Household’s Consumer Behaviour: Economic Recession and Quality of Institution. The case of Italy

The recent crisis saw the Italian household cutting consumption spending reshaping expenses behaviours. In this respect the role of macroeconomic fac- tors like institutions has received poor theoretical treatment and is scarcely proven. Based on the Istat Household Budgetary Survey, this paper focuses on the effects of crisis on selected consumption items (energy; healthcare; leisure; travels; eating out) controlling for micro and macro factors, such the Institutional-Quality-Index (IQI) and the regional GDP. IQI emerge as cru- cial in determining household healthcare expenses before the recession: where the local endowment of institutional quality is higher, the private expenses for medical/dental care, pharmaceuticals and diagnostic tests, significantly decrease. The higher the quality of institutional quality, and then of pub- lic health services, the lower the private expenditure. The recession resets the impact of IQI and increases the positive correlation with strictly microe- conomic variables such as income, wealth and the number of household’s earners

Influence of Sport Practice and Body Weight on Physical Fitness in Schoolchildren Living in the Campania Region

Background: Physical fitness (PF) levels correlate with health hallmarks at all ages. In this study, w aimed to determine the PF level of schoolchildren from the Campania Region (Italy) through health-related PF (HRPF) components, taking into account body weight and sport practice (SP). Methods: PF level was determined in 565 schoolchildren aged 10-13 (11.7 +/- 1.0 yrs; m: 353, f: 212) using some of the Eurofit battery tests. Results: 77% children practiced sport, boys more than girls (86% vs. 63%, respectively; p < 0.05). Boys performed better than girls (p < 0.05) in the Plate Tapping, Standing Broad Jump, Bent-Arm Hang, and 10 x 5 m Shuttle Run tests; girls performed better in the Sit-and-Reach Test (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Overweight/obese status negatively affects the muscular strength of lower limbs, even if it progressively improves during growth. SP was revealed to be a determinant in performance only in some PF tests, likely due to the heterogeneous training level among boys and girls who practice sport

Microbiological and 16S rRNA analysis of sulphite-reducing clostridia from river sediments in central Italy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Microbiological indicators are commonly used in the assessment of public health risks associated with fecal contamination of freshwater ecosystems. Sediments are a reservoir of microorganisms, and can thus provide information on past pollution events, not obtainable through the testing of surface water. Moreover, pathogens present in sediment may represent future threats to human health. <it>Clostridium perfringens</it>, a typical colonizer of sediments, has been suggested as an alternative indicator of fecal pollution. In order to be suitable for such purpose, the microorganism should be widely distributed in contaminated environments. The objective of this study was thus to determine the composition of the anaerobic community in sediment samples of the lower Tiber basin, in central Italy, through a combined approach involving granulometric analysis of sediment samples, as well as a microbiological and molecular (16S rRNA) analysis of strains.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Granulometry showed a similar, clayey sediment composition, in most sampling sites. The microbiological method, employing, an adaptation of the standard method, proved to be effective in isolating anaerobic bacteria from the environmental matrix for the purpose of genetic analysis. Eighty-three strains of bacteria were isolated and the partial 16S rRNA gene sequenced. While biochemical analysis detected only <it>C. perfringens </it>strains, phylogenetic analysis indicated the presence of three clusters: <it>C. perfringens, C. bifermentans </it>and <it>B. cereus</it>, comprising eight taxa. <it>C. perfringens</it>, the commonest in almost all sediment sampling sites, was present in all sites, and in both seasons (seasonal sampling was carried out only along the Tiber and Aniene rivers). None of the described genetic profiles showed complete similarity with GenBank sequences.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The study underlines the value of <it>C. perfringens </it>as an alternative microbial indicator of fecal contamination in river sediments. This is supported by the bacterium's presence in all sampling sites, and in both seasons, coupled with its detectability using commercial diagnostic kits.</p> <p>The study also illustrates the presence of an anaerobic community of considerable biodiversity in the lower Tiber basin, with <it>C. perfringens </it>as its main component. The 16S rRNA analysis, while confirming the phylogenetic relationships among isolated species, also showed haplotype patterns different from those present in the NCBI database.</p

cAMP and Pyk2 interact to regulate prostate cell proliferation and function.

In cultured prostate cancer cells cAMP blocks proliferation and induces neuroendocrine differentiation. Pyk2 expression inversely correlates with malignancy of prostate cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the interaction between cAMP and Pyk2 in the prostate. EPN cells, a line derived from human normal prostate expressing Pyk2, and EPN-PKM3 cells, an EPN clone bearing a Pyk2 kinase-negative mutant, were adopted as model system. cAMP inhibited cell growth in both prostate cell lines, and activated Pyk2, but not ERK1/2, in EPN cells. cAMP treatment, abolished the activation of AKT1, an important component of the pro-survival pathway, in the EPN cells but not in EPN-PKM3 cells. Finally, upon cAMP treatment, EPN and EPN-PKM3 cells exhibited different expression patterns of HOX genes, an important network controlling cell identity. These data demonstrated for the first time that Pyk2 and cAMP interact in regulating prostate cell functions and in "keeping" prostate identity

Case Report: Concurrent Resistance and Aerobic Training Regulate Adiponectin Expression and Disease Severity in Multiple Sclerosis: A Case Study

Adapted exercise is an effective non-pharmacological tool to improve functional, cognitive, and psychological parameters in multiple sclerosis (MS), in association with increased quality of life (QoL) and decreased disease severity. Adipose tissue, through the production of different adipokines, is involved in regulating energy metabolism and inflammation. Adiponectin, increased in MS, circulates as oligomers of low (LMW), medium (MMW), and high molecular weight (HMW), the latter mediating the main biological effects. The aim of study was to evaluate the effects of 4 months training at moderate intensity [65% heart rate reserve (HRR)] on BMI, adiponectin, and QoL in a volunteer with secondary progressive MS. The parameters were evaluated before (T0), after 4 months training (T1), and 6 months after the end of training (T2); total serum adiponectin and its oligomeric profile were evaluated. We found a reduction in BMI (-0.9%) and FAT (-2.6%), an improvement in perceived QoL and a reduced expression of total adiponectin and HMW oligomers together with decreased MS disability level at T1 measured by EDSS. Despite the limitations of a case study, this represent a starting point to understand the influence of exercise in MS and the relationship with adiponectin expression

The cut-off value for classifying active Italian children using the corresponding national version of the physical activity questionnaire

The present study aimed to determine a cut-off value following the filling in of a questionnaire (PAQ-C-It) to identify active Italian children. One-hundred-twenty-nine primary school children (5 Piedmont schools; 47.3% female; mean age = 10 ± 1 years) wore an accelerometer (Actigraph wGT3X-BT) to objectively quantify individual moderate-to-vigorous physical activity during one week. Afterwards, the PAQ-C-It was filled in by participants. A ROC curve procedure was applied to obtain an active/non-active cut-off point. Spearman's correlation coefficient was also applied to establish the relationship between the two parameters. According to the ROC analysis, the PAQ-C-It cut-off point value is identifiable at &gt;2.75 to indicate active children (area under the curve = 0.62; standard error = 0.05; p = 0.025; coefficient intervals = 0.518-0.716; sensitivity = 0.592, specificity = 0.382), determining that 65 participants (55%) were non-active (mean PAQ-C-It value = 2.3 ± 0.4; active mean PAQ-C-It value = 3.3 ± 0.4). Spearman's correlation coefficient results were significant but with a small effect size (rho = 0.214; p = 0.008). In conclusion, the present results suggest that the PAQ-C-It can be cautiously used as tool to practically classify active Italian children because of a non-solid relationship between respective accelerometer data and MVPA daily data

Impact of active lifestyle on the primary school children saliva microbiota composition

Unlabelled: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of Active or Sedentary lifestyle on saliva microbiota composition in Italian schoolchildren. Methods: Male (114) and female children (8-10 years) belonging to five primary schools in the neighborhoods of Turin were classified as active (A) or sedentary (S) based on PAQ-C-It questionnaire. PCR amplification of salivary DNA targeted the hypervariable V3-V4 regions of the 16S rRNA bacterial genes. DADA2 workflow was used to infer the Amplicon Sequence Variants and the taxonomic assignments; the beta-diversity was obtained by PCoA with the UniFrac method; LEfSe algorithm, threshold at 5%, and Log LDA cutoff at ±0.5 were used to identify differently abundant species in A compared to S saliva sample. Daily food intake was assessed by 3-Days food record. The metabolic potential of microbial communities was assessed by PICRUSt. Results: No significant differences were found in individual's gender distribution (p = 0.411), anthropometry, BMI (p &gt; 0.05), and all diet composition between A and S groups (p &gt; 0.05). Eight species were differently abundant: Prevotella nigrescens (LDA score = -3.76; FDR = 1.5×10-03), Collinsella aerofaciens (LDA score = -3.17; FDR = 7.45×10-03), Simonsiella muelleri (LDA score = -2.96; FDR = 2.76×10-05), Parabacteroides merdae (LDA score = -2.43; FDR = 1.3×10-02) are enriched in the A group; Gemella parahaemolysans, Prevotella aurantiaca (LDA score = -3.9; FDR = 5.27×10-04), Prevotella pallens (LDA score = 4.23; FDR = 1.93×10-02), Neisseria mucosa (LDA score = 4.43; FDR = 1.31×10-02; LDA score = 2.94; FDR = 7.45×10-03) are enriched in the S group. A prevalence of superpathway of fatty acid biosynthesis initiation (E. coli) and catechol degradation II (meta-cleavage pathway) was found in saliva from A compared to S children. Conclusion: Our results showed that active children had an enrichment of species and genera mainly associated with a healthier profile. By contrast, the genera and the species enriched in the sedentary group could be linked to human diseases

Thermotolerant Campylobacter spp. in chicken and bovine meat in Italy: Prevalence, level of contamination and molecular characterization of isolates

Campylobacter species are common foodborne pathogens associated with cases of human gastroenteritis worldwide. A detailed understanding of the prevalence, contamination levels and molecular characteristics of Campylobacter spp. in cattle and chicken, which are likely the most important sources of human contamination, is imperative. A collection of 1243 poultry meat samples (665 chicken breasts and 578 chicken thighs) and 1203 bovine meat samples (689 hamburgers and 514 knife-cut meat preparations) were collected at retail outlets, in randomly selected supermarkets located in different Italian regions during one year. Of these samples, 17.38% of the poultry meat and 0.58% of the bovine meat samples tested positive for Campylobacter, of which 131 were Campylobacter jejuni (57.96%) and 95 were Campylobacter coli (42.03%). Campylobacter isolates were genotyped with the aim of assessing the genetic diversity, population structure, source distribution and Campylobacter transmission route to humans. All isolates were molecularly characterized by pulse field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and further genotyped using multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and fla-SVR sequencing to gain better insight into the population structure. Antibiotic resistance was also investigate. The highest levels of resistance among chicken strains were observed for ciprofloxacin (88.25%), nalidixic acid (81.45%) and tetracycline (75.6%). PFGE analysis revealed 73 pulsotypes for C. jejuni and 54 pulsotypes for C. coli, demonstrating the existance of different and specific clones circulating in Italy. MLST of C.jejuni isolates mainly clustered in the CC353, CC354, CC21, CC206 and CC443; while C.coli isolates clustered only in CC828. The most common flaA alleles were 287 for C. jejuni and 66 for C. coli. Our study confirms that poultry meat is the main source of Campylobacteriosis, whereas red meat had a low level of contamination suggesting a minor role in transmission. The high presence of Campylobacter in retail chicken meat, paired with its increased resistance to antimicrobials with several multidrug resistance profiles detected, is alarming and represents a persistent threat to public health

Cerebrospinal fluid, brain, and spinal cord levels of L-aspartate signal excitatory neurotransmission abnormalities in multiple sclerosis patients and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis mouse model

The neuroinflammatory process characterizing multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with changes in excitatory synaptic transmission and altered central concentrations of the primary excitatory amino acid, L-glutamate (L-Glu). Recent findings report that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of L-Glu positively correlate with pro-inflammatory cytokines in MS patients. However, to date, there is no evidence about the relationship between the other primary excitatory amino acid, L-aspartate (L-Asp), its derivative D-enantiomer, D-aspartate, and the levels of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in the CSF of MS. In the present study, we measured by HPLC the levels of these amino acids in the cortex, hippocampus, cerebellum, and spinal cord of mice affected by experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Interestingly, in support of glutamatergic neurotransmission abnormalities in neuroinflammatory conditions, we showed reduced L-Asp levels in the cortex and spinal cord of EAE mice and increased D-aspartate/total aspartate ratio within the cerebellum and spinal cord of these animals. Additionally, we found significantly decreased CSF levels of L-Asp in both relapsing-remitting (n = 157) MS (RR-MS) and secondary progressive/primary progressive (n = 22) (SP/PP-MS) patients, compared to control subjects with other neurological diseases (n = 40). Importantly, in RR-MS patients, L-Asp levels were correlated with the CSF concentrations of the inflammatory biomarkers G-CSF, IL-1ra, MIP-1β, and Eotaxin, indicating that the central content of this excitatory amino acid, as previously reported for L-Glu, reflects a neuroinflammatory environment in MS. In keeping with this, we revealed that CSF L-Asp levels were positively correlated with those of L-Glu, highlighting the convergent variation of these two excitatory amino acids under inflammatory synaptopathy occurring in MS