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L’articolo descrive uno studio sperimentale volto a testare l’efficacia dello strumento Identicars, un catalogo di immagini di automobili e di parti di esse ideato per aiutare i testimoni di omissione di soccorso stradale nel compito di riconoscimento dell’auto fuggita senza prestare soccorso. L’ipotesi di partenza dei ricercatori è quella per cui tale strumento dovrebbe aiutare i testimoni a fornire una descrizione più dettagliata e più accurata dell’auto che si è data alla fuga. Nell’articolo verrà dimostrata la potenziale utilità dello strumento Identicars attraverso l’esposizione dei risultati di un esperimento condotto presso l’Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, i cui risultati mostrano un’accuratezza maggiore del resoconto testimoniale per i soggetti che hanno utilizzato Identicars rispetto ai soggetti che hanno fornito un resoconto testimoniale con il metodo tradizionale di assunzione delle informazioni. L’article décrit une étude pilote conçue pour vérifier l’efficacité du système Identicars. Cet outil est un catalogue d’images de voitures et de pièces de voiture créé pour aider les témoins de délits de fuite à reconnaître la voiture en question. L’hypothèse des chercheurs est que cet outil devrait effectivement aider les témoins à fournir des descriptions plus détaillées et précises. Les auteurs veulent démontrer l’utilité potentielle du système Identicars par le biais des résultats obtenus par une expérience réalisée à l’Université de Bologne (Italie). Ces résultats montrent une plus grande qualité du témoignage de la part des personnes qui ont employé l’outil Identicars par rapport à celles qui ont témoigné en employant les méthodes traditionnelles pour obtenir les informations. The article describes a pilot study designed to test the effectiveness of the Identicars system. This tool is a catalogue of images of cars and car parts created to help the witnesses of hit-and-run driving accidents to recognise the car in question. The researcher’s initial concept is that such a tool should help witnesses to provide more detailed and accurate descriptions. The authors will demonstrate the potential usefulness of the Identicars tool through the results achieved by an experiment carried out at the University of Bologna. These results show a greater accuracy of identification by those witnesses who used the Identicars tool in comparison to those who gave evidence using the traditional method for obtaining the information.

The control of vibrations for systems with second-order linear dynamics is a cornerstone for several engineering application, as structural vibration control in civil and aerospace structures. In such systems, sometimes only a few eigenvalues must be mitigated in situations as resonances, flutter, and another dangerous vibratory phenomenon. The use of active vibration control is an attractive alternative due to its flexibility and the availability of general design approaches. In the case of partial eigenvalue assignment, no spillover can be achieved, that is, only a small spectrum or eigenstructure partition is reallocated, with the remaining being unperturbed. In this paper, the no spillover property of Brauer’s spectrum perturbation theorem is applied to compute a dense influence matrix structure of actuation, reassigning then the dangerous target eigenvalues and kept the remaining of the spectrum unchanged. A Sylvester equation must be solved using only the part of the spectrum to be reassigned. The results are tested in a benchmark taken from the specialized literature, and thus confirming its effectiveness.

Inappropriate corpus luteum (CL) regression can produce pregnancy loss. An experimental model was utilized to investigate regression of accessory CL during pregnancy in dairy cows. Cows were bred (day 0) and treated with gonadotrophin-releasing hormone 6 days later to form accessory CL. Transrectal ultrasound (every other days) and blood samples for progesterone (P4; daily) were performed until day 56 of pregnancy. On day 28, 13 cows were confirmed pregnant, and accessory CL were found contralateral (n = 9) or ipsilateral (n = 4) to previous ovulation. On day 18, CL biopsy was performed to analyze mRNA expression for interferonstimulated genes (ISGs). Luteolysis occurred more frequently in cows that had contralateral accessory CL (88.9% (8/9)) than in cows with ipsilateral accessory CL (0% (0/4)). Luteolysis of contralateral accessory CL occurred either earlier (days 19-23; 2/8) or later (days 48-53; 6/8) in pregnancy and occurred rapidly (24 h), based on daily P4. After onset of earlier or later accessory CL regression, circulating P4 decreased by 41.2%. There was no difference in luteal tissue mRNA expression for ISGs on day 18 between accessory and original CL and between CL that subsequently regressed or did not regress. On day 56, an oxytocin challenge dramatically increased prostaglandin F2a metabolite (PGFM) in all cows but produced no pregnancy losses, although cows with previous accessory CL regression had greater PGFM. In summary, ipsilateral accessory CL did not regress during pregnancy, whereas most contralateral CL regressed by 63 days of pregnancy, providing evidence for local mechanisms in regression of accessory CL and protection of CL during pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. SARS-CoV-2 is a newly emerged virus that has spread rapidly, exhibiting tremendous morbidity and mortality. Some potential pharmaceutical targets have been identified but are still lacking proper validation. Case Presentation. We describe the case of a young, immunosuppressed and critically ill patient with previous Influenza B infection, requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, which was then followed, in the succeeding months, by SARS-CoV-2 infection complicated by severe adult respiratory distress syndrome. Her clinical course exhibited complications, including pulmonary embolism, acute kidney injury, pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, multiple cardiac arrests, and eventually death. Conclusion. Coinfection with other respiratory pathogens and opportunistic infections are possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 5-day CO-Synch is an extensively used TAI protocol; however, it requires multiple administrations of prostaglandin F2a (PGF). The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of increasing progesterone (P4) device insertion from 5 to 6 days during a TAI protocol on ovarian dynamics and fertility in beef cows. Suckled beef cows (n = 867) at six locations were randomly assigned to either a 5-day or 6-day CO-Synch. Cows received an intravaginal P4 device (CIDR, Zoetis) and 100 µg of gonadorelin acetate (GnRH, Parnell) on d-9 (6-day) or d-8 (5-day). On d-3 CIDR's were removed, an estrus detection patch applied (Estrotect, Rockway Inc.) and either one (6-day) or two (5-day) doses of PGF (500 µg of cloprostenol sodium, Estroplan, Parnell) was administered. On d0 (72 h after CIDR removal) all cows received 100 µg of GnRH, estrus expression was evaluated, and AI was performed. Pregnancy was determined by ultrasonography 34 days after TAI. Ovarian dynamics were evaluated in a subset of animals (n = 20) between d-3 and d7 to determine preovulatory follicle size, time of ovulation and corpus luteum (CL) size. Data were analyzed using generalized linear mixed models (SAS 9.4). Cows in the 6-day group tended (P = 0.09) to have a larger maximum follicle diameter (16.2±0.4mm) than cows in the 5-day group (15.0±0.6mm). In addition, CL volume on d7 was greater (P = 0.01) in the 6-day (4302±495mm3) than 5-day (2406±455mm3) group. There were, however, no differences (P = 0.15) in the interval between CIDR removal and ovulation. Cows assigned to the 6-day group had greater (P < 0.05) estrus expression [56.1% (215/385) vs 41.5% (161/388)] and pregnancy rate [54.6% (236/438) vs 47.4% (207/435)] than cows in the 5-day group. In conclusion, extension of the period of P4 device insertion in a prolonged proestrus protocol increases preovulatory follicle size, estrous expression, and fertility to TAI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of species of anurans in the Amazon is highly underestimated with new studies reporting the discovery of a large number of species every year. This advance in the discovery of biodiversity is due to the use of molecular tools, especially 16S rRNA gene barcoding, which is used to identify species and discover cryptic lineages. Few anurans of the central Amazon have molecular sequence data available in public databases, which contrasts with the considerable species richness of this biome. The aim of the present study was to test for the presence of cryptic species using the mPTP delimitation algorism. We morphologically identified 26 species, of which 23 were confirmed molecularly with the remaining three species identified as other congeneric species, since sequences with the same epithet do not exist in GenBank. Of these 23 species, nine contained one lineage restricted to central Amazon. This represents an underestimate of 39% in the taxonomic diversity in our sample. This is particularly surprising given that our sampling sites are among the best-studied regions of the central Amazon.

In ruminants, uterine pulses of prostaglandin (PG) F2α characterize luteolysis, while increased PGE2/PGE1 distinguish early pregnancy. This study evaluated intrauterine (IU) infusions of PGF2α and PGE1 pulses on corpus luteum (CL) function and gene expression. Cows on day 10 of estrous cycle received 4 IU infusions (every 6 h; n = 5/treatment) of saline, PGE1 (2 mg PGE1), PGF2α (0.25 mg PGF2α), or PGE1 + PGF2α. A luteal biopsy was collected at 30 min after third infusion for determination of gene expression by RNA-Seq. As expected, IU pulses of PGF2α decreased (P < 0.01) P4 luteal volume. However, there were no differences in circulating P4 or luteal volume between saline, PGE1, and PGE1 + PGF2α, indicating inhibition of PGF2α-induced luteolysis by IU pulses of PGE1. After third pulse of PGF2α, luteal expression of 955 genes were altered (false discovery rate [FDR] < 0.01), representing both typical and novel luteolytic transcriptomic changes. Surprisingly, after third pulse of PGE1 or PGE1 + PGF2α, there were no significant changes in luteal gene expression (FDR > 0.10) compared to saline cows. Increased circulating concentrations of the metabolite of PGF2α (PGFM; after PGF2α and PGE1 + PGF2α) and the metabolite PGE (PGEM; after PGE1 and PGE1 + PGF2α) demonstrated that PGF2α and PGE1 are entering bloodstream after IU infusions. Thus, IU pulses of PGF2α and PGE1 allow determination of changes in luteal gene expression that could be relevant to understanding luteolysis and pregnancy. Unexpectedly, by third pulse of PGE1, there is complete blockade of either PGF2α transport to the CL or PGF2α action by PGE1 resulting in complete inhibition of transcriptomic changes following IU PGF2α pulses.

Background: Given the paucity of information on dose intensity, the objective of this study is to describe the use of adjuvant chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer, focusing on relative dose intensity (RDI), overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS)., Methods: Retrospective cohort of 367 patients diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2003-2008 and treated at 19 VA medical centers. Kaplan-Meier curves summarize 5-year OS and 3-year DFS by chemotherapy regimen and RDI, and multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression was used to model these associations., Results: 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin (FU/LV) was the most commonly initiated regimen in 2003 (94.4%) and 2004 (62.7%); in 2005-2008, a majority of patients (60%-74%) was started on an oxaliplatin-based regimen. Median RDI was 82.3%. Receipt of >70% RDI was associated with better 5-year OS (p < 0.001) and 3-year DFS (P = 0.009) than was receipt of ≤70% RDI, with 5-year OS rates of 66.3% and 50.5%, respectively and 3-year DFS rates of 66.1% and 52.7%, respectively. In the multivariable analysis of 5-year OS, oxaliplatin + 5-FU/LV (versus 5-FU/LV) (HR = 0.55; 95% CI = 0.34-0.91), >70% RDI at the first year (HR = 0.58; 95% CI = 0.37-0.89) and married status (HR = 0.66; 95% CI = 0.45-0.97) were associated with significantly decreased risk of death, while age ≥75 (versus 55-64) (HR = 2.06; 95% CI = 1.25-3.40), Charlson Comorbidity Index (HR = 1.17; 95% CI = 1.06-1.30), T4 tumor status (versus T1/T2) (HR = 5.88; 95% CI = 2.69-12.9), N2 node status (HR = 1.68; 95% CI = 1.12-2.50) and bowel obstruction (HR = 2.32, 95% CI = 1.36-3.95) were associated with significantly increased risk. Similar associations were observed for DFS., Conclusion: Patients with stage III colon cancer who received >70% RDI had improved 5-year OS. The association between RDI and survival needs to be examined in studies of adjuvant chemotherapy for colon cancer outside of the VA.