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This paper provides an overview of wild food plants traditionally used in the gastronomy of Tuscany, an Italian region with high biological diversity and whose cultural heritage is well known. Forty-nine bibliographic sources, including five unpublished studies, were reviewed. A list of species with ecological characteristics, plant parts used, use category (food, liquor, or seasoning), methods of preparation (raw or cooked), and recipes is presented. The use of 357 taxa (3711 use reports, URs), was recorded, belonging to 215 genera and 72 botanical families. Over the total taxa, 12 are new for Tuscany, 52 seem not to be present in other Italian regions, and 54 were not detected in the consulted European ethnobotanical literature. Of these taxa, 324 (3117 URs) were used as food, while 49 (178 URs) and 81 (416 URs) were used for liquor and seasoning, respectively. Of the 17 different food recipes, cooked vegetables constituted the largest group, followed by salads, omelets, snacks, and fillings. The chemical composition of the recorded food plants and the possible safety risks associated to their consumption, as well as their traditional medicinal use, are also shown. This review highlights the richness of ethnobotanical knowledge in Tuscany. Such biocultural heritage can be a “source of inspiration” for agriculture. As a reservoir of potential new crops, wild edible flora may contribute to the development of emerging horticultural sectors such as vertical farming and microgreens production. Moreover, the nutrient content and healthy properties of many wild food plants reported in this study has the ability to meet consumer demand for functional foods.

The most important dogma in white-wine production is the preservation of the wine aroma and the limitation of the oxidative action of oxygen. In contrast, the ageing of Sherry and Sherry-like wines is an aerobic process that depends on the oxidative activity of flor strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Under depletion of nitrogen and fermentable carbon sources, these yeast produce aggregates of floating cells and form an air-liquid biofilm on the wine surface, which is also known as the velum or flor. This behaviour is due to genetic and metabolic peculiarities that differentiate flor yeast from other wine yeast. This review will focus first on the most updated data obtained through the analysis of flor yeast with -omic tools. Comparative genomics, proteomics and metabolomics of flor and wine yeast strains are shedding new light on several features of these special yeast, and in particular, they have revealed the extent of proteome remodelling imposed by the biofilm life-style. Finally, new insights in terms of promotion and inhibition of biofilm formation through small molecules, amino acids and di/tri-peptides, and novel possibilities for the exploitation of biofilm immobilisation within a fungal hyphae framework, will be discussed.

The accuracy of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) for identifying Streptococcus suis isolates obtained from pigs, wild animals and humans was evaluated using a PCR-based identification assay as the gold standard. In addition, MALDI-TOF MS was compared with the commercial multi-tests Rapid ID 32 STREP system. From the 129 S. suis isolates included in the study and identified by the molecular method, only 31 isolates (24.03%) had score values ≥2.300 and 79 isolates (61.24%) gave score values between 2.299-2.000. After updating the currently available S. suis MALDI Biotyper database with the spectra of three additional clinical isolates of serotypes 2, 7 and 9, most isolates had statistically significant higher score values (mean score: 2.65) than those obtained using the original database (mean score: 2.182). Considering the results of the present study, we suggest using a less restrictive threshold score of ≥2.000 for reliable species identification of S. suis. According to this cut-off value, a total of 125 S. suis isolates (96.9%) were correctly identified using the updated database. These data indicate an excellent performance of MALDI-TOF MS for the identification of S. suis.

Context: Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is a rare tumor originating from thyroid parafollicular C cells. It has been previously demonstrated that IGF-I protects MTC from the effects of anti-proliferative drugs. Everolimus, an mTOR inhibitor, has shown potent anti-proliferative effects in a human MTC cell line, TT, and in two human MTC primary culturesObjective: To verify whether IGF-I may influence the effects of Everolimus in a group of human MTC primary cultures.Design: We collected 18 MTCs that were dispersed in primary cultures, treated without or with 10 nM - 1 M Everolimus and/or 50 nM IGF-I. Cell viability was evaluated after 48 h and Calcitonin (CT) secretion was assessed after a 6 h incubation. IGF-I receptor downstream signalling protein expression profile was also investigated.Results: Everolimus significantly reduced cell viability in 8 MTC (by ~20%; P

Recent studies have indicated that the serotonin receptor subtype 7 (5-HT7R) plays a crucial role in shaping neuronal morphology during embryonic and early postnatal life. Here we show that pharmacological stimulation of 5-HT7R using a highly selective agonist, LP-211, enhances neurite outgrowth in neuronal primary cultures from the cortex, hippocampus and striatal complex of embryonic mouse brain, through multiple signal transduction pathways. All these signaling systems, involving mTOR, the Rho GTPase Cdc42, Cdk5 and ERK, are known to converge on the reorganization of cytoskeletal proteins that subserve neurite outgrowth. Indeed, our data indicate that neurite elongation stimulated by 5-HT7R is modulated by drugs affecting actin polymerization.In addition, we show, by 2D western blot analyses, that treatment of neuronal cultures with LP-211 alters the expression profile of cofilin, an actin binding protein involved in microfilaments dynamics. Furthermore, by using microfluidic chambers that physically separate axons from the soma and dendrites, we demonstrate that agonist-dependent activation of 5-HT7R stimulates axonal elongation. Our results identify for the first time several signal transduction pathways, activated by stimulation of 5-HT7R, that converge to promote cytoskeleton reorganization and consequent modulation of axonal elongation. Therefore, the activation of 5-HT7R might represent one of the key elements regulating CNS connectivity and plasticity during development.

It has been proposed in the literature that the Testosterone (T) response to competition in humans may be modulated by cognitive variables.In a previous experiment with a female sample we have reported that opponent familiarity and threat appraisal moderated the Testosterone (T) response to competition in women. With this experiment we aim to investigate if these variables have the same impact on males T response to competition, extending the previous findings in our lab. Forty male participants (twenty dyads) were recruited to engage in a same sex, face to face competition using the Number Tracking Test as a competitive task. Levels of T, Cortisol (C) and Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) were measured before and twenty minutes after the competition. Results show that losers report higher levels of threat than winners and increased their T levels after the competition, however this T change was not predicted by opponent familiarity or threat appraisal. No variation was detected for C and DHEA levels. These findings suggest that there could be sex differences for the moderators/mediators of the T response to competition in humans.

This paper integrates the motivational states of challenge and threat within a dual processing perspective. Previous research has demonstrated that individuals experience a challenge state when individuals have sufficient resources to cope with the demands of a task (Blascovich et al., 1993). Because the experience of resource availability has been shown to be associated with superficial processing (Garcia-Marques & Mackie, 2007), we tested the hypothesis that challenge is associated with superficial processing in two persuasion experiments. Experiment 1 revealed that inducing attitudes of participants in a challenge state was not sensitive to the quality of arguments presented. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the effect occurs even when task engagement, manipulated by the presence (vs. the absence) of a task observer (Blascovich et al., 1993), is high. The implications of these results for the BPS model and the cognitive and motivational literature are discussed.

Nanobiocatalysis, as the synergistic combination of nanotechnology and biocatalysis, is rapidly emerging as a new frontier of biotechnology. The use of immobilized enzymes in industrial applications often presents advantages over their soluble counterparts, mainly in view of stability, reusability and simpler operational processing. Because of their singular properties, such as biocompatibility, large and modifiable surface and easy recovery, iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are attractive super-paramagnetic materials that serve as a support for enzyme immobilization and facilitate separations by applying an external magnetic field. Cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) have several benefits in the context of industrial applications since they can be cheaply and easily prepared from unpurified enzyme extracts and show improved storage and operational stability against denaturation by heat and organic solvents. In this work, by using the aforementioned advantages of MNPs of magnetite and CLEAs, we prepared two robust magnetically-separable types of nanobiocatalysts by binding either soluble enzyme onto the surface of MNPs functionalized with amino groups or by cross-linking aggregates of enzyme among them and to MNPs to obtain magnetic CLEAs. For this purpose the lipase B of Candida antarctica (CALB) was used. The hydrolytic and biosynthetic activities of the resulting magnetic nanobiocatalysts were assessed in aqueous and organic media and compared between them and to those showed by the corresponding soluble enzyme. Thus, the hydrolysis of triglycerides or the transesterification reactions to synthesize biodiesel and biosurfactants were studied using magnetic CLEAs of CALB.

When De Castro entered the carotid body (CB) field, the organ was considered to be a small autonomic ganglion, a gland, a glomus or glomerulus, or a paraganglion. In his 1928 paper, De Castro concluded: In sum, the Glomus caroticum is innervated by centripetal fibers, whose trophic centers are located in the sensory ganglia of the glossopharyngeal, and not by centrifugal [efferent] or secretomotor fibers as is the case for glands; these are precisely the facts which lead to suppose that the Glomus caroticum is a sensory organ. A few pages down, De Castro wrote: The Glomus represents an organ with multiple receptors furnished with specialized receptor cells like those of other sensory organs [taste buds?]…As a plausible hypothesis we propose that the Glomus caroticum represents a sensory organ, at present the only one in its kind, dedicated to capture certain qualitative variations in the composition of blood, a function that, possibly by a reflex mechanism would have an effect on the functional activity of other organs… Therefore, the sensory fiber would not be directly stimulated by blood, but via the intermediation of the epithelial cells of the organ, which, as their structure suggests, possess a secretory function which would participate in the stimulation of the centripetal fibers. In our article we will recreate the experiments that allowed Fernando de Castro to reach this first conclusion. Also, we will scrutinize the natural endowments and the scientific knowledge that drove De Castro to make the triple hypotheses: the CB as chemoreceptor [variations in blood composition], as a secondary sensory receptor which functioning involves a chemical synapse, and as a centre, origin of systemic reflexes. After a brief account of the systemic reflex effects resulting from the CB stimulation, we will complete our article with a general view of the cellular-molecular mechanisms currently thought to be involved in the functioning of this arterial chemoreceptor.

Social interactions elicit androgen responses whose function has been posited to be the adjustment of androgen dependent behaviors to social context. The activation of this androgen response is known to be mediated and moderated by psychological factors. In this study we tested the hypothesis that the testosterone (T) changes after a competition are not simply related to its outcome, but rather to the way the subject evaluates the event. In particular we tested two evaluative dimensions of a social interaction: familiarity with the opponent and the subjective evaluation of the outcome as threat or challenge. Challenge/Threat occurs in goal relevant situations and represent different motivational states arising from the individuals’ subjective evaluation of the interplay between the task demands and coping resources possessed. For challenge the coping resources exceed the task demands, while threat represents a state where coping resources are insufficient to meet the task demands. In this experiment women competed in pairs, against a same sex opponent using the Number Tracking Test as a competitive task. Losers appraised the competition outcome as more threatening than winners, and displayed higher post-competition T levels than winners. No differences were found either for Cortisol (C) or for dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). Threat, familiarity with the opponent and T response were associated only in the loser condition. Moderation analysis suggests that for the women that lost the competition the effect of threat on T is moderated by familiarity with the opponent.

Dietary n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have been reported to exhibit antiarrhythmic properties, attributed to their capability to modulate ion channels. In the present review, we will focus on the effects of PUFAs on cardiac sodium channel (Nav1.5) and two potassium channels (Kv) (Kv1.5 and Kv11.1). n-3 marine (docohexaenoic and eicohexapentaenoic acid) and plant origin (alpha-linolenic acid) PUFAs block Kv1.5 and Kv11.1 channels at physiological concentrations. Also, DHA and EPA decreased Nav1.5 and calcium channels. These effects on Na and Ca channels theoretically should shorten the cardiac APD, whereas the blocking actions of n-3 PUFAs of Kv channels should lengthen the cardiac action potential. Experiments performed in female rabbits fed with a diet rich in n-3 PUFAs show a longer cardiac action potential and effective refractory period. This study was performed to analyze if their antiarrhythmic effects are due to a reduction of triangulation, reverse use-dependence, instability and dispersion of the cardiac action potential (TRIaD as a measure of proarrhythmic effects). Dietary n-3 PUFAs supplementation markedly reduced dofetilide-induced TRIaD and abolished dofetilide-induced torsades de pointes (TdP). Ultrafast sodium channel block by DHA may account for the antiarrhythmic protection of dietary supplements of n-3 PUFAs against dofetilide induced proarrhythmia observed in this animal model. The cardiac effects of n-3 PUFAs resemble those of amiodarone: both block sodium, calcium and potassium channels, have anti-adrenergic properties, can prolong the cardiac action potential, reverse TRIaD and suppress TdP. The main difference is that sodium channel block by n-3 PUFAs has a much faster onset and offset kinetics. Therefore, the electrophysiological profile of n-3 PUFAs appears more desirable: the duration of reduced sodium current (facilitates re-entry) is much shorter. The n-3 PUFAs appear as a safer alternative to other antiarrhythmic agents.

Background: Obesity-linked insulin resistance (IR) is an important risk factor for metabolic diseases, and anthropometric indices are commonly used for risk assessment., Aim: The study aimed to assess possible differences between women and men in the predictive value and association of nine obesity indices with IR, as assessed by HOMA-IR, in a nondiabetic adult population., Methods: The cross-sectional study included individuals recruited from a hospital in Mexico City. Indices evaluated were waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio, waist-to-height ratio, visceral adiposity index, body adiposity index (BAI), relative fat mass (RFM), and conicity index (CI). Fasting plasma glucose and insulin were measured to calculate HOMA-IR. Correlation analysis was performed between obesity indices and HOMA-IR. Receiver operating characteristics curve analyses were performed to determine predictive accuracy and cut-off values of obesity indices for IR. A binary logistic regression (BLR) analysis with OR calculation was performed to determine the strength of association with HOMA-IR., Results: We included 378 individuals (59% females, mean age 46.38 ±12.25 years). The highest Pearson coefficient value was observed for BMI among women, while among men, the highest values were found for BMI and BAI. WC among women, and BAI and RFM among men showed the highest sensitivity, while the highest specificity was observed for WHR among women and WC among men with respect to insulin prediction. In the adjusted BLR model, BMI, WC, and WHR among women and WC and RFM and BAI among men were independently associated with IR, showing the highest odds ratio (OR)., Conclusion: In Mexican adults, WC, WHR, RFM and BAI could be complementary tools for BMI in screening for IR., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Carcinoid heart disease secondary to ovarian carcinoid is a rare finding, with only 12 cases reported in the literature to date. Most ovarian carcinoids arise from ovarian cysts or teratomata, the 'pure' carcinoid being exceedingly rare. We present a case of carcinoid syndrome with tricuspid valve involvement in a patient with 'pure' ovarian carcinoid.