Soundscape of a Mediterranean seashore during loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) spawning season

The soundscape is an intrinsic property of an ecosystem and influences the species that live in it. Here, we examined for the first time the soundscape of a beach, one of the most dynamic ecosystems on Earth, where every year the loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta lays eggs. The aim of this work was to analyze the acoustic components (biophony, anthropophony and geophony) to which turtles embryos were exposed throughout the development and the post-hatching period. The acoustic monitoring was carried out on the volcanic island of Linosa (central Mediterranean Sea, Strait of Sicily), during the months of July and August 2022, close to two turtle nests. Results revealed that all the acoustic levels (octave bands from 4 Hz to 16 kHz, and total 1-24,000 Hz band) showed lower values in July, and during the night. Furthermore, above 1 kHz the levels decreased and had very little variability. Anthropogenic noise was the main component of the soundscape and consisted of marine and land traffic, that affected sound levels directly or via seismic tremors. When the beach was exposed to the breaking waves, the latters were the first contributor to the noise up to 1 kHz. The only recognized biophony was represented by the shearwater choruses in July (at the frequency band 700-1500 Hz), but they had a negligible weight on the soundscape. Finally, human speech contributed to the soundscape at higher frequencies (1-8 kHz). These outcomes show that the embryos and the post-hatching turtles are exposed to a high anthropogenic noise level, which the effects of are still unknown.

Occurrence and patterns of fin whale songs reveal alternative migration strategies in Svalbard Islands, Norway

The Arctic marine environment is highly affected by global warming with notable changes in habitat conditions, which have great consequences on migrating species. For example, the timing of their migration can be altered leading to changes in their occurrence in suitable areas, which are critical for their survival. In this study, seven years of acoustic data were analysed in Svalbard Islands from 2014 to 2020, revealing that the occurrence of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) happened all year-round. The sea surface temperature recorded reveals conditions which could be favorable for these species to persist until the Polar Night. The occurrence of songs indicated that certain individuals did not undertake the migratory journey through the southern breeding grounds, possibly using the area for mating purposes. The analyses of the Inter-Note-Interval (INI) demonstrated that over the years songs with different patterns were found. This suggests that either the fin whales are able to switch their INI patterns or that populations with different INIs are visiting during the Winter. Therefore, this study unveils the undertaking of an alternative strategy to migration movements, and the possible potential origin of the fin whales overwintering in Svalbard.

Optimization of emergency department management of infants with bronchiolitis

Bronchiolitis is the most common lower respiratory tract infection in infants < 2 years of age; in the last decades both incidence and hospitalization rate had increased, thus increasing sanitary burden. From November 2006 to March 2007, an experimental protocol was followed in the Emergency Department at G. Gaslini Children's Hospital, Genoa, Italy, which attempted to optimise the management of patients with bronchiolitis and to reduce the overall hospitalization rate therefore admitting only those patients with severe illness. All clinical evaluations of the patients were obtained administering a score (Bronchiolitis Clinical Score - BCS), to quantify both initial severity of illness and response to treatment. All patient were at first treated with inhaled epinephrine, supplemented with or substituted by other drugs, if needed, according to clinical evolution. Moreover, strict admission and discharge criteria were defined, taking into consideration the BCS, response to treatment and the presence of risk factors for severe disease, attempting to increase the role of the Short Stay Unit (SSU). The outcome evaluated were the percentage of patients discharged, admitted and managed through the SSU respectively, the length of stay and the readmission rate after discharge; data collected were then compared to that regarding patients with bronchiolitis presented at the ED from November 2005 to March 2006. Our data showed an increasing of both discharged patients (37.5% vs 25.22%) and patients managed through the SSU (25.83% vs 19.57%) and a related decrease of hospitalization (36.67% vs 55.22%); no significative difference was observed regarding the readmission rate between the two populations. We also observed a statistically significant reduction of the length of stay in the study population (2.07 +/- 2.56 vs 2.84 +/- 3.25, p = 0.005). In conclusion, the protocol proposed showed to be useful in optimizing the ED management of the patient with bronchiolitis, being able to safely reduce both admission rate and lenght of stay.

[Fulminant acute hepatitis treated by immunologic therapy (author's transl)]

Following the most recent results on immunological pathogenetic mechanism, on which seems to be based the malignant evolution of acute viral hepatitis the AA. have treated a patient affected of acute fulminant hepatitis by means of immunologic therapy with specific globulins anti-HBsAg. The result of this personal experience and the analysis of the data from the literature suggest the opportunity to use specific antibodies (HBsAb) associated with syntomatic and depurative therapies, with obvious limits of single experience.