Variant GII.4 noroviruses in Italian children

Objectives: Among human noroviruses (NoVs), a few genogroup II strains of genotype 4 (GII.4) are dominant worldwide. GII.4 NoVs evolve rapidly and in 2006 two new epidemic variants have been identified. To investigate the circulation of GII.4 NoV variants in Italy a sequence analysis was performed on NoV strains obtained from children hospitalized for sporadic viral gastroenteritis in Palermo. Methods: A total of 465 faecal specimens were collected from children (< 5 years) hospitalized from January 2005 to December 2006. The presence of NoVs was detected by RT-PCR using primers JV12/JV13, targeting the region A of the RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase (RdRp) gene. NoV strains were genotyped by …

Surveillance of Municipal drinking-water supply after a Norovirus outbreak in Italy

BACKGROUND Norovirus (NoV), in the family Caliciviridae, is the major causative agent of non-bacterial acute gastroenteritis, whose possible routes of transmission include drinking water. During March 2011 an outbreak of gastroenteritis was identified by the local public health service in S. Stefano di Quisquina, Sicily, Italy. Over two weeks, 156 cases were identified and NoV genotype GII.4 v2010 was detected in stool samples from eleven out of twelve patients. The finding of identical genomic sequences between patients suggested a common infection source and an epidemiological investigation indicated a possible correlation to municipal drinking water consumption. One of the wells supplyin…

Plant essential oils in controlling fungal colonization on wooden substrate

In order to control fungal colonization and the related deterioration process of cultural objects, several chemical compounds are actually utilised. These products generally are toxic, not biodegradable and persisting for long time in the environment, also acting on not-targeted biological systems. In this study, specifically to wooden cultural object, Origanum vulgare L. and Thymus vulgaris L. essential oils are proposed as green biocides to contrast the development of Penicillium chrysogenum, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus niger fungal species. The aim is replacing toxic products with natural molecules, proposing alternative methodologies supporting the using of non-toxic novel compou…

Vincenzo Rotolo. Bibliografia 1954 - 2008

Blue Biotechnology and Cultural Heritage: case studies

In order to promote innovative methodologies for conservation and restoration of historic-artistic manufacts, the efforts are focalized on the development of “sustainable” applications as alternatives to traditional restoration procedures, which can sometimes be detrimental for the artworks, humans and environment [1]. The role of Biotechnology in this field showed very useful applications for diagnosis of bio-deterioration of cultural assets, by an integrated methodology based on molecular and microbiological skills, and in bio-cleaning / bio-removing of organic/inorganic layers from artwork surfaces by enzymes or viable bacteria cells [2, 3]. In this work, bioactive molecules isolated fro…