Highlights • Human FCD and TLE-HS display the highest PDGFRβ+ cells immunoreactivity, at the microvasculature identifying pericytes. • Parenchymal PDGFRβ / NG2 colocalization, but not IBA1, is ...observed in human brain tissues. • Pericyte-vascular dysplasia in MAM rat hippocampi corresponds to neuronal heterotopias. • Severe status epilepticus in rats is associated with a region-specific increase of PDGFRβ expression in MAM rats.
This study aims at the reconstruction of magnitude and timing of surface uplift affecting a wide sector of the Central Apennines (Italy) by means of morphometric and morphostructural analyses. In the ...chain interiors (where stratigraphic and geomorphological markers of past sea-level positions are lacking) the study is based on analysis of erosional landforms and river valleys.
A large-scale topographic analysis, by processing 90-m and 230-m DEMs, is performed. The spatial distribution of several morphometric parameters, together with characteristic wavelengths of relief, allowed the differentiation of three main regions affected by different cumulative surface uplift and tectonic/erosional fragmentation: a Peri-Tyrrhenian Belt, an Axial Belt and a Peri-Adriatic Belt. Particular attention is devoted to fluvial landforms, with analysis of longitudinal profiles and geometric pattern of the main drainage lines and their relations with the major structures. Major differences occur between the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic valley systems. The Tyrrhenian drainage mainly consists of longitudinal valleys displaying overall concave-up longitudinal profiles. The Adriatic drainage is mainly constituted by transverse streams and shows less regular longitudinal profiles. Topographic features and the river valley architecture seem related to different styles and amounts of uplift in the three belts.
Within the study area, a coast to coast transect (Gaeta-Vasto Transect, GVT) has been investigated in detail, focusing the analysis on its axial sector, around the Apennines main divide (Main Divide Area, MDA). A possible scheme of Quaternary surface uplift along the GVT is proposed. In the MDA, the main stages of landscape evolution and drainage organization can be reconstructed by means of the analysis of paleosurfaces coupled with study of the relict and present-day drainage networks. This allowed the recognition of a major phase of surface uplift (exceeding 1500 m in the Meta-Mainarde massif) that occurred in response to thrusting during the Pliocene. For Quaternary surface uplift a minimum value of 400 m can be estimated.
This study suggests that, during the Quaternary, the Peri-Tyrrhenian Belt suffered a subdued uplift acting over small wavelengths (10–15 km), while the Axial and Peri-Adriatic Belts were subject to a larger and long-wavelength (90 km) surface uplift, with maximum values (about 700 m) shifted to the NE of the Axial Belt and tapering to zero towards the Adriatic coast. The reconstructed pattern of uplift is coherent with the topographic properties of the three belts and with the observed drainage features.
Aims: To determine the effectiveness of a packaging film coated with nisin to inhibit Micrococcus luteus ATCC 10240 in tryptone soya broth (TSB) and the microbiota of raw milk during storage. A ...further aim was to examine the release of nisin from the activated film.
Methods and Results: An active package, obtained from nisin‐treated film, was filled with 1 l of M. luteus ATCC 10240 (ML) suspension in TSB and stored at 4 and 25°C for 2 days. After 24 h at 25°C there was a remarkable reduction of M. luteus ATCC 10240 compared with the control, while at 4°C a slight reduction was observed. Moreover, microbial growth was controlled when 1 l of three different kinds of milk was poured into the active package and stored at 4°C for 7 days. The most significant results were observed in raw milk and pasteurized milk with a reduction of 0·9 log and 1·3 log, respectively. The release experiments showed that nisin release from the film was unpredictable, but it was favoured by low pH and high temperature.
Conclusions: It appears that nisin‐coated films were effective in inhibiting M. luteus ATCC 10240 in TSB and the bacterial flora in milk, and the release of nisin was pH and temperature dependent.
Significance and Impact of the Study: Nisin‐activated film may control bacterial growth, maintaining food quality, safety and extending the shelf‐life of food products.
To isolate acid- and bile-resistant Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains directly from food samples and to preliminarily select them on the basis of fundamental probiotic properties. A rapid screening ...method allowed the isolation and selection of 20 acid- and bile-resistant yeasts from foods, avoiding time-consuming isolation steps. The strains were characterized for their specific survival in simulated gastric juice and in intestinal fluid after pre-exposure at low pH. Ten isolates demonstrated a satisfactory survival percentage in intestinal fluid after pre-exposure to gastric juice and appreciable lipolytic and proteolytic properties, as demonstrated by the API-ZYM test. By using molecular methods five strains were identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, three as Candida spp., one as Candida pararugosa and one as Pichia spp. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains showed considerable probiotic properties, achieving a 80< % <90 survival through the simulated gastrointestinal tract, as well as interesting glucosidase activities. The research represents an efficient strategy to select and identify Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains with desirable acid and bile resistances. This paper reports the direct selection of potentially probiotic yeasts from foods and provides indications about the ability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains to survive conditions simulating the human gastrointestinal tract.
We conducted paleoseismic studies along the Montereale fault system (MFS; central Italy). The MFS shows geomorphological evidence of Late Quaternary activity and falls within the highest seismic ...hazard zone of central Apennines, between the epicentral areas of two recent earthquake sequences: 2009 L'Aquila and 2016–2017 central Italy. We excavated two trenches along the San Giovanni fault splay of the system, one intercepting the N140° striking bedrock main fault plane and the other cutting two subparallel fault scarps on the colluvial/alluvial deposits on the fault hanging wall. Excavations revealed repeated fault reactivation with surface faulting in prehistorical and historical times. We recognized and dated seven events in the last 26 kyr. The most recent ground‐rupturing event (evb1) possibly occurred 650–1,820 AD, consistent with one of the three main shocks that struck the area in 1,703 AD. A previous event (evb2) occurred between 5,330 bc and 730 bc, while older events occurred at 6,590–5,440 bc (evb3), 9,770–6,630 bc (evb4), and 16,860–13,480 bc (evb5). We documented two older displacement events (evb7 and evb6) between 23,780 bc and 16,850 bc. The minimum vertical slip rate at the trench site in the last 28–24 kyr is 0.3–0.4 mm/year. The inferred average recurrence interval for surface‐faulting events along the MFS is no longer than ~4 kyr. Based on the surface fault length ranging between 12 and 20 km, earthquakes with ≥M 6.0 are possible for the MFS. The MFS is an independent earthquake source, and its paleoseismic data are fully comparable with those known for faults in central Apennines.
Key Points
Seven earthquakes ruptured the Montereale fault system (central Italy) since 26 kyr
First estimates of the Montereale fault parameters: length, earthquake recurrence, and slip rate
The Montereale fault system is an individual earthquake source within the central Apennines seismogenic belt (Italy)
The microbial flora of fresh meat stored aerobically at 5 degrees C up to spoilage was enumerated and collected in order to have mixed spoilage bacterial groups to be used in competition tests ...against Brochothrix thermosphacta. The bacterial groups collected as bulk colonies were identified by PCR-DGGE followed by partial 16S rDNA sequencing. The predominant bacteria associated with the spoilage of the refrigerated beef were B. thermosphacta, Pseudomonas spp, Enterobacteriaceae and lactic acid bacteria (LAB). The interactions between B. thermosphacta and the other spoilage microbial groups were studied in vitro at 5 degrees C. The results showed that a decrease of the growth of B. thermosphacta was evidenced in presence of LAB at 5 degrees C while the bacterium is the dominant organism when inoculated with mixtures of Pseudomonas spp., LAB and Enterobacteriaceae. A better understanding of bacterial meat spoilage interactions may lead to improved quality of fresh meat stored in refrigerated conditions.
The anti‐hypertensive drug captopril is used commonly to reduce blood pressure of patients with severe forms of Chagas disease, a cardiomyopathy caused by chronic infection with the intracellular ...protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. Captopril acts by inhibiting angiotensin‐converting enzyme (ACE), the vasopressor metallopeptidase that generates angiotensin II and promotes the degradation of bradykinin (BK). Recent studies in mice models of Chagas disease indicated that captopril can potentiate the T helper type 1 (Th1)‐directing natural adjuvant property of BK. Equipped with kinin‐releasing cysteine proteases, T. cruzi trypomastigotes were shown previously to invade non‐professional phagocytic cells, such as human endothelial cells and murine cardiomyocytes, through the signalling of G protein‐coupled bradykinin receptors (B₂KR). Monocytes are also parasitized by T. cruzi and these cells are known to be important for the host immune response during infection. Here we showed that captopril increases the intensity of T. cruzi infection of human monocytes in vitro. The increased parasitism was accompanied by up‐regulated expression of ACE in human monocytes. While T. cruzi infection increased the expression of interleukin (IL)‐10 by monocytes significantly, compared to uninfected cells, T. cruzi infection in association with captopril down‐modulated IL‐10 expression by the monocytes. Surprisingly, studies with peripheral blood mononuclear cells revealed that addition of the ACE inhibitor in association with T. cruzi increased expression of IL‐17 by CD4⁺ T cells in a B₂KR‐dependent manner. Collectively, our results suggest that captopril might interfere with host-parasite equilibrium by enhancing infection of monocytes, decreasing the expression of the modulatory cytokine IL‐10, while guiding development of the proinflammatory Th17 subset.
Background and purpose
Anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL) within the language‐dominant hemisphere can impair naming. This prospective study examined the pre‐operative to post‐operative course of ...different language components, clarifying which changes are relevant within the short‐term and long‐term outcome of language.
Methods
Patients with drug‐resistant temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) were evaluated using the Token, Boston Naming and Word Fluency tests assessing sentence comprehension and word‐finding on visual, semantic or phonemic cues.
Results
A total of 106 patients were evaluated before and 6 months, 1 and 2 years after ATL; 60 patients were also evaluated after 5 years and 38 controls were assessed at baseline. Seizure outcome was comparable between the left and right TLE patients. Before surgery, naming and word fluency were impaired in the left and right TLE patients, whereas sentence comprehension was normal. After left or right ATL, word fluency progressively improved, naming showed early worsening and late improvement after left ATL and progressive improvement after right ATL, and sentence comprehension did not change. At the 5‐year follow‐up, naming improvement was clinically significant in 31% and 71% of the left and right TLE patients, respectively. Pre‐operative naming, ATL laterality, schooling, and post‐operative seizure frequency and number of antiepileptic drugs predicted post‐operative naming. Pre‐operative word fluency and schooling predicted post‐operative word fluency.
Conclusions
Left or right TLE can impair word‐finding but not sentence comprehension. After ATL, word‐finding may improve for a long time, depending on TLE laterality, seizure control and mental reserve. These findings may clarify prognosis prior to treatment.
The effect of MAP on quality changes of gutted farmed bass when stored at 3
°C were investigated for up to 9 days. Gutted farmed bass was packed with six different atmospheres (0%O
2–70%CO
2; 20%O
...2–70%CO
2; 30%O
2–60%CO
2; 40%O
2–60%CO
2; 30%O
2–50%CO
2; 21%O
2–0%CO
2). Headspace gas composition (O
2%; CO
2%),
aerobic mesophilic bacteria (AMB) and
Enterobacteriaceae, pH, water loss, flesh moisture content, colour, stiffness, odour and eyes appearance were assessed by means of instrumental and sensory analysis after 0, 2, 5, 7 and 9 days of storage. Atmosphere composed of 30% of O
2 and 50% of CO
2 was the best one to preserve the quality of the gutted farmed bass. PCA was an effectively instrument to classify gutted bass samples on the bases of quality changes. The effect of the time was explained by the factor 1, whereas the fish were clearly classified along factor 2 in relation to storage atmosphere.
PDF
