69 research outputs found
Use of biochar as peat substitute for growing substrates of Euphorbia Ă— lomi potted plants
Biochar from conifers wood was used in soilless culture as growing substrate alternative to peat for ornamental crops. Potted plants of Euphorbia Ă— lomi Rauh cv. 'Ilaria' were grown with different mixtures (v:v) of brown peat and biochar in order to evaluate main physical and chemical characteristics of this biomaterial as well as its effect on plant growth, ornamental characteristics and nutrients uptake. Biochar addition to peat increased pH, EC and K content of the growing substrates, as well as air content and bulk density. Biochar content of substrates significantly affected plant growth and biomass partitioning: higher number of shoots and leaves, leaf area and leaf dry weight were recorded in plants grown in 40% peat-60% biochar, with respect to plants grown in 100% peat and secondarily in 100% biochar. Leaf chlorophyll content was higher in plants grown in 60% and 80% biochar, while biomass water use efficiency was higher with 60% biochar. Plant uptake of K and Ca increased as biochar content of the substrates increased. Hence, a growing substrate containing 40% brown peat and 60% conifers wood biochar was identified as the more suitable mixture allowing to have a high-quality production of Euphorbia Ă— lomi potted plants
Development and characterization of an amorphous solid dispersion of furosemide in the form of a sublingual bioadhesive film to enhance bioavailability
Administered by an oral route, Furosemide (FUR), a diuretic used in several edematous states and hypertension, presents bioavailability problems, reported as a consequence of an erratic gastrointestinal absorption due to various existing polymorphic forms and low and pH-dependent solubility. A mucoadhesive sublingual fast-dissolving FUR based film has been developed and evaluated in order to optimize the bioavailability of FUR by increasing solubility and guaranteeing a good dissolution reproducibility. The Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) analyses confirmed that the film prepared using the solvent casting method entrapped FUR in the amorphous state. As a solid dispersion, FUR increases its solubility up to 28.36 mg/mL. Drug content, thickness, and weight uniformity of film were also evaluated. The measured Young\ue2\u80\u99s Modulus, yield strength, and relative elongation of break percentage (EB%) allowed for the classification of the drug-loaded film as an elastomer. Mucoadhesive strength tests showed that the force to detach film from mucosa grew exponentially with increasing contact time up to 7667 N/m2. FUR was quickly discharged from the film following a trend well fitted with the Weibull kinetic model. When applied on sublingual mucosa, the new formulation produced a massive drug flux in the systemic compartment. Overall, the proposed sublingual film enhances drug solubility and absorption, allowing for the prediction of a rapid onset of action and reproducible bioavailability in its clinical application
IAEA Contribution to Nanosized Targeted Radiopharmaceuticals for Drug Delivery
The rapidly growing interest in the application of nanoscience in the future design of radiopharmaceuticals and the development of nanosized radiopharmaceuticals in the late 2000 ' s, resulted in the creation of a Coordinated Research Project (CRP) by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2014. This CRP entitled 'Nanosized delivery systems for radiopharmaceuticals' involved a team of expert scientist from various member states. This team of scientists worked on a number of cutting-edge areas of nanoscience with a focus on developing well-defined, highly effective and site-specific delivery systems of radiopharmaceuticals. Specifically, focus areas of various teams of scientists comprised of the development of nanoparticles (NPs) based on metals, polymers, and gels, and their conjugation/encapsulation or decoration with various tumor avid ligands such as peptides, folates, and small molecule phytochemicals. The research and development efforts also comprised of developing optimum radiolabeling methods of various nano vectors using diagnostic and therapeutic radionuclides including Tc-99m, Ga-68, Lu-177 and Au-198. Concerted efforts of teams of scientists within this CRP has resulted in the development of various protocols and guidelines on delivery systems of nanoradiopharmaceuticals, training of numerous graduate students/post-doctoral fellows and publications in peer reviewed journals while establishing numerous productive scientific networks in various participating member states. Some of the innovative nanoconstructs were chosen for further preclinical applications-all aimed at ultimate clinical translation for treating human cancer patients. This review article summarizes outcomes of this major international scientific endeavor
Minimalism in Radiation Synthesis of Biomedical Functional Nanogels
A scalable, single-step, synthetic approach for the manufacture of
biocompatible, functionalized micro- and nanogels is presented. In particular,
poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone)-grafted-(aminopropyl)methacrylamide microgels and
nanogels were generated through e-beam irradiation of PVP aqueous solutions in
the presence of a primary amino-group-carrying monomer. Particles with
different hydrodynamic diameters and surface charge densities were obtained at
the variance of the irradiation conditions. Chemical structure was investigated by
different spectroscopic techniques. Fluorescent variants were generated through
fluorescein isothiocyanate attachment to the primary amino groups grafted to
PVP, to both quantify the available functional groups for bioconjugation and
follow nanogels localization in cell cultures. Finally, a model protein, bovine
serum albumin, was conjugated to the nanogels to demonstrate the attachment
of biologically relevant molecules for targeting purposes in drug delivery. The
described approach provides a novel strategy to fabricate biohybrid nanogels
with a very promising potential in nanomedicine
Theta-Burst Stimulation-Induced Plasticity over Primary Somatosensory Cortex Changes Somatosensory Temporal Discrimination in Healthy Humans
BACKGROUND: The somatosensory temporal discrimination threshold (STDT) measures the ability to perceive two stimuli as being sequential. Precisely how the single cerebral structures contribute in controlling the STDT is partially known and no information is available about whether STDT can be modulated by plasticity-inducing protocols. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To investigate how the cortical and cerebellar areas contribute to the STDT we used transcranial magnetic stimulation and a neuronavigation system. We enrolled 18 healthy volunteers and 10 of these completed all the experimental sessions, including the control experiments. STDT was measured on the left hand before and after applying continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) on the right primary somatosensory area (S1), pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA), right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and left cerebellar hemisphere. We then investigated whether intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) on the right S1 improved the STDT. After right S1 cTBS, STDT values increased whereas after iTBS to the same cortical site they decreased. cTBS over the DLPFC and left lateral cerebellum left the STDT statistically unchanged. cTBS over the pre-SMA also left the STDT statistically unchanged, but it increased the number of errors subjects made in distinguishing trials testing a single stimulus and those testing paired stimuli. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings obtained by applying TBS to the cortical areas involved in processing sensory discrimination show that the STDT is encoded in S1, possibly depends on intrinsic S1 neural circuit properties, and can be modulated by plasticity-inducing TBS protocols delivered over S1. Our findings, giving further insight into mechanisms involved in somatosensory temporal discrimination, help interpret STDT abnormalities in movement disorders including dystonia and Parkinson's disease
Accordo di Programma MSE-CNR - Gruppo tematico: Celle a Combustibile (wp1) Responsabile scientifico del Progetto Vincenzo Antonucci - Accordo di Collaborazione tra CNR Dipartimento Energia e Trasporti (DET) e Dipartimento Ricerche Energetiche e Ambientali (DREAM) dell\u2019 Universit\ue0 di Palermo - Attivit\ue0 di ricerca nell\u2019ambito del Progetto: \u201cCelle a combustibile per applicazioni stazionarie cogenerative \u2013 Sviluppo di celle ad ossidi solidi per la co-generazione di energia elettrica e calore (freddo)\u201d - ATTIVITA\u2019 ANNO 2009. Attivit\ue0 di sviluppo di un modello di simulazione matematico fenomenologico di sistemi di generazione elettrica con taglie di potenza 100-200 kW - Report finale. Palermo: DREAM.
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