Increase of fumonisin b2 and ochratoxin a production by black Aspergillus species and oxidative stress in grape berries damaged by powdery mildew.

Powdery mildew (PM), caused by the fungus Erysiphe necator, is one of the most widespread fungal disease of grape and may cause extensive openings on the berry surface during the infection. We evaluated the effect of damage caused by PM in grape berries on the growth of and mycotoxin production by Aspergillus and on the oxidative stress in infected berries. Berries of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Negroamaro with sound skin (SS) and those naturally infected by PM were surface sterilized and inoculated with either fumonisin B2 (FB2)-producing strains of Aspergillus niger or ochratoxin A (OTA)-producing strains of Aspergillus carbonarius and incubated at 20 and 30uC. The PM berries were significantly more susceptible to both Aspergillus colonization (5 to 15 times more susceptible) and OTA and FB2 contamination (2 to 9 times more susceptible) than were SS berries. The highest toxin concentration was detected in inoculated PM berries both for OTA (9 ng/g) at 20uC and for FB2 (687 ng/g) at 30uC. In inoculated SS and PM berries, although malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide concentrations did not increase, the two black Aspergillus species caused a significant decrease in ascorbate content, thus inducing a pro-oxidant effect. These results indicate that grape berries affected by PM are more susceptible to black Aspergillus growth and to production and/or accumulation of FB2 and OTA. Thus, preventive control of E. necator on grape berries could reduce the mycotoxicological risk from black Aspergillus infection

N-acetylcysteine treatment ameliorates the skeletal phenotype of a mouse model of diastrophic dysplasia

Diastrophic dysplasia (DTD) is a recessive chondrodysplasia caused by mutations in SLC26A2, a cell membrane sulfate-chloride antiporter. Sulfate uptake impairment results in low cytosolic sulfate, leading to cartilage proteoglycan (PG) undersulfation. In this work, we used the dtd mouse model to study the role of N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC), a well-known drug with antioxidant properties, as an intracellular sulfate source for macromolecular sulfation. Because of the important pre-natal phase of skeletal development and growth, we administered 30 g/l NAC in the drinking water to pregnant mice to explore a possible transplacental effect on the fetuses. When cartilage PG sulfation was evaluated by high-performance liquid chromatography disaccharide analysis in dtd newborn mice, a marked increase in PG sulfation was observed in newborns from NAC-treated pregnancies when compared with the placebo group. Morphometric studies of the femur, tibia and ilium after skeletal staining with alcian blue and alizarin red indicated a partial rescue of abnormal bone morphology in dtd newborns from treated females, compared with pups from untreated females. The beneficial effect of increased macromolecular sulfation was confirmed by chondrocyte proliferation studies in cryosections of the tibial epiphysis by proliferating cell nuclear antigen immunohistochemistry: the percentage of proliferating cells, significantly reduced in the placebo group, reached normal values in dtd newborns from NAC-treated females. In conclusion, NAC is a useful source of sulfate for macromolecular sulfation in vivo when extracellular sulfate supply is reduced, confirming the potential of therapeutic approaches with thiol compounds to improve skeletal deformity and short stature in human DTD and related disorder

Elastodontic Therapy of Hyperdivergent Class II Patients Using AMCOP® Devices: A Retrospective Study

Background: The management of a hyperdivergent growth pattern is one of the most challenging in orthodontics and different treatments are advocated. The present study analyses the effectiveness of elastodontic therapy with AMCOP® devices in treating children with hyperdivergent class II malocclusion and the effect on the upper airway patency. Methods: The study group included 21 patients (10 males and 11 females, mean age 8.22 ± 1.17 years) with a hyperdivergent growth and a class II malocclusion treated with AMCOP® devices. Cephalometric analysis was performed before treatment (T0) and after treatment (T1). Results: After treatment, the cephalometric analysis revealed a correction of the class II malocclusion and a modification of the growth pattern with a divergence reduction. The improvement of the upper airway space was also observed. Conclusion: The elastodontic therapy effectively corrected hyperdivergent class II malocclusion in growing patients over a short period

Benefits and Implications of Resveratrol Supplementation on Microbiota Modulations: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Abstract: Resveratrol is a polyphenol that has been shown to possess many applications in different fields of medicine. This systematic review has drawn attention to the axis between resveratrol and human microbiota, which plays a key role in maintaining an adequate immune response that can lead to different diseases when compromised. Resveratrol can also be an asset in new technologies,such as gene therapy. PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched to find papers that matched our topic dating from 1 January 2017 up to 18 January 2022, with English‐language restriction using the following Boolean keywords: (“resveratrol” AND “microbio*”). Eighteen studies were included as relevant papers matching the purpose of our investigation. Immune response, prevention of thrombotic complications, microbiota, gene therapy, and bone regeneration were retrieved as the main topics. The analyzed studies mostly involved resveratrol supplementation and its effects on human microbiota by trials in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo. The beneficial activity of resveratrol is evident by analyzing the changes in the host’s genetic expression and the gastrointestinal microbial community with its administration. The possibility of identifying individual microbial families may allow to tailor therapeutic plans with targeted polyphenolic diets when associated with microbial dysbiosis, such as inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, degenerative diseases, tumors, obesity, diabetes, bone tissue regeneration, and metabolic syndrome

Management of acute diverticulitis with pericolic free gas (ADIFAS). an international multicenter observational study

Background: There are no specific recommendations regarding the optimal management of this group of patients. The World Society of Emergency Surgery suggested a nonoperative strategy with antibiotic therapy, but this was a weak recommendation. This study aims to identify the optimal management of patients with acute diverticulitis (AD) presenting with pericolic free air with or without pericolic fluid. Methods: A multicenter, prospective, international study of patients diagnosed with AD and pericolic-free air with or without pericolic free fluid at a computed tomography (CT) scan between May 2020 and June 2021 was included. Patients were excluded if they had intra-abdominal distant free air, an abscess, generalized peritonitis, or less than a 1-year follow-up. The primary outcome was the rate of failure of nonoperative management within the index admission. Secondary outcomes included the rate of failure of nonoperative management within the first year and risk factors for failure. Results: A total of 810 patients were recruited across 69 European and South American centers; 744 patients (92%) were treated nonoperatively, and 66 (8%) underwent immediate surgery. Baseline characteristics were similar between groups. Hinchey II-IV on diagnostic imaging was the only independent risk factor for surgical intervention during index admission (odds ratios: 12.5, 95% CI: 2.4-64, P =0.003). Among patients treated nonoperatively, at index admission, 697 (94%) patients were discharged without any complications, 35 (4.7%) required emergency surgery, and 12 (1.6%) percutaneous drainage. Free pericolic fluid on CT scan was associated with a higher risk of failure of nonoperative management (odds ratios: 4.9, 95% CI: 1.2-19.9, P =0.023), with 88% of success compared to 96% without free fluid ( P <0.001). The rate of treatment failure with nonoperative management during the first year of follow-up was 16.5%. Conclusion: Patients with AD presenting with pericolic free gas can be successfully managed nonoperatively in the vast majority of cases. Patients with both free pericolic gas and free pericolic fluid on a CT scan are at a higher risk of failing nonoperative management and require closer observation

Analysis of shared common genetic risk between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and epilepsy

Because hyper-excitability has been shown to be a shared pathophysiological mechanism, we used the latest and largest genome-wide studies in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (n = 36,052) and epilepsy (n = 38,349) to determine genetic overlap between these conditions. First, we showed no significant genetic correlation, also when binned on minor allele frequency. Second, we confirmed the absence of polygenic overlap using genomic risk score analysis. Finally, we did not identify pleiotropic variants in meta-analyses of the 2 diseases. Our findings indicate that amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and epilepsy do not share common genetic risk, showing that hyper-excitability in both disorders has distinct origins