Disgust as a transdiagnostic index of mental illness: A narrative review of clinical populations.

Disgust is a basic emotion of rejection, providing an ancestral defensive mechanism against illness. Based on research that documents altered experiences of disgust across several psychopathological conditions, we conducted a narrative review to address the hypothesis that altered disgust may serve as a transdiagnostic index of mental illness. Our synthesis of the literature from past decades suggests that, compared to healthy populations, patients with mental disorders exhibit abnormal processing of disgust in at least one of the analyzed dimensions.

2H-chromene and 7H-furo-chromene derivatives selectively inhibit tumour associated human carbonic anhydrase IX and XII isoforms.

Tumour associated carbonic anhydrases (CAs) IX and XII have been recognised as potential targets for the treatment of hypoxic tumours. Therefore, considering the high pharmacological potential of the chromene scaffold as selective ligand of the IX and XII isoforms, two libraries of compounds, namely 2H-chromene and 7H-furo-chromene derivatives, with diverse substitution patterns were designed and synthesised. The structure of the newly synthesised compounds was characterised and their inhibitory potency and selectivity towards human CA off target isoforms I, II and cancer-associated CA isoforms IX and XII were evaluated.

Early lived at high altitudes and produced both Oldowan and Acheulean tools.

In Africa, the scarcity of hominin remains found in direct association with stone tools has hindered attempts to link and with particular lithic industries. The infant mandible discovered in level E at Garba IV (Melka Kunture) on the highlands of Ethiopia is critical to this issue due to its direct association with an Oldowan lithic industry. Here, we use synchrotron imaging to examine the internal morphology of the unerupted permanent dentition and confirm its identification as .

Greenhouse investigation on the phytoremediation potential of pioneer tree Mill. in abandoned mine site.

Tailings and mine dumps are often pollutant sources that pose serious environmental threats to surrounding areas. The use of pioneer vascular plants to extract or stabilize metals is considered among the more effective mine tailing reclamation techniques. The study aimed at evaluating the phytoremediation potential of in abandoned mine-tailing (SW-Sardinia, Italy).

Evolutionary adaptation from hydrolytic to oxygenolytic catalysis at the α/β-hydrolase fold.

Protein fold adaptation to novel enzymatic reactions is a fundamental evolutionary process. Cofactor-independent oxygenases degrading -heteroaromatic substrates belong to the α/β-hydrolase (ABH) fold superfamily that typically does not catalyze oxygenation reactions. Here, we have integrated crystallographic analyses under normoxic and hyperoxic conditions with molecular dynamics and quantum mechanical calculations to investigate its prototypic 1--3-hydroxy-4-oxoquinaldine 2,4-dioxygenase (HOD) member.

Evidence of Altered Fear Extinction Learning in Individuals with High Vaccine Hesitancy During Covid-19 Pandemic.

Objective: A relevance of fear and concerns about vaccine development and its side effects are suggested to explain COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. However, evidence supporting the phobic origin hypothesis of hesitancy for COVID-19 and other vaccinations remains indirect and elusive.

Method: We addressed this issue by investigating the existence of a relationship between fear conditioning, extinction, and the respective vaccination hesitancy and anxiety scores in a group of 25 individuals.

The mechanism of an electrostatic nanofilter: overcoming entropy with electrostatics.

General porins are nature's sieving machinery in the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. Their unique hourglass-shaped architecture is highly conserved among different bacterial membrane proteins and other biological channels. These biological nanopores have been designed to protect the interior of the bacterial cell from leakage of toxic compounds while selectively allowing the entry of the molecules needed for cell growth and function.

Special Issue "Advances in Antiviral Agents against SARS-CoV-2 and Its Variants".

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), with 770 million reported cases and around 7 million deaths, represents the worst pandemic in the last 100 years [...

Dihydroxyphenyl- and Heteroaromatic-Based Thienopyrimidinones to Tackle HIV-1 LEDGF/p75-Dependent IN Activity.

The spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) still represents a global public health issue of major concern, and would benefit from unveiling unique viral features as targets for drug design. In this respect, HIV-1 integrase (IN), due to the absence of homologs in human cells, is a popular target for the synthesis of novel selective compounds. Moreover, as drug-resistant viral strains are rapidly evolving, the development of novel allosteric inhibitors is acutely required.

Hylin-a1: A Pan-Inhibitor against Emerging and Re-Emerging Respiratory Viruses.

Pandemic and epidemic outbreaks of respiratory viruses are a challenge for public health and social care system worldwide, leading to high mortality and morbidity among the human populations. In light of the limited efficacy of current vaccines and antiviral drugs against respiratory viral infections and the emergence and re-emergence of new viruses, novel broad-spectrum antiviral drugs are needed for the prevention and treatment of these infections. Antimicrobial peptides with an antiviral effect, also known as AVPs, have already been reported as potent inhibitors of viral infections by affecting different stages of the virus lifecycle.

Sardinian Infants of Diabetic Mothers: A Metabolomics Observational Study.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a condition characterized by glucose intolerance, with hyperglycemia of varying severity with onset during pregnancy. An uncontrolled GDM can lead to an increased risk of morbidity in the fetus and newborn, and an increased risk of obesity or developing type 2 diabetes, hypertension or neurocognitive developmental impairment in adulthood. In this study, we used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GS-MS) to analyze the urinary metabolomic profile of newborns of diabetic mothers (NDMs) with the aim of identifying biomarkers useful for the monitoring of NDMs and for early diagnosis of predisposition to develop related chronic diseases.

The Atypical Dopamine Transporter Inhibitor CE-158 Enhances Dopamine Neurotransmission in the Prefrontal Cortex of Male Rats: A Behavioral, Electrophysiological, and Microdialysis Study.

Background: Dopamine plays a key role in several physiological functions such as motor control, learning and memory, and motivation and reward. The atypical dopamine transporter inhibitor S,S stereoisomer of 5-(((S)-((S)-(3-bromophenyl)(phenyl)methyl)sulfinyl)methyl)thiazole (CE-158) has been recently reported to promote behavioral flexibility and restore learning and memory in aged rats.

Methods: Adult male rats were i.

A family of kojic acid derivatives aimed to remediation of Pb and Cd.

The present work analyzes the complex formation ability towards Pb and Cd of a series of kojic acid derivatives that join the chelating properties of the pyrone molecules and those of polyamines, with the aim of evaluating how the different effects of oxygen and nitrogen coordinating groups act on the stability of metal complexes. Experimental research is carried out using potentiometric and spectrophotometric techniques supported by H and C NMR spectroscopy and DFT calculations. Actually, a different coordination mechanism toward Pb and Cd was proved: in the case of Pb, coordination takes place exclusively via the oxygen atoms, while the contribute of the nitrogen atoms appears relevant in the case of Cd.

Green metrics in mechanochemistry.

The development of new green methodologies and their broader adoption for promoting sustainable development in chemistry laboratories and industry play a significant role in society, due to the economic importance of chemistry and its widespread presence in everyday life. Therefore, a sustainable approach to chemistry contributes to the well-being of the worldwide population and complies with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and the European Green Deal. The review highlights how batch and continuous mechanochemical methods are an eco-friendly approach for organic synthesis, with a lower environmental footprint in most cases, compared to solution-based procedures.

Metabolomics: Perspectives on Clinical Employment in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Precision medicine is imminent, and metabolomics is one of the main actors on stage. We summarize and discuss the current literature on the clinical application of metabolomic techniques as a possible tool to improve early diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), to define clinical phenotypes and to identify co-occurring medical conditions. A review of the current literature was carried out after PubMed, Medline and Google Scholar were consulted.

Investigation into Polyphenol Profile and Biological Activities of Enriched Persimmon/Apple Smoothies during Storage.

Smoothies are becoming an increasingly popular product as a healthy alternative to snacks. The consumer expects from this product that, apart from its nutritional value, it will also be qualitatively stable during storage. Therefore, in this study, original smoothies obtained with persimmon fruit puree and apple juice (Dk/Md) enriched with fruits, purple berry extract, , and petal juice were evaluated for their polyphenol composition, antioxidant activity, and inhibition on targeted digestive enzymes, over six months of storage.

Thermally Promoted Cation Exchange at the Solid State in the Transmission Electron Microscope: How It Actually Works.

Cation exchange offers a strong postsynthetic tool for nanoparticles that are unachievable via direct synthesis, but its velocity makes observing the onset of the reaction in the liquid state almost impossible. After successfully proving that cation exchange reactions can be triggered, performed, and followed live at the solid state by an transmission electron microscopy approach, we studied the deep mechanisms ruling the onset of cation exchange reactions, i.e.

Molecular and Structural Aspects of Clinically Relevant Mutations of SARS-CoV-2 RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase in Remdesivir-Treated Patients.

(1) Background: SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) is a promising therapeutic target to fight COVID-19, and many RdRp inhibitors nucleotide/nucleoside analogs, such as remdesivir, have been identified or are in clinical studies. However, the appearance of resistant mutations could reduce their efficacy. In the present work, we structurally evaluated the impact of RdRp mutations found at baseline in 39 patients treated with remdesivir and associated with a different degree of antiviral response in vivo.

HIV-1 Integrase Inhibition Activity by Spiroketals Derived from , an Endemic Plant of Sardinia (Italy) and Corsica (France).

In this work we investigated, for the first time, the effect of (L.) Alavi & Heywood, a Sardinian-Corsican endemic plant, on HIV-1 integrase (IN) activity. The phytochemical analysis of the leaves chloroform extract led us to isolate and characterize three compounds (SPK1, SPK2, and SPK3) belonging to the spiroketals, a group of naturally occurring metabolites of phytochemical relevance with interesting biological properties.

Screening, Genetic Variants, and Bipolar Disorders: Can Useful Hypotheses Arise from the Sum of Partial Failures?

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a relevant public health issue, therefore accurate screening tools could be useful. The objective of this study is to verify the accuracy of the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) and genetic risk as screeners, and their comparison in terms of reliability. Older adults (N = 61, ≥60 years) received a clinical psychiatric evaluation, the MDQ, and were evaluated according to the presence of the genetic variant RS1006737 of CACNA1C.

Ancient DNA re-opens the question of the phylogenetic position of the Sardinian pika Prolagus sardus (Wagner, 1829), an extinct lagomorph.

Palaeogenomics is contributing to refine our understanding of many major evolutionary events at an unprecedented resolution, with relevant impacts in several fields, including phylogenetics of extinct species. Few extant and extinct animal species from Mediterranean regions have been characterised at the DNA level thus far. The Sardinian pika, Prolagus sardus (Wagner, 1829), was an iconic lagomorph species that populated Sardinia and Corsica and became extinct during the Holocene.

Human cytomegalovirus mediates APOBEC3B relocalization early during infection through a ribonucleotide reductase-independent mechanism.

The APOBEC3 family of DNA cytosine deaminases comprises an important arm of the innate antiviral defense system. The gamma-herpesviruses Epstein-Barr virus and Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus and the alpha-herpesviruses herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1 and HSV-2 have evolved an efficient mechanism to avoid APOBEC3 restriction by directly binding to APOBEC3B and facilitating its exclusion from the nuclear compartment. The only viral protein required for APOBEC3B relocalization is the large subunit of the ribonucleotide reductase (RNR).

Diketo acid inhibitors of nsp13 of SARS-CoV-2 block viral replication.

For RNA viruses, RNA helicases have long been recognized to play critical roles during virus replication cycles, facilitating proper folding and replication of viral RNAs, therefore representing an ideal target for drug discovery. SARS-CoV-2 helicase, the non-structural protein 13 (nsp13) is a highly conserved protein among all known coronaviruses, and, at the moment, is one of the most explored viral targets to identify new possible antiviral agents. In the present study, we present six diketo acids (DKAs) as nsp13 inhibitors able to block both SARS-CoV-2 nsp13 enzymatic functions.

Biomarker dynamics affecting neoadjuvant therapy response and outcome of HER2-positive breast cancer subtype.

HER2+ breast cancer (BC) is an aggressive subtype genetically and biologically heterogeneous. We evaluate the predictive and prognostic role of HER2 protein/gene expression levels combined with clinico-pathologic features in 154 HER2+ BCs patients who received trastuzumab-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). The tumoral pathological complete response (pCR) rate was 40.

New bioelectrical impedance vector references and phase angle centile curves in 4,367 adults: The need for an urgent update after 30 years.

Background & Aims: The bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA) represents a qualitative analysis of body composition. The vector, defined by resistance (R) and reactance (Xc) standardized by stature, can be evaluated compared to the 50%,75%, and 95% tolerance ellipses representative of the reference populations. The tolerance ellipses for healthy adults have been provided in 1995 and were developed by mixing underage, adult, and elderly subjects, possibly misrepresenting the actual adult population.