Biohydrogen production from food waste: Influence of the inoculum-to-substrate ratio

In this study, the influence of the inoculum-to-substrate ratio (ISR) on dark fermentative hydrogen production from food waste (FW) was evaluated. ISR values ranging from 0.05 to 0.25 g VSinoculum/g VSsubstrate were investigated by performing batch tests at T = 39 °C and pH = 6.5, the latter being the optimal value identified based on a previous study. The ISR was found to affect the fermentation process, clearly showing that an adequate ISR is essential in order to optimise the process kinetics and the H2 yield. An ISR of 0.14 proved to optimum, leading to a maximum H2 yield of 88.8 L H2/kg VSFW and a maximum production rate of 10.8 L H2/kg VSFW∙h. The analysis of the fermentation products indicated that the observed highest H2 production mostly derived from the typical acetate/butyrate-type fermentation

HLA Genotyping in Children With Celiac Disease Allows to Establish the Risk of Developing Type 1 Diabetes

Introduction: Celiac disease (CD) and type 1 diabetes (T1D) often co-occur and share genetic components in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II region. We aimed to study the usefulness of HLA genotyping in predicting the risk of developing T1D in patients with CD and the temporal relationship between these diseases. Methods: A cohort of 1,886 Sardinian patients, including 822 with CD, 1,064 with T1D, and 627 controls, underwent HLA class II typing. Seventy-six of 822 patients with CD were also affected by T1D (CD-T1D), and their HLA genotypes were analyzed for specific HLA associations with CD, T1D, and controls. Results: High-risk HLA-DQ genotypes, including HLA-DQ2.5/DQ8, -DQ2.5/DQ2.5, and -DQ2.5/DQ2.3, were strongly associated with CD-T1D with frequencies of 34.5%, 15.9%, and 18.8%, respectively. Conversely, certain HLA genotypes associated with CD seemed to confer protection against T1D development. Therefore, HLA genotyping allows for the identification of those patients with CD who might develop T1D. The frequency of patients with CD preceding T1D is higher in younger children than older ones, with implications for the early childhood approach to diabetes prevention. Discussion: CD is a condition for future T1D development, and specific HLA genotypes can predict this risk. Early screening for celiac autoimmunity and subsequent HLA typing in CD children could help identify those at high risk of T1D, allowing for proactive interventions and immunotherapies to preserve β-cell function. These findings may support the re-evaluation of HLA typing in children with CD

Machine learning application for development of a data-driven predictive model able to investigate quality of life scores in a rare disease.

BACKGROUND:Alkaptonuria (AKU) is an ultra-rare autosomal recessive disease caused by a mutation in the homogentisate 1,2-dioxygenase (HGD) gene. One of the main obstacles in studying AKU, and other ultra-rare diseases, is the lack of a standardized methodology to assess disease severity or response to treatment. Quality of Life scores (QoL) are a reliable way to monitor patients' clinical condition and health status. QoL scores allow to monitor the evolution of diseases and assess the suitability of treatments by taking into account patients' symptoms, general health status and care satisfaction. However, more comprehensive tools to study a complex and multi-systemic disease like AKU are needed. In this study, a Machine Learning (ML) approach was implemented with the aim to perform a prediction of QoL scores based on clinical data deposited in the ApreciseKUre, an AKU- dedicated database. METHOD:Data derived from 129 AKU patients have been firstly examined through a preliminary statistical analysis (Pearson correlation coefficient) to measure the linear correlation between 11 QoL scores. The variable importance in QoL scores prediction of 110 ApreciseKUre biomarkers has been then calculated using XGBoost, with K-nearest neighbours algorithm (k-NN) approach. Due to the limited number of data available, this model has been validated using surrogate data analysis. RESULTS:We identified a direct correlation of 6 (age, Serum Amyloid A, Chitotriosidase, Advanced Oxidation Protein Products, S-thiolated proteins and Body Mass Index) out of 110 biomarkers with the QoL health status, in particular with the KOOS (Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score) symptoms (Relative Absolute Error (RAE) 0.25). The error distribution of surrogate-model (RAE 0.38) was unequivocally higher than the true-model one (RAE of 0.25), confirming the consistency of our dataset. Our data showed that inflammation, oxidative stress, amyloidosis and lifestyle of patients correlates with the QoL scores for physical status, while no correlation between the biomarkers and patients' mental health was present (RAE 1.1). CONCLUSIONS:This proof of principle study for rare diseases confirms the importance of database, allowing data management and analysis, which can be used to predict more effective treatments

Haplotype affinities resolve a major component of goat (<i>Capra hircus</i>) MtDNA D-loop diversity and reveal specific features of the Sardinian stock

Goat mtDNA haplogroup A is a poorly resolved lineage absorbing most of the overall diversity and is found in locations as distant as Eastern Asia and Southern Africa. Its phylogenetic dissection would cast light on an important portion of the spread of goat breeding. The aims of this work were 1) to provide an operational definition of meaningful mtDNA units within haplogroup A, 2) to investigate the mechanisms underlying the maintenance of diversity by considering the modes of selection operated by breeders and 3) to identify the peculiarities of Sardinian mtDNA types. We sequenced the mtDNA D-loop in a large sample of animals (1,591) which represents a non-trivial quota of the entire goat population of Sardinia. We found that Sardinia mirrors a large quota of mtDNA diversity of Western Eurasia in the number of variable sites, their mutational pattern and allele frequency. By using Bayesian analysis, a distance-based tree and a network analysis, we recognized demographically coherent groups of sequences identified by particular subsets of the variable positions. The results showed that this assignment system could be reproduced in other studies, capturing the greatest part of haplotype diversity. We identified haplotype groups overrepresented in Sardinian goats as a result of founder effects. We found that breeders maintain diversity of matrilines most likely through equalization of the reproductive potential. Moreover, the relevant amount of inter-farm mtDNA diversity found does not increase proportionally with distance. Our results illustrate the effects of breeding practices on the composition of maternal gene pool and identify mtDNA types that may be considered in projects aimed at retrieving the maternal component of the oldest breeds of Sardinia.</br

Effects of Nitisinone on Oxidative and Inflammatory Markers in Alkaptonuria: Results from SONIA1 and SONIA2 Studies

Nitisinone (NTBC) was recently approved to treat alkaptonuria (AKU), but there is no information on its impact on oxidative stress and inflammation, which are observed in AKU. Therefore, serum samples collected during the clinical studies SONIA1 (40 AKU patients) and SONIA2 (138 AKU patients) were tested for Serum Amyloid A (SAA), CRP and IL-8 by ELISA; Advanced Oxidation Protein Products (AOPP) by spectrophotometry; and protein carbonyls by Western blot. Our results show that NTBC had no significant effects on the tested markers except for a slight but statistically significant effect for NTBC, but not for the combination of time and NTBC, on SAA levels in SONIA2 patients. Notably, the majority of SONIA2 patients presented with SAA &gt; 10 mg/L, and 30 patients in the control group (43.5%) and 40 patients (58.0%) in the NTBC-treated group showed persistently elevated SAA &gt; 10 mg/L at each visit during SONIA2. Higher serum SAA correlated with lower quality of life and higher morbidity. Despite no quantitative differences in AOPP, the preliminary analysis of protein carbonyls highlighted patterns that deserve further investigation. Overall, our results suggest that NTBC cannot control the sub-clinical inflammation due to increased SAA observed in AKU, which is also a risk factor for developing secondary amyloidosis. © 2022 by the authors

Cardiovascular risk factors, anxiety symptoms and inflammation markers: Evidence of association from a cross-sectional study

Introduction Anxiety disorders and Cardiovascular (CV) diseases, among the most common disorders in Western World, are often comorbid. A chronic systemic inflammatory state might be a shared underlining pathophysiological mechanism. Aims To investigate the association between anxiety symptoms, CV risks factors and inflammatory markers in an outpatient sample. Methods Cross-sectional study. Inclusion criteria: outpatients aged ≥40 years, attending colonoscopy after positive faecal occult blood test, negative medical history for cancer. Collected data: blood pressure, glycaemia, lipid profile, waist circumference, BMI, PCR (C Reactive Protein), LPS (bacterial Lipopolysaccharide). Psychometric tests: HADS, TCI, IMSA, SF36. Statistical analysis performed with STATA13. Results Fifty four patients enrolled (27 males, 27 females). Sixteen patients (30.19%) were positive for anxiety symptoms. Thirty-three patients (61.11%) had hypertension, 14 (25.93%) hyperglycaemia and 64.81% were overweight, with frank obesity (BMI≥ 30) in 11 subjects (20.37%). Anxiety symptoms were associated with low hematic HDL values (OR = 0.01; P = 0.01) and high concentration of triglycerides (OR = 0.023; P = 0.02) at the multiple regression model. At the univariate logistic analysis, anxiety was associated with LPS (OR = 1.06; P = 0.04). Conclusions Further evidence over the epidemiological link between common mental disorders and CV diseases was collected, with possible hints on pathophysiology and causative mechanisms related to inflammation. The importance of screening for anxiety and depression in medical populations is confirmed. Suggestions on future availability of screening tools based on inflammatory-related indicators should be the focus of future research

A new facile solvometallurgical leaching method for the selective Co dissolution & recovery from hard metals waste

Hard Metals (HM) production plays a fundamental role in economy and technological development. Due to the criticality of its main raw materials, W and Co, a sustainable HM waste recycling is hence desirable for both environmental and economic reasons and strongly encouraged by European waste management directives. This work describes a new solvometallurgical leaching method based on diluted maleic acid (H2Mal) ethanolic solutions, which demonstrated to couple effectiveness in materials enhancement from HM waste, with mildness and sustainability of operative conditions. Specifically, H2Mal (0.5 M, EtOH) selectively and quantitatively leached Co trapped within WC-Co powders, to afford [Co(HMal)2(H2O)4] complex within 4 h at room temperature and leaving WC unreacted and ready for re-employment in HM manufacturing. Characterization of the resultant materials i.e. treated powders (SEM-EDS, p-XRD, ICP-OES) and Co-leaching solutions (ICP-OES), confirmed the near quantitative Co removal as well as the possibility to finely tune the composition of WC-Co mixtures. Parameters for best leaching conditions, i.e. time and liquid-to-solid ratio, were obtained. A scale-up experiment addressed to test the leaching conditions and the quality of the recycled material is also described. The quality of the recycled material for direct re-employment in HM manufacturing was validated by Metallurgical Quality Control, to good effect. Finally, preliminary experiments on cobalt metal recovery from the metal complex by electrowinning and by quantitative precipitation as CoCO3 were performed with encouraging results: a step forward resources circularity

Glucorticoid receptor in human cutaneous melanoma: immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence study

GR is a nuclear receptor which, when activated by its specific ligand, can act as a transcription factor that binds to glucocorticoid response elements (GRE) or negative GRE. It affects inflammatory responses, differentiation and cell proliferation. The ligand activated glucocorticoid receptor induces a G1 cell cycle arrest or apoptosis in immature thymocytes and impairs proliferation of fibroblasts of undifferentiated mammary epithelial cells. It impairs proliferation and differentiation of neural progenitor cells in vivo and in vitro. Glucocorticoids are widely used in cancer therapy and have cell type-specific pro- or antiapoptotic effects. In melanoma, however, the antitumor activity of glucocorticoids remains an open question. A recent report demonstrated that in mouse embryo tissue and in human undifferentiated cells, cytoplasmic accumulation of GR is determined by nestin in conjunction with vimentin, copolymerised into an intermediate filament system, and that this anchoring of GR to the nestin/vimentin etheromeric complex is related to the maintenance of a high proliferation rate. The aim of this study was to analyse the expression of subcellular GR in cutaneous melanoma by immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry and laser scanning confocal microscopy and to evaluate any effect in melanoma progression. The results will be discussed