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Objective: To review and synthesize existing psychoanalytic literature on the psychological impact of stillbirth on mothers and fathers. Method: This qualitative systematic review followed, as far as possible, the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The Psychoanalytic Electronic Publishing Archive, the Single Case Archive, and PsycINFO (1999-2019) were searched to identify relevant articles published between 1999-2019 that report clinical material or theoretical considerations concerning the psychological effects of stillbirth on parents, as emerging during classical analytic or psychoanalytic therapy session/journey. A thematic synthesis was performed. Results: 46 articles were identified, providing data on the parents' experiences of grief and gender differences, the detrimental effects on the parental couple's relationship, the mother's identification with the dead baby, the importance for mothers to meet and care the stillborn baby, the mothers' drive for another pregnancy and the fear of further loss, the mothers' ambivalence toward subsequent pregnancy and child, the potential negative effects of unresolved bereavement on subsequent baby, and the replacement of a stillborn child. Conclusion: Our findings reveal there is some psychoanalytic literature providing insight into the psychological dynamics of parents after a stillbirth, with observations that could be used to improve psychological health care practices. One of the main therapeutic tasks was to facilitate parents to create a psychic space where they can bring to life, psychically, their lost and never- really-known stillborn baby, and to let him or her to be part of the on-going family narrative.

Pseudomonas tolaasii, the causal organism of brown blotch disease of Agaricus bisporus and of the yellowing of Pleurotus ostreatus, was shown to produce in culture tolaasin I (1), tolaasin II (2), and five other minor metabolites, tolaasins A, B, C, D, and E (3-7). These compounds were demonstrated to be important in the development of the disease symptoms. This paper reports on the structural elucidation, based essentially on NMR studies and MS spectra, and biological activity of the above lipodepsipeptides (3-7). All the above analogues showed differences in the peptide moiety, as observed in other lipodepsipeptides of bacterial origin, and maintained the beta-hydroxyoctanoyl phi chain at the N-terminus, except tolaasin A, in which the acyl moiety was a gamma-carboxybutanoyl phi moiety. Among the target microorganisms used (fungi, yeast, and bacteria) the Gram-positive bacteria were the most sensitive, although the antimicrobial activity appeared to be correlated to the structural modification in the different analogues. The structure-activity relationships of these toxins are discussed.

The role of the exopolysaccharides (EPSs) produced by plant pathogenic bacteria has not completely clarified, they are considered either molecules able to avoid or delay the activation of plant defences, or acting as signal in the plant-pathogen cross-talk. In order to understand whether EPSs are recognized by infected plant cells and are able to induce the activation of plant defence responses, their capability to induce metabolic alteration in tobacco cells has been analysed. The results indicate that several EPSs, even if not chemically related, induce increases in phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, a marker enzyme of defence responses of plants against stress; but others are completely ineffective. The EPSs affecting phenylalanine ammonia-lyase also induce an increase in hydrogen peroxide production. Moreover, they alter the metabolism of ascorbate, another parameter indicative of the presence of stress conditions and the involvement of which in the hypersensitive reaction has been recently reported. The possibility that specific EPSs could act as signals in the plant-pathogenic bacteria interaction is discussed.

Shaken culture in KB of strain NCPPB2192 of Pseudomonas tolaasii showed an activity of 3,200 and 800 units ml−1 toward Bacillus megaterium and Rhodotorula pilimanae, respectively. On the contrary, an activity of 400 units ml−1 toward B. megaterium was observed with the cultures of strain NCPPB1311 of P. “reactans”. The purification of lipodepsipeptides from the cultures of P. tolaasii and P. “reactans” yielded about 13 mg l−1 of tolaasin and 169 mg l−1 of White Line Inducing Principle (WLIP), respectively. Antimicrobial assays showed that HPLC grade tolaasin I inhibited the growth of filamentous fungi and yeasts and Gram positive bacteria. Only a limited activity was observed toward some Gram negative bacteria. Of particular interest is the activity of tolaasin I toward phytopathogenic fungi, Pleurotus and Agaricus spp., as well as yeasts and filamentous fungi responsible for mycoses of mammals. WLIP inhibited the growth of fungi and Gram positive bacteria, though at higher concentration when compared to tolaasin I, but not that of Gram negative bacteria. Assays of the two toxins on blocks of A. bisporus confirmed the antifungal activity of the two lipodepsipeptides and suggested their possible role in the symptoms caused by the mushroom bacterial pathogens.

Pseudomonas cichorii is the causal agent of “varnish spot”, a serious disease that damages field-grown lettuce. This paper reports preliminary results on the chemical and biological characterisation of the lipophylic phytotoxic and the hydrophilic antibiotic metabolites produced by a strain of P. cichorii (ICMP5707), isolated in Germany from infected tissues of endive (Cichorium endivia L.). These features, together with the results obtained on the chemical characterisation of some components of the lipopolysaccharides (LPS), contained in the outer membrane, were compared with those of a Canadian isolate (ICMP9417) from the cultivar Park of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and preliminarily classified as P. cichorii.

A bacteriocin produced by Pseudomonas syringae pv. ciccaronei, used at three purification levels and several concentrations, inhibited the multiplication in olive tissues of P. s. subsp. savastanoi, the causal agent of olive knot disease and affected its epiphytic survival on leaves and twigs of olive plants. We determined that 6,000 Active Units ml−1 of crude bacteriocin, obtained by a simple purification step, is a concentration suitable to obtain an effective reduction of olive knot formation. Moreover, treatments of olive phylloplane with 6,000 AU m1−1 of crude bacteriocin were able to prevent bacterial multiplication by controlling the epiphytic survival of the pathogen. The inhibitory effect lasted until the end of observation (30 days). P. s. pv. ciccaronei bacteriocin, purified by ammonium sulphate precipitation, membrane ultrafiltration, gel filtration and gel electrophoresis when analysed by SDS-PAGE revealed three protein bands with molecular weights of 76, 63 and 45 kDa, respectively.

A new phytotoxic monosubstituted tetrahydropyranpyran-2-one, named diplopyrone (1), was isolated from the liquid culture filtrates of Diplodia mutila, a plant pathogenic fungus causing a form of canker disease of cork oak (Quercus suber). Diplopyrone was characterized, using spectroscopic and chemical methods, as 6-[(1S)-1-hydroxyethyl]-2,4a,6,8a-tetrahydropyran[3,2-b]pyran-2-one. The absolute stereochemistry of the chiral secondary hydroxylated carbon (C-9), determined by application of Mosher's method, proved to be S. Diplopyrone assayed at a 0.01-0.1 mg/mL concentration range caused necrosis and wilting on cork oak cuttings. On a nonhost plant, tomato, diplopyrone caused brown discoloration or stewing on the stem.

The activity of tolaasin I and White Line Inducing Principle (WLIP), produced in vitro by virulent strains of Pseudomonas tolaasii and P. “reactans”, respectively, was comparatively evaluated on red blood cells and large unilamellar vesicles. Tolaasin I and WLIP caused red blood cell haemolysis through a colloid-osmotic shock apparently caused by transmembrane pores formation. Both lipodepsipeptides were able to form channels in lipid vesicles. Their activity was dependent on the toxin concentration and liposomes composition, and independent on the pH. Studies of dynamic light scattering suggested a detergent-like activity for WLIP at high concentration (higher than 27 µM). This effect was not detected for tolaasin I at the concentrations tested (up to 28.2 µM).

The 18-amino acid cytolytic lipodepsipeptide tolaasin, produced in culture by virulent strains of Pseudomonas tolaasii, is the causal agent of the brown blotch disease of the cultivated mushroom. Tolaasin has a sequence of D-amino acids in its N-terminal region, then alternates L- and D-amino acids, and bears a C-terminal lactone macrocycle composed of 5-residues. The solution structure of tolaasin in sodium dodecyl sulfate was studied by 2D-NMR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulated annealing calculations. Tolaasin forms an amphipathic left-handed alpha-helix in the regionDPro2-DalloThr14 comprising the sequence of seven D-amino acids and the adjacent L-D-L-D-D-region. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first recognized example of a left-handed alpha-helix including both D- and L-amino acids. The lactone macrocycle adopts a "boat-like" conformation and is shifted from the helical axis as to form a "golf-club" overall conformation. These structural features will be of importance in understanding, and preventing, tolaasin's role in the bacterial colonization of the host plant, and its toxic action on cells. Furthermore, the observed antimicrobial activity together with the potential resistance to enzymatic degradation and the increased antigenicity (both due to the presence of L- and D-amino acids) strongly suggests for tolaasin a potential role as a template model for the design of new therapeutic antibacterial molecules.

Sourdough lactic acid bacteria were selected for antifungal activity by a conidial germination assay. The 10-fold-concentrated culture filtrate of Lactobacillus plantarum 21B grown in wheat flour hydrolysate almost completely inhibited Eurotium repens IBT18000, Eurotium rubrum FTDC3228, Penicillium corylophilum IBT6978, Penicillium roqueforti IBT18687, Penicillium expansum IDM/FS2, Endomyces fibuliger IBT605 and IDM3812, Aspergillus niger FTDC3227 and IDM1, Aspergillus flavus FTDC3226, Monilia sitophila IDM/FS5, and Fusarium graminearum IDM623. The nonconcentrated culture filtrate of L. plantarum 21B grown in whole wheat flour hydrolysate had similar inhibitory activity. The activity was fungicidal. Calcium propionate at 3 mg ml −1 was not effective under the same assay conditions, while sodium benzoate caused inhibition similar to L. plantarum 21B. After extraction with ethyl acetate, preparative silica gel thin-layer chromatography, and chromatographic and spectroscopic analyses, novel antifungal compounds such as phenyllactic and 4-hydroxy-phenyllactic acids were identified in the culture filtrate of L. plantarum 21B. Phenyllactic acid was contained at the highest concentration in the bacterial culture filtrate and had the highest activity. It inhibited all the fungi tested at a concentration of 50 mg ml −1 except for P. roqueforti IBT18687 and P. corylophilum IBT6978 (inhibitory concentration, 166 mg ml −1 ). L. plantarum 20B, which showed high antimold activity, was also selected. Preliminary studies showed that phenyllactic and 4-hydroxy-phenyllactic acids were also contained in the bacterial culture filtrate of strain 20B. Growth of A. niger FTDC3227 occurred after 2 days in breads started with Saccharomyces cerevisiae 141 alone or with S. cerevisiae and Lactobacillus brevis 1D, an unselected but acidifying lactic acid bacterium, while the onset of fungal growth was delayed for 7 days in bread started with S. cerevisiae and selected L. plantarum 21B.