Analysis of Extra Virgin Olive Oils from Two Italian Regions by Means of Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Relaxation and Relaxometry Measurements

The interest in development of new non-destructive methods for characterization of extra virgin olive oils (EVOOs) has been increasing in the recent years. Among different experimental techniques, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation measurements are very promising in the field of food characterization and authentication. In this study, we focused on relaxation times T-1 and T-2 measured at different magnetic field strengths (namely, 2, 100, and 400 MHz) and H-1 NMR T-1 relaxometry dispersions directly on olive oil samples without any chemical/physical treatments. A large set of EVOO samples produced in two regions of Italy, Tuscany and Apulia, were investigated by means of H-1 NMR relaxation techniques. The relaxation studies reported here show several common features between the two sets of EVOO samples, thus indicating that relaxation properties, namely, the ranges of values of T-1 and T-2 at 2 and 100 MHz, are characteristic of EVOOs, independently from the cultivars, climate, and geographic origin. This is a promising result in view of quality control and monitoring

MRI study of hydrophilic xanthan tablets with incorporated model drug

Magnetic resonance imaging was used to study swelling dynamics and hydrogel formation of xanthan tablets with or without Pentoxifylline drug in water and HCl pH 1.2 media at two different ionic strengths. Significant changes were observed only in the erosion front positions leading to different hydrogel thicknesses. The impact of the drug on the hydrogel thickness was found to be dependent on the medium conditions at high enough drug amount. The drug does not change the hydrogel thickness in water medium, whereas in acid medium the presence of the drug results in thinner hydrogel. The increased ionic strength in water medium also leads to formation of the thinner hydrogel layer in tablets with high enough drug content, while the effect of NaCl in HCl pH 1.2 medium is very small

Sensitivity of Proton NMR Relaxation and Proton NMR Diffusion Measurements to Olive Oil Adulterations with Vegetable Oils

Olive oils and, in particular, extra-virgin olive oils (EVOOs) are one of the most frauded food. Among the different adulterations of EVOOs, the mixture of high-quality olive oils with vegetable oils is one of the most common in the market. The need for fast and cheap techniques able to detect extra-virgin olive oil adulterations was the main motivation for the present research work based on H-1 NMR relaxation and diffusion measurements. In particular, the H-1 NMR relaxation times, T-1 and T-2, measured at 2 and 100 MHz on about 60 EVOO samples produced in Italy are compared with those measured on four different vegetable oils, produced from macadamia nuts, linseeds, sunflower seeds, and soybeans. Self-diffusion coefficients on this set of olive oils and vegetable oil samples were measured by means of the H-1 NMR diffusion ordered spectroscopy (DOSY) technique, showing that, except for the macadamia oil, other vegetable oils are characterized by an average diffusion coefficient sensibly different from extra-virgin olive oils. Preliminary tests based on both NMR relaxation and diffusometry methods indicate that eventual adulterations of EVOO with linseed oil and macadamia oil are the easiest and the most difficult frauds to be detected, respectively

SARS-CoV-2 infection induces DNA damage, through CHK1 degradation and impaired 53BP1 recruitment, and cellular senescence

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the RNA virus responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Although SARS-CoV-2 was reported to alter several cellular pathways, its impact on DNA integrity and the mechanisms involved remain unknown. Here we show that SARS-CoV-2 causes DNA damage and elicits an altered DNA damage response. Mechanistically, SARS-CoV-2 proteins ORF6 and NSP13 cause degradation of the DNA damage response kinase CHK1 through proteasome and autophagy, respectively. CHK1 loss leads to deoxynucleoside triphosphate (dNTP) shortage, causing impaired S-phase progression, DNA damage, pro-inflammatory pathways activation and cellular senescence. Supplementation of deoxynucleosides reduces that. Furthermore, SARS-CoV-2 N-protein impairs 53BP1 focal recruitment by interfering with damage-induced long non-coding RNAs, thus reducing DNA repair. Key observations are recapitulated in SARS-CoV-2-infected mice and patients with COVID-19. We propose that SARS-CoV-2, by boosting ribonucleoside triphosphate levels to promote its replication at the expense of dNTPs and by hijacking damage-induced long non-coding RNAs' biology, threatens genome integrity and causes altered DNA damage response activation, induction of inflammation and cellular senescence.Gioia, Tavella et al. show that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 causes DNA damage through CHK1 degradation and impairs 53BP1 recruitment to DNA lesions. The induced DNA damage is associated with expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and senescence markers

Evolutionary-Optimized Photonic Network Structure in White Beetle Wing Scales.

Most studies of structural color in nature concern periodic arrays, which through the interference of light create color. The "color" white however relies on the multiple scattering of light within a randomly structured medium, which randomizes the direction and phase of incident light. Opaque white materials therefore must be much thicker than periodic structures. It is known that flying insects create "white" in extremely thin layers. This raises the question, whether evolution has optimized the wing scale morphology for white reflection at a minimum material use. This hypothesis is difficult to prove, since this requires the detailed knowledge of the scattering morphology combined with a suitable theoretical model. Here, a cryoptychographic X-ray tomography method is employed to obtain a full 3D structural dataset of the network morphology within a white beetle wing scale. By digitally manipulating this 3D representation, this study demonstrates that this morphology indeed provides the highest white retroreflection at the minimum use of material, and hence weight for the organism. Changing any of the network parameters (within the parameter space accessible by biological materials) either increases the weight, increases the thickness, or reduces reflectivity, providing clear evidence for the evolutionary optimization of this morphology.PXCT measurements were performed at the cSAXS beamline at the Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institut, Switzerland. The OMNY instrumentation was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation SNSF (Funding scheme RQUIP, Project number 145056). This research was financially supported through the National Centre of Competence in Research Bio-Inspired Materials, the Adolphe Merkle Foundation (to B.D.W. and U.S.), a BBSRC David Phillips fellowship (BB/K014617/1), the European Research Council (ERC-2014-STG H2020 639088, to O.O. and S.V.), and the Ambizione program of the Swiss National Science Foundation SNSF (168223, to B.D.W.). The authors acknowledge support from the Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability

Rethinking place-making: aligning placeness factors with perceived urban design qualities (PUDQs) to improve the built environment in historical district

Understanding the concept of place is critically important for urban design and place-making practice, and this research attempted to investigate the pathways by which perceived urban design qualities (PUDQs) influence placeness factors in the Chinese context. Twelve hypotheses were developed and combined in a structural equation model for validation. The Tanhualin historical district in Wuhan, China was selected for the analysis. As a result, place attachment was verified as a critical bridge factor that mediated the influence of PUDQs on place satisfaction. Among the five selected PUDQs, walkability and space quality were revealed as the most influential factors associated with place attachment and place satisfaction. Accessibility was actually indirectly beneficial to place-making via the mediation of walkability. Corresponding implications and strategies were discussed to maintain the sense of place for historic districts

MRI study of hydrophilic xanthan tablets with incorporated model drug

Magnetic resonance imaging was used to study swelling dynamics and hydrogel formation of xanthan tablets with or without Pentoxifylline drug in water and HCl pH 1.2 media at two different ionic strengths. Significant changes were observed only in the erosion front positions leading to different hydrogel thicknesses. The impact of the drug on the hydrogel thickness was found to be dependent on the medium conditions at high enough drug amount. The drug does not change the hydrogel thickness in water medium, whereas in acid medium the presence of the drug results in thinner hydrogel. The increased ionic strength in water medium also leads to formation of the thinner hydrogel layer in tablets with high enough drug content, while the effect of NaCl in HCl pH 1.2 medium is very small

A new approach combining different MRI methods to provide detailed view on 2 swelling dynamics of xanthan tablets influencing drug release at different pH and 3 ionic strength

The key element in drug release from hydrophilic matrix tablets is the gel layer that regulates the penetration of water and controls drug dissolution and diffusion. We have selected magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as the method of choice for visualizing the dynamic processes occurring during the swelling of xanthan tablets in a variety of media. The aims were (i) to develop a new method using MRI for accurate determination of penetration, swelling and erosion fronts, (ii) to investigate the effects of pH and ionic strength on swelling, and (iii) to study the influence of structural changes in xanthan gel on drug release. Two dimensional (2D) MRI and one dimensional single point imaging (SPI) of swollen xanthan tablets were recorded, together with T2 mapping. The border between dry and hydrated glassy xanthan-the penetration front-was determined from 1D SPI signal intensity profiles. The erosion front was obtained from signal intensity profiles of 2D MR images. The swelling front, where xanthan is transformed from a glassy to a rubbery state (gel formation), was determined from T2 profiles. Further, the new combination of MRI methods for swelling front determination enables to explain the appearance of the unusual Ćbright frontĆ observed on 2D MR images in tablets swollen in HCl pH 1.2 media, which represents the position of swelling front. All six media studied, differing in pH and ionic strength, penetrate through the whole tablet in 4 h 0.3 h, but formation of the gel layer is significantly delayed. Unexpectedly, the position of the swelling front was the same, independently of the different xanthan gel structures formed under different conditions of pH and ionic strength. The position of the erosion front, on the other hand, is strongly dependent on pH and ionic strength, as reflected in different thicknesses of the gel layers. The latter are seen to be the consequence of the different hydrodynamic radii of the xanthan molecules, which affect the drug release kinetics. The slowest release of pentoxifylline was observed in water where the thickest gel was formed, whereas the fastest release was observed in HCl pH 1.2, in which the gel layer was thinnest. Moreover, experiments simulating physiological conditions showed that changes of pH and ionic strength influence the xanthan gel structure relatively quickly, and consequently the drug release kinetics. It is therefore concluded that drug release is greatly influenced by changes in the xanthan molecular conformation, as reflected in changed thickness of the gel layer. A new method utilizing combination of SPI, multi-echo MRI and T2 mapping eliminates the limitations of standard methods used in previous studies for determining moving fronts and improves current understanding of the dynamic processes involved in polymer swelling

MR study of water distribution in a beech (Fagus sylvatica) branch using relaxometry methods

Wood is a widely used material because it is environmentally sustainable, renewable and relatively inexpensive. Due to the hygroscopic nature of wood, its physical and mechanical properties as well as the susceptibility to fungal decay are strongly influenced by its moisture content, constantly changing in the course of everyday use. Therefore, the understanding of the water state (free or bound) and its distribution at different moisture contents is of great importance. In this study, changes of the water state and its distribution in a beech sample while drying from the green (fresh cut) to the absolutely dry state were monitored by 1D and 2D $^1$H NMR relaxometry as well as by spatial mapping of the relaxation times T$_1$ and T$_2$. The relaxometry results are consistent with the model of homogeneously emptying pores in the bioporous system with connected pores. This was also confirmed by the relaxation time mapping results which revealed the moisture transport in the course of drying from an axially oriented early- and latewood system to radial rays through which it evaporates from the branch. The results of this study confirmed that MRI is an efficient tool to study the pathways of water transport in wood in the course of drying and is capable of determining the state of water and its distribution in wood