Microbial consortia involved in fermented spelt sourdoughs: dynamics and characterization of yeasts and lactic acid bacteria.

This study aims to describe the native microbiota of fermented spelt, taking into consideration both lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and yeasts, for which little data are available. Five samples of commercial spelt flour were subjected to spontaneous fermentation to obtain a type I sourdough. A total of 186 LAB and 174 yeast isolates were selected at different refreshment steps and subjected to further analyses. Within LAB, coccal isolates constituted 78·5% of the total LAB, with the dominance of Pediococcus pentosaceus. Although documented before as a component, this is the first report of a spelt sourdough fermentation dominated by this homofermentative LAB, characterized by a high acidification rate, ability to utilize a wide range of carbon sources and to grow in high osmolarity conditions. Yeast communities resulted in four dominant species, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Wickerhamomyces anomalus, Pichia fermentans and Clavispora lusitaniae. This study highlights for the first time the biodiversity and dynamics of yeast communities involved in sourdough fermentation of spelt. Compared to commercial baker's yeast, autochthonous W. anomalus, P. fermentans and S. cerevisiae isolates show a good performance, and their use could be an advantage for their acquired adaptation to the environment, providing stability to the fermentation process. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Nowadays, there is a renewed interest in products based on spelt. This 'ancient grain' is a highly nutritional grain; however, its use is limited to bread-making processes, which are not standardized. The low baking and sensory quality of spelt can be overcome through fermentation processes. However, the autochthonous microbiota of spelt sourdough is poorly known. This study highlights the dynamics of microbial communities involved in sourdough fermentation of spelt and provides the basis for the selection of autochthonous cultures, with the aim of improving the nutritional potential of spelt and its rheology and bread-making properties.

A polyphasic approach to characterize Weissella cibaria and Weissella confusa strains.

AIM: To study Weissella cibaria and Weissella confusa strains, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) members naturally present in food products, but not yet included in Qualified Presumption of Safety (QPS) list of European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). METHODS AND RESULTS: We carried out a comparative genome analysis of 23 sequenced W. cibaria and 7 W. confusa genomes, in parallel with a physiological and functional characterization of several strains previously isolated from sourdough-like maize bran fermentation. The genome analysis revealed the absence of dedicated pathogenicity factors. Some putative virulence genes found in Weissella genomes were also present in other LAB strains, considered safe by EFSA and commonly used as probiotics. The physiological tests carried out on our strains corroborated the genomic results. Moreover, the following functional traits of interest to application in the food sector were identified: the majority of tested strains displayed high acidification rate, high reducing ability, production of exopolysaccharides (EPS), arabinoxylan degradation ability, growth in the presence of fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), bile and gastric juice tolerance, and antifungal activity. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide evidence for the possible use of selected strains of W. cibaria and W. confusa in the food sector. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This polyphasic study adds to the body of knowledge on the functional and applicable characteristics of these controversial species of LAB. This knowledge contributes to design new selected cultures included in the QPS list required for food applications.

DETECTION OF IONIZING RADIATION TREATMENT IN GLASS USED FOR HEALTHCARE PRODUCTS.

The treatment with high doses of ionizing radiation is prescribed for the terminal sterilization of many healthcare products. In order to check the product irradiation, it may be useful to develop suitable detection methods. The aim of this work was to verify the suitability of the thermoluminescence (TL) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) techniques to reveal illegal omission of radiation sterilization in glass used for blood test tubes. In particular, this work reports the results of the analysis performed on two batches of glass tubes provided by the same manufacturer. The results indicated that both TL and EPR techniques could reveal the damage induced by high doses of ionizing radiation in the glass allowing the identification of the tubes which were irradiated at the manufacture stage. The study provided also some information about the chemical composition of the two-batch glass.

Hot-flashes in breast cancer survivors: effectiveness of low-dosage fluoxetine. A pilot study.

Breast carcinoma survivors suffering from hot-flashes experience a negative impact on their quality of life. Antidepressants have recently been proven to be effective in these women, significantly reducing the vasomotor symptoms. With this in mind, a single-arm clinical trial low-dose regimen of Fluoxetine (10 mg/day for 4 weeks) was given to twenty symptomatic breast cancer patients. Among the 12 women evaluated at the end of treatment, a statistically significant reduction of the mean number of daily hot-flashes (-36.3%, p = 0.001) and hot-flashes score (-46.2%, p = 0.0006) had been detected as compared to the baseline data. Although the dosage of Fluoxetine used in these trials was lower than earlier published, it should be noted that these positive results were achieved without any relevant side effects.

Primary leiomyosarcoma of the fallopian tube: a case report.

A primary leiomyosarcoma (LMS) arising from the left fallopian tube in a perimenopausal 48-year-old woman is reported. Primary tubal LMS is an uncommon, exceedingly rare neoplasm, accounting for only a few reported cases so far. To our knowledge, the present case is the 17th tubal LMS reported in the English-language literature. The diagnosis is usually made at the time of laparotomy for a pelvic or adnexal mass or other gynaecological indications. As in ovarian neoplasms, the mainstay of treatment is represented by debulking surgery consisting of total abdominal hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, random biopsies, peritoneal washing and excision of all the abdominal tumour masses. Although the approach is radical, the clinical behaviour is very poor. The role of adjuvant radio- or chemotherapy still remains unsolved.

[Vulvovaginal candidiasis: a therapeutic approach]. / Vulvovaginiti da candida. Approccio terapeutico.

The vulvovaginal candidiasis represents, after the bacterial vaginosis, the most frequent cause of vaginal affection. It is esteemed that around the 75% of the women of reproductive age suffered from an episode of vulvovaginitis from candida and 40-45% have had more episodes, of which 10-20% in complicated form. The kind of candida more frequently isolated in the vagina of symptomatic women is the Candida albicans: in the 10-20% of the cases the agent is present in absence of symptomatology, and we can almost consider it a saprophytic. On the other hand, always with greater frequency fetterses can be isolated of not albicans Candida, particularly the tropicalis and the glabrata kind, usually resistant to the common therapies. The classification of the vulvovaginal candidiasis proposed by Sobel, and by now universally approved, foresees 2 clinical forms of vulvovaginal candidiasis, the vulvovaginitis from not complicated candida (VVC) and the vulvovaginitis from complicated candida (VVCC): different for pathogenesis, elapsed clinical, symptomatology and frequency. They have to be considered in the substance 2 different nosological entities, and they request a diagnostic approach and a well different therapeutic appointment. In this study we will shortly reassume the principal characteristics of it, detaining us on the most recent acquisitions in theme of therapy. The base medicines of ac. boric, to parity of effectiveness, seem to introduce the most contained cost and the best compliance, and they offer him to a complementary use or, in some cases, alternative to the more you consolidate therapies with azoli.

Rapid modification of aggressiveness of a primary non-Hodgkin lymphoma of uterine cervix.

Primary malignant lymphoma of the uterine cervix is an extremely rare condition, with only about 100 cases reported in international literature. The diagnosis can be difficult, as stated by some authors finding only 10 up to 40% of cases of cervical lymphoma diagnosed by positive cytology. We present a case of primary malignant lymphoma of the cervix in a 57 year old woman treated at the Department of Gynecological Oncology at the Regina Elena Cancer Institute in Rome, with a sudden and unfavorable outcome.

[Authors' experience with transvaginal administration of progestagens]. / Nostra esperienza sulla somministrazione dei progestinici per via transvaginale.

The authors, after a short introducing on the most used kinds of progestins in Hormonal Replacement Therapy (HRT), report this own clinical experience on the efficacy of a micronized progestin treatment given by the vaginal route in comparison with oral somministration, studying in details the protective effects on endometrial hyperplasia and cancer. The role of danazolo on the hormonal balance during HRT has been also evaluated. The results suggest a positive effects of the vaginal somministration of micronized HRT progesterone or danazolo.

A Double-Blind Study Comparing Nimesulide with Naproxen in the Treatment of Osteoarthritis of the Hip.

120 patients, aged between 45 and 87 years, with a history of osteoarthritic disease of at least 12 months' duration and unilateral or bilateral hip pain, were randomly allocated to treatment with either nimesulide (100mg twice daily) or naproxen (500mg twice daily) for 4 weeks. Nimesulide was associated with a statistically significant improvement in the primary efficacy variable - pain intensity at rest - compared with baseline (mean improvement 71 % at week 2, 80% at week 4; p & 0.01), and a significant concomitant improvement in the number of night awakenings, pain on active and passive movement, morning stiffness and impairment of articular mobility on active and passive movement. The global clinical efficacy of nimesulide at the end of treatment was rated as good/fair by ≥ 85% of patients and doctor. For all the efficacy variables assessed, there was no statistically significant difference between treatment with nimesulide or naproxen. Four adverse events were reported in each treatment group; they were mild/moderate in intensity and predominantly gastrointestinal in nature. The results of this study confirm that nimesulide is clinically effective and a suitable alternative to naproxen for the short term treatment of patients with osteoarthritis of the hip.

Serum and urinary levels of fentiazac after a single oral and epicutaneous administration in human subjects.

An acute pharmacokinetic investigation was carried out on 6 healthy subjects with 200 mg of epicutaneous 2-phenyl-4-p-chlorophenyl-thiazol-5-ylacetic acid (fentiazac) (5% cream) versus and equivalent dose of oral drug (coated tablets). The two pharmaceutical dosage forms were given to same subjects at a one-week interval according to a cross-over design. The gas chromatographic analysis of the blood and urinary samples allowed to demonstrate that fentiazac is absorbed through the skin. The bioavailability resulting from the epicutaneous administration is markedly lower than that provided by the oral administration. Actually, the coated tablet/cream ratio between the areas under mean serum concentration-time curves amounts to 30:1 approximately. The distribution into the systemic circulation is slow but constant and prolonged; the blood levels remain practically unchanged from 0.5-8 h when a peak begins to be observed; the urinary excretion increases in the course of time and reaches its maximum in the interval between the 12th and 24th h. Vice versa, the renal excretion proves higher in the first 6 h.