Decreased Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Content Contributes to Increased Survival in Human Colon Cancer

Among diet components, some fatty acids are known to affect several stages of colon carcinogenesis, whereas others are probably helpful in preventing tumors. In light of this, our aim was to determine the composition of fatty acids and the possible correlation with apoptosis in human colon carcinoma specimens at different Duke's stages and to evaluate the effect of enriching human colon cancer cell line with the possible reduced fatty acid(s). Specimens of carcinoma were compared with the corresponding non-neoplastic mucosa: a significant decrease of arachidonic acid, PPARα, Bad, and Bax and a significant increase of COX-2, Bcl-2, and pBad were found. The importance of arachidonic acid in apoptosis was demonstrated by enriching a Caco-2 cell line with this fatty acid. It induced apoptosis in a dose- and time-dependent manner via induction of PPARα that, in turn, decreased COX-2. In conclusion, the reduced content of arachidonic acid is likely related to carcinogenic process decreasing the susceptibility of cancer cells to apoptosis

Chemically modified cellulose nanocrystals as polyanion for preparation of polyelectrolyte complex.

Bacterial cellulose nanocrystals (BCNCs) have hydrophilic surfaces due to hydroxyl groups but are water-insoluble. The carboxymethylation improves the solubility of cellulose in polar media through the insertion of carboxymethyl groups. This study aims to evaluate the use of two different alcoholic solvents in the carboxymethylation reaction of BCNCs: ethanol and isopropanol. BCNCs were obtained under two hydrolysis conditions: sulfuric acid (BCNC-S) and combination of sulfuric and hydrochloric acids (BCNC-S/Cl). Two techniques (NMR and titration) were used to determine the degree of substitution (DS) values. Carboxymethylation of BCNC-S/Cl led to high DS compared to BCNC-S and the use of isopropanol promoted an even greater DS. The thermal properties were not affected after the chemical modification. However, functionalization provided an increase in the negative charge density at the surface of nanostructures and a change in the crystal structure (cellulose type Ia for amorphous), making this material a potential polyanion for the synthesis of polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs). The micrographs showed that the nanocrystals became soluble after carboxymethylation. Carboxymethylated bacterial cellulose nanocrystals hydrolyzed through the mixture of inorganic acids and modified using isopropanol (CBCNC-S/Cl-IPA) was a suitable polyanion to produce PECs with chitosan. The PECs produced had particle size ranging from 276 to 588 nm and zeta potential ranging from - 24.3 to + 39.0 mV

Big Earth Data for Cultural Heritage in the Copernicus Era

Digital data is stepping in its golden age characterized by an increasing growth of both classical and emerging big earth data along with trans- and multidisciplinary methodological approaches and services addressed to the study, preservation and sustainable exploitation of cultural heritage (CH). The availability of new digital technologies has opened new possibilities, unthinkable only a few years ago for cultural heritage. The currently available digital data, tools and services with particular reference to Copernicus initiatives make possible to characterize and understand the state of conservation of CH for preventive restoration and opened up a frontier of possibilities for the discovery of archaeological sites from above and also for supporting their excavation, monitoring and preservation. The different areas of intervention require the availability and integration of rigorous information from different sources for improving knowledge and interpretation, risk assessment and management in order to make more successful all the actions oriented to the preservation of cultural properties. One of the biggest challenges is to fully involve the citizen also from an emotional point of view connecting “pixels with people” and “bridging” remote sensing and social sensing