A pilot study of the role of corn dextrin and milk peptides supplementation on faecal microbiota in healthy adults

The gastrointestinal microbiota has an important role in human health. Dietary interventions are of great interest to modulate the composition and metabolic functions of the gut microbial communities and to improve health, and prevent or treat diseases. Consumption of prebiotics is one dietary strategy for beneficial manipulation of the gut microbiota, because it allows increasing the fibre intake, especially in people with western dietary habits, who do not take the recommended daily amount of fiber. Interestingly, milk peptides can also positively affect the beneficial gut microorganisms. The present work is a pilot study aimed to investigate the effect of a prebiotic supplementation on composition and metabolic activity of microorganisms living in the human gut. In this trial, 12 healthy subjects received 10g/die of supplement Biotransit\uae, composed by corn derived dextrin and milk peptides, produced and marketed in Italy by Depofarma (Italy), for 4 weeks with a 2 weeks washout. Outcome measures were assessed at four time points (before the supplementation T0-1, T0-2, at the end of intervention, T30 and after washout, T45), including gut microbiota profiling by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and intestinal functional metabolism measuring faecal Short Chain Fatty Acid concentrations (SCFAs). The effects of the Biotransit supplementation on bifidobacteria were also assessed with culture dependent techniques. Gut microbiota analysis revealed that Biotransit\uae supplementation after 30 days did not exert effects on the overall gut microbiota structure. Although no significant differences on alpha diversity were obtained, we observed an increase of diversity after 30 days of treatment. Beta diversity analysis, calculated on Bray-Curtis distances revealed significant differences comparing T0 vs T45 and T30 vs T45. Interestingly, at T45, we found an enrichment of Porphyromonadaceae. Biotransit\uae induced quantitative changes in cultivable bifidobacteria with increased amount at T45, even if the total number of species has not been influenced. Biotransit\uae supplementation is also associated to an increase total SCFAs concentration in T30 and T45, in particular related to acetate, propionate and butyrate (p < 0.05). Future study will be aimed to follow the time course of the persistence of this effect after the end of treatment

The confinement effect on the activity of Au NPs in polyol oxidation

We demonstrate a confinement effect where gold nanoparticles trapped within N-functionalized carbon nanofibers (N-CNFs) are more active for polyol oxidation and promote selectivity towards di-acid products, whereas AuNPs trapped on the surface produce as a major by-product the one derived from C-C cleavage. The behaviour of NPs confined inside the N-CNF channels can be attributed to a different, possibly multiple, coordination of glycerol on the active site

Multi-imaging investigation to evaluate the relationship between serum cystatin c and features of atherosclerosis in Non-ST-Segment elevation acute coronary syndrome

Objectives: High cystatin C(CysC) levels are associated with impaired cardiovascular outcome. Whether CysC levels are independently related to the atherosclerosis burden is still controversial. Methods: We enrolled 31 non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. Patients were divided into 2 groups on the basis of median value of serum CysC. Using the high CysC group as a dependent variable, univariable and multivariable analyses were used to evaluate the association between CysC and three different features of atherosclerosis: 1) coronary plaque vulnerability as assessed by optical coherence tomography (OCT), 2) coronary artery calcium (CAC) by means of computed tomography scan, and 3) aortic wall metabolic activity, as assessed using 18 F-Fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography ( 18 F-FDG-PET). Results: After univariable and multivariable analyses, 18 F-FDG uptake in the descending aorta (DA) was independently associated with a low level of CysC [(Odds Ratio = 0.02; 95%CI 0.0004-0.89; p = 0.044; 18 F-FDG uptake measured as averaged maximum target to blood ratio); (Odds Ratio = 0.89; 95%CI 0.82-0.98, p = 0.025; 18 F-FDG uptake measured as number of active slices)]. No trend was found for the association between CysC and characteristics of OCT-assessed coronary plaque vulnerability or CAC score. Conclusions: In patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS), 18 F-FDG uptake in the DA was associated with a low level of serum CysC. There was no relation between CysC levels and OCT-assessed coronary plaque vulnerability or CAC score. These findings suggest that high levels of CysC may not be considered as independent markers of atherosclerosis

L'IMPATTO DEL POLIMORFISMO GENETICO IL 28B SUL TRATTAMENTO ANTIVIRALE CON INTERFERONE PEGHILATO E RIBAVIRINA IN PAZIENTI CON EPATITE CRONICA C GENOTIPO 4

Background. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) near the interleukin 28B (IL28B) region are the strongest baseline predictors of a sustained virologic response (SVR) to Peg-Interferon (PegIFN) and Ribavirin (Rbv) in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 infection. Whether this holds true for HCV-4 patients too, is unknown. Aim To investigate the predictive power of the rs12979860 IL28B SNP for a response to Peg-IFN and Rbv in HCV-4 patients. Methods. All HCV-4 patients consecutively treated between September 2004 and June 2010 with PegIFN and Rbv at two liver Centers at the Maggiore Hospital Milan (Italy) underwent TaqMan SNP Genotyping assays for testing rs12979860 genotype. Results. Of 112 treated patients (98 males, 75 of Egyptian descent, 26 with cirrhosis ) 103 were included in the final analysis, since 5 discontinued treatment for non virologic reasons and 4 did not consent to genetic testing. Twenty four (23%) were genotype CC, 65 (63%) CT and 14 (14%) TT. Overall 50 (49%) achieved an SVR, 21 (88%) CC patients vs 29 (37%) CT/TT (p<0.0001). CC patients more often had a rapid virologic response (RVR) than CT/TT patients (12, 50% vs 23, 29% p = 0.08), while also showing lower relapse rates [0% (0/21) vs 36% (16/45) p=0.0013]. In non-RVR patients, SVR rated were higher in CC than CT/TT patients [9(75%) vs. 13(23%)p=0.001]. By logistic regression, the IL28B rs12979860 CC genotype was an independent predictor of SVR with an odds ratio of 11.1 (95% confidence interval 3.04 \u2013 40.57 (p <0.0001). Conclusions. The IL28B rs12979860 SNP may have an added value in the treatment algorithm of HCV-4 patients, since it is the strongest predictor of an SVR to PegIFN/ Rbv therapy

Comparative trials of peginterferon &#945;2a and peginterferon &#945;2b for chronic hepatitis C

Standard of care for patients with chronic hepatitis C is pegylated interferon (pegIFN) combined with ribavirin (Rbv). It results in persistent viral eradication and prevents the progression of liver disease and the associated complications in about 50% of treated patients. Currently, two PegIFNs are available that differ significantly in terms of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles as a consequence of different pegylation chemistries. While the registration trials of the two therapeutic regimens demonstrated the superiority of each PegIFN vs the native IFN \u3b12b, the superiority of one regimen over the other in terms of treatment efficacy remains unknown. Retrospective cohort studies and randomized prospective head-to-head trials have attempted to resolve the considerable controversy over this issue and support evidence-based treatment decision

Selective oxidation of glycerol under acidic conditions using gold catalysts

Herein, we report progress towards eliminating the need for a base while maintaining high activity and selectivity for the aqueous-phase oxidation of glycerol.We have discovered that by using the right alloy nanoparticle and support material, we are able to prepare an active and durable catalyst that is highly selective towards the formation of oxidized C3 molecules from glycerol under acidic conditions. This discovery is significant because previous investigations of Pd and Pt catalysts at pH 2\u20134 reported that the main products derived from these catalysts under acidic conditions are C1 and C2 molecules produced from C C bond scissio

Bismuth as a modifier of Au\u2013Pd catalyst : enhancing selectivity in alcohol oxidation by suppressing parallel reaction

Bi has been widely employed as a modifier for Pd and Pt based catalyst mainly in order to improve selectivity. We found that when Bi was added to the bimetallic system AuPd, the effect on activity in alcohol oxidation mainly depends on the amount of Bi regardless its position, being negligible when Bi was 0.1 wt% and detectably negative when the amount was increased to 3 wt%. However, the selectivity of the reactions notably varied only when Bi was deposited on the surface of metal nanoparticles suppressing parallel reaction in both benzyl alcohol and glycerol oxidation. After a careful characterization of all the catalysts and additional catalytic tests, we concluded that the Bi influence on the activity of the catalysts could be ascribed to electronic effect whereas the one on selectivity mainly to a geometric modification. moreover, the Bi-modified AuPd/AC catalyst showed possible application in the production of tartronic acid, a useful intermediate, from glycerol