Isolamento e caratterizzazione di batteri capaci di degradare composti inquinanti e loro impiego in sistemi bioslurry

Il progetto di dottorato di cui mi sono occupata prevedeva l’isolamento e la caratterizzazione di nuovi batteri di interesse ambientale. Da campioni di suolo proveniente da un’area industriale sono stati isolati diversi ceppi batterici capaci di crescere a spese di fenantrene o naftalene e uno capace di degradare l’acido 4-cloro-benzoico (4-CBA). Tutti i ceppi sono stati identificati e sottoposti ad un’indagine preliminare per individuare attività di interesse. Poiché la selezione del ceppo degradante il 4-CBA (Arthrobacter sp. FG1) è stata notevolmente più semplice e rapida di quella dei ceppi utilizzatori di idrocarburi aromatici policiclici, le successive indagini si sono concentrate su questo isolato. La via catabolica per il 4-CBA di Arthrobacter sp. FG1 è stata studiata e caratterizzata sia da un punto di vista biochimico che genetico, rendendo possibile la costruzione di ceppi ingegnerizzati. Infine, sono state allestite delle prove in bioslurry per paragonare l’efficienza di degradazione del 4-CBA da parte di Arthrobacter FG1 e dei ceppi ricombinanti ottenuti in un contesto più simile a una reale applicazione di biorisanamento di suolo contaminato

Periodontitis prevalence and associated factors: a comparison of two examination protocols

La variabilidad en la definición epidemiológica de la periodontitis y los protocolos de evaluación afectan la medición de la prevalencia y su asociación con ciertos factores. Si bien, el patrón oro para el examen periodontal es el registro de boca completa, que evalúa la pérdida de inserción (CAL, por sus siglas en inglés) y profundidad de sondaje (PS, por sus siglas en inglés), los recursos no siempre están disponibles para los sistemas de vigilancia epidemiológica. Objetivo: En este estudio se compararon diferentes protocolos y definiciones de periodontitis evaluando la prevalencia y la asociación de factores relacionados en pacientes adultos que solicitaron atención en la Facultad de Odontología de la UdelaR

Thymus vulgaris Essential Oil in Beta-Cyclodextrin for Solid-State Pharmaceutical Applications

: Antimicrobial resistance related to the misuse of antibiotics is a well-known current topic. Their excessive use in several fields has led to enormous selective pressure on pathogenic and commensal bacteria, driving the evolution of antimicrobial resistance genes with severe impacts on human health. Among all the possible strategies, a viable one could be the development of medical features that employ essential oils (EOs), complex natural mixtures extracted from different plant organs, rich in organic compounds showing, among others, antiseptic properties. In this work, green extracted essential oil of Thymus vulgaris was included in cyclic oligosaccharides cyclodextrins (CD) and prepared in the form of tablets. This essential oil has been shown to have a strong transversal efficacy both as an antifungal and as an antibacterial agent. Its inclusion allows its effective use because an extension of the exposure time to the active compounds is obtained and, therefore, a more marked efficacy, especially against biofilm-producing microorganisms such as P. aeruginosa and S. aureus, was registered. The efficacy of the tablet against candidiasis opens their possible use as a chewable tablet against oral candidiasis and as a vaginal tablet against vaginal candidiasis. Moreover, the registered wide efficacy is even more positive since the proposed approach can be defined as effective, safe, and green. In fact, the natural mixture of the essential oil is produced by the steam current method; therefore, the manufacturer employs substances that are not harmful, with very low production and management costs

Combined Inclusion of Former Foodstuff and Distiller Grains in Dairy Cows Ration: Effect on Milk Production, Rumen Environment, and Fiber Digestibility

Simple Summary One-third of the global food produced for human consumption is wasted every year. This leads to the wasting of economic, environmental, and social resources. The reallocation of some unconventional agro-industrial by-products, such as former foods or distiller grains, into the animal feed chain, can contribute to increasing the sustainability of livestock production, reducing the need for natural resources such as arable soil, water, fertilisers, and fuels, and consequentially reduce the impact of animal requirements. Many agro-food industrial by-products are already used in animal feeding, but the potential of these feed ingredients has not yet been fully investigated, especially in ruminant nutrition. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of the substitution, in dairy cow rations, of traditional protein and starch sources with more sustainable "circular" feeds to increase the sustainability of dairy production. For this purpose, eight multiparous mid-lactating cows were blocked and assigned to one of four treatments and were used in a replicated 4 x 4 Latin squares design with 21-days periods (14 days of adaptation and 7 of data collection). Two different circular feedstuffs were tested: a bakery's former foodstuff (FF) and a wheat distiller's grain with solubles (WDGS). These ingredients were used, alone and in combination, in three experimental diets (FF, WDGS; FF + WDGS) and compared to a standard ration (CTR). Dry matter intake and rumination time were not influenced by these diets. Conversely, dietary treatments partially influenced the milk yield, rumen pH, Volatile Fatty Acids (VFA) production, and fibre digestibility. In particular, the combined inclusion of FF and WDGS increased milk production (37.39 vs. 36.92, 35.48, 35.71 kg/day, for FF, WDGS and CTR diets, respectively) and reduced milk urea content (13.14 vs. 16.19, 15.58, 16.95 mg/dL for FF, WDGS, and CTR diets, respectively). No effects of this association were found in the milk composition, acetic and propionic production, and fibre digestibility. These results suggest that the association of former foodstuff and wheat distillers' grains could be safely included in dairy cow rations to increase the sustainability of cow nutrition and improve milk production without impairing animal health, dry matter intake, and fibre digestibility

Primary Resistance to Immunotherapy-Based Regimens in First Line Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Perspectives on Jumping the Hurdle

Simple Summary Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) had been explored extensively in patients affected by unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. These agents were expected to be the keystones of the disease's first-line treatment because they were theoretically able to revert the immune suppressive tumor microenvironment of the cancerous liver, and because of their manageable safety profile. However, when used as monotherapies, they showed important activity and efficacy limitations. In this mini-review, we summarize the characteristics of the different ICIs-based regimens which constitute the present gold standard of first-line treatment, then, moving from their shortcomings, we discuss the rationale supporting the strategies currently under investigation: systemic triplets and new paradigms of immune-therapeutic agents such as CAR-T and vaccines. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are a key component of different stages of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment, particularly in the first line of treatment. A lesson on the primary resistance which hampers their efficacy and activity was learned from the failure of the trials which tested them as first-line mono-therapies. Despite the combination of anti-PD(L)1 agents with anti-VEGF, anti CTLA4, or TKIs demonstrating relevant improvements in efficacy, the "doublets strategy" still shows room for improvement, due to a limited overall survival benefit and a high rate of progressive disease as best response. In this review, we discuss the results from the currently tested doublet strategies (i.e., atezolizumab+bevacizumab, durvalumab+tremelimumab with a mention to the newly presented ICIs/TKIs combinations), which highlight the need for therapeutic improvement. Furthermore, we examine the rationale and provide an overview of the ongoing trials testing the treatment intensification strategy with triplet drugs: anti-PD1+anti-CTLA4+anti-VEGF/TKIs and anti-PD1+anti-VEGF+alternative immunity targets. Lastly, we report on the alternative strategy to integrate ICIs into the new paradigm of immune therapeutics constituted by CAR-T and anti-cancer vaccines. This review provides up-to-date knowledge of ongoing clinical trials of the aforementioned strategies and critical insight into their mechanistic premises

Real-world treatment patterns for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer at IRST Italy

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Evidence that Prefibrotic Myelofibrosis Is Aligned along a Clinical and Biological Continuum Featuring Primary Myelofibrosis

PURPOSE: In the WHO diagnostic classification, prefibrotic myelofibrosis (pre-MF) is included in the category of primary myelofibrosis (PMF). However, strong evidence for this position is lacking. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We investigated whether pre-MF may be aligned along a clinical and biological continuum in 683 consecutive patients who received a WHO diagnosis of PMF. RESULTS: As compared with PMF-fibrotic type, pre-MF (132 cases) showed female dominance, younger age, higher hemoglobin, higher platelet count, lower white blood cell count, smaller spleen index and higher incidence of splanchnic vein thrombosis. Female to male ratio and hemoglobin steadily decreased, while age increased from pre-MF to PMF- fibrotic type with early and to advanced bone marrow (BM) fibrosis. Likely, circulating CD34+ cells, LDH levels, and frequency of chromosomal abnormalities increased, while CXCR4 expression on CD34+ cells and serum cholesterol decreased along the continuum of BM fibrosis. Median survival of the entire cohort of PMF cases was 21 years. Ninety-eight, eighty-one and fifty-six percent of patients with pre-MF, PMF-fibrotic type with early and with advanced BM fibrosis, respectively, were alive at 10 years from diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Pre-MF is a presentation mode of PMF with a very indolent phenotype. The major consequences of this contention is a new clinical vision of PMF, and the need to improve prognosis prediction of the disease