable for the assessment of the effects of potential therapeutic agent.

This paper reviews the composition of colostrum and the potential preventive and therapeutic use of this "first milk" for treating various gastrointestinal disorders in humans. Colostrum is a complex biological liquid that is richer in antimicrobial peptides, immune-regulating compounds and growth factors than the subsequent mature milk. The main functions of colostrum are to provide essential nutritional components, strengthen the natural defense system, modulate immune response, balance intestinal microbiota and enhance the growth and repair of several tissues. Several studies and clinical trials carried out both in vitro and in vivo on humans and animals suggest the clinical benefits of bovine colostrum (BC) supplementation in gastro-intestinal diseases. Despite the encouraging results, further well-designed studies are required in order to confirm these effects, the dose and duration of treatment. Colostrum is safe since there are no contraindications regarding high dose levels and few side effects of clinical relevance have been reported. In conclusion, in the near future, colostrum-based supplements may play a complementary role to synthetic drugs in the prevention and treatment of various gastrointestinal disorders.