High Fat Diet and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) in Adolescence: An Overview of Nutritional Strategies.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a multifaceted and heterogeneous disorder, linked with notable reproductive, metabolic, and psychological outcomes. During adolescence, key components of PCOS treatment involve weight loss achieved through lifestyle and dietary interventions, subsequently pursued by pharmacological or surgical therapies. Nutritional interventions represent the first-line therapeutic approach in adolescents affected by PCOS, but different kinds of dietary protocols exist, so it is necessary to clarify the effectiveness and benefits of the most well-known nutritional approaches. We provided a comprehensive review of the current literature concerning PCOS definition, pathophysiology, and treatment options, highlighting nutritional strategies, particularly those related to high-fat diets. The high-fat nutritional protocols proposed in the literature, such as the ketogenic diet (KD), appear to provide benefits to patients with PCOS in terms of weight loss and control of metabolic parameters. Among the different types of KD studies, very low-calorie ketogenic diets (VLCKD), can be considered an effective dietary intervention for the short-term treatment of patients with PCOS. It rapidly leads to weight loss alongside improvements in body composition and metabolic profile. Even though extremely advantageous, long-term adherence to the KD is a limiting factor. Indeed, this dietary regimen could become unsustainable due to the important restrictions required for ketosis development. Thus, a combination of high-fat diets with more nutrient-rich nutritional regimens, such as the Mediterranean diet, can amplify positive effects for individuals with PCOS.

Simplified Criteria for Identification of Familial Hypercholesterolemia in Children: Application in Real Life.

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) in children is primarily based on main criteria including low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels, increased in the proband and relatives, and its inheritance. Two other relevant parameters are symptoms, rarely occurring in children, as rare are the FH homozygous patients, and the mutation detection of related genes. The latter allows the final diagnosis, although it is not commonly available. Moreover, the application of diagnostic scores, useful in adults, is poorly applied in children. The aim of this study was to compare the reliability of criteria here applied with different scores, apart from genetic analysis, for FH diagnosis. The latter was then confirmed by genetic analysis. METHODS: n. 180 hypercholesterolemic children (age 10.2 ± 4.6 years) showing LDL-C levels ≥95th percentile (age- and sex-related), the dominant inheritance pattern of hypercholesterolemia (including LDL-C ≥95th percentile in one parent), were considered potentially affected by FH and included in the study. The molecular analysis of the LDLR, APOB and PCSK9 genes was applied to verify the diagnostic accuracy. Biochemical and family history data were also retrospectively categorized according to European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS), Simon Broome Register (SBR), Pediatric group of the Italian LIPIGEN (LIPIGEN-FH-PED) and Dutch Lipid Clinic Network (DLCN) criteria. Detailed kindred biochemical and clinical assessments were extended to three generations. The lipid profile was detected by standard laboratory kits, and gene analysis was performed by traditional sequencing or Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS). RESULTS: Among 180 hypercholesterolemic subjects, FH suspected based on the above criteria, 164/180 had the diagnosis confirmed, showing causative mutations. The mutation detection rate (MDR) was 91.1%. The scoring criteria proposed by the EAS, SBR and LIPIGEN-FH-PED (resulting in high probable, possible-defined and probable-defined, respectively) showed high sensitivity (~90%), low specificity (~6%) and high MDR (~91%). It is noteworthy that their application, as a discriminant for the execution of the molecular investigation, would lead to a loss of 9.1%, 9.8% and 9.1%, respectively, of FH-affected patients, as confirmed by the genetic analysis. DLCN criteria, for which LDL-C cut-offs are not specific for childhood, would lead to a loss of 53% of patients with mutations. CONCLUSIONS: In the pediatric population, the combination of LDL-C ≥95th percentile in the proband and the dominant inheritance pattern of hypercholesterolemia, with LDL-C ≥95th percentile in one parent, is a simple, useful and effective diagnostic criterion, showing high MDR. This pattern is crucial for early FH diagnosis. EAS, SBR and LIPIGEN-FH-PED criteria can underestimate the real number of patients with gene mutations and cannot be considered strictly discriminant for the execution of molecular analysis.

Nutritional Strategies to Prevent Muscle Loss and Sarcopenia in Chronic Kidney Disease: What Do We Currently Know?

Loss of muscle mass is an extremely frequent complication in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The etiology of muscle loss in CKD is multifactorial and may depend on kidney disease itself, dialysis, the typical chronic low-grade inflammation present in patients with chronic kidney disease, but also metabolic acidosis, insulin resistance, vitamin D deficiency, hormonal imbalances, amino acid loss during dialysis, and reduced dietary intake. All these conditions together increase protein degradation, decrease protein synthesis, and lead to negative protein balance. Aging further exacerbates sarcopenia in CKD patients. Nutritional therapy, such as protein restriction, aims to manage uremic toxins and slow down the progression of CKD. Low-protein diets (LPDs) and very low-protein diets (VLPDs) supplemented with amino acids or ketoacids are commonly prescribed. Energy intake is crucial, with a higher intake associated with maintaining a neutral or positive nitrogen balance. Adequate nutritional and dietary support are fundamental in preventing nutritional inadequacies and, consequently, muscle wasting, which can occur in CKD patients. This review explores the causes of muscle loss in CKD and how it can be influenced by nutritional strategies aimed at improving muscle mass and muscle strength.

Probiotics and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Perspective for Management in Adolescents with Obesity.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects a considerable percentage of females of reproductive age. PCOS is an obesity-related condition and its effects are greatly amplified by obesity. Even though the pathogenesis of PCOS remains complex and has not been fully elucidated, a link between obesity, PCOS, and dysbiosis has been described. The potential role of the gut microbiota in the development and progression of PCOS and its associated symptoms has also been reported. The aim of this narrative review is to present a non-systematic analysis of the available literature on the topic of probiotics and PCOS in adolescents with obesity in order to revise the beneficial effects of probiotics/symbiotic supplementation on hormonal and metabolic profiles and inflammatory conditions. The effectiveness of probiotics/synbiotics in PCOS has been supported. The literature suggests that probiotic/symbiotic supplementation may ameliorate hormonal profiles, inflammatory indicators, and lipid metabolism disturbances caused by PCOS. Studies also show improvements in weight, BMI, insulin, and HOMA-IR, including a potential role it plays in protecting fertility. Even though further studies are needed to confirm these findings, particularly in adolescent patients, probiotic supplementation may be considered a solution for managing PCOS in adolescents with obesity.

Precocious puberty and microbiota: The role of the sex hormone-gut microbiome axis.

Puberty is a critical phase of life associated with physiological changes related to sexual maturation, and represents a complex process regulated by multiple endocrine and genetic controls. Puberty is driven by hormones, and it can impact the gut microbiome (GM). GM differences between sex emerge at puberty onset, confirming a relationship between microbiota and sex hormones. In this narrative review, we present an overview of precocious pubertal development and the changes in the GM in precocious puberty (PP) in order to consider the role of the sex hormone-gut microbiome axis from the perspective of pediatric endocrinology. Bidirectional interactions between the GM and sex hormones have been proposed in different studies. Although the evidence on the interaction between microbiota and sex hormones remains limited in pediatric patients, the evidence that GM alterations may occur in girls with central precocious puberty (CPP) represents an interesting finding for the prediction and prevention of PP. Deepening the understanding of the connection between the sex hormones and the role of microbiota changes can lead to the implementation of microbiota-targeted therapies in pubertal disorders by offering a pediatric endocrinology perspective.

The Effect of Healthy Lifestyle Strategies on the Management of Insulin Resistance in Children and Adolescents with Obesity: A Narrative Review.

Childhood obesity is characterized by an increased risk of several metabolic derangements including insulin resistance (IR). The strongest recommendations to prevent obesity and related complications are a balanced and adequate diet and practicing physical activity from early childhood. In this review, we propose to present the effects of healthy lifestyle strategies, including physical exercise and dietary approaches, on the management of IR and related metabolic derangements. All types of exercise (aerobic, resistance and combined training) effectively reduce IR in pediatric patients with obesity; it seems that aerobic and combined training stimulate greater improvements in IR compared to resistance training. Balanced normocaloric or hypocaloric dietary approaches are also valid strategies to address IR; it is not possible to assess the long-term impact of varying macronutrients on cardiometabolic risk. The glycemic index/load evaluation is a useful dietary approach to glucose metabolism control. Similarly, they should adopt the principle of the Mediterranean diet. Randomized studies with longer monitoring are needed to define the benefits of nutritional supplementation on IR. Considering that healthy style acquisition could track to later ages, programs of healthy lifestyle starting with children offer a better preventive strategy to preserve metabolic control and children's health.

MicroRNA expression is associated with auditory dysfunction in workers exposed to ototoxic solvents and noise.

This study is part of a project on early hearing dysfunction induced by combined exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and noise in occupational settings. In a previous study, 56 microRNAs were found differentially expressed in exposed workers compared to controls. Here, we analyze the statistical association of microRNA expression with audiometric hearing level (HL) and distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) level in that subset of differentially expressed microRNAs. The highest negative correlations were found; for HL, with miR-195-5p and miR-122-5p, and, for DPOAEs, with miR-92b-5p and miR-206. The homozygous (mut) and heterozygous (het) variants of the gene hOGG1 were found disadvantaged with respect to the wild-type (wt), as regards the risk of hearing impairment due to exposure to VOCs. An unsupervised artificial neural network (auto contractive map) was also used to detect and show, using graph analysis, the hidden connections between the explored variables. These findings may contribute to the formulation of mechanistic hypotheses about hearing damage due to co-exposure to noise and ototoxic solvents.

Bioaccumulation of antibiotics and resistance genes in lettuce following cattle manure and digestate fertilization and their effects on soil and phyllosphere microbial communities.

The degradation and bioaccumulation of selected antibiotics such as the sulfonamide sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and the fluoroquinolones enrofloxacin (ENR) and ciprofloxacin (CIP) were investigated in soil microcosm experiments where Lactuca sativa was grown with manure or digestate (1%) and spiked with a mixture of the three antibiotics (7.5 mg/kg each). The soil, rhizosphere and leaf phyllosphere were sampled (at 0 and 46 days) from each microcosm to analyze the antibiotic concentrations, main resistance genes (sul1, sul2, qnrS, aac-(6')-Ib-crand qepA), the intI1and tnpA mobile genetic elements and the microbial community structure.Overall results showed that SMX and CIP decreased (70-85% and 55-79%, respectively), and ENR was quite persistent during the 46-day experiment. In plant presence, CIP and ENR were partially up-taken from soil to plant. In fact the bioaccumulation factors were > 1, with higher values in manure than digestate amended soils. The most abundant gene in soil was sul2 in digestate- and aac-(6')-Ib-cr in the manure-amended microcosms. In soil, neither sulfamethoxazole-resistance (sul1 and sul2), nor fluoroquinolone-resistance (aac-(6')-Ib-cr, qepA and qnrS) gene abundances were correlated with any antibiotic concentration. On the contrary, in lettuce leaves, the aac-(6')-Ib-cr gene was the most abundant, in accordance with the fluoroquinolone bioaccumulation. Finally, digestate stimulated a higher soil microbial biodiversity, introducing and promoting more bacterial genera associated with antibiotic degradation and involved in soil fertility and decreased fluoroquinolone bioaccumulation.

What we know about the relationship between autoimmune thyroid diseases and gut microbiota: a perspective on the role of probiotics on pediatric endocrinology.

INTRODUCTION: Autoimmune diseases account for a cumulative overall prevalence of about 3-5% worldwide. Among them, autoimmune thyroid diseases (ATDs) are the most common and comprise two main entities: Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) and Graves-Basedow disease (GD). The pathogenesis of ATDs remains not fully elucidated, however the role of microbioma has been proposed. Gut microbiota exert an important influence on the intestinal barrier, nutrient metabolism and immune system development and functions. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: In this review, we describe on the main features of ATDs in pediatrics, focusing on the reciprocal influence between gut microbiota, thyroid hormone metabolism and thyroid autoimmunity and consider the role of probiotics and other microbiota-targeted therapies in thyroid diseases with a perspective on pediatric endocrinology. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Microbiome affects both endogenous and exogenous thyroid hormone metabolism and influences the absorption of minerals important to the thyroid function, which are iodine, selenium, zinc and iron. The alteration of the gut microbiota, with the consequent modifications in the barrier function and the increased gut permeability, seems involved in the development of autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases, including ATDs. The supplementation with probiotics showed beneficial effects on the thyroid hormone and thyroid function because this strategy could restore the intestinal eubiosis and the good strain microorganism proliferation. CONCLUSIONS: Even though the evidence about the interaction between microbiota and ATDs in pediatric patients is limited, the promising results obtained in the adult population, and in other autoimmune disorders affecting children, highlight the need of for further research in the pediatric field.

Effects of Ciprofloxacin Alone or in Mixture with Sulfamethoxazole on the Efficiency of Anaerobic Digestion and Its Microbial Community.

Some livestock farms rely on anaerobic digestion (AD) technology for manure disposal, thus obtaining energy (biogas) and fertilizer (digestate). Mixtures of antibiotics used for animal health often occur in organic waste and their possible synergistic/antagonistic effects on microorganisms involved in AD are still poorly studied. This work focuses on the effects of adding ciprofloxacin, alone (5 mg L-1) and in combination with sulfamethoxazole (2.5-5-10 mg L-1), on AD efficiency and microbial community structure. The experiment consisted of 90-day cattle manure batch tests and antibiotic removal percentages were assessed. Adding antibiotics always promoted CH4 and H2 production compared to untreated controls; however, CH4 production was lowered with the highest ciprofloxacin (CIP) concentrations. The overall results show antibiotic degradation caused by acidogenic Bacteria, and CH4 was mainly produced through the hydrogenotrophic-pathway by methanogenic Archaea. Shifts in microbial community abundance (DAPI counts) and composition (Illumina-MiSeq and FISH analyses) were observed.

The Iodine Rush: Over- or Under-Iodination Risk in the Prophylactic Use of Iodine for Thyroid Blocking in the Event of a Nuclear Disaster.

Iodine is an essential element for the production of thyroid hormones (THs). Both deficient and excess iodine intakes may precipitate in adverse thyroidal events. Radioactive iodine (RI) is a common byproduct of nuclear fission processes. During nuclear emergencies RI may be released in a plume, or cloud, contaminating the environment. If inhaled or ingested, it may lead to internal radiation exposure and the uptake of RI mainly by the thyroid gland that absorbs stable iodine (SI) and RI in the same way. A dose of radiation delivered to the thyroid gland is a main risk factor for the thyroid cancer development. The SI prophylaxis helps prevent childhood thyroid cancer. The thyroid gland saturation with prophylactic SI ingestion, reduces the internal exposure of the thyroid by blocking the uptake of RI and inhibiting iodide organification. However, negative impact of inadequate SI intake must be considered. We provide an overview on the recommended iodine intake and the impact of SI and RI on thyroid in children and adolescents, discussing the benefits and adverse effects of the prophylactic SI for thyroid blocking during a nuclear accident. The use of SI for protection against RI may be recommended in cases of radiological or nuclear emergencies, moreover the administration of iodine for prophylactic purposes should be cautious. Benefits and risks should also be considered according to age. Adverse effects from iodine administration cannot be excluded. Precise indications are mandatory to use the iodine for thyroid blocking. Due to this natural adaption mechanism it's possible to tolerate large doses of iodine without clinical effects, however, a prolonged assumption of the iodine when not needed can be dangerous and may precipitate in severe thyroidal and non-thyroidal negative effects.

Alcohol Addiction: One Entity or Different Entities? A DSM-4-Based Attempt Toward a Geographicization of Alcohol Addiction and Abuse.

AIM: To examine whether in Europe perceptions of 'alcoholism' differ in a discrete manner according to geographical area. METHOD: Secondary analysis of a data set from a European project carried out in 2013-2014 among 1767 patients treated in alcohol addiction units of nine countries/regions across Europe. The experience of all 11 DSM-4 criteria used for diagnosing 'alcohol dependence' and 'alcohol abuse' were assessed in patient interviews. The analysis was performed through Multiple Correspondence Analysis. RESULTS: The symptoms of 'alcohol dependence' and 'alcohol abuse', posited by DSM-IV, were distributed according to three discrete geographical patterns: a macro-area mainly centered on drinking beer and spirit, a culture traditionally oriented toward wine and a mixed intermediate alcoholic beverage situation. CONCLUSION: These patterns of perception seem to parallel the diverse drinking cultures of Europe.

Mediterranean Dietary Treatment in Hyperlipidemic Children: Should It Be an Option?

BACKGROUND: Diet is considered the cornerstone of lipid management in hyperlipidemic children but evidence to demonstrate the effects of nutrient benefits on the lipid profile is limited. AIM: The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of the Mediterranean diet on low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) and non-high density lipoprotein (HDL-C) decrease in primary hyperlipidemia affected children and in the achievement of therapeutical target levels. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was used, recruiting n = 223 children (10.05 ± 3.26 mean age years) with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) (n = 61, 27%) and polygenic hypercholesterolemia (PH) (n =162, 73%). Secondary hyperlipidemias were excluded. Based on LDL-C and non-HDL-C decrease, participants were divided into two groups, named the Responder Group and Non-Responder Group. Participants and their families underwent dietary education by an expert nutritionist and were asked to fill in a weekly diary to be delivered at visits. Dietary indications were in line with daily caloric requirement, daily food quality and quantity intakes typical of the Mediterranean diet. These include carbohydrates, extra virgin olive oil, yoghurt and milk derivatives, fish and vegetable proteins, fresh seasonal vegetables and fresh fruits. Nuts or almonds were also recommended. The advice to limit intakes of meat, in particular red meat, and caution against junk food and sugar added food and beverages was provided. At medical visits, carried out at baseline (T0) and 6 months later (T1), children underwent anthropometric measurements and blood collection. Standard kits and methods were applied for lipid analysis. Statistical methods were performed by SAS version 9.4 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA). Signed informed consent was given by parents according to the Declaration of Helsinki and the study was approved by the Local Committee. RESULTS: The Responder Group (n = 156/223, 70%) included 45 FH and 111 PH children, while the Non-Responder Group (n = 67/223, 30%) included 16 FH and 51 PH children. The Responder Group showed total cholesterol (TC), LDL-C and non-HDL-C median percentage decreases of 9.45, 13.51 and 10.90, respectively. These statistically significant changes (p ≤ 0.0001) were similar in the FH and PH subgroups but just PH subjects reached the LDL-C and non-HDL-C target, which fell below 130 mg/dL and 145 mg/dL, respectively. Saturated fatty acids (SFAs) were the main dietary parameter that distinguished between the Responder Group and the Non-Responder Group (p = 0.014). Positive correlations were found at T1 between dietary total lipids, SFAs and cholesterol with serum LDL-C, non-HDL-C and TC variations. These latter serum parameters had an inverse correlation with dietary carbohydrate at T1. Among macronutrients, SFAs were finally demonstrated to be the predictor of serum lipids variation at T1. CONCLUSIONS: The dietary intervention with a Mediterranean diet in children with primary hyperlipidemia significantly improves the lipid profile both in FH and PH subgroups and allows target levels of LDL-C and non-HDL-C in PH subjects to be reached. Responsiveness benefits should be primarily attributed to the reduction in SFAs, but changes in dietary lipids, cholesterol and carbohydrate intake may also play a role. In contrast, the Non-Responder Group showed a worsening of lipid profile regarding the unchanged diet.

Antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes in anaerobic digesters and predicted concentrations in agroecosystems.

In recent decades, the innovative practice of management and valorization of agrozootechnical waste as energy through anaerobic digestion (AD) has been rapidly growing. However, whether applying digestate to soil as biofertilizer can be a source of antibiotics (ABs) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) has not been fully investigated so far. In this work the ARGs responsible for sulfamethoxazole (SMX) resistance (sul1, sul2), ciprofloxacin (CIP) resistance (qnrS, qepA, aac-(6')-Ib-cr) and the mobile genetic element intl1, together with the concentrations of the antibiotics SMX and CIP, were measured in several anaerobic digesters located in Central Italy. Based on these results, the concentrations of antibiotics and ARGs which can potentially reach soil through amendment with digestate were also estimated. The highest CIP and SMX concentrations were found during winter and spring in anaerobic digesters. The highest ARG abundances were found for the aac-(6')-Ib-cr and sul2 genes. The overall results showed that application of digestate to soil does not exclude AB contamination and spread of ARGs in agroecosystems, especially in the case of ciprofloxacin, owing to its high intrinsic persistence.

Assessment of New Coronary Features on Quantitative Coronary Angiographic Images With Innovative Unsupervised Artificial Adaptive Systems: A Proof-of-Concept Study.

Background and Purpose: The Active Connection Matrixes (ACMs) are unsupervised artificial adaptive systems able to extract from digital images features of interest (edges, tissue differentiation, etc.) unnoticeable with conventional systems. In this proof-of-concept study, we assessed the potentiality of ACMs to increase measurement precision of morphological structures (e.g., stenosis and lumen diameter) and to grasp morphological features (arterial walls) from quantitative coronary angiography (QCA), unnoticeable on the original images. Methods: Archive images of QCA and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) of 10 patients (8 men, age 69.1 ± 9.7 years) who underwent both procedures for clinical reasons were retrospectively analyzed. Arterial features derived from "IVUS images," "conventional QCA images," and "ACM-reprocessed QCA images" were measured in 21 coronary segments. Portions of 1-mm length (263 for lumen and 526 for arterial walls) were head-to-head compared to assess quali-quantitative between-methods agreement. Results: When stenosis was calculated on "ACM-reprocessed QCA images," the bias vs. IVUS (gold standard) did not improve, but the correlation coefficient of the QCA-IVUS relationship increased from 0.47 to 0.83. When IVUS-derived lumen diameters were compared with diameters obtained on ACM-reprocessed QCA images, the bias (-0.25 mm) was significantly smaller (p < 0.01) than that observed with original QCA images (0.58 mm). ACMs were also able to extract arterial wall features from QCA. The bias between the measures of arterial walls obtained with IVUS and ACMs, although significant (p < 0.01), was small [0.09 mm, 95% CI (0.03, 0.14)] and the correlation was fairly good (r = 0.63; p < 0.0001). Conclusions: This study provides proof of concept that ACMs increase the measurement precision of coronary lumen diameter and allow extracting from QCA images hidden features that mirror well the arterial walls derived by IVUS.

Analysis of COVID-19 pandemic in USA, using Topological Weighted Centroid.

The first case of COVID-19 in USA was reported on January 20, 2020. The number of COVID-19 confirmed cases and death has increased since the first reported case and the outbreak has appeared in all states. This paper analyzes disease outbreak using Topological Weighted Centroid (TWC), which is a data driven intelligent geographical dynamical system that models disease spread in space and time. In this analysis the COVID-19 cases in USA on March 26, 2020 as provided by Johns Hopkins University is used. The COVID-19 outbreak is mapped by the TWC method. We were able to predict and capture some features of the pandemic spread using the early data. Although we have used the geographical distance from the latitude and longitude coordinates, our results indicate that one of the main paths of diseases spread are arguably airline routes. In this analysis, we used a large set of data. A modified version of TWC, is named TWC-Windowing to elaborate the effect of data from all places.

Bioaugmentation strategy to enhance polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons anaerobic biodegradation in contaminated soils.

This paper proposes an innovative bioaugmentation approach for the remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contaminated soils, based on a novel habitat-based strategy. This approach was tested using two inocula (i-24 and i-96) previously enriched through an anaerobic digestion process on wheat straw. It relies on the application of allochthonous microorganisms characterized by specific functional roles obtained by mimicking a natural hydrolytic environment such as the rumen. The inocula efficiency was tested in presence of naphthalene alone, benzo[a]pyrene alone, and a mix of both of them. In single-contamination tests, i-24 inoculum showed the highest biodegradation rates (84.7% for naphthalene and 51.7% for benzo[a]pyrene). These values were almost 1.2 times higher than those obtained for both contaminants with i-96 inoculum and in the control test in presence of naphthalene alone, while they were 3 times higher compared to the control test in presence of benzo[a]pyrene alone. In mixed-contamination tests, i-96 inoculum showed final biodegradation efficiencies for naphthalene and benzo[a]pyrene between 1.1 and 1.5 higher than i-24 inoculum or autochthonous biomass. Total microbial abundances increased in the bioaugmented tests in line with the PAH degradation. The microbial community structure showed the highest diversity at the end of the experiment in almost all cases. Values of the Firmicutes active fraction up to 7 times lower were observed in the i-24 bioaugmented tests compared to i-96 and control tests. This study highlights a successful bioaugmentation strategy with biological components that can be reused in multiple processes supporting an integrated and environmentally sustainable bioremediation system.

Anaerobic Digestion and Removal of Sulfamethoxazole, Enrofloxacin, Ciprofloxacin and Their Antibiotic Resistance Genes in a Full-Scale Biogas Plant.

Anaerobic digestion is one of the best ways to re-use animal manure and agricultural residues, through the production of combustible biogas and digestate. However, the use of antibiotics for preventing and treating animal diseases and, consequently, their residual concentrations in manure, could introduce them into anaerobic digesters. If the digestate is applied as a soil fertilizer, antibiotic residues and/or their corresponding antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) could reach soil ecosystems. This work investigated three common soil emerging contaminants, i.e., sulfamethoxazole (SMX), ciprofloxacin (CIP), enrofloxacin (ENR), their ARGs sul1, sul2, qnrS, qepA, aac-(6')-Ib-cr and the mobile genetic element intI1, for one year in a full scale anaerobic plant. Six samplings were performed in line with the 45-day hydraulic retention time (HRT) of the anaerobic plant, by collecting input and output samples. The overall results show both antibiotics and ARGs decreased during the anaerobic digestion process. In particular, SMX was degraded by up to 100%, ENR up to 84% and CIP up to 92%, depending on the sampling time. In a similar way, all ARGs declined significantly (up to 80%) in the digestate samples. This work shows how anaerobic digestion can be a promising practice for lowering antibiotic residues and ARGs in soil.

Effects of Sulfamethoxazole on the Microbial Community Dynamics During the Anaerobic Digestion Process.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) treatment of cattle manure and slurry makes it possible to produce biogas, a renewable and storable biofuel, as well as digestate, a residual organic matter that can be used to replace chemical fertilizers. On the other hand, the intense use of antibiotics (e.g., sulfamethoxazole) in animal husbandry practices is showing increasing negative impacts resulting from the release of still metabolically active molecules into agroecosystems. In the present study, cattle manure collected from an AD plant-feeding tank was used as feedstock for AD experiments in which some batches were spiked with 5 mg L-1 of sulfamethoxazole (SMX). Adding the antibiotic affected the microbial community dynamic; in particular, the efficiency of the acidogenic and acetogenic phases of the process corresponded to higher CH4 and H2 production than in the control. SMX was also degraded, and at the end of the experiment (69 days), just 20% of its initial concentration was found. The relative abundance (ARG/16S) of resistance genes sul1, sul2, and the proxy intI1 initially found in the ingestate decreased during the AD in both the spiked and control batches, suggesting that this process lowers the likelihood of antibiotic resistance genes spreading.

COVID-19 in Italy and extreme data mining.

In this article we want to show the potential of an evolutionary algorithm called Topological Weighted Centroid (TWC). This algorithm can obtain new and relevant information from extremely limited and poor datasets. In a world dominated by the concept of big (fat?) data we want to show that it is possible, by necessity or choice, to work profitably even on small data. This peculiarity of the algorithm means that even in the early stages of an epidemic process, when the data are too few to have sufficient statistics, it is possible to obtain important information. To prove our theory, we addressed one of the most central issues at the moment: the COVID-19 epidemic. In particular, the cases recorded in Italy have been selected. Italy seems to have a central role in this epidemic because of the high number of measured infections. Through this innovative artificial intelligence algorithm, we have tried to analyze the evolution of the phenomenon and to predict its future steps using a dataset that contained only geospatial coordinates (longitude and latitude) of the first recorded cases. Once the coordinates of the places where at least one case of contagion had been officially diagnosed until February 26th, 2020 had been collected, research and analysis was carried out on: outbreak point and related heat map (TWC alpha); probability distribution of the contagion on February 26th (TWC beta); possible spread of the phenomenon in the immediate future and then in the future of the future (TWC gamma and TWC theta); how this passage occurred in terms of paths and mutual influence (Theta paths and Markov Machine). Finally, a heat map of the possible situation towards the end of the epidemic in terms of infectiousness of the areas was drawn up. The analyses with TWC confirm the assumptions made at the beginning.