Thermophilous fungi isolated from the air at Pavia

Se presentan los resultados de un año de investigación sobre hongos termófilos en el aire de la ciudad de Pavia (Italia).Se detectan ocho especies, las más frecuentes son: Aspergillus fumigatus Fres., Thermomyces lanuginosus, Tsiklinsky, y Rhizomucor pusillus (Lindt) Schipper

Effect of honey and syrup diets enriched with 1,3-1,6 β-glucans on honeybee survival rate and phenoloxidase activity (Apis mellifera l. 1758)

β-glucans can activate the animal innate immune system by acting as immune-modulators and inducing various stimulatory effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of 1,3-1,6 β-glucans administered orally for 96 h on Apis mellifera workers (newly emerged and nurse bees). β-glucans were included in honey and syrup. Survival rate and phenoloxidase activity were measured. In both newly emerged and nurse bees, β-glucans supplementation did not affect survival rate (p > 0.05). Conversely, phenoloxidase activity was higher in both newly emerged bees (p = 0.048) and nurse bees (p = 0.014) fed with a honey diet enriched with β-glucans compared to those fed with only honey. In both the newly emerged and nurse bees, no statistical differences in phenoloxidase activity were recorded between the group fed with a syrup-based diet enriched with β-glucans and the control group (p > 0.05). The absence of significant variation in survival suggests that the potential negative effect of β-glucans in healthy bees could be mitigated by their metabolism. Conversely, the inclusion of β-glucans in a honey-based diet determined an increase of phenoloxidase activity, suggesting that the effect of β-glucan inclusion in the diet of healthy bees on phenoloxidase activity could be linked to the type of base-diet. Further investigations on β-glucans metabolism in bees, on molecular mechanism of phenoloxidase activation by 1,3-1,6 β-glucans, and relative thresholds are desirable. Moreover, investigation on the combined action of honey and β-glucans on phenoloxidase activity are needed

Dietary Supplementation of Hericium erinaceus Increases Mossy Fiber-CA3 Hippocampal Neurotransmission and Recognition Memory in Wild-Type Mice

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

L'umano nell'uomo: Vasilij Grossman tra ideologie e domande eterne

Vasilij Grossman (1905-1964) s'impone solo ora, con il recente successo delle ripubblicazioni in diverse lingue del suo capolavoro postumo Vita e destino, come una delle figure artistiche e filosofiche pi\uf9 interessanti del XX secolo. La dimensione letteraria di Grossman che affonda le radici nella pi\uf9 alta tradizione russa - \ue8 votata ad un realismo classico, aperto all'universale, costantemente teso all'espressione di domande ultime ed eterne che affermano l'uomo e la sua libert\ue0 contro il potere dell'ideologia. L'umano nell'uomo \ue8 questo nucleo originale presente in ogni uomo che impedisce al potere di schiacciare il singolo nella morsa dell'omologazione. Tra i meandri oscuri della storia del Novecento, la risposta di Grossman non \ue8 da intendersi solo in senso intellettuale: \ue8 una strada reale che la letteratura, nella sua bellezza "incarnata", manifesta come possibilit\ue0 aperta all'esperienza di ciascuno. I saggi che compongono questo volume il secondo di studi collettanei su Grossman - rappresentano un passo decisivo verso una conoscenza completa della vita e dell'opera del grande autore russo e ne documentano l'appartenenza ai classici della letteratura di ogni tempo

Session 17 Ecophysiology

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Role of ascorbic acid in polyphenol-oxidase inhibition and browning prevention in different browning-sensitive Lactuca sativa var. capitata (L.) and Eruca sativa (Mill.) stored as fresh-cut produce.

BACKGROUND: Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and, to a minor extent, peroxidase (POD) represent the key enzymes involved in enzymatic browning, a negative process induced by cutting fresh-cut produce such as lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and rocket salad (Eruca sativa). Although ascorbic acid is frequently utilised as an anti-browning agent, its mechanism in the prevention of the browning phenomenon is not clearly understood. RESULTS: The activity of PPO and POD and their isoforms in lettuce (a high-browning and low-ascorbic acid species) and rocket salad (a low-browning and high-ascorbic species) was characterised. The kinetic parameters of PPO and in vitro ascorbic acid-PPO inhibition were also investigated. In rocket salad, PPO activity was much lower than that in lettuce and cutting induced an increase in PPO activity only in lettuce. Exogenous ascorbic acid (5mmolL-1) reduced PPO activity by about 90% in lettuce. POD did not appear to be closely related to browning in lettuce. CONCLUSION: PPO is the main enzyme involved in the browning phenomenon; POD appears to play a minor role. The concentration of endogenous ascorbic acid in rocket salad was related to its low-browning sensitivity after cutting. In lettuce, the addition of ascorbic acid directly inhibited PPO activity. The results suggest that the high ascorbic acid content found in rocket salad plays an effective role in reducing PPO activity