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This study was conducted to determine the effects of coconut, groundnut and Tigernut milk based extenders on some characteristics of Uda ram semen in Maiduguri, Nigeria. A total of 96 semen samples were collected using electro-ejaculator from six Uda rams, twice a week, for 8 weeks. Semen was pooled and divided into 4 aliquots. One aliquot was diluted with Oviplus® solution and egg yolk (Oviplus® + egg yolk) and served as control. The other 3 aliquots were extended with coconut, groundnut and tigernut milk-based extenders respectively. The samples were chilled to 5°C and evaluated for individual motility, livability and morphologic abnormalities. These evaluations were made immediately, at 24, 48 and at 72 hours post extension. The average semen volume, individual motility, livability, morphologic abnormalities, pH and concentration of semen analyzed immediately after collection were 1.35 ± 0.1 ml, 80.9 ± 1.5 (%), 75.8 ± 2.0 (%), 8.0 ± 0.8 (%), 6.9 ± 0.1 and 3.2 ± 0.2 (x109/ml) respectively. Furthermore, it was found that coconut, ground nut and tiger nut milkbased extenders maintained good semen quality of Uda rams till 48 hours post extension when chilled at 5°C and that the tiger nut milk based extenders have better semen preservative ability than the coconut and the ground nut milk based extenders.

L'elaborato mira ad esplorare eventuali spazi di riforma nella disciplina penalistica delle scelte di fine vita, alla luce delle recenti evoluzioni legislative e giurisprudenziali, italiane e non solo. La ricerca si è focalizzata, in primis, sull’evoluzione della disciplina italiana in tema di omicidio del consenziente ed aiuto al suicidio. Attraverso un’indagine storica, che ha preso le mosse dalla dottrina e dalla legislazione del XVIII secolo e si è snodata soprattutto attraverso i lavori preparatori dei codici Zanardelli e Rocco, si sono evidenziate le ragioni di fondo della politica criminale sul punto ed i punti critici su cui si è soffermata la dottrina. L’analisi delle fattispecie penali vigenti è stata accompagnata dall’esame della giurisprudenza dell’ultimo ventennio, che ha fortemente contribuito ad “attualizzare” la tutela offerta ai c.d. “soggetti deboli” e a risolvere i conflitti tra beni giuridici in gioco, prendendo atto dell’evoluzione delle conoscenze scientifiche e dell’emersione di scenari inimmaginabili per il legislatore del 1930. Ciò nonostante, la ricerca ha evidenziato che, anche dopo la rivoluzionaria sentenza n. 242 del 2019 della Corte costituzionale sull’art. 580 c.p., permangono forti profili di criticità dovuti all’applicazione di norme risalenti, ritenute inadeguate rispetto al contesto sociale odierno, e a formulazioni testuali foriere di dubbi interpretativi. All’esito di queste valutazioni, sono stati identificati alcuni aspetti cruciali per una possibile riforma legislativa e si è ritenuto opportuno esplorare anche le scelte effettuate da altri ordinamenti europei, al fine di identificare buone pratiche da cui trarre spunto. Alla luce delle conoscenze acquisite grazie all’analisi comparata, l’elaborato avanza, infine, alcune proposte di riforma, anche facendo riferimento alle proposte di legge già depositate in Parlamento, e dà atto della pendenza di una proposta di referendum parzialmente abrogativo dell’art. 579 c.p. (sulla cui ammissibilità la Corte costituzionale si pronuncerà il 15 febbraio, ossia dopo la consegna dell’elaborato finale). The paper aims to explore possible spaces to reform the criminal discipline of end-of-life choices, expecially after the recent legislative and jurisprudential developments, both in Italy and beyond. The research focused, first of all, on the evolution of the Italian discipline in terms of murder with the consent of the victim and contribution to others’ suicide. Through a historical investigation, which begin with an investigation about the legal doctrine and the legislation of the 18th century and developed above all through the preparatory work of the Zanardelli and Rocco codes, the underlying reasons for the criminal policy on this point and the critical points on which the doctrine has focused are highlighted. The analysis of the criminal offenses in force is accompanied by an examination of the jurisprudence of the last twenty years, which has greatly contributed to "updating" the protection offered to the so-called "weak subjects" and to resolve the conflicts between legal assets at stake, taking note of the evolution of scientific knowledge and the emergence of unimaginable scenarios for the legislator of 1930. Nevertheless, research has shown that, even after the revolutionary ruling n. 242/2019 of the Constitutional court about art. 580 of the criminal code, there are still strong critical issues due to the application of outdated rules, deemed inadequate if compared with today's social context, and to textual formulations which may contribute to the emergence of interpretative difficulties. As a result of these assessments, some crucial aspects were identified for a possible legislative reform and it was considered appropriate to also explore the choices made by other European systems, in order to identify good practices from which to draw inspiration. In light of the knowledge acquired thanks to the comparative analysis, the paper finally puts forward some reform proposals, also referring to the bills already filed in Parliament, and acknowledges the pending referendum proposal for the partial abrogation of the art. 579 c.p. (on the admissibility of which the Constitutional Court will rule on February 15, ie after the delivery of the final paper).

Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is a fluid-phase pattern recognition molecule and a key component of the humoral arm of innate immunity. In four different models of tissue damage in mice, PTX3 deficiency was associated with increased fibrin deposition and persistence, and thicker clots, followed by increased collagen deposition, when compared with controls. Ptx3-deficient macrophages showed defective pericellular fibrinolysis in vitro. PTX3-bound fibrinogen/fibrin and plasminogen at acidic pH and increased plasmin-mediated fibrinolysis. The second exon-encoded N-terminal domain of PTX3 recapitulated the activity of the intact molecule. Thus, a prototypic component of humoral innate immunity, PTX3, plays a nonredundant role in the orchestration of tissue repair and remodeling. Tissue acidification resulting from metabolic adaptation during tissue repair sets PTX3 in a tissue remodeling and repair mode, suggesting that matrix and microbial recognition are common, ancestral features of the humoral arm of innate immunity.