Risk of viral acute gastrointestinal illness from nondisinfected drinking water distribution systems

Acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) resulting from pathogens directly entering the piping of drinking water distribution systems is insufficiently understood. Here, we estimate AGI incidence from virus intrusions into the distribution systems of 14 nondisinfecting, groundwater-source, community water systems. Water samples for virus quantification were collected monthly at wells and households during four 12-week periods in 2006-2007. Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection was installed on the communities' wellheads during one study year; UV was absent the other year. UV was intended to eliminate virus contributions from the wells and without residual disinfectant present in these systems, any increase in virus concentration downstream at household taps represented virus contributions from the distribution system (Approach 1). During no-UV periods, distribution system viruses were estimated by the difference between well water and household tap virus concentrations (Approach 2). For both approaches, a Monte Carlo risk assessment framework was used to estimate AGI risk from distribution systems using study-specific exposure-response relationships. Depending on the exposure-response relationship selected, AGI risk from the distribution systems was 0.0180-0.0661 and 0.001-0.1047 episodes/person-year estimated by Approaches 1 and 2, respectively. These values represented 0.1-4.9% of AGI risk from all exposure routes, and 1.6-67.8% of risk related to drinking water exposure. Virus intrusions into nondisinfected drinking water distribution systems can contribute to sporadic AGI.     

Optimisation of the formulation and of the technological process of egg-based products for the prevention of Salmonella enteritidis survival and growth

The aim of this work was to study the survival of Salmonella enteritidis after a pressure treatment in relation to compositive variables (NaCl content, pH), both in model and real systems, the latter consisting in an egg-based mayonnaise type product. Moreover, the fate of the surviving cells of S. enteritidis has been monitored during storage at 10 degrees C and the growth or death parameters have been calculated and modelled in relation to pH, NaCl concentration of the medium and entity of the pressure treatment applied. The modelling of the effects of the environmental factors on the treatment effectiveness indicated that the salt content and pH displayed a synergistic effect with pressure, whose extent was higher in the mayonnaise based products than in BHI. In fact, while in the model systems the cell recovery and growth during the subsequent incubation at 10 degrees C was allowed in many combinations of the Central Composite Design, in the real systems no recovery or growth of S. enteritidis were observed. This viability loss, which was maximum at pH 4.00 or 2% NaCl, could not be attributed merely to the interactions of such variables, but probably involves the naturally occurring antimicrobial enzymes of the raw material, whose activity can be enhanced by the pressure treatment.     

Effect of a pre-treatment of milk with high pressure homogenization on yield as well as on microbiological, lipolytic and proteolytic patterns of "Pecorino" cheese

The principal aim of this work was to compare Pecorino cheeses obtained from ewes' milk previously subjected to high pressure homogenization (HPH) at 100 MPa with those produced from raw and heat treated ewes' milk. The HPH milk treatment induced a significant increase of the cheese yield and caused a reduction of enterococci, lactococci and yeasts in the curds. Enterococci cell loads remained at lower levels in cheeses obtained from HPH milk over the ripening period. Analyses of free fatty acids, Sodium Dodecil Sulphate (SDS)-PAGE profiles, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry-Solid Phase Microextraction (GC-MS-SPME) measurements of volatile compounds and sensory traits evidenced that the pressure treatment can be regarded also as a useful tool to differentiate products obtained from the same raw material. In fact such a milk treatment induced a marked lipolysis, an early proteolysis, a relevant modification of the volatile molecule profiles and sensory properties of Pecorino cheese.     

Oxidized Starch as a Hardening Agent in the Gelatin-Immobilization of Living Yeast Cells

Periodate-oxidized starch (oxystarch) was shown to be a good substitute for formaldehyde or glutaraldehyde as hardening agents in an immobilization procedure of microbial cells within gelatin. In fact, contrary to both aldehydes, oxystarch has no antimicrobial activity so that the immobilized cells retain their viability. Cell loading and mechanical stability of the immobilizates make them suitable for operations in continuous bioreactors.     

Acute Neurological Involvement after Donor Lymphocyte Infusion for Post-Transplant Viral Infection: The Same Pattern of Novel Cancer Immunotherapy-Related CNS Toxicity?

Early post-transplant is the critical phase for the success of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). New viral infections and the reactivations associated with complete ablation of the recipient’s T-cell immunity and inefficient reconstitution of the donor-derived system represent the main risks of HSCT. To date, the pharmacological treatments for post-HSCT viral infection-related complications have many limitations. Adoptive cell therapy (ACT) represents a new pharmacological strategy, allowing us to reconstitute the immune response to infectious agents in the post-HSC period. To demonstrate the potential advantage of this novel immunotherapy strategy, we report three cases of pediatric patients and the respective central nervous system complications after donor lymphocyte infusion.     

Fuzzy Dempster–Shafer reasoning for rule-based classifiers

In real classification problems intrinsically vague information often coexist with conditions of “lack of specificity” originating from evidence not strong enough to induce knowledge, but only degrees of belief or credibility regarding class assignments. The problem has been addressed here by proposing a fuzzy Dempster–Shafer model (FDS) for multisource classification purposes. The salient aspect of the work is the definition of an empirical learning strategy for the automatic generation of fuzzy Dempster–Shafer classification rules from a set of exemplified training data. Dempster–Shafer measures of uncertainty are semantically related to conditions of ambiguity among the data and then automatically set during the learning process. Partial reduced beliefs in class assignments are then induced and explicitly represented when generating classification rules. The fuzzy deductive apparatus has been modified and extended to integrate the Dempster–Shafer propagation of evidence. The strategy has been applied to a standard classification problem in order to develop a sensitivity analysis in an easily controlled domain. A second experimental test has been conducted in the field of natural risk assessment, where vagueness and lack of specificity conditions are prevalent. These empirical tests show that classification benefits from the combination of the fuzzy and Dempster–Shafer models especially when conditions of lack of specifity among data are prevalent. ©1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Genetic Therapy and Molecular Targeted Therapy in Oncology: Safety,Pharmacovigilance, and Perspectives for Research and Clinical Practice

The impressive advances in the knowledge of biomarkers and molecular targets has enabled significant progress in drug therapy for crucial diseases such as cancer. Specific areas of pharmacology have contributed to these therapeutic outcomes—mainly targeted therapy, immunomodulatory therapy, and gene therapy. This review focuses on the pharmacological profiles of these therapeutic classes and intends, on the one hand, to provide a systematic definition and, on the other, to highlight some aspects related to pharmacovigilance, namely the monitoring of safety and the identification of potential toxicities and adverse drug reactions. Although clinicians often consider pharmacovigilance a non-priority area, it highlights the risk/benefit ratio, an essential factor, especially for these advanced therapies, which represent the most innovative and promising horizon in oncology.     

PVDF-based composites containing PZT particles: How processing affects the final properties

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)-based composites containing up to 30 vol % of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) particles were prepared by: (a) different techniques, melt blending and solvent casting; and (b) different molding procedures, a single-step and a two-step hot-pressing method. The obtained samples were characterized in order to study how the processing affects their final properties. Results indicate that the different molding processes have a strong effect on polymorphism and molecular relaxations of PVDF as well as on dielectric response of the composite materials, that results enhanced by the two-step molding. The preparation technique influences the filler dispersion and, consequently, the elastic modulus of the composites, but without remarkably impacting on other properties. This suggests the possibility of preparing performing composites by a solvent-free and easily scalable technique (i.e., melt blending) and obtaining suitable dielectric characteristics, very important for application of such kind of materials, just by tuning the molding conditions. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 137, 48871.     

SNPs of the FADS Gene Cluster are Associated with Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in a Cohort of Patients with Cardiovascular Disease

Polymorphisms of the human Δ-5 (FADS1) and Δ-6 (FADS2) desaturase genes have been recently described to be associated with the level of several long-chain n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in serum phospholipids. We have genotyped 13 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located on the FADS1–FADS2–FADS3 gene cluster (chromosome 11q12–13.1) in 658 Italian adults (78% males; mean age 59.7 ± 11.1 years) participating in the Verona Heart Project. Polymorphisms and statistically inferred haplotypes showed a strong association with arachidonic acid (C20:4n-6) levels in serum phospholipids and in erythrocyte cell membranes (rs174545 adjusted P value for multiple tests, P < 0.0001 and P < 0.0001, respectively). Other significant associations were observed for linoleic (C18:2n-6), alpha-linolenic (C18:3n-3) and eicosadienoic (C20:2n-6) acids. Minor allele homozygotes and heterozygotes were associated to higher levels of linoleic, alpha-linolenic, eicosadienoic and lower levels of arachidonic acid. No significant association was observed for stearidonic (C18:4n-3), eicosapentaenoic (C20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic (C22:6n-3) acids levels. The observed strong association of FADS gene polymorphisms with the levels of arachidonic acid, which is a precursor of molecules involved in inflammation and immunity processes, suggests that SNPs of the FADS1 and FADS2 gene region are worth studying in diseases related to inflammatory conditions or alterations in the concentration of PUFAs. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.