In the pediatric population, acute pharyngo-tonsillitis represents one of the most frequent causes of access to outpatient treatment and use of antibiotics. In frequent tonsillitis, the ...pharmacological approach is no longer effective, and, therefore, surgery becomes the treatment of choice.
This study compares the prophylactic efficacy of Streptococcus salivarius K12 (Bactoblis
) in children with recurrent pharyngo-tonsillitis treated vs untreated, with a 12 -month follow-up. The primary objectives are: The incidence of recurrence of pharyngo-tonsillar episodes and the concomitant use of other drugs. Secondary objectives are: tolerability of the treatment, the effectiveness in terms of clinical improvement, days of absence from school, reduction of the use of standard therapies, and cancellation from the surgical planning list.
Patients belonging to group A (treated with K12 for 90 days) were 24 males and 26 females, mean age 6.6 years (SD=1.57), those belonging to group B (untreated) were 23 males and 27 females, average age 6.8 years (SD=1.72). In the follow-up, group A reported 26 inflammatory pharyngo-tonsillary episodes in the first trimester, unlike group B, who reported 72 in the second trimester. This has shown a lower incidence (3.38%) of the disease compared to group B (6.66%), for a total of 169 inflammatory pharyngo-tonsillary episodes in group A against 333 in group B. A reduction in days of school absence of 429 days in group A and 927 days in the control group (
<0.01) was also noted. Finally, 14 children of group A (28%) underwent adenotonsillectomy, against the whole group B. No adverse events were reported.
The efficacy of K12 on the prevention of pharyngo-tonsillar infections, the decrease in the use of antibiotics and the improvement of the overall quality-of-life was confirmed, with a decreased number of absences from school and fewer patients undergoing surgery.
Emerging and re-emerging infectious disease in otorhinolaryngology (ENT) are an area of growing epidemiological and clinical interest. The aim of this section is to comprehensively report on the ...epidemiology of key infectious disease in otorhinolaryngology, reporting on their burden at the national and international level, expanding of the need of promoting and implementing preventive interventions, and the rationale of applying evidence-based, effective and cost- effective diagnostic, curative and preventive approaches. In particular, we focus on i) ENT viral infections (HIV, Epstein-Barr virus, Human Papilloma virus), retrieving the available evidence on their oncogenic potential; ii) typical and atypical mycobacteria infections; iii) non-specific granulomatous lymphadenopathy; iv) emerging paediatric ENT infectious diseases and the prevention of their complications; v) the growing burden of antimicrobial resistance in ENT and the strategies for its control in different clinical settings. We conclude by outlining knowledge gaps and action needed in ENT infectious diseases research and clinical practice and we make references to economic analysis in the field of ENT infectious diseases prevention and care.
Resumen
Aunque el trabajo penitenciario se percibe ante todo como una práctica de competencia desleal inadmisible en los sistemas de preferencias aduaneras, también puede concebirse de otra manera. ...En particular, cabe preguntarse qué condiciones ha de cumplir para ser un trabajo decente y un instrumento de reinserción. Tras un minucioso análisis jurídico, en el que se comparan las normas pertinentes de la OIT con la normativa aduanera de la UE y la OMC en el marco de la teoría de las capacidades, se aboga por elaborar un conjunto de normas del trabajo penitenciario que se inscriben en diversas ramas del derecho.
► We compared two silver fir woodlands under different management regimes. ► We controlled factors confounding the effect of silviculture cessation. ► The unmanaged stand had higher deadwood and tree ...species richness. ► Moreover, it had different plant species composition. ► The approach is effective for studying other forest communities.
Although few undisturbed forests remain in Europe, forest reserves and deforested areas that are no longer profitable have the potential to develop stand structures similar to those which preceded human disturbances. The direct effects of management cessation on forest diversity are confounded by many factors that should be controlled when comparing managed and abandoned stands. In the European Alps, however, the high variability of habitats makes it nearly impossible to find comparable stands located within forests large enough to be independent from the surrounding land. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of mixed models to compare deadwood and plant diversity between matched managed and unmanaged pairs of forests, with the hypothesis that their differences were due to direct effect of abandonment. Two neighbouring watersheds that were large enough to be independent from the surrounding forests were chosen. These watersheds had a common history of use, but one was non-intensively managed, while the other was untouched since 1957. Ten plots were randomly selected from each forest. Mixed models confirmed their matched topography and stand structure, while a similarity index confirmed their assignment to the same plant community. The unmanaged stand had higher soil nitrogen, higher Fagus sylvatica dendrological composition, higher tree species richness, higher dead logs and a different composition of the tree and understory layers. These results suggest that silver fir woodlands abandoned for more than 50years change spontaneously and that this approach may be an effective means for studying other forest communities.
Knowledge of how grazing cattle utilize heterogeneous landscapes in Mediterranean silvopastoral areas is scarce. Global positioning systems (GPS) to track animals, together with geographic ...information systems (GIS), can relate animal distribution to landscape features. With the aim to develop a general spatial model that provides accurate prediction of cattle resource selection patterns within a Mediterranean mountainous silvopastoral area, free-roaming Sarda cows were fitted with GPS collars to track their spatial behaviors. Resource selection function models (RSF) were developed to estimate the probability of resource use as a function of environmental variables. A set of over 500 candidate RSF models, composed of up to five environmental predictor variables, were fitted to data. To identify a final model providing a robust prediction of cattle resource selection pattern across the different seasons, the 10 best models (ranked on the basis of the AIC score) were fitted to seasonal data. Prediction performance of the models was evaluated with a Spearman correlation analysis using the GPS position data sets previously reserved for model validation. The final model emphasized that watering point, elevation, and distance to fences were important factors affecting cattle resource-selection patterns. The prediction performances (as Spearman rank correlation scores) of the final model, when fitted to each season, ranged between 0.7 and 0.94. The cows were more likely to select areas lower in elevation and farther from the watering point in winter than in summer (693 ± 1 m and 847 ± 13 m vs. 707 ± 1 m and 635 ± 21 m, respectively), and in spring opted for the areas furthest from the water (963 ± 12). Although caution should be exercised in generalizing to other silvopastoral areas, the satisfactory Spearman correlations scores from the final RSF model applied to different seasons indicate resource selection function is a powerful predictive model. The relative importance of the individual predictors within the model varied among the different seasons, demonstrating the RSF model's ability to interpret changes in animal behavior at different times of the year. The RSF model has proven to be a useful tool to interpret the spatial behaviors of cows grazing in Mediterranean silvopastoral areas and could therefore be helpful in managing and preserving ecosystem services of these areas.
The abandonment of silvicultural activities can lead to changes in species richness and composition of biological communities, when compared to those found in managed forests. The aim of this study ...was to compare the multi-taxonomical diversity of two mature silver fir-beech-spruce forests in the southern Dolomites (Italy), corresponding to the European Union habitat type 9130. The two sites share similar ecological and structural characteristics, but differ in their recent management histories. In the last 50 years, one site underwent non-intensive management, while the other was left unmanaged and was included in a forest reserve. The species richness and composition of eight taxa were surveyed in the two sites between 2009 and 2011. The difference in mean species richness between the two forest management types was tested through permutation tests, while differences in species composition were tested by principal coordinates analysis and the permutational multivariate analysis of variance. Mean species richness of soil macrofungi, deadwood lichens, bark beetles, and longhorn beetles were significantly higher in the abandoned than in the non-intensively managed forests. Deadwood fungi and epiphytic lichens did not differ in mean species richness between the two study sites, while mean species richness of ground beetles and birds were higher in the non-intensively managed than in the abandoned forest. Significant differences in species composition between the two sites were found for all the taxa, except for longhorn beetles. These results indicate that improving forest landscape heterogeneity through the creation of a mosaic of abandoned and extensively managed forests should better fulfill the requirements of ecologically different taxa.
Climate change is leading to the global loss of open montane meadows by facilitating tree and shrub encroachment at high elevations. North Americaâs coastal mountains are particularly vulnerable to ...these changes, as they are relatively low elevation compared with interior mountains and contain only small areas of alpine tundra. We compared aerial photographs from 1962 with those from 2005 covering three subalpine regions on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to document the extent of changes in woody vegetation and investigate associations between vegetation change and topography. Mean proportional woody vegetation cover increased significantly from 0.75±0.03 to 0.81±0.03 between 1962 and 2005 (p < 0.0001). Relative increase in woody vegetation cover was greater at higher elevations and on northerly aspects. These findings confirm an upward expansion and infilling of trees and shrubs and a reduction of the area encompassed by open alpine tundra on Vancouver Island. Loss of open meadow conditions at high elevations in this region will likely have consequences for alpine plant and animal communities.
Two feeding regimens were compared: complete diet (UF) and complete diet + 3-5 hours daily grazing (UFP) a fodder crop of Italian ryegrass. Feeding regimen significantly influenced (P0.01) milk yield ...(1372 vs 1069 ml/d in UFP and UF respectively) and urea (45.73, in UFP, vs 37.97 mg/dl in UF; P0.01). No difference was found in fat and protein contents. The trial showed that ewes fed with complete diet and strip grazing yielded more milk and consumed less feedstuffs than ewes fed exclusively with complete diet
Sono stati confrontati due regimi alimentari: dieta completa (UF) e dieta completa + 3-5 ore di pascolo giornaliero di una coltura foraggera di loiessa (UFP). Il regime alimentare influenzava significativamente (P0.01) la produzione di latte (1372 vs 1069 ml/g, rispettivamente, in UFP e UF) e l'urea (45.73, in UFP, vs 37.97 mg/dl in UF; P0.01). Non sono state rilevate differenze nei contenuti di proteine e grasso. La prova ha messo in luce che le pecore alimentate con una dieta completa e pascolamento razionato producevano piu' latte e consumavano meno alimenti rispetto alle pecore alimentate esclusivamente con la dieta completa
PDF
