The genotype of infants at family risk of developing CD, carrying the HLA-DQ2 haplotypes, influences the early gut microbiota composition. This finding suggests that a specific disease-biased host genotype may also select for the first gut colonisers and could contribute to determining disease risk.

Objectives:Treatment for celiac disease (CD) is a lifelong strict gluten-free diet (GFD). Patients should be followed-up with dietary interviews and serology as CD markers to ensure adherence to the diet. However, none of these methods offer an accurate measure of dietary compliance. Our aim was to evaluate the measurement of gluten immunogenic peptides (GIP) in stools as a marker of GFD adherence in CD patients and compare it with traditional methods of GFD monitoring.Methods:We performed a prospective, nonrandomized, multicenter study including 188 CD patients on GFD and 84 healthy controls. Subjects were given a dietary questionnaire and fecal GIP quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Serological anti-tissue transglutaminase (anti-tTG) IgA and anti-deamidated gliadin peptide (anti-DGP) IgA antibodies were measured simultaneously.Results:Of the 188 celiac patients, 56 (29.8%) had detectable GIP levels in stools. There was significant association between age and GIP in stools that revealed increasing dietary transgressions with advancing age (39.2% in subjects ≥13 years old) and with gender in certain age groups (60% in men ≥13 years old). No association was found between fecal GIP and dietary questionnaire or anti-tTG antibodies. However, association was detected between GIP and anti-DGP antibodies, although 46 of the 53 GIP stool-positive patients were negative for anti-DGP.Conclusions:Detection of gluten peptides in stools reveals limitations of traditional methods for monitoring GFD in celiac patients. The GIP ELISA enables direct and quantitative assessment of gluten exposure early after ingestion and could aid in the diagnosis and clinical management of nonresponsive CD and refractory CD. Trial registration number NCT02711397.

Small-scale portable rainfall simulators are an essential research tool for investigating the process dynamics of soil erosion and surface hydrology. There is no standardisation of rainfall simulation and such rainfall simulators differ in design, rainfall intensities, rain spectra and research questions, which impede drawing a meaningful comparison between results. Nevertheless, these data become progressively important for soil erosion assessment and therefore, the basis for decision-makers in application-oriented erosion protection.

Land-use changes affecting Mediterranean mountains represent the intensification of use in valley bottoms, accompanied by land-use conflicts, and a generalized abandonment of the hillslopes, which in the past were perfectly integrated in the system of land management. Farmland abandonment, reforestation, diminution of the livestock pressure and substitution of cereal crops by meadows are the most outstanding features of the recent land-use changes. The question is whether the new spatial organisation is in accordance with a longterm policy of sustainable development in mountain areas. The results obtained confirm that farmland abandonment on steep slopesand the resulting colonization of old fields by a dense shrub coverand afforestation contribute to control both soil erosion and surface runoff. As a result some of the most important rivers and alluvial fans have recently stabilized their sedimentary structures.

Interactions between environmental factors and predisposing genes could be involved in the development of coeliac disease (CD). This study has assessed whether milk-feeding type and HLA-genotype influence the intestinal microbiota composition of infants with a family history of CD. The study included 164 healthy newborns, with at least one first-degree relative with CD, classified according to their HLA-DQ genotype by PCR-SSP DQB1 and DQA1 typing. Faecal microbiota was analysed by quantitative PCR at 7 days, and at 1 and 4 months of age. Significant interactions between milk-feeding type and HLA-DQ genotype on bacterial numbers were not detected by applying a linear mixed-model analysis for repeated measures. In the whole population, breast-feeding promoted colonization of C. leptum group, B. longum and B. breve, while formula-feeding promoted that of Bacteroides fragilis group, C. coccoides-E. rectale group, E. coli and B. lactis. Moreover, increased numbers of B. fragilis group and Staphylococcus spp., and reduced numbers of Bifidobacterium spp. and B. longum were detected in infants with increased genetic risk of developing CD. Analyses within subgroups of either breast-fed or formula-fed infants indicated that in both cases increased risk of CD was associated with lower numbers of B. longum and/or Bifidobacterium spp. In addition, in breast-fed infants the increased genetic risk of developing CD was associated with increased C. leptum group numbers, while in formula-fed infants it was associated with increased Staphylococcus and B. fragilis group numbers. Overall, milk-feeding type in conjunction with HLA-DQ genotype play a role in establishing infants' gut microbiota; moreover, breast-feeding reduced the genotype-related differences in microbiota composition, which could partly explain the protective role attributed to breast milk in this disorder.