White lumps in fifth- to seventeenth-century AD mortars from northern Italy

Ancient mortars from northern Italy, dating from the fifth to the seventeenth century AD, were examined in order to formulate an hypothesis regarding the origin of the white lumps often observed in these mortars and in other samples of the same geographical provenance. Various characterization techniques were employed, including scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and micro-FTIR spectroscopy

4-Connected azabicyclo[5.3.0]decane Smac mimetics-Zn2+ chelators as dual action antitumoral agents

Putative dual action compounds (DACs 3a-d) based on azabicyclo[5.3.0]decane (ABD) Smac mimetic scaffolds linked to Zn2+-chelating 2,2'-dipicolylamine (DPA) through their 4 position are reported and characterized. Their synthesis, their target affinity (cIAP1 BIR3, Zn2+) in cell-free assays, their pro-apoptotic effects, and their cytotoxicity in tumor cells with varying sensitivity to Smac mimetics are described. A limited influence of Zn2+ chelation on in vitro activity of DPA-substituted DACs 3a-d was sometimes perceivable, but did not lead to strong cellular synergistic effects. In particular, the linker connecting DPA with the ABD scaffold seems to influence cellular Zn2+-chelation, with longer lipophilic linkers/DAC 3c being the optimal choice

Dual action Smac mimetics-zinc chelators as pro-apoptotic antitumoral agents

Dual action compounds (DACs) based on 4-substituted aza-bicyclo[5.3.0]decane Smac mimetic scaffolds (ABDs) linked to a Zn(2+)-chelating moiety (DPA, o-hydroxy, m-allyl, N-acyl (E)-phenylhydrazone) through their 10 position are reported and characterized. Their synthesis, their target affinity (XIAP BIR3, Zn(2+)) in cell-free assays, their pro-apoptotic effects and cytotoxicity in tumor cells with varying sensitivity to Smac mimetics are described. The results are interpreted to evaluate the influence of Zn(2+) chelators on cell-free potency and on cellular permeability of DACs, and to propose novel avenues towards more potent antitumoral DACs based on Smac mimetics and Zn(2+) chelation

Application of the Ugi reaction with multiple amino acid-derived components: Synthesis and conformational evaluation of piperazine-based minimalist peptidomimetics

The concurrent employment of α-amino acid-derived chiral components such as aldehydes and α-isocyanoacetates, in a sequential Ugi reaction/cyclization two-step strategy, opens the door to the synthesis of three structurally distinct piperazine-based scaffolds, characterized by the presence of l-Ala and/or l-Phe-derived side chains and bearing appropriate functionalities to be easily applied in peptide chemistry. By means of computational studies, these scaffolds have been demonstrated to act as minimalist peptidomimetics, able to mimic a well defined range of peptide secondary structures and therefore potentially useful for the synthesis of small-molecule PPI modulators. Preliminary biological evaluation of two different resistant hepatocellular carcinoma cellular lines, for which differentiation versus resistance ability seem to be strongly correlated with well defined types of PPIs, has revealed a promising antiproliferative activity for selected compounds. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2015

Application of the Ugi reaction with multiple amino acid-derived components: synthesis and conformational evaluation of piperazine-based minimalist peptidomimetics.

The concurrent employment of alpha-amino acid-derived chiral components such as aldehydes and alpha-iso-cyanoacetates, in a sequential Ugi reaction/cyclization two-step strategy, opens the door to the synthesis of three structurally distinct piperazine-based scaffolds, characterized by the presence of L-Ala and/or L-Phe-derived side chains and bearing appropriate functionalities to be easily applied in peptide chemistry. By means of computational studies, these scaffolds have been demonstrated to act as minimalist peptidomimetics, able to mimic a well defined range of peptide secondary structures and therefore potentially useful for the synthesis of small-molecule PPI modulators. Preliminary biological evaluation of two different resistant hepatocellular carcinoma cellular lines, for which differentiation versus resistance ability seem to be strongly correlated with well defined types of PPIs, has revealed a promising antiproliferative activity for selected compounds

Maternity staff immunization coverage against pertussis and maternal vaccination practices: Results of a 2017 cross-sectional survey in five public maternity hospitals

International audienceTo conduct an audit of vaccination practices against pertussis in maternity wards to assess immunization practices targeting women, knowledge and awareness among health professionals and their involvement in the vaccination process, and to estimate their vaccine coverage

Improving in vivo plant nitrogen content estimates from digital images: trueness and precision of a new approach as compared to other methods and commercial devices

Operational tools to support nitrogen (N) management in cropping systems are increasingly needed to maximise profit, minimise environmental impact, and to cope with market requirements. In this study, a new method (18%-grey DGCI) for estimating leaf and plant N content from digital photography was evaluated and compared with others based on image processing (DGCI and Corrected DGCI) and with commercial tools (leaf colour chart, SPAD-502, and Dualex 4). All methods were evaluated for rice using data collected in northern Italy in 2013, by adapting the ISO 5725-2 validation protocol. 18%-grey DGCI was further validated on independent data collected in 2014. Dualex achieved the best performances for trueness (R2 = 0.96 and 0.92 for leaf and plant N contents), although it presented partly unsatisfying values for precision (12.33% for repeatability and 14.81% for reproducibility). SPAD, instead, demonstrated the highest precision (repeatability = 4.51%, reproducibility = 4.98%), even if it was ranked third for trueness (R2 = 0.82 and 0.81 for leaf and plant N contents). 18%-grey DGCI was ranked second for trueness (R2 = 0.83 for both leaf and plant N contents) and third for precision (11.11% and 14.47% for repeatability and reproducibility). The good performances of the new method were confirmed during the 2014 experiment (R2 = 0.87 for leaf N content). The 18%-grey DGCI method has been implemented in a smartphone app (PocketN) to provide farmers and technicians with a low-cost diagnostic tool for supporting N management at field level in contexts characterised by low availability of resource

Application of the Ugi reaction with multiple amino acid-derived components: synthesis and conformational evaluation of piperazine-based minimalist peptidomimetics

The concurrent employment of α-amino acid-derived chiral components such as aldehydes and α-isocyanoacetates, in a sequential Ugi reaction/cyclization two-step strategy, opens the door to the synthesis of three structurally distinct piperazine-based scaffolds, characterized by the presence of L-Ala and/or L-Phe-derived side chains and bearing appropriate functionalities to be easily applied in peptide chemistry. By means of computational studies, these scaffolds have been demonstrated to act as minimalist peptidomimetics, able to mimic a well defined range of peptide secondary structures and therefore potentially useful for the synthesis of small-molecule PPI modulators. Preliminary biological evaluation of two different resistant hepatocellular carcinoma cellular lines, for which differentiation versus resistance ability seem to be strongly correlated with well defined types of PPIs, has revealed a promising antiproliferative activity for selected compounds

Understanding Factors Associated With Psychomotor Subtypes of Delirium in Older Inpatients With Dementia

Objectives: Few studies have analyzed factors associated with delirium subtypes. In this study, we investigate factors associated with subtypes of delirium only in patients with dementia to provide insights on the possible prevention and treatments. Design: This is a cross-sectional study nested in the “Delirium Day” study, a nationwide Italian point-prevalence study. Setting and Participants: Older patients admitted to 205 acute and 92 rehabilitation hospital wards. Measures: Delirium was evaluated with the 4-AT and the motor subtypes with the Delirium Motor Subtype Scale. Dementia was defined by the presence of a documented diagnosis in the medical records and/or prescription of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors or memantine prior to admission. Results: Of the 1057 patients with dementia, 35% had delirium, with 25.6% hyperactive, 33.1% hypoactive, 34.5% mixed, and 6.7% nonmotor subtype. There were higher odds of having venous catheters in the hypoactive (OR 1.82, 95% CI 1.18-2.81) and mixed type of delirium (OR 2.23, CI 1.43-3.46), whereas higher odds of urinary catheters in the hypoactive (OR 2.91, CI 1.92-4.39), hyperactive (OR 1.99, CI 1.23-3.21), and mixed types of delirium (OR 2.05, CI 1.36-3.07). We found higher odds of antipsychotics both in the hyperactive (OR 2.87, CI 1.81-4.54) and mixed subtype (OR 1.84, CI 1.24-2.75), whereas higher odds of antibiotics was present only in the mixed subtype (OR 1.91, CI 1.26-2.87). Conclusions and Implications: In patients with dementia, the mixed delirium subtype is the most prevalent followed by the hypoactive, hyperactive, and nonmotor subtype. Motor subtypes of delirium may be triggered by clinical factors, including the use of venous and urinary catheters, and the use of antipsychotics. Future studies are necessary to provide further insights on the possible pathophysiology of delirium in patients with dementia and to address the optimization of the management of potential risk factors