Mycotoxin mixtures in food and feed: holistic, innovative, flexible risk assessment modelling approach: MYCHIF

Mycotoxins are toxic compounds mainly produced by fungi of the genera Aspergillus, Penicillium and Fusarium. They are present, often as mixtures, in many feed and food commodities including cereals, fruits and vegetables. Their ubiquitous presence represents a major challenge to the health and well being of humans and animals. Hundreds of compounds are listed as possible mycotoxins occurring in raw and processed materials destined for human food and animal feed. In this study, mycotoxins of major toxicological relevance to humans and target animal species were investigated in a range of crops of interest (and their derived products). Extensive Literature Searches (ELSs) were undertaken for data collection on: (i) ecology and interaction with host plants of mycotoxin producing fungi, mycotoxin production, recent developments in mitigation actions of mycotoxins in crop chains (maize, small grains, rice, sorghum, grapes, spices and nuts), (ii) analytical methods for native, modified and co-occurring mycotoxins (iii) toxicity, toxicokinetics, toxicodynamics and biomarkers relevant to humans and animals (poultry, suidae (pig, wild boar), bovidae (sheep, goat, cow, buffalo), rodents (rats, mice) and others (horses, dogs), (iv) modelling approaches and key reference values for exposure, hazard and risk modelling. Comprehensive databases were created using EFSA templates and were stored in the MYCHIF platform. A range of approaches were implemented to explore the modelling of external and internal exposure as well as dose-response of mycotoxins in chicken and pigs. In vitro toxicokinetic and in vivo toxicity databases were exploited, both for single compounds and mixtures. However, large data gaps were identified particularly with regards to absence of common statistical and study designs within the literature and constitute an obstacle for the harmonisation of internal exposure and dose-response modelling. Finally, risk characterisation was also performed for humans as well as for two animal species (i.e. pigs and chicken) using available tools for the modelling of internal dose and a component-based approach for selected mycotoxins mixtures

Congenital myopathies: Clinical phenotypes and new diagnostic tools

Congenital myopathies are a group of genetic muscle disorders characterized clinically by hypotonia and weakness, usually from birth, and a static or slowly progressive clinical course. Historically, congenital myopathies have been classified on the basis of major morphological features seen on muscle biopsy. However, different genes have now been identified as associated with the various phenotypic and histological expressions of these disorders, and in recent years, because of their unexpectedly wide genetic and clinical heterogeneity, next-generation sequencing has increasingly been used for their diagnosis. We reviewed clinical and genetic forms of congenital myopathy and defined possible strategies to improve cost-effectiveness in histological and imaging diagnosis

Deregulated MicroRNAs in Myotonic Dystrophy Type 2

Myotonic Dystrophy Type-2 (DM2) is an autosomal dominant disease caused by the expansion of a CCTG tetraplet repeat. It is a multisystemic disorder, affecting skeletal muscles, the heart, the eye, the central nervous system and the endocrine system. Since microRNA (miRNA) expression is disrupted in Myotonic Dystrophy Type-1 and many other myopathies, miRNAs deregulation was studied in skeletal muscle biopsies of 13 DM2 patients and 13 controls. Eleven miRNAs were deregulated: 9 displayed higher levels compared to controls (miR-34a-5p, miR-34b-3p, miR-34c-5p, miR-146b-5p, miR-208a, miR-221-3p and miR-381), while 4 were decreased (miR-125b-5p, miR-193a-3p, miR-193b-3p and miR-378a-3p). To explore the relevance of DM2 miRNA deregulation, the predicted interactions between miRNA and mRNA were investigated. Global gene expression was analyzed in DM2 and controls and bioinformatic analysis identified more than 1,000 miRNA/mRNA interactions. Pathway and function analysis highlighted the involvement of the miRNA-deregulated mRNAs in multiple aspects of DM2 pathophysiology. In conclusion, the observed miRNA dysregulations may contribute to DM2 pathogenetic mechanisms

COVID-19 Severity in Multiple Sclerosis: Putting Data Into Context

Background and objectives: It is unclear how multiple sclerosis (MS) affects the severity of COVID-19. The aim of this study is to compare COVID-19-related outcomes collected in an Italian cohort of patients with MS with the outcomes expected in the age- and sex-matched Italian population. Methods: Hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and death after COVID-19 diagnosis of 1,362 patients with MS were compared with the age- and sex-matched Italian population in a retrospective observational case-cohort study with population-based control. The observed vs the expected events were compared in the whole MS cohort and in different subgroups (higher risk: Expanded Disability Status Scale [EDSS] score > 3 or at least 1 comorbidity, lower risk: EDSS score ≤ 3 and no comorbidities) by the χ2 test, and the risk excess was quantified by risk ratios (RRs). Results: The risk of severe events was about twice the risk in the age- and sex-matched Italian population: RR = 2.12 for hospitalization (p < 0.001), RR = 2.19 for ICU admission (p < 0.001), and RR = 2.43 for death (p < 0.001). The excess of risk was confined to the higher-risk group (n = 553). In lower-risk patients (n = 809), the rate of events was close to that of the Italian age- and sex-matched population (RR = 1.12 for hospitalization, RR = 1.52 for ICU admission, and RR = 1.19 for death). In the lower-risk group, an increased hospitalization risk was detected in patients on anti-CD20 (RR = 3.03, p = 0.005), whereas a decrease was detected in patients on interferon (0 observed vs 4 expected events, p = 0.04). Discussion: Overall, the MS cohort had a risk of severe events that is twice the risk than the age- and sex-matched Italian population. This excess of risk is mainly explained by the EDSS score and comorbidities, whereas a residual increase of hospitalization risk was observed in patients on anti-CD20 therapies and a decrease in people on interferon

DMTs and Covid-19 severity in MS: a pooled analysis from Italy and France

We evaluated the effect of DMTs on Covid-19 severity in patients with MS, with a pooled-analysis of two large cohorts from Italy and France. The association of baseline characteristics and DMTs with Covid-19 severity was assessed by multivariate ordinal-logistic models and pooled by a fixed-effect meta-analysis. 1066 patients with MS from Italy and 721 from France were included. In the multivariate model, anti-CD20 therapies were significantly associated (OR = 2.05, 95%CI = 1.39–3.02, p < 0.001) with Covid-19 severity, whereas interferon indicated a decreased risk (OR = 0.42, 95%CI = 0.18–0.99, p = 0.047). This pooled-analysis confirms an increased risk of severe Covid-19 in patients on anti-CD20 therapies and supports the protective role of interferon

Lexicography and language learning of Swahili L2 at UNIOR: the Swahili-Italian online dictionary project

The present essay outlines the progress of a lexicography project, namely a Swahili-Italian online dictionary, which was developed at the University of Naples “L’Orientale” (henceforth UNIOR) and conceived as a useful digital tool for Italian L1 learners of Swahili in a context of renewal of the teaching/learning of Swahili at the UNIOR, encouraged by web-based distance tools and platforms. As will be explained in detail, the software of the online lexical database, first developed in the period between 2003 and 2009, is in the process of being updated with some technical and lexicographical improvements, aiming for a resource that will be increasingly user-friendly to Swahili language students, and in general to Italian-speaking learners