Publications by authors named "Alessandro Bianchi"

Background & Aims: Considerable interest has been recently given to the potential role of the gut-brain axis (GBA) -a two-way communication network between the gut microbiota and the central nervous system- in the pathogenesis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), suggesting the potential usefulness of probiotic and synbiotic supplementations. In light of the limited available evidence, synbiotic efficacy in ADHD children not taking medications should be clarified. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of a synbiotic dietary supplementation on fatty acids levels as well as on microbiota composition, behaviour, cognition, and brain function in children with ADHD.

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The growing emphasis on food safety and healthier lifestyles, driven by industrial expansion and scientific priorities, has highlighted the necessity of managing harmful microorganisms to guarantee food quality. A significant challenge in this domain is the control of pathogens that are capable of forming biofilms, entering a sessile state that enhances their resistance to broad-spectrum antibiotics. Essential oils, renowned for their antibacterial properties, present a promising natural alternative for food preservation.

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is mostly grown for its usage in the food, medical, and perfume industries, while it is also used as an attractive plant in parks, gardens, and homes. The use of essential oil may yield new results in relation to the antimicrobial activity of essential oils and their use mainly in extending the shelf life of foods. This study investigates the chemical composition and antimicrobial properties of essential oil (RDEO) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and various bioassays to explore its potential applications in food preservation and microorganism growth control.

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Halophytes, such as species, are promising new foods and are consumed for their pleasant salty taste and nutritional value. Since is perishable, modified atmospheric packaging (MAP) can be a useful tool, in combination with proper temperature, to halt further quality degradation in this type of product. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of MAP, with or without refrigeration, to extend the shelf life of glasswort ( L.

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Background: Fortified wine is an important category in the wine world with very famous wines such as Porto or Jerez-wine type. The quality of fortified wines increased significantly with barrel aging not only because of a long oxidation process, but also because, in Porto wines such as Ruby or Vintage styles, the long period in bottle permits their fining. Reducing the time of oxidation can favor the development of this technique even for less known sweet wines, making them good quality and less expensive.

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Foodborne infections caused by microbes are a serious health risk. Regarding this, customer preferences for "ready-to-eat" or minimally processed (MP) deer meat are one of the main risk factors. Given the health dangers associated with food, essential oil (EO) is a practical substitute used to decrease pathogenic germs and extend the shelf-life of MP meals.

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Using sous-vide technology in combination with essential oils offers the potential to extend the preservation of food items while preserving their original quality. This method aligns with the growing consumer demand for safer and healthier food production practices. This study aimed to assess the suitability of minimal processing of game meat and the effectiveness of vacuum packaging in combination with essential oil (PNEO) treatment to preserve red deer meat samples inoculated with .

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Microsurgeons have today the freedom of the "chosen flap," as opposed to the "flap of choice," but the preoperative knowledge of the microanatomy of each patient is mandatory. The need for preoperative evaluation of the perforators, not only in terms of position, but also for dimensions, flow, and relationship with the surrounding structures became essential and allows more personalized reconstruction, less invasiveness, more safety and finally increase microsurgeon creativity.

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Modern lifestyles have increased the focus on food stability and human health due to evolving industrial goals and scientific advancements. Pathogenic microorganisms significantly challenge food quality, with and other planktonic cells capable of forming biofilms that make them more resistant to broad-spectrum antibiotics. This research examined the chemical composition and antibacterial and antibiofilm properties of the essential oil from (ECEO) derived from dried fruits.

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Drying techniques are important for hop storage and quality. The stage of hop addition in beer is another important issue. This study focuses the impact of two drying techniques [freeze-dryer (F) and hot-stove (H)] of Cascade hop, on the chemical, aromatic and sensory quality of beer, comparing beers produced without (BF and BH) and with dry-hopping technique (BFDH and BHDH).

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Telomeres protect chromosome ends from unscheduled DNA repair, including from the MRN (MRE11, RAD50, NBS1) complex, which processes double-stranded DNA breaks (DSBs) via activation of the ATM kinase, promotes DNA end-tethering aiding the non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) pathway, and initiates DSB resection through the MRE11 nuclease. A protein motif (MIN, for MRN inhibitor) inhibits MRN at budding yeast telomeres by binding to RAD50 and evolved at least twice, in unrelated telomeric proteins Rif2 and Taz1. We identify the iDDR motif of human shelterin protein TRF2 as a third example of convergent evolution for this telomeric mechanism for binding MRN, despite the iDDR lacking sequence homology to the MIN motif.

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, commonly known as star anise, represents one of the notable botanical species and is recognized for its rich reservoir of diverse bioactive compounds. Beyond its culinary application as a spice, this plant has been extensively utilized in traditional medicine. Given the contemporary emphasis on incorporating natural resources into food production, particularly essential oils, to enhance sensory attributes and extend shelf life, our study seeks to elucidate the chemical composition and evaluate the antibacterial (, ) and insecticidal properties of essential oil (IVEO).

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The rising demand for safe plant compounds and herbal products that contribute positively to human health is in line with current market trends. Plants belonging to the genus, particularly the aromatic medicinal L. from the Lamiaceae family, are well suited to these trends as they serve as pharmaceutical raw materials.

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In this study, virological surveillance focused on coronaviruses in marmots in the Alpine region in 2022, captured as part of a population control reduction program in the Livigno area. Seventy-six faecal samples were randomly collected from marmots at the time of capture and release and tested for genome detection of pan-coronavirus, pan-pestivirus, canine distemper virus, and influenza A and D virus. Nine faecal samples were positive in the Pan-CoV RT-PCR, while all were negative for the other viruses.

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New goals for industry and science have led to increased awareness of food safety and healthier living in the modern era. Here, one of the challenges in food quality assurance is the presence of pathogenic microorganisms. As planktonic cells can form biofilms and go into a sessile state, microorganisms are now more resistant to broad-spectrum antibiotics.

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, a priority pest for the EU, was first detected in Northern Italy in 2014. Since its discovery, the outbreak extended over an area of more than 16,000 square kilometers in Northern Italy and Southern Switzerland. In this review, we summarize the state-of-the-art of research conducted in Italy on both the spreading capacity and control measures of Chemical, physical, and biological control measures deployed since its detection are presented, by highlighting their strengths and weaknesses.

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Article Synopsis
  • Paratuberculosis, or Johne's disease, is a contagious bacterial infection affecting ruminants, including certain wild and domestic animals, and is recognized under the new EU Animal Health Law requiring surveillance.
  • A study conducted in Stelvio National Park, Italy, from 2018 to 2022 analyzed 390 red deer for Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP), finding a 5.9% prevalence overall, which declined over the years.
  • The research indicated that older deer and those with lower body mass were more likely to test positive for MAP, suggesting early stages of the infection with minimal signs of disease in the population.
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Tick-borne encephalitis was limited to northeast portions of Italy. We report in Lombardy, a populous region in the northwest, a chamois displaying clinical signs of tickborne encephalitis virus that had multiple virus-positive ticks attached, as well as a symptomatic man. Further, we show serologic evidence of viral circulation in the area.

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Article Synopsis
  • Second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) are commonly used for pest control and have been shown to affect carnivores, particularly small and mesocarnivores, but the impact on large carnivores like wolves has not been thoroughly studied.
  • A study in central and northern Italy found that 61.8% of tested grey wolves showed exposure to ARs, with increasing levels of contamination linked to more urbanized areas and rising trends over time, especially post-2020.
  • The results highlight a significant conservation threat for large carnivores, indicating the need for urgent monitoring of AR contamination to protect species like wolves from unintentional poisoning in human-altered environments.
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Background: The organoleptic profile of an olive oil is a fundamental quality parameter obtained by human sensory panels. In this work, a portable electronic nose was employed to predict the fruity aroma intensity of 199 olive oil samples from different Spanish regions and cultivar varieties ('Picual', 'Arbequina', and 'Cornicabra'), with special emphasis in testing the robustness of the predictions versus cultivar variety variability. The primary data given by the electronic nose were used to obtain two different feature vectors that were employed to fit ridge and lasso regressions models to two datasets: one consisting of all the samples and another just the cv.

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Purpose: Drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) is the most widespread diagnostic tool for upper-airway endoscopic evaluation of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, a consensus on the effectiveness of DISE on surgical outcomes is still lacking. This study aimed to quantify the effect of DISE on surgical outcomes and to compare DISE with awake examination using the Müller Maneuver (MM).

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Background: During postharvest dehydration, grapes are subject to metabolic changes including ethanol anabolism and catabolism. These changes affect the quality of the final product and ethanol production is a key step. Ethanol dissipation has never been measured during postharvest wine grape dehydration.

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A new category of fruit style beer resulting from the addition of grape matrices is named Italian Grape Ale (IGA). In this paper, we report data on an experimental work to produce IGA beers, adding macerated (CO or N) red Gamay grape must or Aleatico grape pomace resulting from a grape dehydration process. Our hypothesis, that these wine processes can produce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to characterize these IGA beers which was confirmed by chemical, sensory and aromatic results.

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When bottled wine is opened, a completely different scenario occurs that can accelerate the oxidation of the product. This is called the secondary shelf life (SSL), which is generally shorter and less predictable than the primary shelf life (PSL). In this context, the research aim was to evaluate the changes that occur in two types of red wine during two tests to evaluate the secondary shelf life as a function of the packaging systems.

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