Organic Acids and Nature Identical Compounds Can Increase the Activity of Conventional Antibiotics Against Clostridium Perfringens and Enterococcus Cecorum In Vitro

SUMMARY In a global context of increased antibiotic resistance, feed additives with enhanced antimicrobial properties are a useful and increasingly needed strategy. Organic acids (OA) and botanical molecules such as nature identical compounds (NIC) have been shown to be effective against bacterial infections based on their antimicrobial activity. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the combination of OA or NIC with conventional antibiotics in poultry could increase antibiotic efficacy against Clostridium perfringens and Enterococcus cecorum. These organisms are the major poultry pathogens responsible for necrotic enteritis and bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis, respectively, and they have developed resistance to several antibiotics worldwide. A set of antimicrobial tests showed that both species had variable antibiotic sensitivity. Alternatively, OA and NIC were always effective in a dose-dependent manner, even when the antibiotics failed. For several strains, selected combinations of OA or NIC with antibiotics increased the bacterial sensitivity to antibiotics. Therefore, OA and NIC have potential to enhance the efficacy of conventional antibiotics against C. perfringens andE. cecorum

Damage models for storage and process equipment involved in flooding events

The present study focuses on the accidents caused by the impact of floods on storage and process equipment. This type of accident is classified as a NaTech (Natural-Technological) event and resulted in severe consequences in several past accidents. A methodology was developed for the determination of vulnerability models aimed at the estimation of equipment damage probability on the basis of severity or intensity parameters of the flooding. A mechanical model was developed, based on the comparison between the flooding intensity and the resistance of a vessel and/or its support. Simplified vulnerability functions were derived. Finally, a case-study was set up and analysed to show the potentialities of the methodology and the implementation of results in quantitative risk analysis. © 2013, AIDIC Servizi S.r.l

Choosing the consolidant for carbonate substrates: Technical performance and environmental sustainability of selected inorganic and organic products

This study aims at providing a dataset for selecting the most suitable consolidant for marble, limestone and lime mortar. Diammonium hydrogen phosphate (DAP), nanolimes (NL), ethyl silicate (ES) and acrylic resin (B72) were compared. Application was performed by brushing in different amounts to investigate the influence of the product consumption. Effectiveness, compatibility, durability and sustainability were evaluated. DAP showed several advantages over the alternative consolidants, in terms of both technical performance and sustainability. ES exhibited high efficacy but also risks of poor compatibility and durability, together with a high global warming potential. NL and B72 provided the least promising results

Microencapsulated sorbic acid and nature-identical compounds reduced Salmonella Hadar and Salmonella Enteritidis colonization in experimentally infected chickens

ABSTRACT The reduction of Salmonella prevalence in broilers is a priority in European Union agricultural policies because treatment with antibiotics is forbidden by Regulation (EC) 2160/2003. Two trials were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of a microencapsulated blend of sorbic acid and nature-identical compounds (i.e., chemically synthesized botanicals; SAB) on the reduction of the cecal prevalence and contents of Salmonella enterica serovars Hadar and Enteritidis in experimentally infected chickens. In the first trial, 125 one-day-old Lohmann specific-pathogen-free chickens were assigned to one of the following treatments: negative control (not challenged and not treated), positive control (challenged and not treated), SAB0.3, SAB1, or SAB5 (challenged and treated with the microencapsulated blend included in the feed at 0.03, 0.1, or 0.5%, respectively). At 30 d of age, birds were infected with 106 cfu of Salmonella Hadar, and after 5, 10, or 20 d postinfection, 5, 10, and 10 birds per treatment, respectively, were killed and the cecal contents and liver and spleen samples were analyzed for Salmonella Hadar. In the second trial, 100 one-day-old Ross 708 chickens were assigned to 1 of 5 treatments: control (not treated), SAB0.3, SAB1, SAB2, or SAB5 (treated with the blend included in the feed at 0.03, 0.1, 0.2, or 0.5%, respectively). At 7 d of age, the birds were challenged with 105 cfu of Salmonella Enteritidis, and after 7, 14, or 24 d after challenge, 5, 5, and 10 birds per treatment, respectively, were killed and cecal contents were analyzed for Salmonella Enteritidis. Results showed that in the early stage of infection Salmonella prevalence was high in both studies, whereas at the end of the observation periods, the blends at 0.03, 0.1, and 0.5 in the challenge with Salmonella Hadar and at 0.2 and 0.5% in the challenge with Salmonella Enteritidis significantly reduced (by 2 log10 cfu) the cecal content of Salmonella. This study showed that intestinal delivery of microencapsulated sorbic acid and nature-identical compounds can result in a 100-fold reduction of Salmonella at the intestinal level in broilers at slaughter age

Molecular characterization of human gastric mucosa by HR-MAS Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

The present study was aimed at identifying themolecular profile characteristic of the healthy humangastric mucosa.Ex vivo HR-MAS magnetic resonance spectroscopy performed at 9.4 Tesla (400.13 MHz for 1H) on gastric specimens collected during endoscopy, permits the identification of more than forty species giving a detailed picture of the biochemical pattern of the gastric tissues. These preliminary data will be used for a comparison with gastric preneoplastic and neoplastic situations. Moreover, the full knowledge of the biochemical pattern of the healthy gastrictissues is the necessary presupposition for the application of magnetic resonance spectroscopy directly in vivo

Ex vivo HR-MAS Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of human gastric adenocarcinomas: A comparison with healthy gastric mucosa

The present study reports the characteristics of the biochemical profile of human gastric adenocarcinoma in comparison with that of healthy gastric mucosa, using ex vivo HR-MAS Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy. Healthy human mucosa is mainly characterized by the presence of small metabolites (more than 50 identified) and macromolecules, whereas the adenocarcinoma spectra are dominated by the presence of signals due to triglycerides, whose content on the contrary is very low in healthy gastric mucosa. The use of spin-echo experiments enable us to detect some metabolites in the unhealthy tissues and to determine their variation with respect to the healthy ones. We have observed that the Cho:ChoCC ratio changes from 20:80 in the healthy tissues to 80:20 in the neoplastic gastric mucosa

Trans-anal irrigation in patients with multiple sclerosis: Efficacy in treating disease-related bowel dysfunctions and impact on the gut microbiota: A monocentric prospective study

Background: Constipation and faecal incontinence are not so uncommon in patients with multiple sclerosis, impairing quality of life. The gut microbiota is altered in multiple sclerosis patients and likely contributes to disease pathogenesis. Trans-anal irrigation has been proven to allow treatment of neurogenic bowel dysfunction and may affect gut microbiota. Objectives: The primary outcome was trans-anal irrigation effectiveness on constipation and faecal incontinence. The secondary outcome was gut microbiota profiling compared to healthy subjects and during trans-anal irrigation adoption. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study on multiple sclerosis patients, screened with Patient Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life questionnaire before undergoing constipation and faecal incontinence scoring, abdomen X-ray for intestinal transit time, compilation of food and evacuation diaries and faecal sample collection for gut microbiota analysis before and after 4 weeks of trans-anal irrigation. Results and Conclusions: Eighty patients were screened of which nearly half had intestinal symptoms. The included population (n = 37) was predominantly composed of women with significantly longer disease duration, higher mean age and disability than the excluded one (p < 0.05). Twelve patients completed the trans-anal irrigation phase, which led to significant improvement of bowel dysfunction symptom-related quality of life, increase in gut microbiota diversity and reduction of the proportions of pro-inflammatory taxa (p < 0.05). Trans-anal irrigation was safe, satisfactory and could help counteract multiple sclerosis-related dysbiosis

Identification of mobile lipids in human cancer tissues by ex vivo diffusion edited HR-MAS MRS

Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy visible mobilelipids are considered important markers in the diagnosis ofhuman cancer and are thought to be closely involved in variousaspects of tumour transformation, such as cell proliferation,necrosis, apoptosis, hypoxia and drug resistance. A methodallowing the straightforward identification of the lipid classescontributing to the mobile lipids in human malignant tissuesis highly advisable. Ex vivo High Resolution Magic AngleSpinning Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy was done directlyon human cerebral, renal and colorectal malignant tissuespecimens. A diffusion edited sequence, based on stimulatedecho and bipolar gradient pulses, was used to characterizemolecules with low diffusion rates, arising from mobile lipidcomponents. Cholesterol, triglycerides and phosphatidylcholineare simultaneously detected and all contribute to the mobilelipid resonances present in malignant glioma and clear cellrenal carcinoma tissue specimens spectra. On the contrary,papillary cell renal carcinoma spectrum is predominated byphosphatidylcholine resonances and that of colorectal adenocarcinoma is characterized by signals arising from triglycerides. Ex vivo diffusion edited High Resolution Magic AngleSpinning Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, done on intacttissue, is a powerful analytical tool to obtain a simple andimmediate identification of mobile lipid components. This can offer a significant contribution to better understanding their involvement in cancer tissues. Furthermore, ex vivo high resolution spectroscopic measurements allow to improve the interpretation of in vivo Magnetic Resonance spectra, increasing its clinical potentiality