Candida auris is a multidrug-resistant fungus known to be a global public health problem. The skin-based transmission, together with the marked resistance to drugs, resulted in its rapid spread to ...all continents. The aim of this study was to identify an essential oil (EO) active in the fight against C. auris. A total of 15 EOs were tested against 10 clinical strains of C. auris.
EO (CZ-EO) was the most effective (MIC90 and MFC90 equal to 0.06% vol/vol). Three fractions obtained from CZ-EO, and the cinnamaldehyde (CIN), the major chemical compound, were tested to identify the principal compound effectives against C. auris. All CIN-containing samples showed anti-fungal activity. To study the synergy with fluconazole, CZ-EO, its active fraction (FR2), and CIN were tested in checkerboard tests. Results show that CZ-EO and FR2, but not CIN, synergize with fluconazole. Furthermore, only the copresence of CZ-EO or FR2 synergize with fluconazole at therapeutic concentrations of the drug (0.45 ± 0.32 μg/mL and 0.64 ± 0.67 μg/mL, respectively), while CIN only shows additive activity.
studies conducted on Galleria mellonella larvae show the absence of toxicity of CZ-EO up to concentrations of 16% vol/vol, and the ability of CZ-EO to reactivate the efficacy of fluconazole when formulated at synergic concentrations. Finally, biochemical tests were made to study the mechanism of action of CZ-EO. These studies show that in the presence of both fluconazole and CZ-EO, the activity of fungal ATPases decreases and, at the same time, the amount of intracellular drug increases.
This study highlights how small doses of CZ-EO are able to inhibit the secretion of fluconazole and promote its accumulation in the fungal cell. In this manner, the drug is able to exert its pharmacological effects bypassing the resistance of the yeast. If further studies will confirm this synergy, it will be possible to develop new therapeutic formulations active in the fight against C. auris resistances.
The effects of intercropping on dry weight (DW) of herbage and nitrogen (N) nutrition of plants of two winter cereals, barley and wheat, and two legumes, white lupin and common vetch, were ...investigated, and above- and below-ground competition were separated in a fully factorial additive design. Intercropping increased DW compared with the sole species and the increase was higher for the cereals and lupin than for cereals and vetch intercropping systems. Above-ground competition for light reduced DW of cereals and lupin while it did not influence the DW of vetch. Processes involved in below-ground competition increased shoot growth of cereals and reduced shoot growth of legumes. N nutrition of cereals was enhanced by below-ground competition with legumes and N nutrition of vetch was enhanced by above-ground competition with cereals. Cereals had a higher competitive ability than legumes as a result of their below-ground competitive ability. The interaction between above- and below-competition is not predictable: negative, positive and no interaction (additivity) between different types of competition were found. In low-input intercropping systems, when a N-fixing species is present, the mixture of the roots of components is important for the utilization of the soil resources and, when a climbing species is also present, the mixture of shoots can result in an increased utilization of light.
In order to promote problem-based and active learning in the physics laboratory, we designed a flipped classroom focused on the Franck-Hertz experiment. The flipped classroom approach moves course ...content from the classroom to homework and uses class time for engaging activities and problem solving. This constructivist approach to teaching is an effective means of student-centred collaboration and it can promote active learning, enhance critical thinking and obtain the maximum use of student-faculty time together. We report preliminary results of the flipped classroom approach to a laboratory and how it worked in the context of a small group of students in a physics course.
Three examples of plant landscape shaping, carried out by Iron Age populations living in different geographical areas, are presented. The examples differ in population type (Garamantes, Etruscans, ...and Romans), archaeological context (settlement, necropolis, furnace, port), and area of plant exploitation (respectively, Fezzan - Libyan Sahara and Tuscany, Latium - central Italy). The leitmotiv of the three parallel investigations highlighted that humans induced clear changes in plant cover modifying the quantitative ratio among native elements and spreading the plants of economic interest even outside of their natural habitats. Micro- and macroremain analyses once more enhanced that landscape reconstruction depends on both wild and cultivated plants, and that the cultural plant landscape is composed of a complex mixture of indigenous and exotic elements. Archaeobotany results in great help in reviewing ancient prejudices, rewriting history in a modern ecological view, also discovering a different role in the landscape evolution of past civilizations. In this light, the Garamantes deeply transformed the oases in agrarian producer sites, and the Etruscans, in the area of the Gulf of Follonica, modified the previous forest vegetation, probably enhancing the xeric features. The Romans, believed as the main creators of the environmental changes in the Mediterranean basin, surprisingly did not produce consistent plant changes in the area of the Tiber delta, in the surroundings of the imperial port of Rome, during the first century AD.
The replacement of gluten in cereal-based goods still represents a significant technological challenge, and obtaining high-quality gluten-free (GF) breads brings about the search for ingredients and ...technologies able to improve the overall features of these products. Even if the use of sourdough has been extensively studied for the traditional baking, thanks to its positive effects on the product associated with the metabolic activities of sourdough-resident microorganisms; only in recent times, similar attempts have been made in GF baking. GF bread, in fact, is more generally produced by a straight-dough process, using compressed yeast as leavening agent. This research aimed to compare the properties of GF doughs and breads obtained using a Type I GF sourdough (GF-SD;
in-lab
developed), compressed yeast (
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
; CY), or their mixture (GF-SD + CY) during proofing. There are no studies, in fact, on Type I GF-SD with the stable association between the lactic acid bacterium
Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis
and the yeast
Candida humilis
. GF-SD doughs were comparable to CY doughs in terms of height development (adopting a longer fermentation step), and well-developed doughs were obtained in a short time when GF-SD was combined with CY. Despite the lower specific volume and the denser crumb, GF-SD breads were characterized by a more coherent texture, while CY breads were more prone to fracture during storage. Breads leavened with GF-SD + CY showed intermediate features. The promising results coming from the use of the
in-lab
developed GF-SD thus confirmed the positive effects of adopting the sourdough technology in GF breadmaking, too.
A retrospective study was carried out on feline behaviour problems presented at the Animal Behaviour Clinic at the Barcelona School of Veterinary Medicine to identify the main risk factors. Three ...hundred thirty six cats presented for a behaviour problem between 1998 and 2006 were included in the study group. A total of 189 presented at the Hospital of the Barcelona School of Veterinary Medicine for problems other than behavioural and having no record of behaviour problems were used as control group. The main owner's complaint was aggression (47%) followed by inappropriate elimination (39%). 64% of aggression cases involved conflicts between cats and 36% of cases were aggression towards people, owners being the most common target of aggression (78% of all cases of aggression were directed towards people). Play-related aggression and petting-related aggression were the main causes of aggressive behaviour towards people (43.1 and 39.6% of cases respectively). Most housesoiling problems involved urination (59%), followed by urination and defecation (32%) and defecation (9%), and the most common diagnosis was aversion to the litterbox (63.4%). Persian cats were presented more frequently for elimination problems than other breeds (
χ
2
=
6.40;
p
<
0.01). Cats with behaviour problems came from pet shops more frequently than control cats (
χ
2
=
10.39;
p
<
0.001). Cats without outdoor access showed significantly more behaviour problems than those with outdoor access (
χ
2
=
31.85;
p
<
0.001) and aggression problems were more common in single cat households than in multicat households (
χ
2
=
25.47;
p
<
0.001). Intact females were presented more frequently for aggression problems than neutered females (
χ
2
=
7.74;
p
<
0.01).
•Light microscopy, SEM and TEM morphological description of short cell phytoliths of Festuca exaltata.•Light-interaction modelling shows that silica-cell phytoliths do not appreciably affect light ...intensity in the cork-cells.•Decreasing protein content in developing silica-cells.
Short cells of Poaceae often contain a cell lumen (CL) phytolith. The aim of this investigation was to analyse the features, development and possible function of CL phytoliths in Festuca exaltata leaves. This study employed light microscopy (LM), scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM respectively). The interaction of light with these phytoliths was modeled using the Finite-Difference Frequency Domain (FDFD) method. The results showed that silica deposition begins within a medium electron density matrix. Proteins were detected in the center of the cytoplasm in a higher amount during the young stage. This occurrence suggests that proteins may be a possible component of the matrix or at least play a role in the silica deposition. At maturity, the short cell phytoliths have peculiar morphology and positioning. These were tested numerically to verify their possible role in either conveying or deflecting light rays, showing only a negligible influence of the phytoliths on the distribution of light within the leaf. A channel apparently connects the silica and the cork cell, suggesting that the cork cells have a metabolic activity related to the metabolism of the silica cells, but possibly not exclusively related to the development.
Aims
68
Ga-Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET/CT is widely used in patients with biochemical recurrence (BCR) after radical prostatectomy. We collected data about patients staged with PSMA ...PET/CT after BCR (PSA < 1 ng/ml) in four different institutes. Impact of baseline features (Gleason score, risk classification, PSA at recurrence, PSA doubling time and time to recurrence) was explored to understand predictive factors of (PSMA) PET/CT positivity. Impact of restaging on following treatment approaches was reported.
Results
92 patients were included. PSMA PET/CT detection rate was 56.5% and low-volume disease (≤ 3 non-visceral lesions) was detected in 52.2% of patients. After positive scan, 13.5% of patients still lies on observation, ADT alone was administered in 30.8% of cases, Stereotactic body RT (SBRT) alone was delivered to 44.2% of patients and 11.5% of patients underwent concomitant SBRT and ADT. Seven patients underwent conventional salvage prostate bed RT. Chi-squared test showed a higher rate of positive PSMA PET/CT for patients with Gleason score > 7 (
p
= 0.004) and TTR < 29.5 months (
p
= 0.003).
Conclusions
PSMA PET/CT showed a high detection rate. This influenced clinical management in a significant percentage of patients, allowing treatment tailoring on the basis of imaging.
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