A new catechol-functionalized polyamidoamine as an effective SPION stabilizer

A synthetic strategy was established for decorating and stabilizing superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) with a zwitterionic linear polyamidoamine (PAA). The strategy was successfully tested with a PAA coded ISA23 previously found endowed with interesting biological properties, such as biocompatibility, degradability in aqueous media and stealth-like properties when injected in test animals. A post-synthetic functionalization with catechol-bearing moieties of a preformed PAA was successfully carried out. ISA23 was obtained by polyaddition reactions of methyl-piperazine and 2,2-bis(acrylamidoacetic) acid. It was functionalized using nitrodopamine and 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide as coupling agent, to randomly form amide bonds with 17% of ISA23 carboxylic groups (ISA23-ND). SPIONs were prepared by a thermal decomposition synthesis in 1-octadecene with oleic acid, and then transferred in water by two distinct ligand exchange procedures: i) the direct displacement of oleate molecules from SPION surface by ISA23 in a biphasic (n-hexane/water) environment; ii) the two-step method involving an intermediate small molecule, tetramethylammonium hydroxide, used as a transient transfer agent, which was in turn exchanged with ISA23-ND in a second exchange step occurring in water. The two-step procedure provided a SPION@PAA nanocomposite more stable than that obtained by the one-step procedure in the presence of an applied external magnetic field. ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, \u3b6-potential and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed the presence of the ISA23 on the SPION surface. In particular, TGA showed that the ISA23-ND amount on the NPs accounted for 26% of the overall nanocomposite mass. The nanocomposite size was determined by both TEM (21.1\ub12.9 nm) and DLS measurements (hydrodynamic size 100\ub128 nm). SPION@ISA23-ND were re-suspended after lyophilization reverting to their pristine dimensions. The SPION@ISA23-ND adsorption of BSA in water, considered as the first stage of phagocytosis, was very low, suggesting that ISA23 could impart stealthiness to SPION@ISA23-ND. 1H-NMR relaxivity measurements showed an r2 value of 158 s-1 mmol-1 L (vs 100 s-1 mmol-1L for Endorem\uae) at relevant clinical fields for magnetic resonance imaging (from 0.2 to 1.5 T). SPION@ISA23-ND was tested on HeLa cells and their internalization was visualized by reflectance microscopy. Finally, with the aim of prepare a new dual magneto-optical system, a synthetic procedure to decorate SPION@ISA23-ND with a fluorescent dye was devised, even though the emission intensity of the resultant conjugate was lower than expected, possibly due to luminescence quenching caused by the closeness of emitting moieties to the SPION surface

Trichphyton violaceum and T. soudanese: re-emerging pathogens in Italy, 2005-2013

Dermatomycoses due to Trichophyton violaceum are described in Mediterranean Countries, North Africa and in the Horn of Africa where T. soudanense is present too, but it was rare until few years ago in Italy. Aim of the present study was to evaluate an Italian multicenter 9 year (2005-2013) experience concerning these re-emerging pathogens. Fifty three fungal strains were sent from clinical laboratories to the Medical Mycology Committee (CoSM) - Italian Association of Clinical Microbiology (AMCLI) for mycological confirmation. Strains were identified as T. violaceum (23) and T. soudanense (30) by phenotypic and genotypic methods. These dermatophytes present epidemiological (high rate of inter-human transmission, high risk among adopted children coming from countries of either the Horn of Africa or Sub-Saharan Africa also in outbreaks of tinea capitis) and clinical peculiarities (reduced alopecia, presence of exudative lesions) confirming the originality of these \u201cimported\u201d dermatophyte infection

Introduction: Debates on Experience and Empiricism in Nineteenth Century France

The lasting effects of the debate over canon-formation during the 1980s affected the whole field of Humanities, which became increasingly engaged in interrogating the origin and function of the Western canon (Gorak 1991; Searle 1990). In philosophy, a great deal of criticism was, as a result, directed at the traditional narrative of seventeenth-and eighteenth-century philosophies—a critique informed by postcolonialism (Park 2013) as well as feminist historiography (Shapiro 2016). D. F. Norton (1981), L. Loeb (1981) and many others1 attempted to demonstrate the weaknesses of the tripartite division between rationalism, empiricism and critical philosophy.2 As time went on, symptoms of dissatisfaction with what has been called the “standard narrative” ( Vanzo 2013) and the “epistemological par-adigm” (Haakonssen 2004, 2006) only increased. Indeed, at present, a consensus has been reached that the narrative of the antagonism between “Continental rationalism” and “British empiricism”, and the consequent Aufhebung provided by “German critical philosophy,” has been unable to make sense of the complexity, variety and dynamics of early modern.Fil: Antoine-Mahut, Delphine. Ecole Normale Supérieure; FranciaFil: Manzo, Silvia Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación. Instituto de Investigaciones en Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales; Argentin

Edith Stein. Un cammino di verità

Si tratta di un'introduzione alla vita e alle opere di Edith Stein, scritta in occasione della sua canonizzazione, incentrata su due delle sue opere: "Essere finito ed Essere eterno"; "Scientia Crucis". I capp. 2 e 3, scritti da E, Cattanei, costituiscono una breve guida alla lettura di "Essere finito ed Essere eterno" con riferimento alla storia della ricezione di Aristotele e della metafisica classica

Edith Stein. Un cammino di verit\ue0

Si tratta di un'introduzione alla vita e alle opere di Edith Stein, scritta in occasione della sua canonizzazione, incentrata su due delle sue opere: "Essere finito ed Essere eterno"; "Scientia Crucis". I capp. 2 e 3, scritti da E, Cattanei, costituiscono una breve guida alla lettura di "Essere finito ed Essere eterno" con riferimento alla storia della ricezione di Aristotele e della metafisica classica

Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva dei Laghi di Garda e Iseo: uno Studio di NMR e di Analisi Statistica

High resolution (600MHz) proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy was applied to the analysis of extra virgin olive oils from Garda and Iseo lakes. The multivariate statistical analysis (PCA performed on the normalized intensities of 1H NMR resonances due to minor components and on bucket integration data of acquired spectra) allowed a clear discrimination according to their geographical origin. In particular our results indicates the possibility to distinguish extra virgin olive oils from Iseo and Garda lakes and moreover, within the same Protected Denomination of Origin area –“Garda” to differentiate microareas, i.e., Veneto and Lombardia banks of Garda lake

Olio di Oliva DOP del Lago di Garda: uno Studio NMR e Analisi Statistica Multivariata.

Extra virgin olive oils from Garda lake were analysed by means of high resolution 1H NMR spectroscopy in combination with statistical methods. Selected resonances from acquired spectra were quantified and submitted to PCA analysis (Principal Component Analysis) giving rise to a clear grouping according to their geographical origin, i.e., the Veneto and Lombardia banks of Garda lake. Our results indicate the possibility to distinguish extra virgin olive oils of the same Protected Denomination of Origin area - Garda lake - with respect to different microareas

Oxidative stress and cell death in cells expressing L-ferritin variants causing neuroferritinopathy

International audienc

Production of third-person direct object clitics in children with cochlear implants speaking italian

Previous research has shown that the production of third-person singular accusative object clitics (3DO clitics) might be taxing in Italian-speaking pre-school children with cochlear implants (CIs). We investigated this topic by assessing 3DO clitic production in 14 children with an average age of 8 years, who had received a CI between age 1 and 4. The first goal of the study was to analyze whether school-aged children with CIs exhibit atypical behavior in 3DO clitic production. The second goal was to analyze whether children with CIs are prone to agreement errors in case of gender mismatch between the subject and the 3DO clitic, as has been shown for normal-hearing, typically developing children. To achieve this, we used two tasks in which subject and object clitic grammatical genders were manipulated so that they would or would not match. As for the first goal, the majority of children with CIs had good performance on the clitic tasks. However, some participants’ performance was poor. The pattern of deviant responses differed among the poor performers. We believe that children with CIs showing impairments in 3DO clitic production need careful individual analysis in order to plan effective speech therapy. As for the second goal, children with CIs were more prone to agreement errors in the mismatch condition compared to the match condition; this dimension needs to be considered when assessing and eventually rehabilitating clitic production

BACTERIAL COLONIES AND MANGANESE MICRONODULES RELATED TO FLUID ESCAPE ON THE CREST OF THE MEDITERRANEAN RIDGE

A black, few centimeters thick Marker-bed of Holocene age is consistently recorded in all the deep-sea cores raised from two fields of mud diapirs recently discovered on the crest of the Mediterranean Ridge south of Crete. Detailed investigations on the ultrastructure of the Marker-bed accompained by micro-probe analysis revealed the occurrence of Mn-rich micronodules and bacterial colonies in very high number. Their occurrence is accounted to fluid escape in the accretionary prism, related to mud diapirism and tentatively associated with an important volcanic event occurred in the arc-trench system