Attitudes and behaviors of household food waste among university students in Milan, Italy: The UniFoodWaste study protocol

Background and aim: Food waste is a pressing global issue with significant economic, environmental, and social implications. This protocol outlines an observational cross-sectional study aimed at assessing attitudes and behaviors related to household food waste among Italian university students. Methods: The study will involve the administration of a self-administered, online, anonymous questionnaire to university students enrolled at the University of Milan. Data collection will encompass socio-demographic characteristics, household food waste behaviors, lifestyle factors (such as physical activity, alcohol consumption, and diet), and health-related outcomes (including self-related health, eating disorders, alcohol use disorders, and depressive symptoms). The online questionnaire will be implemented using Microsoft Forms. All data will be self-reported, with participation being voluntary. Results: Anticipated results include insights into the prevalence of food waste behaviors among university students, associations with demographic and lifestyle factors, and potential impacts on health outcomes. Our study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing household food waste among Italian university students by employing an epidemiological approach to understanding these behaviours over time and space. Conclusions: In conclusion, this study will contribute to filling gaps in knowledge within the scientific community, inform public health policies, and promote sustainable food consumption practices among young adult

The management of acute venous thromboembolism in clinical practice. Results from the European PREFER in VTE Registry

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in Europe. Data from real-world registries are necessary, as clinical trials do not represent the full spectrum of VTE patients seen in clinical practice. We aimed to document the epidemiology, management and outcomes of VTE using data from a large, observational database. PREFER in VTE was an international, non-interventional disease registry conducted between January 2013 and July 2015 in primary and secondary care across seven European countries. Consecutive patients with acute VTE were documented and followed up over 12 months. PREFER in VTE included 3,455 patients with a mean age of 60.8 ± 17.0 years. Overall, 53.0 % were male. The majority of patients were assessed in the hospital setting as inpatients or outpatients (78.5 %). The diagnosis was deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) in 59.5 % and pulmonary embolism (PE) in 40.5 %. The most common comorbidities were the various types of cardiovascular disease (excluding hypertension; 45.5 %), hypertension (42.3 %) and dyslipidaemia (21.1 %). Following the index VTE, a large proportion of patients received initial therapy with heparin (73.2 %), almost half received a vitamin K antagonist (48.7 %) and nearly a quarter received a DOAC (24.5 %). Almost a quarter of all presentations were for recurrent VTE, with >80 % of previous episodes having occurred more than 12 months prior to baseline. In conclusion, PREFER in VTE has provided contemporary insights into VTE patients and their real-world management, including their baseline characteristics, risk factors, disease history, symptoms and signs, initial therapy and outcomes

THE OBESE ZUCKER RATS: AN IN VIVO MODEL FOR STUDYING THE LIVER CARBONIC ANHYDRASE CAVII BIOLOGICAL ROLE

CAVII is a physiologically relevant isoform of the enzyme carbonic anhydrase with high CO2 hydration activity. In humans and rodents, CAVII is a cytosolic isoenzyme mainly localized in brain tissues where it contributes in generating neuronal excitation. Recently, S-glutathionylation of two cysteine residues from the hCAVII was reported and the effect of native and tetramutated hCAVII in a cell culture was analyzed by stressing cells with an oxidant agent. Results suggested that hCAVII could function as an oxygen radical scavenger for protecting cells from oxidative damage. Here, we aimed to investigate the CAVII protective role toward oxidative insult in vivo, using obese Zucker rats (OZRs) as an animal model. The genetically obese (fa/fa) Zucker rats, due to a recessive mutation of the leptin 9 Proceedings of the 61st Congress of the Italian Embryological Group (GEI) and the 36th Congress of the Italian Society of Histochemistry receptor gene, exhibit hyperphagia and develop hallmark features of metabolic syndrome. The study was performed on the liver of OZRs and their lean counterparts (LZRs) at different ages (12, 16, and 20 weeks from birth; 6 animals each group). Serum values of glucose, insulin, total cholesterol and triglycerides were measured as parameters of dismetabolism. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were evaluated in serum and liver samples as a marker of oxidative stress. A specific polyclonal anti-CAVII serum (from S. Parkilla, Finland) was applied for either Western blot analysis and immunohistochemical investigation, this latter performed on 5 µm thick sections from paraffin embedded liver samples. The TBARS levels in OZRs where higher than in the LZRs, confirming the oxidative stress in the obese rats. At all stages examined, CAVII proved to maintain its expression in the liver of obese rats. Indeed, in the immunoblots a band with a MW consistent with that known for CAVII could be identified in either OZR and LZR lysates. An additional higher MW band, detected in all samples, requires to be further characterized. Differences in the immunohistochemical patterns, however, suggested a distinct CAVII distribution in the liver of OZRs, compared with LZRs. Unlike a weak, diffuse staining found in LZR liver parenchyma, a marked cytoplasmic staining was localized in some OZR hepatocytes zonally distributed in the hepatic lobules, in close association with cells showing morphological features of steatosis. Studies are in progress to clarify a possible relation of such preliminary findings to the proposed role of CAVII in oxidative stress

Base-specific pre-melting and melting transitions of DNA in presence of ionic liquids probed by synchrotron-based UV resonance Raman scattering

Hydrated ionic liquids (ILs) have been identified as solvent media able to enhance the structural stability of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). In this work, we investigate the molecular interaction between imidazolium-based ILs and DNA during its thermal unfolding pathway, by exploiting synchrotron-based UV Resonance Raman scattering (UVRR) experiments. This technique gives a selective focus on the thermal responses of specific nucleobases in the structure of DNA, providing the experimental sensitivity to both cooperative and local structural changes occurring along the complex unfolding process of DNA. UVRR measurements probe two distinct temperature-dependent phenomena occurring in the DNA double-helix, i.e. a non-cooperative pre-melting mainly involving adenine bases and a cooperative melting transition primarily localized on guanine tracts. The analysis of Raman spectra reveals that both the cation and anion of the ionic liquids strongly interact with the structure of DNA, thus affecting the melting process but not perturbing the pre-melting transition that precedes the complete separation of the strands of DNA. Overall these results suggest that the dominant interaction occurs between the imidazolium cation and the bases of guanine and thymine in the structure of DNA, in agreement with previous results of molecular dynamics simulations

[Infestation by larvae of Anisakis simplex A and Anisakis physeteris in fish species of the Italian seas].

Data on the occurrence of larvae of Anisakis simplex A and Anisakis physeteris in marine fishes from Italian waters are reported. The larvae have been identified by multilocus electrophoresis using biochemical keys. Considerations on the life-history pattern of these species in the Mediterranean Sea are advanced