I Prodotti agroalimentari e floricoli tipici tra conservazione e innovazione

Recent EU and National policies for agriculture and rural development are mainly focused to foster the production of high quality products as a result of the increasing demand of food safety, typical foods and traditional processing methods. Another word very often used to describe foods in these days is “typicality” which pools together the concepts of “food connected with a specific place”, “historical memory and tradition” and “culture”. The importance for the EU and the National administrations of the above mentioned kind of food is demonstrated, among other things, by the high number of the PDO, PGI and TSG certificated products in Italy. In this period of global markets and economical crisis farmers are realizing how “typical products” can be an opportunity to maintain their market share and to improve the economy of local areas. At the same time, new tools and strategy are needed to reach these goals. A lack of knowledge has being recognized also on how new technologies and results coming from recent research can help in exploiting traditional product and in maintaining the biodiversity. Taking into account the great variety and richness of typical products, landscapes and biodiversity, this report will describe and analyze the relationships among typicality, innovation and research in horticulture. At the beginning “typicality” and “innovation” will be defined also through some statistical features, which ranks Italy at the first place in terms of number of typical labelled products, then will be highlighted how typical products of high quality and connected with the tradition and culture of specific production areas are in a strict relationship with the value of agro-biodiversity. Several different examples will be used to explain different successful methods and/or strategies used to exploit and foster typical Italian vegetables, fruits and flowers. Finally, as a conclusion, since it is thought that innovation should be compatible with typical products without interfere and modify the link between product and area of production the role of research will be defined and quantified

IS 200: an old and still bacterial transposon

IS 200 is a mobile element found in a variety of eubacterial genera, such as Salmonella, Escherichia, Shigella, Vibrio, Enterococcus, Clostridium, Helicobacter, and Actinobacillus. In addition, IS200-like elements are found in archaea. IS 200 elements are very small (707–711 bp) and contain a single gene. Cladograms constructed with IS200 DNA sequences suggest that IS 200 has not spread among eubacteria by horizontal transfer; thus it may be an ancestral component of the bacterial genome. Self-restraint may have favored this evolutionary endurance; in fact, unlike typical mobile elements, IS 200 transposes rarely. Tight repression of transposase synthesis is achieved by a combination of mechanisms: inefficient transcription, protection from impinging transcription by a transcriptional terminator, and repression of translation by a stem-loop mRNA structure. A consequence of IS 200 self-restraint is that the number and distribution of IS 20

Infections in breast implants: a review with a focus on developing Countries

The risk of surgical site infection is always present in surgery; the use of prosthetic materials is linked to an increased possibility of infection. Breast augmentation and breast reconstruction with implants are gaining popularity in developing countries. Implant infection is the main complication related to breast aesthetic and reconstructive surgery. In the present paper, we reviewed the current microbiological knowledge about implant infections, with particular attention to risk factors, diagnosis, clinical management, and antibiotic prophylaxis, focusing on reports from developing countries. After breast aesthetic surgery, up to 2.9% of patients develop a surgical site infection, with an incidence of 1.7% for acute infections and 0.8% for late infections. The rate of surgical site infection after post-mastectomy breast reconstruction is usually higher, ranging from 1% to 53%. The clinical features are not constant, and bacterial culture with antibiogram is the gold standard for diagnosis and for identification of antibiotic resistance. While waiting for culture results, empiric therapy with vancomycin and extended-spectrum penicillins or cephalosporins is recommended. Some patients require removal of the infected prosthesis. The main methods to bring down the risk of infection are strict asepsis protocol, preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis, and irrigation of the surgical pocket and implant with an antibiotic solution

The liposoluble proteome of Mycoplasma agalactiae: an insight into the minimal protein complement of a bacterial membrane

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mycoplasmas are the simplest bacteria capable of autonomous replication. Their evolution proceeded from gram-positive bacteria, with the loss of many biosynthetic pathways and of the cell wall. In this work, the liposoluble protein complement of <it>Mycoplasma agalactiae</it>, a minimal bacterial pathogen causing mastitis, polyarthritis, keratoconjunctivitis, and abortion in small ruminants, was subjected to systematic characterization in order to gain insights into its membrane proteome composition.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The selective enrichment for <it>M. agalactiae </it>PG2^Tliposoluble proteins was accomplished by means of Triton X-114 fractionation. Liposoluble proteins were subjected to 2-D PAGE-MS, leading to the identification of 40 unique proteins and to the generation of a reference 2D map of the <it>M. agalactiae </it>liposoluble proteome. Liposoluble proteins from the type strain PG2 and two field isolates were then compared by means of 2D DIGE, revealing reproducible differences in protein expression among isolates. An in-depth analysis was then performed by GeLC-MS/MS in order to achieve a higher coverage of the liposoluble proteome. Using this approach, a total of 194 unique proteins were identified, corresponding to 26% of all <it>M. agalactiae </it>PG2^Tgenes. A gene ontology analysis and classification for localization and function was also carried out on all protein identifications. Interestingly, the 11.5% of expressed membrane proteins derived from putative horizontal gene transfer events.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study led to the in-depth systematic characterization of the <it>M. agalactiae </it>liposoluble protein component, providing useful insights into its membrane organization.</p

Metagenomics and microscope revealed T. trichiura and other intestinal parasites in a cesspit of an Italian nineteenth century aristocratic palace

This study evidenced the presence of parasites in a cesspit of an aristocratic palace of nineteenth century in Sardinia (Italy) by the use of classical paleoparasitological techniques coupled with next-generation sequencing. Parasite eggs identified by microscopy included helminth genera pathogenic for humans and animals: the whipworm Trichuris sp., the roundworm Ascaris sp., the flatworm Dicrocoelium sp. and the fish tapeworm Diphyllobothrium sp. In addition, 18S rRNA metabarcoding and metagenomic sequencing analysis allowed the first description in Sardinia of aDNA of the human specific T. trichiura species and Ascaris genus. Their presence is important for understanding the health conditions, hygiene habits, agricultural practices and the diet of the local inhabitants in the period under study

<i>Mycoplasma agalactiae</i> MAG_5040 is a Mg²⁺-dependent, sugar-nonspecific SNase recognised by the host humoral response during natural infection

In this study the enzymatic activity of Mycoplasma agalactiae MAG_5040, a magnesium-dependent nuclease homologue to the staphylococcal SNase was characterized and its antigenicity during natural infections was established. A UGA corrected version of MAG_5040, lacking the region encoding the signal peptide, was expressed in Escherichia coli as a GST fusion protein. Recombinant GST-MAG_5040 exhibits nuclease activity similar to typical sugar-nonspecific endo- and exonucleases, with DNA as the preferred substrate and optimal activity in the presence of 20 mM MgCl2 at temperatures ranging from 37 to 45uC. According to in silico analyses, the position of the gene encoding MAG_5040 is consistently located upstream an ABC transporter, in most sequenced mycoplasmas belonging to the Mycoplasma hominis group. In M. agalactiae, MAG_5040 is transcribed in a polycistronic RNA together with the ABC transporter components and with MAG_5030, which is predicted to be a sugar solute binding protein by 3D modeling and homology search. In a natural model of sheep and goats infection, anti-MAG_5040 antibodies were detected up to 9 months post infection. Taking into account its enzymatic activity, MAG_5040 could play a key role in Mycoplasma agalactiae survival into the host, contributing to host pathogenicity. The identification of MAG_5040 opens new perspectives for the development of suitable tools for the control of contagious agalactia in small ruminants

The Five Minute Speech Sample as a measure of parental Expressed Emotion in the field of disability

Abstrac

The Liposoluble proteome of <i>Mycoplasma agalactiae</i>: an insight into the minimal protein complement of a bacterial membrane

Background Mycoplasmas are the simplest bacteria capable of autonomous replication. Their evolution proceeded from gram-positive bacteria, with the loss of many biosynthetic pathways and of the cell wall. In this work, the liposoluble protein complement of Mycoplasma agalactiae, a minimal bacterial pathogen causing mastitis, polyarthritis, keratoconjunctivitis, and abortion in small ruminants, was subjected to systematic characterization in order to gain insights into its membrane proteome composition. Results The selective enrichment for M. agalactiae PG2T liposoluble proteins was accomplished by means of Triton X-114 fractionation. Liposoluble proteins were subjected to 2-D PAGE-MS, leading to the identification of 40 unique proteins and to the generation of a reference 2D map of the M. agalactiae liposoluble proteome. Liposoluble proteins from the type strain PG2 and two field isolates were then compared by means of 2D DIGE, revealing reproducible differences in protein expression among isolates. An in-depth analysis was then performed by GeLC-MS/MS in order to achieve a higher coverage of the liposoluble proteome. Using this approach, a total of 194 unique proteins were identified, corresponding to 26% of all M. agalactiae PG2T genes. A gene ontology analysis and classification for localization and function was also carried out on all protein identifications. Interestingly, the 11.5% of expressed membrane proteins derived from putative horizontal gene transfer events. Conclusions This study led to the in-depth systematic characterization of the M. agalactiae liposoluble protein component, providing useful insights into its membrane organization

Histological, immunohistochemical and anthropological study among mummies coming from different geographic areas

Following the discovery of two partially mummified corps in a Cathedral of Castelsardo, to better understand the mummification process it was decided to compare them with a peruvian mummy given to the University of Sassari in the late ‘800. The aim of this work is to compare tissue conservation status by a morphological study supported by anthropological analysis. Samples of skin and muscle were taken and rehydrated in Sadison’s solution to be subjected to histological and immunohistochemical procedures. To establish sex, death-age and height we worked following classical methods (Ferembach 1980; Uberlaker 1989; Meindl and Lovejoy 1985). Castelsardo’s mummies conditions are generally fair, although very variable in different points of the body: the former is male, with death-age between 45-55 years. His height is 171 cm. The latter female, with death-age between 60-67 years. Her height is 157 cm. She shows reduction of some intersomatic spaces, spondyloarthropathy and scoliosis. The muscular and cutaneous tissues show a good conservation, in particular the former presents a fibrillar structure well-preserved, boundaries free between cells. The peruvian mummy is male, with death-age older than 25 years. His height is 160 cm. He shows osteophytosis at lumbar area with a collapse of the body at 4th lumbar vertebra; his conditions are overall good however the tissues show a poor conservation where a structural organization cannot be distinguished. This study allowed us to obtain paleo and microanatomy informations and to describe the morphological characteristics of mummified tissues