RICERCA DI METODI E PROTOCOLLI PER IL MONITORAGGIO DELLA SPECIE SAPROXILICA MORIMUS ASPER (SULZER, 1776) (COLEOPTERA, CERAMBYCIDAE)

Fino a qualche anno fa si riteneva che in Europa fossero presenti cinque diverse specie appartenenti al genere Morimus: M. asper (Sulzer, 1776), M. funereus Mulsant, 1862, M. orientalis Reitter, 1894, M. verecundus (Faldermann, 1836) e M. ganglbaueri Reitter, 1894. Studi recenti, basati sull’utilizzo di marcatori molecolari, hanno dimostrato che in realtà si tratta di forme geneticamente e morfologicamente variabili appartenenti ad un’unica specie: Morimus asper. Nella Direttiva Habitat è stata elencata solo la forma funereus (allegato II), classificata come specie vulnerabile dalla IUCN; vista la nuova classificazione tassonomica è necessario rivalutare lo stato di conservazione della specie (considerando tutte le 5 forme) e rivedere il suo inserimento in Direttiva Habitat. Per valutarne lo stato di conservazione è necessario sviluppare dei metodi di monitoraggio adatti. In questo studio sono stati indagati due diversi metodi di monitoraggio: sostanze potenzialmente attrattive e cataste di legna fresca. Con il primo metodo si vuole testare l’efficacia di alcune sostanze chimiche come potenziali attrattivi per la specie M. asper. Con l’utilizzo di cataste di legna fresca si vogliono incrementare le conoscenze riguardo la biologia e l’ecologia della specie per meglio adattare il metodo di monitoraggio. Dai risultati ottenuti si può affermare che le sostanze potenzialmente attrattive utilizzate non sono adatte per il monitoraggio della specie. Le cataste di legna sono invece un buon attrattivo per M. asper e sono utili per conoscere alcune abitudini ecologiche della specie. Con questo metodo è stato identificato il periodo più adatto per effettuare i monitoraggi, la fascia oraria più adatta e il tipo di legna (specie arborea e diametro dei tronchi) più indicato per costruire le cataste. Dai modelli costruiti con i dati raccolti è stato possibile stimare la probabilità di sopravvivenza e la probabilità di ricattura degli individui. Le informazioni ottenute possono essere utilizzate per migliorare il metodo di monitoraggio

Optimization of a Sustainable Protocol for the Extraction of Anthocyanins as Textile Dyes from Plant Materials

Anthocyanins are the largest group of polyphenolic pigments in the plant kingdom. These non-toxic, water-soluble compounds are responsible for the pink, red, purple, violet, and blue colors of fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Anthocyanins are widely used in the production of food, cosmetic and textile products, in the latter case to replace synthetic dyes with natural and sustainable alternatives. Here, we describe an environmentally benign method for the extraction of anthocyanins from red chicory and their characterization by HPLC-DAD and UPLC-MS. The protocol does not require hazardous solvents or chemicals and relies on a simple and scalable procedure that can be applied to red chicory waste streams for anthocyanin extraction. The extracted anthocyanins were characterized for stability over time and for their textile dyeing properties, achieving good values for washing fastness and, as expected, a pink-to-green color change that is reversible and can therefore be exploited in the fashion industry

Transient Expression in Red Beet of a Biopharmaceutical Candidate Vaccine for Type-1 Diabetes

Plant molecular farming is the use of plants to produce molecules of interest. In this perspective, plants may be used both as bioreactors for the production and subsequent purification of the final product and for the direct oral delivery of heterologous proteins when using edible plant species. In this work, we present the development of a candidate oral vaccine against Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) in edible plant systems using deconstructed plant virus-based recombinant DNA technology, delivered with vacuum infiltration. Our results show that a red beet is a suitable host for the transient expression of a human derived autoantigen associated to T1D, considered to be a promising candidate as a T1D vaccine. Leaves producing the autoantigen were thoroughly characterized for their resistance to gastric digestion, for the presence of residual bacterial charge and for their secondary metabolic profile, giving an overview of the process production for the potential use of plants for direct oral delivery of a heterologous protein. Our analysis showed almost complete degradation of the freeze-dried candidate oral vaccine following a simulated gastric digestion, suggesting that an encapsulation strategy in the manufacture of the plant-derived GAD vaccine is required

Preprocedural Level of Soluble CD40L Is Predictive of Enhanced Inflammatory Response and Restenosis After Coronary Angioplasty

Background— Inflammation plays a pathogenic role in the development of restenosis after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). CD40–CD40L interaction is involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis; however, its role in the pathophysiology of restenosis is still unclear. We tested the hypothesis that soluble CD40L (sCD40L) may be involved in the process of restenosis and that it exerts its effect by triggering a complex group of inflammatory reactions on endothelial and mononuclear cells. Methods and Results— We studied 70 patients who underwent PTCA and who had repeated angiograms at 6-month follow-up. Plasma sCD40L was measured before and 1, 5, 15, and 180 days after PTCA, whereas plasma soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1, soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, E-selectin, and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 were measured before and 24 hours after PTCA. Furthermore, the release of adhesion molecules and MCP-1 and the ability to repair an injury in endothelial cells, as well as the generation of O 2 − in monocytes, were analyzed in vitro after stimulation with serum from patients or healthy control subjects. Restenosis occurred in 18 patients (26%). Restenotic patients had preprocedural sCD40L significantly higher than patients with favorable outcomes (2.13±0.3 versus 0.87±0.12 ng/mL, P <0.0001). Elevated sCD40L at baseline was significantly correlated with adhesion molecules and MCP-1 generation after PTCA and with lumen loss at 6-month follow-up. Furthermore, high sCD40L was directly associated in vitro with adhesion molecules and MCP-1 generation and impaired migration in endothelial cells and with enhanced O 2 − generation in monocytes. Conclusions— We conclude that increased sCD40L is associated with late restenosis after PTCA. This may provide an important biochemical link between restenosis and aspirin-insensitive platelet activation. These results provide a rationale for studies with new antiplatelet treatments in patients who underwent PTCA

Morning Blood Pressure Surge, Dipping, and Risk of Coronary Events in Elderly Treated Hypertensive Patients

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Porto e città: storia di un rapporto conflittuale

L'evoluzione urbanistica delle città di mare è connessa con la storia del loro porto, soprattutto negli ultimi anni da quando si è posta maggiore attenzione ai waterfront. Napoli ha sempre vissuto un rapporto conflittuale con il suo mare e anche oggi, con le opportunità offerte dalla deindustrializzazione di recuperare gran parte delle zone costiere, appare incapace di riscoprire e valorizzare questa grande risorsa offertale dalla natura

Meta-analysis of the relation of echocardiographic epicardial adipose tissue thickness and the metabolic syndrome

Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is an emerging cardiometabolic risk factor, and its thickness can be measured using echocardiography. The relation of EAT to the metabolic syndrome (MS) is still unclear. A meta-analysis of published reports was performed to provide comprehensive insight on the association of EAT thickness as assessed by echocardiography and the MS. A systematic search was conducted for reports on echocardiographic EAT thickness in patients with and without the MS. Nine studies were identified. The pooled population consisted of 2,027 subjects, of whom 1,030 had the MS. EAT thickness was significantly higher in patients with the MS than in those without (standardized difference in means 1.15 mm, 95% confidence interval 0.78 to 1.53, p = 0.0001). Subgroup meta-analysis showed no difference between patients with and those without the MS by MS criteria used and echocardiographic cardiac cycle of measurement but did show a significant difference by ethnicity, with a greater difference in Caucasian subjects (standardized difference in means 1.75 mm, 95% confidence interval 1.43 to 2.07) than in other ethnic groups. In conclusion, echocardiographic EAT thickness is significantly higher in patients with the MS than in those without, but differences exist by ethnicity

Laparoscopic total gastrectomy in gastric cancer: Our experience in 92 cases

INTRODUCTION: Laparoscopic total gastrectomy (LTG) is seldom used for gastric cancer because the complex vascularization and lymphatic drainage makes lymphadenectomy and esophagojejunal anastomosis difficult and requires special skills. Our aim was to demonstrate the feasibility and accuracy of LTG in gastric cancer with D2 lymphadenectomy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Eighty-eight LTG and four laparoscopic remnant gastrectomies (LRGs) were performed over >12 years. The median patient age was 64 years, and the male/female ratio was 1.49/1. Eighty-seven patients had a D2 and only five patients had a D1 lymphadenectomy. We propose the retrospective analysis of intra- and perioperative mortality and morbidity. RESULTS: In only four of 96 cases approached by laparoscopy, a conversion to laparotomy was needed. There were two (2.17%) perioperative deaths in 92 procedures and few complications. Histological data show 79 advanced gastric cancers (AGC), 11 early gastric cancers (EGC), and two gastric diffused lymphomas. The five-year Kaplan-Meier overall survival in patients with EGC and AGC was 100% and 58%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrate the feasibility of an oncologically correct minimally invasive total gastrectomy. We would like to promote comparisons among different institutions to achieve better standardization of indications and techniques for a laparoscopic approach to gastric cancer

Comparing different processing methods in apple slice drying. Part 2 solid-state Fast Field Cycling 1H-NMR relaxation properties, shrinkage and changes in volatile compounds

The objective of this paper was to study the effects of three different drying methods: microwave (MW), hot air (HA) and a combination of both (HY), on the 1H NMR relaxation properties, shrinkage and volatile compounds of Golden Delicious apple slices. Fast field cycling NMR relaxometry revealed that the HA samples dried at different temperatures (65 and 75 °C) appeared to contain less restrained water as compared to the sample obtained by MW heating at the same temperatures. In fact, the longitudinal relaxation times (T1) of the water molecules in the HA dried slices were shorter than those measured for the MW dried samples, thereby revealing that in the MW slices, water molecules behave more like as a pseudo-ice layer. For this reason, shrinkage was much more accentuated in apples dried by the HA and hybrid methods, compared to the MW procedure. Likewise, HA drying had a bigger effect than MW and HY on the aromatic profile of the apple slices, causing a significant decrease in esters while ketones increased