Epidemiological and molecular characterization of HBV and HCV infections in HIV-1-infected inmate population in Italy: a 2017-2019 multicenter cross-sectional study.

HBV/HCV co-infection is common in HIV-1-infected prisoners. To investigate the characteristics of HIV co-infections, and to evaluate the molecular heterogeneity of HIV, HBV and HCV in prisoners, we carried-out a multicenter cross-sectional study, including 65 HIV-1-infected inmates enrolled in 5 Italian detention centers during the period 2017-2019. HIV-1 subtyping showed that 77.1% of inmates were infected with B subtype and 22.9% with non-B subtypes. Italian nationals were all infected with subtype B (93.1%), except two individuals, one infected with the recombinant form CRF72_BF1, and the other with the HIV-1 sub-subtype A6, both previously not identified in inmates of Italian nationality. Non-Italian nationals were infected with subtype B (52.6%), CRFs (36.8%) and sub-subtypes A1 and A3 (5.2%). HIV variants carrying resistance mutations to NRTI, NNRTI, PI and InSTI were found in 7 inmates, 4 of which were never exposed to the relevant classes of drugs associated with these mutations. HBV and/or HCV co-infections markers were found in 49/65 (75.4%) inmates, while 27/65 (41.5%) showed markers of both HBV and HCV coinfection. Further, Italian nationals showed a significant higher presence of HCV markers as compared to non-Italian nationals (p = 0.0001). Finally, HCV phylogenetic analysis performed in 18 inmates revealed the presence of HCV subtypes 1a, 3a, 4d (66.6%, 16.7% and 16.7%, respectively). Our data suggest the need to monitor HIV, HBV and HCV infections in prisons in order to prevent spreading of these viruses both in jails and in the general population, and to implement effective public health programs that limit the circulation of different genetic forms as well as of viral variants with mutations conferring resistance to treatment.

Homology-derived three-dimensional structure prediction of Candida cylindracea lipase.

We propose a structural model of Candida cylindracea lipase (CCL) based on the reported X-ray structure of the highly homologous Geotrichum candidum lipase (GCL). The network of interactions around the active site, the salt and disulfide bridge pattern is conserved in the proposed structure. Functional, structural and evolutionary aspects of the peculiar usage of CTG codons by C. cylindracea ATCC 14830 are discussed.

Similarity in oligonucleotide usage in introns and intergenic regions contributes to long-range correlation in the Caenorhabditis elegans genome.

A method is presented which allows detection of a sequence correlation effect not related to patchiness in base composition or to preferences in codon usage. Recurrence plots providing local views of oligonucleotide recurrence regimen show that introns and intergenic regions are often characterised by a highly recurrent use of oligonucleotides. By window analysis it is possible to score a long sequence for the recurrence of a given subset of oligos while filtering away the effects of short-range correlations. Long-range exploration of chromosome III from Caenorhabditis elegans reveals that consistent use of recurrent oligonucleotides in introns and intergenic regions generates a correlation effect that extends over several megabases.

A database system for handling phage library-derived sequences.

We have implemented a system for creating and maintaining nucleotide and amino acid sequence databases especially suited for the handling of phage library-derived sequences. The system is currently used in our laboratory and has already proven to be useful for the comparison of sequences obtained by different investigators. We believe that the availability of this system will encourage and simplify the exchange of sequence data among different laboratories.

The putative gene for the first enzyme of glutathione biosynthesis in Plasmodium berghei and Plasmodium falciparum.

The putative gene for gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase, the rate-limiting enzyme in glutathione biosynthesis, has been characterized both in Plasmodium berghei and Plasmodium falciparum. Protein sequence comparison between these two species reveals large conserved regions sharing more than 80% similarity, separated by less conserved portions. When the comparison is extended to known gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetases from other eukaryotes, a number of high similarity blocks are observed which may help in identifying sequence essential for protein function.

Molecular evolution of coding and non-coding regions in Plasmodium.

Recurrence analysis provides a useful tool for the characterisation of oligonucleotide usage along genomic tracts. While coding regions are characterised by a low-recurrence regimen (except in the case of intragenic repeats) introns and intergenic regions exhibit a high density of recurring oligos, and appear to be correlated from the point of view of oligonucleotide preference. By comparing homologous loci in Plasmodium falciparum and P. berghei, it can be seen that introns and intergenic regions, though exhibiting very low sequence similarity, do not drift without constraints, but maintain a consistent use of the same oligos in the two species.

[Aarskog syndrome. Description of a case with significant anomalies of the gonads]. / La sindrome di Aarskog. Descrizione di un caso con importanti anomalie delle gonadi.

The Aarskog syndrome is characterized by short stature, hypertelorism, cryptorchidism, typical scrotal fold, clinodactyly and brachydactyly. From the available data the prognosis about definitive stature and fertility is good. In our case the anomalies of the testis are severe and we think that infertility is probable.

[Klippel-Feil syndrome. Description of a case associated with familial mental retardation]. / Sindrome di Klippel-Feil. Descrizione di un caso associato a ritardo mentale familiare.

The authors describe a case of Klippel-Feil syndrome with involvement of the cervical spine and severe mental deficiency which was also present in many relatives of the maternal side. It is discussed as this mental deficiency could be due either to the syndrome itself or to a nonspecific X-linked mental retardation.

[Recurrent meningitis. Description of a case in a girl with dermal sinus]. / Meningite ricorrente. Descrizione di un caso in bambina affetta da seno dermico.

The authors describe a case of recurrent meningitis in a child with a dermal sinus. All the conditions causing this severe pathology are considered, particularly those in the pediatric age. The surgical treatment of the congenital malformation gave a complete resolution of the recurrent infections.

[Spondylo-epiphyseal dysplasia. Description of a family]. / Displasia spondilo-epifisaria. Descrizione di una famiglia.

The authors describe a family, father and two sisters, suffering from spondylo-epiphyseal dysplasia. The disease is an autosomal dominant; genetic counseling depends on an exact diagnosis. The two sisters show some atypical features, which confirm the disease heterogeneity.

[West syndrome in a case of congenital cutis aplasia]. / Sindrome di West in un caso di aplasia cutis congenita.

A case of West's syndrome in a four months old child affected with aplasia cutis congenita is described. The Authors suggest the possibility of a link between the two diseases.

Conservation and divergence of repeated structures in Plasmodium genomes: the molecular drift.

The rapid divergence of tandemly repeated families among Plasmodium species is in striking contrast with the extraordinary fidelity of the repeat copies present in a given genome. Close examination of the arrays of tandem repeats reveals an unsuspected regularity in the distribution of base substitutions, and clear relations between sets of repeats of different length, often coexisting in the same repeated region. The regular distribution of defects in the linear lattice gives rise to a hierarchy of periodicities. A model is proposed which accounts simultaneously for the rapid and concerted evolution of the repeats, and for the generation of supra-periodicities. The implications of this model with respect to repeated-pattern evolution are discussed.

Divergence of noncoding sequences and of insertions encoding nonglobular domains at a genomic region well conserved in plasmodia.

To identify conserved features in the rapidly diverging portions of a well-conserved locus, completely sequenced in Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium berghei, a computational method based on recurrence analysis was exploited. At the level of the genomic sequence, in both species, introns and intergenic sequences-though subject to rapid diversification-do not drift without constraints, but rather coevolve, in the sense that they maintain not only an AT-rich base composition, but also a consistent use of recurring (AT)(n) tracts. One of the two genes present in the conserved locus encodes a protein that exhibits blocks of high similarity to the first enzyme in glutathione biosynthesis (gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase) but bears long low-complexity insertions, absent in other organisms. From an analysis of the aminoacid sequence, different constraints appear to act on the borders and on the central part of the insertions. Albeit maintaining a strong bias toward hydrophilic residues, central portions diverge more rapidly than borders, through point mutation and differential presence of entire tracts.

Low-complexity regions in Plasmodium falciparum proteins.

Full-sequence data available for Plasmodium falciparum chromosomes 2 and 3 are exploited to perform a statistical analysis of the long tracts of biased amino acid composition that characterize the vast majority of P. falciparum proteins and to make a comparison with similarly defined tracts from other simple eukaryotes. When the relatively minor subset of prevalently hydrophobic segments is discarded from the set of low-complexity segments identified by current segmentation methods in P. falciparum proteins, a good correspondence is found between prevalently hydrophilic low-complexity segments and the species-specific, rapidly diverging insertions detected by multiple-alignment procedures when sequences of bona fide homologs are available. Amino acid preferences are fairly uniform in the set of hydrophilic low-complexity segments identified in the two P. falciparum chromosomes sequenced, as well as in sequenced genes from Plasmodium berghei, but differ from those observed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Dictyostelium discoideum. In the two plasmodial species, amino acid frequencies do not correlate with properties such as hydrophilicity, small volume, or flexibility, which might be expected to characterize residues involved in nonglobular domains but do correlate with A-richness in codons. An effect of phenotypic selection versus neutral drift, however, is suggested by the predominance of asparagine over lysine.

Health risks and health promotion for older women: utility of a health promotion diary.

Elderly women require health screening and health promotion services from nurses and other health care providers. Nurses serving this population require knowledge of age-specific health screening and health promotion services. A case study from a geriatric nurse practitioner's practice demonstrates the complexity of these activities. A diary of such services can help nurses focus on elderly women's needs for health promotion interventions.

Detection of latent sequence periodicities.

A method is proposed for the automatic detection of serial periodicities in a linear sequence. Its application to DNA subtelomeric sequences from two lower eukaryotes, P.falciparum and S.cerevisiae, reveals ordered patterns organised in hierarchical periodicities, not easily recognizable by other methods. The possible implications concerning the evolution of tandemly repetitive arrays are discussed in light of a model which involves, as successive steps, random repeat modification, the fusion of differently modified repeat versions into longer units, and the amplification of (and/or homogenization to) the more recent repeat units.

Isolation and nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding cytotoxic necrotizing factor 1 of Escherichia coli.

Cytotoxic necrotizing factors (CNFs) are dermonecrotic protein toxins produced by human and animal clinical isolates of Escherichia coli. In this study, the CNF1 determinant was isolated and sequenced, showing that expression of biologically active toxin is governed by a unique open reading frame encoding a protein of 1,014 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 113.7 kDa. Nucleotide and protein data base searches showed significant homology between CNF1 and the dermonecrotic toxin of Pasteurella multocida. In particular, the two toxins were found to share a hydrophobic region of about 220 amino acids which is a potential membrane-spanning domain.