Titles in Veterinary Medicine research articles

Titles are the first point of contact between authors and readers. They call for attention and provide concise and exhaustive information on the research. State of the art in the medical field shows that titles have a mean word count ranging from 15.48 to 15.85 and that they can be arranged into four different formats: nominal, full-sentence, compound and question. Veterinary Medicine has not been object of study and is an underrepresented field in genre analytical surveys. This research wants to fill in part this gap by discussing a pilot survey on veterinary research article titles. To this aim, six issues from three veterinary journals were scanned and the samples labelled "original research article" were examined. The corpus, consisting of 74 specimens, was analysed to elicit the mean word count and the format. Results reveal a mean length of 14.06 words per title and the prevalence of nominal and compound titles. These data are shared to offer a preliminary framework that can serve to inform on the practices adopted by veterinary researchers to communicate findings

Analysis of DTC nutrigenetic services in Italy: state of the art, agreement to the ESHG statement and future outlooks

Background: In both USA and Europe operate companies selling Direct-to-consumer genetic tests (DTC). These tests are offered to healthy people aiming to identify predispositions to complex diseases and to take preventive measures. Several DTC-nutrigenetic tests (DNTs) are available on the market. They propose the definition of a personalized diet, on the basis of the investigated genetic variants, which would reduce the risk of developing those diseases which have been associated to specific genetic markers. However, the risk/benefit balance of exposing unselected population to genetic testing without any medical surveillance is far from be established. Furthermore, it lacks an accepted procedure to select which genetic markers needs to be investigated, to evaluate their specific role and, as consequence, to define a personalized diet. Within this context, the European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG) released a statement regarding the DTC tests that has been ratified by several national societies including the Italian one. 
In the present study we analyzed the DNT offered in Italy, the state of the art and the abidance with the ESHG statement. 
Methods: We queried web search engine for the DNT offered to italian population, portraying a non-specialized customer. We examined the DNTs vendor websites and/or directly contacted the companies to collect information on: 1) genetic marker essayed, 2) diseases and phenotypes considered and 3) kind of dietary advices provided. Finally, we evaluated the abidance to the ESHG statement. The study was conducted between November, 2010 and May, 2011.
Results: Six companies operate in Italy with a total of seven different DNTs offered. Both studied phenotypes and investigated genetic markers were very different among companies, with a relative higher level of agreement for phenotype than for genes. None of the companies described the methods used to select markers and to define diet advices. None of the companies showed a complete agreement to the statement of the ESHG. 
Conclusion: Although DNT companies' efforts are worthy, a standardization of methods and a more strictly agreement with ESHG statement should be encouraged

Electrophysiological efficacy of temperature-controlled bipolar radiofrequency†

OBJECTIVE Clinical success of atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation depends on persistent block of electrical conduction across the ablation lines. The fate of ablations performed with temperature-controlled bipolar radiofrequency (RF) is unknown. The purpose of this study was to validate the electrophysiological (EP) efficacy of these lesions, recording pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) after open chest ablation, in the human being. METHODS Ten consecutive mitral patients (mean age: 53 ± 12 years) with concomitant AF were treated with the Cobra Revolution (Estech, San Ramon, CA, USA) bipolar RF device were enrolled for EP assessment. During surgery, pairs of additional temporary wires were positioned on the right PVs (RPV) and on the roof of the left atrium (RLA), before ablation. Pacing thresholds (PTs) were assessed before, after a single encircling ablation and at chest's closure. EP study was repeated before discharge and at 3 weeks. RLA wires served as control. RESULTS Baseline PTs were 0.83 ± 0.81 mA (range 0.2-3 mA) from RPV and 1.13 ± 0.78 mA (range 0.3-3 mA) from RLA. PVI was reached in all patients acutely, and was maintained at 1 week. At 3 weeks, the PTs were 14.3 ± 4.3 mA from RPV (range 7-20 mA) and 3.1 ± 1.3 mA (range 1.5-7 mA) from RLA. All patients were discharged in sinus rhythm. CONCLUSIONS Cobra Revolution temperature-controlled bipolar RF provides complete PVI after a single ablation up to 1 week. This notwithstanding, only 30% of patients were completely isolated (exit block validation) at 3 week

C5a Receptor Deficiency Alters Energy Utilization and Fat Storage

Objective: To investigate the impact of whole body C5a receptor (C5aR) deficiency on energy metabolism and fat storage. Design: Male wildtype (WT) and C5aR knockout (C5aRKO) mice were fed a low fat (CHOW) or a high fat high sucrose diet-induced obesity (DIO) diet for 14 weeks. Body weight and food intake were measured weekly. Indirect calorimetry, dietary fatload clearance, insulin and glucose tolerance tests were also evaluated. Liver, muscle and adipose tissue mRNA gene expression were measured by RT-PCR. Results: At week one and 12, C5aRKO mice on DIO had increased oxygen consumption. After 12 weeks, although food intake was comparable, C5aRKO mice had lower body weight (−7% CHOW, −12% DIO) as well as smaller gonadal (−38% CHOW, −36% DIO) and inguinal (−29% CHOW, −30% DIO) fat pads than their WT counterparts. Conversely, in WT mice, C5aR was upregulated in DIO vs CHOW diets in gonadal adipose tissue, muscle and liver, while C5L2 mRNA expression was lower in C5aRKO on both diet. Furthermore, blood analysis showed lower plasma triglyceride and non-esterified fatty acid levels in both C5aRKO groups, with faster postprandial triglyceride clearance after a fatload. Additionally, C5aRKO mice showed lower CD36 expression in gonadal and muscle on both diets, while DGAT1 expression was higher in gonadal (CHOW) and liver (CHOW and DIO) and PPARγ was increased in muscle and liver. Conclusion: These observations point towards a role (either direct or indirect) for C5aR in energy expenditure and fat storage, suggesting a dual role for C5aR in metabolism as well as in immunity

Framing research in Food Science: the state of the art on research article, short communication and poster presentation titles

Titles are the first point of contact with readers and are encoded to provide concise information on the paper’s contents. Data from available surveys show that the structural construction conforms to four different layouts, namely nominal, compound, full-sentence and question, with a prevalence of the former two formats and an increase in the use of the latter ones. The aim of this paper is to discuss the state of the art of title encoding practices in three written genres commonly employed in Food Science: research articles, short communications and poster presentations. Findings indicate the prevalent occurrence of nominal and compound layouts and the lack of question titles in the three genres analysed. Results also show that titles have a mean length of 15.3 words in research articles, of 14.6 words in short communications and of 12 words in poster presentations. The data are shared to offer a framework of current praxis in Food Science and to inform teachers and authors on how to shape informative titles for their research.