Comparison of physical, microstructural, antioxidant and enzymatic properties of pineapple cubes treated with conventional heating, ohmic heating and high-pressure processing

Pineapple cubes in sugar syrup were treated with high-pressure processing (HPP), conventional (DIM) heating and ohmic heating (OHM). Samples were compared in terms of microstructural, physical (total soluble solids, sieve analysis, texture and colour) and residual pectin methylesterase activity (PME) and total antioxidant capacity. OHM yielded relevant changes in cellular microstructure and electroporation of the cell wall. The HPP treatment favoured the presence of soluble solids in the syrup, and the samples were less damaged in terms of shape and microstructure. in the samples were harder following HPP than they were with OHM and DIM, while HPP showed the highest colorimetric (ΔE) differences compared with RAW samples. The PME residual activity was the lowest in pineapple treated by DIM, while the antioxidant capacity was comparable among treated samples

Prevalence and time course of post-stroke pain: A multicenter prospective hospital-based study

OBJECTIVE: Pain prevalence data for patients at various stages after stroke. DESIGN: Repeated cross-sectional, observational epidemiological study. SETTING: Hospital-based multicenter study. SUBJECTS: Four hundred forty-three prospectively enrolled stroke survivors. METHODS: All patients underwent bedside clinical examination. The different types of post-stroke pain (central post-stroke pain, musculoskeletal pains, shoulder pain, spasticity-related pain, and headache) were diagnosed with widely accepted criteria during the acute, subacute, and chronic stroke stages. Differences among the three stages were analyzed with χ(2)-tests. RESULTS: The mean overall prevalence of pain was 29.56% (14.06% in the acute, 42.73% in the subacute, and 31.90% in the chronic post-stroke stage). Time course differed significantly according to the various pain types (P < 0.001). The prevalence of musculoskeletal and shoulder pain was higher in the subacute and chronic than in the acute stages after stroke; the prevalence of spasticity-related pain peaked in the chronic stage. Conversely, headache manifested in the acute post-stroke stage. The prevalence of central post-stroke pain was higher in the subacute and chronic than in the acute post-stroke stage. Fewer than 25% of the patients with central post-stroke pain received drug treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Pain after stroke is more frequent in the subacute and chronic phase than in the acute phase, but it is still largely undertreated

Maned wolves retain moderate levels of genetic diversity and gene flow despite drastic habitat fragmentation

The maned wolf Chrysocyon brachyurus is the largest South American canid and categorized as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. The major threat to conservation efforts is the drastic reduction of suitable habitat for the species. A large portion of its range has been converted into farm and ranch lands as well as urban areas. To better understand the impact that these anthropogenic activities are having over the remaining populations across their current distribution range, we evaluated patterns of genetic variability and differentiation between them. We also compared these results with those obtained from captive maned wolves in order to make proper ex situ recommendations. We cross-amplified 12 microsatellite loci in maned wolf samples collected throughout their range (from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Bolivia) and from captive stocks (from captive breeding centers and zoos in Brazil, Argentina and the USA). We found that wild populations retain moderate levels of genetic variability compared with other microsatellite studies on wild canids, and our structure analysis revealed 2 genetic clusters in wild samples, one of which included samples exclusively from Bolivia. This cluster could represent a different management unit with conservation priority. The captive stock population showed higher levels of genetic variability, with the ones from Brazil being the most genetically diverse stock. The USA stock showed strong genetic differences with all other groups. This is the first study to examine the patterns of genetic diversity of both wild and captive populations of maned wolves. These results should be incorporated into further population viability assessments and in the Maned Wolf Species Survival Plan.Agencia Nacional de Investigación e Innovació

Integrated plan for the sustainable management of the Lagoon of Marano and Grado

The Lagoon of Marano and Grado has been experiencing some remarkable environmental impacts, which have affected the high-value natural ecosystem and consequently influenced relevant socio-economic aspects. One of the main problems relates to the diffuse contamination of soil and groundwater in the mainland, as well as sediments in rivers and in the lagoon itself. The need to ensure safe navigation conditions in the lagoon and in the Corno River serving Porto Nogaro harbour is another critical emergency. Other environmental issues of concern are: loss of morphological diversity, watershed basins’ pollution loads and protection of lagoon habitats. Due to the emergency situation, a Special Commissioner has been appointed by the national government to proceed with the resolution of the most critical problems. A specific “Operational Plan of interventions” was therefore elaborated in 2009. Approaching problems and solutions in an integrated way, the Plan represents one of the tools for the sustainable development of the lagoon. It strongly supports the adoption of adaptive management, foreseeing the periodical updating and improvement of objectives, strategies and interventions. The Plan also identifies the need for coordination among institutions and involvement of stakeholders as key elements for the implementation of adaptive management

Practical and clinical utility of non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) for the acute treatment of migraine. A post hoc analysis of the randomized, sham-controlled, double-blind PRESTO trial

Background: The PRESTO study of non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS; gammaCore®) featured key primary and secondary end points recommended by the International Headache Society to provide Class I evidence that for patients with an episodic migraine, nVNS significantly increases the probability of having mild pain or being pain-free 2 h post stimulation. Here, we examined additional data from PRESTO to provide further insights into the practical utility of nVNS by evaluating its ability to consistently deliver clinically meaningful improvements in pain intensity while reducing the need for rescue medication. Methods: Patients recorded pain intensity for treated migraine attacks on a 4-point scale. Data were examined to compare nVNS and sham with regard to the percentage of patients who benefited by at least 1 point in pain intensity. We also assessed the percentage of attacks that required rescue medication and pain-free rates stratified by pain intensity at treatment initiation. Results: A significantly higher percentage of patients who used acute nVNS treatment (n = 120) vs sham (n = 123) reported a ≥ 1-point decrease in pain intensity at 30 min (nVNS, 32.2%; sham, 18.5%; P = 0.020), 60 min (nVNS, 38.8%; sham, 24.0%; P = 0.017), and 120 min (nVNS, 46.8%; sham, 26.2%; P = 0.002) after the first attack. Similar significant results were seen when assessing the benefit in all attacks. The proportion of patients who did not require rescue medication was significantly higher with nVNS than with sham for the first attack (nVNS, 59.3%; sham, 41.9%; P = 0.013) and all attacks (nVNS, 52.3%; sham, 37.3%; P = 0.008). When initial pain intensity was mild, the percentage of patients with no pain after treatment was significantly higher with nVNS than with sham at 60 min (all attacks: nVNS, 37.0%; sham, 21.2%; P = 0.025) and 120 min (first attack: nVNS, 50.0%; sham, 25.0%; P = 0.018; all attacks: nVNS, 46.7%; sham, 30.1%; P = 0.037). Conclusions: This post hoc analysis demonstrated that acute nVNS treatment quickly and consistently reduced pain intensity while decreasing rescue medication use. These clinical benefits provide guidance in the optimal use of nVNS in everyday practice, which can potentially reduce use of acute pharmacologic medications and their associated adverse events. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02686034

Reducing the Risk of Intraoperative Neurological Complications during Carotid Endarterectomy with Early Distal Control of the Internal Carotid Artery

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Tantalum nanoparticles enhance the osteoinductivity of multiscale composites based on poly(lactide-co-glycolide) electrospun fibers embedded in a gelatin hydrogel

Bioresorbable polymeric materials have risen great interest as implants for bone tissue regeneration, since they show substantial advantages with respect to conventional metal devices, including biodegradability, flexibility, and the possibility to be easily modified to introduce specific functionalities. In the present work, an innovative nanocomposite scaffold, properly designed to show biomimetic and osteoinductive properties for potential application in bone tissue engineering, was developed. The scaffold is characterized by a multi-layer structure, completely different with respect to the so far employed polymeric implants, consisting in a poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide)/polyethylene glycol electrospun nanofibrous mat sandwiched between two hydrogel gelatin layers enriched with tantalum nanoparticles (NPs). The composition of the electrospun fibers, containing 10 wt% of polyethylene glycol, was selected to ensure a proper integration of the fibers in the gel phase, essential to endow the composite with flexibility and to prevent delamination between the layers. The scaffold maintained its structural integrity after six weeks of soaking in physiological solutions, albeit the gelatin phase was partially released. The combined use of gelatin, bioresorbable electrospun fibers and tantalum NPs endows the final device with biomimetic and osteoinductive properties. Indeed, results of the in vitro tests demonstrate that the obtained scaffolds clearly represent a favorable milieu for normal human bone-marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells viability and osteoblastic differentiation; moreover, inclusion of tantalum NPs in the scaffold improves cell performance with particular regard to early and late markers of osteoblastic differentiation. (C) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Phenotypic heterogeneity and genetic modification of P102L inherited prion disease in an international series

The largest kindred with inherited prion disease P102L, historically Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome, originates from central England, with émigrés now resident in various parts of the English-speaking world. We have collected data from 84 patients in the large UK kindred and numerous small unrelated pedigrees to investigate phenotypic heterogeneity and modifying factors. This collection represents by far the largest series of P102L patients so far reported. Microsatellite and genealogical analyses of eight separate European kindreds support multiple distinct mutational events at a cytosine-phosphate diester-guanidine dinucleotide mutation hot spot. All of the smaller P102L kindreds were linked to polymorphic human prion protein gene codon 129M and were not connected by genealogy or microsatellite haplotype background to the large kindred or each other. While many present with classical Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome, a slowly progressive cerebellar ataxia with later onset cognitive impairment, there is remarkable heterogeneity. A subset of patients present with prominent cognitive and psychiatric features and some have met diagnostic criteria for sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. We show that polymorphic human prion protein gene codon 129 modifies age at onset: the earliest eight clinical onsets were all MM homozygotes and overall age at onset was 7 years earlier for MM compared with MV heterozygotes (P = 0.02). Unexpectedly, apolipoprotein E4 carriers have a delayed age of onset by 10 years (P = 0.02). We found a preponderance of female patients compared with males (54 females versus 30 males, P = 0.01), which probably relates to ascertainment bias. However, these modifiers had no impact on a semi-quantitative pathological phenotype in 10 autopsied patients. These data allow an appreciation of the range of clinical phenotype, modern imaging and molecular investigation and should inform genetic counselling of at-risk individuals, with the identification of two genetic modifiers

Epidemiology and outcome of Clostridium difficile infections in patients hospitalized in Internal Medicine: findings from the nationwide FADOI-PRACTICE study.

BACKGROUND: Clostridium difficile (CD) is a leading cause of diarrhoea among hospitalized patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate the rate, the optimal diagnostic work-up, and outcome of CD infections (CDI) in Internal Medicine (IM) wards in Italy. METHODS: PRACTICE is an observational prospective study, involving 40 IM Units and evaluating all consecutive patients hospitalized during a 4-month period. CDI were defined in case of diarrhoea when both enzyme immunoassay for GDH, and test for A/B toxin were positive. Patients with CDI were followed-up for recurrences for 4 weeks after the end of therapy. RESULTS: Among the 10,780 patients observed, 103 (0.96 %) showed CDI, at admission or during hospitalization. A positive history for CD, antibiotics in the previous 4 weeks, recent hospitalization, female gender and age were significantly associated with CDI (multivariable analysis). In-hospital mortality was 16.5 % in CD group vs 6.7 % in No-CD group (p\u2009&lt;\u20090.001), whereas median length of hospital stay was 16 (IQR\u2009=\u200913) vs 8 (IQR\u2009=\u20098) days (p\u2009&lt;\u20090.001) among patients with or without CDI, respectively. Rate of CD recurrences was 14.6 %. As a post-hoc evaluation, 23 out of 34 GDH+/Tox- samples were toxin positive, when analysed by molecular method (a real-time PCR assay). The overall CD incidence rate was 5.3/10,000 patient-days. CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirm the severity of CDI in medical wards, showing high in-hospital mortality, prolonged hospitalization and frequent short-term recurrences. Further, our survey supports a 2-3 step algorithm for CD diagnosis: EIA for detecting GDH, A and B toxin, followed by a molecular method in case of toxin-negative samples