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BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Khorasan wheat is an ancient grain with widely acclaimed beneficial effects on human health. The objective of the study was to examine the effect of a Khorasan‐based diet on the wellbeing and inflammatory profile of young athletes. RESULTS: We conducted a randomized, single‐blinded crossover trial involving 20 male young athletes. The participants were randomly assigned to consume products (pasta, bread, biscuits and crackers) made either with Khorasan (KAMUT® brand) or modern semi‐whole‐grain wheat for 4‐weeks with a 4‐week washout period before the crossover. Laboratory analyses and fitness tests were performed both at the beginning and end of each diet period. The consumption of Khorasan products was associated with a significant reduction of monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 (MCP‐1; mean reduction: −36.15 pg/mL; −25.67%) while the consumption of modern wheat was not associated with significant differences in Interleukin‐8 (IL‐8) or Interleukin‐1 receptor antagonist (IL‐1ra). The consumption of the Khorasan‐based diet also resulted in a significant improvement in self‐rated health status. No statistically significant differences in any athletic performance parameter were observed between the two diets. CONCLUSION: The present results suggest that a Khorasan‐based diet could be effective in reducing the inflammatory status in young athletes. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Connectivity of the glycocalyx covering of small communities of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans bacteria deposited on hydrophilic mica plates was imaged by atomic force microscopy. When part of the coverage was removed by water rinsing, an insoluble structure formed by corrals surrounding each individual bacterium was observed. A collective ring structure with clustered bacteria (≥3) was observed, which indicates that the bacteria perceived the neighborhood in order to grow a protective structure that results in smaller production of exopolysaccharides material. The most surprising aspect of these collective corral structures was that they occur at a low bacterial cell density. The deposited layers were also analyzed by confocal Raman microscopy and shown to contain polysaccharides, protein, and glucoronic acid. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2008. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xylella fastidiosa is a plant pathogen that threatens a US$ 4.6 billion worldwide wine and citrus industry. Monitoring its presence and distribution in plants and vectors is crucial for designing control strategies, as well as for understanding its ecological role and fate. We developed two fluorescent oligonucleotide probes complementary to different regions of the 16S rRNA gene of X. fastidiosa. The specificity of the newly designed probes S-S-X.fas-0067-a-A-18 and S-S-X.fas-1439-a-A-18 was demonstrated using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for 12 Xylella isolates, 15 closely related microorganisms and three plant endophytes. These probes were used to detect and quantify X. fastidiosa in plant sap (average value of 2.9 ± 0.3 × 106 cells ml−1) from three different citrus orchards. In a second experiment, cells were quantified in honeydew (2.2 ± 0.2 × 104 cells ml−1) collected from the insect vector Bucephalogonia xanthophis during the acquisition access period on an infected plant. The number of pathogen cells retained or digested by the insect is 10 000 times greater than the estimated minimum value to ensure an efficient transmission. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification using specific primers with plant sap and honeydew samples, followed by sequencing, confirmed the presence of the plant pathogen. This is the first demonstration of FISH being used for environmental samples, such as plant sap and insect honeydew, to estimate the abundance of a plant pathogen during infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies DNA diversity and population admixture in Turkey. Contribution of Central Asian genes to the current Anatolian gene pool; Admixture for mitochondrial and Y-chromosome loci; Estimates of admixture for female and male-transmitted traits.

ABSTRACT- Hepatitis B virus sequences were studied by molecular hybridization in liver biopsies from patients with HBsAg-negative chronic liver disease or hepatocellular carcinoma, collected in Italy. Among the 42 patients with chronic liver disease who had no history of drug addiction, alcohol abuse nor evidence of metabolic and autoimmune disorders, only two (5%) had HBV-DNA sequences in the liver, although 23 of them (57%) were positive for antibodies to HBV in serum. HBV-DNA was also demonstrated in integrated form in the tumorous tissue of one out of eight cases with HBsAg-negative hepatocellular carcinoma. These incidences of HBV-DNA positivity in the liver are lower than those reported from other Mediterranean areas and similar to those of North Europe, United States and Japan, suggesting that etiologic factors other than HBV are responsible for the majority of HBsAg-negative chronic liver diseases in our region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]