Making the most of life: environmental choice during rearing enhances the ability of laying hens to take opportunities.

Introduction: The potential of aviary housing for improving laying hen (Gallus gallus domesticus) welfare will be constrained if rearing conditions limit the hens' behavioral ability to take opportunities. Incorporating theories on developmental plasticity and animal agency, this study aimed to determine: (1) whether a choice of litter and perch types during rearing would promote long-lasting changes in use of novel locations and resources, and (2) the influence of timing of choice provision. Methods: Laying hen chicks were assigned to either a "Single-choice" (one litter and perch type) or "Multi-choice" environment (four litter and perch types) during "Early" (day 1-week 4) and "Late" rearing (week 5-15). The environments were switched in half of the 16 pens in week 5, resulting in a 2 × 2 factorial design with four choice environment by period combinations. The allocation of perch and litter space was the same across all treatment combinations. In week 16, all groups were moved to standard aviary laying pens (Laying period, week 16-27). Results: When first moved to the laying pens, hens with Multi-choice in either or both rearing periods were quicker to spread out in their pen than hens with Single-choice throughout rearing. Multi-choice in Early rearing also reduced the latency to use novel elevated structures (perches and nests) in the laying pens. Multi-choice during Late rearing increased success in finding and consuming hidden mealworms (tested in weeks 9-17) and increased the proportion of eggs laid on elevated nesting trays. Numerically, hens switched from Multi-choice to Single-choice in week 5 used the outdoor range less than hens switched from Single-choice to Multi-choice. Discussion: These results support the hypothesis that offering multiple resource choices during rearing improves hens' ability to make the most of new opportunities by being more proactive in exploring and exploiting newly available resources. In different opportunity challenges, hens showed positive outcomes in response to choice during Early, Late or both stages of rearing, suggesting that best results can be obtained by offering environmental choice throughout rearing.

Excess liver-related mortality among people with AIDS compared to the general population: an Italian nationwide cohort study using multiple causes of death.

OBJECTIVES: Liver diseases have become a leading cause of death among people with AIDS (PWA). This study aimed to investigate whether PWA experienced excess mortality related to liver diseases as compared to the general population (non-PWA), using a multiple cause of death (MCoD; i.e. all conditions reported on death certificates) approach. METHODS: A population-based, nationwide, retrospective cohort study was conducted among Italian people, aged 15-74 years, who had been diagnosed with AIDS since 2006. Date of death and MCoD data were retrieved, up to December 2015, by individual record linkage with national mortality data. Sex- and age-standardized mortality ratios (SMRs), with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), were estimated by dividing the observed number of deaths related to a specific condition among PWA to the expected number, based on non-PWA mortality rates. RESULTS: Among 7912 PWA (34 184 person-years), 2076 deaths occurred. The number of death certificates reporting liver diseases among MCoDs was 583 (28.1%), including 382 (18.4%) reporting viral hepatitis, 370 (17.8%) reporting nonviral liver diseases, and 41 (2.0%) reporting liver cancers. The corresponding SMRs were 40.4 (95% CI 37.2-43.8) for all liver diseases, 131.1 (95% CI 118.3-145.0) for viral hepatitis, 29.9 (95% CI 27.0-33.1) for nonviral liver diseases, and 11.2 (95% CI 8.1-15.3) for liver cancers. Particularly elevated SMRs emerged among PWA aged 15-49 years and those infected by injecting drug use. CONCLUSIONS: The high excess liver-related mortality observed among PWA warrants preventive actions to limit the burden of viral hepatitis coinfections, alcohol abuse, and metabolic disorders, especially among younger PWA and injecting drug users.

The persistent problem of late HIV diagnosis in people with AIDS: a population-based study in Italy, 1999-2013.

OBJECTIVES: Despite the wide accessibility to free human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing and combined antiretroviral therapy (cART), late HIV diagnosis remains common with severe consequences at individual and population level. This study aimed to describe trends of late HIV testing and to identify their determinants in the late cART era in Italy. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a population-based, nationwide analysis of the Italian National AIDS Registry data (AIDS - acquired immune deficiency syndrome) for the years 1999-2013. METHODS: Late testers (LTs) were defined as people with AIDS (PWA) whose first HIV-positive test preceded AIDS diagnosis by 3 months or less. Odds ratios (ORs) with the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated to examine factors associated with being LTs. Joinpoint analysis was used to estimate annual percent changes (APCs) of LTs' proportion over time. RESULTS: Among 20,753 adult PWA, 50.8% were LTs. Italian PWA showed a lower proportion of LTs than non-Italian PWA (46.5% vs 68.2%). Among Italian PWA, the odds of being LTs was higher in men than in women (OR = 2.62, 95% CI: 2.38-2.90); in the age groups below 35 years and over 49 years at diagnosis (OR = 1.24, 95% CI: 1.12-1.37 and OR = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.38-1.67, respectively) vs PWA aged 35-49 years; and in those infected through sexual contact as compared with injecting drug use (OR = 13.34, 95% CI: 12.06-14.76 for heterosexual contact and OR = 8.13, 95% CI: 7.30-9.06 for male-to-male sexual contact). The proportion of LTs increased over time among Italians, especially in the latest period (APC2006-2013 = 5.3, 95% CI: 3.8-6.9). The LTs' proportion resulted higher, though stable, among PWA aged ≥50 years. Conversely, an increasing trend was observed among PWA aged 18-34 years (APC = 5.3, 95% CI: 4.5-6.1). The LTs' proportion was persistently higher among PWA who acquired HIV infection through sexual contact, even if a marked increase among injecting drug users was observed after 2005 (APC = 11.4, 95% CI: 5.7-17.5). CONCLUSIONS: The increasing trend of LTs' proportion in the late cART era highlights the need of new strategies tailored to groups who may not consider themselves to be at a high risk of infection. Active promotion of early testing and continuous education of infection, especially among young people, need to be implemented.

HIV-positive blood donors unaware of their sexual at-risk behaviours before donation in Italy.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Despite the procedures adopted for the selection of blood donors, in Italy the HIV prevalence per 100 000 repeat tested donors (RTD) and first-time tested donors (FTD) is high compared to most other Council of Europe member states. To evaluate the effectiveness of predonation procedures, we studied both the characteristics and the undisclosed risk behaviours of HIV-positive donors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analysed the data from the Italian blood donor surveillance system in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Based on the postdonation interview, HIV-positive donors were classified by risk behaviour (heterosexual, MSM, 'non-sexual' and 'not determined') and by time elapsed from risk behaviour to donation. In Italy, the temporary deferral for exposure to behaviour at risk is 4 months. RESULTS: In the postdonation interview, 113 HIV-positive donors (32·4%), who denied at-risk behaviours in the predonation selection, reported sexual risk behaviours <4 months prior to donation; they were predominantly males (84·1%) and RTD (63·7%). The main reason for not having reported the risk behaviour in the predonation selection was 'not realizing having engaged in at-risk behaviour' (66·4%). CONCLUSION: These findings underline the need for more comprehensible educational material, a clearer predonation questionnaire, and effective information campaigns to improve the awareness of HIV sexual risk behaviours among blood donors.

Few Italian drug users undergo HIV testing.

We estimated the proportion of drug users at treatment centres in Italy who had undergone HIV testing and the correlates of testing. Of the 1,917 drug injectors, 37.4% had been tested in the current year; of the 665 non-injectors, 28% had been tested. Among injectors, testing was associated with: being older than 35, foreign nationality, residing in central Italy, drug use for over 2 years, and having undergone both pharmacological and psychological treatment. Among non-injectors, an association was found for foreign nationality and not having been treated at other facilities. The results stress the need to facilitate access to testing.

Effects of counterions and co-ions on foam films stabilized by anionic dodecyl sulfate.

The influence of counterions and co-ions on the stability and thickness of foam films stabilized by anionic dodecyl sulfate (DS(-)) has been studied in a thin film pressure balance. Particularly, the effect on the properties of foam films of (i) the counterions Li(+), Na(+), and Cs(+) of DS(-) and (ii) monovalent inorganic salts added to sodium dodecyl sulfate solutions is considered. Generally, addition of salt improved the stability of the foam films. As a second order, an increasing ionic size led to an increased adsorption, which in the case of cations gave thinner and less stable films and in the case of anions led to thicker and more stable films. Hence, an effect of anions was observed though the film surfaces were already negatively charged by the anionic DS(-), leading to the conclusion that adsorption of anions to the film surface is governed by ion specific rather than electrostatic interactions. At a fixed surfactant and varying salt concentration, a maximum in film thickness could be identified at a salt concentration well below the surfactant concentration. We anticipate that (i) at low salt concentration salt mainly affects the charging of a film interface, whereas (ii) at high salt concentration salt mainly affects the screening of the electrostatic repulsion between the two interfaces of the film.

[Proportion of drug users in treatment who have never undergone serological testing for HIV, HBV and HCV and correlates of failure to undergo testing: Italy, 2005-2007]. / Proporzione di tossicodipendenti in trattamento che non hanno mai eseguito i test sierologici per HIV, HBV e HCV e fattori correlati alla mancata esecuzione: Italia, 2005-2007.

In Italy, although the most recent guidelines stress the importance of screening for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV and HCV) those subjects considered to be at high risk (e.g., injecting drug users), not all drug users being treated at public drug dependency centres are regularly tested for these infections. The results of the present study show that 7.2%, 13.0%, and 7.4% of injecting drug users seeking treatment at public drug dependency centres are not tested for, respectively, HIV, HBV and HCV infections and while corresponding figures for drug users who do not inject drugs are 20.3%, 25.1% and 16.2%. The failure to undergo testing among injectors was associated with a shorter history of drug use and with drug centres in central or southern Italy; these associations were also found among non-injectors, with the addition of low level of education. The results stress the importance of facilitating access to testing, of providing the drug dependency centres with the necessary resources for taking blood samples at the centres themselves, of making access to (and performance of) testing uniform throughout the country, and of removing obstacles that can lead to the drug user's refusal to undergo testing.

Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in parts of Italy: detection of a multiresistant cluster circulating in a heterosexual network.

Data concerning Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections in Italy are scarce, and there is little information on the phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of the circulating strains. In this study, 326 isolates collected from 397 patients, with or without concurrent human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, were cultured and characterized by serovar and antimicrobial susceptibility to five antimicrobials. N. gonorrhoeae multi-antigen sequence typing (NG-MAST) was also performed for strain characterization and to identify a transmission network. Gonococcal infection was diagnosed in 364 males and 33 females, 296 of whom were Italian and 96 of whom were foreigners (nationality was unknown in five cases). Among the 364 males, 197 were heterosexual, and the median age was 31 years. Approximately 8.3% of all the investigated patients were HIV-1-positive. The isolates were assigned to three different serovars (IA, IB, IA/IB), IB being the most frequently encountered. A significant rate of resistant gonococci was also observed; 34%, 25.5% and 19.1% of ciprofloxacin-resistant, penicillin-resistant and tetracycline-resistant phenotypes, respectively, were detected, and 10.2% of strains were multidrug-resistant. Together with the presence of different sequence types (STs), identified by NG-MAST, a multidrug-resistant cluster, ST661, was detected in a heterosexual network in a precise geographical area of the country. In particular, all strains belonging to ST661 showed identical profiles according to pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), all were serotype IB, and all were resistant to penicillin, ciprofloxacin and tetracycline.

Ion distribution in polyelectrolyte multilayers with standing-wave X-ray fluorescence.

Absolute ion concentration and its profile across polyelectrolyte multilayer films were studied. The films were prepared by alternating adsorption of polyanions and polycations from aqueous solution. Standing-wave X-ray fluorescence was used to map the ion profile. The well-studied multilayer system PSS/PAH was investigated, and bromide ions were used as probe entities. The results show that the sign of the charge of the outermost layer and the washing procedure after finishing the preparation have a decisive effect on the ion concentration and the ion profile. Multilayers with PSS as the outermost layer contain fewer bromide ions than the PAH-terminated multilayers. Exposure to water washes the ions out, but even after 6 h of washing, not all of the bromide ions had been removed.

Formation and dielectric properties of polyelectrolyte multilayers studied by a silicon-on-insulator based thin film resistor.

The formation of polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) is investigated using a silicon-on-insulator based thin film resistor which is sensitive to variations of the surface potential. The buildup of the PEMs at the silicon oxide surface of the device can be observed in real time as defined potential shifts. The influence of polymer charge density is studied using the strong polyanion poly(styrene sulfonate), PSS, combined with the statistical copolymer poly(diallyl-dimethyl-ammoniumchloride-stat-N-methyl-N-vinylacetamide), P(DADMAC-stat-NMVA), at various degrees of charge (DC). The multilayer formation stops after a few deposition steps for a DC below 75%. We show that the threshold of surface charge compensation corresponds to the threshold of multilayer formation. However, no reversion of the preceding surface charge was observed. Screening of polyelectrolyte charges by mobile ions within the polymer film leads to a decrease of the potential shifts with the number of layers deposited. This decrease is much slower for PEMs consisting of P(DADMAC-stat-NMVA) and PSS as compared to PEMs consisting of poly(allylamine-hydrochloride), PAH, and PSS. From this, significant differences in the dielectric constants of the polyelectrolyte films and in the concentration of mobile ions within the films can be derived.

Long-range interactions between soft colloidal particles in slit-pore geometries.

Combining theoretical and experimental techniques, we investigate the structure formation of charged colloidal suspensions of silica particles in bulk and in spatial confinement (slit-pore geometry). Our focus is to identify characteristic length scales determining typical quantities, such as the position of the main peak of the bulk structure factor and the period of the oscillatory force profile in the slitpore. We obtain these quantities from integral equations/SANS experiments (bulk) and Monte Carlo simulations/colloidal probe-AFM measurements (confinement), in which the theoretical calculations are based on the Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeck (DLVO) potential. Both in bulk and in the slitpore, we find excellent qualitative and quantitative agreement between theory and experiment as long as the ionic strength chosen in the DLVO potential is sufficiently low (implying a relatively long-ranged interaction). In particular, the bulk properties of these systems obey the widely accepted density scaling of xi proportional to phi(-1/3). On the other hand, systems with larger ionic strengths and, consequently, more short-ranged interactions do not obey such power law behavior and rather resemble an uncharged hard-sphere fluid, in which the relevant length scale is the particle diameter.

Fetal fibronectin as a screening test for premature delivery in multiple pregnancies.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate fetal fibronectin as a screening test for premature delivery in asymptomatic women with multiple pregnancies. METHODS: In the mid-second trimester, the concentrations of fetal fibronectin in the cervical and vaginal secretions of 68 patients with multiple gestations were sampled weekly by monoclonal antibody immunoassay in order to predict preterm labor. RESULTS: The results for the prediction of preterm labor differ according to whether we consider a single positive result (fetal fibronectin > 50 ng/ml) as predictive of preterm labor or whether we only consider at least two consecutive positive results as predictive of perterm labor. The fetal fibronectin test had a sensitivity for preterm birth before 37 weeks of 90.9% and 86.6%, respectively, with a specificity of 68.5% vs. 78.9% and a positive and negative values of 73.1% vs. 76.4% and 88.8% vs. 88.2%, respectively. Similar results were obtained for perterm birth before 34 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: In a condition such as multiple pregnancy which is already at risk for premature delivery the possibility of raising the specificity of the test with virtually no decrease in sensitivity guarantees better recognition of patients likely to develop premature labor. This possibility can be achieved simply by considering two positive consecutive samples as predictive of preterm labor.

Efficacy, cycle control and side-effects of two monophasic combination oral contraceptives: gestodene/ethinylestradiol and norgestimate/ethinylestradiol.

Two monophasic oral contraceptives containing gestodene (GTD, 75 micrograms) and ethinylestradiol (EE, 30 micrograms) or norgestimate (NGS, 250 micrograms) and EE (35 micrograms) were compared during the first six cycles of use. The subjects were randomly assigned to receive either type: 97 received GTD/EE and 92 NGS/EE. Six women in the GTD/EE group and nine in the NGS/EE group withdrew from the study; three (3%) and two (2%), respectively, withdrew because of adverse reactions. A total of 562 cycles for GTD/EE and 523 for NGS/EE were available. No woman became pregnant during the study. Overall, 94.4% of cycles in the GTD/EE group and 92.8% in the NGS/EE group were normal. A similar incidence of breakthrough bleeding (0.2% of cycles for GTD and 1.6% for NGS) and spotting (5.4% vs. 5.6%) was observed. Amenorrhea was never reported. Duration of withdrawal bleeding tended to be slightly longer in the NGS/EE group, significantly so for cycles 2 (0.5 days, p = 0.016), 4 (0.5 days, p = 0.031) and 5 (0.4 days, p = 0.045). Cycle 2 was significantly longer in the GTD/EE group (0.3 days, p = 0.027). Side-effects were reported by 12 (12%) women in the GTD/EE group and 13 (14%) in the NGS/EE group. The most common side-effects were headache (five cases (5%) in the GTD/EE group and two (2%) in the NGS/EE group) and breast pain (three (3%) and eight (9%) cases respectively). There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups with respect to change in body weight or changes in blood pressure and in laboratory data.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)