Neem Azadirachta indica A. Juss. (Meliaceae) toxicity in Artemia sp: comparison of a commercial preparation and the pure oil

Introdução - Azadirachta indica A. Juss. (Meliaceae) é conhecida popularmente por Neem (nim) ou margosa e é caracterizada por ser uma frondosa árvore, presente em regiões tropicais sendo, provavelmente, originada da Ásia. É empregada há tempos não só em medicina e cosmética como também na agricultura, sendo empregada como praguicida. A azdirachtina é a substância ativa presente no óleo responsável por seu efeito praguicida. O presente trabalho comparou os efeitos tóxicos de uma formulação comercial e do óleo puro de Azadirachta indica A. Juss. em Artemia sp. Material e Métodos - Foram utilizadas artêmias no estágio náuplio I ou II as quais foram submetidas a diferentes concentrações do óleo puro e do produto formulado, tendo sido computada a presença de morte após 24 e 48 horas da exposição. Resultados - A formulação comercial empregada apresentou-se significativamente (p < 0.05) mais tóxica do que o óleo puro da planta. Conclusão - Desde que o produto formulado é aquele empregado na agricultura, existe um risco maior se comparado ao óleo puro, quando atinge animais que habitem um corpo de águaIntroduction - Azadirachta indicates A. Juss. (Meliaceae), is popularity knows as Neem or margosa. It is characterized by a leaf tree, present in tropical areas, probably originated from Asia. It is popularly used not only in medicine and cosmetic, but also in the agriculture, as a pesticide. The azadirachtin is the active substance of the oil and is the responsible for its pesticide effect. The current study compared the toxic effects of a commercial formulation made with the Neem oil and the pure Neem oil against Artemia sp. Material and Methods - The artemias employed here were in the nauplii I or II stage. These animals were submitted to different concentrations of the pure oil of the formulated product. Death was assessed at 24 and 48 hours after the exposure. Results - Results showed that the commercial formulation was significantly (p < 0.05) more toxic when compared to the pure oil. Conclusion - Since the formulated product is employed as agricultural pesticide, it would be represent a great risk when animals from aquatic environment were attained than the pure oil of the plan

APPLICATION OF A ONE-STEP REAL TIME RT-PCR PROTOCOL FOR NOROVIRUS DETECTION IN SHELLFISH HARVERSTED AND COMMERCIALIZED IN CAMPANIA REGION

Shellfish are recognized as a potential vehicle of viral diseases. However, according to European Regulations, only bacteriological parameters (Salmonella and E. coli) are used to establish their microbiological quality. Because of the lack of a standard reference method for the detection of viruses, data on the incidence of enteric viruses in European production areas are still limited. Aim of the present study was the evaluation of the Norovirus (NoV) contamination in shellfish from different harvesting areas (both class A and B) and from registered and not- registered retails of the Campania region (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy). Seventy shellfish (Mytilus galloprovincialis) were collected from 15 harvesting areas, one authorized and two not authorized retails and were examined for virus presence (NoV genogroups I and II) by Real Time PCR. Ten harvesting areas (66%) showed presence of viral contamination, with three of them belonging to A areas and seven to B areas. The shellfish collected from the registered retail tested positive for Norovirus presence, whereas the shellfish collected from not-authorized retails didn't show viral contamination. Twenty-nine samples were positive for genogroup II, ten of which tested positive also for NoV genogroup I

Biomarker Discovery in Serum from Patients with Carotid Atherosclerosis

www.karger.com/cee This is an Open Access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License (www.karger.com/OA-license), applicable to the online version of the article only. Distribution for non-commercial purposes only

Engraftment Syndrome after Nonmyeloablative Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: Incidence and Effects on Survival

AbstractEngraftment syndrome (ES) encompasses a constellation of symptoms that occur during neutrophil recovery after both autologous and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT). Although it is well characterized after conventional myeloablative procedures, limited data exist on this complication after nonmyeloablative allogeneic HCT. The clinical manifestations, incidence, and risk factors associated with ES were investigated in a consecutive series of patients undergoing cyclophosphamide/fludarabine-based nonmyeloablative allogeneic HCT from a related HLA-compatible donor. Fifteen (10%) of 149 patients (median age, 53 years; range, 27–66 years) developed ES; the onset of symptoms occurred at a median of 10 days (range, 3–14 days), and they consisted of fever (100%), cough (53%), diffuse pulmonary infiltrates (100%), rash (13%), and room air hypoxia (87%). ES was more likely to develop in patients who received empiric amphotericin formulations after transplant conditioning (Fisher exact test; P = .007). In a multivariate analysis, older patient age, female sex, and treatment with amphotericin were predictors for the development of ES. Intravenous methylprednisolone led to the rapid resolution of ES; however, transplant-related mortality was significantly higher (cumulative incidence, 49% versus 16%; P = .0005), and median survival was significantly shorter (168 versus 418 days; P = .005) in patients with ES compared with non-ES patients. In conclusion, ES occurs commonly after cyclophosphamide/fludarabine-based nonmyeloablative transplantation and responds rapidly to corticosteroid treatment, but it is associated with a higher risk of nonrelapse mortality and with shorter overall survival

Tracing the footprints of SARS-CoV-2 in oceanic waters

The detection of SARS-CoV-2 in water environments has predominantly focused on wastewater, neglecting its presence in oceanic waters. This study aimed to fill this knowledge gap by investigating the occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 in remote sea and oceanic waters, at large distances from the coastline. Forty-three 500-liter samples were collected between May 2022 and January 2023 from the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Arctic region, the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. Using molecular detection methods including real-time RT-qPCR and nested PCR followed by sequencing, we successfully detected SARS-CoV-2 RNA in 7 of the 43 marine water samples (16.3&nbsp;%), and specifically in samples taken from the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The estimated concentrations of SARS-CoV-2&nbsp;genome copies in the positive samples ranged from 6 to 470 per 100&nbsp;l. The presence of mutations characteristic of the Omicron variant was identified in these samples by amplicon sequencing. These findings provide evidence of the unforeseen presence of SARS-CoV-2 in marine waters even at distances of miles from the coastline and in open ocean waters. It is important to consider that these findings only display the occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA, and further investigations are required to assess if infectious virus can be present in the marine environment

Impaired HCV clearance in HIV/HCV coinfected subjects treated with PegIFN and RBV due to interference of IFN signaling by IFNαR2a

Enhanced endogenous interferon (IFN) stimulated gene (ISG) signature has been associated with nonresponsiveness to hepatitis C treatment using pegylated-IFNα (pegIFNα) and ribavirin (RBV) in human immunodeficiency virus/hepatitis C virus (HIV/HCV) coinfected patients. Using a proteomic approach, we identified high levels of IFNα receptor 2a (IFNαR2a) in the serum of null responders to pegIFNα/RBV. IFNαR2a inhibited antiviral activity of all formulations of IFNα in JFH/Huh7.5 cells. Furthermore, serum from null responders, but not from those who achieved sustained virologic response, suppressed IFN-signaling and ISG expression in IFNα-stimulated PBMCs of healthy donors in an IFNαR2a specific fashion. An IFNαR2a transgenic mice model (C57BL/6) was generated that had significantly higher levels of IFNαR2a in the serum than the controls (P=0.001). Total ISG expression in the lymph nodes was significantly higher compared to wild-type mice (P value=0.0016). In addition, IFITM1 and SP110 had significantly increased expression in the liver, IFITM1 and ISG15 in the lymph node, and ISG15 and PLSCR1 in the spleen (P value\u3c0.05). The underlying mechanism of resistance to hepatitis C treatment may involve transsignaling of the JAK/STAT pathway by the sIFNαR2a-IFNα/β complex and result in the enhanced ISG signature observed in null responders. In this regard, the transgenic mice model simulated nonresponders to IFNα therapy and provides valuable insights into the role of sIFNαR2a- IFNα interactions in vivo. © Mary Ann Liebert, Inc

Wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants in October–November 2022 in Italy: detection of XBB.1, BA.2.75 and rapid spread of the BQ.1 lineage

: This study adds insight regarding the occurrence and spread of SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern (VOCs) and Variants of Interest (VOIs) in Italy in October and November 2022, by testing urban wastewater collected throughout the country. A total of 332 wastewater samples were collected from 20 Italian Regions/Autonomous Provinces (APs) within the framework of national SARS-CoV-2 environmental surveillance. Of these, 164 were collected in the first week of October and 168 in the first week of November. A ∼1600 bp fragment of the spike protein was sequenced by Sanger (for individual samples) and long-read nanopore sequencing (for pooled Region/AP samples). In October, mutations characteristic of Omicron BA.4/BA.5 were detected in the vast majority (91 %) of the samples amplified by Sanger sequencing. A fraction of these sequences (9 %) also displayed the R346T mutation. Despite the low prevalence documented in clinical cases at the time of sampling, amino acid substitutions characteristic of sublineages BQ.1 or BQ.1.1 were detected in 5 % of sequenced samples from four Regions/APs. A significantly higher variability of sequences and variants was documented in November 2022, when the rate of sequences harbouring mutations of lineages BQ.1 and BQ1.1 increased to 43 %, and the number of Regions/APs positive for the new Omicron subvariant more than tripled (n = 13) compared to October. Moreover, an increase in the number of sequences with the mutation package BA.4/BA.5 + R346T (18 %), as well as the detection of variants never observed before in wastewater in Italy, such as BA.2.75 and XBB.1 (the latter in a Region where no clinical cases associated with this variant had ever been documented) was recorded. The results suggest that, as predicted by the ECDC, BQ.1/BQ.1.1 is rapidly becoming dominant in late 2022. Environmental surveillance proves to be a powerful tool for tracking the spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants/subvariants in the population

Evaluation of Alternative Methods of Tunnel Composting (submitted by the European Composting Network)

Two alternative methods for the production of compost from certain category 3 animal by-products (catering waste and processed foodstuffs of animal origin) were assessed. The first proposed a minimum temperature of 55°C for 72&nbsp;h; the second 60°C for 48&nbsp;h, each with a maximum particle size of 200&nbsp;mm. The proposed composting processes were assessed by the BIOHAZ Panel&nbsp;for their efficacy to achieve a reduction of 5 log10 of Enterococcus faecalis or Salmonella Senftenberg (775W, H2S negative) and a 3 log10 reduction of the infectivity titre of thermoresistant viruses, such as parvovirus, in the composted material, as set out in Annex V, Chapter 3, Section&nbsp;2 of Commission Regulation (EU) No 142/2011. The assessment of the BIOHAZ Panel&nbsp;exclusively focused on the ABP raw materials (catering waste and processed foodstuffs) intended for human consumption. The applicant did not provide any validation experiments with direct measurement of the reduction of viability of endogenous indicators or spiked surrogate bacteria. However, from thermal inactivation parameters reported in the literature, it can be concluded that the proposed composting standards can achieve at least a 5 log10 reduction of Enterococcus faecalis or Salmonella Senftenberg 775W. The applicant did not consider thermoresistant viruses as a relevant hazard and therefore did not provide any data from direct measurements of the reduction of infectivity of spiked thermoresistant viruses, nor provide data from validation studies undertaken at national level or data from literature supporting the efficacy of the proposed composting standards on thermoresistant viruses. However, thermoresistant viruses should be considered to be a relevant hazard in this context and validation data should have been provided accordingly. The BIOHAZ Panel&nbsp;considers that the evidence provided by the applicant does not demonstrate that the requirements of Annex V, Chapter 3, Section&nbsp;2 of Commission Regulation (EU) No 142/2011 are achieved