The spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Analysis of water sources and “ready to eat” salads

openAntibiotic resistance is becoming a major concern for human health. Several studies have shown that antibiotic resistant bacteria can be found in the environment, where aquatic ecosystems act as a reservoir as well as food products, such as ready to eat foods, milk, and meat products. This project aims to assess the presence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in water sources in both Norway and Italy, and in ready to eat salads. Between March and June 2022, a total of 7 water sources were sampled. Five of them were sampled in Norway, of these four were sampled in Ås and 1 in Ullesvang municipalities. The 2 water samples from Italy were obtained in two different municipalities of the province of Vicenza (Marostica and Pojana Maggiore). In June, 3 samples of ready to eat salads were sampled in three different Norwegian supermarkets in Ås. From both water and salad samples, a total of 26 different bacteria were isolated (nwater = 20; nsalad = 6) using two different selective media, extended spectrum β-lactamase agar and carbapenem resistant Enterobacteriaceae agar and later identified by 16s rDNA sequencing. The bacteria were tested for the presence of 12 commonly known genes for antibiotic resistance through PCR. None of the samples showed the presence these genes. Sixteen samples (nwater = 14; nsalad = 2) were subjected to Minimum Inhibitory Concentration test for 7 different classes of antibiotic for a total of 9 antibiotics (ampicillin, amoxicillin, penicillin G, cefepime, cefotaxime, meropenem, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, and tetracycline). Ten samples were found to be multi-drug resistant (nwater = 9; nsalad = 1), 4 of which were part of the Pseudomonas non aeruginosa group, 1 was part of the Acinetobacter group, and 5 were part of the non-specie related group. Four samples were subjected to full genome sequencing using Illumina Miseq. Results show the presence of a β-lactamase (OXA-334) but also novel genes (CpxR and MexB) that code for efflux pumps that can effectively remove various classes of antibiotics including carbapenems. Two samples also show the presence of several novel virulence factors, closely related to the ones found in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.Antibiotic resistance is becoming a major concern for human health. Several studies have shown that antibiotic resistant bacteria can be found in the environment, where aquatic ecosystems act as a reservoir as well as food products, such as ready to eat foods, milk, and meat products. This project aims to assess the presence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in water sources in both Norway and Italy, and in ready to eat salads. Between March and June 2022, a total of 7 water sources were sampled. Five of them were sampled in Norway, of these four were sampled in Ås and 1 in Ullesvang municipalities. The 2 water samples from Italy were obtained in two different municipalities of the province of Vicenza (Marostica and Pojana Maggiore). In June, 3 samples of ready to eat salads were sampled in three different Norwegian supermarkets in Ås. From both water and salad samples, a total of 26 different bacteria were isolated (nwater = 20; nsalad = 6) using two different selective media, extended spectrum β-lactamase agar and carbapenem resistant Enterobacteriaceae agar and later identified by 16s rDNA sequencing. The bacteria were tested for the presence of 12 commonly known genes for antibiotic resistance through PCR. None of the samples showed the presence these genes. Sixteen samples (nwater = 14; nsalad = 2) were subjected to Minimum Inhibitory Concentration test for 7 different classes of antibiotic for a total of 9 antibiotics (ampicillin, amoxicillin, penicillin G, cefepime, cefotaxime, meropenem, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, and tetracycline). Ten samples were found to be multi-drug resistant (nwater = 9; nsalad = 1), 4 of which were part of the Pseudomonas non aeruginosa group, 1 was part of the Acinetobacter group, and 5 were part of the non-specie related group. Four samples were subjected to full genome sequencing using Illumina Miseq. Results show the presence of a β-lactamase (OXA-334) but also novel genes (CpxR and MexB) that code for efflux pumps that can effectively remove various classes of antibiotics including carbapenems. Two samples also show the presence of several novel virulence factors, closely related to the ones found in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The impact of airport competition on technical efficiency: A Stochastic Frontier Analysis applied to Italian airports

We investigate how the intensity of competition among airports affects their technical efficiency by computing airports’ markets on the basis of a potential demand approach. We find that the intensity of competition has a negative impact on airports’ efficiency in Italy during the 2005–2008 period. This implies that airports belonging to a local air transportation system where competition is strong exploit their inputs less intensively than do airports with local monopoly power. Furthermore, we find that public airports are more efficient than private and mixed ones. Since public airports take into account the positive externalities created by air transportation in the local economy, they are more willing to subsidize airlines in developing the airports’ connections. Hence, policy makers should provide incentives to implement airports’ specialization in local systems where competition is strong. Moreover, when regulating airport charges, they should take into account the impact of the above externalities.Airport efficiency; stochastic distance function; airport competition

The insidious return of Cholera in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, Lebanon and Syria: a worrying signal! Past, present, and future forthcoming

Introduction War, hunger, and disease continue to decimate the populations of many countries in the world. Owing to conflicts, environmental instability and natural disasters, many people, especially the poorest, fall victim to epidemic diseases. One such disease, cholera, began to spread again in 2022, striking Lebanon and Syria, countries that have experienced serious social troubles for years. The return of cholera immediately alarmed the scientific community, which is now making every effort, most notably by implementing a major vaccination campaign, to prevent this disease from becoming endemic in these two countries, thus making them a reservoir for its potential spread in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Discussion Cholera is a disease that draws its strength from poor hygiene, primitive sanitation and the consumption of contaminated water and food. From the 19th century onwards, its spread was facilitated by overcrowded housing and lack of hygiene, which became commonplace features of urban life.  Method In outlining the spread of cholera in Lebanon and Syria, the authors raise the question of the possible resurgence of epidemic cholera, especially in the light of the consequences of the devastating earthquake that hit the border area between Turkey and Syria last February.  Conclusion These events have had a devastating effect on the population, destroying, among other things, the few existing health facilities and aggravating the already difficult living conditions of millions of people who, owing to the ongoing war, have been living for years in makeshift settlements, bereft of water, sanitation and any form of health care

Technical Debt Prioritization: State of the Art. A Systematic Literature Review

Background. Software companies need to manage and refactor Technical Debt issues. Therefore, it is necessary to understand if and when refactoring Technical Debt should be prioritized with respect to developing features or fixing bugs. Objective. The goal of this study is to investigate the existing body of knowledge in software engineering to understand what Technical Debt prioritization approaches have been proposed in research and industry. Method. We conducted a Systematic Literature Review among 384 unique papers published until 2018, following a consolidated methodology applied in Software Engineering. We included 38 primary studies. Results. Different approaches have been proposed for Technical Debt prioritization, all having different goals and optimizing on different criteria. The proposed measures capture only a small part of the plethora of factors used to prioritize Technical Debt qualitatively in practice. We report an impact map of such factors. However, there is a lack of empirical and validated set of tools. Conclusion. We observed that technical Debt prioritization research is preliminary and there is no consensus on what are the important factors and how to measure them. Consequently, we cannot consider current research conclusive and in this paper, we outline different directions for necessary future investigations

Market power and profits distribution in the air transportation vertical channel

We analyze the air transportation vertical channel and show the existence of an asymmetric distribution of profit margins between airlines and the firms operating in upstream stages. Higher margins are observed for leasing companies, engine manufacturers and GDS, while airlines exhibit a very low profitability. Two factors may explain this asymmetry: (1) in some stages of the value chain some firms (e.g. airlines and handling companies) have a low countervailing power both when acting as a buyer and as a seller, and (2) the liberalization policy implemented in the air transport sector so far is incomplete. The latter has increased the intensity of competition in some stages (e.g. airlines and handling companies), but has not faced and reduced the market power in other ones. We can draw some policy implications from this analysis. First, horizontal mergers between airlines should be positively evaluated by competition authorities, since they increase the airlines countervailing power in the vertical channel and this may, in turn, bring about a price reduction for consumers. Second, the degree of vertical integration in some stages should be reduced, because it is likely to be an instrument for increasing the market power in upstream stages and not to reach a higher efficiency.air transportation; vertical channel; profits distribution

Bioprospecting for Bioactive Peptide Production by Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Fermented Dairy Food

With rapidly ageing populations, the world is experiencing unsustainable healthcare from chronic diseases such as metabolic, cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, and cancer disorders. Healthy diet and lifestyle might contribute to prevent these diseases and potentially enhance health outcomes in patients during and after therapy. Fermented dairy foods (FDFs) found their origin concurrently with human civilization for increasing milk shelf-life and enhancing sensorial attributes. Although the probiotic concept has been developed more recently, FDFs, such as milks and yoghurt, have been unconsciously associated with health-promoting effects since ancient times. These health benefits rely not only on the occurrence of fermentation-associated live microbes (mainly lactic acid bacteria; LAB), but also on the pro-health molecules (PHMs) mostly derived from microbial conversion of food compounds. Therefore, there is a renaissance of interest toward traditional fermented food as a reservoir of novel microbes producing PHMs, and “hyperfoods” can be tailored to deliver these healthy molecules to humans. In FDFs, the main PHMs are bioactive peptides (BPs) released from milk proteins by microbial proteolysis. BPs display a pattern of biofunctions such as anti-hypertensive, antioxidant, immuno-modulatory, and anti-microbial activities. Here, we summarized the BPs most frequently encountered in dairy food and their biological activities; we reviewed the main studies exploring the potential of dairy microbiota to release BPs; and delineated the main effectors of the proteolytic LAB systems responsible for BPs releaseWith rapidly ageing populations, the world is experiencing unsustainable healthcare from chronic diseases such as metabolic, cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, and cancer disorders. Healthy diet and lifestyle might contribute to prevent these diseases and potentially enhance health outcomes in patients during and after therapy. Fermented dairy foods (FDFs) found their origin concurrently with human civilization for increasing milk shelf-life and enhancing sensorial attributes. Although the probiotic concept has been developed more recently, FDFs, such as milks and yoghurt, have been unconsciously associated with health-promoting effects since ancient times. These health benefits rely not only on the occurrence of fermentation-associated live microbes (mainly lactic acid bacteria; LAB), but also on the pro-health molecules (PHMs) mostly derived from microbial conversion of food compounds. Therefore, there is a renaissance of interest toward traditional fermented food as a reservoir of novel microbes producing PHMs, and “hyperfoods” can be tailored to deliver these healthy molecules to humans. In FDFs, the main PHMs are bioactive peptides (BPs) released from milk proteins by microbial proteolysis. BPs display a pattern of biofunctions such as anti-hypertensive, antioxidant, immuno-modulatory, and anti-microbial activities. Here, we summarized the BPs most frequently encountered in dairy food and their biological activities; we reviewed the main studies exploring the potential of dairy microbiota to release BPs; and delineated the main effectors of the proteolytic LAB systems responsible for BPs release

Effect of ripening and in vitro digestion on the evolution and fate of bioactive peptides in Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

The influence of ripening and in vitro digestion on the peptidomic profile of Parmigiano-Reggiano (PR) cheeses was investigated. Ripening and in vitro digestion thoroughly modified the peptidomic profile of the three cheeses. Twenty-six bioactive peptides were identified in undigested PR. Some peptides were degraded and others released during ripening. After digestion, 52 bioactive peptides were identified. Semi-quantitative data suggested that bioactive peptides released after digestion can be clustered in 5 groups according to the ripening time. VPP and IPP peptide levels in undigested samples were in the range of 4.52–11.34 and 0.66–4.24 mg kg−1, with the highest amounts found in 18-month ripened PR. YPFPGPI peptide was absent in undigested PRs but was released after digestion, especially in the 12-month-old sample (20.18 mg kg−1). The present study suggests possible differences in bioactive peptide levels after digestion as a function of the duration of ripening of PR cheese

Comprehensive evaluation of phenolic profile in dark chocolate and dark chocolate enriched with Sakura green tea leaves or turmeric powder

Recently, a huge number of studies have confirmed the important role of chocolate polyphenols in human health, underlining its beneficial effects especially in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. However, a thorough evaluation of chocolate phenolic profile is still lacking. This study aimed at a comprehensive characterization of dark chocolate phenolic profile, using non-targeted mass spectrometry identification. This approach allowed a tentative identification of 158 individual phenolic compounds: 67 were newly detected in dark chocolate, among these 38 were observed for the first time in chocolate as well as in cocoa beans or products. Ellagitannins, which have never been reported in cocoa or chocolate, represented about the 10% of the phenolic profile of dark chocolate. The enrichment of dark chocolate with Sakura green tea leaves or turmeric powder influenced and modified the phenolic profile, resulting in a phenolic concentration increase. In this way, this functional chocolate might maximize the beneficial effect of chocolate consumption, combining the positive health effects of chocolate, turmeric and green tea and, at the same time, reducing the amount of sugars and calories introduced with chocolate

Bioaccessibility, bioactivity and cell metabolism of dark chocolate phenolic compounds after in vitro gastro-intestinal digestion

The bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds after in vitro gastro-intestinal digestion of dark chocolate, dark chocolate enriched with Sakura green tea and dark chocolate enriched with turmeric powder was studied. The phenolic profile, assessed by accurate mass spectrometry analysis, was modified during in vitro gastro-intestinal digestion, with a considerable decrease of total and individual phenolic compounds. Phenolic acids showed the highest bioaccessibility with hydroxycinnamic acids displaying higher bioaccessibility (from 41.2% to 45.1%) respect to hydroxybenzoic acids (from 28.1% to 43.5%). Isomerisation of caffeoyl-quinic acids and galloyl-quinic acids as well as dimerization of (epi)gallocatechin were also observed after in vitro gastro-intestinal digestion. Antioxidant activity increased after the gastric step and rose further at the end of the digestion. Furthermore, in vitro digested phenolic-rich fractions showed anti-proliferative activity against two models of human colon adenocarcinoma cell lines. Cell metabolism of digested phenolic compounds resulted in the accumulation of coumaric and ferulic acids in the cell media

Protocatechuic and 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acids Inhibit Protein Glycation by Binding Lysine through a Metal-Catalyzed Oxidative Mechanism

The mechanism of inhibition of advanced glycation end product (AGE) formation by protocatechuic acid and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DHPA) has been studied using a widespread applied in vitro model system composed of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and supraphysiological glucose concentrations. Protocatechuic acid and DHPA inhibited the formation of Amadori compounds, fluorescent AGEs (IC50 = 62.1 \ub1 1.4 and 155.4 \ub1 1.1 \u3bcmol/L, respectively), and N\u3b5-(carboxymethyl)lysine (IC50 = 535.3 \ub1 1.1 and 751.2 \ub1 1.0 \u3bcmol/L, respectively). BSA was pretreated with the two phenolic acids, and the formation of BSA\u2013phenolic acid adducts was estimated by nanoflow liquid chromatography\u2013electrospray ionization\u2013quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Results showed that the tested phenolic acids bound key sites of glycation in BSA through a metal-catalyzed oxidative mechanism. The antiglycative activity mechanism involved the formation of BSA\u2013phenolic acid adducts, and it is unlikely that this occurs in vivo. These results raise the problem to design in vitro models closer to physiological conditions to reach biologically sound conclusions