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Biomedical subjects

M D'Agostino

Publications and source records attributed to M D'Agostino.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

A centrifugation-based method for extraction of norovirus from raspberries.

A method was developed for extraction of noroviruses from raspberries. The method consists of removal of virus from fruit surfaces by alkaline extraction, then removal of residual food debris by centrifugation, followed by concentration of virus particles by ultracentrifugation. The efficiency of the extraction was estimated by comparison of reverse transcription PCR signals obtained from fruit extracts and the norovirus suspension that was used to contaminate the fruit. Noroviruses were recovered with at least 10% efficiency from 60-g raspberry samples (n = 10). The sample treatment reported here should be applicable for harnessing to any norovirus reverse transcription PCR and form the basis of a dependable method to detect noroviruses in raspberries.

Centrifugation↗
PubMed2004

Validation of a PCR-based method for detection of food-borne thermotolerant campylobacters in a multicenter collaborative trial.

A PCR-based method for rapid detection of food-borne thermotolerant campylobacters was evaluated through a collaborative trial with 12 laboratories testing spiked carcass rinse samples. The method showed an interlaboratory diagnostic sensitivity of 96.7% and a diagnostic specificity of 100% for chicken samples, while these values were 94.2 and 83.3%, respectively, for pig samples.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

A validated PCR-based method to detect Listeria monocytogenes using raw milk as a food model--towards an international standard.

A PCR assay with an internal amplification control was developed for Listeria monocytogenes. The assay has a 99% detection probability of seven cells per reaction. When tested against 38 L. monocytogenes strains and 52 nontarget strains, the PCR assay was 100% inclusive (positive signal from target) and 100% exclusive (no positive signal from nontarget). The assay was then evaluated in a collaborative trial involving 12 European laboratories, where it was tested against an additional 14 target and 14 nontarget strains. In that trial, the inclusivity was 100% and the exclusivity was 99.4%, and both the accordance (repeatability) and the concordance (reproducibility) were 99.4%. The assay was incorporated within a method for the detection of L. monocytogenes in raw milk, which involves 24 h of enrichment in half-Fraser broth followed by 16 h of enrichment in a medium that can be added directly into the PCR. The performance characteristics of the PCR-based method were evaluated in a collaborative trial involving 13 European laboratories. In that trial, a specificity value (percentage of correct identification of blank samples) of 81.8% was obtained; the accordance was 87.9%, and the concordance was 68.1%. The sensitivity (correct identification of milk samples inoculated with 20 to 200 L. monocytogenes cells per 25 ml) was 89.4%, the accordance was 81.2%, and the concordance was 80.7%. This method provides a basis for the application of routine PCR-based analysis to dairy products and other foodstuffs and should be appropriate for international standardization.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Coenzyme Q, Vitamin E and Apo-E alleles in Alzheimer Disease.

Neurodegenerative Diseases represent the most common cause of Dementia, about 5-10% of the population aged above 65 years and about 30% above 80 years. A study about Apo-E alleles, Coenzyme Q and Vitamins E as biological indicators was performed in plasma samples of patients aged from 30 to 85 years, affected by Neurodegenerative Diseases. The results were compared with control subjects of approximately the same ages as the reference group. A frequency of 21.7% of epsilon4 allele in control group was estimated, against 15.8% observed in patients. The frequency of epsilon2 and epsilon3 alleles was 13.0% and 65.2% in the control group against 10.5% and 73.7% in patients. No significant differences were observed between the frequency of epsilon3/epsilon3 genotype and epsilon3/epsilon4 genotype in the control group compared to patients' group. The frequencies observed in epsilon2/epsilon3 genotype groups were 8.7% vs 15.8% and of e2/e4 genotype 17.4% vs 5.3%. The epsilon2/epsilon2 and epsilon4/epsilon4 genotypes were not identified in any groups. Plasma CoQ10 concentrations were similar in patient and control groups and no differences were found even taking into account the distribution of male and female subjects in the two groups. Also, vitamin E did not provide evidence of any differences between groups and the analysis among sexes revealed that again vitamin E concentrations were similar in between subgroups.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Strong enhancement of extremely energetic proton production in central heavy ion collisions at intermediate energy.

The energetic proton emission has been investigated as a function of the reaction centrality for the system (58)Ni + (58)Ni at 30A MeV. Extremely energetic protons (E(NN)(p) > or = 130 MeV) were measured and their multiplicity is found to increase almost quadratically with the number of participant nucleons, thus indicating the onset of a mechanism beyond one- and two-body dynamics.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

Gene-diet interactions and plasma lipoproteins: role of apolipoprotein E and habitual saturated fat intake.

To test whether plasma lipoprotein levels and low density lipoprotein (LDL) particle size are modulated by an interaction between habitual saturated fat intake and apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype, we studied 420 randomly selected free-living Costa Ricans. The APOE allele frequencies were 0.03 for APOE2, 0.91 for APOE3, and 0.06 for APOE4. The median saturated fat intake, 11% of energy, was used to divide the population into two groups, LOW-SAT (mean intake 8.6% energy) represents those below median intake, and HIGH-SAT (mean intake 13.5%) represents those above median intake. Significant interactions between APOE genotype and diet were found for VLDL (P = 0.03) and HDL cholesterol (P = 0.02). Higher saturated fat intake was associated with higher VLDL cholesterol (+29%) and lower HDL cholesterol (-22%) in APOE2 carriers, while the opposite association was observed in APOE4 carriers (-31% for VLDL cholesterol and +10% for HDL cholesterol). Higher saturated fat intake was associated with smaller LDL particles (-2%, P < 0.05) in APOE2 carriers, and larger LDL particles (+2%, P < 0.05) in APOE4 carriers, but the gene-diet interaction was not statistically significant (P = 0.09). Higher saturated fat intake was associated with higher LDL cholesterol in all genotypes (mean +/- SEM, LOW-SAT 2.61 +/- 0.05 vs. HIGH-SAT 2.84 +/- 0.05 mmol/L, P = 0.009). These data suggest that the APOE2 allele could modulate the effect of habitual saturated fat on VLDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol in a population with an average habitual total fat intake of less than 30%.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Predictions of growth for Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella during fluctuating temperature.

We studied the predictive performance of a dynamic modelling approach, combined with predictions from the Food MicroModel software, applied to the growth of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella in pasteurised milk, chicken liver pâté and minced chicken, under constant as well as fluctuating temperatures. We found that, in general, the accuracy of a prediction under fluctuation temperature was similar to that under constant temperature. Generally, there was a good agreement between predictions and observations. However, the growth of Listeria monocytogenes in pasteurised milk was inhibited largely by the natural flora present.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Flavonoid glycosides of Barbarea vulgaris L. (Brassicaceae).

Seven flavonoid derivatives were for the first time isolated from aerial parts of an alimentary and medicinal plant of the Brassicaceae family, Barbarea vulgaris L. The products were characterized on the basis of spectroscopic NMR ((1)H, (13)C, COSY, HMQC, HMBC) and FAB-MS data. The occurrence of flavonoids in this plant is interesting for their important nutritional properties and for chemotaxonomical pourposes.

Brassicaceae↗
PubMed1995

Clinical measurement of mucosal wave velocity using simultaneous photoglottography and laryngostroboscopy.

Simultaneous glottal transillumination or photoglottography (PGG), electroglottography (EGG), and video laryngostroboscopy were used to measure the traveling wave velocity of the vibrating vocal folds during phonation in human subjects. The duration of travel was calibrated from the PGG signal, while the displacement of the upper and lower lips of the vibrating vocal folds was calibrated from parallel laser beams projected onto the vocal folds. The mucosal wave velocity varied with the portion of the glottal cycle. The amplitude of displacement correlated positively with the intensity of phonation and negatively with the fundamental frequency and was decreased for breathy and pressed phonation modes. The velocity of the opening phase segment of the PGG signal directly correlated with the top lip displacement of the vibrating vocal fold, and bottom lip displacement correlated with the closing phase of the PGG signal. Therefore, with suitable calibration, the effects of mucosal lateral displacement may be measured from a PGG signal. Simultaneous measures of PGG, EGG, and stroboscopy provide a three-dimensional representation of glottal vibration that can be numerically analyzed.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

[Rheumatic chorea: a still actual pathology?].

Sidenham's chorea represents one of the gold standards of rheumatic fever. Its identification however has recently become more difficult, owing to the progressive decrease of rheumatic fever itself. Nevertheless this pathology disturbing both the child and the family, easily dominated by a suitable therapy, is still topical: we report 8 cases, 5 males and 3 females running from 7 to 13 years of age, admitted to our pediatric Division from 1988 to 1992, with typical symptomatology and fair clinical evolution.

Adolescent↗