Search results for "environmental and occupational health"
showing 10 items of 3875 documents
The ascidian Styela plicata hemocytes as a potential biomarker of marine pollution: In vitro effects of seawater and organic mercury.
2017
Toxic metals, such as mercury, contribute substantially to anthropogenic pollution in many estuarine environments. Animals living in those environments, particularly invertebrate filter feeders like tunicates, can be used as bioindicators. In an attempt to identify cellular markers for revealing pollution, this study examined in vitro the effects of different concentrations of methyl mercury on Styela plicata hemocytes. The harvested hemocytes from S. plicata that were exposed to the metal had a significant mortality, cellular count and morphometric alterations. These findings provided evidence of MeHg immunotoxic effects on S. plicata, resulting in hemocyte death and morphological changes …
Next-generation sequencing in clinical practice: from the patients' preferences to the informed consent process
2016
International audience
Bacterial-viral load and the immune response in stable and exacerbated COPD: significance and therapeutic prospects.
2016
Silvestro Ennio D’Anna,1 Bruno Balbi,2 Francesco Cappello,3,4 Mauro Carone,2 Antonino Di Stefano21Department of Rehabilitation, Cardiorespiratory Unit, Fondazione Istituto G. Giglio di Cefalù, 2Pneumology Unit and Laboratory of Cytoimmunopathology of Heart and Lung, Fondazione Salvatore Maugeri, IRCCS, Veruno (NO) and Cassano delle Murge (BA), 3Human Anatomy Section, Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neuroscience, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy; 4Euro-Mediterranean Institute of Science and Technology, Palermo, ItalyAbstract: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by persistent airflow limitation and an abnormal inflammatory respon…
Genetic tools discriminate strains of Leishmania infantum isolated from humans and dogs in Sicily, Italy
2020
Background Leishmaniasis is one of the most important vector-borne diseases and it represents a serious world health problem affecting millions of people. High levels of Leishmania infections, affecting both humans and animals, are recognized among Italian regions. Among these, Sicily has one of the highest prevalence of Leishmania infection. Methodology/Principal Findings Seventy-eight Leishmania strains isolated from human and animal samples across Sicily, were analyzed for the polymorphic k26-gene and genotypes were assigned according to the size of the PCR products. A multilocus microsatellite typing (MLMT) approach based on the analysis of 11 independent loci was used to investigate po…
Meta-analysis of gene-environment-wide association scans accounting for education level identifies additional loci for refractive error
2016
Myopia is the most common human eye disorder and it results from complex genetic and environmental causes. The rapidly increasing prevalence of myopia poses a major public health challenge. Here, the CREAM consortium performs a joint meta-analysis to test single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) main effects and SNP × education interaction effects on refractive error in 40,036 adults from 25 studies of European ancestry and 10,315 adults from 9 studies of Asian ancestry. In European ancestry individuals, we identify six novel loci (FAM150B-ACP1, LINC00340, FBN1, DIS3L-MAP2K1, ARID2-SNAT1 and SLC14A2) associated with refractive error. In Asian populations, three genome-wide significant loci AREG…
Yersiniaspp. in Wild Rodents and Shrews in Finland
2017
Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis are important zoonotic bacteria causing human enteric yersiniosis commonly reported in Europe. All Y. pseudotuberculosis strains are considered pathogenic, while Y. enterocolitica include both pathogenic and nonpathogenic strains which can be divided into six biotypes (1A, 1B, and 2-5) and about 30 serotypes. The most common types causing yersiniosis in Europe are Y. enterocolitica bioserotypes 4/O:3 and 2/O:9. Strains belonging to biotype 1A are considered as nonpathogenic because they are missing important virulence genes like the attachment-invasion-locus (ail) gene in the chromosome and the virulence plasmid. The role of wild small…
Cocirculation of Hajj and non-Hajj strains among serogroup W meningococci in Italy, 2000 to 2016
2019
In Italy, B and C are the predominant serogroups among meningococci causing invasive diseases. Nevertheless, in the period from 2013 to 2016, an increase in serogroup W Neisseria meningitidis (MenW) was observed. This study intends to define the main characteristics of 63 MenW isolates responsible of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) in Italy from 2000 to 2016. We performed whole genome sequencing on bacterial isolates or single gene sequencing on culture-negative samples to evaluate molecular heterogeneity. Our main finding was the cocirculation of the Hajj and the South American sublineages belonging to MenW/clonal complex (cc)11, which gradually surpassed the MenW/cc22 in Italy. All M…
Evaluation of Alternaria mycotoxins in strawberries: quantification and storage condition
2016
Alternariol (AOH), alternariol methyl ether (AME) and tentoxin (TEN) are Alternaria mycotoxins produced by the most common post-harvest pathogens of fruits. The production of these metabolites depends on several environmental factors, mainly temperature, water activity, pH and the technological treatments that have been applied to the product. In this study, the occurrence of AOH, AME and TEN was evaluated in strawberries samples stored at different temperatures ranges (at 22 ± 2 or 6 ± 2°C) and different periods (up to 1 month) simulating the current practice of consumer's storage conditions. Sample extraction was performed using a liquid-liquid extraction method prior to LC-MS/MS analysis…
Whole genome sequencing-based analysis of tuberculosis (TB) in migrants: rapid tools for cross-border surveillance and to distinguish between recent …
2019
14 páginas, 7 figuras
Short-term cactus pear [
2018
Background: Dietary ingredients and food components are major modifiable factors protecting immune system and preventing the progression of a low-grade chronic inflammation responsible for age-related diseases. Objective: Our study explored whether cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica, Surfarina cultivar) fruit supplementation modulates plasma inflammatory biomarkers in healthy adults. Correlations between inflammatory parameters and antioxidant status were also assessed in parallel. Design: In a randomised, 2-period (2 weeks/period), crossover, controlled-feeding study, conducted in 28 healthy volunteers [mean age 39.96 (±9.15) years, BMI 23.1 (±1.5) kg/m2], the effects of a diet supplemented…