Next generation sequencing study on RNA viruses of Vespa velutina and Apis mellifera sharing the same foraging area

The predator Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) represents one of the major threats to honeybee survival. Viral spillover from bee to wasp has been supposed in several studies, and this work aims to identify and study the virome of both insect species living simultaneously in the same foraging area. Transcriptomic analysis was performed on V. velutina and Apis mellifera samples, and replicative form of detected viruses was carried out by strand‐specific RT‐PCR. Overall, 6 and 9 different viral types were reported in V. velutina and A. mellifera, respectively, and five of these viruses were recorded in both hosts. Varroa destructor virus‐1 and Cripavirus NB‐1/2011/HUN (now classified as Triato‐like virus) were the most represented viruses detected in both hosts, also in replicative form. In this investigation, Triato‐like virus, as well as Aphis gossypii virus and Nora virus, was detected for the first time in honeybees. Concerning V. velutina, we report for the first time the recently detected honeybee La Jolla virus. A general high homology rate between genomes of shared viruses between V. velutina and A. mellifera suggests the efficient transmission of the virus from bee to wasp. In conclusion, our findings highlight the presence of several known and newly reported RNA viruses infecting A. mellifera and V. velutina. This confirms the environment role as an important source of infection and indicates the possibility of spillover from prey to predator

A multi-center validation study on the discrimination of Legionella pneumophila sg.1, Legionella pneumophila sg. 2-15 and Legionella non-pneumophila isolates from water by FT-IR spectroscopy

This study developed and validated a method, based on the coupling of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and machine learning, for the automated serotyping of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1, Legionella pneumophila serogroups 2-15 as well as their successful discrimination from Legionella non-pneumophila. As Legionella presents significant intra- and inter-species heterogeneities, careful data validation strategies were applied to minimize late-stage performance variations of the method across a large microbial population. A total of 244 isolates were analyzed. In details, the method was validated with a multi-centric approach with isolates from Italian thermal and drinking water (n = 82) as well as with samples from German, Italian, French, and British collections (n = 162). Specifically, robustness of the method was verified over the time-span of 1 year with multiple operators and two different FT-IR instruments located in Italy and Germany. Moreover, different production procedures for the solid culture medium (in-house or commercial) and different culture conditions (with and without 2.5% CO2) were tested. The method achieved an overall accuracy of 100, 98.5, and 93.9% on the Italian test set of Legionella, an independent batch of Legionella from multiple European culture collections, and an extra set of rare Legionella non-pneumophila, respectively

GEN-O-MA project: an Italian network studying clinical course and pathogenic pathways of moyamoya disease—study protocol and preliminary results

Background: GENetics of mOyaMoyA (GEN-O-MA) project is a multicenter observational study implemented in Italy aimed at creating a network of centers involved in moyamoya angiopathy (MA) care and research and at collecting a large series and bio-repository of MA patients, finally aimed at describing the disease phenotype and clinical course as well as at identifying biological or cellular markers for disease progression. The present paper resumes the most important study methodological issues and preliminary results. Methods: Nineteen centers are participating to the study. Patients with both bilateral and unilateral radiologically defined MA are included in the study. For each patient, detailed demographic and clinical as well as neuroimaging data are being collected. When available, biological samples (blood, DNA, CSF, middle cerebral artery samples) are being also collected for biological and cellular studies. Results: Ninety-eight patients (age of onset mean ± SD 35.5 ± 19.6 years; 68.4% females) have been collected so far. 65.3% of patients presented ischemic (50%) and haemorrhagic (15.3%) stroke. A higher female predominance concomitantly with a similar age of onset and clinical features to what was reported in previous studies on Western patients has been confirmed. Conclusion: An accurate and detailed clinical and neuroimaging classification represents the best strategy to provide the characterization of the disease phenotype and clinical course. The collection of a large number of biological samples will permit the identification of biological markers and genetic factors associated with the disease susceptibility in Italy

Disinfettanti impiegati nella routine di mungitura: resistenza ed effetti dell'esposizione a concentrazioni sub-inibenti in Stafilococchi Coagulasi Negativi isolati da latte ovino

Gli Stafilococchi coagulasi negativi (SCN) sono causa di mastiti sub-cliniche, perciò l’attività di dipping in mungitura è estremamente importante al fine di ridurre l’incidenza di tali infezioni. Lo scopo di questo lavoro è stato quello di analizzare 74 isolati di SCN ottenuti da latte ovino, al fine di valutare il livello di resistenza a due disinfettanti impiegati nella routine di mungitura e, in seguito ad uno stress sub-inibente, verificare un’eventuale variazione di alcune loro caratteristiche fenotipiche. Solo il 12% degli isolati è risultato positivo per i geni qac codificanti per la resistenza ai biocidi. Tuttavia, il 60% degli isolati testati, ha mostrato un valore di MIC per clorexidina digluconato e benzalconio cloruro moderatamente elevato. In seguito a stress sub-inibente con i due disinfettanti, si è evidenziato un incremento del livello di resistenza ma anche di cross-resistenza, sia relativo ai valori di MIC che MBC. Sono state evidenziate anche variazioni del profilo di resistenza agli antibiotici con perdite ma soprattutto nuove acquisizioni di resistenza. Gli isolati sono risultati comunque negativi per la produzione di biofilm. In conclusione, non è ancora chiaro il ruolo svolto dai geni qac, ma l’esposizione a basse concentrazioni di disinfettante può rappresentare un serio problema sanitario

Authentication of Edible Insects’ Powders by the Combination of DART-HRMS Signatures: The First Application of Ambient Mass Spectrometry to Screening of Novel Food

This feasibility study reports the use of direct analysis in real-time high-resolution mass spectrometry (DART-HRMS) in profiling the powders from edible insects, as well as the potential for the identification of different insect species by classification modeling. The basis of this study is the revolution that has occurred in the field of analytical chemistry, with the improved capability of ambient mass spectrometry to authenticate food matrices. In this study, we applied DART-HRMS, coupled with mid-level data fusion and a learning method, to discriminate between Acheta domesticus (house cricket), Tenebrio molitor (yellow mealworm), Locusta migratoria (migratory locust), and Bombyx mori (silk moth). A distinct metabolic fingerprint was observed for each edible insect species, while the Bombyx mori fingerprint was characterized by highly abundant linolenic acid and quinic acid; palmitic and oleic acids are the statistically predominant fatty acids in black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens). Our chemometrics also revealed that the amino acid proline is a discriminant molecule in Tenebrio molitor, whereas palmitic and linoleic acids are the most informative molecular features of the house cricket (Acheta domesticus). Good separation between the four different insect species was achieved, and cross-validation gave 100% correct identification for all training samples. The performance of the random forest classifier was examined on a test set and produced excellent results, in terms of overall accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity. These results demonstrate the reliability of the DART-HRMS as a screening method in a future quality control scenario to detect complete substitution of insect powders

Nutritional Composition of Bombyx mori Pupae: A Systematic Review

As insects have started to enter the eating habits of Western countries, an increasing amount of literature regarding the mulberry silkworm (Bombyx mori) prospective application as food has been published. Despite this growing interest, there is currently no systematic review of silkworm nutritional composition available. In this paper, we performed a systematic review of the recent available literature on the nutrient composition of mulberry silkworm pupae. After screening the titles and abstracts of 14,008 studies retrieved from three scientific databases, data about nutrients was extracted from 29 selected papers, together with their related variables. This systematic review provides an overview of the variety of data reported in the literature and highlights that many elements contribute to hindering a sound comparison of the different nutritional values reported for silkworm pupae. The observed variability of the composition data reported could be due to differences in diet, strains, pretreatments, and origin of the silkworm analyzed. However, all these variables were not always available and should be reported in future studies to simplify the data comparison

A systematic review of human coronaviruses survival on environmental surfaces

The current pandemic caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led people to implement preventive measures, including surface disinfection and use of alcohol-based hand gel, in order to avoid viral transmission via fomites. However, the role of surface transmission is still debated. The present systematic review aims to summarize all the evidence on surface survival of coronaviruses infecting humans. The analysis of 18 studies showed the longest coronavirus survival time is 28 days at room temperature (RT) on different surfaces: polymer banknotes, vinyl, steel, glass, and paper banknotes. Concerning SARS-CoV-2 human infection from contaminated surfaces, dangerous viral load on surfaces for up to 21 days was determined on polymer banknotes, steel, glass and paper banknotes. For viruses other than SARS-CoV-2, the longest period of survival was 14 days, recorded on glass. Environmental conditions can affect virus survival, and indeed, low temperatures and low humidity support prolonged survival of viruses on contaminated surfaces independently of surface type. Furthermore, it has been shown that exposure to sunlight significantly reduces the risk of surface transmission. Although studies are increasingly investigating the topic of coronavirus survival, it is difficult to compare them, given the methodology differences. For this reason, it is advisable to define a reference working protocol for virus survival trials, but, as an immediate measure, there is also a need for further investigations of coronavirus survival on surfaces

Microbial and chemical stability of Acheta domesticus powder during one year storage period at room temperature

The sustainability of food systems is of growing concern worldwide, so insects are a growing source of animal proteins for food and feed. Among insect species, the house cricket, Acheta domesticus, is a promising option from a sustainability point of view. This study aimed at evaluating both microbiological and chemical stability of A. domesticus powders during one year of storage at room temperature. Our study was conducted on cricket powders obtained by three different processes: drying at 80°C (P80), drying at 120°C (P120), and lyophilization (PL). Regarding microbiological profile, the pathogens Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella were not detected, while total viable count and lactic acid bacteria tended to decrease during the storage period. Bacillus cereus was detected at low counts during the entire storage period, but only one replicate of P80 exceeded the limit set for A. domesticus by the European Commission Implementing Regulation 2017/2470. The measured protein contents of the cricket powders immediately after production ranged between 60.6 and 64.3%. The peroxide values were far higher than the limit established by the EU Regulation in all samples. Higher amounts of hexanal and pentanal were detected in P80 and P120 than in PL, indicating that oven drying could enhance lipid oxidation. In conclusion, a one year shelf-life can suitably be ascribed to the analyzed cricket powders from a microbiological point of view, but lacked chemical stability and had a clear early tendency toward rancidity. The samples dried at 120°C and lyophilized never exceeded the limit set by European Commission for B. cereus count in A. domesticus powder. In addition, lyophilized samples showed the lowest values of hexanal and pentanal, the aldehydes that are primarily responsible for the rancid smell. The oxidative status of the final products could be strongly influenced by the powder processing, so for this reason, edible insect species-specific post-rearing protocols should be implemented. These results open an interesting scenario for a long period of storage of insect powder in the absence of a cold chain, making the insect market an increasingly sustainable sector

Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA on inanimate surfaces: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a respiratory disease affecting many people and able to be transmitted through direct and perhaps indirect contact. Direct contact transmission, mediated by aerosols or droplets, is widely demonstrated, whereas indirect transmission is only supported by collateral evidence such as virus persistence on inanimate surfaces and data from other similar viruses. The present systematic review aims to estimate SARS-CoV-2 prevalence on inanimate surfaces, identifying risk levels according to surface characteristics. Data were obtained from studies in published papers collected from two databases (PubMed and Embase) with the last search on 1 September 2020. Included studies had to be papers in English, had to deal with coronavirus and had to consider inanimate surfaces in real settings. Studies were coded according to our assessment of the risk that the investigated surfaces could be contaminated by SARS-CoV-2. A meta-analysis and a metaregression were carried out to quantify virus RNA prevalence and to identify important factors driving differences among studies. Thirty-nine out of forty retrieved paper reported studies carried out in healthcare settings on the prevalence of virus RNA, five studies carry out also analyses through cell culture and six tested the viability of isolated viruses. Overall prevalences of SARS-CoV-2 RNA on high-, medium- and low-risk surfaces were 0.22 (CI95 [0.152-0.296]), 0.04 (CI95 [0.007-0.090]), and 0.00 (CI95 [0.00-0.019]), respectively. The duration surfaces were exposed to virus sources (patients) was the main factor explaining differences in prevalence

Data_Sheet_1_Microbial and chemical stability of Acheta domesticus powder during one year storage period at room temperature.docx

The sustainability of food systems is of growing concern worldwide, so insects are a growing source of animal proteins for food and feed. Among insect species, the house cricket, Acheta domesticus, is a promising option from a sustainability point of view. This study aimed at evaluating both microbiological and chemical stability of A. domesticus powders during one year of storage at room temperature. Our study was conducted on cricket powders obtained by three different processes: drying at 80°C (P80), drying at 120°C (P120), and lyophilization (PL). Regarding microbiological profile, the pathogens Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella were not detected, while total viable count and lactic acid bacteria tended to decrease during the storage period. Bacillus cereus was detected at low counts during the entire storage period, but only one replicate of P80 exceeded the limit set for A. domesticus by the European Commission Implementing Regulation 2017/2470. The measured protein contents of the cricket powders immediately after production ranged between 60.6 and 64.3%. The peroxide values were far higher than the limit established by the EU Regulation in all samples. Higher amounts of hexanal and pentanal were detected in P80 and P120 than in PL, indicating that oven drying could enhance lipid oxidation. In conclusion, a one year shelf-life can suitably be ascribed to the analyzed cricket powders from a microbiological point of view, but lacked chemical stability and had a clear early tendency toward rancidity. The samples dried at 120°C and lyophilized never exceeded the limit set by European Commission for B. cereus count in A. domesticus powder. In addition, lyophilized samples showed the lowest values of hexanal and pentanal, the aldehydes that are primarily responsible for the rancid smell. The oxidative status of the final products could be strongly influenced by the powder processing, so for this reason, edible insect species-specific post-rearing protocols should be implemented. These results open an interesting scenario for a long period of storage of insect powder in the absence of a cold chain, making the insect market an increasingly sustainable sector.</p