Search

Background Evidence links sedentary behaviours (SB) with poorer health outcomes; i.e. higher screen time is associated with poorer fitness and cardiometabolic health, as well as unfavourable measures of adiposity, mental health and social behaviour in children. The WHO guidelines for children recommend reaching at least an average of 60 min per day of physical activity (PA). Several studies show a correlation between parental education (PE) and children PA levels. This study aims to analyse the influence that PE has on childrens' sedentary lifestyle and PA habits in Italian society. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional analysis among 428 children aged 6-11 recruited in a primary school of Calderara di Reno (Italy) in 2017. Children's and parents' information were collected at baseline (i.e. age, BMI, occupation, instruction). PA level and SB were evaluated using a weekly diary investigating screen time (PC and TV), sports practice and active play (i.e: running, jumping, riding a bike, etc.). We investigated the relationship between lifestyles and PE (high school degree or lower vs college degree or higher) through multiple linear regression models adjusted for age and gender. Results Our models show that fathers' educational level is not related to children's SB. PA habits and weekly sports activities are not related to PE. On the other hand, higher mothers' educational level shows to be linked to a decreased TV screen time (p = 0.003) and time spent using a computer (p = 0.035). Notably, older children spend more time using PCs or devices (p = 0.001), net of confounding variables. Conclusions Our findings show that mothers' educational level positively influences children's lifestyle. This result might be related to the fact that, in the Italian context, mothers are usually the principal children's caregiver influencing their daily routine. In light of this, mothers might be considered a primary target when implementing public health interventions to reduce children's SB. Key messages Higher mothers’ educational level is positively associated with healthier lifestyles in children, in particular in determining a less sedentary behaviour. Fathers' degree of education does not display any impact on children's attitude toward sports and PA.

To gain more information about the relationship between the structure of IFN-gamma and its activity, a peptide corresponding to a hydrophilic peak between amino acids 4 and 16 was used to immunize mice and generate mAb. mAb IGMB-15 reacts to both native and rIFN-gamma and neutralizes the antiproliferative activity of IFN-gamma without affecting its antiviral activity or its ability to up-regulate HLA-DR Ag expression. Moreover, we observed that mAb IGMB-15 was unable to inhibit the binding of radiolabeled IFN-gamma to its cellular receptor. These findings show that the NH2-terminal region may somehow be involved in the biologic activity of IFN-gamma. Besides, the capability of mAb IGMB-15 to inhibit the antiproliferative but not the antiviral activity of IFN-gamma in the same cell (HEp-2) suggests the presence of different elements involved in signal transduction, which may account for the multiple activities of the lymphokine.

The sensitivity and reliability of PCR for diagnostic and research purposes require efficient unbiased procedures of extraction and purification of nucleic acids. One of the major limitations of PCR-based tests is the inhibition of the amplification process by substances present in clinical samples. This study used specimens spiked with a known amount of plasmid pBKV (ATCC 33-1) to compare six methods for extraction and purification of viral DNA from urine and serum samples based on recovery efficiency in terms of yield of DNA and percentage of plasmid pBKV recovered, purity of extracted DNA, and percentage of inhibition. The most effective extraction methods were the phenol/chloroform technique and the silica gel extraction procedure for urine and serum samples, respectively. Considering DNA purity, the silica gel extraction procedure and the phenol/chloroform method produced the most satisfactory results in urine and serum samples, respectively. The presence of inhibitors was overcome by all DNA extraction techniques in urine samples, as evidenced by semiquantitative PCR amplification. In serum samples, the lysis method and the proteinase K procedure did not completely overcome the presence of inhibitors.

Two novel catechol 1,2-dioxygenase genes have been isolated from an Acinetobacter radioresistens strain that grows on phenol or benzoate as sole carbon and energy source. Designated as catAa and catAb , they encode proteins composed of 314 and 306 amino acids, whose deduced sequences indicate that they have approximately 53% identity, whereas their NH2-terminal and COOH-terminal regions have no sequences in common, this may explain their different thermal and pH stability. Polyclonal antibodies raised agaist an amino-terminal catAa peptide or the whole catAb protein were used to establish their inducible and differetial expression patters upon bacterial growth in pheno or benzoate. Tha catAa protein (Iso a) was induced by both phenol and benzoate though with different kinetics, whereas the catAb product (iso b) was constitutively produced at low levels that increased only during growth in the presence of benzoate.

The protein encoded by the tumor suppressor gene p53 can complex and functionally interact with cytomegalovirus proteins produced during the immediate-early phase of infection. The functions of these complex are unclear but there is some evidence to suggest that binding of p53 to these viral proteins may inactivate p53 functions. Recent reports have shown that p53 is involved in regulation of transcription. In this study we have considered the possibility that p53 may regulate transcription of cytomegalovirus immediate early genes which play a crucial role for virus replication. Here we report that experiments in which NIH 3T3 cells were cotransfected with a p53 expression plasmid together with a reporter gene linked to the mouse cytomegalovirus immediate-early enhancer/promoter revealed that wild type p53 could efficiently reduce the transcriptional activity of this viral regulatory sequence. By contrast expression of a mutated p53 correlated with a much smaller reduction of transcription. Deletion mutants analysis of the enhancer revealed that repression of transcription by p53 requires a minimal promoter containing an SP1 consensus sequence and a TATA box.

The analysis of the MCMV IE enhancer revealed the presence of many putative binding sites for the transcription factors AP-1 and NFkB. Previous studies suggested that such factors represent a final target for the metabolic cascade triggered by serum and growth factors. On these basis we wanted to verify if serum stimulates the transcriptional activity of the MCMV IE enhancer through p21ras and AP-1 and NFkB according to the actual model of transduction of the mitogenic signal. Our data demonstrate that serum stimulates the MCMV IE enhancer through a pathway in which the p21ras is involded, as demonstrated by using the dominant inhibitory mutant ras(Asn 17). Moreover deletion mutant analysis of the enhancer showed that the serum responsive region lies between nucleotides -1280 and -285 and contains a high concentration of putative AP-1 and NFkB binding sites.

The effects of interferon (IFN gamma) and of IFN alpha/beta on normal T and B lymphocytes and various T and non-T human and murine cell lines have been investigated. IFN gamma, unlike IFN alpha/beta, did not promote the antiviral state in T cells. The lack of antiviral activity was confirmed at the biochemical level by the finding that 2',5' oligoadenylate synthetase activity is not induced in T cells by IFN gamma only.

Introduction As COVID-19 roared through the world, governments worldwide enforced containment measures that affected various treatment pathways, including those for hip fractures (HFs). This study aimed to measure process and outcome indicators related to the quality of care provided to non-COVID-19 elderly patients affected by HF in Emilia-Romagna, a region of Italy severely hit by the pandemic. Methods We collected the hospital discharge records of all patients admitted to the hospitals of Emilia-Romagna with a diagnosis of HF from January to May in the years 2019 (pre-pandemic period) and 2020 (pandemic period). We analyzed surgery rate, surgery delays, length of hospital stay, timely rehabilitation, and 30-day mortality for each HF patient. We evaluated monthly data (2020 vs. 2019) with the chi-square and t-test, where appropriate. Logistic regression was used to investigate the differences in 30-day mortality. Results Our study included 5379 patients with HF. In April and May 2020, there was a significant increase in the proportion of HF patients that did not undergo timely surgery. In March 2020, we found a significant increase in mortality (OR = 2.22). Male sex (OR = 1.92), age ≥90 years (OR = 4.33), surgery after 48 hours (OR = 3.08) and not receiving surgery (OR = 6.19) were significantly associated with increased mortality. After adjusting for the aforementioned factors, patients hospitalized in March 2020 still suffered higher mortality (OR = 2.21). Conclusions There was a reduction in the overall quality of care provided to non-COVID-19 elderly patients affected by HF, whose mortality increased in March 2020. Patients’ characteristics and variations in processes of care partially explained this increase. Policymakers and professionals involved in the management of COVID-19 patients should be aware of the needs of patients with other health needs, which should be carefully investigated and included in future emergency preparedness and response plans.

The emergence of antibiotic resistance and viruses with high epidemic potential made unexplored marine environments an appealing target source for new metabolites. Marine fungi represent one of the most suitable sources for the discovery of new compounds. Thus, the aim of this work was (i) to isolate and identify fungi associated with the Atlantic sponge Grantia compressa, (ii) to study the fungal metabolites by applying the OSMAC approach (one strain, many compounds), (iii) to test fungal compounds for their antimicrobial activities. Twenty-one fungal strains (17 taxa) were isolated from G. compressa. The OSMAC approach revealed an astonishing metabolic diversity in the marine fungus Eurotium chevalieri MUT 2316, from which 10 compounds were extracted, isolated, and characterized. All metabolites were tested against viruses and bacteria (reference and multidrug-resistant strains). Dihydroauroglaucin completely inhibited the replication of influenza A virus, as for herpes simplex virus 1, total inhibition of replication was observed for both physcion and neoechinulin D. Six out of 10 compounds were active against Gram-positive bacteria with isodihydroauroglaucin being the most promising compound (minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) 4&ndash, 64 &micro, g/mL) with bactericidal activity. Overall, G. compressa proved to be an outstanding source of fungal diversity. Marine fungi were capable of producing different metabolites, in particular, the compounds isolated from E. chevalieri showed promising bioactivity against well-known and emerging pathogens.