Persistent organochlorine compounds in fetal and maternal tissues: evaluation of their potential influence on several indicators of fetal growth and health

Some organochlorine compounds, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), have a tendency to bioaccumulate in humans and predators at the top of the food chain. We have recently confirmed the transplacental transfer of these compounds and the present study has been designed on the same material with the aim of investigating their potential health effects on newborns from 70 pregnant women, resident in a Northern Italy industrial town. Organochlorine compounds [namely, p,p'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p,p'-DDT), p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethene (p,p'-DDE), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and PCBs] have been analyzed both in cord and maternal serum, placenta, and maternal subcutaneous adipose tissue by GC-MSD. p,p'-DDT levels in the adipose tissue resulted significantly (p<0.05) related to birth length. Mothers of neonates born by preterm programmed caesarean delivery showed significantly (p<0.005 for both) higher serum p,p'-DDE serum concentrations and p,p'-DDT levels in the adipose tissue, as compared to mothers delivering at term

First Record of Fusarium verticillioides as an Entomopathogenic Fungus of Grasshoppers

Fusarium verticillioides (Saccardo) Nirenberg (Ascomycota: Hypocreales) is the most common fungus reported on infected corn kernels and vegetative tissues, but has not yet been documented as being entomopathogenic for grasshoppers. Grasshoppers and locusts represent a large group of insects that cause economic damage to forage and crops. Tropidacris collaris (Stoll) (Orthoptera: Acridoidea: Romaleidae) is a large and voracious grasshopper that in recent years has become an increasingly recurrent and widespread pest in progressively more greatly extended areas of some of in Argentina's northern provinces, with chemical insecticides being currently the only means of control. During February and March of 2008–09, nymphs and adults of T. collaris were collected with sweep nets in dense woodland vegetation at a site near Tres Estacas in western Chaco Province, Argentina, and kept in screened cages. F. verticillioides was isolated from insects that died within 10 days and was cultured in PGA medium. Pathogenicity tests were conducted and positive results recorded. Using traditional and molecular-biological methods, an isolate of F. verticillioides was obtained from T. collaris, and its pathogenecity in the laboratory was shown against another harmful grasshopper, Ronderosia bergi (Stål) (Acridoidea: Acrididae: Melanoplinae). The mortality caused by F. verticillioides on R. bergi reached 58 ± 6.53% by 10 days after inoculation. This is the first record of natural infection caused by F. verticillioides in grasshoppers

Small-Molecule Activators of Insulin-Degrading Enzyme Discovered through High-Throughput Compound Screening

Background: Hypocatabolism of the amyloid β-protein (Aβ) by insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) is implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease (AD), making pharmacological activation of IDE an attractive therapeutic strategy. However, it has not been established whether the proteolytic activity of IDE can be enhanced by drug-like compounds. Methodology/Principal Findings: Based on the finding that ATP and other nucleotide polyphosphates modulate IDE activity at physiological concentrations, we conducted parallel high-throughput screening campaigns in the absence or presence of ATP and identified two compounds—designated Ia1 and Ia2—that significantly stimulate IDE proteolytic activity. Both compounds were found to interfere with the crosslinking of a photoaffinity ATP analogue to IDE, suggesting that they interact with a bona fide ATP-binding domain within IDE. Unexpectedly, we observed highly synergistic activation effects when the activity of Ia1 or Ia2 was tested in the presence of ATP, a finding that has implications for the mechanisms underlying ATP-mediated activation of IDE. Notably, Ia1 and Ia2 activated the degradation of Aβ by ∼700% and ∼400%, respectively, albeit only when Aβ was presented in a mixture also containing shorter substrates. Conclusions/Significance: This study describes the first examples of synthetic small-molecule activators of IDE, showing that pharmacological activation of this important protease with drug-like compounds is achievable. These novel activators help to establish the putative ATP-binding domain as a key modulator of IDE proteolytic activity and offer new insights into the modulatory action of ATP. Several larger lessons abstracted from this screen will help inform the design of future screening campaigns and facilitate the eventual development of IDE activators with therapeutic utility

Daily Deviations in Anger, Guilt, and Sympathy: A Developmental Diary Study of Aggression

With a diary study of 4- and 8-year-olds, we tested the association between daily deviations in anger and aggressive behavior, and whether this link was moderated by feelings of guilt and sympathy. Caregivers reported their children’s anger and aggression for 10 consecutive days (470 records; N = 80, 53 % girls). To calculate daily anger deviations from average anger levels, we subtracted each child’s average anger score (i.e., across 10 days) from his/her daily anger scores. Children reported their guilty feelings in response to vignettes depicting intentional harm, as well as their dispositional sympathy levels. Multilevel modeling indicated that within-child spikes in daily anger were associated with more aggression, above and beyond between-child differences in average anger levels. However, this association was weaker for children who reported higher levels of guilt. Sympathy did not moderate the anger-aggression link. We discuss potential implications for affective-developmental models of aggression and interventions that target anger-related aggressio

Distribution of persistent organochlorine pollutants in maternal and foetal tissues: data from an Italian polluted urban area.

This study was designed to evaluate both levels and distributions of organochlorine pollutants in placenta and other maternal-foetal tissues, from women resident in an Italian highly industrialized urban area with demonstrated PCB pollution. To this end, 30 polychlorinated biphenyl congeners (PCBs), p,p'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p,p'-DDT), p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB), were determined in placenta, both maternal and cord blood serum and adipose tissue of Caucasian pregnant women (n=70) undergoing to programmed caesarean delivery. Median placental concentrations of PCBs, p,p'-DDE and HCB (0.89 ng g(-1), 0.63 ng g(-1) and 0.19 ng g(-1) on wet tissue weight basis, respectively), were lower than previously published data. p,p'-DDT could be detected in most of adipose tissue samples, but very rarely in the other compartments. Distributions of investigated compounds in biological matrices showed significant relationships, confirming their transplacental transfer. It is worthy of note that HCB tended to be transferred more easily from maternal to foetal tissues. Maternal serum levels of these pollutants can allow a reliable estimation of organochlorine compound body burden, and can be useful markers of prenatal exposure, given their relationships with placental and umbilical cord serum levels

Induction of labour with dinoprostone in patients with unfavorable Bishop score: Vaginal gel compared to controlled release vaginal pessary

Objective: to compare costs, efficacy and safety of intravaginal PGE2gel application to intravaginal PGE2pessary in the induction of labour in patients with unfavourable Bishop score. Methods: 40 patients induced by intravaginal pessary (case population) were compared to 80 patients induced by intravaginal gel (control population), matched for parity and clinical condition at time of induction. Criteria for inclusion in the study were: singleton pregnancy, fetal-cephalic presentation, Bishop score ≤ 4, gestational age ≥ 37 weeks, no previous caesarean section. Results: the case and the control groups were similar in patient characteristics and indication for induction. Application-delivery interval was shorter in control group (1416 vs. 765 minutes). Incidence of caesarean section was not statistically different (40% vs. 27,5%). Number of patients with blood loss ≥ 500 cc was similar in the two groups as was the number of babies with Apgar score at 5 min ≤ 7, with pH ≤ 7,20 and with BE &lt; -12. No maternal and fetal complications were found in both groups. Induction by intravaginal gel was less expensive than by controlled release vaginal pessary. Conclusions: both PGE2gel and pessary are safe and effective in achieving cervical ripening and induction of labour. Induction with PGE2gel was less expensive. We suggest a randomized prospective study in which the intravaginal pessary is applied two times, for a total of 24 hours. © Copyright 2007, CIC Edizioni Internazionali, Roma

Efecto de la fecha de siembra y la fertilización nitrogenada sobre la contaminación con micotoxinas producida por Fusarium graminearum en granos de trigo pan ( Triticum aestivum L.)

El objetivo del presente estudio fue evaluar el impacto de F. graminearum respecto a la contaminación con micotoxinas en granos de trigo pan (Triticum aestivum L.), bajo condiciones contrastantes de fertilización nitrogenada y en diferentes fechas de siembra. Durante la campaña agrícola 2018/2019, se realizaron dos experimentos bajo condiciones naturales en la Chacra Experimental de la FAA-UNCPBA. Para ello, se utilizó un genotipo comercial de trigo pan (Klein Proteo, ciclo corto-intermedio y grupo de calidad panadera I) con una densidad de 250 plantas/m2. Las dos fechas de siembra elegidas fueron: temprana (FS1) y tardía (FS2), mientras que los tratamientos aplicados consistieron en dos niveles de fertilización nitrogenada (0 kg N/ha y 180 kg N/ha) y dos niveles de inoculación con F. graminearum (presencia/ausencia). Luego de la cosecha, las muestras de grano se molieron y tamizaron hasta obtener harina. Las micotoxinas se cuantificaron mediante HPLC: deoxinivalenol y sus derivados acetilados (3-ADON y 15-ADON), nivalenol y zearalenona. El análisis estadístico se realizó mediante el software estadístico InfoStat. Los resultados obtenidos mostraron diferencias significativas solo entre las diferentes fechas de siembra. En FS2 se observaron incrementos en la concentración de DON (4.23 veces), 3-ADON (4.64), NIV (9.03) y ZEA (6.08), mientras que 15-ADON no fue detectado en ninguno de los casos. A modo de conclusión, la elección en la fecha de siembra impacta significativamente en la concentración de micotoxinas, sustentando la importancia de un correcto manejo agronómico para optimizar el uso de recursos y disminuir el impacto sobre la inocuidad alimentaria.Fil: Martínez, Mauro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Biotecnología; ArgentinaFil: Arata, Gonzalo Joaquin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; ArgentinaFil: Elguezabal, C.. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía; ArgentinaFil: Rojas, D.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación de Agroindustria. Instituto de Tecnología de Alimentos; ArgentinaFil: Cristos, Diego Sebastián. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación de Agroindustria. Instituto de Tecnología de Alimentos; ArgentinaFil: Arata, Agustin Francisco. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Biotecnología; ArgentinaFil: Dinolfo, María Inés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Biotecnología; Argentina1° Congreso Argentino de SemillasCórdobaArgentinaAsociación de Laboratorios Agropecuarios PrivadosUniversidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuaria

Naturalistic forums as megastores of Biodiversity data.

The World Wide Web provides a wide array of opportunities for citizens to share and publish data of their own observations. As far as biodiversity is concerned, forums and social networks store a big deal of steadily increasing "naturalistic" data. Are these data potentially useful to be part of the rapid growth of the biodiversity big data system? In most cases, biodiversity data obtainable from generic social networks do not have any kind of validation neither by expert amateurs nor professional taxonomists. As a consequence, these data require an expert reconsideration before being used, otherwise they lose any scientific value. On the other hand, in forums specifically dedicated to natural sciences, discussions are managed by moderators, often skilled taxonomists, who help inexperienced users in species identification. These data are potentially useful and ready to be included in biodiversity databases after a quick check. In such a case, the naturalistic forums are important containers of validated data. Unfortunately, these data can only be extracted through textual searches, for the most part. The aim of our contribution was the development of a pilot database of georeferenced data on Lepidoptera based on photographs and information published on two widely known websites: “Natura Mediterraneo Forum” and “Forum Entomologi Italiani”. Both amateur citizens (forum users) and forum moderators are involved. A careful examination of discussions, where amateurs posted their observations, allowed us to assemble an introductory dataset consisting of about 5000 records. Starting from textual sites descriptions and photos, we verified the correctness of the original validation, georeferenced the collecting localities and systematized spatial and temporal data from the photos taxonomically validated by moderators. The dataset was limited to butterflies (Lepidoptera Rhopalocera) and, interestingly, included several species listed in the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC). The georeferenced data have then been used to analyze the geographical location of observations, including their associated relevant features (e.g. elevation, protected areas, and land use). Results of this exploratory study confirmed the utility of assembling biodiversity data from the web, particularly for those taxa like butterflies where validation by expert taxonomists via photographic image is affordable. However, this attempt also revealed some limits and bias typically associated to the lack of a sampling design. These data analyses will also represent the starting point to convert naturalistic forums, maintaining their essence, into efficient and captivating platforms of Citizen Scienc