Publications by authors named "Alonzo E"

NLRs constitute a large, highly conserved family of cytosolic pattern recognition receptors that are central to health and disease, making them key therapeutic targets. NLRC5 is an enigmatic NLR with mutations associated with inflammatory and infectious diseases, but little is known about its function as an innate immune sensor and cell death regulator. Therefore, we screened for NLRC5's role in response to infections, PAMPs, DAMPs, and cytokines.

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People with blindness have limited access to the high-resolution graphical data and imagery of science. Here, a lithophane codex is reported. Its pages display tactile and optical readouts for universal visualization of data by persons with or without eyesight.

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Article Synopsis
  • In 2005, Italy launched a voluntary iodine prophylaxis program to improve iodine levels, but recent data on its efficacy was lacking.
  • A nationwide survey conducted from 2015 to 2019 observed that 71.5% of adults and 78% of school canteens used iodized salt, with schoolchildren showing adequate urinary iodine but higher rates of neonatal TSH levels than recommended by the WHO.
  • Despite achieving overall iodine sufficiency, concerns about iodine status for pregnant women persist, alongside a noted decrease in new hyperthyroidism cases.
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Our letter discusses the concept of 'Nutritional Prevention Hesitancy', comparing it to the well-studied phenomenon of 'Vaccine Hesitancy'. Both hesitancies can be fueled by 'infodemics', the rapid spread of accurate and inaccurate information that can lead to public confusion and mistrust in authoritative sources. Drawing parallels between the two, the text highlights that nutritional prevention hesitancy can result in individuals not adopting evidence-based nutritional strategies, potentially leading to poorer health outcomes.

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Italy's National Prevention Plan 2020-25 is the first to address nutritional prevention, highlighting its importance in combating chronic diseases. This letter discusses the relationship between food safety, nutritional security, and the need for nutritional prevention in the plan. Chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes, are significant public health concerns in Italy, with poor nutrition being a critical risk factor.

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Article Synopsis
  • Mushroom poisoning, particularly from Chlorophyllum molybdites, is becoming a significant health issue, especially as this mushroom is not native to Italy and is emerging in regions like Sicily.
  • A recent case series from Pavia Poison Centre documented 10 incidents of severe gastrointestinal symptoms following ingestion of Chlorophyllum molybdites, with vulnerable patients at risk of hypovolemic shock.
  • Collaboration among emergency physicians, toxicologists, and mycologists is crucial for effective treatment, as climate change and migration may increase the spread of these toxic mushrooms and associated health risks.
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People who are blind do not have access to graphical data and imagery produced by science. This exclusion complicates learning and data sharing between sighted and blind persons. Because blind people use tactile senses to visualize data (and sighted people use eyesight), a single data format that can be easily visualized by both is needed.

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Fish represents one of the most important dietary sources of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are known to be associated with various health benefits. This study aimed to systematically review existing meta-analyses of observational studies exploring the association between fish intake and various health outcomes. A systematic search of electronic databases was conducted to retrieve a total of 63 studies.

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Meat consumption has represented an important evolutionary step for humans. However, modern patterns of consumption, including excess intake, type of meat and cooking method have been the focus of attention as a potential cause of rise in non-communicable diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between total, red and processed meat with health outcomes and to assess the level of evidence by performing a systematic search of meta-analyses of prospective cohort studies.

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Consumption of nuts and legumes has been associated with several health benefits. The aim of this study was to systematically review existing meta-analyses of observational studies on nut and legume intake and non-communicable diseases, and assess the level of evidence. Out of the six meta-analyses focussed on legume and 15 on nut intake, a possible association with decreased risk of colorectal adenoma and coronary heart disease was found for higher legume consumption, and a decreased risk of cardiovascular and cancer mortality, colon cancer, hypertension and ischaemic stroke for higher nut consumption.

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Whole grains have been associated with a number of health benefits. We systematically reviewed existing meta-analyses of observational studies and evaluated the level of evidence for their putative effects based on pre-selected criteria. Of the 23 included studies, we found convincing evidence of an inverse association between whole grain consumption and risk of type-2 diabetes and colorectal cancer; possible evidence of decreased risk of colon cancer and cardiovascular mortality with increased whole grain intake, as well as increased risk of prostate cancer.

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The WHO Global Action Plan on physical activity underlines the binomial "diet and physical activity" for the maintenance of well-being state. The adequate nutritional intake is required for sport and can be achieved by a well-adjusted diet without adding artificial food supplements, whose abuse can even represent a risk and appear as an antechamber of doping. Within a national doping prevention project, a peer education tool was realized in the form of a book and e-book, based on the principle of the Mediterranean Diet as an effective nutritional support in sport and physical activity.

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Egg consumption has been an area of controversy regarding its impact on human health largely due to the content in cholesterol and its potential role in cardio-metabolic outcomes. This study aimed to summarise the level of evidence of egg consumption on various health outcomes. A systematic search for meta-analyses was performed: study design, dose-response relationship, heterogeneity and agreement of results over time, and identification of potential confounding factors were considered to assess the level of evidence.

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The Italian food industry is appreciated worldwide and has undoubtedly brought economic advantages, with exports in 2017 having grown by more than six percentage points, for a volume of almost €32 billion. However, some critical issues exist that require the constant presence of Food and Nutrition Hygiene Services (SIAN) of the Local Health Authorities (LHAs) which, together with other key players, including the Veterinary Services (SV), constitute the backbone of integrated competencies for the protection and promotion of community health. In Italy, controls in the food industry are very complex, involving not only the SIAN and the Veterinary Services of the LHAs (as local competent authority for food safety), but also the Central Inspectorate against frauds, specialized "Carabinieri" Command Departments (NAS AND NAC ), State Forestry Corps, Port Authorities and "Guardia di Finanza", Border Inspection Posts (PIF), Frontier Air Transport Offices (USMAF), the Customs and Monopolies Agency, as well as, for analysis of foods samples, the National Health Institute ("Istituto Superiore di Sanità"), Public Health Laboratories and Experimental Zooprophylactic Institutes.

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Evidence on consumption of dairy foods and human health is contradictory. This study aimed to summarize the level of evidence of dairy consumption on various health outcomes. A systematic search for meta-analyses was performed: study design, dose-response relationship, heterogeneity and agreement of results over time, and identification of potential confounding factors were considered to assess the level of evidence.

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The aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive evaluation of current evidence on fruit and vegetable consumption and health outcomes. A systematic search for quantitative syntheses was performed. Several criteria, including study design, dose-response relationship, heterogeneity and agreement of results over time, and identification of potential confounding factors, were used to assess the level of evidence.

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In Italy, like in most parts of the world, 30% of children and almost 50% of adults are overweight. This condition is one of the causes of non-communicable diseases responsible for over two thirds of DALYs, deaths and costs for healthcare. Current surveys confirm that overweight and obesity are associated with food habits which have changed, in Italy, in the last fifty years.

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Nutrition needs increasingly integration between Food Safety and Nutritional Prevention, duties, in Italy, since I 998 the Food Hygiene and Nutrition services (SIAN) do. Furthermore, working in Evidence Based Prevention (EBP) is necessary to improve the prevention and make it more useful to people health, so it must be used tested efficacy methods, above all in a unsuitable economic and human sources contest. In order to improve the prevention and working in EBP, SIAN have devised and achieved some Nutritional Prevention Projects, interregional, regional and local wide net-working, by using process and efficacy indicators, in some projects also user's satisfaction indicators are used.

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Contamination of fruits and vegetables with heavy metals can result from anthropogenic events (car or factory emissions, poor management of sewage and industrial waste) or from natural events (volcanic activity and geological soil matrix). The chemical and toxicological characteristics of heavy metals can have an impact on human health through several mechanisms. Other metals, on the other hand, are essential for maintenance of physiological and biochemical human processes, are protective against many diseases and must be present in the diet because they cannot be synthesized by the human body.

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The new research survey "Okkio alla salute", conducted in children in the 3rd year of elementary school, has confermed the worrisome phenomenon of the high number of obese and overweight children. Therefore, it is necessary, also in light of the few available resources, to fight back against this phenomenon that has been demonstrated to be a cause of disabling illnesses in adults. There must therefore be collaboration between Departments of Prevention and Hygiene and Nutrition services (SIAN) to build valid and efficient pathways.

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Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) self-renew to maintain the lifelong production of all blood populations. Here, we show that the proliferating cell nuclear antigen-associated factor (Paf) is highly expressed in cycling bone marrow HSCs and plays a critical role in hematopoiesis. Mice lacking Paf exhibited reduced bone marrow cellularity; reduced numbers of HSCs and committed progenitors; and leukopenia.

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Conventional and nonconventional T cell development occur in the thymus. Nonconventional thymocytes that bear characteristics typically associated with innate immune cells are termed innate-like lymphocytes (ILLs). Mice harboring a tyrosine to phenylalanine mutation in the adaptor protein Src homology 2 domain-containing leukocyte protein of 76 kDa at residue 145 (Y145F mice) develop an expanded population of CD8(+)CD122(+)CD44(+) ILLs, typified by expression of the T-box transcription factor eomesodermin.

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Recent studies have shown that the transcriptional regulator promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger (PLZF) controls the development of essentially all of the innate-like features of invariant Natural Killer T (NKT) cells. For example, PLZF-deficient NKT cells do not acquire an 'activated' phenotype nor do they acquire the capacity to secrete multiple cytokines upon primary stimulation. The function of a subset of γδ T cells has now also been shown to be dependent upon expression of PLZF.

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The control of groundwater and surface water quality in relation to the presence of pesticides and their metabolites is a rather complicated task. National and local authorities with the responsibility to guarantee an adequate quality of water cannot rely on international guidelines for monitoring activities. In a national project, forty-three pesticides and pesticide metabolites were selected on the basis of sale, monitoring and physical-chemical data, and investigated from some of the main Italian agricultural areas, susceptible to pesticide contamination.

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