Preliminary evaluation of probiotic properties of Lactobacillus strains isolated from Sardinian dairy products

Twenty-three Lactobacillus strains of dairy origin were evaluated for some functional properties relevant to their use as probiotics. A preliminary subtractive screening based on the abilities to inhibit the growth of microbial pathogens and hydrolyze conjugated bile salts was applied, and six strains were selected for further characterization including survival under gastrointestinal environmental conditions, adhesion to gut epithelial tissue, enzymatic activity, and some safety properties. All selected strains maintained elevated cell numbers under conditions simulating passage through the human gastrointestinal tract, well comparable to the values obtained for the probiotic strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, and were able to adhere to Caco-2 cells to various extents (from 3 to 20%). All strains exhibited high aminopeptidase, and absent or very low proteolytic and strong β-galactosidase activities; none was found to be haemolytic or to produce biogenic amines and all were susceptible to tetracycline, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, ampicillin, and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid. Our results indicate that the Lactobacillus strains analyzed could be considered appropriate probiotic candidates, due to resistance to GIT simulated conditions, antimicrobial activity, adhesion to Caco-2 cell-line, and absence of undesirable properties. They could be used as adjunct cultures for contributing to the quality and health related functional properties of dairy products

Electrical activity regulates dendritic reorganization in ganglion cells after neonatal retinal lesion in the cat

During the first month of postnatal life, the dendritic arborizations of cat retinal ganglion cells continue to develop and undergo a substantial remodeling. Mechanical and pharmacological interferences with the normal development induce, during this period of time, substantial modifications in ganglion cell morphology. Specifically, the degeneration of those neurons whose axons were severed by a neonatal retinal lesion leads to a zone depleted of ganglion cells. Neurons at the border of the depleted area develop an abnormal elongation of the dendritic trees toward the empty space. In the present paper, we report data showing that this dendritic reorganization can be prevented by blocking the electrical activity with repeated tetrodotoxin injections into the eye during the whole critical period. Our analysis was performed on neurons filled with horseradish peroxidase

Time Calibration of the LHCb muon System

The LHCb muon System consists of about 122,000 frontend channels. It plays a basic role in the first trigger level. The trigger requires 95% efficiency in muon tracks detection. It is then necessary to reach a system time alignment at the level of about 2 ns. This alignment must be monitored against possible fluctuations due to changes in the detector operating conditions. We describe the custom instrumentation implemented at system level for time calibration, the strategy adopted, the procedure to be followed both for system alignment and monitoring, the control program realized for this purpose. We also illustrate first results obtained during the detector commissioning in the LHCb pit

Long-term treatment of the developing retina with the metabotropic glutamate agonist APB induces long-term changes in the stratification of retinal ganglion cell dendrites

The gradual restriction of initially multistratified retinal ganglion cell (RGC) dendrites into ON and OFF sublaminae of the inner plexiform layer (IPL) can be effectively blocked by treating the developing retina with 2-amino-4-phosphonobutyrate (APB), the metabotropic glutamate agonist, or by light deprivation. Previous studies have focused on the short-term consequences of such manipulations, so the long-term effects of arresting dendritic stratification on the structural development of RGCs are as yet unknown. In the present study, we have addressed this issue by performing a morphological analysis of alpha RGCs labeled by retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase injected into the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of adult cats that received monocular injections of APB from postnatal (P) day 2 until P30. A large proportion of the alpha cells in the APB-treated eye (44%) were found to have multistratified dendrites that terminated in both the ON and OFF sublaminae of the IPL. The dendritic arborization pattern in the sublaminae of the IPL of these cells was asymmetric, showing a variety of forms. Immunolabeling of retinal cross-sections showed that mGLUR6 receptors appeared normal in density and location, while qualitative observation suggested an increase in the axonal arborization of rod bipolar cells. These findings indicate that long-term treatment of the neonatal retina with APB induces a long- lasting structural reorganization in retinal circuitry that most likely accounts for some of the previously described changes in the functional properties of RGCs

Should we abandon the APTT for monitoring unfractionated heparin?

INTRODUCTION: The activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) is commonly used to monitor unfractionated heparin (UFH) but may not accurately measure the amount of heparin present. The anti-Xa assay is less susceptible to confounding factors and may be a better assay for this purpose. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The validity of the APTT for monitoring UFH was assessed by comparing with an anti-Xa assay on 3543 samples from 475 patients (infants [n=165], children 1-15years [n=60] and adults [n=250]) receiving treatment dose UFH. RESULTS: Overall concordance was poor. The highest concordance (66%; 168/254) was seen in children. Concordance (51.8%) or discordance (48.4%) was almost equal in adult patients. Among adult patients whose anti-Xa level was within 0.3-0.7IU/mL, only 38% had an APTT in the therapeutic range whilst 56% were below and 6% were above therapeutic range. Children and adult patients with anti-Xa of 0.3-0.7IU/mL but sub- therapeutic APTT had significantly higher fibrinogen levels compared to those with therapeutic or supra-therapeutic APTT. CONCLUSIONS: When the anti-Xa level was 0.3-0.7IU/mL, the majority of samples from infants demonstrated a supra-therapeutic APTT, whilst adults tended to have a sub-therapeutic APTT. This may lead to under anticoagulation in infants or over anticoagulation in adults with risk of bleeding if APTT is used to monitor UFH. These results further strengthen existing evidence of the limitation of APTT in monitoring UFH. Discordance of APTT and anti-Xa level in adults and children may be due to elevation of fibrinogen level

The MicroBioDiverSar Project: Exploring the Microbial Biodiversity in Ex Situ Collections of Sardinia

In the last decades, biodiversity preservation has gained growing attention and many strategies, laws and regulations have been enacted by governments with this purpose. The Micro-BioDiverSar (MBDS) project, the first one regarding microbiological resources, funded by the Italian Minister of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies (Mipaaf) through the Law 194/2015, was aimed at surveying, cataloguing, and managing the microbial resources and the related information of three Sardinian collections (Agris BNSS, Uniss, and Unica). While microorganisms were reordered and inventoried, a federated database, accessible via the web, was designed by the bioinformatician of Ospedale Policlinico San Martino of Genova, according to both international standards and laboratory needs. The resulting MBDS collection boasts a great richness of microbial resources. Indeed, over 21,000 isolates, belonging to over 200 species of bacteria, yeasts, and filamentous fungi isolated from different matrices, mainly food, of animal and vegetable origin, collected in over 50 years, were included in the database. Currently, about 2000 isolates, belonging to 150 species, are available online for both the scientific community and agri-food producers. The huge work done allowed one to know the consistency and the composition of most of the patrimony of the Sardinian microbial collections. Furthermore, the MBDS database has been proposed as a model for other Italian collections that, as the MBDS partners, are part of the Joint Research UnitMIRRI-IT Italian collections network, with the aim of overcoming fragmentation, facing sustainability challenges, and improving the quality of the management of the collections

Insight into the Properties of Heteroleptic Metal Dithiolenes: Multistimuli Responsive Luminescence, Chromism, and Nonlinear Optics

A comprehensive investigation of the functional properties of heteroleptic donor-M-acceptor dithiolene complexes Bu4N[MII(L1)(L2)] is presented (M = Pd, Pt). The acceptor L1 consists of the chiral (R)-(+)α-methylbenzyldithiooxamidate ((R)-α-MBAdto), the donor L2 is 2-thioxo-1,3-dithiole-4,5-dithiolato (dmit) in 1 (Pd) and 2 (Pt), 1,2-dicarbomethoxyethylenedithiolate (ddmet) in 3 (Pd) and 4 (Pt), or [4′,5′:5,6][1,4]dithiino[2,3-b]quinoxaline-1′,3′-dithiolato (quinoxdt) in 5 (Pd) and 6 (Pt). L1 is capable of undergoing proton exchange and promoting crystal formation in noncentrosymmetric space groups. L2 has different molecular structures while it maintains similar electron-donating capabilities. Thanks to the synergy of the ligands, 1-6 behave as H+ and Ag+ switchable linear chromophores. Moreover, the compounds exhibit a H+-switchable second-order NLO response in solution, which is maintained in the bulk for 1, 3, and 4 when they are embedded into a PMMA poled matrix. 5 and 6 show unique anti-Kasha H+ and Ag+ tunable colored emission originating from the quinoxdt ligand. A correlation between the electronic structure and properties is shown through density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT calculations

Anti-Kasha Conformational Photoisomerization of a Heteroleptic Dithiolene Metal Complex Revealed by Ultrafast Spectroscopy

We investigated the anti-Kasha photochemistry and anti-Kasha emission of d8-metal donor-acceptor dithiolene with femtosecond UV-vis transient absorption spectroscopy and molecular modeling. Experimentally, we found a lifetime of 1.4 ps for higher excited states, which is exceptionally long when compared to typical values for internal conversion (IC) (10 s of fs or less). Consequently, a substantial emission originates from the second excited state. Molecular modeling suggests this to be a consequence of the spatially separated molecular orbitals of the first and second excited states, which gives a charge transfer character to the IC. More surprisingly, we found that the inherent flexibility of the molecule allows the metal complex to access different configurations depending on the photoexcited state. We believe that this unique manifestation of anti-Kasha photoinduced conformational isomerization is facilitated by the exceptionally long lifetime of the second excited state