A multidisciplinary study of an exceptional prehistoric waste dump in the mountainous inland of Calabria (Italy) : implications for reconstructions of prehistoric land use and vegetation in Southern Italy

The mountainous inland of northern Calabria (Southern Italy) is known for its sparse prehistoric human occupation. Nevertheless, a thorough multidisciplinary approach of field walking, geophysical survey and invasive research led to the discovery of a major archaeological archive. This archive concerns a rich multi-phased dump, spanning about 3000 years (Late Neolithic to Late Imperial Roman Age) and holding two Somma-Vesuvius tephra. Of these, the younger is a distinct layer of juvenile tephra from the Pompeii eruption, while the older concerns reworked tephra from the Bronze Age AP2 eruption (ca. 1700 cal. yr BP). The large dump contains abundant ceramics, faunal remains and charcoal, and most probably originated through long-continued deposition of waste in a former gully like system of depressions. This resulted in an inversed, mound-like relief, whose anthropogenic origin had not been recognized in earlier research. The tephras were found to be important markers that support the reconstruction of the occupational history of the site. The sequence of occupational phases is very similar to that observed in a recent palaeoecological study from nearby situated former lakes (Lago Forano/Fontana Manca). This suggests that this sequence reflects the more regional occupational history of Calabria, which goes back to ca. 3000 BC. Attention is paid to the potential link between this history and Holocene climatic phases, for which no indication was found. The history deviates strongly from histories deduced from the few, but major palaeorecords elsewhere in the inlands of Southern Italy (Lago Grande di Monticchio and Lago Trifoglietti). We conclude that major regional variation occurred in prehistoric land use and its impacts on the vegetation cover of Southern Italy, and studies of additional palaeoarchives are needed to unravel this complex history. Finally, shortcomings of archaeological predictive models are discussed and the advantages of truly integrated multidisciplinary research

A new point-of-care test for the rapid antimicrobial susceptibility assessment of uropathogens.

Bacterial resistance to antimicrobials is considered a major issue worldwide. This condition may account for treatment failure of urinary tract infections, which are among the most common infections both in community and healthcare settings. Therapy against uropathogens is generally administered empirically, possibly leading to unsuccessful therapy, recurrence and development of antibiotic resistance. The reduction in analytical time to obtain antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST) results could play a key role in reducing the cost of healthcare, providing information about antibiotic efficacy and thus preventing from either exploiting new and expensive antibiotics unnecessarily or using obsolete and ineffective ones. A more rational choice among treatment options would hence lead to more effective treatment and faster resolution. In this paper we evaluated the performance of a new Point Of Care Test (POCT) for the rapid prediction of antimicrobial susceptibility in urine samples performed without the need of a laboratory or specialized technicians. 349 patients were enrolled in two open-label, monocentric, non-interventional clinical trials in partnership with an Emergency Medicine ward and the Day Hospital of two large healthcare facilities in Rome. Antibiogram was carried out on 97 patients. Results from analysis of urine samples with the POCT were compared with those from routine AST performed on culture-positive samples, displaying high accuracy (>90%) for all tested antimicrobial drugs and yielding reliable results in less than 12 hours from urine collection thus reducing analytical and management costs

Quale Governance?

L’articolo 1 della carta europea dei ricercatori stabilisce che: “Gli Stati membri s’impegnino a compiere i passi necessari per assicurare che i datori di lavoro o i finanziatori dei ricercatori sviluppino e mantengano un ambiente di ricerca e una cultura di lavoro favorevoli, in cui gli individui e le équipe di ricerca siano considerati, incoraggiati e sostenuti, e beneficino del sostegno materiale e immateriale necessario per conseguire i loro obiettivi e svolgere i loro compiti. In tale contesto, si dovrebbe accordare particolare priorità all’organizzazione delle condizioni di lavoro e di formazione nella fase iniziale della carriera dei ricercatori, in quanto questa contribuisce alle scelte future e rafforza l’attrattiva delle carriere nel settore della R&S.” Come si conciliano queste esigenze con le condizioni di precarietà, spesso decennali, in cui si trova quasi il 40% dei ricercatori

Comparison of Uncertainty Between Traditional and Alternative Methods for Food Microbiological Analysis.

The objectives highlighted in the present study were to determine the estimates of measurement uncertainty associated with microbiological analysis in food samples performing a gage repeatability and reproducibility study on three different microbiological methods of analysis for the detection and quantification oftotal coliforms; Plate count method, 3M Petrifilm™ count plates method and the MBS method. For all three methods the contribution the total gage R and R is less than 1 0%, demonstrating the ability to accurately evaluate the concentration of total coliforms in food samples. Flowever, the repeatability and reproducibility follows the tendency; Plate count method<3M Petrifilm™ count plates method<MBS method. The study also highlights that a significant variation is due to the interaction between the operators and the analyzed samples for plate count and 3M Petrifilm™ count plates methods while for the MBS method it does not significantly affect the measure. Together these results demonstrate that greater repeatability and reproducibility are connected to a more simple analytical procedure demonstrating that uncertainty is certainly related to the amount of manual work and the individual interpretation ofresults. Results confirm thatit is importantto diminish these sources oferror reducing laborand simplifying procedures and increasing automation

Microbiological safety and quality of Mozzarella cheese assessed by the microbiological survey method

Dairy products are characterized by reduced shelf life because they are an excellent growth medium for a wide range of microorganisms. For this reason, it is important to monitor the microbiological quality of dairy products and, in particular, the total viable count and concentration of Escherichia coli, as they are indicators of the hygienic state of these products. In addition, in dairy products such as Mozzarella cheese, it is important to monitor the concentration of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), as they are the major components of starter cultures used in cheese production, contributing to the taste and texture of fermented products and inhibiting food spoilage bacteria by producing growth-inhibiting substances. For these reasons, to ensure the quality and safety of their products, cheese makers should monitor frequently, during fresh cheese production, the concentration of LAB and spoilage bacteria. However, usually, small- to medium-size dairy factories do not have an internal microbiological laboratory and external laboratories of analysis are often too expensive and require several days for the results. Compared with traditional methods, the microbiological survey (MBS) method developed by Roma Tre University (Rome, Italy) allows faster and less-expensive microbiological analyses to be conducted wherever they are necessary, without the need for a microbiological laboratory or any instrumentation other than MBS vials and a thermostat. In this paper, we report the primary validation of the MBS method to monitor LAB concentration in Mozzarella cheese and the analysis, using the MBS method, of total viable count, E. coli, and LAB concentrations in the production line of Mozzarella cheese as well as during the shelf life of the product stored at 20°C. The results obtained indicate that the MBS method may be successfully used by small- to medium-size dairy factories factories that do not have an internal microbiological laboratory. Using the MBS method, these dairy factories can monitor autonomously the microbiological safety and quality of their products, saving both time and money

A new device for the prompt diagnosis of urinary tract infections.

Background: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common infectious diseases. Results obtained from conventional microbiological analysis of urine and anti-biotic susceptibility testing are available only after a few days, delaying precise diagnosis and appropriate therapy. Micro Biological Survey (MBS) srl (a spin-off of Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy) has developed and patented an automated colorimetric test for rapid bacterial counting. In a preliminary validation study it was demonstrated that the results obtained with the MBS method are equivalent to the results obtained with conventional culture-based microbiological analysis. Methods: In this study, sterile urine samples were artifi-cially contaminated with bacterial species that are most frequently responsible for UTIs. The MBS method was used to evaluate the presence of bacteria and their sen-sitivity to some of the most commonly used antibiotics in UTIs. Results: The MBS method was able to detect in a few hours the presence or absence of bacteria at clinically significant concentrations ( >  105 CFU/mL), and to provide their sus-ceptibility pattern to a limited panel of antibiotics. Discussion: The results obtained demonstrate that the MBS point-of-care testing (POCT) device could be devel-oped into a valuable aid for the management of UTIs, pos-sibly addressing more precise diagnosis and appropriate therapy