Renoprotection: Clues from knockout models of rare diseases

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Interleukin-18 mediates cardiac dysfunction induced by western diet independent of obesity and hyperglycemia in the mouse

Obesity and diabetes are independent risk factors for heart failure and are associated with the consumption of diet rich in saturated fat and sugar, Western diet (WD), known to induce cardiac dysfunction in the mouse through incompletely characterized inflammatory mechanisms. We hypothesized that the detrimental cardiac effects of WD are mediated by interleukin-18 (IL-18), pro-inflammatory cytokine linked to cardiac dysfunction. C57BL/6J wild-type male mice and IL-18 knockout male mice were fed high-saturated fat and high-sugar diet for 8 weeks. We measured food intake, body weight and fasting glycemia. We assessed left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic function by Doppler echocardiography and cardiac catheterization. In wild-type mice, WD induced a significant increase in isovolumetric relaxation time, myocardial performance index and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, reflecting an impairment in diastolic function, paired with a mild reduction in LV ejection fraction. IL-18 KO mice had higher food intake and greater increase in body weight without significant differences in hyperglycemia. Despite displaying greater obesity, IL-18 knockout mice fed with WD for 8 weeks had preserved cardiac diastolic function and higher left ventricular ejection fraction. IL-18 mediates diet-induced cardiac dysfunction, independent of food intake and obesity, thus highlighting a disconnect between the metabolic and cardiac effects of IL-18

The weed vegetation of the bean “Fagiolo Cannellino di Atina” and the red pepper “Peperone di Pontecorvo” PDO crops (Latium, central Italy)

The weed vegetation of the bean “Fagiolo Cannellino di Atina” (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and the red pepper “Peperone di Pontecorvo” (Capsicum annuum L.) PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) crops was surveyed by means of 16 relevés, sampled in four farms of southern Latium during July 2019. The relevés were subjected to multivariate analysis, which revealed that the two crops are weeded by vegetation types referable to two different subassociations of Panico-Polygonetum persicariae (Spergulo-Erodion, Eragrostietalia, Digitario-Eragrostietea). Namely, communities colonizing bean fields, which are more mesophilous and richer in Eurasian taxa, are ascribable to the subassociation sorghetosum halepensis. Communities colonizing red pepper fields, which are more thermophilous and richer in Mediterranean taxa, are ascribable to the subassociation cyperetosum rotundi. Floristic, structural, and chorological features of the communities are discussed in relation to environmental factors and agricultural management

Iron overload down-regulates the expression of the HIV-1 Rev cofactor eIF5A in infected T lymphocytes

Background Changes in iron metabolism frequently accompany HIV-1 infection. However, while many clinical and in vitro studies report iron overload exacerbates the development of infection, many others have found no correlation. Therefore, the multi-faceted role of iron in HIV-1 infection remains enigmatic. Methods RT-qPCR targeting the LTR region, gag, Tat and Rev were performed to measure the levels of viral RNAs in response to iron overload. Spike-in SILAC proteomics comparing i) iron-treated, ii) HIV-1-infected and iii) HIV-1-infected/iron treated T lymphocytes was performed to define modifications in the host cell proteome. Data from quantitative proteomics were integrated with the HIV-1 Human Interaction Database for assessing any viral cofactors modulated by iron overload in infected T lymphocytes. Results Here, we demonstrate that the iron overload down-regulates HIV-1 gene expression by decreasing the levels of viral RNAs. In addition, we found that iron overload modulates the expression of many viral cofactors. Among them, the downregulation of the REV cofactor eIF5A may correlate with the iron-induced inhibition of HIV-1 gene expression. Therefore, we demonstrated that eiF5A downregulation by shRNA resulted in a significant decrease of Nef levels, thus hampering HIV-1 replication. Conclusions Our study indicates that HIV-1 cofactors influenced by iron metabolism represent potential targets for antiretroviral therapy and suggests eIF5A as a selective target for drug development

Sistema de voto electrónico nominal legislativo: transparencia y eficiencia en la Legislatura de la provincia de Río Negro : Caso de éxito

Este trabajo presenta la experiencia y resultados obtenidos al implementar exitosamente el “Sistema de Voto Electrónico Nominal Legislativo” en la Legislatura de la Provincia de Río Negro durante el año 2014. El proyecto significa un salto cualitativo en la labor legislativa y representa un sustancial avance en temas de gobierno electrónico y transparencia.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativa (SADIO

Sistema de voto electrónico nominal legislativo: transparencia y eficiencia en la Legislatura de la provincia de Río Negro : Caso de éxito

Este trabajo presenta la experiencia y resultados obtenidos al implementar exitosamente el “Sistema de Voto Electrónico Nominal Legislativo” en la Legislatura de la Provincia de Río Negro durante el año 2014. El proyecto significa un salto cualitativo en la labor legislativa y representa un sustancial avance en temas de gobierno electrónico y transparencia.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativa (SADIO

Long-Term Field Evaluation of Conventional vs. Micropropagated Plants of Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium

Pyrethrum is a perennial herbaceous plant endemic to the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, and introduced in large areas of nearly all continents, where it is cultivated for the industrial extraction of pyrethrins. Pyrethrins are a group of six closely related monoterpene esters, widely used as natural insecticides. The world production of natural pyrethrins is lower than the market demand, and a wider introduction of this crop within the Mediterranean agrosystems could be an appealing opportunity for farmers and manufacturers. The availability of adequate amounts of selected plant material to bring into cultivation is, however, one of the major issues. Therefore, the in vitro propagation of elite pyrethrum genotypes could be a suitable alternative to conventional propagation methods. In this paper, we present the results of a 9-year field comparison between pyrethrum plants coming from an in vitro propagation protocol and plants obtained by cutting from the same mother plants. Furthermore, since plantlets derived from in vitro regeneration may experience ploidy changes, we evaluated the stability of the ploidy level of pyrethrum micropropagated plants by flow cytometry (FCM) analysis. FCM screening revealed no differences among the morphotypes and between them and the mother plant. Likewise, the field evaluation of plants gave no significant differences between flower yields in both groups. Hence, micropropagation was confirmed as an easy, efficient and reproducible method to obtain large quantities of selected pyrethrum genotypes

Risk of suicide and suicidal behavior in refugees. A meta-review of current systematic reviews and meta-analyses

Background: Despite the exposure to a wide combination of risk factors, evidence concerning risk of suicide among refugees is mixed. Aims: We aimed to establish more precise estimates of suicide and suicidal behavior in refugees and asylum seekers, investigate the role of somatic and psychiatric comorbidities, and the effectiveness of preventative interventions. Methods: We searched PubMed/Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PsycInfo without time limitations from inception until June 5, 2024. Studies were included if systematic reviews or meta-analyses reporting data on suicide or suicidal behavior in refugees or asylum seekers, or detailing the results of preventive interventions. Quality was assessed using the National Institutes of Health Quality Assessment Tool for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Results: Out of 49 papers, 10 systematic reviews and meta-analyses were included. Refugees showed significantly higher suicide death rates and suicidal ideation, suicide plan and suicide attempt prevalence compared to people living in the host countries. Refugees who arrived in low-income and lower-middle-income countries displayed lower suicidal ideation, but higher suicide death rates and suicide attempt prevalence compared to refugees who arrived in high-income and upper-middle- income countries. However, no review provided data regarding somatic comorbidity, psychiatric comorbidity, or the effectiveness of treatments, and evidence on specific categories of refugees is scarce. Conclusion: Refugees have been proven to be at risk for suicide and suicidal behavior. More research is required to identify the targets and procedures of intervention

La flora commensale delle colture D.O.P. "Peperone di Pontecorvo" e "Fagiolo cannellino di Atina" (Lazio meridionale)

Il “Peperone di Pontecorvo” (Capsicum annuum L. ‘Cornetto di Pontecorvo’) e il “Fagiolo cannellino di Atina” (Phaseolus vulgaris L. ‘Cannellino di Atina’) (Fig. 1) sono due colture annuali a ciclo estivo-autunnale della Provincia di Frosinone (Lazio), che hanno ottenuto il marchio D.O.P. nel 2010. I disciplinari di produzione prevedono la semina primaverile (peperone) o estiva (fagiolo), l’irrigazione e, infine, la raccolta estiva o autunnale. Per quanto riguarda le concimazioni e il diserbo chimico, questi sono consentiti per il peperone, mentre vengono vietati per il fagiolo. Le aree di produzione sono localizzate rispettivamente nella bassa Valle del Liri (a circa 50 m s.l.m.) e nella media Valle di Comino (a circa 400 m s.l.m.) e sono entrambe estremamente ridotte (poche centinaia di km2), fatto che conferisce alle due colture un intimo legame con il territorio. I substrati sono di natura alluvionale ed il fitoclima è Temperato Submediterraneo, a contatto con la fascia a fitoclima Mediterraneo nel caso di Pontecorvo (Pesaresi et al. 2017). Data l’utilità dello studio della flora commensale delle colture, sia dal punto di vista naturalistico-ambientale sia agronomico, e la totale mancanza di informazioni su questa per il “Peperone di Pontecorvo” e il “Fagiolo cannellino di Atina”, nel mese di luglio 2019 è stata effettuata un’indagine floristica in quattro aziende campione, due produttrici di peperoni e due di fagioli (Commissione Europea 2019). Il rilevamento è stato svolto tramite plot di area fissa di dimensioni 1 × 16 m, effettuando un rilievo al centro di ogni appezzamento coltivato (Chytrý, Otýpková 2003, Güler et al. 2016). Ad ogni agricoltore è stato, inoltre, chiesto di compilare un questionario riguardante le principali pratiche agronomiche effettuate. In totale sono stati censiti 52 taxa di piante vascolari, 35 nei campi di peperone e 27 nei campi di fagiolo, riferibili a 43 generi e 21 famiglie; le famiglie più rappresentate sono Asteraceae, Poaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Polygonaceae e Brassicaceae ed il genere più rappresentato è Euphorbia. I taxa più frequenti sono Amaranthus retroflexus L., Convolvulus arvensis L., Portulaca oleracea L., Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers., Cyperus rotundus L., Sonchus oleraceus L., Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop., Xanthium italicum Moretti e Chenopodium album L. subsp. album. Tra i molti taxa ampiamente diffusi, ne sono stati rinvenuti alcuni poco comuni in regione (Anzalone et al. 2010): Chrozophora tinctoria (L.) A.Juss., Euphorbia chamaesyce L., Lotus hispidus DC. e Visnaga daucoides Gaertn. L’analisi strutturale (Fig. 2a) ha evidenziato la presenza di una flora prevalentemente terofitica (67% di taxa annuali nelle colture di fagiolo, 82% in quelle di peperone), e subordinatamente geofitica ed emicriptofitica. La maggior incidenza di terofite nella flora commensale dei peperoni è riconducibile ad un contesto fitoclimatico caratterizzato da una maggiore aridità, comunque presente nonostante le irrigazioni. Tra le geofite, rilevante è il ruolo rivestito dalle rizomatose Cyperus rotundus L., nelle colture di peperone, e Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers., in quelle di fagiolo; entrambe queste specie sono infestanti di notevole rilevanza in agricoltura (Holm et al. 1977). In termini corologici (Fig. 2b), la flora totale è caratterizzata da una notevole incidenza di neofite (maggiormente rappresentate nella flora commensale dei peperoni) e cosmopolite (più presenti in quella dei fagioli). Tra le neofite, tutte invasive e quasi tutte di provenienza americana, vi sono Amaranthus hybridus L. subsp. hybridus, A. retroflexus L., Artemisia verlotiorum Lamotte, Datura stramonium L., Erigeron canadensis L., E. sumatrensis Retz., Euphorbia maculata L., E. prostrata Aiton e Veronica persica Poir. Tra i taxa ad ampia distribuzione sono presenti Chenopodium album L. subsp. album, Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers., Cyperus rotundus L., Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop., Echinochloa crusgalli (L.) P.Beauv. subsp. crusgalli, Euphorbia helioscopia L., Persicaria maculosa Gray, Portulaca oleracea L. e Rumex crispus L. Le archeofite sono invece esclusive delle colture di fagiolo e sono rappresentate da Abutilon theophrasti Medik. e Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers. Seguono per importanza i taxa eurimediterranei, più rappresentati nelle colture di peperoni. L’applicazione degli indici di Ellenberg (Pignatti 2005, Domina et al. 2018) ha evidenziato come la flora commensale dei peperoni sia leggermente più termofila ed eliofila, coerentemente con il fitoclima, e leggermente più nitrofila, come conseguenza delle concimazioni chimiche. In generale, l’indagine ha confermato la spiccata omogeneità della flora commensale delle colture a ciclo estivo nel Lazio, evidenziando notevoli affinità tra i contingenti floristici indagati e quelli, recentemente studiati, delle colture di mais (Abbate et al. 2013, Fanfarillo et al. 2019)

Dietary Fat, Sugar Consumption, and Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Patients With Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is associated with obesity and, indirectly, with unhealthy diet. The role of dietary components in HFpEF is, however, largely unknown. In this study, the authors showed that in obese HFpEF patients, consumption of unsaturated fatty acids (UFA), was associated with better cardiorespiratory fitness, and UFA consumption correlated with better diastolic function and with greater fat-free mass. Similarly, mice fed with a high-fat diet rich in UFA and low in sugars had preserved myocardial function and reduced weight gain. Randomized clinical trials increasing dietary UFA consumption and reducing sugar consumption are warranted to confirm and expand our findings