► Evaluation of bacterial adhesion in Caco-2 cells by gangliosides and sialic acid. ► Study focused on preventing infant diarrhoea episodes by avoiding bacterial adhesion. ► Use of gangliosides and ...sialic acid concentrations found in bioaccesible fraction. ► Gg and Sia decrease bacterial adhesion in competition and displacement assays.
The effect of the main gangliosides (GM1, GM3, GD3) and free sialic acid (Neu5Ac) upon the adhesion of pathogenic bacteria implicated in infant diarrhoea is assessed in vitro using the Caco-2 cell line. Concentrations of the bioactive compounds found in the bioaccessible (soluble) fraction of infant formula and human milk are employed. Bacterial adhesion behaviour included enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), enteropathogenic E.coli (EPEC), Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella entericaserovartyphi, Shigella sonnei, Campylobacter jejuni and Helicobacter pylori. Three different approaches were assayed: pre-incubation of bacteria and compounds before addition to cells (competition); pre-incubation of the cells with compounds (exclusion); and pre-incubation of cells with bacteria (displacement). Furthermore, the spatial localization of the most abundant gangliosides, GM3 and GD3, in Caco-2 cells has been determined using confocal microscopy. Results show that GM3, GD3, GM1 and Neu5Ac at the assayed concentrations are able to interfere with the adhesion of several pathogenic bacteria involved in neonatal diseases-the greatest effect corresponding to Neu5Ac, followed by GD3, GM1 and GM3. Gangliosides GM3 and GD3 are located in the apical and basolateral membranes of the Caco-2 cells.
This paper describes the achievements of the H2020 project INDIGO-DataCloud. The project has provided e-infrastructures with tools, applications and cloud framework enhancements to manage the ...demanding requirements of scientific communities, either locally or through enhanced interfaces. The middleware developed allows to federate hybrid resources, to easily write, port and run scientific applications to the cloud. In particular, we have extended existing PaaS (Platform as a Service) solutions, allowing public and private e-infrastructures, including those provided by EGI, EUDAT, and Helix Nebula, to integrate their existing services and make them available through AAI services compliant with GEANT interfederation policies, thus guaranteeing transparency and trust in the provisioning of such services. Our middleware facilitates the execution of applications using containers on Cloud and Grid based infrastructures, as well as on HPC clusters. Our developments are freely downloadable as open source components, and are already being integrated into many scientific applications.
Pelvic floor rehabilitation is frequently recommended for defecation disorders, in both constipation and fecal incontinence. However, the lack of patient selection, together with the variety of ...rehabilitation methods and protocols, often jeopardize the results of this approach, causing difficulty in evaluating outcomes and addressing proper management, and above all, in obtaining scientific evidence for the efficacy of these methods for specific indications. The authors represent different gastroenterological and surgical scientific societies in Italy, and their aim was to identify the indications and agree on treatment protocols for pelvic floor rehabilitation of patients with defecation disorders. This was achieved by means of a modified Delphi method, utilizing a working team (10 members) which developed the statements and a consensus group (15 members, different from the previous ones) which voted twice also suggesting modifications of the statements.
Abstract Background and aim Post-menopausal women are at higher risk of cardiovascular disease and bone demineralization. Phytosterols (PS) may be used for hypercholesterolemia in some groups and ...β-cryptoxanthin (β-Cx) displays a unique anabolic effect on bone. Our aim was to assess the changes in cardiovascular and bone turnover markers from the oral intake of β-Cx and PS in post-menopausal women. Methods and results A randomized, double-blind, crossover study with β-Cx (0.75 mg/day) and PS (1.5 g/day), single and combined, was performed in 38 postmenopausal women. Diet was supplemented with 1 × 250 mL milk-based fruit drink/day for 4 weeks with a wash-out period of 4-weeks in between. Serum β-Cx and PS were determined by UPLC and CG-FID respectively. Outcome variables included markers of bone turnover and cardiovascular risk. Biological effect was assessed by paired t test and generalized estimating equations analysis that included the previous treatment, the order of intervention and the interactions. The intake of beverages containing β-Cx and PS brought about a significant increase in serum levels of β-Cx, β-sitosterol and campesterol. Intervention caused changes in almost all the markers while the order, previous treatment and the interaction did not reach statistical significance. Only the intake of the beverage containing β-Cx plus PS brought about significant decreases in total cholesterol, c-HDL, c-LDL and bone turnover markers. Conclusions β-Cx improves the cholesterol-lowering effect of PS when supplied simultaneously and this combination may also be beneficial in reducing risk of osteoporosis. Clinical Trial Registry ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT01074723.
Dyspnea in the Elderly Barbera, Andrew R; Jones, Michael P
Emergency medicine clinics of North America,
08/2016, Letnik:
34, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
This article discusses the evaluation and management of stable and unstable elderly patients with dyspnea. Several of the changes in the elderly that alter cardiopulmonary physiology are discussed. A ...review of common presenting illnesses and their evaluation and management are highlighted. The reader should be left with a better understanding of this unique population and the overall evaluation and treatment.
A combined in vitro digestion/Caco-2 cell culture system is used to estimate calcium, iron, zinc and copper transported and cell uptake (retention plus transport) corresponding to 8 dishes usually ...distributed to a Spanish school lunchroom, with an evaluation of the influence of proteins and mineral interactions. Mineral uptake percentages were as follows: Ca (3.3–56.3), Fe (7.8–67.4), Zn (5.6–54.9), Cu (14.6–96.6). The protein content of the menus analyzed (22.9–162.9
mg/g) exerts a positive influence upon iron uptake (
r
=
0.938), and a negative influence upon calcium uptake (
r
=
−0.755) – with no influence upon the uptakes of either Zn or Cu. Mineral interactions are observed at dietary concentrations in the school menus studied. A negative and positive interaction is seen between soluble iron after in vitro digestion and Zn transported (
r
=
−0.733) and Cu retention (
r
=
0.800), respectively. Solubilized Zn exerts a negative influence upon iron retained (
r
=
−0.831).
Casein phosphopeptides (CPPs) have been proposed as potential dietary antioxidants on designing new functional products. A fruit beverage, with/without milk, was subjected to in vitro digestion. ...Caco-2 cultures were preincubated with soluble fractions or isolated CPPs, the latter obtained from skimmed milk. The mitochondrial activities (MTT test), intracellular GSH and GSH-reductase activity (GSH-Rd), cell cycle analysis and RNA distribution in cycle phases were studied after inducing oxidative stress status (5 mM H2O2). MTT conversion was better preserved by soluble fractions of fruit beverages, either with or without milk. GSH concentration was equally decreased, and GSH-Rd was increased in all preincubations. However, failed to inhibit a decreased G1 cell population. CPPs produced RNA accumulation in the G2 phase, suggesting a modulating effect on cell response. We can postulate an antioxidant effect derived from dietary CPPs on a biological system which can be synergistic with other antioxidant compounds derived from fruit beverage.
Determinations have been made of content and bioaccessibility of Ca, Fe, Zn and Cu in 13 dishes collected from a catering service delivering to a school. Bioaccessibility was estimated by measuring ...the soluble or dialyzable mineral fraction resulting from in vitro gastrointestinal digestion of the meal. The analyzed dishes had mineral contents (μg/g) in the following ranges: Ca (74.1–913), Fe (2.8–17.9), Zn (2.8–13.1), Cu (0.28–1.90). Mineral solubility and dialysis percentages were as follows: Ca (1.7–96.2; 0.75–61.3), Fe (16.0–97.8; 0.23–19.0), Zn (22.6–93; 5.78–31.45), Cu (35.7–92.3; 0.66–25.0). The highest bioaccessible Ca content corresponded to fish-based dishes, while vegetables were poor sources of Ca. The lowest Fe and Zn bioaccessible percentages corresponded to vegetable-based dishes, particularly spinach omelet, whereas dishes having meat as the main ingredient exhibited the highest bioaccessible percentages. In the case of Cu, vegetable-based dishes could be considered the best sources.
The DECIDE Science Gateway Ardizzone, V.; Barbera, R.; Calanducci, A. ...
Journal of grid computing,
12/2012, Letnik:
10, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Odprti dostop
The motivation of this work fits with the general vision to enable e-health for European citizens, irrespective of their social and financial status and their place of residence. Services to be ...provided include access to a high-quality early diagnostic and prognostic service for the Alzheimer Disease and other forms of dementia, based both on the European Research and Education Networks and the European Grid Infrastructure. The present paper reports on the architecture and services of a Science Gateway developed in the context of the DECIDE project, which aims to support the medical community in its daily duties of patients’ examination and diagnosis. The implementation of the Science Gateway is described with particular focus on the standard technologies adopted to ease the access by non IT-.expert users. The work leverages on an authentication and authorization infrastructure based on Identity Federations and robot certificates and on the adoption of the SAGA standard for middleware-independent Grid interaction. The architecture and the functionalities of the digital repository for medical image storage and analysis are also presented.
To analyse lipid changes and tolerability in a cohort of HIV-infected patients who switched their antiretroviral regimens to rilpivirine/emtricitabine/tenofovir (RPV/FTC/TDF) in a real-world setting.
...PRO-STR is a 48 week prospective observational post-authorization study in 25 hospitals. Patients with a viral load <1000 copies/mL, receiving at least 12 months of combination ART (cART), with constant posology for at least the prior 3 months, were categorized according to previous treatment NNRTI or ritonavir-boosted PI (PI/r). Analytical tests were performed at the baseline visit, between week 16 and week 32, and at week 48.
A total of 303 patients were included (mean age 46.6 years; male 74.0%; previous treatment 74.7% NNRTI and 25.3% PI/r). Both groups exhibited significantly reduced lipid profiles, except for HDL cholesterol, for which a non-significant increase was observed. NNRTI patients: total cholesterol (baseline: 195.5 ± 38.4 mg/dL; week 48: 171.0 ± 35.5 mg/dL), total cholesterol/HDL ratio (baseline: 4.2 ± 1.2; week 48: 4.0 ± 1.2), HDL (baseline: 49.1 ± 12.0 mg/dL; week 48: 49.2 ± 45.8 mg/dL), LDL (baseline: 119.2 ± 30.2 mg/dL; week 48: 114.2 ± 110.7 mg/dL), and triglycerides (baseline: 136.6 ± 86.8 mg/dL; week 48: 113.4 ± 67.8 mg/dL); PI/r patients: total cholesterol (baseline: 203.2 ± 48.8 mg/dL; week 48: 173.4 ± 36.9 mg/dL), total cholesterol/HDL ratio (baseline: 4.7 ± 1.6; week 48: 4.0 ± 1.2), HDL (baseline: 46.4 ± 12.5 mg/dL; week 48: 52.1 ± 54.4 mg/dL), LDL (baseline: 127.0 ± 36.3 mg/dL; week 48: 111.4 ± 35.8 mg/dL), and triglycerides (baseline: 167.6 ± 107.7 mg/dL; week 48: 122.7 ± 72.1 mg/dL). The most common intolerances were neuropsychiatric in the NNRTI patients and gastrointestinal and metabolic in the PI/r patients, and these intolerances were significantly reduced in both groups at week 48 NNRTI: neuropsychiatric (baseline: 81.3%; week 48: 0.0%); PI/r: gastrointestinal (baseline: 48.7%; week 48: 0.0%) and metabolic (baseline: 42.1%; week 48: 0.0%).
RPV/FTC/TDF improved the lipid profiles and reduced the intolerances after switching from NNRTI or PI-based regimens, in a cohort of HIV-infected patients.
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