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On the occasion of the reorganization of disciplinary fields (DF) which is under implementation by the MIUR (Italian Ministry for Research and Education), the scientific production of the Italian forest research in two characterizing disciplines (AGR05 Forest management and Silviculture, and AGR06 Wood technology and Forest Operation) has been qualitatively investigated over the period 2005-2017. Using a text mining software, 2.112 scientific articles indexed in the SCOPUS database were analyzed and the evolution over time of the Italian forest research in the above disciplines was examined. The results indicate that ecosystem functions and services have pushed forest research to overcome the aspects linked to wood production (which still remains an important competence of the two DFs), to tackle topics aiming to understand the functioning and functionality of forest ecosystems, provide tools for monitoring forest dynamics and highlight the contribution of forests and urban green areas in contrasting climate change in terms of adaptation and mitigation. As regards the AGR06 sector, studies on forest operations have been mainly focused on issues related to the forest-energy supply chain, while for wood technology the enhancement of structural uses, the modified wood, and the conservation of Wooden Cultural Heritage have emerged. Therefore, the reorganization of disciplinary fields must certainly take into account the traditional Italian forestry thinking and the aspects related to planning, management and close-to-nature forestry, but also the evolution of forestry research in the past 15 years, which led to an intense scientific activity and production, must be considered. In defining the new declarations, it will therefore be appropriate firstly to consider the peculiarity in the area of Agricultural Science, and then the specificity of skills and research that each one of the two sectors carries forward both jointly and separately, thus ensuring to both sectors an adequate representation in autonomous profiles and domains.

Chromosomal changes are frequently observed in patients with syndromic seizures. Understanding the genetic etiology of this pathology is crucial for the guidance and genetic counseling of families as well as for the establishment of appropriate treatment. A combination of MLPA kits was used to identify pathogenic CNVs in a group of 70 syndromic patients with seizures. Initially, a screening was performed for subtelomeric changes (MLPA P036 and P070 kits) and for the regions most frequently related to microdeletion/microduplication syndromes (MLPA P064). Subsequently, the MLPA P343 was used to identify alterations in the 15q11q13, 16p11.2, and 22q13 regions. Screening with MLPA P343 allowed a 10-15.7% increase in the detection rate of CNVs reinforcing the importance of investigating changes in 15q11q13 and 16p11.2 in syndromic patients with seizures. We also demonstrated that the MLPA technique is an alternative with a great diagnostic potential, and we proposed its use as part of the initial assessment of syndromic patients with seizures.

Over the past decade there have been major advances in defining the genetic basis of the majority of congenital myopathy subtypes. However the relationship between each congenital myopathy, defined on histological grounds, and the genetic cause is complex. Many of the congenital myopathies are due to mutations in more than one gene, and mutations in the same gene can cause different muscle pathologies. The International Standard of Care Committee for Congenital Myopathies performed a literature review and consulted a group of experts in the field to develop a summary of (1) the key features common to all forms of congenital myopathy and (2) the specific features that help to discriminate between the different genetic subtypes. The consensus statement was refined by two rounds of on-line survey, and a three-day workshop. This consensus statement provides guidelines to the physician assessing the infant or child with hypotonia and weakness. We summarise the clinical features that are most suggestive of a congenital myopathy, the major differential diagnoses and the features on clinical examination, investigations, muscle pathology and muscle imaging that are suggestive of a specific genetic diagnosis to assist in prioritisation of genetic testing of known genes. As next generation sequencing becomes increasingly used as a diagnostic tool in clinical practise, these guidelines will assist in determining which sequence variations are likely to be pathogenic.

Allozyme electrophoresis and morphometric analyses were used to investigate the stock structure of European anchovies (Engraulis encrasicolus L.) captured by Italian vessels in the Adriatic Sea. Twenty four putative enzyme loci were studied, all of which exhibited genotypic proportions in accordance with Hardy-Weinberg predictions. Two loci, IDHP-2 * (isocitrate dehydrogenase, 1.1.1.42) and G3PDH-2 * (glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, 1.1.1.8), showed significant allele-frequency differences among samples. IDHP-2 * 100 frequencies ranged between 0.35 and 0.88, with lower frequencies recorded in northern waters and areas close to the Italian coastline, while G3PDH-2 * 100 frequencies followed a similar, if less distinct, pattern. For both loci, the trends observed were spatially stable over a 2 yr sampling period. A putative stock-boundary was superimposed onto a map of IDHP-2 * 100 frequencies, and a bootstrapped dendrogram confirmed the genetic separation of the two putative stocks, one located around the north-western Adriatic and the other in the central-southern region. Canonical variate analysis (CVA) of morphometric data collected using a “truss network” indicated that the two putative stocks were morphologically distinct; 89.6 and 88.3% of north-western and central-southern anchovies, respectively, were correctly assigned by discriminant-function analysis. This variation may be related to the presence of two anchovy colour phenotypes, silver and blue, in the Adriatic Sea. Silver anchovies are characteristic of northern areas, while the larger blue fish are found mainly in the deeper southern waters. Current assessment models for the fishery are based on the concept of a consistent identity between consecutive catches at single ports, which our data reject. We discuss the possibility of partitioning fishing effort based on the proportions of the two stocks landed at individual ports.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a mobile laminar airflow (LAF) unit in reducing bacterial contamination at the surgical area in an operating theatre supplied with turbulent air ventilation. Bacterial sedimentation was evaluated during 76 clean urological laparotomies; in 34 of these, a mobile LAF unit was added. During each operation, settle plates were placed at four points in the operating theatre (one at the patient area and three at the perimeter), a nitrocellulose membrane was placed on the instrument table and an additional membrane near the wound. During four operations, particle counting was performed to detect particles > or =0.5 microm. Mean bacterial sedimentation on the nitrocellulose membrane on the instrument table was 2730 cfu/m(2)/h under standard ventilation conditions, whereas it decreased significantly to a mean of 305 cfu/m(2)/h when the LAF unit was used, i.e. within the suggested limit for ultraclean operating theatres (P=0.0001). The membrane near the wound showed a bacterial sedimentation of 4031 cfu/m(2)/h without the LAF unit and 1608 cfu/m(2)/h with the unit (P=0.0001). Particle counts also showed a reduction when the LAF unit was used. No significant difference was found at the four points in the operating theatre between samplings performed with, and without, the LAF unit. Use of a mobile LAF unit with turbulent air ventilation can reduce bacterial contamination at the surgical area in high-risk operations (e.g. prosthesis implant).

The growth of two commercially important flatfish. turbot (Psetta maxima) (L.) and brill (Scophthalmus rhombus) (L.), was investigated in the Adriatic using whole otoliths (sagittae) and stained otolith sections. At variance with the pattern usually observed in temperate seas, the opaque zone was found to be laid down in autumn and winter. and the translucent zone in spring and summer. Growth rates differed according to sex. with the females attaining greater body lengths. The von Bertalanffy growth parameters were: L(infinity) = 66.2 cm, K = 0.31 years (1), and t(0) = - 0.14 years for turbot males. L(infinity) = 81.5 cm, K = 0.21 years(-1), and t(0) = -0.48 years for turbot females: L(infinity) = 40.2 cm. K = 0.49 years(-1), and t(0) = 1.03 years for brill males: L(infinity) = 50.1 cm, K = 0.27 years(-1), and t(0) = - 1.75 years for brill females. Growth rates and maximum age recorded for turbot were comparable to those reported in the North Sea.

Automated cytometry has been proposed by us as an extremely sensitive probe of the electrochemical reactivation of quiescent cells, provided that quantitative and specific staining techniques are available for absorption or fluorescence measurements. A complete re-evaluation is given of cell staining by means of the Feulgen reaction for absorption image cytometry, in order to obtain quantitative specificity for DNA amount and chromatin conformation. The possibility of computing from image cytometry the number of chromatin sites accessible to intercalation of small molecules, which should be related to template activity, was previously anticipated by us on an experimental basis, and is now assessed on a theoretical basis, linking together fluorescence flow cytometry and absorption image cytometry. The Feulgen staining technique has been applied to measure the amount of DNA during reactivation of frog erythrocytes and human lymphocytes induced by exposure to electromagnetic (e.m.) fields and by chemical changes of cell environment. Static automated absorption image analysis of Feulgen stained nuclei allows us to evaluate the onset of DNA synthesis and the effectiveness of the electrochemical stimulus on chromatin conformation.

The effects of Mg++ on the spatial organization of nuclei from rat hepatocytes are analyzed in the range 0–60 mM, in the presence of suitable concentrations of KCl to reproduce physiological conditions. It is shown that the scatter-signal distribution measured by means of a flow microfluorimeter is greatly affected by this range of Mg concentrations. By coupling this result to phase-contrast-automated image analysis, it is possible to identify a shrinking process induced by Mg++ in the range 0–2.5 mM, which reaches a plateau in the range 5–20 mM and is followed by a swelling process in the range 30–60 mM. The same Mg ranges are shown to affect the intercalation of the fluorochrome acridine orange into chromatin, suggesting that the shrinking-swelling phenomenon has also a molecular correspondence at the genome level. Possible implications in terms of the influence of Mg++ on the organization of chromatin inside intact cells are briefly discussed.

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the influence of sodium salicylate on the counterregulatory glucagon response to insulin-induced hypoglycemia in both insulin-dependent diabetic subjects (IDDM) and normal controls. The IDDM group consisted of 5 patients with recent onset of disease (

Summary The effect of nicergoline, an alpha-adrenergic blocking drug, upon insulin response to glucose has been investigated in 8 subjects with Type II (adult-onset) diabetes mellitus with fasting hyperglycemia. All subjects had no acute insulin response to intravenous glucose (20 g) pulse (AIR=Acute Insulin Response=1±5%, mean±SEM, mean change 3–10 min, % basal). Nicergoline infusion (0.1 mg/min) resulted in both a partial restoration of AIR (43±12 %, p

The adhesion and growth of cells on silicon dioxide substrata are analysed. The adhesion of human red blood cells to silicon dioxide layers of different depth and doping compares well with that to glass. Rat pheochromocytoma cells also grow on the same substrata. The adhesion of these two biological systems is characterized at the microscopic level by using the quite new technique of scanning reflection acoustic microscopy. Possible future developments towards the functional coupling of living cells to microelectronic integrated circuits are briefly discussed.

Automated cell flow microfluorometry and automated cell image analysis are two recent complementary approaches to cell biology, with far-reaching implications concerning both basic research and clinical applications.