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Aim: To describe the phenotypic and genotypic profiles of Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae (KPC-Kp) strains isolated from patients with invasive infections at an Italian university hospital in order to assess the epidemiological trend.Methods: An observational prospective study was undertaken at the University Hospital of Sassari, Italy to detect KPC-Kp strains in patients with invasive bacteraemia. Isolates were identified phenotypically; carbapenemase production was assessed using phenotypic and genotypic methods. Sequencing of blaKPC genes, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and multi-locus sequence typing were performed.Results: During the period 2015-2017, 46 cases of invasive infection with K. pneumoniae were recorded. Two-thirds (67.4%) of the patients were male, and the mean age was 69.4 years. Most patients had at least one comorbidity (56.5%) and/or had been hospitalized previously (70.5%), 81.8% had current or recent medical device use, and 85.4% had recent antibiotic exposure. The mortality rate was 52.3%. A multi-drug-resistant pattern (including carbapenems, fluoroquinolones, third-/fourth-generation cephalosporins) was shown for all K. pneumoniae isolates. KPC-3 and -2 were produced by all strains. The most common sequence types were 512 (91.3%) and 101 (8.7%), grouped into three clusters (A, A1 and B).Conclusions: A high incidence of KPC-Kp in patients with invasive infections was recorded at an Italian university hospital compared with the incidence measured before 2015. This study confirmed the importance of the KPC-3 carbapenemase variant, as reported by other Italian studies. High mortality and comorbidity rates appear to be associated with KPC-Kp infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hypertensive emergency is commonly associated with acute ischemic stroke and can be a predictor of poor outcome in these patients. Nicardipine and labetalol are commonly administered for the treatment of acute hypertension following stroke. Yet, data are lacking on the safety of these agents in this setting.Objective: This study aimed to determine all-cause in-hospital mortality, medication-related hypotensive episodes, development of hospital acquired infections and hospital length of stay between nicardipine and labetalol use for the management of hypertension after acute ischemic stroke.Methods: This retrospective study used a prospective database of individuals admitted to the neurointensive care unit at a university-based hospital over 39 months. Patients with confirmed ischemic strokes were included in this analysis. Data were recorded for administration of nicardipine and labetalol following acute stroke.Results: A total of 244 patients with acute ischemic stroke were included in this analysis (mean age, 64.3 ± 15 years; 52.2% males). Nicardipine use after acute ischemic stroke was associated with an increased risk of 30-day mortality (odds ratio [OR]: 4.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3-15.7; P = .02). A single episode of hypotension in the first 72hours of admission was also significantly associated with mortality (OR 4.35 [95% CI 1.2-14.9]; P = .02).Conclusions: Nicardipine was associated with an increased risk of short-term mortality after acute ischemic stroke. This may have been due to hypotension, tachycardia, or pulmonary edema which were not apparent in our study. Further studies are required to elucidate the cause of this association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pure and Ti doped ZrO 2 thin films were prepared by chemical spray pyrolysis method on a glass substrate at 450 °C. XRD results reveal that pure and doped films had polycrystalline structure in nature with tetragonal phase and highly oriented along (011) plane. The crystallite size was increased with increasing Ti content from 17.6 nm to 25.3 nm. SEM images of ZrO 2 and ZrO 2 :Ti thin films showed that the surface seems relatively homogeneous, and the EDX spectra confirm the stoichiometry of the prepared films. AFM measurements showed that the average roughness values were increased after doping with Ti. Optical transmittance of the deposited films high value was about (50%) and decreased with increasing of dopant concentration. The optical band gap decreased from 4.30 eV to 3.01 eV with increasing of Ti content. The ZrO 2 and ZrO 2 :Ti (8%) thin films were investigated as NO 2 gas sensor, the results showed a maximum response was at 250 °C and had a stable behavior for detecting NO 2 gases. The doped ZrO 2 film illustrated a higher response than that of the pure film. The sensing mechanism was modeled according to the oxygen–vacancy mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, 330 Staphylococcus aureus isolates, collected in Sardinia (Italy) in the period 1986–2015 from clinical ovine mastitis and used for the preparation of inactivated autogenous vaccines, were analyzed. Susceptibility to 12 antimicrobial agents was tested by disk diffusion, according to CLSI recommendations. Resistance genes were detected by PCR assays. The most of isolates (85.2%) were susceptible to all antimicrobials tested, suggesting that did not exist change of resistance over time. Two isolates were multidrug-resistant (MDR), one of them (isolate 1496) showed resistance to seven antibiotics including oxacillin and erythromycin. This MRSA harboured SCC mec type IV and the erm (C) gene. Isolates were characterized by spa typing and MLST. Isolates belonged to 29 spa types: t1773 (n = 186), t2678 (n = 53), t7754 (n = 14), t1532 (n = 5), t524 (n = 5) and t6060 (n = 4) were the most frequent spa types found in Sardinia. The majority of ovine isolates (t1773, t7754 and t1532) was grouped in MLST CC130 (n = 205) followed by CC133 (n = 57). MRSA 1496 was classified as t3896, ST1 and CC1, a clonal complex common in human and also reported in cattle and pig. This study suggests that the CC130/ST700/t1773 is the prevalent S. aureus lineage associated with ovine mastitis in Sardinia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depression presents a significant public health burden for Latinos, the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the United States. The current study performed a randomized controlled trial of Behavioral Activation (BA) for Latinos (BAL, n = 21), with relatively minor modifications, compared to treatment as usual (TAU, n = 22) in a community mental health clinic setting with a sample of depressed, Spanish-speaking Latinos. TAU was a strong comparison condition, taking place at the same clinic, under the same guidelines and clinic protocols, with similar levels of ongoing consultation, and using the same pool of therapists as BAL. Results indicated that BAL performed well with respect to treatment engagement and retention. Regarding acute treatment outcomes, an interaction emerged between number of sessions attended and condition. Specifically, only BAL clients who were engaged in treatment and attended more sessions demonstrated significant reductions in depression and improvements in quality of life and mental health functioning. Results are discussed in terms of the balance of efficacy and effectiveness issues addressed in this trial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste plastics pose challenging issues to the environment and ecosystems due to their non-biodegradable nature. Aside from mechanical and thermal recycling, thermochemical recycling can convert waste plastics to high-value products. Pyrolysis and gasification processes can convert waste plastics to liquid and gaseous streams that can be used for the synthesis of various products (the waste-refinery concept). Moreover, these same streams can be used to produce filamentous carbon nanomaterials (CNM), that is, carbon nanotubes (CNT) and carbon nanofilaments (CNF). Despite the significant progress made in the field of filamentous CNM synthesis, a full understanding of all aspects of the growth mechanism is still unavailable and, thus, there is no obvious structural control. Consequently, the first section of this article is dedicated to a general summary of CNM, including the current understanding of their growth mechanisms, the difference between the various types, and the conditions which control their growth. The second section aims to synthesize the data published in the scientific literature over the past decade on the production of filamentous CNM from the pyrolysis of waste plastics. The different reactor designs used to convert waste plastics to CNM are considered, and the effects of different parameters, including the catalyst used and process parameters, on the yield and quality of CNM from various types of waste plastics are discussed. Finally, applications for CNM are reviewed. [Display omitted] • Filamentous CNM can be produced from waste plastic. • This review focuses on the two-stage pyrolysis–catalysis process. • Continuous production of CNM and H 2 from real waste plastics is a big challenge. • Temperature of pyrolysis and catalysis are key factors. • Steam is needed at the right proportion to improve hydrogen yield and CNM quality. • Techno-economic assessment is necessary for scale-up and evaluation of sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cell-, tissue-, sex- and developmental stage-specific expression profiles of five members of the flavin-containing monooxygenase (FMO) family, FMO1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, were investigated in 129/SV mice, using isoform-specific antisense RNA probes. In situ hybridization localized FMO1 and 5 mRNAs to the perivenous, and FMO 2, 3 and 4 mRNAs to the periportal, regions of the liver. In kidney, each FMO mRNA is localized to the distal and proximal tubules and collecting ducts; FMO1 mRNA is present also in the glomerulus. In lung, FMO1 and 3 mRNAs are expressed in the terminal bronchiole, and FMO1 mRNA also in the alveoli. FMO1 mRNA is present in neurons of the cerebrum and in the choroid plexus. RNase protection assays showed that the most abundant isoform in newborn liver, lung, kidney and brain, and in adult lung and kidney is FMO1, but in adult liver FMO5 is present in greatest amounts. In liver, lung and kidney, expression of Fmo1, 3 and 5 peaks at 3 or 5 weeks of age, but in the brain, Fmo1 expression is greatest in newborns. In the kidney, FMO5 mRNA abundance is fourfold greater in males than in females, at all stages of development. Our results demonstrate that Fmo1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 exhibit distinct cell-, tissue-, sex- and developmental stage-specific patterns of expression. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Among the determinants of environmental health risk perception, health literacy and social media messages have been generally neglected. This study details the environmental health risk perception and its determinants in Italian university students, including a measure of functional health literacy and an analysis of newspapers and social media. A cross sectional survey was carried out among students from 15 Italian universities and different disciplines (grouped into Scientific-Health and Humanistic-Legal-Social sectors) using a self-administered anonymous questionnaire, divided into six sections: socio-demographic characteristics, information on health and environment, environmental health risk perception, trust, attitudes and behaviors and functional health literacy. Local newspapers and tweets in the same areas and period were analyzed in relation to quantity and topics. The study population included 4778 students (65.1% female) aged 21 ± 4.3 years, and functional health literacy was low (below the cutoff value) for 44.4% of students. A new outcome of the survey is that the detected association between high functional health literacy a higher global health risk perception and trust in institutions both as sources of information and as actors for protection against environmental risks. The internet and social networks were the most frequently consulted sources of information (77.7%), which was predictive of a higher risk perception. The possible relation between environmental health risk perception and tweet communication was highlighted by a comparison between the risk perception in the city with the highest number of tweets (Modena) and another one similar for socio-demographic characteristics (Pisa). In conclusion, the results of our study may be of help to strengthen information and education programs: functional health literacy should be taken into account in school programs, to produce a basic knowledge for a better understanding of health and environment. Moreover, mass and social media should be included in planning communication intervention and in verifying their results. Unlabelled Image • Nation-wide cross-sectional study enrolling 15 Italian universities • Topics: environmental health risk perception, trust, attitudes, information sources • Internet and social media are the most frequently sources of information • Risk perception associated with functional health literacy and internet use • Trust in Institutions associated with functional health literacy and residence [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Comparison of different lamps in the classification of banana ripening. [•] Influence of illumination in the classification of the ‘prata’ banana. [•] Characterization of the ripening stages of bananas using different sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• MAP preserved the quality of calendula petals for ten days at 5 °C. • Continuous and micro-perforated films kept flowers' weight, freshness and color. • MAP delayed total phenols' concentration decrease over storage. • Micro and macro perforated films determined an increase of β-carotene content. • Micro-perforation is a good compromise between in package RH and film permeability. The effectiveness of passive modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) on chemical and quality properties of calendula flowers was studied during ten days of storage at 5 °C. Weight loss of flowers wrapped with continuous and micro-perforated-films (2–3%), was significantly lower than control (unwrapped flowers) (about 30%) and those wrapped with macro-perforated film (about 7%). At the end of storage unwrapped flowers were judged unmarketable being severely wilted and shriveled, while all packaged ones were still fresh and marketable. On day 10, the fructose concentration of control flowers decreased by 74%. Continuous and micro-perforated films delayed the decline of fructose concentration over storage. Sucrose concentration decreased with storage in control flowers, while in continuous film wrapped flowers it increased. After 10 d of storage, the total phenols' concentration of all packaged flowers was significantly higher than control and similar to the initial value (2.58 ± 0.02 g 100 g−1 d.w.). Thirteen carotenoids were identified by HPLC-MS. The initial β carotene concentration (65.72 ± 0.09 mg 100 g−1 d.w.) did not change in flowers wrapped with macro- and micro-perforated films, in contrast to the other treatments. Lycopene concentration strongly decreased in control flowers, while minor losses occurred in packaged ones. Laser micro-perforated film, being a good compromise between humidity retention inside the packages and the permeability of the film, seems to be the best choice to extend the storage life of calendula flowers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Oxalic acid treatments affect the quality properties of green and purple asparagus. • Cold storage and OA affected the overall appearance and the cut end-dehydration. • Rutin, feruloyl and cumaroyl quinic acids were detected in Grande and Vegalim spears. • Cyanidin rutinoside was the most represented anthocyanin in Purple Passion cultivar. • A sensor-biosensor system was used to measure antioxidant activity and ascorbic acid. Abstract The effect of oxalic acid (OA) treatment on visual properties and bioactive compounds of two green and one purple cultivars of fresh asparagus was investigated during twelve storage days at 5 °C. Cold storage and OA treatment positively affected the overall appearance of the investigated cultivars. Cut-end dehydration increased, all along the storage period, in all cultivars but, the negative effect of the storage, clear on control samples, was mitigated by OA. The most represented compounds in Grande and Vegalim cultivars were: quercetin rutinoside, feruloyl quinic acid and cumaroyl quinic acid. Cyanidin glucosyl rutinoside, cyaniding rutinoside and peonidin rutinoside were identified in Purple Passion cultivar. The bioactive compounds seemed to be affected by storage but not by OA treatment. The sensor-biosensor system indicated that the antioxidant activity is negatively affected by storage but not by OA. The decrease of antioxidant activity coincided with the reduction of ascorbic acid levels in all the cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malignant hypertension can cause thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) characterized by hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia. On the other hand, severe hypertension is sometimes associated with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) or thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). Distinguishing these entities is important because of therapeutic implications. Plasmapheresis should be initiated as soon as possible if we are dealing with TTP. We describe the case of a 30-year-old man referred to our hospital with malignant hypertension, severe renal failure and TMA: haemoglobin = 9 g/dL, total bilirubin = 0.4 mg/dL, haptoglobin ≤ 10 mg/dL, platelet count = 59,000/μL and schistocytes on peripheral smear. He required initiation of hemodialysis. Additionally, we considered that the possible cause of TMA was malignant hypertension according to the presence of hypertensive retinopathy and thrombocytopenia which remitted only with blood pressure control, hence, plasmapheresis was not given. Renal function did not improve and the patient remained chronic hemodialysis. Intensive therapy for hypertension with a combination of antihypertensive drugs including spironolactone successfully lowered his blood pressure without developing hyperkalemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Our understanding of how Behavioral Activation (BA) for depression works is limited. BA is theorized to lead to changes in depression through changes in activation. While distal support for activation as a mechanism has been obtained, more research is needed before definitive conclusions can be drawn. Research on mechanism should consider the appropriate time-frame for examining changes in the theorized mechanism variable and whether the proposed mechanism is expected to exert causal influence in all BA cases. These issues were considered in the current study in which a post-hoc analysis was conducted to explore BA's mechanism using single-subject data obtained at each session during the course of treatment.Methods: Activation and depression data were obtained from a randomized-controlled trial of BA for Latinos (BAL) compared to treatment-as-usual (TAU). Cross-lagged correlations were computed to test whether activation changes preceded, co-occurred with, or lagged behind changes in depression in a sample of 21 clients (BAL n = 14; TAU n = 7). Differences among participants based on activation-depression patterns were examined.Results: For 79% of the BAL sample, changes in activation preceded or co-occurred with changes in depression, while no clients in the TAU sample evidenced this pattern.Limitations: Use of more proximal and objective measures of the constructs of interest and a higher dosage of BA may have served as a stronger test of the treatment's mechanism.Conclusions: More time-sensitive measurement of changes in variables of interest is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of cold storage under oxygen-enriched atmosphere on nutritional quality of ‘Sanguinello Comune’ blood oranges was investigated. The fruit were kept for 40 days at 10 °C in hermetically closed chambers continuously ventilated with atmospheric air (control) or with oxygen-enriched air containing 76 kPa O 2 (EnrO 2 ). Superatmospheric oxygen caused a remarkable enhancement of anthocyanin accumulation in the fruit juice. By the end of storage, total anthocyanin content in the juice of the EnrO 2 oranges increased almost tenfold compared with the initial level (from 2.6 to 24.0 mg 100 mL −1 ) while only threefold increase was observed in the control. The concentrations of the major anthocyaninins cyanidin 3-glucoside and cyanidin 3-(6″-malonylglucoside) in the EnrO 2 juice and in the control increased during the storage period twentyfold and sixfold, respectively. The dramatic enhancement of anthocyanin accumulation was accompanied by significant increase in total content of phenolic compounds and in total antioxidant activity in the EnrO 2 oranges while in the control these parameters did not change significantly. The phenomena observed might be related to protective response of the fruit toward oxidative stress caused by the oxygen-enriched atmosphere. At the same time, superatmospheric oxygen storage caused a significant decline in acidity, total content of soluble solids, contents of sucrose, glucose, fructose and ascorbic acid in the juice of blood oranges although these changes were relatively minor compared to the enhancement of anthocyanin accumulation. Such trends could stem from the increased respiratory activity of the fruit in the presence of high oxygen concentration; in normal air they were less pronounced or insignificant. Data obtained could have implications for processing industry as a natural way of enhancing health value, stability and color of the juice and reducing the dependence on antioxidant additives and food colorants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four fullerenes- or nanotubes-modified graphite sensor–biosensor systems (SBs), coupled with a dual-channel telemetric device, based on an ascorbate oxidase (AOx) biosensor, were developed for on line simultaneous amperometric detection of ascorbic acid (AA) and antioxidant capacity in blueberry, kiwi and orange juice. Fullerene C 60 (FC 60 ), fullerene C 70 (FC 70 ), single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCN) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCN) increased the sensitivity of graphite toward AA and phenols 1.2, 1.5, 5.1 and 5.1 times respectively. Fullerenes combined with AOx improved the selectivity toward AA more than nanotubes, being able to hold a higher number of AOx molecules on the biosensor surface. The SBs work at an applied potential of +500 mV, in a concentration range between the LOD and 20 μM, with a response time of two minutes. The LOD is 0.10, 0.13, 0.20 and 0.22 μM for SBs modified with FC60, FC70, SWCN and MWCN respectively. Biosensors register lower AA currents than the sensors due to the enzyme capability to oxidize AA before it reaches the transductor surface. Phenols currents registered by sensors and biosensors did not differ. Based on the difference between sensor and biosensor recorded currents a AA selectivity index was developed as an indicator of specificity toward AA and of the capacity to distinguish between AA and phenols contribution to the antioxidant capacity. This value is almost zero for fullerene-modified SBs, 0.13 and 0.22 for SWCN- and MWCN-modified SBs respectively. The results of juices analysis performed with SBs were in accordance with reference methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In fireworks, organic additives with high chlorine content such as hexachlorobenzene (HCB) are used for the improvement of illumination effects. In the course of a monitoring campaign for the detection of HCB in fireworks, atmospheric concentrations of chlorobenzenes (CBs), chlorophenols (CPs) and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), were measured during the Swiss National holiday August 1, 2011 which is celebrated with fireworks nationwide. Samples were collected in the city of Zurich using high-volume air samplers equipped with quartz fiber filters and poly-urethane foam plugs. With one sampling period of 3h, a peak HCB concentration of 297pgm−3 was detected. Maximum total concentrations of pentachlorophenol and PCDD/Fs were 218pg m−3 and 61fg I-TEQ m−3, respectively. These levels are in the order of ten times above background concentrations measured one week before and two weeks after the event. Atmospheric emissions of HCB and CPs were quantified using a multimedia mass balance model to interpret the field measurements resulting in total emissions of HCB and CPs during the event of 23g and 25g, respectively. Based on per capita amounts this corresponds to total annual emissions from fireworks of 1.5kg for each of the two pollutants in Switzerland. Starting from an estimation of the total worldwide emissions of HCB, in Switzerland emissions from fireworks may represent about 2-14% of total HCB releases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Flavin-containing monooxygenases (FMOs) of mammals are thought to be involved exclusively in the metabolism of foreign chemicals. Here, we report the unexpected finding that mice lacking Fmos 1, 2 and 4 exhibit a lean phenotype and, despite similar food intake, weigh less and store less triglyceride in white adipose tissue (WAT) than wild-type mice. This is a consequence of enhanced whole-body energy expenditure, due mostly to increased resting energy expenditure (REE). This is fuelled, in part, by increased fatty acid β-oxidation in skeletal muscle, which would contribute to depletion of lipid stores in WAT. The enhanced energy expenditure is attributed, in part, to an increased capacity for exercise. There is no evidence that the enhanced REE is due to increased adaptive thermogenesis; instead, our results are consistent with the operation in WAT of a futile energy cycle. In contrast to FMO2 and FMO4, FMO1 is highly expressed in metabolic tissues, including liver, kidney, WAT and BAT. This and other evidence implicates FMO1 as underlying the phenotype. The identification of a novel, previously unsuspected, role for FMO1 as a regulator of energy homeostasis establishes, for the first time, a role for a mammalian FMO in endogenous metabolism. Thus, FMO1 can no longer be considered to function exclusively as a xenobiotic-metabolizing enzyme. Consequently, chronic administration of drugs that are substrates for FMO1 would be expected to affect energy homeostasis, via competition for endogenous substrates, and, thus, have important implications for the general health of patients and their response to drug therapy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The haloalkane dehalogenase LinB from Sphingobium indicum B90A converts β-hexachlorocyclohexane (β-HCH), the most persistent HCH stereoisomer, to mono- and dihydroxylated metabolites. Recently, we reported that LinB also transforms α-, β- and γ-hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs), which are structurally related to HCHs. Here, we show that LinB catalyzes the hydroxylation of δ-HBCD to two pentabromocyclododecanols (PBCDOHs) and two tetrabromocyclododecadiols (TBCDDOHs). The stereochemistry of this enzymatic transformation was deduced from XRD crystal structure data of the substrate δ-HBCD and α2-PBCDOH, one of the biotransformation products. Five stereocenters of δ-HBCD are unchanged but the one at C6 is converted to an alcohol with inversion from S- to R-configuration in a nucleophilic, SN2-like substitution reaction. Only α2-PBCDOH with the 1R,2R,5S,6R,9R,10S-configuration is obtained but not its enantiomer. With only two of the 64 PBCDOHs formed, these transformations indeed are regio- and stereoselective. A conformational analysis revealed that the triple-turn motive, which is predominant in δ-HBCD and in several other HBCD stereoisomers, is also found in the product. This shows that LinB preferentially converted reactive bromine atoms but not those in the conserved triple-turn motive. The widespread contamination with HCHs triggered the bacterial evolution of dehalogenases which acquired the ability to convert these pollutants and their metabolites. We here demonstrate that LinB of S. indicum also transforms HBCDs regio- and stereoselectively following a similar mechanism. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: 1,2-Diphenyl- and 1-phenyl-2-(2-pyridyl)-1,2-disodiumethane efficiently dehalogenate vic-dibromoderivatives, affording the corresponding alkenes. The reaction proceeds rapidly, under mild conditions and is tolerant of a variety of functional groups (alcohol, carboxylic acid, ester and amide). This procedure was successfully extended to similar vic-disubstituted compounds. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]