Pasta consumption and connected dietary habits: Associations with glucose control, adiposity measures, and cardiovascular risk factors in people with type 2 diabetes—TOSCA.IT study

Background: Pasta is a refined carbohydrate with a low glycemic index. Whether pasta shares the metabolic advantages of other low glycemic index foods has not really been investigated. The aim of this study is to document, in people with type-2 diabetes, the consumption of pasta, the connected dietary habits, and the association with glucose control, measures of adiposity, and major cardiovascular risk factors. Methods: We studied 2562 participants. The dietary habits were assessed with the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) questionnaire. Sex-specific quartiles of pasta consumption were created in order to explore the study aims. Results: A higher pasta consumption was associated with a lower intake of proteins, total and saturated fat, cholesterol, added sugar, and fiber. Glucose control, body mass index, prevalence of obesity, and visceral obesity were not significantly different across the quartiles of pasta intake. No relation was found with LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, but there was an inverse relation with HDL-cholesterol. Systolic blood pressure increased with pasta consumption; but this relation was not confirmed after correction for confounders. Conclusions: In people with type-2 diabetes, the consumption of pasta, within the limits recommended for total carbohydrates intake, is not associated with worsening of glucose control, measures of adiposity, and major cardiovascular risk factors

Immunoinformatic analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 envelope protein as a strategy to assess cross-protection against COVID-19

Envelope protein of coronaviruses is a structural protein existing in both monomeric and homo-pentameric form. It has been related to a multitude of roles including virus infection, replication, dissemination and immune response stimulation. In the present study, we employed an immunoinformatic approach to investigate the major immunogenic domains of the SARS-CoV-2 envelope protein and map them among the homologue proteins of coronaviruses with tropism for animal species that are closely inter-related with the human beings population all over the world. Also, when not available, we predicted the envelope protein structural folding and mapped SARS-CoV-2 epitopes. Envelope sequences alignment provides evidence of high sequence homology for some of the investigated virus specimens; while the structural mapping of epitopes resulted in the interesting maintenance of the structural folding and epitope sequence localization also in the envelope proteins scoring a lower alignment score. In line with the One-Health approach, our evidences provide a molecular structural rationale for a potential role of taxonomically related coronaviruses in conferring protection from SARS-CoV-2 infection and identifying potential candidates for the development of diagnostic tools and prophylactic-oriented strategies

Looking for peptides from rice starch processing by-product: Bioreactor production, anti-tyrosinase and anti-inflammatory activity, and in silico putative taste assessment

One of the major challenges for the modern society, is the development of a sustainable economy also aiming at the valorization of agro-industrial by-products in conjunction with at a significant reduction of generated residues from farm to retail. In this context, the present study demonstrates a biotechnological approach to yield bioactive peptides from a protein fraction obtained as a by-product of the rice starch production. Enzymatic hydrolysis, with the commercial proteases Alcalase and Protamex, were optimized in bioreactor up to 2 L of volume. The two best digestates, selected with respect to peptide release and extract antioxidant capacity, were further fractionated (cut-offs of 10, 5, and 1 kDa) via cross-flow filtration. Amino acid composition indicated that most of the fractions showed positive nutritional characteristics, but a putative bitter taste. A fraction obtained with Alcalase enzyme (retentate 8 kDa) exerted anti-inflammatory potential, while the smaller molecular weight fractions (retentate 1-5 kDa and permeate < 1 kDa) were more active in tyrosinase inhibition. The latter were further sub-fractionated by size-exclusion chromatography. From the 15 most anti-tyrosinase sub-fractions, 365 peptide sequences were identified via liquid chromatography coupled with high resolution mass spectrometry. The present data support the possible exploitation of bioactive peptide from rice starch by-product as ingredients into food, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic formulations

Microbial fermentation of industrial rice-starch byproduct as valuable source of peptide fractions with health-related activity

The rice-starch processing industry produces large amounts of a protein-rich byproducts during the conversion of broken rice to powder and crystal starch. Given the poor protein solubility, this material is currently discarded or used as animal feed. To fully exploit rice’s nutritional properties and reduce this waste, a biotechnological approach was adopted, inducing fermentation with selected microorganisms capable of converting the substrate into peptide fractions with health-related bioactivity. Lactic acid bacteria were preferred to other microorganisms for their safety, efficient proteolytic system, and adaptability to different environments. Peptide fractions with different molecular weight ranges were recovered from the fermented substrate by means of cross-flow membrane filtration. The fractions displayed in vitro antioxidant, antihypertensive, and anti-tyrosinase activities as well as cell-based anti-inflammatory and anti-aging effects. In the future, the peptide fractions isolated from this rice byproduct could be directly exploited as health-promoting functional foods, dietary supplements, and pharmaceutical preparations. The suggested biotechnological process harnessing microbial bioconversion may represent a potential solution for many different protein-containing substrates currently treated as byproducts (or worse, waste) by the food industry

Structural determinants driving the binding process between PDZ domain of wild type human PALS1 protein and SLiM sequences of SARS-CoV E proteins

Short Linear Motifs (SLiMs) are functional protein microdomains that typically mediate interactions between a short linear region in one protein and a globular domain in another. Surface Plasmon Resonance assays have been performed to determine the binding affinity between PDZ domain of wild type human PALS1 protein and tetradecapeptides representing the SLiMs sequences of SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 E proteins (E-SLiMs). SARS-CoV-2 E-SLiM binds to the human target protein with a higher affinity compared to SARS-CoV-1, showing a difference significantly greater than previously reported using the F318W mutant of PALS1 protein and shorter target peptides. Moreover, molecular dynamics simulations have provided clear evidence of the structural determinants driving this binding process. Specifically, the Arginine 69 residue in the SARS-CoV-2 E-SLiM is the key residue able to both enhance the specific polar interaction with negatively charged pockets of the PALS1 PDZ domain and reduce significantly the mobility of the viral peptide. These experimental and computational data are reinforced by the comparison of the interaction between the PALS1 PDZ domain with the natural ligand CRB1, as well as the corresponding E-SLiMs of other coronavirus members such as MERS and OCF43. Our results provide a model at the molecular level of the strategies used to mimic the endogenous SLiM peptide in the binding of the tight junctions of the host cell, explaining one of the possible reasons of the severity of the infection and pulmonary inflammation by SARS-CoV-2

"Dangerous to Themselves and Others, and of Public Scandal": The Internment Procedure

Abstract Through G.'s admission and medical files, this chapter illustrates internment laws and procedures, highlighting how Fascism pushed pre-existing legislation to its extreme consequences. In reconstructing internment's bureaucratic and legal practices, the chapter emphasises how the law could be bent to accommodate the regime's need to isolate those perceived as "different" and how psychiatry acquiesced in offering to "correct" individuals considered "non-conforming", "amoral", "immoral", "deviant", rebellious and, among them, homosexuals, in exchange for an increase of power and status

Polyphenol intake and cardiovascular risk factors in a population with\ua0type 2 diabetes: The TOSCA.IT study.

Summary Background The role of polyphenol intake on cardiovascular risk factors is little explored, particularly in people with diabetes. Aim: To evaluate the association between the intake of total polyphenols and polyphenol classes with the major cardiovascular risk factors in a population with type 2 diabetes. Methods Dietary habits were investigated in 2573 males and females participants of the TOSCA.IT study. The European Prospective Investigation on Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) questionnaire was used to assess dietary habits. In all participants, among others, we assessed anthropometry, plasma lipids, blood pressure, C-reactive protein and HbA1c following a standard protocol. The USDA and Phenol-Explorer databases were used to estimate the polyphenol content of the habitual diet. Results Average intake of polyphenols was 683.3 \ub1 5.8 mg/day. Flavonoids and phenolic acids were the predominant classes (47.5% and 47.4%, respectively). After adjusting for potential confounders, people with the highest intake of energy-adjusted polyphenols (upper tertile) had a more favorable cardiovascular risk factors profile as compared to people with the lowest intake (lower tertile) (BMI was 30.7 vs 29.9 kg/m2, HDL-cholesterol was 45.1 vs 46.9 mg/dl, LDL-cholesterol was 103.2 vs 102.1 mg/dl, triglycerides were 153.4 vs 148.0 mg/dl, systolic and diastolic blood pressure were respectively 135.3 vs 134.3 and 80.5 vs 79.6 mm/Hg, HbA1c was 7.70 vs 7.67%, and C-reactive Protein was 1.29 vs 1.25 mg/dl, p < .001 for all). The findings were very similar when the analysis was conducted separately for flavonoids or phenolic acids, the two main classes of polyphenols consumed in this population. Conclusions Polyphenol intake is associated with a more favorable cardiovascular risk factors profile, independent of major confounders. These findings support the consumption of foods and beverages rich in different classes of polyphenols particularly in people with diabetes. Clinical trial http://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Study ID number: NCT00700856