Comprehensive Whole Genome Sequencing Dataset of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Strains Collected Across Italy.

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), remains a major global health challenge. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) offers an invaluable tool for understanding the genetic diversity and drug resistance profiles of MTBC. This study provides a comprehensive WGS dataset of 2,520 MTBC isolates collected from four Italian regions-Lombardy, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, and Lazio-between 2017 and 2020.

An interoperable web-based platform to support health surveillance against latent tuberculosis infection in health care workers and students: The evolution of CROSSWORD study protocol.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) prevention is a major goal in teaching hospital setting. Because of the possible progression or reactivation of latent disease, the screening of both health-care workers (HCWs) and students is an important issue in the TB control program.

Objective: to deploy a web-based platform interoperating health surveillance systems from different hospitals to define models based on the highlighted risk factors to predict the occurrence of Latent Tuberculosis Infection (LTBI) and to define prevention strategies and interventions.

Current Evidence on the Relation Between Microbiota and Oral Cancer-The Role of -A Narrative Review.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one the most prevalent head and neck cancers and represents a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The main established risk factors for OSCC include tobacco and alcohol consumption and betel quid chewing, which may contribute alone or in combination with other environmental factors to carcinogenesis. The oral microbiota is emerging as a key player in the establishment of the molecular and cellular mechanisms that may trigger or promote carcinogenesis, including in the oral cavity.

Distinct pro-inflammatory/pro-angiogenetic signatures distinguish children with Long COVID from controls.

Background: Recent proteomic studies have documented that Long COVID in adults is characterized by a pro-inflammatory signature with thromboinflammation. However, if similar events happen also in children with Long COVID has never been investigated.

Methods: We performed an extensive protein analysis of blood plasma from pediatric patients younger than 19 years of age Long COVID and a control group of children with acute COVID-19, MIS-C, and healthy controls resulted similar for sex distribution and age.

A New Easy-to-Perform Flow Cytometry Assay for Determining Bacterial- and Viral-Infection-Induced Polymorphonuclear Neutrophil and Monocyte Membrane Marker Modulation in Febrile Patients.

We developed a flow cytometry (FC) assay enabling the rapid and accurate identification of bacterial and viral infections using whole blood samples. The streamlined flow cytometry assay is designed to be user-friendly, making it accessible even for operators with limited experience in FC techniques. The key components of the assay focus on the expression levels of specific surface markers-CD64 on polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) as a marker for bacterial infection, and CD169 on monocytes (MO) for viral infection.

Cytokine Profile in Children Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Preliminary Findings.

We provide preliminary evidence that, also in children, Long coronavirus disease (COVID) may be characterized by a proinflammatory signature. Ten Long COVID patients, 7 convalescent subjects after COVID infection and 4 healthy controls were enrolled. When adjusted for sex, children with long COVID had statistically significant differences in the levels of Flt3L, CD5, uPA, CCL23, CD40 and TGFα.

A Serum Multi-Parametric Analysis Identifies an Early Innate Immune Signature Associated to Increased Vaccine-Specific Antibody Production and Seroconversion in Simultaneous COVID-19 mRNA and Cell-Based Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccination.

In this pilot study, a multi-parametric analysis comparing immune responses in sera of adult healthy subjects (HS) or people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) undergoing the single or simultaneous administration of mRNA-based COVID-19 and cellular quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccines was conducted. While SARS-CoV-2 antibodies remains comparable, influenza antibody titers and seroconversion were significantly higher upon simultaneous vaccination. Magnitude of anti-influenza humoral response closely correlated with an early innate immune signature, previously described for the COVID-19 vaccine, composed of IL-15, IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ, CXCL-10 and here extended also to acute-phase protein Pentraxin 3.

Multiple antimicrobial and immune-modulating activities of cysteamine in infectious diseases.

Infectious diseases are a major threat to global health and cause millions of deaths every year, particularly in developing countries. The emergence of multidrug resistance challenges current antimicrobial treatments, inducing uncertainty in therapeutic protocols. New compounds are therefore necessary.

Acute and post-acute multidisciplinary outcomes of newborns born from mothers with SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy or the perinatal period.

Introduction: We performed a single-center, prospective, observational study of newborns born from mothers with microbiologically confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy or at time of delivery to evaluate acute and mid-term multidisciplinary outcomes.

Methods: Infants were offered a multidisciplinary follow-up consisting of nasopharyngeal Polymerase Chain Reaction test at birth and at 48-72 h of life, auxological and ophthalmological assessments, and serologic testing.

Results: 791 women and their 791 children (52.

Respiratory viruses in the pre and post-pandemic periods in an Italian tertiary hospital.

We have appreciated the article published by Bardsley and colleagues describing the seasonal circulation of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in UK children, and we hope to contribute to increase information on this intriguing and elusive topic. We describe our epidemiological trend with the aim to add a small brick to the current knowledge regarding respiratory infections due to RSV and other respiratory viruses in an era that is changing due to a radical change in the evaluation of respiratory symptoms following the pandemic event.

Monocyte-to-lymphocyte, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte and neutrophil-to-monocyte plus lymphocyte ratios in children with active tuberculosis: A multicentre study.

Aim: Higher number of monocytes and neutrophils may correlate with active tuberculosis (TB) in children. However, the few paediatric studies available are limited by the small numbers of children with TB disease or infection included.

Methods: We calculated the monocyte-to-lymphocyte-ratio (MLR), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte-ratio (NLR) and neutrophil-to-monocyte-plus-lymphocyte-ratio (NMLR) in children with active TB, latent TB infection (LTBI), other infectious and non-infectious conditions and healthy children evaluated in two referral centres in Rome.

Comparison between Nasopharyngeal and Saliva Samples for the Detection of Respiratory Viruses in Children with Acute Lower Respiratory Tract Infections: A Pilot Study.

Purpose: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of salivary swabs (SS) to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been implemented and widely studied in adults and children. However, the role of SS in detecting other common respiratory viruses in children is poorly investigated.

Methods: Children younger than 18 years of age admitted with respiratory signs and symptoms underwent both nasopharyngeal and SS procedures.

Evaluation of the Toxic Activity of the Graphene Oxide in the Ex Vivo Model of Human PBMC Infection with .

Graphene Oxide has been proposed as a potential adjuvant to develop improved anti-TB treatment, thanks to its activity in entrapping mycobacteria in the extracellular compartment limiting their entry in macrophages. Indeed, when administered together with linezolid, Graphene Oxide significantly enhanced bacterial killing due to the increased production of Reactive Oxygen Species. In this work, we evaluated Graphene Oxide toxicity and its anti-mycobacterial activity on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Commercially available CD4 + and CD8 + IFN-γ release assays combined with an HBHA-induced IGRA improve the characterization of the tuberculosis spectrum and monitoring of treatment in children.

Commercially available Interferon-γ release assays (IGRAs), including the last-generation QuantiFERON TB-Plus (QFT-Plus), are effective in aiding the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) infection but cannot distinguish latent TB subjects from active TB patients. The aim of this study was to prospectively evaluate the performance of an HBHA-based IGRA, combined with commercially available IGRAs, to assess their usefulness as a prognostic biomarkers and aid in the monitoring of TB treatment in children. Following clinical, microbiological, and radiological assessment, children younger than 18 years of age classified as either LTBI or active TB were tested at baseline and during treatment by the QuantiFERON TB-Plus (QFT) assay and an aliquot of whole-blood was stimulated with HBHA.

Cysteamine/Cystamine Exert Anti- Activity Alone or in Combination with Amikacin.

Host-directed therapies are emerging as a promising tool in the curing of difficult-to-treat infections, such as those caused by drug-resistant bacteria. In this study, we aim to test the potential activity of the FDA- and EMA-approved drugs cysteamine and cystamine against . In human macrophages (differentiated THP-1 cells), these drugs restricted growth similar to that achieved by amikacin.

Evaluation of Everolimus Activity against Using In Vitro Models of Infection.

Even though Everolimus has been investigated in a phase II randomized trial as a host-directed therapy (HDT) to treat tuberculosis (TB), an oncological patient treated with Everolimus for a neuroendocrine pancreatic neoplasia developed active TB twice and a non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infection in a year and a half time span. To investigate this interesting case, we isolated and genotypically characterized the () clinical strain from the patient and tested the effect of Everolimus on its viability in an axenic culture and in a peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMCs) infection model. To exclude strain-specific resistance, we tested the activity of Everolimus against strains of ancient and modern lineages.

Two-Period Study Results from a Large Italian Hospital Laboratory Attesting SARS-CoV-2 Variant PCR Assay Evolution.

In keeping with the evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the COVID-19 causative agent, PCR assays have been developed to rapidly detect SARS-CoV-2 variants, which have emerged since the first (Alpha) variant was identified. Based on specific assortment of SARS-CoV-2 spike-protein mutations (ΔH69/V70, E484K, N501Y, W152C, L452R, K417N, and K417T) among the major variants known to date, Seegene Allplex SARS-CoV-2 Variants I and Variants II assays have been available since a few months before the last (Omicron) variant became predominant. Using S gene next-generation sequencing (NGS) as the SARS-CoV-2 variant identification reference method, we assessed the results of SARS-CoV-2-positive nasopharyngeal swab samples from two testing periods, before (= 288, using only Variants I) and after (= 77, using both Variants I and Variants II) the appearance of Omicron.

Effect of Lockdowns on Hospital Staff in a COVID Center: A Retrospective Observational Study.

At the onset of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, individual and social measures were strengthened through restrictive non-pharmaceutical interventions, labelled with the term “lockdown”. In Italy, there were two lockdowns (9 March 2020−3 May 2020 and 3 November 2020−27 March 2021). As part of preventive measures, healthcare workers and the administrative staff population of Policlinico A.

Performance of QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus assays in paediatric tuberculosis: a multicentre PTBNET study.

Rationale: In 2016, a new interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) was introduced, QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus), claimed to have improved sensitivity in active tuberculosis (TB).

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the performance of QFT-Plus, compared with previous generation IGRAs and the tuberculin skin test (TST), in children with TB in Europe.

Methods: Multicentre, ambispective cohort study within the Paediatric Tuberculosis Network European Trials Group (ptbnet), a dedicated paediatric TB research network comprising >300 members, capturing TB cases <18 years-of-age diagnosed between January 2009 and December 2019.

SARS-CoV-2 vaccine humoral response in adults with Down syndrome.

Objective: People with Down syndrome (DS) are particularly vulnerable to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and show altered immune response to vaccination. We aimed to evaluate the immune response of a group of adults with DS treated with standard regimens of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine as compared with an age- and sex-matched group of persons without DS.

Methods: We compared antibody responses between 42 subjects with DS (41.

Comparative Fecal Microbiota Analysis of Infants With Acute Bronchiolitis Caused or Not Caused by Respiratory Syncytial Virus.

Bronchiolitis due to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) or non-RSV agents is a health-menacing lower respiratory tract (LRT) disease of infants. Whereas RSV causes more severe disease than other viral agents may, genus-dominant fecal microbiota profiles have been identified in US hospitalized infants with bronchiolitis. We investigated the fecal microbiota composition of infants admitted to an Italian hospital with acute RSV (25/37 [67.

3D-printed graphene polylactic acid devices resistant to SARS-CoV-2: Sunlight-mediated sterilization of additive manufactured objects.

Additive manufacturing has played a crucial role in the COVID-19 global emergency allowing for rapid production of medical devices, indispensable tools for hospitals, or personal protection equipment. However, medical devices, especially in nosocomial environments, represent high touch surfaces prone to viral infection and currently used filaments for 3D printing can't inhibit transmission of virus [1]. Graphene-family materials are capable of reinforcing mechanical, optical and thermal properties of 3D printed constructs.