Competence Centre ICDI per Open Science, FAIR, ed EOSC - Mission, Strategia e piano d'azione

This document presents the mission and strategy of the Italian Competence Centre on Open Science, FAIR, and EOSC. The Competence Centre is an initiative born within the Italian Computing and Data Infrastructure (ICDI), a forum created by representatives of major Italian Research Infrastructures and e-Infrastructures, with the aim of promoting sinergies at the national level, and optimising the Italian participation to European and global challenges in this field, including the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), the European Data Infrastructure (EDI) and HPC. This working paper depicts the mission and objectives of the ICDI Competence Centre, a network of experts with various skills and competences that are supporting the national stakeholders on topics related to Open Science, FAIR principles application and participation to the EOSC. The different actors and roles are described in the document as well as the activities and services offered, and the added value each stakeholder can find the in Competence Centre. The tools and services provided, in particular the concept for the portal, though which the Centre will connect to the national landscape and users, are also presented

Effects of green compost on soil biochemical characteristics and nutritive quality of leafy vegetables

The application of organic residues to soil is widely developed during last years. In particular, green compost represents a good amendant with a low environmental impact and it can improve the quality of fruits and vegetables through an increase of sugars and organic acids. This aspect is extremely important because the modern consumer puts more attention to the healthy and nutritional properties of food. The aim of this research was to evaluate the effects of green compost used as soil amendment on phenols and vitamin C content and on antioxidant capacity. So plants of Lactuca sativa var. acephala cultivar Red Salad Bowl and Spinacia oleracea cultivar Lorelay were grown on three soil treatments: a) 100% soil, b) 75% soil plus 25% compost c) 50% soil plus 50% compost. Results show that adding green compost to soil improves its fertility and the plant’s growth. However the healthy properties of spinach decrease in function of the compost concentration in soil

Prevalence of Ureaplasma parvum in the area of Prato, Italy

In this study, the prevalence of Ureaplasma parvum in the area of Prato (Italy) was investigated. Samples from 1197 consecutive patients were analyzed. Our results showed that the prevalence of U. parvum was 33.6%, with a higher percentage in females than in males (40.6% vs 9%). In addition, the prevalence of U. parvum was significantly lower in older patients

Screening for Klebsiella pneumoniae producing carbapenemase in Prato, Italy

In this study, the prevalence of carbapenemase in the area of Prato (Italy), from January 2011 to August 2013, is reported. Samples showing carbapenem resistance were tested for lactamase production with disc diffusion and molecular methods. Totally, 48 out of 1542 patients with K. pneumoniae showed carbapenem resistance (42 KPC 5 MBL and 1 OXA-48).</p

Direct identification of microorganisms from positive blood cultures using the lysis-filtration technique and matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS): a multicentre study

Microbial identification from blood cultures is essential to institute optimal antibiotic therapy and improve survival possibilities. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has been successfully applied to identify bacteria and yeasts from positive blood cultures broths. The aim of this multicentre study was to evaluate the reliability of the lysis-filtration technique associated with MALDI-TOF MS to directly identify microorganisms from 765 positive blood cultures collected in six Italian hospitals. Overall, 675/765 (78.1%) blood isolates were correctly identified at the species level, with significant differences between Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria (92.6%, and 69.8%, respectively). Some difficulties arise in identifying Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, yeasts and anaerobes. The lysis-filtration protocol is a suitable procedure in terms of performance in identifying microorganisms, but it is quite expensive and technically time-consuming since the time of filtration is not regular for all the samples. The application of the MALDI-TOF MS technique to the direct microbial identification from positive blood cultures is a very promising approach, even if more experience must be gained to minimize errors and costs

Direct identification of microorganisms from positive blood cultures using the lysis-filtration technique and matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS): a multicentre study

Microbial identification from blood cultures is essential to institute optimal antibiotic therapy and improve survival possibilities. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has been successfully applied to identify bacteria and yeasts from positive blood cultures broths. The aim of this multicentre study was to evaluate the reliability of the lysis-filtration technique associated with MALDI-TOF MS to directly identify microorganisms from 765 positive blood cultures collected in six Italian hospitals. Overall, 675/765 (78.1%) blood isolates were correctly identified at the species level, with significant differences between Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria (92.6%, and 69.8%, respectively). Some difficulties arise in identifying Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, yeasts and anaerobes. The lysis-filtration protocol is a suitable procedure in terms of performance in identifying microorganisms, but it is quite expensive and technically time-consuming since the time of filtration is not regular for all the samples. The application of the MALDI-TOF MS technique to the direct microbial identification from positive blood cultures is a very promising approach, even if more experience must be gained to minimize errors and costs

Pulmonary Disease Due to Mycobacterium arosiense, an Easily Misidentified Pathogenic Novel Mycobacterium▿

Mycobacterium arosiense is a newly described species. After noticing it was misidentified as Mycobacterium intracellulare by the commercial identification system GenoType CM (Hein, Nehren, Germany), we detected 4 such strains among 33 that were previously misidentified as M. intracellulare. Three more strains were found among unidentified mycobacteria not tested previously with GenoType. The first case of pulmonary disease due to M. arosiense is reported here, and the novel species, of which so far only one strain had been investigated, is further characterized

Terahertz probe of individual subwavelength objects in a water environment

Terahertz (THz) spectroscopy and imaging have been heralded for some time as potentially revolutionary techniques for biomedical applications. Label-free detection of molecules and recognition of molecular events are often mentioned as the most exciting possibilities. A crucial practical goal, however, is the ability to perform such measurements on tiny amounts of biological fluids or even on individual organic structures. Living cells, for instance, have diameters at most of some tens of micrometers, i.e. at least λ/10 even for few-THz radiation. Furthermore, all analyses relevant for a biological perspective must be performed in a water environment, which presents a strong absorption across the whole THz spectral range, severely limiting the penetration of the electromagnetic field. Here, it is shown how both issues can be overcome with a lab-on-a-chip approach based on a microfluidic platform coupled to a plasmonic antenna. Using a quantum cascade laser as THz illumination source, liquid volumes down to the picoliter range are probed, and direct operation on individual 10-μm diameter microparticles flowing in water is shown. The present demonstration opens the way to the development of THz biosensing of individual living cells and small probe volumes. A THz lab-on-a-chip device based on a microfluidic platform coupled to an integrated plasmonic antenna is shown. Using a quantum cascade laser as illumination source, liquid volumes down to the picoliter range are probed. A proof-of-concept experiment is performed in which single 10-μm diameter (∼ λ/10) microparticles flowing in water are identified and investigated. The present demonstration opens the way to the development of THz biosensing of individual living cells and small probe volumes