Micotossine: prevenire è molto, molto meglio che curare

Food contamination with fungal secondary metabolites has been a major limit for population wellness and development in the past. Although today social protection against this plague has been established in most countries, there are still many areas in the world where mycotoxin contamination causes illness and even death, due to the lack of healthy conditions for the storage of commodities. Information and knowledge are the main weapons available to contrast the danger of food contamination by mycotoxins. In several instances, information about the severity of the issue alone would have been effective in preventing cases of acute intoxications. Prevention is the winning strategy not only at the level of the end consumer, but also as far as the production is concerned. Thanks to the advances in the understanding of fungal epidemiology and mycotoxin synthesis, strategies for the prevention or at least for the limitation of mycotoxin contaminations have been developed in recent years. As far as cereal production in Italy is concerned, proper storage conditions are now widely adopted, and protocols for good practice in cultivation are being followed by an increasing number of producers. In addition, rapid methods for the early detection of contaminants and quality assessment have been developed and, when introduced in the routine field operation, may lead to substantial improvements of product quality

Electronic nose predicts high and low fumonisin contamination in maize cultures

The ability of an electronic nose, based on a 6 metal oxide semiconductor chemical sensors array, to diagnose fungal contamination, to detect high fumonisin content and to predict fumonisin concentration was evaluated in vitro. Maize cultures were inoculated with Fusarium verticillioides, F. proliferatum, F. oxysporum, F. semitectum, F. solani and F. subglutinans. Sterilised maize cultures were used as reference. Fungal colonies and fumonisin content of the maize samples were used as covariates for statistical analyses and for electronic nose training. Univariate and multivariate exploratory data analysis showed that the electronic nose discriminated the inoculated maize culture samples according to their fumonisin content. Partial Least Square was also implemented to build a multivariate regression model based on EN signals for quantitative fumonisin prediction. The EN could correctly recognize high and low fumonisin content of maize cultures and provide a fair quantitative estimation. The validity of EN technology to perform a rapid screening of maize cultures in order to identify levels of fumonisin contamination below the acceptability threshold was established. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Nanostructured metal oxide gas sensors, a survey of applications carried out at SENSOR lab, brescia (Italy) in the security and food quality fields

8partially_openopenPonzoni A. ; Comini E. ; Concina I. ; Ferroni M. ; Falasconi M. ; Gobbi E.; Sberveglieri V. ; Sberveglieri G.Ponzoni, Andrea; Comini, Elisabetta; Concina, Isabella; Ferroni, Matteo; Falasconi, Matteo; Gobbi, Emanuela; Sberveglieri, V.; Sberveglieri, Giorgi

Solid-State Fermentation of Trichoderma spp.: A New Way to Valorize the Agricultural Digestate and Produce Value-Added Bioproducts

In this study, the agricultural digestate from anaerobic biogas production mixed with food wastes was used as a substrate to grow Trichoderma reesei RUT-C30 and Trichoderma atroviride Ta13 in solid-state fermentation (SSF) and produce high-value bioproducts, such as bioactive molecules to be used as ingredients for biostimulants. The Trichoderma spp. reached their maximum growth after 6 and 3 SSF days, respectively. Both Trichoderma species were able to produce cellulase, esterase, and citric and malic acids, while T. atroviride also produced gibberellins and oxylipins as shown by ultraperformance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS) profiling. Experimental evaluation of germination parameters highlighted a significant promotion of tomato seed germination and root elongation induced by T. atroviride crude extracts from SSF. This study suggests an innovative sustainable use of the whole digestate mixed with agro-food waste as a valuable substrate in fungal biorefineries. Here, it has been applied to produce plant growth-promoting fungi and bioactive molecules for sustainable agriculture

Correlation of disability with quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis treated with natalizumab: primary results and post hoc analysis of the TYSabri ImPROvement study (PROTYS).

BACKGROUND In patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), relapses and disability progression have been associated with decreased health-related quality of life (HRQoL). METHODS PROTYS, a prospective, multicentre, single-arm, observational study in seven Swiss MS centres, evaluated correlations between change in disability status (measured through the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS)) and HRQoL changes (measured through the global Multiple Sclerosis International Quality of Life (MusiQoL) index questionnaire) in 35 patients with relapsing remitting MS on natalizumab for 1 year. In addition, several other scales were also used, such as: Multiple Sclerosis Intimacy and Sexuality Questionnaire-19, EuroQoL-5 Dimension, and Fatigue Scale of Motor and Cognitive Function. A post hoc analysis further assessed the association between HRQoL changes after 1 year and the MusiQoL subscores and other patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures. RESULTS At 1 year, patients were categorised into 'EDSS improved' (6/35), 'EDSS stable' (28/35) and 'EDSS worsened' (1/35). Mean disability scores decreased for 'EDSS improved' and 'EDSS stable' but increased for 'EDSS worsened'. Mean MusiQoL index score for 'EDSS improved' increased from 61.2 at baseline to 66.3 at 1 year, while the 'EDSS stable' group increased from 67.9 to 70.8. No meaningful statistical relationship was observed between EDSS group and changes in MusiQoL score. For the post hoc analysis, patients were categorised in 'MusiQoL improved' (n=21) and 'MusiQoL worsened' (n=14) groups. MusiQoL subscores for 'symptoms,' 'psychological well-being' and 'activities of daily living', as well as scores for several related PRO measures, correlated with improvement of the MusiQoL global index. There was no correlation between the changes in MusiQoL global index and EDSS score. CONCLUSIONS Natalizumab treatment for 1 year resulted in either improved or stable EDSS status in most patients, and although no significant relationship was observed between global HRQoL change and EDSS change, several domains of HRQoL seemed to improve with natalizumab treatment. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER NCT02386566

UVC-Mirror for effective pathogens inactivation in air ducts

Improving the air quality of indoor environments (IAQ) is of utmost importance to safeguard public health as people spend about 80–90% of their time indoor. Efficient Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) system represents a strategic and sustainable solution to protect from recurrent and new airborne pathogens. Here, we present a new approach to design highly efficient UVGI systems, which can be installed in existing Air Treatment Units (ATU) plants with minimal effort. The increased efficiency relies on the concept of an optical cavity, thanks to its shape and source position. The internal volume consists of a highly reflective cavity illuminated with UV-C lamps. Optical simulations permitted the variation of the parameters to maximize the internal irradiance and, thus, the performance. The sanitation efficacy of the system was assessed on a full-scale pilot system. Tests were carried out under normal operating conditions against various microorganisms showed an inactivation rate of > 99%. The benefits of such systems are triple and encompass economic, environmental, and societal aspects. Since the system requires little energy to operate, its application for air disinfection may yield significant energy savings and ensure a balance between energy sustainability and good IAQ

Clinical phenotype and outcome of hepatitis E virus - associated neuralgic amyotrophy

Objective: To determine the clinical phenotype and outcome in hepatitis E virus–associated neuralgic amyotrophy (HEV-NA). Methods: Cases of NA were identified in 11 centers from 7 European countries, with retrospective analysis of demographics, clinical/laboratory findings, and treatment and outcome. Cases of HEV-NA were compared with NA cases without evidence of HEV infection. Results: Fifty-seven cases of HEV-NA and 61 NA cases without HEV were studied. Fifty-six of 57 HEV-NA cases were anti-HEV IgM positive; 53/57 were IgG positive. In 38 cases, HEV RNA was recovered from the serum and in 1 from the CSF (all genotype 3). Fifty-one of 57 HEV-NA cases were anicteric; median alanine aminotransferase 259 IU/L (range 12–2,961 IU/L); in 6 cases, liver function tests were normal. HEV-NA cases were more likely to have bilateral involvement (80.0% vs 8.6%, p < 0.001), damage outside the brachial plexus (58.5% vs 10.5%, p < 0.01), including phrenic nerve and lumbosacral plexus injury (25.0% vs 3.5%, p = 0.01, and 26.4% vs 7.0%, p = 0.001), reduced reflexes (p = 0.03), sensory symptoms (p = 0.04) with more extensive damage to the brachial plexus. There was no difference in outcome between the 2 groups at 12 months. Conclusions: Patients with HEV-NA are usually anicteric and have a distinct clinical phenotype, with predominately bilateral asymmetrical involvement of, and more extensive damage to, the brachial plexus. Involvement outside the brachial plexus is more common in HEV-NA. The relationship between HEV and NA is likely to be causal, but is easily overlooked. Patients presenting with NA should be tested for HEV, irrespective of liver function test results. Prospective treatment/outcome studies of HEV-NA are warranted