Association between Mediterranean lifestyle and perception of well-being and distress in a sample population of university Italian students

We investigated the extent to which adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) in combination with Mediterranean lifestyle factors influenced students’ perceptions of subjective well-being (SWB) and distress. 939 undergraduates completed a survey to assess sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics, including adherence to the MD, depression, anxiety, stress, and SWB. Data were analysed with correlation, logistic, and multiple linear regression models. Higher adherence to MD correlated with better SWB. Fruit, red meat, sweet and caffeinated beverages contributed significantly. However, it was the combination of adherence to MD with other factors, including quality of social relationships, income, smoking, sleep, and physical activity that better predicted SWB. Our results confirm the positive influence of MD on SWB. However, they also suggest the need to consider perceptions of well-being by a more holistic approach that considers physical and social factors simultaneously to improve the development of more effective educational and motivational programmes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

HER2 expression as a potential marker for response to therapy targeted to the EGFR

Since human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is known to participate with the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in mitogenic signalling, we hypothesised that HER2 overexpression might indicate responsiveness to EGFR targeted therapies. MCF7 breast cancer cells transfected with the HER2 gene were subcloned to establish a set of genetically related cell lines expressing graded levels of HER2 by immunoblot analysis. The subcloned cell lines and parental MCF7 cells were characterised by their growth characteristics, and cell by cell patterns of EGFR, HER2 and HER3 expression as well as levels of phosphorylated mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and AKT by laser scanning cytometry (LSC). Growth inhibition assays were used to characterise response to EGFR targeted therapy, and to determine the relationship between therapeutic response and levels of tyrosine kinase expression. The levels of growth inhibition of AG1478 and of the AG1478-trastuzumab combinations were correlated with levels of HER2 expression among the different cell lines. Among EGFR, HER2 and HER3, HER2 overexpression was the best single predictive marker, but combinations of two markers provided additional predictive information

Nucleolin Inhibits G4 Oligonucleotide Unwinding by Werner Helicase

The Werner protein (WRNp), a member of the RecQ helicase family, is strongly associated with the nucleolus, as is nucleolin (NCL), an important nucleolar constituent protein. Both WRNp and NCL respond to the effects of DNA damaging agents. Therefore, we have investigated if these nuclear proteins interact and if this interaction has a possible functional significance in DNA damage repair.Here we report that WRNp interacts with the RNA-binding protein, NCL, based on immunoprecipitation, immunofluorescent co-localization in live and fixed cells, and direct binding of purified WRNp to nucleolin. We also map the binding region to the C-terminal domains of both proteins. Furthermore, treatment of U2OS cells with 15 µM of the Topoisomerase I inhibitor, camptothecin, causes the dissociation of the nucleolin-Werner complex in the nucleolus, followed by partial re-association in the nucleoplasm. Other DNA damaging agents, such as hydroxyurea, Mitomycin C, and aphidicolin do not have these effects. Nucleolin or its C-terminal fragment affected the helicase, but not the exonuclease activity of WRNp, by inhibiting WRN unwinding of G4 tetraplex DNA structures, as seen in activity assays and electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA).These data suggest that nucleolin may regulate G4 DNA unwinding by WRNp, possibly in response to certain DNA damaging agents. We postulate that the NCL-WRNp complex may contain an inactive form of WRNp, which is released from the nucleolus upon DNA damage. Then, when required, WRNp is released from inhibition and can participate in the DNA repair processes

A global multinational survey of cefotaxime-resistant coliforms in urban wastewater treatment plants

The World Health Organization Global Action Plan recommends integrated surveillance programs as crucial strategies for monitoring antibiotic resistance. Although several national surveillance programs are in place for clinical and veterinary settings, no such schemes exist for monitoring antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment. In this transnational study, we developed, validated, and tested a low-cost surveillance and easy to implement approach to evaluate antibiotic resistance in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) by targeting cefotaxime-resistant (CTX-R) coliforms as indicators. The rationale for this approach was: i) coliform quantification methods are internationally accepted as indicators of fecal contamination in recreational waters and are therefore routinely applied in analytical labs; ii) CTX-R coliforms are clinically relevant, associated with extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs), and are rare in pristine environments. We analyzed 57 WWTPs in 22 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and North America. CTX-R coliforms were ubiquitous in raw sewage and their relative abundance varied significantly (<0.1% to 38.3%), being positively correlated (p < 0.001) with regional atmospheric temperatures. Although most WWTPs removed large proportions of CTX-R coliforms, loads over 103 colony-forming units per mL were occasionally observed in final effluents. We demonstrate that CTX-R coliform monitoring is a feasible and affordable approach to assess wastewater antibiotic resistance status

A global multinational survey of cefotaxime-resistant coliforms in urban wastewater treatment plants

The World Health Organization Global Action Plan recommends integrated surveillance programs as crucial strategies for monitoring antibiotic resistance. Although several national surveillance programs are in place for clinical and veterinary settings, no such schemes exist for monitoring antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment. In this transnational study, we developed, validated, and tested a low-cost surveillance and easy to implement approach to evaluate antibiotic resistance in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) by targeting cefotaxime-resistant (CTX-R) coliforms as indicators. The rationale for this approach was: i) coliform quantification methods are internationally accepted as indicators of fecal contamination in recreational waters and are therefore routinely applied in analytical labs; ii) CTX-R coliforms are clinically relevant, associated with extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs), and are rare in pristine environments. We analyzed 57 WWTPs in 22 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and North America. CTX-R coliforms were ubiquitous in raw sewage and their relative abundance varied significantly (<0.1% to 38.3%), being positively correlated (p < 0.001) with regional atmospheric temperatures. Although most WWTPs removed large proportions of CTX-R coliforms, loads over 10 colony-forming units per mL were occasionally observed in final effluents. We demonstrate that CTX-R coliform monitoring is a feasible and affordable approach to assess wastewater antibiotic resistance status. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.