Search

Organic farming is supported in the European Union (EU), among others, via area-based organic payments, targeting better environmental standards, as well as consumers' demand for organic products. Despite the wide interest growing on hazelnut production in non-traditional production areas in Italy, supply of organic hazelnuts remains negligible. At the same time, evidences show that Italian farmers can receive organic payments, while plantation is not yielding and then either switch to conventional production or continue organic production with no harvest. We employ the annual annuity approach in order to check whether organic payment initiates investments that otherwise would have been unprofitable; and whether it can be exploited by a farmer who has never had intention to produce organic hazelnuts. Results suggest that organic support indeed might be distortive and does not stimulate stable conversion to organic production of hazelnuts. In this regard, we recommend that the current policy should be substantially changed by imposing additional restrictions on conventional or no production or by implying additional requirements for receiving organic payments, for instance at least two subsequent organic contracts. [Display omitted] • National organic production does not meet increasing hazelnut demand. • We simulate the effect of organic payments on long term land use decisions. • Organic payment can reinforce switching from annual crop to more intensive hazelnut. • Once hazelnut starts yielding, organic farmers convert to conventional production. • Imposing at least two organic contracts would eliminate this policy failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the end of the 2004, the morphological evaluation system of the Italian Mediterranean Buffalo population have been changed from a subjective assessment of animal's strengths and weaknesses, to a linear evaluation system. This new system take into account animal morphological defects to assess the real impact of those defects on the buffalo population for selection purposes. In fact, the new form for recording the scores of the linear evaluation system, contains a blank for reporting various defects. The linear system is an objective method of assessment that allows to picture the animal indicating and quantifying the degree of biologic measures. The main purpose of this study was to identify the frequency of each alteration or obvious morphological defect of the animal. It was studied the incidence of each defect on the buffalo population. Moreover, any other possible defect, that may influence negatively the morphology of the animal, was also analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The object of this work was to determine the influence of trimming hooves on claw growth and claw reduction of Mediterranean Italian Buffalo cows. Data from Mediterranean Italian Buffalo cows of two commercial dairy herds in the province of Salerno were used in this study. Buffalo cows were divided into three groups according to the presence of absence of abnormal claw growth and trimming claws. For two groups of animals, five hoof measurements (the height of the heel, the length and width of the sole, the length of the foot wall and the perpendicular distance between the coronary band and the sole) were collected each four months. Whereas, hooves were trimmed to the third group of buffaloes and claw measurements were taken before and after the trimming procedure. Hoof growth and its reduction was monitored for one year by collecting each four months the same measurements as the other two groups of animals. The results showed significant differences in hoof growth between animals with hoof problems and animals without hoof problems or with trimmed hooves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this work was to identify the correct functional conformation of hooves of Italian Mediterranean buffalo cows through the identification of buffaloes that showed no defects in perpendicularly foot placed, or claw malformations. To achieve this goal two groups of animals in two commercial herds located in the Piana del Sele (Salerno) were monitored for a year. Every four months five claw measurements were collected for each animal in each group (height of the heel, length and width of the sole, length of the wall and the perpendicular distance between the coronary band and the sole). The work has provided index for the detection of ideal claws in Italian Mediterranean Buffalo cows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this study was to identify a new score (production capacity) to include in the linear type evaluation of the Mediterranean Italian Buffalo cows. This new score contained information regardless two partial scores (milk and body capabilities) that are present in the current system, collected by the Italian Buffalo Breeders' Association (ANASB). First, it was investigated if there were significant differences on the final score of buffalo cows evaluated with both systems: with a five partial score system (current system) and with a four partial score system (proposed system). To test the validity of the new linear evaluation system, the final score was calculated with both systems on 400 buffaloes located in 20 different herds in the provinces of Caserta, Salerno, Latina and Campobasso. Linear scores were evaluated by four experts. After testing the validity of the new method, 22 buffalo cows were selected from a farm in the province of Caserta. Each of the four expert evaluated those buffaloes by both methods. The result of the analysis of the partial scores on the final score obtained by the two methods showed the similarity of the two systems. In fact, the class of score did not changed for the same buffaloes evaluated with the two methods. Then, a simulation of a new allocation of the weights of the partial scores on the final score was performed. A higher weight was attributed to the structure and the feet partial scores. The results of this simulation showed that the average final score of the animals tended to decrease compared to the current weights attributed to the partial scores. And, in some cases, the final score class of the animals also decreased. In conclusion, modifications on the number and the weight of the partial scores on the final score will be helpful to improve the linear evaluation of the Mediterranean Italian Buffalo cows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the beginning of the pandemic due to the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its related disease, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), several articles reported negative outcomes in surgery of infected patients. Aim of this study is to report results of patients with COVID-19-positive swab, in the perioperative period after surgery. Data of COVID-19-positive patients undergoing emergent or oncological surgery, were collected in a retrospective, multicenter study, which involved 20 Italian institutions. Collected parameters were age, sex, body mass index, COVID-19-related symptoms, patients' comorbidities, surgical procedure, personal protection equipment (PPE) used in operating rooms, rate of postoperative infection among healthcare staff and complications, within 30-postoperative days. 68 patients, who underwent surgery, resulted COVID-19-positive in the perioperative period. Symptomatic patients were 63 (92.5%). Fever was the main symptom in 36 (52.9%) patients, followed by dyspnoea (26.5%) and cough (13.2%). We recorded 22 (32%) intensive care unit admissions, 23 (33.8%) postoperative pulmonary complications and 15 (22%) acute respiratory distress syndromes. As regards the ten postoperative deaths (14.7%), 6 cases were related to surgical complications. One surgeon, one scrub nurse and two circulating nurses were infected after surgery due to the lack of specific PPE. We reported less surgery-related pulmonary complications and mortality in Sars-CoV-2-infected patients, than in literature. Emergent and oncological surgery should not be postponed, but it is mandatory to use full PPE, and to adopt preoperative screenings and strategies that mitigate the detrimental effect of pulmonary complications, mostly responsible for mortality.

Background: Real-time monitoring is used to the ends of postmarketing observational research on newly marketed drugs. We implemented a pilot near-real-time monitoring program on the test case of oral anticoagulants. Specifically, we evaluated the safety and effectiveness of direct oral anticoagulants compared to vitamin K antagonists in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation secondary prevention during 2013-2015 in the Lazio Region, Italy., Methods and Results: A cohort study was conducted using a sequential propensity-score-matched new user parallel-cohort design. Sequential analyses were performed using Cox models. Overall, 10 742 patients contributed to the analyses. Compared with vitamin K antagonists, direct oral anticoagulant use was associated with a reduction of all-cause mortality (0.81; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.66-0.99), cardiovascular mortality (0.71; 95% CI 0.54-0.93), myocardial infarction (0.67; 95% CI 0.43-1.04), ischemic stroke (0.87; 95% CI 0.52-1.45), hemorrhagic stroke (0.25; 95% CI 0.07-0.88), and with a nonsignificant increase of gastrointestinal bleeding (1.26; 95% CI 0.69-2.30)., Conclusions: The present pilot study is a cornerstone to develop real-time monitoring for new drugs in our region., (© 2018 The Authors. Published on behalf of the American Heart Association, Inc., by Wiley.)