Correction to: The hidden therapist: evidence for a central role of music in psychedelic therapy.

The article The hidden therapist: evidence for a central role of music in psychedelic therapy, written by Mendel Kaelen, Bruna Giribaldi, Jordan Raine, Lisa Evans, Christopher Timmerman, Natalie Rodriguez, Leor Roseman, Amanda Feilding, David Nutt, Robin Carhart-Harris, was originally published electronically on the publisher's internet portal

Proteome Regulation during Olea europaea Fruit Development

Widespread in the Mediterranean basin, Olea europaea trees are gaining worldwide popularity for the nutritional and cancer-protective properties of the oil, mechanically extracted from ripe fruits. Fruit development is a physiological process with remarkable impact on the modulation of the biosynthesis of compounds affecting the quality of the drupes as well as the final composition of the olive oil. Proteomics offers the possibility to dig deeper into the major changes during fruit development, including the important phase of ripening, and to classify temporal patterns of protein accumulation occurring during these complex physiological processes.In this work, we started monitoring the proteome variations associated with olive fruit development by using comparative proteomics coupled to mass spectrometry. Proteins extracted from drupes at three different developmental stages were separated on 2-DE and subjected to image analysis. 247 protein spots were revealed as differentially accumulated. Proteins were identified from a total of 121 spots and discussed in relation to olive drupe metabolic changes occurring during fruit development. In order to evaluate if changes observed at the protein level were consistent with changes of mRNAs, proteomic data produced in the present work were compared with transcriptomic data elaborated during previous studies.This study identifies a number of proteins responsible for quality traits of cv. Coratina, with particular regard to proteins associated to the metabolism of fatty acids, phenolic and aroma compounds. Proteins involved in fruit photosynthesis have been also identified and their pivotal contribution in oleogenesis has been discussed. To date, this study represents the first characterization of the olive fruit proteome during development, providing new insights into fruit metabolism and oil accumulation process

MTH1 deficiency selectively increases non-cytotoxic oxidative DNA damage in lung cancer cells: more bad news than good?

Representative images of “Comets” and the corresponding intensity profiles, showing (i) ~ 5% Tail DNA damage, typical of the NSCLC cells treated with no siRNA or scramble siRNA, and analysed by regular Fpg-modified alkaline comet assay (0.8 U Fpg/gel); and (ii) comets showing ~ 10% tail DNA, typical of the NSCLC cells treated with MTH1 siRNA. Superimposed on the Comet images are the image analysis software (Komet 5.5, Andor Technology) determined boundaries demarcating the ‘Comet head’ (pink circle) and ‘tail extent’ (vertical orange line) (Barber RC, Hickenbotham P, Hatch T, Kelly D, Topchiy N, Almeida GM, et al. Radiation-induced transgenerational alterations in genome stability and DNA damage. Oncogene. 2006;25(56):7336–7342). % tail DNA = 100 - % head DNA; % head DNA = (integrated optical head intensity / (integrated optical head intensity + integrated optical tail intensity)) × 100. (PDF 1431 kb

Extracellular vesicles in human preterm colostrum inhibit infection by human cytomegalovirus in vitro

Breast milk is a complex biofluid that nourishes infants, supports their growth and protects them from diseases. However, at the same time, breastfeeding is a transmission route for human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), with preterm infants being at a great risk of congenital disease. The discrepancy between high HCMV transmission rates and the few reported cases of infants with severe clinical illness is likely due to the protective effect of breast milk. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-HCMV activity of human preterm colostrum and clarify the role of colostrum-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs). Preterm colostrum samples were collected and the EVs were purified and characterized. The in vitro anti-HCMV activity of both colostrum and EVs was tested against HCMV, and the viral replication step inhibited by colostrum-purified EVs was examined. We investigated the putative role EV surface proteins play in impairing HCMV infection using shaving experiments and proteomic analysis. The obtained results confirmed the antiviral action of colostrum against HCMV and demonstrated a remarkable antiviral activity of colostrum-derived EVs. Furthermore, we demonstrated that EVs impair the attachment of HCMV to cells, with EV surface proteins playing a role in mediating this action. These findings contribute to clarifying the mechanisms that underlie the protective role of human colostrum against HCMV infection

Proteomic analysis of the effects of ABA treatments on ripening Vitis vinifera berries

The control of ripening of the non-climacteric grapevine fruit is still a matter of debate, but several lines of evidence point to an important role for the hormone abscisic acid (ABA). The effects of ABA treatments on Cabernet Sauvignon berries before and at véraison were studied using a 2-DE proteomic approach. Proteins from whole deseeded berries (before véraison) and berry flesh and skin (at véraison) treated with 0.76 mM ABA and collected 24 h after treatment were separated and analysed. A total of 60 protein spots showed significant variations between treated and control berries, and 40 proteins, mainly related to general metabolism and cell defence, were identified by LC MS/MS. Our results show that ABA acts mainly through the regulation of mostly the same proteins which are involved in the ripening process, and that several of these changes share common elements with the ABA-induced responses in vegetative tissues

A functional approach to the body condition assessment of lactating donkeys as a tool for welfare evaluation

Background. The breeding of lactating donkeys is increasing in Western Europe; with it the evaluation of body condition is growing in importance since it is considered a key principle for their welfare. However, assessment of body condition is a complex task, since several factors are involved. The aim of the present study is to investigate which animal-based indicators are the most reliable to describe the body condition of lactating donkeys. For this purpose, new animal-based indicators, which are easy to measure in field conditions (including body measurements, fatty neck score (FNS), dental score), are recorded and their relationship with BCS (a proxy measure for overall adiposity) was assessed. The ones that reveal an association with the BCS are included in an integrated principal component analysis to understand which are the most related to BCS. Methods. Fifty-three healthy lactating donkeys of various breeds, including 7 Martina Franca, 10 Ragusano, 2 Romagnolo and 34 crossbreeds, were evaluated. The animalbased indicators that were recorded were: length (OP, olecranon tuber-pinbone and SH, shoulder-hip), heart girth (HG), abdominal circumference (AC), neck length (NL), neck height (NH) and neck thickness (NT) at 0.50 and neck circumference (NC) at 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75, body condition score (BCS) and fatty neck score (FNS). The owners' evaluation of the BCS was also considered. A dental assessment was performed and the month of lactation and age of each animal was recorded. Results. No correlation was found between BCS and the other morphometric body measurements. On the contrary the FNS was correlated with the morphometric measurements of the neck (positive correlation to 0.50 NH and 0.50 NT, 0.50 NC, 0.75 mean NC, and negative correlation to the mean NC:NH and mean NC:NT, 0.50 NC:NT and 0.50 NC:NH ratios). A significant inverse relationship was identified between BCS and dental score. A Principal Component analysis (PCA) separated the BCS classes on the first principal component (PC1). PC1 revealed a meaningful positive correlation between the BCS and the neck measurements (NT, NH and FNS), with high positive loadings, while a negative correlation was found for dental abnormalities. The owners' evaluation of BCS was different from the expert evaluator' assessment, since they tended to give higher score that was slightly but significantly correlated to AC. Discussion. A new scoring system, called Fatty Neck Score (FNS), has been proposed for the judgement of the adiposity status of donkey neck. The results suggest that caregivers might use the proposed animal based indicators (BCS, FNS and dental scores) together as a tool for the evaluation of the body condition of lactating donkeys. Our findings highlight that caregivers need to be trained in order to be able to properly record these indicators. Ultimately use of these indicators may help to improve the welfare of lactating donkeys