Protein differences among the Mediterranean species of the genus Spicara.

Protein electrophoresis (PAGE) was used to study the three morphologically different species of Spicara (S. flexuosa, S. maena, S. smaris). Of the 28 enzymatic and additional myogenic loci, five monomorphic loci (LDH-1*, G6PD-1*, PGI-1* and two PMMs*) were species-specific markers of S. smaris with respect to S. flexuosa and S. maena. Four of the 28 enzymatic loci were polymorphic (EST-1*, GLDH*, PEPD*, PGI-2*). Discriminating genetic markers were not identified between S. flexuosa and S. maena. Genetic distance (D) as calculated by Nei’s index (1978), between S. smaris v. S. maena and S. flexuosa showed a value, respectively of D=0·137 and 0·141. Between S. flexuosa and S. maena the value was D=0·006. From the data it can be inferred that S. flexuosa and S. maena are conspecific, despite morphological differences

Is Brain-Derived Neurotropic Factor Methylation Involved in the Association Between Prenatal Stress and Maternal Postnatal Anxiety During the COVID-19 Pandemic?

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic is a collective trauma that may expose susceptible individuals to high levels of stress. Pregnant women represent a high-risk population, considering that pregnancy is a period of heightened neuroplasticity and susceptibility to stress through epigenetic mechanisms. Previous studies showed that the methylation status of the BDNF gene is linked with prenatal stress exposure. The goals of this study were (a) to assess the association between pandemic-related stress and postnatal anxiety and (b) to investigate the potential role of maternal BDNF methylation as a significant mediator of this association. MethodsIn the present study, we report data on the association among pandemic-related stress during pregnancy, maternal BDNF methylation, and postnatal anxiety symptoms. Pandemic-related stress and postnatal anxiety were assessed through self-report instruments. BDNF methylation was estimated in 11 CpG sites in DNA from mothers' buccal cells. Complete data were available from 108 mothers. ResultsResults showed that pandemic-related stress was associated with an increased risk of postnatal anxiety, r = 0.20, p < 0.05. CpG-specific BDNF methylation was significantly associated with both prenatal pandemic-related stress, r = 0.21, p < 0.05, and postnatal maternal anxious symptoms, r = 0.25, p = 0.01. Moreover, a complete mediation by the BDNF CpG6 methylation emerged between pandemic-related stress during pregnancy and postnatal maternal anxiety, ACME = 0.66, p < 0.05. ConclusionThese findings suggest that BDNF epigenetic regulation by pandemic-related stress might contribute to increase the risk of anxiety in mothers. Policymakers should prioritize the promotion of health and wellbeing in pregnant women and mothers during the present healthcare emergency

Selective intrauterine growth restriction in monochorionic twins : changing patterns in umbilical artery Doppler flow and outcomes

Objectives: To describe changes in umbilical artery (UA) Doppler flow in monochorionic diamniotic (MCDA) twins affected by selective intrauterine growth restriction (sIUGR), to correlate Doppler findings with pregnancy course and perinatal outcome, and to report postnatal follow-up. Methods: This was a retrospective study of 140 MCDA twins with sIUGR. UA end-diastolic flow, defined as Doppler waveform pattern Type I (persistently positive), Type II (persistently absent or persistently reversed) or Type III (intermittently absent or intermittently reversed), was recorded at first examination and monitored weekly until double or single intrauterine fetal death (IUFD), bipolar cord coagulation or delivery. All neonates had an early neonatal brain scan, magnetic resonance imaging, when indicated, and neurological assessment during infancy. Rates (per 100 person-weeks) and hazard ratios (HR) of IUFD in the IUGR twin in each pregnancy were calculated considering UA Doppler pattern as a time-dependent variable. Results: At first examination, there were 65 cases with UA Doppler waveform pattern Type I, 62 with Type II and 13 with Type III. Of the 65 Type-I cases, 48 (74%) remained stable, while 17 (26%) changed to either Type II absent (14%), Type II reversed (9%) or Type III (3%). Of 62 Type-II cases (47 with absent and 15 with reversed flow), 33 (53%) remained stable (18 with absent and all 15 with reversed flow). The 29 Type-II absent cases which changed became Type II reversed (24/47, 51%) or Type III (5/47, 11%). All 13 Type-III cases remained stable. Compared with Type I, the risk of IUFD (adjusted for estimated fetal weight discordance and amniotic fluid deepest vertical pocket) was highest when the pregnancy was or became Type II reversed (HR, 9.5; 95% CI, 2.7\u201332.7) or Type II absent (HR, 4.3; 95% CI, 1.3\u201314.3). Mild neurological impairment was more prevalent in the IUGR twin than in the large cotwin (7% vs 1%, P = 0.02). Conclusions: Risk stratification based on UA Doppler is useful for planning ultrasound surveillance. However, patterns can change over time, with important consequences for management and outcome

Pediatric Moyamoya Disease and Syndrome in Italy: A Multicenter Cohort

Background: Moyamoya is a rare progressive cerebral arteriopathy, occurring as an isolated phenomenon (moyamoya disease, MMD) or associated with other conditions (moyamoya syndrome, MMS), responsible for 6–10% of all childhood strokes and transient ischemic attacks (TIAs). Methods: We conducted a retrospective multicenter study on pediatric-onset MMD/MMS in Italy in order to characterize disease presentation, course, management, neuroradiology, and outcome in a European country. Results: A total of 65 patients (34/65 women) with MMD (27/65) or MMS (38/65) were included. About 18% (12/65) of patients were asymptomatic and diagnosed incidentally during investigations performed for an underlying condition (incMMS), whereas 82% (53/65) of patients with MMD or MMS were diagnosed due to the presence of neurological symptoms (symptMMD/MMS). Of these latter, before diagnosis, 66% (43/65) of patients suffered from cerebrovascular events with or without other manifestations (ischemic stroke 42%, 27/65; TIA 32%, 21/65; and no hemorrhagic strokes), 18% (12/65) of them reported headache (in 4/12 headache was not associated with any other manifestation), and 26% (17/65) of them experienced multiple phenotypes (≥2 among: stroke/TIA/seizures/headache/others). Neuroradiology disclosed ≥1 ischemic lesion in 67% (39/58) of patients and posterior circulation involvement in 51% (30/58) of them. About 73% (47/64) of patients underwent surgery, and 69% (45/65) of them received aspirin, but after diagnosis, further stroke events occurred in 20% (12/61) of them, including operated patients (11%, 5/47). Between symptom onset and last follow-up, the overall patient/year incidence of stroke was 10.26% (IC 95% 7.58–13.88%). At last follow-up (median 4 years after diagnosis, range 0.5–15), 43% (26/61) of patients had motor deficits, 31% (19/61) of them had intellectual disability, 13% (8/61) of them had epilepsy, 11% (7/61) of them had behavioral problems, and 25% (13/52) of them had mRS &gt; 2. The proportion of final mRS &gt; 2 was significantly higher in patients with symptMMD/MMS than in patients with incMMS (p = 0.021). Onset age &lt;4 years and stroke before diagnosis were significantly associated with increased risk of intellectual disability (p = 0.0010 and p = 0.0071, respectively) and mRS &gt; 2 at follow-up (p = 0.0106 and p = 0.0009, respectively). Conclusions: Moyamoya is a severe condition that may affect young children and frequently cause cerebrovascular events throughout the disease course, but may also manifest with multiple and non-cerebrovascular clinical phenotypes including headache (isolated or associated with other manifestations), seizures, and movement disorder. Younger onset age and stroke before diagnosis may associate with increased risk of worse outcome (final mRS &gt; 2)

MKS3/TMEM67 mutations are a major cause of COACH syndrome, a joubert syndrome related disorder with liver involvement

The acronym COACH defines an autosomal recessive condition of Cerebellar vermis hypo/ aplasia, Oligophrenia, congenital Ataxia, Coloboma and Hepatic fibrosis. Patients present the “molar tooth sign”, a midbrain-hindbrain malformation pathognomonic for Joubert Syndrome (JS) and Related Disorders (JSRDs). The main feature of COACH is congenital hepatic fibrosis (CHF), resulting from malformation of the embryonic ductal plate. CHF is invariably found also in Meckel syndrome (MS), a lethal ciliopathy already found to be allelic with JSRDs at the CEP290 and RPGRIP1L genes. Recently, mutations in the MKS3 gene (approved symbol TMEM67), causative of about 7% MS cases, have been detected in few Meckel-like and pure JS patients. Analysis of MKS3 in 14 COACH families identified mutations in 8 (57%). Features such as colobomas and nephronophthisis were found only in a subset of mutated cases. These data confirm COACH as a distinct JSRD subgroup with core features of JS plus CHF, which major gene is MKS3, and further strengthen gene-phenotype correlates in JSRDs

Fruit set, yield and carpological characteristics of five almond cultivars (Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb) as affected by different soil management in Southern Italy

Almond cultivation is of considerable importance among fruit crops of the warm-temperate climate and has been growing steadily worldwide since the early 1990s, reaching about 1.87 million cultivated hectares in 2016. In the Mediterranean Region, where the main parts of almond orchard are located, high erosion rates have been observed in many tree crops, including almond. Tillage is the traditional and prevailing soil management technique in the Mediterranean Basin despite many studies reported negative effects on soil quality highlighting the significant increase of soil erosion determined by this technique. But very few data are available in the literature, especially for almond, about the effects on vegetative and reproductive activities, yields and fruit quality of tree crops. The trial aimed to evaluate the effect of three different soil management techniques (‘conventional tillage’, ‘no-till without cover crop’, ‘frequently mown cover crop’) on five almond cultivars (‘Ferragnés’, ‘Filippo Ceo’, ‘Genco’, ‘Supernova’, ‘Tuono’), grown in a commercial almond orchard located in Southern Italy. Average fruit set, yield tree-1 and dimensional parameters of fruits and kernel were determined. The tested cultivar showed difference in their fruiting behaviour regarding the distribution of both floral buds and fruits on different types of bearing shoots. This suggested, with the aim to increase productivity, that during pruning it is necessary to mainly preserve a different type of shoots in each one of these cultivars. For all the cultivars evaluated, quite negative effects resulted in terms of both yield and carpological parameters for the ‘no tillage’ treatment, while the best performances were observed for the ‘conventional tillage’ treatment

DETERMINAZIONE DI ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS NEL LATTE MATERNO IN UN CAMPIONE DI DONNE DELLA PROVINCIA DI MODENA – RISULTATI PRELIMINARI DI UNO STUDIO EPIDEMIOLOGICO TRASVERSALE

INTRODUZIONE: Gli ftalati, diesteri dell’acido ftalico, appartenenti alla categoria degli endocrine disruptors, sono un problema emergente per quanto riguarda l’allattamento, a causa della loro presenza, talvolta in concentrazioni elevate, nel latte materno evidenziata in alcuni recenti studi. Si tratta di sostanze di sintesi ampiamente utilizzate per la produzione di oggetti plastici, imballaggi, prodotti biomedicali e per la cura e l’igiene personale. I livelli che raggiungono nel latte sono influenzati dalle abitudini e dall’ambiente di vita della donna. Lo scopo dello studio è di determinare le concentrazioni di ftalati nel latte materno di puerpere residenti a Modena e Provincia e di evidenziare potenziali differenze nei loro livelli in relazione alle diverse fonti di esposizione, alle abitudini e alle caratteristiche delle donne stesse. MATERIALI E METODI: A 130 puerpere (età media: 33, range: 19-45 anni), arruolate su base volontaria, è stato chiesto di fornire un campione di latte (20 ml) a 30-40 giorni dal parto e di rispondere ad un questionario sulle principali caratteristiche demografiche e sulle possibili fonti espositive ai contaminanti indagati. Il latte raccolto, previa estrazione dispersiva in fase solida (d-SPE), è stato analizzato in cromatografia liquida ad alte prestazioni con rivelatore a spettrometria di massa tandem - triplo quadrupolo (HPLC/MS/MS). RISULTATI: Il composto più diffuso è risultato il mono-iso-nonilftalato (MiNP) ritrovato in 125 campioni (media: 1,63±2,71 range 0,10-18,4 μg/l), seguito dal mono-etilftalato (MEP) rilevato in 106 campioni (media: 2,35±7,36 range 0,04-69,00 μg/l). Le concentrazioni rilevate sono apparse più elevate nei latti delle donne che fanno maggior uso di cosmetici e che hanno consumato alimenti e bevande confezionati in plastica durante l’allattamento. Le differenze tuttavia non sono apparse statisticamente significative. Gli ftalati diesteri, come conseguenza della loro trasformazione metabolica in monoesteri, sono risultati quasi totalmente assenti. CONCLUSIONI: Non è stato evidenziato, nel nostro territorio, un problema rilevante di salute legato all’assunzione di ftalati con l’allattamento al sen

Water stress, yield and oil characteristics of partial rootzone drying and deficit irrigated very-high density olive orchard (Olea europaea L. 'Arbequina')

Four irrigation treatments were applied in a commercial, very-high density (VHD) olive orchard in the area of the 'Alto Tavoliere' (Province of Foggia, Apulia, Italy). The treatments consisted of: T (100% water consumption by plants - 1 dripper line; control); D (50% water consumption - 1 dripper line); P (100% water consumption - 2 dripper lines with partial rootzone drying (PRD)); PD (50% water consumption - 2 dripper lines with PRD). Pre-dawn leaf water potential (Φpd), the diurnal pattern of stem water potential (Φstem) and stomatal conductance (gs) were measured as indicators of the stress level of treatments. Vegetative-productive balance were evaluated through shoot length and yield per plant in terms of fruit and oil production. All treatments have provided extra virgin olive oils that have been characterized in terms of fatty acid composition and phenolic fraction. Water stress indices and WUEs calculated for the compared irrigation treatments showed that olive trees tolerate substantial deficit of irrigation intakes even when grown with the veryhigh density system