Phoenicibacter congonensis gen. nov., sp. nov., a new genus isolated from the human gut and its description using a taxonogenomic approach.

Culturomics has recently allowed the isolation and description of previously uncultured bacteria from the human microbiome at different body sites. As part of a project aiming to describe the human gut microbiota by culturomics, Phoenicibacter congonensis strain Marseille-P3241 was isolated from the gut of a 45 years old Pygmy female. In the present work, we aim to describe this strain via the taxonogenomics approach.

The genetic diversity and evolution of diatom-diazotroph associations highlights traits favoring symbiont integration.

Diatom diazotroph associations (DDAs) are a widespread marine planktonic symbiosis between several diatom genera and di-nitrogen (N2)-fixing bacteria. Combining single cell confocal microscopy observations and molecular genetic approaches on individual field collected cells, we determined the phylogenetic diversity, distribution and evolution of the DDAs. Confocal analyses coupled with 3-D imaging re-evaluated the cellular location of DDA symbionts.

Prejudices towards people with intellectual disabilities: reliability and validity of the Italian Modern and Classical Prejudices Scale.

Background: Prejudices and negative attitudes towards intellectual disabilities (IDs) may hinder social inclusion of ID individuals, limiting their well-being. This study investigated the psychometric characteristics of the Italian Modern and Classical Prejudices Scale (MCPS-IT) towards people with ID and the effects of gender, age and socio-economic status (SES) on prejudices.

Method: The MCPS-IT was administered to 474 adults (69% women, age range 18-70 years, M = 33.

The hypervirulent Coxiella burnetii Guiana strain compared in silico, in vitro and in vivo to the Nine Mile and the German strain.

Objective: Q fever epidemic outbreaks have been reported in French Guiana and in The Netherlands. To determine whether the C. burnetii strains involved in these epidemics had a peculiar virulence pattern, we compared the pathogenicity of the Guiana and the German strain (a clone of The Netherlands strain), in silico, in vitro, and in vivo versus the Nine Mile strain.

Naïve CD8 T-Cells Engage a Versatile Metabolic Program Upon Activation in Humans and Differ Energetically From Memory CD8 T-Cells.

Characterization of the intracellular biochemical processes that regulate the generation and maintenance of effector and memory CD8 T-cells from naïve precursors is essential for our understanding of adaptive immune responses and the development of immunotherapies. However, the metabolic determinants of antigen-driven activation and differentiation remain poorly defined, especially in humans. We used a variety of different approaches, including gene expression profiling and measurements of nutrient flux, to characterize the basal and activation-induced energetic requirements of naïve and phenotypically-defined subsets of human memory CD8 T-cells.

SNP genotyping elucidates the genetic diversity of Magna Graecia grapevine germplasm and its historical origin and dissemination.

Background: Magna Graecia is the ancient name for the modern geopolitical region of South Italy extensively populated by Greek colonizers, shown by archeological and historical evidence to be the oldest wine growing region of Italy, crucial for the spread of specialized viticulture around Mediterranean shores. Here, the genetic diversity of Magna Graecia grape germplasm was assessed and its role in grapevine propagation around the Mediterranean basin was underlined.

Results: A large collection of grapevines from Magna Graecia was compared with germplasm from Georgia to the Iberian Peninsula using the 18 K SNP array.

Volcanoes in Italy and the role of muon radiography.

Cosmic-ray muon radiography (muography), an imaging technique that can provide measurements of rock densities within the top few 100 m of a volcanic cone, has now achieved a spatial resolution of the order of 10 m in optimal detection conditions. Muography provides images of the top region of a volcano edifice with a resolution that is considerably better than that typically achieved with other conventional methods (i.e.

A genotype-specific baseline score predicts post-treatment response to peginterferon alfa-2a in hepatitis B e antigen-negative chronic hepatitis B.

Background: Peginterferon alfa-2a induces durable responses in some hepatitis B e antigen-negative patients, but robust pretreatment predictors are not available to identify likely responders. In this study we aimed to develop genotype-specific baseline scoring systems to predict response.

Methods: Data from 323 hepatitis B e antigen-negative peginterferon alfa-2a recipients from three studies were analyzed.

Effectiveness of First-Line Bevacizumab in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: The Observational Cohort Study GRETA.

Background: Scant real-world data exist on the clinical outcomes associated with the use of bevacizumab-containing chemotherapy (B+CT) in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). The primary objective of the GRETA cohort study was to compare the overall survival (OS) of patients with mCRC treated with first-line B+CT versus chemotherapy (CT) alone, in an Italian clinical practice setting.

Materials And Methods: Incident patients with mCRC were identified during the period 2010-2012 from five population-based cancer registries in Italy.

"I Have Been Bullied at Workplace!": A Qualitative Study on Italian Employees' Stories.

The present study explored some common thematic domains which characterized workplace bullying stories of adult Italian participants. Emotional Text Analysis was performed on 28 workplace bullying stories in order to detect the main themes (cluster analysis) and latent factors (correspondence analysis) emerging in bullied workers' narratives. Five thematic domains were detected in the textual corpus (p < .

A baseline tool for predicting response to peginterferon alfa-2a in HBeAg-positive patients with chronic hepatitis B.

Background: Peginterferon induces off-treatment responses in approximately one-third of patients with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive chronic hepatitis B.

Aim: To develop an easy-to-use baseline prediction score to identify hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype B-/C-infected HBeAg-positive Asian patients likely to respond to peginterferon alfa-2a.

Methods: Generalised additive models, multiple logistic regression (MLR) analysis and internal validation methods were applied to data from 647 HBeAg-positive patients from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan to develop a scoring system to predict response 24 weeks after completing a 48-week course of peginterferon alfa-2a.

Teriparatide Replacement Therapy for Hypoparathyroidism During Treatment With Lenvatinib for Advanced Thyroid Cancer: A Case Report.

Thyroid cancer metastasizes in 4% of cases. Approximately two-thirds of these patients are refractory to radioactive iodine-131 (RAI) therapy and have a poor 10-year survival prognosis. Treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) may be administered in selected RAI-refractory patients.

[Health impact of asbestos fibres naturally occurring in Mount Pollino area (Basilicata Region, Southern Italy)].

Objectives: to estimate the health impact of asbestos fibres naturally occurring in Mount Pollino area (Basilicata Region, Southern Italy).

Design: geographic mortality, hospitalization, and incidence study. Setting and participant s: population resident in 12 Municipalities of Mount Pollino area with naturally occurring asbestos fibres.

Differential α-synuclein expression contributes to selective vulnerability of hippocampal neuron subpopulations to fibril-induced toxicity.

The accumulation of misfolded α-synuclein (aSyn) and neuron loss define several neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson's disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). However, the precise relationship between pathology and neurotoxicity and why these processes disproportionately affect certain neuron subpopulations are poorly understood. We show here that Math2-expressing neurons in the hippocampal Cornu ammonis (CA), a region significantly affected by aSyn pathology in advanced PD and DLB, are highly susceptible to pathological seeding with pre-formed fibrils (PFFs), in contrast to dentate gyrus neurons, which are relatively spared.

The HIV-1 Tat protein affects human CD4+ T-cell programing and activation, and favors the differentiation of naïve CD4+ T cells.

Objective: HIV infection is characterized by several immune dysfunctions, such as chronic activation of the immune system, premature aging and loss of CD4 T cells, in particular within the naïve compartment. The Tat protein of HIV is released extracellularly and enters neighboring cells affecting their functionality, for instance impacting on CD8 T-cell programs and activity. As the presence and/or induction of anti-Tat immune responses is associated with reduced T-cell dysfunction and CD4 T-cell loss, we investigated whether Tat impacts human resting or activated CD4 T cells.

The Alzheimer's Prevention Initiative Generation Program: Evaluating CNP520 Efficacy in the Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's disease pathology begins decades before the onset of clinical symptoms. This provides an opportunity for interventional clinical trials to potentially delay or prevent the onset of cognitive impairment or dementia. CNP520 (a beta-site-amyloid precursor protein-cleaving enzyme inhibitor) is in clinical development for the treatment of preclinical Alzheimer's disease under the Alzheimer's Prevention Initiative Generation Program.

Active Aβ immunotherapy CAD106 in Alzheimer's disease: A phase 2b study.

Introduction: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 90-week study assessed safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of CAD106 with/without adjuvant in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease.

Methods: One hundred twenty-one patients received up to seven intramuscular injections of CAD106 (150 μg or 450 μg) or placebo ± adjuvant over 60 weeks. An amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) substudy was also conducted.

Conserved DNA methylation combined with differential frontal cortex and cerebellar expression distinguishes C9orf72-associated and sporadic ALS, and implicates SERPINA1 in disease.

We previously found C9orf72-associated (c9ALS) and sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (sALS) brain transcriptomes comprise thousands of defects, among which, some are likely key contributors to ALS pathogenesis. We have now generated complementary methylome data and combine these two data sets to perform a comprehensive "multi-omic" analysis to clarify the molecular mechanisms initiating RNA misregulation in ALS. We found that c9ALS and sALS patients have generally distinct but overlapping methylome profiles, and that the c9ALS- and sALS-affected genes and pathways have similar biological functions, indicating conserved pathobiology in disease.

Interdomain conformational flexibility underpins the activity of UGGT, the eukaryotic glycoprotein secretion checkpoint.

Glycoproteins traversing the eukaryotic secretory pathway begin life in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), where their folding is surveyed by the 170-kDa UDP-glucose:glycoprotein glucosyltransferase (UGGT). The enzyme acts as the single glycoprotein folding quality control checkpoint: it selectively reglucosylates misfolded glycoproteins, promotes their association with ER lectins and associated chaperones, and prevents premature secretion from the ER. UGGT has long resisted structural determination and sequence-based domain boundary prediction.