Search

Oral human papillomavirus (HPV) is common among healthy individuals but causes and implications of persistent infections are under evaluation in the pathogenesis of head and neck neoplasms. This was a retrospective study evaluating the prevalence of high-risk (HR), probable HR and low-risk (LR) HPV types in patients reporting signs/symptoms of oral and upper respiratory tract lesions. Individuals attending between 2019 and 2022 a University Hospital in Milan, Italy, with risk factors for HPV (unprotected oral sex and/or previous documentation of HPV infection in oral and upper respiratory tract and/or another anatomical site) were included. Fourteen out of 110 (12.7%) individuals tested positive for HPV DNA. The prevalence of HR-HPV and LR-HPV was 3.6% (4/110) and 9.1% (10/110), respectively. No probable/possible HR-HPV was detected. Specifically, 10/110 (9.1%) were diagnosed with 1 LR-HPV genotype, 3/110 (2.7%) were infected with 1 HR-HPV and 1/110 had 3 concomitant HR-HPV types. HPV 16 (2.7%, 3/110) and 6 (4.5%, 5/110) were the most common HR and LR types, respectively. One patient positive for HPV 16, 33 and 35 was diagnosed with cancer at the base of the tongue. Two individuals among those who tested positive for HPV DNA reported previous HPV vaccination. Our data, in line with observations from previous prevalence studies, support the potential role of HPV in head and neck neoplasms. HPV DNA testing should be performed in patients presenting lesions in oral/respiratory tracts and risk factors for HPV. Improvement in HPV vaccination coverage is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Donkey milk is known for some nutritional and nutraceutical peculiarities compared to the milks traditionally used for human nutrition. Moreover although the number of studies on donkey milk production has increased the asinine species still remains little investigated. This is the first study providing a multiple assessment approach in order to extend the knowledge on the production of donkey milk, on the haematological and milk cytological parameters during the whole span of lactation. Furthermore, this study characterised the LYZ and OXT genes. Twenty two individual milk and blood samples from Amiatina donkey were taken at one, six and ten months after parturition. Milk total proteins and caseins and ash were significantly higher at the 1 month of lactation while the urea was lower (1.88% 0.95%, 0.41% and 26.08 mg/mL respectively). Whereas lactose and fat did not significantly changed and showed average values of 6.84 ± 0.145% and 0.67 ± 0.546% respectively. pH and titratable acidity were respectively higher (7.20) and lower (0.10 g/l of lactic acid) at 10th month. The mean values of somatic cell count/mL and of milk macrophages were low with maximum value at tenth month. The haematological parameters were stable during lactation except for mean corpuscular haemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration and platelet count with maximum at sixth month (respectively 20.22 pg, 36.1 g/dl, 281.16 x 109/l). This study also provides for the first time a characterisation of the LYZ gene in the Amiata donkey and describes a first polymorphism at the promoter level. This study extends the knowledge on the production of donkey milk, on the haematological and milk cytological parameters during the whole span of lactation. The results may have economic, health and social impacts since donkey milk is primarily targeted at sensitive consumers. Lysozyme polymorphisms could have association with anti-bacterial activity in milk and the inflammatory response in the mammary gland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work is to study the influence of gender, age and hunting period on the fatty acid composition of the longissimus dorsi muscle excised from 42 wild boars hunted on a farm located in Tuscany. A sub-sample of 22 muscles was used for the study of the microbiological profile of wild boar meat. The results show that gender had an effect only on C16:1 n7, which was higher in females (p ≤ .05). Slaughtering age influenced more parameters, thus resulting in a higher content of C6:0, C18:2, C20:1 and n6/n3 ratio in meat from adults (p ≤ .05) and in a higher percentage of C16:0 (p ≤ .05) in meat from young animals. The hunting month greatly influenced the meat quality because, in addition to the single fatty acids, it significantly modified the MUFA, PUFA, PUFA/SFA and n6/n3 ratio, underlining the great difference between meat of wild boar shot in October – November vs December – January. Ether extract was higher in sub-adults than in young animals (p ≤ .01) but was not influenced by gender and hunting month. Regarding the microbiological analyses,Salmonellaspp. was only detected in one sample, whileYersinia enterocoliticawas not detected at all. Data on the presence of pathogenic bacteria confirmed health risk for the consumer comparable to that associated with meat obtained from farm animals, while data on microbial loads (total aerobic mesophilic and psychrotrophic counts, Enterobacteriaceae,Escherichia coli) did not highlight any specific criticality. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Garfagnina goat is an endangered native goat population from Italy. This study aims to give a contribution to the milk quality assessment of the native goat during the two productive seasons, spring and summer, and to verify the relationships between some meteorological data and physiological and milk quality parameters. Individual milk samples were taken in the two seasons. Physiological parameters and meteorological data were also registered. All the milk samples were measured for volume and analysed for: dry matter, total nitrogen, casein, ash, lactose, fat, milk fatty acid (FA) composition, number and diameter of the fat globules, and rheological parameters. There were not differences in the average diameter of the milk fat globules (2.27 ± 0.28 μm) and in milk gross composition between the two seasons, except for lactose which was significantly lower in summer. During summer a significant increase in some long-chain FAs such as CLA c9,t11, C18:1 t11, C18:0, C18:3 n3, C20:0, C22:0, C22:2 was observed, whereas short-chain FAs (C6:0, C8:0, C10:0), which are responsible for the development of unpleasant aromas, as well as monounsaturated C16:1, C17:1 c9, C20:1, C22:1 and polyunsaturated FAs C20:2, C20:3 n3 decreased. The average PUFA n6/PUFA n3 ratio was 1.7 and the lowest values were recorded in summer. In summer a worsening of the clot, which was less firm, was found. Environmental parameters were found to be linked to the milk FAs, while heart rate and skin temperature were negatively linked to milk yield and lactose, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aim of this review article is to summarize the information available related to milk fat globules (MFGs) in order to highlight their contribution to the nutritional and technological characteristics of milk and dairy products. The macrostructure of milk lipids is composed of globules made up of triglycerides with different melting points, enveloped by a biological membrane from the mammary epithelial cell. In milks of different animal species, there are different-sized MFGs, ranging from diameters of less than 0.2 μm to a maximum of 15 μm. The average diameter and the number of globules are affected by endogenous, physiological, and exogenous factors. The size of the globules in turn affects the qualitative characteristics of milk and cheese. In addition, the average diameter of the globules and their surface that is exposed to the digestive system affect fat digestibility in different ways. Finally, the components of the MFG membranes have been shown to take part in the secretion process of globules and to have a beneficial effect on human health. In conclusion, by acting on factors influencing the dimensions of the fat globules and by increasing the content of the milk membrane could help adapt milk production to specific consumer targets and improve milk nutritional properties. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Amiata donkeys are a native breed reared in central Italy. Safeguarding native donkey breeds represents an opportunity for the development of marginal areas, especially given that donkey milk is now appearing on the market due to its potential benefits for human health. To date, only a few studies have focused on the characteristics of the milk fat globules (MFGs) in the donkey species. The aim of this study was to assess the morphometric characteristics of the fat globules, gross composition and fatty acid classes in milk from Amiata donkeys reared according to the typical farming and feeding systems of the area of origin. Individual milk samples, collected from 28 Amiata donkeys between 90 and 150 days of lactation, showed the following average composition (g/100 mL): 9.47 dry matter, 1.63 protein, 0.78 casein, 0.53 fat, 7.12 lactose, and 0.36 ash. The unsaturated:saturated fatty acids ratio in milk was close to 1. The percentage of short chains was 12.29, and the percentage of long chain fatty acids was 47.64. The donkey MFGs showed an average diameter of 1.92 μm, and a number of 2.18*109/mL. Regarding MFG distribution, 70% of the globules donkey of milk are smaller than 2 μm. In conclusion, the gross composition and fatty acids of Amiata donkey milk showed similarities with milk from other Italian donkey breeds, with the exception of the monounsaturated fatty acid values which were slightly higher. Donkey MFGs had a smaller diameter and were fewer than in the ruminant species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]