Agrobiodiversity Index scores show agrobiodiversity is underutilized in national food systems.

The diversity of plants, animals and microorganisms that directly or indirectly support food and agriculture is critical to achieving healthy diets and agroecosystems. Here we present the Agrobiodiversity Index (based on 22 indicators), which provides a monitoring framework and informs food systems policy. Agrobiodiversity Index calculations for 80 countries reveal a moderate mean agrobiodiversity status score (56.0 out of 100), a moderate mean agrobiodiversity action score (47.8 out of 100) and a low mean agrobiodiversity commitment score (21.4 out of 100), indicating that much stronger commitments and concrete actions are needed to enhance agrobiodiversity across the food system. Mean agrobiodiversity status scores in consumption and conservation are 14-82% higher in developed countries than in developing countries, while scores in production are consistently low across least developed, developing and developed countries. We also found an absence of globally consistent data for several important components of agrobiodiversity, including varietal, functional and underutilized species diversity.

Diagnostic accuracy of anti-phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) antibodies in idiopathic membranous nephropathy: an Italian experience.

BACKGROUND: Autoantibodies against-phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) are specific markers of idiopathic membranous nephropathy (iMN). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is becoming the preferred method in many laboratories for the determination of anti-PLA2R antibodies, because it provides quantitative results, and is not prone to subjective interpretation, as is the case with indirect immunofluorescence assay. METHODS: The purpose of our study was to determine the diagnostic performance of serum PLA2R antibodies detected by commercially available ELISA in a large Italian multicenter cohort of patients with biopsy-proven iMN and in patients with other renal diseases, with special focus on evaluating the optimal cut-off value to discriminate positive and negative results. A total of 495 consecutive patients were recruited. Renal biopsies were performed in all patients, and blood samples were taken before the initiation of immunosuppressive treatment. RESULTS: According to the clinical diagnosis and to kidney biopsy, 126 patients were diagnosed with iMN and 369 had other non-membranous nephropathies. Anti-PLA2R autoantibodies were detected using a commercial anti-PLA2R ELISA. At a cut-off value of 20 relative units (RU)/ml indicated by the manufacturer for positive classification, sensitivity was 61.1% and specificity 99.7%. At a cut-off value of 14 RU/ml indicated by the manufacturer for borderline results, sensitivity was 63.5% and specificity remained the same (99.7%). At a cut-off of 2.7 RU/ml, selected as the optimal cut-off on the basis of ROC curve analysis, sensitivity was 83.3% and specificity 95.1%. The best overall efficiency of the test was observed at 2.7 RU/ml; however, the highest positive likelihood ratio and diagnostic odds ratio were achieved at 14 RU/ml. A cut-off threshold higher than 14 RU/ml or lower than 2.7 RU/ml entailed worse test performance. CONCLUSION: Depending on the clinical use (early diagnosis or as a support to confirm clinical diagnosis), nephrologists may take advantage of this evidence by choosing the most convenient cut-off. However, renal biopsy remains mandatory for the definitive diagnosis of iMN and for the assessment of disease severity.

Citation classics: ranking of the top 100 most cited articles in nephrology.

BACKGROUND: The number of citations of a scientific article is considered a weight of that work in the field of interest. Bibliometric analysis of the most cited articles conducted in some medical disciplines has identified the most relevant scientific contributions that pushed forward knowledge and clinical practice of that discipline. METHODS: We conducted a bibliometric analysis of the most cited articles in nephrology, by extracting relevant words that identify issues of nephrological interest and querying the Google Scholar database. A rank with the 100 most cited articles was obtained, based on the absolute number of citations. Articles were clustered in different areas of interest. RESULTS: Word(s) extracted from the Google Scholar database that restituted at least 100 000 hits were 50. The extracted 100 most cited articles collected cumulatively >285 000 citations. Nine subcategories were identified and the most populated one was 'Renal function assessment' (16 articles and 68 000 citations, 24% of total). The other relevant group of articles (16, with 46 652 citations) belonged to the category 'Randomized trials and pharmacology'. Almost 70% of the articles in the top 100 were published by eight major international journals. The top 100 list included 62 articles generated from USA scientists and the author with higher number of articles was A.S. Levey (10). CONCLUSIONS: The top 100 list of articles in nephrology helps delineate the major interests of this medical discipline. Assessment of renal functions, probably for its multidisciplinary relevance, is the heaviest topic, based on number of citations.

Definition of a new cut-off for the anti-phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) autoantibody immunoassay in patients affected by idiopathic membranous nephropathy.

Autoantibodies against phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) are a sensitive and specific marker for idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN). The aim of our study was to redefine the cut-off value for the measurement of anti-PLA2R autoantibody levels by an automated enzyme immunoassay, in a large single-center cohort of Italian IMN patients at the time of diagnosis. Sixty-seven consecutive incident patients, with biopsy-proven IMN, were recruited. All patients were naïve to preceding immunosuppressive therapeutic regimens. The patient population had a mean age of 57 years and included 48 males and 19 females. Also, 200 patients with other renal diseases and 36 healthy subjects were studied as controls. The anti-PLA2R autoantibody levels were measured using the commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit at the time of renal biopsy. At a cut-off value of 2.7 RU/ml (significantly lower than the manufacturer's recommended value of 14 RU/ml), calculated by receiver operating characteristic curves, the sensitivity and specificity of anti-PLA2R autoantibodies in the diagnosis of IMN was 88.1 and 96% respectively. The adapted cut-off value of 2.7 UI/ml increased sensitivity without affecting the specificity and it should be the recommended value for this method. Additionally our study confirmed the correlation, at baseline, between anti-PLA2R autoantibody levels and other biomarkers of disease activity.

[Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES) induced by Rituximab in two patients with vasculitis, and treated by hemodialysis].

Small and medium vessel vasculitides, either ANCA-associated or caused by anti-GBM antibodies, are multisystemic diseases with predominantly renal involvement that often require dialysis support; clinical remission can be induced with immunosuppressive therapies including apheretic treatments, high doses of steroids, and immune suppressants. In addition to the complications resulting from the primary pathological process, those associated with the immunosuppressive therapies are not negligible. Reversible Posterior Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES) is a clinical condition with a hyperacute onset, which can complicate the evolution of vasculitides while treated by immunosuppressive therapy. Relevant pathogenic factors are represented by alterations of the cerebral blood-brain barrier or vasogenic and/or brain edema phenomena, also related to uncontrolled hypertension. We describe two cases of patients with systemic vasculitides, rapidly progressive renal failure (RPGN) requiring dialysis, and poor response to the initial immunosuppressive therapy who were treated subsequently with rituximab. PRES developed immediately after administration of the drug, which, however resulted effective on the course of the vasculitis in one case and not effective in the other. In both cases, the subsequent radiological controls showed a total resolution of the encephalic alterations observed during the acute phase.

EVALUATING THE INTRINSIC PERMEABILITY OF CEMENTITIOUS MATERIALS USING A FALLING-HEAD GAS PERMEAMETER.

This paper explores a new approach to estimating the pressure-dependent gas permeability of a cementitious material when using a falling-head gas permeameter. A series of experiments were performed on mortars with varying mixture proportions, and measurements were made with different initial applied pressures. The governing equation is based on an analogy to a falling-head liquid permeameter, but accounting for the gas compressibility and the pressure-dependent Klinkenberg effect that can occur during gas permeation. This formulation overcomes a limitation of other approaches that depend on the initial pressure that is applied and on the range of data that can be considered when evaluating transport properties. Analyses of the experimental data confirm that the apparent permeability is inversely proportional to the pressure applied as per the Klinkenberg equation. By accounting for this effect, it is possible to determine an intrinsic permeability that is independent on the pressure, and is a true characteristic of the pore space available for gas transport.

Membrane integrity evaluation in rabbit spermatozoa.

OBJECTIVES: The behaviour of head and tail sperm membrane subjected to different vitality tests was evaluated, searching for possible correlations with sperm motility. STUDY DESIGN: On fresh semen from seven rabbits we performed: the Eosin Exclusion Test (EET) and, with different incubation times (T(0), T(5), T(30)), a Hypoosmotic Swelling Test (HOS-test) and a combined Hypoosmotic and Eosin Test (HE-test). Kinetic parameters were determined by using the CASA system CELL-TRAK. Statistical analysis was performed by one way ANOVA and Pearson's correlation coefficient. RESULTS: The HOS-test revealed significant differences between percentages of curled spermatozoa at T(0) (67.86+/-4.28) versus T(5) (72.86+/-3.28) and versus T(30) (75.14+/-6.5). Among four types of spermatozoa obtained with the HE-test, percentage of Type 1 sperm (HOS+/Eosine) at T(0) (32.3%+/-6.65), was lower than motile sperm (66.86%+/-9.72) but positively correlated. CONCLUSIONS: The HE-test is a rapid instrument for predicting sperm motility, selecting spermatozoa with a high degree of membrane resistance both in the tail and the head compartment.