Changes of pectin structure and microbial community composition in strawberry fruit (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) during cold storage.

Strawberry is very perishable fruit with rapid postharvest loss of quality and high susceptibility to microbial infections. In this work we study pectin modifications and microbiota and mycobiota composition in strawberry in conventional and organic cultivation systems. The enzymatic activity during postharvest storage of both types of strawberry was divided at the fifth day of storage into two phases: postharvest changes and rotting. Pectin molecules extracted from organic strawberries were longer and more branched compared to the conventional strawberries; however a more noticeable reorganization of molecular structure occurred. The sequential action of the pectinolytic enzymes had a direct effect on the molecular structure of pectin fractions. The observed changes in pectin structure relate to the synergistic activity of pectinolytic enzymes and some microorganisms. The organic system was characterized by a greater number and variety of bacteria and fungi during storage as compared to the conventional system.

Predictors of psychosis breakthrough during 24 months of long-acting antipsychotic maintenance treatment in first episode schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: Some patients develop breakthrough psychotic symptoms on antipsychotic maintenance medication (BAMM), despite receiving therapeutic antipsychotic doses to which they previously responded. METHODS: We examined the occurrence of BAMM in previously minimally treated first-episode patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders who were treated according to a standard protocol with a long-acting injectable antipsychotic and regularly assessed over 24 months. RESULTS: Of 99 patients (age = 24.1 ± 6.5 years, male = 73.7%) who received treatment for ≥6 months (mean follow-up = 20.0 ± 6.5 months) and had responded well to treatment, 21 (21.2%) developed BAMM using operationally defined criteria, after a mean of 17.4 ± 6.1 months. Baseline risk factors for BAMM included lower baseline Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale positive symptoms, poorer quality of life in social relationships and higher blood - high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol. Regarding intra-treatment-factors, BAMM was independently predicted by an increase in low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and current cannabis use. We did not find a relationship between BAMM and cumulative antipsychotic exposure or dose escalation. While symptoms of the BAMM episode were less severe than during the first episode, the post-BAMM treatment response was poorer than that for the first psychotic episode, suggesting a relationship between BAMM and emergent treatment refractoriness. CONCLUSIONS: About one in five patients with first-episode schizophrenia developed BAMM during the first two years of treatment, despite assured antipsychotic LAI treatment, indicating that this phenomenon is not restricted to the chronic stages of illness. The role of cannabis use and a possible link between BAMM and blood lipids should be further explored.

Two-dimensional echocardiographic features of the inferior right atrial isthmus: the role of vestibular thickness in catheter ablation of atrial flutter.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine the feasibility of transthoracic two-dimensional (2D)-echocardiography in defining the cavo-tricuspid isthmus (CTI) anatomy and its value concerning the ease of catheter ablation of isthmic atrial flutter (AF). METHODS: CTI analysis was accomplished in 39 cases: 16 necropsy specimens and 23 patients. Sixteen were patients with isthmus-dependent AF and seven controls with other supraventricular re-entrant tachycardias. Two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography and a right atrium angiogram were performed before radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA). RESULTS: The measurements of the CTI with angiography were compared with those taken with echocardiography and correlation was excellent (r= 0.91; P < 0.0001). In normal patients, the dimension of the vestibular thickness was successfully compared and validated with the histological examination of the necropsy specimens: histology median 6.8 mm, range 4.4-10.5 vs. echo median 6.2 mm, range 5.4-8.7; P: NS. Vestibular thickness was greater in complex than in simple RFCA (13.6 ± 1.9 mm vs. 10.0 ± 2.3 mm; P = 0.01). When vestibular thickness ≥11.5 mm, the ablation prone to be complex (sensitivity 83.3%, specificity 80%, positive predictive value 71.4%, and negative predictive value 88.9%). CONCLUSIONS: Two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography clearly depicts the inferior isthmus and, displaying the thickness of the tricuspid vestibule, it was related with complexity of the ablation procedure in isthmus-dependent AF.

The role of antibiotic prophylaxis on wound infection after mesh hernia repair under local anesthesia on an ambulatory basis.

Mesh prosthesis, local anesthesia, and ambulatory care have been widely introduced in recent decades in the treatment of inguinal hernia. The use of antibiotic prophylaxis during open inguinal hernia repair has been controversial. No prospective trial has been conducted to assess the role of antibiotic prophylaxis in patients operated on for inguinal hernia under the above-mentioned conditions. A prospective, randomized, double-blinded trial was initiated to assess the efficacy of antibiotic prophylaxis in the prevention of wound infection during open mesh inguinal hernia repair under local anesthesia on an ambulatory basis. Ninety-nine consecutive hernia repairs were randomized to receive 1 g of parenteral Cefazolin preoperatively or a placebo. No wound infections existed in the therapeutic group (0/50). Four infections appeared in the control group (4/49), and the study was suspended for ethical reasons when differences reached values close to statistical significance ( P=0.059). We conclude that a single dose of intravenous Cefazolin decreases the risk of wound infection during open mesh inguinal hernia repair under local anesthesia on an ambulatory basis.