Dietary Supplementation of Hericium erinaceus

Hericium erinaceus (Bull.) Pers. is a medicinal mushroom capable of inducing a large number of modulatory effects on human physiology ranging from the strengthening of the immune system to the improvement of cognitive functions. In mice, dietary supplementation with H. erinaceus prevents the impairment of spatial short-term and visual recognition memory in an Alzheimer model. Intriguingly other neurobiological effects have recently been reported like the effect on neurite outgrowth and differentiation in PC12 cells. Until now no investigations have been conducted to assess the impact of this dietary supplementation on brain function in healthy subjects. Therefore, we have faced the problem by considering the effect on cognitive skills and on hippocampal neurotransmission in wild-type mice. In wild-type mice the oral supplementation with H. erinaceus induces, in behaviour test, a significant improvement in the recognition memory and, in hippocampal slices, an increase in spontaneous and evoked excitatory synaptic current in mossy fiber-CA3 synapse. In conclusion, we have produced a series of findings in support of the concept that H. erinaceus induces a boost effect onto neuronal functions also in nonpathological conditions

Antifungal activity of pH and plant extract active ingredients in feminine intimate cleansers

Many products for feminine intimate hygiene are available, all with different formulations. These detergents can have microbiological and pharmacological activity, which should be supported by scientific evidence. This study compared the effect on Candida spp. of commercially available cleansers indicated for feminine hygiene, at acid and alkaline pH, with or without active ingredients from plant extracts. The anti-mycological activity of four products was evaluated in 40 strains of Candida spp. isolated from women with vaginitis and in two strains of Candida spp. from the American Type Culture Collection. Three products were formulated at alkaline pH and one at acid pH (SA = Saugella Attiva). Thymol was an ingredient in the acidic cleanser (SA) and in one of the alkaline cleansers. The inhibition halo and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the products were determined using a double-blind design. The diameters of the inhibition halos against Candida growth induced by the different cleansers showed an overall statistically significant difference among the products (p < 0.001 on ANOVA), with a significantly higher inhibition of Candida by SA versus the other cleansers. The MIC values observed were highly variable with no significant difference among the four products. Detergents for feminine intimate hygiene should have effective formulations for maintaining genital health and preventing bacterial and fungal contamination. The data here presented suggest that components derived from plant extracts with antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory action, such as thymol, which have been shown to be effective independently of the pH of the detergent, should be preferred. Secondly, the detergents should be formulated at acid pH, which has been proven to be more active than alkaline pH in Candida infections. It is recommended that doctors and pharmacists direct the choice in feminine hygiene towards cleansers with an acid pH and the presence of antimicrobial active ingredients

MULTIDISCIPLINARY STUDIES ON THE RICE BLAST PATHOGEN MAGNAPORTHE GRISEA IN ITALY

The devastating rice blast disease caused by Magnaporthe grisea has never been eliminated from a region in which the crop is grown. In temperate areas, Italy included, it can cause marginal losses (2012 and 2013) as well as devastating outbreaks (2008). Even if the Oryza sativa - M. grisea pathosystem has become a model for understanding the molecular basis of plant-fungal interactions, practical answers to some key questions regarding it still have not been found. Thanks to two Italian National projects, RISINNOVA and POLORISO, knowledge concerning the pathogen and the prevention of the disease has been improved. A third Project, “Fight to Blast” (2009), by the Vercelli Province, allows the continuous bio-monitoring, from June to August, of an about 110.000 ha production area. This results in a disease-forecast free-service: a real time bulletin based on 4 risk levels, from “0 - no risk of blast” to “3 - high risk” (resistant rice varieties and/or unfavourable to blast field management included). Those projects are focused on: 1) phytosanitary evaluation of both experimental and cultivated plants; 2) collection of the M. grisea Italian population; 3) aerosporological monitoring of M. grisea spores; 4) optimization of a model (SiRBInt - Simulation of Rice-Blast Interaction), created for temperate rice growing areas. Results confirm that M. grisea is a pathogen able to change in relation to geographical, environmental and agronomical factors. The collection of the pathogen could be a reference point for the international scientific community involved in rice plant protection and improvement

The Church of Madonna del Carmine in Melpignano (Lecce): From Diagnostics to the Restoration Project

The paper report the analysis on the microbial colonization of different samples taken from the façade and from the walls of the nave, of the Church of Madonna del Carmine in Melpignano (Lecce, Italy). These informations allowed an improving of the results of a previous analysis based on morphological observation of patina. Tthe identification of microorganisms with the assessment of their prevalence allows the planning of restoration interventions, with particular attention to set up unfavourable environmental conditions, in order to control the growth of microorganisms

Candidemia: species involved, virulence factors and antimycotic susceptibility.

We investigate the characteristics of the Candida species involved in BSI episodes in our Institute, their phospholipase and protease activity and the susceptibility pattern towards the main antifungal agents currently available. From January 2009 to December 2010 we documented a total of 59 episodes of candidemia. The incidence of candidemia was 32% in General Surgery, 22% in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 13% in Oncology and 10% in Gastroenterology. C. albicans was the most common species (32 cases=48%), followed by C. glabrata (17 cases=26%) and C. parapsilosis (12 cases=18%), a significant production of phospholipase in all strains of C. albicans was detected. Among Candida non-albicans species, the production of this enzyme only occurred in 1/12 strains of C. parapsilosis. The expression acid protease production was detected in 48% of C. albicans and no strains of Candida non-albicans. All species of Candida were susceptible to amphotericin B. The rate of susceptibility to fluconazole was 100% for albicans and C. parapsilosis. Decreased susceptibility to fluconazole was mostly seen with C. glabrata, which was 76.5% susceptible in a dose-dependent manner. The echinocandins showed a good performance for C. albicans, and maintained a good MIC distribution in C. glabra