A Robust DNA Isolation Protocol from Filtered Commercial Olive Oil for PCR-Based Fingerprinting

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) has elevated commercial value due to its health appeal, desirable characteristics and quantitatively limited production, and thus it has become an object of intentional adulteration. As EVOOs on the market might consist of a blend of olive varieties or sometimes even of a mixture of oils from different botanical species, an array of DNA-fingerprinting methods have been developed to check the varietal composition of the blend. Starting from a comparison between publicly available DNA extraction protocols, we set up a timely, low-cost, reproducible and effective DNA isolation protocol, which allows an adequate amount of DNA to be recovered even from commercial filtered EVOOs. Then, in order to verify the effectiveness of the DNA extraction protocol herein proposed, we applied PCR-based fingerprinting methods starting from the DNA extracted from three EVOO samples of unknown composition. In particular, genomic regions harboring nine simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and eight genotyping-by-sequencing-derived single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers were amplified for authentication and traceability of the three EVOO samples. The whole investigation strategy herein described might favor producers in terms of higher revenues and consumers in terms of price transparency and food safety

Understanding the Pathophysiology of IBS

While irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is still considered a ‘disorder of gut function’ and is diagnosed on the basis of symptoms, evidence is growing to indicate the existence of biochemical, molecular, immune, and microbiological abnormalities in large subsets of patients. According to the current view, luminal factors (e.g. derived from food, microbiota, and bile acids) permeate into the mucosa through a leaky epithelial barrier. These substances elicit abnormal responses, partly related to the activation of the immune system, which evoke altered neuro-muscular responses and stimulation of pain pathways. This research is providing a new way of thinking about the pathophysiology of IBS and will potentially lead to the development of novel treatments for these common disorders

PROGETTO E-PROs: COSTRUZIONE DI UNA PIATTAFORMA DIGITALE PER LA GESTIONE DI STRUMENTI CENTRATI SUL PAZIENTE NELLA PRATICA CLINICA (The E-PROs Project: creation of a digital platform to manage patient-oriented tools in clinical practice).

The need to use PROs in both research and clinical practice is now widely shared. The PROs (Patient-Reported Outcomes) allow a complete and more reliable assessment of the health status of a patient through information provided by the patient himself and not detectable through clinical examinations. In clinical practice, PROs can play a central role in improving the management of chronic or disabling conditions. The application of PROs in clinical practice, however, seems to be complex, given the need to guarantee the patient adequate levels of comfort to correctly use the PROs tools (questionnaires). The E-PROs Project is a pilot study aiming to fill these gaps through the digital technology. A web platform was therefore created. By using common devices (smartphones, tablets, PC) in total privacy, patients were able to complete the "ISS-HIV-Symptoms-Scale", a PROs tool selected to test the website platform

Validation of a self-reported HIV symptoms list: the ISS-HIV symptoms scale.

Background: To describe the development and the psychometric properties of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità-HIV symptoms scale (lSS-HIV symptoms scale). Methods: The ISS-HIV symptom scale was developed by an Italian working team including researchers, physicians and people living with HIV. The development process went through the following steps: (1) review of HIV/AIDS literature; (2) focus group; (3) pre-test analysis; (4) scale validation. Results: The 22 symptoms of HIV-ISS symptoms scale were clustered in five factors: pain/general discomfort (7 items); depression/anxiety (4 items); emotional reaction/psychological distress (5 items); gastrointestinal discomfort (4 items); sexual discomfort (2 items). The internal consistence reliability was for all factors within the minimum accepted standard of 0.70. Conclusions: The results of this study provide a preliminary evidence of the reliability and validity of the ISS-HIV symptoms scale. In the new era where HIV infection has been transformed into a chronic diseases and patients are experiencing a complex range of symptoms, the ISS-HIV symptoms scale may represent an useful tool for a comprehensive symptom assessment with the advantage of being easy to fill out by patients and potentially attractive to physicians mainly because it is easy to understand and requires short time to interpret the results

Retention in Care of Adult HIV Patients Initiating Antiretroviral Therapy in Tigray, Ethiopia: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study

<div><p>Introduction</p><p>Although Ethiopia has been scaling up the antiretroviral therapy (ART) services, low retention in care of patients remains one of the main obstacles to treatment success. We report data on retention in care and its associated determinants in Tigray, Ethiopia.</p><p>Methods</p><p>We used data from the CASA project, a prospective observational and multi-site study of a cohort of HIV-infected patients who initiated ART for the first time in Tigray. Four participating health facilities (HFs) located in the South of Tigray were considered for this study. Patients were followed for one year after ART initiation. The main outcome measure was represented by the current retention in care, defined as the proportion of patients who were alive and receiving ART at the same HF one year after ART initiation. Patients who started ART between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013 were included in this analysis. Patients were followed for one year after ART initiation. The determinants of retention were analysed using univariate and multivariate Cox Proportional Hazards model with robust sandwich estimates to account for within HF correlation.</p><p>Results</p><p>The four participating HFs in Tigray were able to retain overall 85.1% of their patients after one year from starting ART. Loss to follow-up (5.5%) and transfers to other HF (6.6) were the main determinant of attrition. A multivariate analysis shows that the factors significantly associated with retention were the type of HF, gender and active TB. Alamata health center was the HF with the highest attrition rate (HR 2.99, 95% CI: 2.77–3.23). Active TB (HR 1.72, 95% CI: 1.23–2.41) and gender (HR 1.64, 95% CI: 1.10–2.56) were also significantly associated with attrition.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Although Ethiopia has significantly improved access to the ART program, achieving and maintaining a satisfactory long-term retention rate is a future goal. This is difficult because of different retention rates among HFs. Moreover specific interventions should be directed to people of different sex to improve retention in care in male population.</p></div

Cox proportional hazards model of association between baseline characteristics and retention in care

<p>Cox proportional hazards model of association between baseline characteristics and retention in care</p

Treatment outcomes of HIV+ patients one year after ART initiation, year 2013/2014

<p>Treatment outcomes of HIV+ patients one year after ART initiation, year 2013/2014</p

Baseline characteristics.

<p>Baseline characteristics.</p