A survey on knowledge and self-reported formula handling practices of parents and child care workers in Palermo, Italy

Powdered infant formula (PIF) is not a sterile product, but this information appears to be poorly diffused among child caregivers. Parents and child care workers may behave in an unsafe manner when handling PIF. Methods: This study involved parents and child care workers in the 24 municipal child care centres of Palermo. Knowledge and self-reported practices about PIF handling were investigated by a structured questionnaire. A Likert scale was used to measure the strength of the respondent's feelings. Association of knowledge and self-reported practices with demographic variables was also evaluated. Results: 42.4% of parents and 71.0% of child care workers filled in the questionnaire. Significant differences were found between parents and child care workers for age and education. 73.2% of parents and 84.4% of child care workers were confident in sterility of PIF. Generally, adherence to safe procedures when reconstituting and handling PIF was more frequently reported by child care workers who, according to the existing legislation, are regularly subjected to a periodic training on food safety principles and practices. Age and education significantly influenced the answers to the questionnaire of both parents and child care workers. Conclusion: The results of the study reveal that parents and child care workers are generally unaware that powdered formulas may contain viable microorganisms. However, child care workers consistently chose safer options than parents when answering the questions about adherence to hygienic practices. At present it seems unfeasible to produce sterile PIF, but the risk of growth of hazardous organisms in formula at the time of administration should be minimized by promoting safer behaviours among caregivers to infants in both institutional settings and home. \ua9 2009 Calamusa et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

The Enduring Hypoxic Response of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

deletion mutant. mutant. for long-term bacteriostasis in the face of oxygen deprivation

Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks, 1990-2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

SummaryBackground The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2015 provides an up-to-date synthesis of the evidence for risk factor exposure and the attributable burden of disease. By providing national and subnational assessments spanning the past 25 years, this study can inform debates on the importance of addressing risks in context. Methods We used the comparative risk assessment framework developed for previous iterations of the Global Burden of Disease Study to estimate attributable deaths, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and trends in exposure by age group, sex, year, and geography for 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks from 1990 to 2015. This study included 388 risk-outcome pairs that met World Cancer Research Fund-defined criteria for convincing or probable evidence. We extracted relative risk and exposure estimates from randomised controlled trials, cohorts, pooled cohorts, household surveys, census data, satellite data, and other sources. We used statistical models to pool data, adjust for bias, and incorporate covariates. We developed a metric that allows comparisons of exposure across risk factors—the summary exposure value. Using the counterfactual scenario of theoretical minimum risk level, we estimated the portion of deaths and DALYs that could be attributed to a given risk. We decomposed trends in attributable burden into contributions from population growth, population age structure, risk exposure, and risk-deleted cause-specific DALY rates. We characterised risk exposure in relation to a Socio-demographic Index (SDI). Findings Between 1990 and 2015, global exposure to unsafe sanitation, household air pollution, childhood underweight, childhood stunting, and smoking each decreased by more than 25%. Global exposure for several occupational risks, high body-mass index (BMI), and drug use increased by more than 25% over the same period. All risks jointly evaluated in 2015 accounted for 57·8% (95% CI 56·6–58·8) of global deaths and 41·2% (39·8–42·8) of DALYs. In 2015, the ten largest contributors to global DALYs among Level 3 risks were high systolic blood pressure (211·8 million [192·7 million to 231·1 million] global DALYs), smoking (148·6 million [134·2 million to 163·1 million]), high fasting plasma glucose (143·1 million [125·1 million to 163·5 million]), high BMI (120·1 million [83·8 million to 158·4 million]), childhood undernutrition (113·3 million [103·9 million to 123·4 million]), ambient particulate matter (103·1 million [90·8 million to 115·1 million]), high total cholesterol (88·7 million [74·6 million to 105·7 million]), household air pollution (85·6 million [66·7 million to 106·1 million]), alcohol use (85·0 million [77·2 million to 93·0 million]), and diets high in sodium (83·0 million [49·3 million to 127·5 million]). From 1990 to 2015, attributable DALYs declined for micronutrient deficiencies, childhood undernutrition, unsafe sanitation and water, and household air pollution; reductions in risk-deleted DALY rates rather than reductions in exposure drove these declines. Rising exposure contributed to notable increases in attributable DALYs from high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, occupational carcinogens, and drug use. Environmental risks and childhood undernutrition declined steadily with SDI; low physical activity, high BMI, and high fasting plasma glucose increased with SDI. In 119 countries, metabolic risks, such as high BMI and fasting plasma glucose, contributed the most attributable DALYs in 2015. Regionally, smoking still ranked among the leading five risk factors for attributable DALYs in 109 countries; childhood underweight and unsafe sex remained primary drivers of early death and disability in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Interpretation Declines in some key environmental risks have contributed to declines in critical infectious diseases. Some risks appear to be invariant to SDI. Increasing risks, including high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, drug use, and some occupational exposures, contribute to rising burden from some conditions, but also provide opportunities for intervention. Some highly preventable risks, such as smoking, remain major causes of attributable DALYs, even as exposure is declining. Public policy makers need to pay attention to the risks that are increasingly major contributors to global burden. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Biotransformation of lanthanum by Aspergillus niger

Lanthanum is an important rare earth element and has many applications in modern electronics and catalyst manufacturing. However, there exist several obstacles in the recovery and cycling of this element due to a low average grade in exploitable deposits and low recovery rates by energy-intensive extraction procedures. In this work, a novel method to transform and recover La has been proposed using the geoactive properties of Aspergillus niger. La-containing crystals were formed and collected after A. niger was grown on Czapek-Dox agar medium amended with LaCl 3. Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDXA) showed the crystals contained C, O, and La; scanning electron microscopy revealed that the crystals were of a tabular structure with terraced surfaces. X-ray diffraction identified the mineral phase of the sample as La 2(C 2O 4) 3·10H 2O. Thermogravimetric analysis transformed the oxalate crystals into La 2O 3 with the kinetics of thermal decomposition corresponding well with theoretical calculations. Geochemical modelling further confirmed that the crystals were lanthanum decahydrate and identified optimal conditions for their precipitation. To quantify crystal production, biomass-free fungal culture supernatants were used to precipitate La. The results showed that the precipitated lanthanum decahydrate achieved optimal yields when the concentration of La was above 15 mM and that 100% La was removed from the system at 5 mM La. Our findings provide a new aspect in the biotransformation and biorecovery of rare earth elements from solution using biomass-free fungal culture systems. </p

Direct Infection and Replication of Naturally Occurring Hepatitis C Virus Genotypes 1, 2, 3 and 4 in Normal Human Hepatocyte Cultures

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection afflicts about 170 million individuals worldwide. However, the HCV life cycle is only partially understood because it has not been possible to infect normal human hepatocytes in culture. The current Huh-7 systems use cloned, synthetic HCV RNA expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma cells to produce virions, but these cells cannot be infected with naturally occurring HCV obtained from infected patients.Here, we describe a human hepatocyte culture permissible to the direct infection with naturally occurring HCV genotypes 1, 2, 3 and 4 in the blood of HCV-infected patients. The culture system mimics the biology and kinetics of HCV infection in humans, and produces infectious virions that can infect naïve human hepatocytes.This culture system should complement the existing systems, and may facilitate the understanding of the HCV life cycle, its effects in the natural host cell, the hepatocyte, as well as the development of novel therapeutics and vaccines

EphA2-receptor deficiency exacerbates myocardial infarction and reduces survival in hyperglycemic mice

Background We have previously shown that EphrinA1/EphA expression profile changes in response to myocardial infarction (MI), exogenous EphrinA1-Fc administration following MI positively influences wound healing, and that deletion of the EphA2 Receptor (EphA2-R) exacerbates injury and remodeling. To determine whether or not ephrinA1-Fc would be of therapeutic value in the hyperglycemic infarcted heart, it is critical to evaluate how ephrinA1/EphA signaling changes in the hyperglycemic myocardium in response to MI. Methods Streptozotocin (STZ)-induced hyperglycemia in wild type (WT) and EphA2-receptor mutant (EphA2-R-M) mice was initiated by an intraperitoneal injection of STZ (150 mg/kg) 10 days before surgery. MI was induced by permanent ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery and analyses were performed at 4 days post-MI. ANOVAs with Student-Newman Keuls multiple comparison post-hoc analysis illustrated which groups were significantly different, with significance of at least p < 0.05. Results Both WT and EphA2-R-M mice responded adversely to STZ, but only hyperglycemic EphA2-R-M mice had lower ejection fraction (EF) and fractional shortening (FS). At 4 days post-MI, we observed greater post-MI mortality in EphA2-R-M mice compared with WT and this was greater still in the EphA2-R-M hyperglycemic mice. Although infarct size was greater in hyperglycemic WT mice vs normoglycemic mice, there was no difference between hyperglycemic EphA2-R-M mice and normoglycemic EphA2-R-M mice. The hypertrophic response that normally occurs in viable myocardium remote to the infarct was noticeably absent in epicardial cardiomyocytes and cardiac dysfunction worsened in hyperglycemic EphA2-R-M hearts post-MI. The characteristic interstitial fibrotic response in the compensating myocardium remote to the infarct also did not occur in hyperglycemic EphA2-R-M mouse hearts to the same extent as that observed in the hyperglycemic WT mouse hearts. Differences in neutrophil and pan-leukocyte infiltration and serum cytokines implicate EphA2-R in modulation of injury and the differences in ephrinA1 and EphA6-R expression in governing this are discussed. Conclusions We conclude that EphA2-mutant mice are more prone to hyperglycemia-induced increased injury, decreased survival, and worsened LV remodeling due to impaired wound healing

Epicoccum nigrum P16, a Sugarcane Endophyte, Produces Antifungal Compounds and Induces Root Growth

Background: Sugarcane is one of the most important crops in Brazil, mainly because of its use in biofuel production. Recent studies have sought to determine the role of sugarcane endophytic microbial diversity in microorganism-plant interactions, and their biotechnological potential. Epicoccum nigrum is an important sugarcane endophytic fungus that has been associated with the biological control of phytopathogens, and the production of secondary metabolites. In spite of several studies carried out to define the better conditions to use E. nigrum in different crops, little is known about the establishment of an endophytic interaction, and its potential effects on plant physiology. Methodology/Principal Findings: We report an approach based on inoculation followed by re-isolation, molecular monitoring, microscopic analysis, plant growth responses to fungal colonization, and antimicrobial activity tests to study the basic aspects of the E. nigrum endophytic interaction with sugarcane, and the effects of colonization on plant physiology. The results indicate that E. nigrum was capable of increasing the root system biomass and producing compounds that inhibit the in vitro growth of sugarcane pathogens Fusarium verticillioides, Colletotrichum falcatum, Ceratocystis paradoxa, and Xanthomomas albilineans. In addition, E. nigrum preferentially colonizes the sugarcane surface and, occasionally, the endophytic environment. Conclusions/Significance: Our work demonstrates that E. nigrum has great potential for sugarcane crop application because it is capable of increasing the root system biomass and controlling pathogens. The study of the basic aspects of the interaction of E. nigrum with sugarcane demonstrated the facultative endophytism of E. nigrum and its preference for the phylloplane environment, which should be considered in future studies of biocontrol using this species. In addition, this work contributes to the knowledge of the interaction of this ubiquitous endophyte with the host plant, and also to a better use of microbial endophytes in agriculture.State of Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)FAPESP (State of Sao Paulo Research Foundation) [02/14143-3, 10/08286-2]Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq