Effectiveness of an innovative sensory approach to improve children’s nutritional choices

A case-control study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of the Edueat® Method, through experiential workshops focused on the use of all 5 senses. In two different primary schools in the same city, questionnaires were administered in two months with a follow-up one year later. Participants: 119 children (age 8.2–9.0) chosen randomly; control group 66 (55.5%). Seven lessons of 2 h each were held in the schools by experts of the Edueat® method and seven extra lessons by the teachers. The main outcome measures were the children’s changes in their approach and attitude towards their eating habits. The answers were grouped with factor analysis and summarized through scores. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was conducted in order to identify the relationships between scores and treatment over time. At the end of treatment, the intervention group showed a significant appreciation towards healthy foods (+4.15 vs. −0.05, p = 0.02) and a greater capacity in identifying foods which are very good for the health (+15.6 vs. +14.4, p = 0.02). In conclusion, the Edueat® method was found to be particularly promising in transmitting knowledge of those foods which are healthy. Greater involvement of teachers and parents is crucial

Complete mitochondrial sequences from Mesolithic Sardinia

Little is known about the genetic prehistory of Sardinia because of the scarcity of pre-Neolithic human remains. From a genetic perspective, modern Sardinians are known as genetic outliers in Europe, showing unusually high levels of internal diversity and a close relationship to early European Neolithic farmers. However, how far this peculiar genetic structure extends and how it originated was to date impossible to test. Here we present the first and oldest complete mitochondrial sequences from Sardinia, dated back to 10,000 yBP. These two individuals, while confirming a Mesolithic occupation of the island, belong to rare mtDNA lineages, which have never been found before in Mesolithic samples and that are currently present at low frequencies not only in Sardinia, but in the whole Europe. Preliminary Approximate Bayesian Computations, restricted by biased reference samples for Mesolithic Sardinia (the two typed samples) and Neolithic Europe (limited to central and north European sequences), suggest that the first inhabitants of the island have had a small or negligible contribution to the present-day Sardinian population, which mainly derives its genetic diversity from continental migration into the island by Neolithic times

Phylogeny, identification and nomenclature of the genus Aspergillus

AbstractAspergillus comprises a diverse group of species based on morphological, physiological and phylogenetic characters, which significantly impact biotechnology, food production, indoor environments and human health. Aspergillus was traditionally associated with nine teleomorph genera, but phylogenetic data suggest that together with genera such as Polypaecilum, Phialosimplex, Dichotomomyces and Cristaspora, Aspergillus forms a monophyletic clade closely related to Penicillium. Changes in the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants resulted in the move to one name per species, meaning that a decision had to be made whether to keep Aspergillus as one big genus or to split it into several smaller genera. The International Commission of Penicillium and Aspergillus decided to keep Aspergillus instead of using smaller genera. In this paper, we present the arguments for this decision. We introduce new combinations for accepted species presently lacking an Aspergillus name and provide an updated accepted species list for the genus, now containing 339 species. To add to the scientific value of the list, we include information about living ex-type culture collection numbers and GenBank accession numbers for available representative ITS, calmodulin, β-tubulin and RPB2 sequences. In addition, we recommend a standard working technique for Aspergillus and propose calmodulin as a secondary identification marker

Current take on systemic sclerosis patients’ vaccination recommendations

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic disease. The prevalence of SSc ranges from 7 to 700 cases per million worldwide. Due to multiple organ involvement and constant inflammatory state, this group of patients presents an increased risk of infectious diseases. This paper aimed to gather the up-to-date evidence on vaccination strategies for patients with SSc and to be a useful tool for the prevention and management of infectious diseases. The authors conducted a scoping review in which each paragraph presents data on a specific vaccine’s safety, immuno-genicity, and efficacy. The work deals with the following topics: SARS-CoV-2, seasonal influenza, S. pneumoniae, HAV, HBV, HZV, N. meningitidis, H. influenzae, HPV, and diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis

Screening of Olive Biodiversity Defines Genotypes Potentially Resistant to Xylella fastidiosa

none17noThe recent outbreak of the Olive Quick Decline Syndrome (OQDS), caused by Xylella fastidiosa subsp. pauca (Xf), is dramatically altering ecosystem services in the peninsula of Salento (Apulia Region, southeastern Italy). Here we report the accomplishment of several exploratory missions in the Salento area, resulting in the identification of thirty paucisymptomatic or asymptomatic plants in olive orchards severely affected by the OQDS. The genetic profiles of such putatively resistant plants (PRPs), assessed by a selection of ten simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers, were compared with those of 141 Mediterranean cultivars. Most (23) PRPs formed a genetic cluster (K1) with 22 Italian cultivars, including ‘Leccino’ and ‘FS17’, previously reported as resistant to Xf. The remaining PRPs displayed relatedness with genetically differentiated germplasm, including a cluster of Tunisian cultivars. Markedly lower colonization levels were observed in PRPs of the cluster K1 with respect to control plants. Field evaluation of four cultivars related to PRPs allowed the definition of partial resistance in the genotypes ‘Frantoio’ and ‘Nocellara Messinese’. Some of the PRPs identified in this study might be exploited in cultivation, or as parental clones of breeding programs. In addition, our results indicate the possibility to characterize resistance to Xf in cultivars genetically related to PRPs.openPavan S.; Vergine M.; Nicoli F.; Sabella E.; Aprile A.; Negro C.; Fanelli V.; Savoia M.A.; Montilon V.; Susca L.; Delvento C.; Lotti C.; Nigro F.; Montemurro C.; Ricciardi L.; De Bellis L.; Luvisi A.Pavan, S.; Vergine, M.; Nicoli, F.; Sabella, E.; Aprile, A.; Negro, C.; Fanelli, V.; Savoia, M. A.; Montilon, V.; Susca, L.; Delvento, C.; Lotti, C.; Nigro, F.; Montemurro, C.; Ricciardi, L.; De Bellis, L.; Luvisi, A

Screening of olive germplasm for resistance to Xylella fastidiosa ST53: the state of the art

While different sources of natural resistance to X. fastidiosa have been described in grapevines and citrus, lack of solid information exists on possible sources of resistance/tolerance in the cultivars that characterize the wide olive germplasm. Preliminary field observations and laboratory analyses of a few cultivars, have shown that differential responses to X. fastidiosa infections exist. To confirm these preliminary findings, a large panel of olive cultivars is being specifically investigated. Currently, the screening procedure relies on field observations looking for symptomless subjects (trees of known cultivars/volunteer seedlings), mechanical inoculations, qualitative and quantitative diagnostic assays (ELISA & qPCR) and, in selected cases, comparative transcriptomic profiling. Field experiments include the planting of the target cultivars/selections in an infected area under high inoculum pressure. All the plots are located in the Apulia Region (Italy) in the demarcated infected area, surrounded by X. fastidiosa heavily affected olive groves. A first experimental plot was established in April 2015 with 10 different cultivars, which was extended in 2016 to 49 cultivars, and will be further enlarged in 2017 with the addition of 40 new accessions. Other plots, comprising newly planted or grafted cultivars (over 260 cvs) have been also established, bringing to over 300 the total number of accessions under evaluation. Cvs Leccino and FS-17®, both expressing interesting traits of resistance, have already been identified

Progress and achievements on the early detection of Xylella fastidiosa infection and symptom development with hyperspectral and thermal remote sensing imagery

Trabajo presentado en la 3rd European Conference on Xylella fastidiosa (Building knowledge, protecting plant health), celebrada online el 29 y 30 de abril de 2021.Remote sensing efforts made as part of European initiatives via POnTE, XF-ACTORS and the JRC, as well as through regional programs, have focused, among others, on the development of algorithms for the early detection of Xylella fastidiosa (Xf)-induced symptoms. Airborne campaigns carried out between 2016 and 2019 collected high-resolution hyperspectral and thermal images from infected areas in the Apulia region (Italy), in the province of Alicante and on the island of Mallorca (Spain). The remote sensing imagery collections were performed alongside field surveys and laboratory analyses to assess the presence of Xf, and the severity and incidence of disease in olive and almond trees. Radiative transfer models and machine learning algorithms were used to quantify spectral plant traits for each individual infected tree, assessing their importance as pre visual indicators of Xf-induced stress. These studies conducted across species have demonstrated that specific spectral plant traits successfully revealed Xf induced symptoms at early stages, i.e., before visual symptoms appear. The results show that spectral plant traits contribute differently to symptom detection across host species (olive vs. almond), and that abiotic-induced stress affects the performance of the algorithms used for detecting infected trees. Together, the different European initiatives studying the use of remote sensing to support the monitoring of landscapes for Xylella fastidiosa detection lead us to conclude that the early detection of Xf-induced symptoms is feasible when high-resolution hyperspectral imagery and physically-based plant trait retrievals are used, obtaining accuracies exceeding 92% (kappa>0.8). These results are essential to enable the implementation of effective control and management of plant diseases using airborne- droneand satellite-based remote sensing technologies. Moreover, these large-scale hyperspectral and thermal imaging methods greatly contribute to the future operational monitoring of infected areas at large scales, well beyond what is possible from field surveys and laboratory analyses alone

A western route of prehistoric human migration from Africa into the Iberian Peninsula

Being at the western fringe of Europe, Iberia had a peculiar prehistory and a complex pattern of Neolithization. A few studies, all based on modern populations, reported the presence of DNA of likely African origin in this region, generally concluding it was the result of recent gene flow, probably during the Islamic period. Here, we provide evidence of much older gene flow from Africa to Iberia by sequencing whole genomes from four human remains from northern Portugal and southern Spain dated around 4000 years BP (from the Middle Neolithic to the Bronze Age). We found one of them to carry an unequivocal sub-Saharan mitogenome of most probably West or West-Central African origin, to our knowledge never reported before in prehistoric remains outside Africa. Our analyses of ancient nuclear genomes show small but significant levels of sub-Saharan African affinity in several ancient Iberian samples, which indicates that what we detected was not an occasional individual phenomenon, but an admixture event recognizable at the population level. We interpret this result as evidence of an early migration process from Africa into the Iberian Peninsula through a western route, possibly across the Strait of Gibraltar

New and revisited species in Aspergillus section Nigri

Four new species, Aspergillus eucalypticola, A. neoniger, A. fijiensis and A. indologenus are described and illustrated. Aspergillus eucalypticola was isolated from Eucalyptus leaf from Australia, and is related to A. tubingensis and A. costaricaensis, but could clearly be distinguished from them based on either β-tubulin or calmodulin sequence data. Aspergillus eucalypticola produced pyranonigrin A, funalenone, aurasperone B and other naphtho-γ-pyrones. Aspergillus neoniger is also a biseriate species isolated from desert sand in Namibia, and mangrove water in Venezuela, which produces aurasperone B and pyranonigrin A. Aspergillus fijiensis is a uniseriate species related to A. aculeatinus, and was isolated from soil in Fiji, and from Lactuca sativa in Indonesia. This species is able to grow at 37 °C, and produces asperparalines and okaramins. Aspergillus indologenus was isolated from soil, India. This species also belongs to the uniseriate group of black aspergilli, and was found to be related to, but clearly distinguishable from A. uvarum based on β-tubulin, calmodulin and ITS sequence data. Aspergillus indologenus produced the insecticidal compounds okaramins A, B, H, and two types of indol-alkaloids which have not been structure elucidated. Two other species, A. violaceofuscus and A. acidus, are revalidated based on molecular and extrolite data. Aspergillus violaceofuscus was found to be related to A. japonicus, and produced some of the same interesting indol-alkaloids as A. indologenus, and also produced several families of partially characterised extrolites that were also found in A. heteromorphus. Aspergillus acidus (previously known as A. foetidus var. pallidus and A. foetidus var. acidus) is also a valid species, while A. foetidus is a synonym of A. niger based on molecular and physiological data. Two other species described previously, A. coreanus and A. lacticoffeatus, were found to be colour mutants of A. acidus and A. niger, respectively. Methods which could be used to distinguish the two closely related and economically important species A. niger and A. awamori are also detailed. Although these species differ in their occurrence and several physiological means (elastase activities, abilities to utilise 2-deoxy-D-glucose as sole carbon source), our data indicate that only molecular approaches including sequence analysis of calmodulin or β-tubulin genes, AFLP analysis, UP-PCR analysis or mtDNA RFLP analysis can be used reliably to distinguish these sibling species. Aspergillus section Nigri now includes 26 taxa