Rhodanese-BSA polymers entrapped in insolubilised gelatin gels: properties and behaviour in continuous systems

The enzymatic oxidation of cephalosporin C to glutaryl-7-amminocephalosporanic acid (glutaryl-7-ACA) was carried out utilizing permeabilized whole cells of the yeast Trigonopsis variabilis entrapped in Ca-alginate beads. The biomass, cultured in a rich medium containing D,L methionine and harvested after 72 h of growth, exhibited high levels of D-aminoacid oxidase activity. Prior to use, thewho,lke cells were permeabilized with four freeze-thawing cycles and immobilized in polysaccharide matrices, such as Ca-alginate and K- carrageenan, and in an insolubilised gelatin gel. The best results in terms of activity yield and storage stability were obtained with cells entrapped in Ca-alginate beads. These cells were utilized for glutaryl-7-ACA production in a continuous stirred batch reactor (CSTR) and in a packed bed reactor working in a plug flow reactor (PFR), using 50 mm Cephalosporin C as substrate. The performances of the two systems were compared. The overall on a void volume basis) were 1.63 g and 255 mg of glutaryl-7-ACA h-1 in the PFR and in CSTR, respectively

Sarcopenic Dysphagia, Malnutrition, and Oral Frailty in Elderly: A Comprehensive Review.

Frailty is a highly prevalent condition in the elderly that has been increasingly considered as a crucial public health issue, due to the strict correlation with a higher risk of fragility fractures, hospitalization, and mortality. Among the age-related diseases, sarcopenia and dysphagia are two common pathological conditions in frail older people and could coexist leading to dehydration and malnutrition in these subjects. "Sarcopenic dysphagia" is a complex condition characterized by deglutition impairment due to the loss of mass and strength of swallowing muscles and might be also related to poor oral health status. Moreover, the aging process is strictly related to poor oral health status due to direct impairment of the immune system and wound healing and physical and cognitive impairment might indirectly influence older people's ability to carry out adequate oral hygiene. Therefore, poor oral health might affect nutrient intake, leading to malnutrition and, consequently, to frailty. In this scenario, sarcopenia, dysphagia, and oral health are closely linked sharing common pathophysiological pathways, disabling sequelae, and frailty. Thus, the aim of the present comprehensive review is to describe the correlation among sarcopenic dysphagia, malnutrition, and oral frailty, characterizing their phenotypically overlapping features, to propose a comprehensive and effective management of elderly frail subjects

Effects of Dietary Fibers on Short-Chain Fatty Acids and Gut Microbiota Composition in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review

Abstract There is an increasing interest in investigating dietary strategies able to modulate the gut microbial ecosystem which, in turn, may play a key role in human health. Dietary fibers (DFs) are widely recognized as molecules with prebiotic effects. The main objective of this systematic review was to: (i) analyze the results available on the impact of DF intervention on short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) production; (ii) evaluate the interplay between the type of DF intervention, the gut microbiota composition and its metabolic activities, and any other health associated outcome evaluated in the host. To this aim, initially, a comprehensive database of literature on human intervention studies assessing the effect of confirmed and candidate prebiotics on the microbial ecosystem was developed. Subsequently, studies performed on DFs and analyzing at least the impact on SCFA levels were extracted from the database. A total of 44 studies from 42 manuscripts were selected for the analysis. Among the different types of fiber, inulin was the DF investigated the most (n = 11). Regarding the results obtained on the ability of fiber to modulate total SCFAs, seven studies reported a significant increase, while no significant changes were reported in five studies, depending on the analytical methodology used. A total of 26 studies did not show significant differences in individual SCFAs, while the others reported significant differences for one or more SCFAs. The effect of DF interventions on the SCFA profile seemed to be strictly dependent on the dose and the type and structure of DFs. Overall, these results underline that, although affecting microbiota composition and derived metabolites, DFs do not produce univocal significant increase in SCFA levels in apparently healthy adults. In this regard, several factors (i.e., related to the study protocols and analytical methods) have been identified that could have affected the results obtained in the studies evaluated. Future studies are needed to better elucidate the relationship between DFs and gut microbiota in terms of SCFA production and impact on health-related marker

Progressive skin fibrosis is associated with a decline in lung function and worse survival in patients with diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis in the European Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) cohort.

Objectives To determine whether progressive skin fibrosis is associated with visceral organ progression and mortality during follow-up in patients with diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc). Methods We evaluated patients from the European Scleroderma Trials and Research database with dcSSc, baseline modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS) ≥7, valid mRSS at 12±3 months after baseline and ≥1 annual follow-up visit. Progressive skin fibrosis was defined as an increase in mRSS >5 and ≥25% from baseline to 12±3 months. Outcomes were pulmonary, cardiovascular and renal progression, and all-cause death. Associations between skin progression and outcomes were evaluated by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and multivariable Cox regression. Results Of 1021 included patients, 78 (7.6%) had progressive skin fibrosis (skin progressors). Median follow-up was 3.4 years. Survival analyses indicated that skin progressors had a significantly higher probability of FVC decline ≥10% (53.6% vs 34.4%; p<0.001) and all-cause death (15.4% vs 7.3%; p=0.003) than non-progressors. These significant associations were also found in subgroup analyses of patients with either low baseline mRSS (≤22/51) or short disease duration (≤15 months). In multivariable analyses, skin progression within 1 year was independently associated with FVC decline ≥10% (HR 1.79, 95% CI 1.20 to 2.65) and all-cause death (HR 2.58, 95% CI 1.31 to 5.09). Conclusions Progressive skin fibrosis within 1 year is associated with decline in lung function and worse survival in dcSSc during follow-up. These results confirm mRSS as a surrogate marker in dcSSc, which will be helpful for cohort enrichment in future trials and risk stratification in clinical practice

Health relevance of the modification of low grade inflammation in ageing (inflammageing) and the role of nutrition

Ageing of the global population has become a public health concern with an important socio-economic dimension. Ageing is characterized by an increase in the concentration of inflammatory markers in the bloodstream, a phenomenon that has been termed "inflammageing". The inflammatory response is beneficial as an acute, transient reaction to harmful conditions, facilitating the defense, repair, turnover and adaptation of many tissues. However, chronic and low grade inflammation is likely to be detrimental for many tissues and for normal functions. We provide an overview of low grade inflammation (LGI) and determine the potential drivers and the effects of the "inflamed" phenotype observed in the elderly. We discuss the role of gut microbiota and immune system crosstalk and the gut-brain axis. Then, we focus on major health complications associated with LGI in the elderly, including mental health and wellbeing, metabolic abnormalities and infections. Finally, we discuss the possibility of manipulating LGI in the elderly by nutritional interventions. We provide an overview of the evidence that exists in the elderly for omega-3 fatty acid, probiotic, prebiotic, antioxidant and polyphenol interventions as a means to influence LGI. We conclude that slowing, controlling or reversing LGI is likely to be an important way to prevent, or reduce the severity of, age-related functional decline and the onset of conditions affecting health and well-being; that there is evidence to support specific dietary interventions as a strategy to control LGI; and that a continued research focus on this field is warranted

Finite-Element based modeling for flight dynamics and aeroelasticity of flexible aircraft

Fully-coupled equations of rigid-body and structural dynamics of flexible aircraft are deduced from the weak formulation of Cauchy equation for an unconstrained elastic continuum. An appropriate choice of the body coordinate system enables to describe inertial coupling using a reduced set of coefficients, which are estimated for complex configurations via Finite Element Method (FEM) discretization. A fully-coupled linearized formulation around aeroelastic trim conditions is presented and implemented using data from a generic FEM solver. Small-disturbance, fully-unsteady aerodynamics is modeled in frequency domain via Doublet Lattice Method (DLM) and recast in time-domain state-space form by means of a rational function approximation. A state-space representation of the linearized system is ultimately obtained which simultaneously includes rigid-body, elastic, and aerodynamic state variables. Numerical results for two representative configurations are presented and discussed to point out the influence of inertial and aerodynamic coupling on integrated flight dynamic/aeroelastic stability and response

Immobilization of Bacillus acidocaldarius whole-cell rhodanese in polysaccharide and insolubilized gelatin gels"

The presence of rhodanese activity has been investigated in two strains of termophilic eubacteria and two strains of extremophiles. Bacillus acidocaldarius, a thermoacidophilic eubacterium, showed the highest levels of enzyme activity. Whole cells previously subjected to one cycle of freeze-thawing were immobilized by entrapment in the polysaccharide matrices Ca-alginate, k-carrageenan, and chitosan, and in an insolubilized gelatine gel. The results obtained with the different immobilization in terms of activity yield, possibility of regeneration and operative stability were evaluated with the aim of setting up a continuous system. This was achieved with a system consisting of Bacillus acidocaldarius cells entrapped in an insolubilised gelatin matrix. The latter, in the form of a thin membrane, was employed in a custom-conceived reactor operating as a plug-flow reactor

Il sistema aeroportuale campano: una nota metodologica

L’obiettivo di questo studio è quello di fornire uno spunto metodologico relativo all’analisi dei sistemi aeroportuali. In particolare, verrà analizzata la possibilità di creare un sistema aeroportuale in Campania, costituito dall’insieme degli aeroporti e delle reciproche relazioni. Lo squilibrio esistente tra domanda che chiede di spostarsi con la modalità aerea e la scadente offerta di trasporto aereo campana, suggerisce la necessità di intervenire in termini di adeguamento delle infrastrutture aeroportuali esistenti ed in termini di nuove realizzazioni. Attualmente il “sistema” campano non è tale perché è mono – aeroportuale (è funzionante il solo aeroporto di Napoli). Metodologicamente il sistema sarà studiato mediante analisi quantitative. In diversi casi, sia a livello nazionale che internazionale, al problema dello squilibrio tra domanda ed offerta, è stata data diversa risposta: - nella maggior parte dei casi si considera il singolo aeroporto e si è interessati, prevalentemente alla determinazione di modelli che consentano di ottimizzare i livelli capacitativi dell’aeroporto; - talvolta, tuttavia, l’impossibilità di incrementare i livelli capacitativi, soprattutto attraverso interventi nel campo di realizzazioni infrastrutturali, indirizza l’attività ingegneristica nella valutazione di fattibilità di nuovi siti aeroportuali. Entrambi gli approcci non risolvono, a nostro avviso, il problema. Nel secondo caso, per esempio, si potrebbe obiettare che non sempre il raddoppio delle infrastrutture consente un raddoppio della capacità. Per tale ragione occorre proporre un diverso approccio metodologico alla risoluzione del problema di squilibrio domanda – offerta, che consideri l’insieme degli aeroporti di una medesima area come elementi interagenti fortemente tra loro, costituendo un “sistema aeroportuale metropolitano o regionale”. L’asserto fondamentale di questo “nuovo“ approccio è che l’entità “sistema” sia costituito da parti in interazione

Quantum entanglement in an extended Hubbard model as evaluated from a spin concurrence measure

Quantum entanglement is a peculiar feature of quantum mechanics that turns out a powerful resource in quantum communication and information. For this reason, intense research has recently focused on the robustness of quantum entanglement also in strongly correlated electron systems. Here, we consider an extended Hubbard model on a dimer and evaluate the spin entanglement at finite temperature, under the action of an external magnetic field. We show how magnetic field and Coulomb interactions modify the spin concurrence, finding out that the magnetic field may act as a switch from a non-entangled to an entangled state

Airport Capacity According to ICAO Rules: Some Quantitative Evaluations

2000 Pechin