Synthesis and in-vitro antifungal activity of 6-trifluoromethylpyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidines

Thirty 6-trifluoromethylpyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidines were synthesised and tested for antifungal activity in vitro against ten phytopathogenic fungi of different taxonomic classes. Six of the compounds had noteworthy activity against Sclerotinia minor, Corticium solani and Phoma betae. The relationships between structure and activity are discussed on the basis of the present and previous studies.     

Integrated control of apple postharvest pathogens and survival of biocontrol yeasts in semi-commercial conditions

The biocontrol yeast isolates Rhodotorula glutinis LS11, Cryptococcus laurentii LS28 and Aureobasidium pullulans LS30 were tested against Botrytis cinerea and Penicillium expansum on apples artificially inoculated and stored at 3 and 20 °C. Isolates LS28 and LS30 were most effective, consistently resulting in high reductions of fungal decay, while isolate LS11 was effective only on apples stored at 3 °C. The yeasts showed good in vitro resistance to dicarboximides and copper fungicides, while they were inhibited by triazoles. Isolate LS11, in contrast to LS28 and LS30, was also inhibited by benzimidazoles. The yeasts were tested on naturally-infected apples in semi-commercial conditions for 2 years. They were applied twice: soon after harvesting and 20 days later, at the beginning of the cold storage. The antagonists significantly reduced fungal decay when combined with a low dosage of benomyl showing an activity comparable to that exerted by the fungicide alone at full dosage. Periodical monitoring of the epiphytic biocontrol yeast populations in both the field and cold room showed a good rate of survival of the antagonists on the skin of treated apples. Specific fingerprints relying on amplified restriction length polymorphism (AFLP) were used to integrate the morphology-based monitoring of the yeasts.     

Feather content of porphyrins in Eurasian eagle owl (Bubo bubo) fledglings depends on body condition and breeding site quality

Porphyrins are pigments produced in most animal cells during the synthesis of heme, but their importance for external coloration is unclear. Owls (Order Strigiformes) are among the few animals that accumulate porphyrins in the integument, where it could serve as a means of signaling. Here we hypothesized that the porphyrin content of feathers may depend on body condition and breeding site quality in Eurasian eagle owl (Bubo bubo) fledglings and, thus, constitute amplifiers of the quality of the area where they are born. Using high‐performance liquid chromatography, we found 2 porphyrins (protoporphyrin IX and coproporphyrin III) in the body feathers of 19 eagle owl fledglings from 7 breeding territories. Coproporphyrin III, but not protoporphyrin IX feather concentration, was positively associated with the body mass of fledglings and with the quality of the breeding sites where they were reared with respect to food quality and availability. As coproporphyrin III is produced under oxidative stress, we suggest that good breeding sites may lead to fledglings in good condition. This, in turn, may make fledglings induce a certain level of free radical and coproporphyrin III production to signal to conspecifics their site‐mediated capacity to cope with oxidative stress. This is the first time that porphyrin content in the integument has been found to be related to individual quality, opening a new scenario for studying evolution of animal coloration.     

High-Performance Liquid Chromatography/Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MSn) Analysis and Bioactivity Useful for Prevention of “Diabesity” of Allium commutatum Guss

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - This study aimed at evaluating and comparing the chemical profile obtained by HPLC-ESI-MSn analysis, the inhibitory activity of enzymes linked to obesity...     

Report in Europe of nasal myiasis by Rhinoestrus spp. in horses and donkeys: seasonal patterns and taxonomical considerations

Two species of Rhinoestrus (i.e. Rhinoestrus purpureus (Brauer) and Rhinoestrus usbekistanicus Gan) cause nasal myiasis in horses, donkeys and zebras. In the past 15 years myiasis caused by R. purpureus has been reported in Egypt and by R. usbekistanicus in Senegal and Niger, both in horses and in donkeys. With the aim to investigate the presence of this myiasis in autochthonous horses and donkeys from southern Italy and to study the seasonal trend of larval infection, 212 native horses were necropsied in two slaughterhouses in the Apulia region (site A) from January to November 2003, and 120 native horses and two donkeys in one slaughterhouse in Sicily (site B) from January to October 2003. Thirteen of 212 and 5 of 120 horses examined from sites A and B, respectively, were infected by nasal bot fly larvae. Both donkeys examined were positive. Two hundred and thirteen larvae, representing all stages, were collected from the throat region, the turbinates and beyond the lamina cribrosa of the ethmoid bone, in the cerebral cavity. Third larval stages were retrieved from April to September with the highest mean burden in site A in May and in July in site B. The simultaneous presence all three larval stages at site B suggests the existence of two or more overlapping generations. Larvae were identified on the basis of peritreme structures and arrangement of the spines on the dorsal surface of the third segment. Some L3 collected from sites A and B presented morphological characteristics of both R. usbekistanicus and R. purpureus. The presence of mixed features on the L3 of Rhinoestrus collected from the same animals may be explained by the existence of a single species of Rhinoestrus presenting different morphotypes or of two species of Rhinoestrus which are both present in southern Italy since this area is midway between eastern and African countries where these two species have been reported.     

Re-localizing ‘legal’ food: a social psychology perspective on community resilience,individual empowerment and citizen adaptations in food consumption in Southern Italy

This paper investigates how Food Security (FS) is enacted in a southern region of Italy, characterized by high rates of mafias-related activity, arguing for the inclusion in the research of socio-cultural features and power relationships to explain how Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) can facilitate individual empowerment and community resilience. In fact, while FS entails legality and social justice, AFNs are intended as ‘instrumental value’ to reach the ‘terminal value’ of FS within an urban community in Sicily, as well as the space where citizens can act their individual and collective political food choices. Building on the social psychology literature and on ecologic-psychopolitical models (Christens and Perkins in J Commun Psychol 36(2):214–231, 2008), we discuss the case of Addiopizzo, a citizen project promoting the legality of their AFNs through the rejection of the payment of the pizzo (the protection money asked by racket) in the local food chain. The aim is to problematize the extent to which FS is able to re-localize ‘legal’ food in the market. This was done by reconnecting citizens to their space and territory in a socio-cultural context at risk where agro-food producers, retailers and consumers are not free to fully enact their citizenship agency because of a widespread illegal structure. The research findings show that Addiopizzo project enables citizens to act their social power: agro-food producers and retailers by subscribing to formal requirements based on values that reject racket; consumers by purchasing Addiopizzo labelled products; individuals and groups by participating further open-to-the-public activities that promote everyday politically oriented behaviour. The citizen empowerment and community resilience can be exerted within AFNs as they are interconnected paths of reflexivity and social learning within social adaptation. The paper concludes by advocating the role of urban communities as a pivotal agent to maintain positive social adaptations, where AFNs work as a socio-cultural synthesis of traditional and alternative producer–consumer ways of interaction, which are embodied in the FS value.     

Identification of a universal Group B streptococcus vaccine by multiple genome screen

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a multiserotype bacterial pathogen representing a major cause of life-threatening infections in newborns. To develop a broadly protective vaccine, we analyzed the genome sequences of eight GBS isolates and cloned and tested 312 surface proteins as vaccines. Four proteins elicited protection in mice, and their combination proved highly protective against a large panel of strains, including all circulating serotypes. Protection also correlated with antigen accessibility on the bacterial surface and with the induction of opsonophagocytic antibodies. Multigenome analysis and screening described here represent a powerful strategy for identifying potential vaccine candidates against highly variable pathogens.     

CB1 cannabinoid receptors and on-demand defense against excitotoxicity

Abnormally high spiking activity can damage neurons. Signaling systems to protect neurons from the consequences of abnormal discharge activity have been postulated. We generated conditional mutant mice that lack expression of the cannabinoid receptor type 1 in principal forebrain neurons but not in adjacent inhibitory interneurons. In mutant mice,the excitotoxin kainic acid (KA) induced excessive seizures in vivo. The threshold to KA-induced neuronal excitation in vitro was severely reduced in hippocampal pyramidal neurons of mutants. KA administration rapidly raised hippocampal levels of anandamide and induced protective mechanisms in wild-type principal hippocampal neurons. These protective mechanisms could not be triggered in mutant mice. The endogenous cannabinoid system thus provides on-demand protection against acute excitotoxicity in central nervous system neurons.     

Evidence for addiction-like behavior in the rat

Although the voluntary intake of drugs of abuse is a behavior largely preserved throughout phylogeny, it is currently unclear whether pathological drug use ("addiction") can be observed in species other than humans. Here, we report that behaviors that resemble three of the essential diagnostic criteria for addiction appear over time in rats trained to self-administer cocaine. As in humans, this addiction-like behavior is present only in a small proportion of subjects using cocaine and is highly predictive of relapse after withdrawal. These findings provide a new basis for developing a true understanding and treatment of addiction.