Plastic-Degrading Microbial Consortia from a Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Plastic waste pollution has become a global crisis, with millions of tons of plastic expected to accumulate in landfills and in natural environments, posing a serious threat to wildlife and human health. As current recycling methods remain inefficient, there is an urgent need for innovative enzymatic solutions to break down plastics and enable a circular economy approach. In this study, we explore the plastic-degrading potential of microorganisms enriched from activated sludge (AS) sourced from a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP)-a known microplastic-contaminated industrial niche.

Interplay between CO and light governs carbon partitioning in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

Increasing CO availability is a common practice at the industrial level to trigger biomass productivity in microalgae cultures. Still, the consequences of high CO availability in microalgal cells exposed to relatively high light require further investigation. Here, the photosynthetic, physiologic, and metabolic responses of the green microalga model Chlamydomonas reinhardtii were investigated in high or low CO availability conditions: high CO enabled higher biomass yields only if sufficient light energy was provided.

Paraneoplastic encephalitis.

The first reports of encephalitis associated with cancer date to the 1960s and were characterized by clinical and pathologic involvement of limbic areas. This specific association was called limbic encephalitis (LE). The subsequent discovery of several "onconeural" antibodies (Abs), i.

Central nervous system immune-related disorders after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination: a multicenter study.

Background: COVID-19 vaccines have been approved due to their excellent safety and efficacy data and their use has also permitted to reduce neurological complications of SARS-CoV-2. However, clinical trials were underpowered to detect rare adverse events. Herein, the aim was to characterize the clinical spectrum and immunological features of central nervous system (CNS) immune-related events following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination.

Lignocellulolytic Potential of Microbial Consortia Isolated from a Local Biogas Plant: The Case of Thermostable Xylanases Secreted by Mesophilic Bacteria.

Lignocellulose biomasses (LCB), including spent mushroom substrate (SMS), pose environmental challenges if not properly managed. At the same time, these renewable resources hold immense potential for biofuel and chemicals production. With the mushroom market growth expected to amplify SMS quantities, repurposing or disposal strategies are critical.

How Did Adolescents With Cancer Experience the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Report From Italian Pediatric Hematology Oncology Association Centers.

Purpose: This study set out to evaluate the psychosocial effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among adolescents with cancer, and whether these effects are significantly different among adolescents who were undergoing therapy or had completed it.

Materials And Methods: The AIEOP Adolescents Working Group and the AIEOP Psychosocial Working Group adapted a questionnaire, which was completed by 214 adolescent cancer patients ( Mage =16.3 y, range: 15 to 19 y old) treated at 16 AIEOP centers in the North (38%), South (31%), and Center (31%) of Italy.

Analytical evaluation of a GAD65 antibodies chemiluminescence immunoassay for CSF in neurological syndromes.

Objectives: Antibodies against glutamic acid decarboxylase isoform 65 (GAD-Ab) have been found in different severe neurological conditions associated with altered synthesis of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Serum GAD-Ab can be found in up to 90 % of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), mostly at relatively low concentrations, while high concentrations of GAD-ab are thought to be more frequently associate to a neurological condition, with levels 100-folds higher than those found in T1DM. Although CSF testing is recommended when suspecting a GAD-associated neurological syndrome, no commercial immunoassay is validated for this use and no cut-off is internationally recognized to support the diagnosis.

Anti-LGI1 encephalitis: A family affair.

Here we describe the second ever-reported case of familial anti-leucine-rich glioma-inactivated protein 1 (LGI1) limbic encephalitis (LE). Two elderly Caucasian sisters presented with psychiatric symptoms and cognitive impairment, followed by faciobrachial dystonic seizures. Anti-LGI1 antibodies were detected in their serum.

Late-onset seizures and epilepsy: Electroclinical features suggestive of autoimmune etiology.

Introduction: Late-onset epilepsy (LOE) has recently become a topic of intense research. Besides stroke, tumors, and dementia, autoimmune encephalitis (AE) has emerged as another possible cause of recurrent seizures in the elderly, and may account for a proportion of cases of LOE of unknown origin (LOEUO). This 24-h ambulatory electroencephalography (AEEG)-based study compared patients with LOEUO and AE to identify features suggestive of immune-mediated seizures in the elderly.

Safety profile of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in patients with antibody-mediated CNS disorders.

Objectives: In this retrospective multicenter study, we evaluated the safety of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in patients harboring autoantibodies targeting neuronal surface and/or synaptic antigens.

Methods: From eight Italian Neurology Units, we included patients with: a) serum and/or CSF positivity for specific neuronal autoantibodies; b) a compatible neurological syndrome; and c) available follow-up ≥6 weeks after vaccination with any of the approved SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Demographics, clinical data, and information regarding previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination were collected.

Early Evidence of the Interplay between Separation Anxiety Symptoms and COVID-19-Related Worries in a Group of Children Diagnosed with Cancer and Their Mothers.

Having cancer in childhood is a risk factor for separation anxiety symptoms, with negative effects on the disease and psychological wellbeing. The Covid-19-pandemic-related concerns could have a negative effect. The present study explores the interplay between separation anxiety symptoms and COVID-19-related worries in pediatric cancer patients and their mothers, compared to a group of healthy children and their mothers, during the pandemic.

Olfactory impairment in autoimmune encephalitis: another piece of the puzzle.

Background: Despite being long neglected, olfaction has recently become a focus of intense research in neuroscience, as smell impairment has been consistently documented in both neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory diseases. Considering the close anatomo-functional correlations between the limbic system and the central olfactory structures, we investigated olfaction in a population of patients with autoimmune encephalitis (AE).

Methods: Nineteen adult subjects (14 males, median age 64 years) diagnosed with definite (14/19) or possible (5/19) AE and followed for ≥ 6 months were enrolled.

Biodiesel, biogas and fermentable sugars production from Spent coffee Grounds: A cascade biorefinery approach.

Spent coffee grounds are rich in high-value compounds, such as saturate and unsaturated fatty acids, and polysaccharides. Therefore, this work investigated a cascade biorefinery to produce: i) biodiesel from coffee oils, ii) cellulose- and hemicellulose-derived fermentable sugars and iii) biomethane from the residual solid fraction after sugars extraction. Transesterification reached the best performances of 86% w/w of fatty acid methyl esters using 1:8 coffee oil/methanol ratio and 2% w/w of KOH as catalyst.

The Role of Acidic Residues in the C Terminal Tail of the LHCSR3 Protein of in Non-Photochemical Quenching.

Light-harvesting complex stress-related (LHCSR) proteins in green algae are essential for photoprotection via a non-photochemical quenching (NPQ), playing the dual roles of pH sensing and dissipation of chlorophylls excited-state energy. pH sensing occurs via a protonation of acidic residues located mainly on its lumen-exposed C-terminus. Here, we combine in vivo and in vitro studies to ascertain the role in NPQ of these protonatable C-terminal residues in LHCSR3 from .

LPA2 protein is involved in photosystem II assembly in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

Photosynthetic eukaryotes require the proper assembly of photosystem II (PSII) in order to strip electrons from water and fuel carbon fixation reactions. In Arabidopsis thaliana, one of the PSII subunits (CP43/PsbC) was suggested to be assembled into the PSII complex via its interaction with an auxiliary protein called Low PSII Accumulation 2 (LPA2). However, the original articles describing the role of LPA2 in PSII assembly have been retracted.

Long-term Outcome of Children Born to Women with Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases: A Multicentre, Nationwide Study on 299 Randomly Selected Individuals.

The concern about the offspring's health is one of the reasons for a reduced family size of women with rheumatic diseases (RD). Increased risk of autoimmune diseases (AD) and neurodevelopmental disorders (ND) has been reported in children born to patients with RD. Within a nationwide survey about reproductive issues of women with RD, we aimed at exploring the long-term outcome of their children.

Identification of distinct pH- and zeaxanthin-dependent quenching in LHCSR3 from .

Under high light, oxygenic photosynthetic organisms avoid photodamage by thermally dissipating absorbed energy, which is called nonphotochemical quenching. In green algae, a chlorophyll and carotenoid-binding protein, light-harvesting complex stress-related (LHCSR3), detects excess energy via a pH drop and serves as a quenching site. Using a combined in vivo and in vitro approach, we investigated quenching within LHCSR3 from In vitro two distinct quenching processes, individually controlled by pH and zeaxanthin, were identified within LHCSR3.

Diagnostic features of initial demyelinating events associated with serum MOG-IgG.

Background: Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)-IgG associated disorders are increasingly recognized as a distinct disease entity. However, diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of serum MOG-IgG as well as recommendations for testing are still debated.

Materials And Methods: Between October 2015 and July 2017 we tested serum MOG-IgG in 91 adult patients (49 females) with a demyelinating event (DE) not fulfilling 2010 McDonald criteria for MS at sampling, negative for neuromyelitis optica (NMO)-IgG and followed-up for at least 12 months.

Subclinical progression of systemic sclerosis-related cardiomyopathy.

Aims: Cardiac involvement in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) is frequent and represents a negative prognostic factor. Recent studies have described subclinical heart involvement of both the right ventricle (RV) and left ventricle (LV) via speckle-tracking-derived global longitudinal strain (GLS). It is currently unknown if SSc-related cardiomyopathy progresses through time.

Subgroup comparison according to clinical phenotype and serostatus in autoimmune encephalitis: a multicenter retrospective study.

Background And Purpose: Autoimmune encephalitides (AE) include a spectrum of neurological disorders whose diagnosis revolves around the detection of neuronal antibodies (Abs). Consensus-based diagnostic criteria (AE-DC) allow clinic-serological subgrouping of AE, with unclear prognostic implications. The impact of AE-DC on patients' management was studied, focusing on the subgroup of Ab-negative-AE.