Impact of “Golden” tomato juice on cognitive alterations in metabolic syndrome: Insights into behavioural and biochemical changes in a high-fat diet rat model

“Golden” tomato (GT) plays a protective role in metabolic dysfunction induced by High-Fat Diet (HFD). Our aim is to characterize the phytonutrient composition of the juice and explore the influence of GT, orally administered for one month, on cognitive impairment associated with Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) in male rats. We investigated reactivity, stress response and memory, together with brain neurotrophic/inflammatory signaling. Our data showed that HFD-induced functional modifications were ameliorated by GT nutritional supplementation. In particular, the behavioural reactivity improved in HFD/GT rats, that also showed a better performance in tests measuring anxiety and anhedonia. Furthermore, GT consumption rescued the declarative memory impairment. Lastly, GT supplementation counteracted HFD-induced brain alterations in PI3K\Akt and MAPK/ERK signalling pathways. In conclusion, this study provides evidence of the importance of food supplementation with GT in the protection from neuroinflammation and cognitive alterations associated with MetS

Anti-Apoptotic and Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Grapefruit IntegroPectin on Human Microglial HMC3 Cell Line

In this study, we investigated the beneficial effects of grapefruit IntegroPectin, derived from industrial waste grapefruit peels via hydrodynamic cavitation, on microglia cells exposed to oxidative stress conditions. Grapefruit IntegroPectin fully counteracted cell death and the apoptotic process induced by cell exposure to tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBH), a powerful hydroperoxide. The protective effects of the grapefruit IntegroPectin were accompanied with a decrease in the amount of ROS, and were strictly dependent on the activation of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt cascade. Finally, IntegroPectin treatment inhibited the neuroinflammatory response and the basal microglia activation by down-regulating the PI3K- nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-kB)- inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) cascade. These data strongly support further investigations aimed at exploring IntegroPectin's therapeutic role in in vivo models of neurodegenerative disorders, characterized by a combination of chronic neurodegeneration, oxidative stress and neuroinflammation

Pathways of Self-Determination: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Study of Slut-shaming Vulnerability in a Group of Young Adults

Slut-shaming is a sexual stigmatization that consists in a form of discrimination against those who do not respect gender stereotypes of external appearance and/ or sexual behaviors and attitudes. Individuals may also be exposed to slut-shaming merely due to fortuitous elements unrelated to the sexual dimension. Slut-sham ing is perpetrated through ostracism, rejection and sexual stigmatization and may have negative efects on psychophysical well-being. The primary aim of the pre sent study is to explore the victimization of young adults through slut-shaming. A sample of thirty-six participants (aged 19–28) was recruited and focus groups and interviews were conducted to explore participants’ slut-shaming experiences. Con structivist grounded theory was employed to understand how young adults deal with slut-shaming and analyze sociocultural factors involved in slut-shaming dynamics. Several individual, social and cultural factors are involved in sexual stigmatization processes. A core set of 6 categories related to slut-shaming exposure was identifed: exposure to slut-shaming, antecedents of slut-shaming, socio-cultural context facili tating slut-shaming, LGBTQIA+and slut-shaming, negative efects of slut-sham ing, and reactions to slut-shaming. Results emphasized that, even if young adults showed a generally high level of awareness of sexual discrimination and stigmati zation processes, slut-shaming victimization is not uniformly experienced by them. Young adults’ narratives seem to show conficting feelings and thoughts regarding the possible strategies that could be employed to deal with slut-shaming exposure and pervasive internal and external forms of oppression

Phylodynamic Analysis and Implication of HCV Genotype 4 Variability on Antiviral Drug Response and T-Cell Recognition

Therapies for HCV care could change the prevalence and the geographic distribution of genotypes due to differences in Sustained Virologic Response (SVR). In this scenario, uncommon genotypes/subtypes, such as genotype 4, could spread from high-risk groups, replacing genotypes eradicated by antiviral drugs. Genotype eradication is also strongly influenced by the CD8+ T cell response. In this study, the genetic variability in HCV genotype 4 strains obtained from a cohort of 67 patients naïve to DAA therapy was evaluated. We found that the presence of resistance-associated substitutions (RAS) was able to affect drug responses. Next, using a prediction tool, viral mutations were identified by their ability, or lack thereof, to reduce the binding affinity with HLA, which affects T cell recognition. The Bayesian coalescent analysis suggested two different circulation clusters, one in risk groups (IDUs and MSM) and the other due to migration flows, dated to 1940 and 1915, respectively. Most of the RAS overlapped with HLA and a lack of binding mutations was observed in 96% of strains. This study describes the introduction of HCV genotype 4 in a region of the Mediterranean basin and evaluates how HCV genotype 4's genetic variability could affect the response of antiviral drugs and CD8+ T cell recognition

Recombinant GII.P16 genotype challenges RT-PCR-based typing in region A of norovirus genome

Objectives: In latest years GII.4[P16] and GII.2[P16] noroviruses have become predominant in some temporal/geographical settings. In parallel with the emergence of the GII.P16 polymerase type, norovirus surveillance activity in Italy experienced increasing difficulties in generating sequence data on the RNA polymerase genomic region A, using the widely adopted JV12A/JV13B primer set. Two sets of modified primers (Deg1 and Deg2) were tested in order to improve amplification and typing of the polymerase gene. Methods: Amplification and typing performance of region A primers was assessed in RT-PCR on 452 GII norovirus positive samples obtained from 2194 stool samples collected in 2016–2019 from children hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis. Results: The use of Deg1 increased the rate of samples types in region A from 49.5% to 81.4% and from 21.9% to 69.7% in 2016 and 2017, respectively. The rate of Deg1 typed samples remained high in 2018 (90.1%), but sharply decreased to 11.8% in 2019. The second primers set, Deg2, was able to increase to 64.9% the rate of 2019 samples typed in region A, while typing efficiently 73.2%, 69%, and 86.4% of samples collected in 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively. Conclusions: The plasticity of norovirus genomes requires continuous updates of the primers used for strain characterization