Biological control of the chestnut gall wasp with \emph{T. sinensis}: a mathematical model

The Asian chestnut gall wasp \emph{Dryocosmus kuriphilus}, native of China, has become a pest when it appeared in Japan, Korea, and the United States. In Europe it was first found in Italy, in 2002. In 1982 the host-specific parasitoid \emph{Torymus sinensis} was introduced in Japan, in an attempt to achieve a biological control of the pest. After an apparent initial success, the two species seem to have locked in predator-prey cycles of decadal length. We have developed a spatially explicit mathematical model that describes the seasonal time evolution of the adult insect populations, and the competition for finding egg deposition sites. In a spatially homogeneous situation the model reduces to an iterated map for the egg density of the two species. While the map would suggest, for realistic parameters, that both species should become locally extinct (somewhat corroborating the hypothesis of biological control), the full model, for the same parameters, shows that the introduction of \emph{T. sinensis} sparks a traveling wave of the parasitoid population that destroys the pest on its passage. Depending on the value of the diffusion coefficients of the two species, the pest can later be able to re-colonize the empty area left behind the wave. When this occurs the two populations do not seem to attain a state of spatial homogeneity, but produce an ever-changing pattern of traveling waves

Unraveling the Antimicrobial Effectiveness of Coridothymus capitatus Hydrolate against Listeria monocytogenes in Environmental Conditions Encountered in Foods: An In Vitro Study

The increased resistance of bacteria to antimicrobials, as well as the growing interest in innovative and sustainable alternatives to traditional food additives, are driving research towards the use of natural food preservatives. Among these, hydrolates (HYs) have gained attention as "mild" alternatives to conventional antimicrobial compounds. In this study, the response of L. monocytogenes ATCC 7644 exposed to increasing concentrations of Coridothymus capitatus HY (CHY) for 1 h at 37 °C was evaluated by means of Phenotype Microarray, modelling the kinetic data obtained by inoculating control and treated cells into GEN III microplates, after CHY removal. The results revealed differences concerning the growth dynamics in environmental conditions commonly encountered in food processing environments (different carbon sources, pH 6.0, pH 5.0, 1-8% NaCl). More specifically, for treated cells, the lag phase was extended, the growth rate was slowed down and, in most cases, the maximum concentration was diminished, suggesting the persistence of stress even after CHY removal. Confocal Laser Scanner Microscopy evidenced a diffuse aggregation and suffering of the treated cells, as a response to the stress encountered. In conclusion, the treatment with HY caused a stressing effect that persisted after its removal. The results suggest the potential of CHY application to control L. monocytogenes in food environments

Testicular dysfunction in 47, XXY boys: when it all begins. A semi-longitudinal study

Objective: Klinefelter syndrome is the most common chromosomal disorder in males, and the most common cause of hypergonadotropic hypogonadism. We describe the natural history of testicular dysfunction in patients with Klinefelter syndrome through the integration of clinical, hormonal and quantitative ultrasound data in a life-course perspective. Design: Prospective semi-longitudinal study. Methods: We included 155 subjects with 47, XXY karyotype (age range: 7 months - 55 years) naïve to testosterone replacement therapy. Subjects were divided according to pubertal stage and age group (transition age and adults). Serial clinical, hormonal and testicular ultrasound assessments were performed. Results: Testicular development progresses until Tanner stage 4, with subsequent regression, whereas Sertoli and germ cell impairment is not hormonally detected before Tanner stages 3-4, as reflected by normal inhibin B values until stage 4 and the fall in the inhibin B/FSH ratio thereafter. The Testosterone/LH ratio peaks during Tanner stages 2-3 and declines from Tanner stage 4 onward, preceding the development of overt hypogonadism. US echotexture progressively worsens until transition age, reflecting ongoing gonadal compromise, whereas quantitative US echotexture measures and the presence of both hypoechoic lesions and microlithiasis independently and significantly predict a lower circulating testosterone level. Conclusions: The findings from this large prospective study contribute to our understanding of the natural history of testicular dysfunction in Klinefelter syndrome, underlining the importance of quantitative testicular US in infancy and childhood, as well as during pubertal development and transition age, for the optimal care of Klinefelter syndrome patients

salmonella enterica control in stick carrots through incorporation of coriander seeds essential oil in sustainable washing treatments

Chemical disinfectants represent one of the commonly used practice in minimal processed vegetables food-chain. However, the scarce safety and sustainability of these agents force food industry to move toward more sustainable "green washing solutions". Among the latter, while the application of plant derivates for the control of several pathogens is already well-known, specific information on the potential anti-Salmonella activity of Coriandrum sativum seeds derivates are still limited and were therefore investigated in this study. In detail, Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimal Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) of different coriander seed derivates (i.e. essential oil, hydrosol and ethanolic extract) were determined by broth dilution against six Salmonella enterica strains isolated from fresh and minimally processed fruits and vegetables. Only the essential oil (EO) was effective in vitro with strain-dependent results. In addition, when mixed in co-culture, the strains were more sensitive to the essential oil treatment. Chemical investigations allowed to define (s)-(+)-linalool as major compound, and to underline interesting phenolic content with correlated antioxidant capacity. A cocktail of three strains of different serovars was selected and employed for a preliminary in situ trial on stick carrots. The obtained results allowed to establish that the application of coriander seed EO at concentrations of 5 µL mL-1 was able to reduce and contain the growth of the Salmonella cocktail up to 24 hours at 10°C. Good sensory evaluation results were obtained by applying this EO concentration as washing treatment, especially in terms of color parameter. Further studies should be undertaken to emphasize the upstream activity, improving the formulation or exploiting a combined effect with other sanitizers or treatments (e.g. physical treatments). The present study contributes to the knowledge on coriander derivates activity against Salmonella spp. and on the potential application as sustainable washing treatment in removing this pathogen from fresh cut carrots

Clinical correlates of “pure” essential tremor: the TITAN study

BackgroundTo date, there are no large studies delineating the clinical correlates of “pure” essential tremor (ET) according to its new definition.MethodsFrom the ITAlian tremor Network (TITAN) database, we extracted data from patients with a diagnosis of “pure” ET and excluded those with other tremor classifications, including ET-plus, focal, and task-specific tremor, which were formerly considered parts of the ET spectrum.ResultsOut of 653 subjects recruited in the TITAN study by January 2022, the data of 208 (31.8%) “pure” ET patients (86M/122F) were analyzed. The distribution of age at onset was found to be bimodal. The proportion of familial cases by the age-at-onset class of 20 years showed significant differences, with sporadic cases representing the large majority of the class with an age at onset above 60 years. Patients with a positive family history of tremor had a younger onset and were more likely to have leg involvement than sporadic patients despite a similar disease duration. Early-onset and late-onset cases were different in terms of tremor distribution at onset and tremor severity, likely as a function of longer disease duration, yet without differences in terms of quality of life, which suggests a relatively benign progression. Treatment patterns and outcomes revealed that up to 40% of the sample was unsatisfied with the current pharmacological options.DiscussionThe findings reported in the study provide new insights, especially with regard to a possible inversed sex distribution, and to the genetic backgrounds of “pure” ET, given that familial cases were evenly distributed across age-at-onset classes of 20 years. Deep clinical profiling of “pure” ET, for instance, according to age at onset, might increase the clinical value of this syndrome in identifying pathogenetic hypotheses and therapeutic strategies

Towards a muon collider

A muon collider would enable the big jump ahead in energy reach that is needed for a fruitful exploration of fundamental interactions. The challenges of producing muon collisions at high luminosity and 10 TeV centre of mass energy are being investigated by the recently-formed International Muon Collider Collaboration. This Review summarises the status and the recent advances on muon colliders design, physics and detector studies. The aim is to provide a global perspective of the field and to outline directions for future work

Towards a Muon Collider

A muon collider would enable the big jump ahead in energy reach that is needed for a fruitful exploration of fundamental interactions. The challenges of producing muon collisions at high luminosity and 10 TeV centre of mass energy are being investigated by the recently-formed International Muon Collider Collaboration. This Review summarises the status and the recent advances on muon colliders design, physics and detector studies. The aim is to provide a global perspective of the field and to outline directions for future work.Comment: 118 pages, 103 figure