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We report a case of necrotizing fasciitis caused by Vibrio cholerae O137 in an immunocompromised 49-year-old man. The infection was acquired following a minor traumatic injury and exposure to seawater during the summer of 2009 in Italy. Although highly immunocompromised, the patient survived. The strain was cytotoxic, invasive, and adhesive and contained a fragment of the El Tor-like hemolysin (El Tor hlyA) gene.

Diet can influence the structural characteristics of both small and large intestine. In this study, we investigated the duodenum and colon of mice fed on genetically modified (GM) soybean during their whole life span (1–24 months) by focusing our attention on the histological and ultrastructural characteristics of the epithelium, the histochemical pattern of goblet cell mucins, and the growth profile of the coliform population. Our results demonstrate that controls and GM-soybean fed mice are similarly affected by ageing. Moreover, the GM soybean-containing diet does not induce structural alterations in duodenal and colonic epithelium or in coliform population, even after a long term intake. On the other hand, the histochemical approach revealed significant diet-related changes in mucin amounts in the duodenum. In particular, the percentage of villous area occupied by acidic and sulpho-mucin granules decreased from controls to GM-fed animals, whereas neutral mucins did not change.

The present note refers the results about the isolation of an Aspergillus fumigatus strain able to grow on an industrial cyanide waste as nitrogen source. The fungus was selected from an alkaline unpolluted soil in enrichment cultures in 50 ml of Minimal Medium added with 20 mmol glucose and supplemented initially with 0.1 mmol KCN and then with 70 μl of a waste solution from a jewelry industry containing free cyanide and cyanide complexes of heavy metal ions including copper, silver, nickel, and others. The cyanide content of the waste was 1,500 ppm. The fungal growth was monitored determining dry weight, protein content and glucose consumption. The fungus efficiently utilized the cyanide as evidenced by the decrease in the inoculated medium of the compound under detection limits within 24 h and the concomitant growth within 15 days during which periodical additions of the waste to the cultures were made. The amount of the cyanide in the biomass of the fungus grown in presence of the waste was very scarce and comparable to that in absence of the pollutant. Furthermore the fungus was able to sequestrate metals such Ag, Cu, and Ni as a resistance mechanism against heavy metals. In conclusion our results are of interest for biodegradation plans of electroplating industrial wastes containing cyanide based pollutants.