Machiavelli's experience in organizing a Florentine militia shaped the composition of his Art of War (1521), a book that is now less well known than The Prince, but that had a huge impact on ...sixteenth-century cultures of warfare.
BACKGROUND: Microvessel density (MVD) is a measure of the extent of new blood vessel growth or angiogenesis, which is required for tumor progression. Increased MVD in primary breast cancers appears ...to adversely affect disease-free survival and overall survival in patients with breast cancer. However, the clinical implications of angiogenesis in breast cancer metastases have not been well studied. The purpose of this study was to compare intratumoral MVD in primary breast cancer tissues with MVD in axillary lymph node metastases and to evaluate the relationships among primary- and metastatic-tumor MVD, disease-free survival, and overall survival in patients with lymph node-positive, stage II breast cancer who were treated with adjuvant chemotherapy in Cancer and Leukemia Group B Protocol 8082. METHODS: Immunostaining for factor VIII-related antigen was performed on tissue sections from 47 primary tumors and 91 axillary lymph nodes containing metastases from 110 patients with lymph node-positive breast cancer. Sections were examined for the presence or absence of focal areas of relatively intense neovascularization (vascular hot spots), and a quantitative assessment of intratumoral MVD was performed. RESULTS: The presence of vascular hot spots in axillary lymph node metastases, but not primary breast cancers, was associated with statistically significantly decreased disease-free survival (P = .006) and overall survival (P = .004) by univariate analysis. Similarly, increased MVD in metastases, but not in primary tumors, was statistically significantly associated with diminished overall survival in these patients (P = .02). In multivariate analysis, the number of positive axillary lymph nodes and the presence of vascular hot spots in axillary lymph node metastases predicted decreased disease-free survival (P = .0001 and .02, respectively) and overall survival (P = .0001 and .007, respectively). All P values were two-sided. CONCLUSION: This pilot study suggests that assessing neovascularization in axillary lymph node metastases may provide clinically useful information regarding survival in patients with primary breast cancer.
Even though occidental food production and control systems guarantee a reasonable level of safety for consumers, western countries are facing a growing phenomenon of immigration from all over the ...world. With this enrichment and the shuffling of cultures and customs in the same places, even alimentary habits undergo an unavoidable evolution, also influencing the commercial trends of society. The growing demand for ethnic products, often of uncertain provenance, composition and manufacturing, has motivated the appearance of illegal trade and markets or improper local productions besides the legal ones, implying a rise in hygienic risks for the consumers. These underground realities, together with the unfilled gap that still exists between different cultures and customs cause significant difficulties in carrying out efficient controls to guarantee sanitary safety for consumers. For this reason, the risks associated with this increasing globalisation must be faced with proper information and a decisive formative strategy must be divided, in order to allow the operator of the whole system and control employees to be acquainted about different raw materials, manufacturing systems, alimentary habits, languages for communication and commercial dynamics which stand beyond the new alimentary trends.
This study focused on the expression of somatotropic axis genes in the skeletal muscle of dairy cattle. A slow-release recombinant bovine growth hormone (GH) (rbGH) formulation was administered to 5 ...cows, and saline solution (control) was administered to another 5 cows every 2 wk for a total of 10 wk, starting from the peak of lactation. Tissue and blood samples were collected on days 2 and 14 after each rbGH injection. As target genes insulin-like growth factor
(IGF)-1,
IGF-2,
IGFBPs (
1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6), acute labile subunit (ALS), IGF-1 receptor
(IGF-1R), GH receptor
(GHR), and the known GHR 5′-UTR variants were selected as target genes, and their relative expression was measured using real-time polymerase chain reaction. In GH-treated cows, an increase in expression was observed for GHR 5′-UTR variant 1I on day 14 (
P < 0.05), whereas a significant down-regulation of
GHR (
P < 0.05) was found after comparing values of treated cows between day 2 and day 14. However, only IGF binding proteins (BP)-5 was found to be appreciably up-regulated in GH-treated cows (
P < 0.001), which may indicate the importance of this gene in the overall molecular response to GH administration. Our study indicated that GH treatment did not affect the expression of most somatotropic axis genes, despite the marked increase in GH and IGF-1 in blood (
P < 0.001). Nor did it have a large impact on the proportion of GHR 5′-UTR variants in the skeletal muscle of lactating cows. Finally, although we observed a significant variation in the expression of some genes, it would appear that the differences between GH-treated cows and controls were not great enough to be considered as reliable indirect indicators of GH treatment in dairy cattle.
Food safety related incidents have increased consumers’ concern about food safety and quality and led to a distrust in the Chinese food market. This paper investigates how sociodemographic variables ...affect willingness to pay (WTP) both for safer and higher quality food by identify a specific user profile. Data were collected through a consumer survey conducted in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, administrating 1000 questionnaires, 757 of which resulted valid. Data showed that level of education, income, being married and the place of purchase significantly influences the WTP while the ages does not affect it. WTP is elicited by using a payment card method, and its estimation is performed with interval data regression model. Results also indicates that “food quality” and “food safety” have the same impact level on the WTP, indicating certain confusion about their significance. Other study results and implication on informative and educative policies are discussed.
•Paper analyse the perception that a sample of people has of food safety and quality.•Over 700 questionnaires distributed in China (Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province).•We asked WTPs more than standard price for safer and higher quality rice.•In order to test how variables explored affect WTPs, interval data regression was performed.
A study was performed to delineate bST and IGF-1 variation, over a whole lactation, in cows treated with a nowadays widely commercialised but little studied sustained release formulation of ...recombinant bST. Total bST levels were found to be exceptionally high in the first days after administration, but decreased rapidly in the second week after injection. The increase in the IGF-1 serum concentration was significant for almost the entire biweekly cycle. Based on this study, the peaks of ST (often above 100
ng/ml) are considered particularly unlikely to be found in non-treated bovines, even under pathological conditions, especially when detected in a number of animals within a herd. Notwithstanding the great heterogeneity of results on this topic, these data suggest that tests against fraud involving the use of rbST in dairy products may be regarded as a feasible possibility.
The importation of fishery products into the European Union (EU) is constantly rising. The aim of this study was to conduct a survey on labeling non-compliances on fishery products imported from ...extra-European countries, in collaboration with the veterinary staff of the Border Inspection Post of Livorno-Pisa (BIP), of the Italian Ministry of Health. The correspondence between the products' identity and the scientific denominations reported on the accompanying certificates was checked using the DNA barcoding method. Overall, 277 products belonging to different categories (fish, cephalopods, crustaceans, bivalves, amphibian) were submitted to analysis for species identification. The comparison of the molecular results with the scientific names declared on the accompanying documents showed that 22.5% (95%CI 17.8–28.0) of the analyzed products were mislabeled. The highest percentage of mislabeling was observed on cephalopod based products (43.8%, 95% CI 32.3–55.9), followed by crustaceans (17.0%, 95% CI 9.2–29.2) and fish (14.0%, 95% CI 8.7–21.9). A higher rate was found in products imported from China, Vietnam and Thailand. The present study is the first survey on mislabeling in products sampled at BIPs in Italy. The results highlight the need of implementing analytical checks, based on DNA analysis, on incoming fishery products.
•Food of animal origin from an extra-EU country must undergo veterinary border controls.•A survey on labeling non-compliances on 277 imported fishery products was conducted.•Sampling was performed at the Border Inspection Post of Livorno-Pisa.•The overall mislabeling rate was 22.5%. The highest percentage was found for cephalopods.•Analytical checks, based on DNA barcoding, on incoming fishery products are needed.
Gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) and European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) are among the most popular fish on the Italian and European market. The present study aimed to assess the occurrence and ...localization of ascaridoid nematodes in wild specimens of these two species caught in a previously not investigated area of the Tyrrhenian Sea (FAO subarea 37.1.3). Forty gilthead seabream and forty-seven European seabass were analysed through visual inspection and chloro-peptic digestion. All the parasites collected were submitted to morphological and molecular analysis, targeting a fragment of the cytochrome oxidase subunit 2 (cox2) and of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) genes. No Anisakis spp. were found. As regards other ascaridoid nematodes, seven larvae of Contracaecum rudolphii A (2 in the belly flaps and the rest in the viscera) (Prevalence - P: 2.5 95% Confidence Interval - CI: 0–7.3%; Mean Abundance - MA: 0.017; Mean Intensity - MI: 7) and one visceral larva of Hysterothylacium sp. (P: 2.5 95% CI: 0–7.3%; MA: 0.025; MI: 1) were found in two different specimens of S. aurata. Seventeen larvae of C. rudolphii A were found in the viscera of six D. labrax (P: 12.7% 95% CI: 3.3–22.3%; MA: 0.15; MI: 1.17). The absence of Anisakis sp. in S. aurata agrees with literature data, while variable prevalence values had been previously reported for D. labrax, generally higher in Atlantic grounds. The occurrence of C. rudolphii A and Hysterothylacium spp., nematodes of low or negligible zoonotic impact, respectively, contributes to the characterization of ascaridoid epidemiology in these commercially relevant species. In addition, the presence of the species C. rudolphii A in S. aurata is reported for the first time. The present results contribute towards the parasitological risk assessment of this Italian maritime area, which is also highly dedicated to the aquaculture of S. aurata and D. labrax.
•Occurrence of anisakid nematodes were assess in wild gilthead seabream and European seabass.•Fish were sampled in an area of the Tyrrhenian Sea dedicated to fish farming.•No Anisakis spp. were found, suggesting a low risk of anisakiasis.•Other ascaridoid larvae with a lower or negligible zoonotic impact were found.•Data on wild specimens may be useful to feed the parasitological risk for aquaculture.
Pufferfish may be responsible for human intoxications due to the accumulation of a potentially lethal neurotoxin, called tetrodotoxin (TTX). While traditionally some species of pufferfish are ...consumed in Japan, their marketing is banned in the EU. However, their illegal presence in mislabelled products has been reported. Moreover, some species of the genus Lagocephalus spread in the Mediterranean Sea during the last decades due to the Lessepsian migration phenomenon and they may represent a significant emerging risk within the European seafood chain. This study aimed at finding a suitable molecular marker for quickly identifying Lagocephalus species in fresh and processed products. All available sequences of COI and cytb mitochondrial genes were used to create different length datasets (long and short fragments) to be used to produce NJ trees depicting genetic relationships for Lagocephalus spp. On the basis of its higher variability, cytb gene was selected as the molecular target and 17 new complete sequences of 6 Lagocephalus species, deriving from reference samples, were produced and included in the datasets. Then, a primer pair for amplifying a 130bp cytb polymorphic fragment from all of the Lagocephalus spp. was designed for identifying sixteen mislabelled commercial products containing pufferfish with degraded DNA. Cytb dataset's phylogenetic analysis supported the most recent species classification of the Lagocephalus genus and highlighted the presence of toxic L. spadiceus in the products. The analysis of the proposed short fragment could represent a reliable tool to protect European consumers from the emerging risk associated to toxic Lagocephalus spp.
•A preliminary analysis was conducted to select the molecular marker.•A130bp cytb gene fragment was selected for discriminating Lagocephalus species.•Fresh and processed product were analysed.•Toxic Lagocephalus spadiceus was found in 16 products sold in Asia and Europe.•The method is able to protect European consumers from emerging risks in the seafood chain.
Increased microvessel density has been described in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck and is related to patient prognosis. The factors responsible for the angiogenesis have not been ...identified. Vascular permeability factor (VPF), also known as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), is a multifunctional angiogenic cytokine expressed at high levels in many tumors. We examined 16 cases of squamous cell carcinoma, 10 cases of high-grade squamous dysplasia, and 19 cases of normal, reactive, or mildly dysplastic squamous mucosa by in situ hybridization for expression of VPF/VEGF and VPF/VEGF receptor mRNA. Strong expression of VPF/VEGF mRNA was seen in 12 of 16 squamous cell carcinomas and in 5 of 10 high-grade squamous dysplasias. In contrast, no cases of normal, reactive, or mild dysplastic squamous epithelium showed strong expression of VPF/VEGF mRNA. Furthermore, strong expression of VPF/VEGF receptor mRNA was seen in 5 of 9 cases of squamous cell carcinoma and 3 of 6 cases of high-grade squamous dysplasia but in only 2 of 14 cases of normal, reactive, or mild dysplastic squamous epithelium. Thus, expression of VPF/VEGF and its receptors is markedly increased in high-grade squamous dysplasia and invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity and larynx and may play an important role in the angiogenesis associated with these lesions.
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