Do All Opioid Drugs Share the Same Immunomodulatory Properties? A Review From Animal and Human Studies

Suppression of the immune system has been constantly reported in the last years as a classical side effect of opioid drugs. Most of the studies on the immunological properties of opioids refer to morphine. Although morphine remains the "reference molecule," other semisynthetic and synthetic opioids are frequently used in the clinical practice. The primary objective of this review is to analyze the available literature on the immunomodulating properties of opioid drugs different from morphine in preclinical models and in the human. A search strategy was conducted in PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane databases using the terms "immunosuppression," "immune system," "opioids," "Natural killer cells," "cytokines," and "lymphocytes." The results achieved concerning the effects of fentanyl, methadone, oxycodone, buprenorphine, remifentanil, tramadol, and tapentadol on immune responses in animal studies, in healthy volunteers and in patients are reported. With some limitations due to the different methods used to measure immune system parameters, the large range of opioid doses and the relatively scarce number of participants in the available studies, we conclude that it is not correct to generalize immunosuppression as a common side effect of all opioid molecules

Could halophilic archaea improve the traditional salted anchovies (Engraulis encrasicholus L) safety and quality?

Aims: The positive influence of two selected extremely halophilic archaea strains in the production of salted anchovies (Engraulis encrasicolus, L., 1758) was highlighted. Methods and Results: Anchovies produced with salt artificially contaminated with halophiles exhibited lower loads of staphylococci, Enterobacteriaceae and lactic acid bacteria, and a reduced content of histamine as well as an improved organoleptic acceptance. Conclusions: The findings of this survey are expected to enhance the safety of salted anchovies, with regard to the histamine formation during ripening, and to improve the sensory attributes of this product. Significance and Impact of the Study: This study represents the first report on the positive influence of halophilic archaea in traditional salted anchovies production, thus suggesting new perspectives about a conscious employment of properly selected haloarchaea strains in this traditional manufactur

In situ polymerization of soil organic matter by oxidative biomimetic catalysis.

Background: Agricultural practices that enhance organic matter content in soil can play a central role in sequestering soil organic carbon (SOC) and reducing greenhouse gases emissions. Methods: We used a water-soluble iron-porphyrin to catalyze directly in situ oxidative polymerization of soil organic matter in the presence of H2O2 oxidant, with the aim to enhance OC stabilization, and, consequently, reduce CO2 emissions from soil. The occurred SOC stabilization was assessed by monitoring soil aggregate stability, OC distribution in water-soluble aggregates, soil respiration, and extraction yields of humic and fulvic acids. Results: Soil treatment with H2O2 and iron-porphyrin increased the physical stability of water-stable soil aggregates and the total OC content in small aggregates, thereby suggesting that the catalyzed oxidative polymerization increased OC in soil and induced a soil physical improvement. The significant reduction of CO2 respired by the catalyst- and H2O2-treated soil indicated an enhanced resistance of polymerized SOC to microbial mineralization. The catalyzed oxidative polymerization of SOC also significantly decreased the extraction yields of humic and fulvic acids from soil. Conclusions: The oxidative catalytic technology described here may become an efficient agricultural practice for OC sequestration in soils and contribute to mitigate global changes

Microbial ecology of retail ready-to-eat escarole and red chicory sold in Palermo City, Italy

Background: Ready-To-Eat (RTE) foods include any edible food that is commonly consumed raw. This study aimed at evaluation of microbial ecology of retail RTE escarole and red chicory sold in Palermo city, Italy. Methods: A total of 32 mono-varietal RTE samples, including escarole (n=16) and red chicory (n=16) samples were obtained from Palermo, Italy. Both RTE vegetables at expiry date were analyzed to quantify spoilage bacteria, pathogenic bacteria, and yeast. All different colonies were isolated and identified on the basis of phenotypic characteristics and genetic polymorphisms by random amplification of polymorphic DNA-Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and further genotype by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene. The statistical analysis was conducted with SAS 9.2 software (Statistical Analysis System Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA). Results: The level of Listeria monocytogenes and coagulase-positive staphylococci were below the detection. Total microbial counts were above 8 log10 colony forming unit/g in RTE red chicory, while they were about 1 log cycle lower in escarole. In general, escarole showed lower levels for all microbial groups than red chicory with the exception of the total yeast. A total of 13 strains were identified into ten species belonging to six genera as Bacillus, Erwinia, Pantoea, Pseudomonas, Microbacterium, and Rahnella. The most numerous identified genera were Pseudomonas and Pantoea. Conclusion: This work pointed out the relevance of implementing good hygiene practices during processing in order to prolong quality parameters and acceptability of mono-varietal salads

Investigación sobre un pasteurizador de túnel para las aceitunas de mesa “Nocellara del Belice” procesadas mediante el “Método Castelvetrano”

The influence of pasteurization temperature and time of treatment on the flesh firmness and the evolution of microbial communities was studied for table olives Cv. Nocellara del Belice, packed in glass jars and processed with a tunnel pasteurizer. The experiment was first carried out on the laboratory level in order to select the optimal combination of pasteurization time/temperature so as to obtain the proper balance between the consistency of the pulp and the microbiological quality of the final product. Pasteurization at industrial scale was then carried out in a tunnel pasteurizer applying the treatment at 75 °C for 8 min in the thermal center of the jars. Besides flesh firmness and microbial evolutions, the pH, total titratable acidity (TTA) and color were evaluated for the table olives during storage at 6, 12 and 15 months from packing. The table olives showed a high stability and acceptable flesh firmness for the entire period under observation. Specifically, olive pulp texture decreased during the storage period, but the softening was most evident in the deeper layers of the pulp. The results indicated that the storage period should not exceed 6 months. Although the hygiene is preserved, after this period the firmness might not be acceptable to consumers.En el presente trabajo se estudió la influencia de la temperatura y del tiempo de pasteurización en la firmeza de la pulpa y la evolución de las comunidades microbianas para la aceituna de mesa “Nocellara del Belice” procesadas con un pasteurizador de túnel. El experimento se llevó a cabo preliminarmente a nivel de laboratorio con el fin de seleccionar la combinación óptima de tiempo/temperatura de pasteurización para obtener el compromiso adecuado entre la consistencia de la pulpa y la calidad microbiológica del producto final. A continuación se llevó a cabo la pasteurización en escala industrial dentro de un pasteurizador de túnel aplicando el tratamiento a 75 ° C durante 8 minutos. Fueron evaluados pH, acidez total titulable (ATT) y el color para las aceitunas de mesa durante el almacenamiento a los 6, 12 y 15 meses de envasado. Las aceitunas de mesa mostraron una alta estabilidad y una firmeza de pulpa aceptable para todo el período de observación; en particular, la textura de pulpa disminuyó durante el período de almacenamiento, pero el ablandamiento fue más evidente en las capas más profundas de la pulpa. Los resultados indicaron que el período de almacenamiento no debe ser superior a 6 meses

Evaluation of the fermentation dynamics of commercial baker’s yeast in presence of pistachio powder to produce lysine-enriched breads

The present work was carried out to evaluate the microbiological, physicochemical, and sensory characteristics of fortified pistachio breads. Pistachio powder (5% w/w) was added to flour or semolina and fermented by a commercial baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Pistachio powder did not influence the biological leavening of the doughs. The kinetics of pH and total titratable acidity (TTA) during dough fermentation showed that the leavening process occurred similarly for all trials. The concentration of yeasts increased during fermentation and reached levels of 108 CFU/g after 2 h. Pistachio powder decreased the height and softness of the final breads and increased cell density of the central slices. The amount of lysine after baking increased in pistachio breads and this effect was stronger for semolina rather than flour trials. Sensory evaluation indicated that fortified breads processed from semolina were those more appreciated by the judges. This work clearly indicated that the addition of pistachio powder in bread production represents a promising strategy to increase the availability of lysine in cereal-based fermented products

Monte Carlo study of kink effect in isolated-gate InAs/AlSb high electron mobility transistors

A semiclassical two-dimensional ensemble Monte Carlo simulator is used to perform a physical analysis of the kink effect in InAs/AlSb high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs). Kink effect, this is, an anomalous increase in the drain current I-D when increasing the drain-to-source voltage V-DS, leads to a reduction in the gain and a rise in the level of noise, thus limiting the utility of these devices for microwave applications. Due to the small band gap of InAs, InAs/AlSb HEMTs are very susceptible to suffer from impact ionization processes, with the subsequent hole transport through the structure, both implicated in the kink effect. The results indicate that, when V-DS is high enough for the onset of impact ionization, holes thus generated tend to pile up in the buffer (at the gate-drain side) due to the valence-band energy barrier between the buffer and the channel. Due to this accumulation of positive charge the channel is further opened and I-D increases, leading to the kink effect in the I-V characteristics and eventually to the device electrical breakdown. The understanding of this phenomenon provides useful information for the development of kink-effect-free InAs/AlSb HEMTs