An Integrative, Multiparametric Approach for the Comprehensive Assessment of Microbial Quality and Pollution in Aquaculture Systems

As the aquaculture sector significantly expanded worldwide in the past decades, the concept of sustainable aquaculture has developed with the challenge of not only maximizing benefits but also minimizing the negative impacts on the environment assuring, at the same time, food security. In this framework, monitoring and improving the microbiological water quality and animal health are a central topic. In the present study, we evaluated the seawater microbiological quality in a mariculture system located in a Mediterranean coastal area (Northern Ionian Sea, Italy). We furnished, for the first time, a microbial inventory based on conventional culture-based methods, integrated with the 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding approach for vibrios identification and diversity analyses, and further implemented with microbial metabolic profiling data obtained from the Biolog EcoPlate system. Microbiological pollution indicators, vibrios diversity, and microbial metabolism were determined in two different times of the year (July and December). All microbial parameters measured in July were markedly increased compared to those measured in December. The presence of potentially pathogenic vibrios is discussed concerning the risk of fish disease and human infections. Thus, the microbial inventory here proposed might represent a new multiparametric approach for the suitable surveillance of the microbial quality in a mariculture system. Consequently, it could be useful for ensuring the safety of both the reared species and the consumers in the light of sustainable, eco-friendly aquaculture management

Application of XeCl308nm excimer laser radiation to mutate industrial microorganisms

EnIn this study, we have investigated the effects of an XeCl308 nm excimer laser radiation on bacterial mutagenesis. Our experiments have revealed that the mutagenesis inducted by the XeCl308 nm excimer laser radiation is independent from RecA protein, the regulator of the SOS response, unlike UV254 nm radiation that is not mutagenic for Escherichia coli mutants lacking the RecA protein. This found suggests that the UV308 nm laser radiation might be mutagenic also in microorganisms naturally lacking the SOS response. To test this hypothesis, we applied our innovative mutagenesis approach on Nonomuraea ATCC 39727, an industrial strain producing an antibiotic, which is relatively refractory to UV254 nm radiation-induced mutagenesis. Our results demonstrated the efficiency of XeCl308 nm excimer laser radiation to induce mutagenesis in Nonomuraea ATCC 39727

Potential human and plant pathogenic species in airborne pm10 samples and relationships with chemical components and meteorological parameters

A preliminary local database of potential (opportunistic) airborne human and plant pathogenic and non-pathogenic species detected in PM10 samples collected in winter and spring is provided, in addition to their seasonal dependence and relationships with meteorological parameters and PM10 chemical species. The PM10 samples, collected at a Central Mediterranean coastal site, were analyzed by the 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding approach, and Spearman correlation coefficients and redundancy discriminant analysis tri-plots were used to investigate the main relationships. The screening of 1187 detected species allowed for the detection of 76 and 27 potential (opportunistic) human and plant pathogens, respectively. The bacterial structure of both pathogenic and non-pathogenic species varied from winter to spring and, consequently, the inter-species relationships among potential human pathogens, plant pathogens, and non-pathogenic species varied from winter to spring. Few non-pathogenic species and even fewer potential human pathogens were significantly correlated with meteorological parameters, according to the Spearman correlation coefficients. Conversely, several potential plant pathogens were strongly and positively correlated with temperature and wind speed and direction both in winter and in spring. The number of strong relationships between presumptive (human and plant) pathogens and non-pathogens, and meteorological parameters slightly increased from winter to spring. The sample chemical composition also varied from winter to spring. Some potential human and plant pathogens were correlated with chemicals mainly associated with marine aerosol and/or with soil dust, likely because terrestrial and aquatic environments were the main habitats of the detected bacterial species. The carrier role on the species seasonal variability was also investigated

DNA damage by a single intense shot of soft X-rays emitted by a laser-produced plasma

EnA suitable plane transmission line was developed and its behaviour analysed at 900 MHz radiofrequency fields to study the DNA mutability and repair of microorganisms. In this work, utilizing such a device, we investigated the behaviour of the DNA mutability and repair of Escherichia coli strains. The transmission line was very simple and versatile in changing its characteristic resistance and field intensity by varying its sizes. In absence of cell samples inside the transmission line, the relative modulation of the electric and/or magnetic field was ±31% with respect to the mean values, allowing the processing of more samples at different exposure fields in a single run. Slight decrease in spontaneous mutability to rifampicin-resistance of the E. Coli JC411 strain, was demonstrated in mismatch-repair proficient samples exposed to the radio-frequency fields during their growth on solid medium

Characterization of the Airborne Microbiome in Different Indoor and Outdoor Locations of a University Building Using an Innovative Compositional Data Analysis Approach

In this work, we investigated the structure of the airborne bacterial community obtained by 16S rRNA gene sequencing performed on aerosol samples from different indoor and outdoor locations. The 48-h aerosol samples were collected in two laboratories, in the corridors, and on the roof of the Mathematics and Physics Department of the University of Salento (Italy). The investigation was carried out through the application of an innovative compositional data analysis approach, mainly based on a centered log-ratio transformation as a standardization procedure, the Aitchison distance for data ordination, and the principal component analysis via singular value decomposition for data clustering. This methodology allowed us to explore the main relationships among samples, identifying different results between indoor and outdoor samples both at the genus level and at the species level. Bacillus and Pseudomonas represented the most abundant genera identified in the analyzed samples. Out of the 21 identified bacterial species with the highest abundances in the collected aerosol samples, Acinetobacter lwoffii, Propionibacterium acnes, Diplorickettsia massiliensis, and Corynebacterium tuberculostearicum were the only four commonly classified as human opportunistic pathogens. Among the genera mostly associated with indoor environments, Hymenobacter and Arthrobacter could be noted as including many species that are unique in being radiation resistant

Nutritional composition of a selected white food-grade waxy sorghum variety grown in Mediterranean environment

A white food-grade waxy sorghum Tw variety, grown in two Mediterranean sites (named Tw1M and Tw1S) was evaluated for nutrient composition and fatty acid- and mineral concentrations in order to determine the suitability of producing waxy sorghum for human uses in southern Italy. The nutritional values of the grains of the Tw inbred line grown in the two trial fields were substantially the same, except for slight differences in ash level and accordingly slight variation in mineral composition. In samples from both locations, a higher percentage of K was observed among the nutritionally essential macro-elements, and higher percentages of Zn, Fe, Mn, Cu, Al among the nutritionally essential micro-element along with a strong difference in Cd content was among trace elements. Across both sites linoleic, oleic and palmitic were the most abundant fatty acids, while very slight variations in the content of minerals were found among the two samples examined. These results demonstrate the importance of developing agronomically productive waxy sorghum varieties suitable for growth in non-traditional sorghum producing regions both as a food and feed crop (i.e. with good nutritional quality) and for utilization in new products at the industrial level

Initial evaluation of the "Trauma surgery course"

BACKGROUND: The consequence of the low rate of penetrating injuries in Europe and the increase in non-operative management of blunt trauma is a decrease in surgeons' confidence in managing traumatic injuries has led to the need for new didactic tools. The aim of this retrospective study was to present the Corso di Chirurgia del Politrauma (Trauma Surgery Course), developed as a model for teaching operative trauma techniques, and assess its efficacy. METHOD: the two-day course consisted of theoretical lectures and practical experience on large-sized swine. Data of the first 126 participants were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: All of the 126 general surgeons who had participated in the course judged it to be an efficient model to improve knowledge about the surgical treatment of trauma. CONCLUSION: A two-day course, focusing on trauma surgery, with lectures and life-like operation situations, represents a model for simulated training and can be useful to improve surgeons' confidence in managing trauma patients. Cooperation between organizers of similar initiatives would be beneficial and could lead to standardizing and improving such courses

Interplay between non-coding rna transcription, stringent/relaxed phenotype and antibiotic production in streptomyces ambofaciens

While in recent years the key role of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in the regulation of gene expression has become increasingly evident, their interaction with the global regulatory circuits is still obscure. Here we analyzed the structure and organization of the transcriptome of Streptomyces ambofaciens, the producer of spiramycin. We identified ncRNAs including 45 small-RNAs (sRNAs) and 119 antisense-RNAs (asRNAs I) that appear transcribed from dedicated promoters. Some sRNAs and asRNAs are unprecedented in Streptomyces and were predicted to target mRNAs encoding proteins involved in transcription, translation, ribosomal structure and biogenesis, and regulation of morphological and biochemical differentiation. We then compared ncRNA expression in three strains: (i) the wild-type strain; (ii) an isogenic pirA-defective mutant with central carbon metabolism imbalance, “relaxed” phenotype, and repression of antibiotic production; and (iii) a pirA-derivative strain harboring a “stringent” RNA polymerase that suppresses pirA-associated phenotypes. Data indicated that the expression of most ncRNAs was correlated to the stringent/relaxed phenotype suggesting novel effector mechanisms of the stringent response

Multilevel convergence of interoceptive impairments in hypertension: New evidence of disrupted body-brain interactions

Interoception, the sensing of visceral body signals, involves an interplay between neural and autonomic mechanisms. Clinical studies into this domain have focused on patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders, showing that damage to relevant brain mechanisms can variously alter interoceptive functions. However, the association between peripheral cardiac-system alterations and neurocognitive markers of interoception remains poorly understood. To bridge this gap, we examined multidimensional neural markers of interoception in patients with early stage of hypertensive disease (HTD) and healthy controls. Strategically, we recruited only HTD patients without cognitive impairment (as shown by neuropsychological tests), brain atrophy (as assessed with voxel-based morphometry), or white matter abnormalities (as evidenced by diffusion tensor imaging analysis). Interoceptive domains were assessed through (a) a behavioral heartbeat detection task; (b) measures of the heart-evoked potential (HEP), an electrophysiological cortical signature of attention to cardiac signals; and (c) neuroimaging recordings (MRI and fMRI) to evaluate anatomical and functional connectivity properties of key interoceptive regions (namely, the insula and the anterior cingulate cortex). Relative to controls, patients exhibited poorer interoceptive performance and reduced HEP modulations, alongside an abnormal association between interoceptive performance and both the volume and functional connectivity of the above regions. Such results suggest that peripheral cardiac-system impairments can be associated with abnormal behavioral and neurocognitive signatures of interoception. More generally, our findings indicate that interoceptive processes entail bidirectional influences between the cardiovascular and the central nervous systems.Work has been partially supported by the CONICET, the INECO Foundation and regular projects of CONICYT/FONDECYT (1170010); FONCyT‐PICT (2012‐0412 and 2012‐1309), and FONDAP (15150012)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio