Improvement of neuropsychological performances and reduction of immune-activation markers after probiotic supplementation and change of life-style in an HIV positive male: targeting the microbiota to act on gut-brain axis

The gut-brain axis is widely in uenced by the intestinal microbiota and dysbiosis is consequently associated with a large dysregulation of its functions. Probiotic supplementation, reducing the harmful effects of dysbiosis, has shown positive effects not only on gut and brain functions, but also on the control of the dangerous effects of immune activation. Mounting evidence has shown that neurocognitive impairment can be a secondary to the impairment of the microbiota-gut-brain axis in HIV positive patients. In this case report we analyzed the im- provement of neurocognitive performances associated with a reduction of levels of peripheral immune-activa- tion, after 6 months of probiotic supplementation. In this case, the achieved result may have been in uenced by a more comprehensive modi cation of the patient’s lifestyle with the introduction of a controlled diet and regular physical activity. Our observations suggest that integrate antiretroviral therapy and non-pharmacological tools into an overall approach, can be a useful strategy to control some non-AIDS related diseases

Why PEDOT:PSS Should Not Be Used for Raman Sensing of Redox States (and How It Could Be)

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) has been recently proposed for Raman sensing of redox-active species in solution. Here, we investigated the rationale of this approach through systematic experiments, in which the Raman spectrum of PEDOT:PSS was analyzed in the presence of either nonoxidizing or oxidizing electrolytes. The results demonstrated that Raman spectra precisely reflect the conformation of PEDOT units and their interactions with PSS. Two different responses were observed. In the case of oxidizing electrolytes, the effect of charge transfer is accurately transduced in Raman spectrum changes. On the other hand, reduction induces a progressive separation between the PEDOT and PSS chains, which decreases their mutual interaction. This stimulus determines characteristic variations in the intensity, shape, and position of the Raman spectra. However, we demonstrated that the same effects can be obtained either by increasing the concentration of nonoxidizing electrolytes or by deprotonating PSS chains. This poses severe limitations to the use of PEDOT:PSS for this type of Raman sensing. This study allows us to revise most of the Raman results reported in the literature with a clear model, setting a new basis for investigating the dynamics of mixed electronic/ionic charge transfer in conductive polymers

Exploiting bacteria for improving hypoxemia of COVID-19 patients

Background: Although useful in the time-race against COVID-19, CPAP cannot provide oxygen over the physiological limits imposed by severe pulmonary impairments. In previous studies, we reported that the administration of the SLAB51 probiotics reduced risk of developing respiratory failure in severe COVID-19 patients through the activation of oxygen sparing mechanisms providing additional oxygen to organs critical for survival. Methods: This "real life" study is a retrospective analysis of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients with hypoxaemic acute respiratory failure secondary to COVID-19 pneumonia undergoing CPAP treatment. A group of patients managed with ad interim routinely used therapy (RUT) were compared to a second group treated with RUT associated with SLAB51 oral bacteriotherapy (OB). Results: At baseline, patients receiving SLAB51 showed significantly lower blood oxygenation than controls. An opposite condition was observed after 3 days of treatment, despite the significantly reduced amount of oxygen received by patients taking SLAB51. At 7 days, a lower prevalence of COVID-19 patients needing CPAP in the group taking probiotics was observed. The administration of SLAB51 is a complementary approach for ameliorating oxygenation conditions at the systemic level. Conclusion: This study proves that probiotic administration results in an additional boost in alleviating hypoxic conditions, permitting to limit on the use of CPAP and its contraindications

Unexpected increase of myocardial extracellular volume fraction in low cardiovascular risk HIV patients

Background People living with HIV (PLWH) are prone to develop sub-clinical Cardiovascular (CV) disease, despite the effectiveness of combined Antiretroviral Therapy (cART). Algorithms developed to predict CV risk in the general population could be inaccurate when applied to PLWH. Myocardial Extra-Cellular Matrix (ECM) expansion, measured by computed tomography, has been associated with an increased CV vulnerability in HIV-negative population. Measurement of Myocardial Extra-Cellular Volume (ECV) by computed tomography or magnetic resonance, is considered a useful surrogate for clinical evaluation of ECM expansion. In the present study, we aimed to determine the extent of cardiovascular involvement in asymptomatic HIV-infected patients with the use of a comprehensive cardiac computed tomography (CCT) approach. Materials and methods In the present study, ECV in low atherosclerotic CV risk PLWH was compared with ECV of age and gender matched HIV- individuals. 53 asymptomatic HIV + individuals (45 males, age 48 (42.5–48) years) on effective cART (CD4 + cell count: 450 cells/µL (IQR: 328–750); plasma HIV RNA: <37 copies/ml in all subjects) and 18 age and gender matched controls (14 males, age 55 (44.5–56) years) were retrospectively enrolled. All participants underwent CCT protocol to obtain native and postcontrast Hounsfield unit values of blood and myocardium, ECM was calculated accordingly. Results The ECV was significantly higher in HIV + patients than in the control group (ECV: 31% (IQR: 28%-31%) vs. 27.4% (IQR: 25%-28%), p < 0.001). The duration of cART (standardized β = 0.56 (0.33–0.95), p = 0.014) and the years of exposure to HIV infection (standardized β = 0.53 (0.4–0.92), p < 0.001), were positively and strongly associated with ECV values. Differences in ECV (p < 0.001) were also observed regarding the duration of cART exposure (< 5 years, 5–10 years and > 10 years). Moreover, ECV was independently associated with age of participants (standardized β = 0.42 (0.33–0.89), p = 0.084). Conclusions HIV infection and exposure to antiretrovirals play a detrimental role on ECV expansion. An increase in ECV indicates ECM expansion, which has been associated to a higher CV risk in the general population. The non-invasive evaluation of ECM trough ECV could represent an important tool to further understand the relationship between HIV infection, cardiac pathophysiology and the increased CV risk observed in PLWH

Targeting microbiome: an alternative strategy for fighting SARS-CoV-2 infection

Respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms are the predominant clinical manifestations of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Infecting intestinal epithelial cells, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 may impact on host's microbiota and gut inflammation. It is well established that an imbalanced intestinal microbiome can affect pulmonary function, modulating the host immune response ("gut-lung axis"). While effective vaccines and targeted drugs are being tested, alternative pathophysiology-based options to prevent and treat COVID-19 infection must be considered on top of the limited evidence-based therapy currently available. Addressing intestinal dysbiosis with a probiotic supplement may, therefore, be a sensible option to be evaluated, in addition to current best available medical treatments. Herein, we summed up pathophysiologic assumptions and current evidence regarding bacteriotherapy administration in preventing and treating COVID-19 pneumonia

Enhanced Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution in Au–Fe Nanoalloys

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is the most critical step in water splitting, still limiting the development of efficient alkaline water electrolyzers. Here we investigate the OER activity of Au–Fe nanoalloys obtained by laser-ablation synthesis in solution. This method allows a high amount of iron (up to 11 at %) to be incorporated into the gold lattice, which is not possible in Au–Fe alloys synthesized by other routes, due to thermodynamic constraints. The Au0.89Fe0.11 nanoalloys exhibit strongly enhanced OER in comparison to the individual pure metal nanoparticles, lowering the onset of OER and increasing up to 20 times the current density in alkaline aqueous solutions. Such a remarkable electrocatalytic activity is associated to nanoalloying, as demonstrated by comparative examples with physical mixtures of gold and iron nanoparticles. These results open attractive scenarios to the use of kinetically stable nanoalloys for catalysis and energy conversion

Oral Bacteriotherapy Reduces the Occurrence of Chronic Fatigue in COVID-19 Patients

Long COVID refers to patients with symptoms as fatigue, “brain fog,” pain, suggesting the chronic involvement of the central nervous system (CNS) in COVID-19. The supplementation with probiotic (OB) would have a positive effect on metabolic homeostasis, negatively impacting the occurrence of symptoms related to the CNS after hospital discharge. On a total of 58 patients hospitalized for COVID-19, 24 (41.4%) received OB during hospitalization (OB+) while 34 (58.6%) taken only the standard treatment (OB–). Serum metabolomic profiling of patients has been performed at both hospital acceptance (T0) and discharge (T1). Six months after discharge, fatigue perceived by participants was assessed by administrating the Fatigue Assessment Scale. 70.7%of participants reported fatigue while 29.3%were negative for such condition. The OB+ group showed a significantly lower proportion of subjects reporting fatigue than the OB– one (p < 0.01). Furthermore, OB+ subjects were characterized by significantly increased concentrations of serum Arginine, Asparagine, Lactate opposite to lower levels of 3-Hydroxyisobutirate than those not treated with probiotics. Our results strongly suggest that in COVID-19, the administration of probiotics during hospitalization may prevent the development of chronic fatigue by impacting key metabolites involved in the utilization of glucose as well as in energy pathways

Non-Plasmonic SERS with Silicon: Is It Really Safe? New Insights into Opto-Thermics of Core/Shell Microbeads

Here we investigate for the first time the opto-thermal behavior of SiO2/Si core/shell microbeads (Si-rex) irradiated with three common Raman laser sources (lambda=532, 633, 785 nm) under real working conditions. We obtained an experimental proof of the critical role played by bead size and aggregation in heat and light management, demonstrating that in the case of strong opto-thermal coupling the temperature can exceed that of the melting points of both core and shell components. In addition, we also show that weakly coupled beads can be utilized as stable substrates for plasmon-free SERS experiments.</p

Hepatitis B and HIV coinfection in Northern Uganda: Is a decline in HBV prevalence on the horizon?

BackgroundThe available data concerning hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in Uganda are limited, particularly in the case of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH). HBV is not routinely tested when starting antiretroviral therapy (ART). We aimed to determine the prevalence, the correlates of the risk of HBV infection, and the association with outcomes of ART among PLWH attending a busy HIV clinic in a referral hospital in Northern Uganda.Patients and methodsFrom April to June 2016, a random sample of 1000 PLWH attending the outpatients' clinic of St. Mary's Hospital, Gulu, Uganda were systematically selected to undergo a rapid hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) test after administering a questionnaire in this cross-sectional study. HIV care parameters were obtained from client files. Multivariate logistic regression and general linear model were used for the analysis.Results950 of the 985 evaluable patients (77% females; mean age 42.8 years) were receiving ART. The overall prevalence of HBsAg was 7.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.2-9.6%), and was significantly lower among the females (6.8% vs 11.7%; p = 0.020). The factors independently associated with higher HBV infection were having lived in an internally displaced persons' camp (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.76, 95% CI 1.03-2.98; p = 0.036) and having shared housing with HBV-infected people during childhood (aOR 3.30, 95% CI 1.49-7.32; p = 0.003). CD4+ T cell counts were significantly lower in HBV patients (p = 0.025), and co-infection was associated with a poorer CD4+ T cell response to ART (AOR 0.88; 95% CI 0.79-0.98; p = 0.030).ConclusionsThe observed prevalence of HBV among the PLWH may be underestimated or a signal of HBV decline in the region. The factors favouring horizontal HBV transmission identified suggest extending HBV screening and vaccine prophylaxis among PLWH

Why PEDOT:PSS Should Not Be Used for Raman Sensing of Redox States (and How It Could Be)

Here we investigated the rationale of this approach through systematic experiments, in which the Raman spectrum of PEDOT:PSS was analyzed in the presence of either non-oxidizing and oxidizing electrolytes. The results demonstrated that Raman spectra precisely reflect the conformation of PEDOT units and their interactions with PSS. Two different responses were observed. In the case of oxidizing electrolytes, the effect of charge transfer is accurately transduced in Raman spectrum changes. On the other hand, reduction induces a progressive separation between the PEDOT and PSS chains, which decreases their mutual interaction. This stimulus determines characteristic variations in intensity, shape and position of the Raman spectra. However, we demonstrated that the same effects can be obtained either by increasing the concentration of non-oxidizing electrolytes or by deprotonating PSS chains. This poses severe limitations to the use of PEDOT:PSS for this type of Raman sensing. This study allows to revise most of the Raman results reported in literature with a clear model, setting a new basis for investigating the dynamics of mixed electronic/ionic charge transfer in conductive polymers