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Simple Summary: Livestock biodiversity is being lost at an alarming rate. It is mainly due to genetic selection for desirable traits and the standardization of productions, but this has determined a dramatic reduction in intra- and inter-breed genetic variability. Autochthonous breeds represent a pivotal genetic resource thanks to their environment-specific adaptive features, especially related to rusticity, frugality, fertility, and longevity. In this context, it is of fundamental importance to deepen the knowledge about these breeds' physiology and to take care of their health in the optic of conservation strategies. This study established hematological reference values in female goats of a cosmopolitan (i.e., Camosciata delle Alpi) and an Italian autochthonous (i.e., Verzaschese) breed reared in the same conditions. The influence of breed, age, and season on the hematological parameters was also investigated. The results have shown that variation due to breed, age, and season in blood parameters could be attributed both to physiological changes, such as the ones given by ageing and melatonin effect, and to adaptive genetic processes, for example, towards gastrointestinal parasitism. These findings can be helpful to provide evidence of the importance of recovering endangered/rare local breeds, which are a fundamental heritage for agricultural biodiversity, and local culture. Local livestock breeds are pivotal to ensure sustainable agriculture and represent a real genetic resource in the context of genetic variability reduction. This study aimed at broadening the knowledge about hematological values in female Verzaschese and Camosciata delle Alpi goats (an Italian local and a cosmopolitan goat breed, respectively) and investigating factors affecting them (i.e., breed, age, season). Blood samples were collected monthly from 34 Verzaschese and 37 Camosciata delle Alpi female goats kept under the same semi-extensive farming system for a whole year. The main hematological parameters were evaluated, and descriptive as well as inferential statistical analyses were performed. Reference intervals for complete blood cell count were established and several inter-breed differences were found. In particular, most of the red blood cell parameters were higher in Verzaschese than Camosciata delle Alpi (p < 0.05) suggesting a greater gastrointestinal parasites' resilience of the local breed. The age effect (p < 0.05) was consistent with the literature while the season effect (p < 0.05) could be explained by the melatonin immunostimulant action and gastrointestinal parasitism influence. Overall, differences in blood values could be attributed to physiological changes and adaptive strategies developed through centuries highlighting the remarkable rusticity and adaptation to the environment and farming system of the local breed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexual regulation in Apis mellifera is controlled by the complementary sex-determiner (csd) gene: females (queens and workers) are heterozygous at this locus and males (drones) are hemizygous. When homozygous diploid drones develop, they are eaten by worker bees. High csd allelic diversity in honeybee populations is a priority for colony survival. The focus of this study is to investigate csd variability in the genomic sequence of the hypervariable region (HVR) of the csd gene in honeybee subspecies sampled in Italy. During the summer of 2017 and 2018, worker bees belonging to 125 colonies were sampled. The honeybees belonged to seven different A. mellifera subspecies: A. m. ligustica, A. m. sicula, A. m cecropia, A. m. carnica, A. m. mellifera, Buckfast and hybrid Carnica. Illumina genomic resequencing of all samples was performed and used for the characterization of global variability among colonies. In this work, a pipeline using existing resequencing data to explore the csd gene allelic variants present in the subspecies collection, based on de novo assembly of sequences falling within the HVR region, is described. On the whole, 138 allelic sequences were successfully reconstructed. Among these, 88 different alleles were identified, 68 of which match with csd alleles present in the NCBI GenBank database. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the report of the Italian national branch of the International Association of Music Libraries (IAML), taken from the proceedings of the IAML conference held between July 22 and July 27, 2012 in Montréal, Quebec, citing two conferences hosted in Italy during the previous year, the inauguration of the web portal for the national archival system, and changes in the administration of music libraries in its country.

In Italy, the functions of a national library are divided between the two 'national central' libraries in Florence and Rome. A common aim is the strengthening of the national catalogue and its library services, the Servizio Bibliotecario Nazionale (SBN). The SBN network connects libraries in different administrative sectors (e.g. state, local government, education) and gives access to the results of the major Italian enterprises in music bibliography and music cataloguing. Complementary to SBN are: the catalogues of local library networks, run by autonomous regions or provinces; the catalogue of the Istituto Centrale per i Beni Sonori e Audiovisivi, dealing with the newly established national legal deposit of audiovisual materials (2008); and the catalogue of the Vatican Library, which is the Pope's private library and not the national library of the Vatican State. The strengthening of music in SBN through the daily library work is one of the aims of the Italian national branch of IAML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the activities of the Italian national branch of the International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Document Centres (IAML) as of October 2011. The branch's participation in the nation's May 13, 2011 bibliographic cataloging conference in Rome is discussed. Educational programs for music cataloging sponsored by the branch are listed. Publications by the society are also mentioned.

The article offers information on topics related to the Italian branch of the International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres (IAML). Topics include the conferences associated with IAML, the non-profit organization Répertoire International des Sources Musicales (RISM), and the cooperation of the Italian government agency Catalogue of Italian Libraries and for Bibliographic Information (ICCU) with IAML and RISM.

The article presents news briefs from the Italian branch of the International Association of Music Libraries (IAML) as of December 2013. The branch consists of 44 individual and 76 institutional members. As of the branch's December 6-7, 2012 assembly, Federica Riva has been elected president. The branch has nominated Italy as a host country for the 2016 IAML conference.

Patients with cancer have an increased risk of complications from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection, including death, and thus, they were considered as high-priority subjects for COVID-19 vaccination. We report on the compliance with the COVID-19 vaccine of patients affected by solid tumours. Patients with cancer afferent to Medical Oncology 1 Unit of Regina Elena National Cancer Institute in Rome were considered eligible for vaccination if they were receiving systemic immunosuppressive antitumor treatment or received it in the last 6 months or having an uncontrolled advanced disease. The Pfizer BNT162b2 vaccine was proposed to all candidates via phone or during a scheduled visit. The reasons for refusal were collected by administrating a 6-item multiple-choice questionnaire. From 1st March to 20th March 2021, of 914 eligible patients, 102 refused vaccination (11.2%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 9.1–13.2). The most frequent (>10%) reasons reported were concerns about vaccine-related adverse events (48.1%), negative interaction with concomitant antitumor therapy (26.7%), and the fear of allergic reaction (10.7%). The refusal rate (RR) after 15th March (date of AstraZeneca-AZD1222 suspension) was more than doubled compared with the RR observed before (19.7% versus 8.6%, odds ratio [OR] 2.60, 95% CI 1.69–3.99; P < 0.0001). ECOG-PS 2 was associated with higher RR compared with ECOG-PS 0-1 (OR 2.94, 95% CI 1.04–8.34; P = 0.04). No statistically significant differences in RR according to other clinical characteristics were found. Our experience represents the first worldwide report on the adherence of patients with cancer to COVID-19 vaccination and underlines how regulatory decisions and media news spreading could influence the success of the campaign. • High mortality rate related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was observed in patients with cancer. • Cancer patients have high priority for COVID-19 vaccination for their vulnerability. • A refusal rate of 11.2% was found in our large cohort of eligible cancer patients. • Adequate information and clear regulatory decisions are required to promote vaccination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the Evolution of Increased Competitive Ability (EICA) hypothesis, a reduced investment in immunity, consequent to parasite loss, could partly explain the success of invasive alien species. We investigated variation in parasite load and immune responses of alien Eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) along the invasion wave of an expanding population. We first verified by fecal analyses that 1) parasite abundance decreased moving from the core towards the invasion front. Next, we used multiple measures of immunity to investigate whether, in response to the lower parasite pressure, individuals at the invasion front 2) dampened their costly inflammatory response, and 3) increased their investment in less expensive acquired immunity. We first explored variation in hematological variables related either to the inflammatory or the acquired response. On a subset of individuals, we carried out ex vivo cell cultures to analyse the basal expression of MHC class II genes and the expression of TNF-α genes in response to an immune challenge. Platelet counts and TNF-α expression suggested higher inflammation in individuals living at the invasion core, whereas parameters associated with an acquired response (lymphocyte counts and MHC II expression by spleen cells), conversely, were higher in squirrels at the front. Overall, our results suggest a shift between different immune strategies along the invasion wave, supporting a reduced investment in costly inflammatory responses and an increased investment in acquired immunity in individuals at the expanding edge of the range, which are subjected to high selective pressures for dispersal and reproduction., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest 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., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)