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Tomato fruit has assumed the status of ‘functional food’ due to the association between its consumption and a reduced likelihood of certain types of cancers and CVD. The nutraceutical value of tomatoes can be affected by the cultivation conditions, e.g. the phytochemical content of the fruits may increase with the establishment of beneficial mycorrhizal symbioses in the plants. A multidisciplinary study was carried out to gain knowledge on the antioxidant, oestrogenic/anti-oestrogenic and genotoxic activity of tomato fruits produced by mycorrhizal plants. The present results showed that the symbiosis positively affected the growth and mineral nutrient content of tomato plants and enhanced the nutritional and nutraceutical value of tomato fruits through modifications of plant secondary metabolism, which led to increased levels of lycopene in fruits obtained from mycorrhizal plants, compared with controls. Moreover, such changes did not result in the production of mutagenic compounds, since tomato extracts induced no in vitro genotoxic effects. Fruit extracts, both hydrophilic and the lipophilic fractions, originating from mycorrhizal plants strongly inhibited 17-β-oestradiol–human oestrogen receptor binding, showing significantly higher anti-oestrogenic power compared with controls. The present study shows that beneficial plant symbionts, such as mycorrhizal fungi, can lead to the production of safe and high-quality food, which is an important societal issue strongly demanded by both consumers and producers.

This paper describes the dental health status of Italian 4-year-olds in 2004/2005 and analyzes the association between caries in preschool children and some background characteristics in children and parents. Caries was recorded according to WHO criteria. 5,538 subjects were examined. Information on the children’s and their parents’ social, behavioral, ethnic and demographic status was obtained through a series of closed questions. Bivariate analysis was performed to investigate the association between caries and background characteristics. The probability of being an extra zero for the dmfs index was estimated via the zero-inflated negative binomial regression model (ZINB). 78.4% (95% CI = 77.2–79.6) of the children were caries-free. The national mean dmfs index was 1.36 (95% CI = 1.15–1.57), ranging from 1.22 (95% CI = 1.03–1.42) in the Italian North-East to 1.73 (95% CI = 0.83–2.63) in the South section. Significant bivariate associations between caries experience and risk factors were observed for parents’ nationality (not Italian vs. Italian: p < 0.001), parents’ educational levels (low vs. high: p < 0.001), preterm birth (yes vs. no: p = 0.011), prolonged breastfeeding (≤13 months vs. >13 months: p = 0.038) and early tooth eruption (<6 months as reference: p = 0.004). Multivariable analysis (ZINB) showed that children with a low caries risk level had a higher probability of being an extra zero; in particular, children from fathers with a high educational level showed a probability of being an extra zero of 0.22. The results suggest a need to plan preventive programs to reduce oral health disparities among Italian preschool children, based on educational intervention with parents and children concerning oral health and caries prevention.

No recent data on the experience of caries among Italian 12-year-olds are available. In 2004, an epidemiological survey called ‘National Pathfinder among Children’s Oral Health in Italy’ was promoted and carried out. This study reports the actual oral health status of Italian 12-year-olds according to gender, residence area and geographical distribution. Clinical examinations were carried out from March 2004 to April 2005, according to WHO criteria, and included dental caries (decay at the dentinal lesion level) and Community Periodontal Index (CPI). 5,342 children (2,670 males, 2,672 females) were examined by 7 ad hoc calibrated raters. Dental caries experience was found in 43.1% (95% CI 41.8–44.4%) of the study population. The mean DMFT score was 1.09 (95% CI 0.98–1.21). Significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed among geographical sections for DT, FT and DMFT. An inverse relationship was observed between mean DMFT and gross national product per capita (p < 0.001). Gingival bleeding was observed in 23.8% of children, while 28.7% had calculus. Significant differences in CPI scores among sections were found throughout the sample in both males and females (p < 0.001). Over the past two decades, mean DMFT fell from over 5 to its present level, halving every decade; consequently, the recorded level of dental caries has become aligned with that in other Western European countries. Nevertheless, differences in DMFT values remain between children from different socioeconomic backgrounds.

Six isoflavones, daidzein (4′,7,-dihydroxyisoflavone), genistein (4′,5,7-trihydroxyisoflavone), genistin (genistein 7- O- β- D-glucopyranoside), isoprunetin (4′,7-dihydroxy, 5-metoxyisoflavone), isoprunetin 7- O- β- D-glucopyranoside, isoprunetin 4′,7-di- O- β- D-glucopyranoside and four flavones, luteolin (3′,4′,5,7-tetrahydroxyflavone), luteolin 7- O- β- D-glucopyranoside, luteolin 4′- O- β- D-glucopyranoside, licoflavone C (4′,5,7-trihydroxy,8-isoprenylflavone) were purified from Mediterranean plants ( Genista morisii and Genista ephedroides) and their estrogenic activity was assessed by a yeast reporter gene assay ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae RMY326 ER-ERE). Licoflavone C showed a powerful estrogenic activity at 10 −7 M (0.0338 μg/ml) and it was 47.45% than 10 −8 M 17 β-estradiol (0.00272 μg/ml). The estrogenicity of this flavone was found to be comparable to the activity showed by genistein at 10 −6 M (0.27 μg/ml). This study points out that a glucose substituent in flavones and isoflavones modulates the hormone-like activity in a different way. Isoflavone aglycones showed a more estrogenic activity than the corresponding glucosides. Conversely, the glucosidation made estrogenic the flavone luteolin and the position of substitution differently influenced the estrogenic activity of compounds.

Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDcs) are substances that, mimicking the effect of natural hormons or antagonising their action, alter function of the endocrine systems and consequently cause adverse health effects. The problem of Endocrine Disrupters in general and, in particular, their presence in water intended for human consumption has aroused interest from researchers and concern among International organisations for the last decade.

In order to study the serological status of a population against poliomyelitis, neutralizing antibody for the three types of polioviruses were examined in 742 serum specimens from individuals aged from 1 to 70 years and over were collected during 1985. Sixty-two percent of the sera had antibodies (titre ≥ 1:8) to all three polioviruses, while 5% had no poliovirus antibody at all. However the rates of seropositivity did vary with age: the 10-19 age group had the lowest frequency of antibody (38%) to the three viruses and the difference between the percentage of this group and the previous (1-10 years) and following ones (20-70 years and over) was highly significant. The results of this seroprevalence survey indicate a gap in immunity to poliomyelitis in the population examined.

The production of enterotoxin A and B by strains of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from nasal swabs of healthy carriers, from lesions of hospital patients and from foods unconnected with outbreaks of food-poisoning was investigated. Sixty-six strains of S. aureus were obtained from human beings, two produced enterotoxin A, 45 produced enterotoxin B. seven produced enterotoxins A + B. Thirty-six strains were isolated from 111 samples of food, one produced enterotoxin A, 16 produced enterotoxin B. The relative incidence of A, B and A + B enterotoxigenicity was assessed.

The aim of sedation is to provide comfort and minimize anxiety. However, adverse effects are noteworthy, and the optimal end point of sedation in intensive care unit patients is still debated. We analyzed if a level 2 on the Ramsay Scale (ie, awake, cooperative, oriented, tranquil patient) is suitable for an invasive therapeutic approach. Forty-two patients requiring respiratory support and sedation for at least 4 days were enrolled in a prospective interventional cohort study aiming at maintaining patients awake and collaborative. The Ramsay score was recorded 3 times a day. Once a day, the nurse in charge evaluated adequacy of sedation according to the compliance with nursing care and therapeutic maneuvers in the previous 24 hours. Data were collected until patients were ventilated. Overall, 264 of 582 days were classified as conscious. Sedation was adequate in 93.9% of them. In conscious days, a higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II score and male sex significantly correlated with inadequate sedation. In a population of severe intensive care unit patients, conscious sedation was achieved in almost half of the days spent on ventilation. The positive implications (eg, on length of weaning and cost of sedation) of a conservative sedation strategy may be highly relevant.

The past few years have seen the raise of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in geosciences for generating highly accurate digital elevation models (DEM) at low costs, which promises to be an interesting alternative to satellite data for small river basins. The reliability of UAV-derived topography as input to hydraulic modelling is still under investigation: here, we analyse potentialities and highlight challenges of employing UAV-derived topography in hydraulic modelling in a tropical environment, where weather conditions and remoteness of the study area might affect the quality of the retrieved data. We focused on a stretch of the Limpopo River in Mozambique, where detailed ground survey and airborne data were available. First, we tested and compared topographic data derived by UAV (25 cm), RTK-GPS (50 cm DEM), LiDAR (1 m DEM) and SRTM (30 m DEM); then, we used each DEM as input data to a hydraulic model and compared the performance of each DEM-based model against the LiDAR based model, currently used as benchmark by practitioners in the area. Despite the challenges experienced during the field campaign—and described here—, the degree of accuracy in terrain modelling produced errors in water depth calculations within the tolerances adopted in this typology of studies and comparable in magnitude to the ones obtained from high-precision topography models. This suggests that UAV is a promising source of geometric data even in natural environments with extreme weather conditions.