Plasticità e variazioni microstrutturali in rame ETP1 trafilato o laminato a freddo

Si è effettuato uno studio degli effetti della deformazione plastica del rame Cu-ETP1 per trafilaturae laminazione a freddo mediante osservazioni microstrutturali al TEM e al SEM, prove di trazione,durezza Vickers, resistività elettrica e diffrazione a raggi X. Si è osservato che la trafilatura a freddodetermina l’allungamento progressivo dei grani secondo la direzione di lavorazione, mentre ai bordidi grano si formano grovigli di dislocazioni sempre più fitti ed aumentano i precipitati di ossido di rame;la deformazione è tale da provocare l’aumento della resistenza a rottura per trazione e della durezza.Un appropriato trattamento termico dopo la trafilatura consente la ricristallizzazione completadel materiale, indipendentemente dal diametro del filo, per cui scompaiono i grovigli di dislocazionie la distribuzione di micro-ossiduli di rame ritorna ad essere omogenea. Anche durante la laminazionea freddo il materiale incrudisce ma esiste un ben definito limite alla comprimibilità del grano,normalmente alla direzione di laminazione, che dà luogo ad un valore di durezza costante a partireda una riduzione di spessore di ~80%. L’analisi per diffrazione a raggi X delle superfici laminateha dimostrato che questo comportamento dipende dalla molteplicità del sistema di scorrimento.La conoscenza più approfondita degli effetti microstrutturali dei processi metallurgici ha consentitodi perfezionare il processo di lavorazione per dotare il filo di una capacità stabile di deformabilitàplastica e di un’elasticità residua minima dopo la ricottura. Entrambe le qualità si rivelano essenzialiper la produzione di fili micro-capillari per avvolgimenti a spirale

Plasticità e variazioni microstrutturali in rame ETP1 trafilato o laminato a freddo

Si è effettuato uno studio degli effetti della deformazione plastica del rame Cu-ETP1 per trafilatura e laminazione a freddo mediante osservazioni microstrutturali al TEM e al SEM, prove di trazione, durezza Vickers, resistività elettrica e diffrazione a raggi X. Si è osservato che la trafilatura a freddo determina l’allungamento progressivo dei grani secondo la direzione di lavorazione, mentre ai bordi di grano si formano grovigli di dislocazioni sempre più fitti ed aumentano i precipitati di ossido di rame; la deformazione è tale da provocare l’aumento della resistenza a rottura per trazione e della durezza. Un appropriato trattamento termico dopo la trafilatura consente la ricristallizzazione completa del materiale, indipendentemente dal diametro del filo, per cui scompaiono i grovigli di dislocazioni e la distribuzione di micro-ossiduli di rame ritorna ad essere omogenea. Anche durante la laminazione a freddo il materiale incrudisce ma esiste un ben definito limite alla comprimibilità del grano, normalmente alla direzione di laminazione, che dà luogo ad un valore di durezza costante a partire da una riduzione di spessore di ~80%. L’analisi per diffrazione a raggi X delle superfici laminate ha dimostrato che questo comportamento dipende dalla molteplicità del sistema di scorrimento. La conoscenza più approfondita degli effetti microstrutturali dei processi metallurgici ha consentito di perfezionare il processo di lavorazione per dotare il filo di una capacità stabile di deformabilità plastica e di un’elasticità residua minima dopo la ricottura. Entrambe le qualità si rivelano essenziali per la produzione di fili micro-capillari per avvolgimenti a spirale

Understanding the prebiotic potential of different dietary fibers using an <em>in vitro</em> continuous adult fermentation model (PolyFermS)

Abstract Consumption of fermentable dietary fibers (DFs), which can induce growth and/or activity of specific beneficial populations, is suggested a promising strategy to modulate the gut microbiota and restore health in microbiota-linked diseases. Until today, inulin and fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) are the best studied DFs, while little is known about the gut microbiota-modulating effects of β-glucan, α-galactooligosaccharide (α-GOS) and xylo-oligosaccharide (XOS). Here, we used three continuous in vitro fermentation PolyFermS model to study the modulating effect of these DFs on two distinct human adult proximal colon microbiota, independently from the host. Supplementation of DFs, equivalent to a 9 g daily intake, induced a consistent metabolic response depending on the donor microbiota. Irrespective to the DF supplemented, the Bacteroidaceae-Ruminococcaceae dominated microbiota produced more butyrate (up to 96%), while the Prevotellaceae-Ruminococcaceae dominated microbiota produced more propionate (up to 40%). Changes in abundance of specific bacterial taxa upon DF supplementation explained the observed changes in short-chain fatty acid profiles. Our data suggest that the metabolic profile of SCFA profile may be the most suitable and robust read-out to characterize microbiota-modulating effects of a DF and highlights importance to understand the inter-individual response to a prebiotic treatment for mechanistic understanding and human application

Protein biomarkers as indicator for water pollution in some lagoons of Sardinia (Italy)

1 - Studying the expressed proteome in mussel tissues is important to understand many different biological, physiological and ecological aspects that may be of advantage in shellfish rearing, encompassing growth cycle, food safety and traceability as well as understanding the biological effects of environmental pollution and climate change.2 - The present work attempted to accomplish a systematic characterization of the foot muscle proteome of M. galloprovincialis, to gather data about its variability in physiological conditions occurring in different environments of mussel rearing and to identify a putative set of protein biomarkers that may be significantly correlated to environmental factors.3 - A total of 360 mussels were sampled from three different lagoons of Sardinia, each one characterized by its different environmental and ecological system. According to a double latin square design, a smaller subgroup of 54 mussels that was representative of the original population was submitted to proteomics analysis and trace metals quantification. Classical and multivariate statistics was performed to correlate protein expression data to trace metal content and to environmental parameters recorded in situ.4 - A protein expression pattern of 79 protein was identified as related to the response to environmental stressors like dissolved oxygen, water acidity, temperature and trace metals.5 - The identified proteins are cytoskeletal proteins (α-tubulin, β-tubulin, myosin light chains and tropomyosin) or are involved in metabolic pathways (fructose bisphosphate aldolase), in energy pathways (cytosolic malate dehydrogenase and arginine kinase), in antioxidant defense (protein disulfide isomerase) and in protein turnover (different isoforms of the heat shock proteins Hsp70 and Hsc71); also the histone protein H2B is reported.6 - Our preliminary results show that there is correlation between the expressed protein pattern and the environmental conditions, confirming the findings of other proteomics works carried out on different mussel tissues and other marine invertebrates. Further validation procedures of the identified correlations must be accomplished in order to regard the identified proteins as biomarkers for environmental pollution and climate chang

Cancer Immunotherapy by Blocking Immune Checkpoints on Innate Lymphocytes.

Immune checkpoints refer to a plethora of inhibitory pathways of the immune system that play a crucial role in maintaining self-tolerance and in tuning the duration and amplitude of physiological immune responses to minimize collateral tissue damages. The breakdown of this delicate balance leads to pathological conditions, including cancer. Indeed, tumor cells can develop multiple mechanisms to escape from immune system defense, including the activation of immune checkpoint pathways. The development of monoclonal antibodies, targeting inhibitory immune checkpoints, has provided an immense breakthrough in cancer therapy. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), initially developed to reverse functional exhaustion in T cells, recently emerged as important actors in natural killer (NK)-cell-based immunotherapy. Moreover, the discovery that also helper innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) express inhibitory immune checkpoints, suggests that these molecules might be targeted on ILCs, to modulate their functions in the tumor microenvironment. Recently, other strategies to achieve immune checkpoint blockade have been developed, including miRNA exploiting systems. Herein, we provide an overview of the current knowledge on inhibitory immune checkpoints on NK cells and ILCs and we discuss how to target these innate lymphocytes by ICI in both solid tumors and hematological malignancies

Different features of tumor-associated NK cells in patients with low-grade or high-grade peritoneal carcinomatosis

Peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) is a rare disease defined as diffused implantation of neoplastic cells in the peritoneal cavity. This clinical picture occurs during the evolution of peritoneal tumors, and it is the main cause of morbidity and mortality of patients affected by these pathologies, though cytoreductive surgery with heated intra-peritoneal chemotherapy (CRS/HIPEC) is yielding promising results. In the present study, we evaluated whether the tumor microenvironment of low-grade and high-grade PC could affect the phenotypic and functional features and thus the anti-tumor potential of NK cells. We show that while in the peritoneal fluid (PF) of low-grade PC most CD56dim NK cells show a relatively immature phenotype (NKG2A+KIR\u2013CD57\u2013CD16dim), in the PF of high-grade PC NK cells are, in large majority, mature (CD56dimKIR+CD57+CD16bright). Furthermore, in low-grade PC, PF-NK cells are characterized by a sharp down-regulation of some activating receptors, primarily NKp30 and DNAM-1, while, in high-grade PC, PF-NK cells display a higher expression of the PD-1 inhibitory checkpoint. The compromised phenotype observed in low-grade PC patients corresponds to a functional impairment. On the other hand, in the high-grade PC patients PF-NK cells show much more important defects that only partially reflect the compromised phenotype detected. These data suggest that the PC microenvironment may contribute to tumor escape from immune surveillance by inducing different NK cell impaired features leading to altered anti-tumor activity. Notably, after CRS/HIPEC treatment, the altered NK cell phenotype of a patient with a low-grade disease and favorable prognosis was reverted to a normal one. Our present data offer a clue for the development of new immunotherapeutic strategies capable of restoring the NK-mediated anti-tumor responses in association with the CRS/HIPEC treatment to increase the effectiveness of the current therapy

THE CONCEPT OF LAW AND EFFICACY

Jedno od značenja izraza ‘učinkovitost’ odnosi se na činjenicu da se adresati pravnih normi stvarno ponašaju onako kako to od njih zahtijevaju pravne norme. To se značenje izraza obično koristi u filozofskopravnim raspravama glede toga je li učinkovitost bitan element pojma prava. Prema pravnom pozitivizmu, učinkovitost je u nekim slučajevima i na određene načine uvjet važenja (vrijeđenja) pravnih normi i pravnih sustava. S druge strane, pravni je realizam sklon potpunom poistovjećivanju pravnog važenja s učinkovitosti ili njegovu svođenju na učinkovitost. Prema tome, u oba je filozofskopravna pravca učinkovitost u pravilu uključena u oblikovanje njihovih pojmova prava. Međutim, dok pravnopozitivističko shvaćanje ne utječe na najuobičajenije značenje važenja pravne norme (pripadanje pravne norme pravnom sustavu), a utvrđivanjem učinkovitosti kao kriterija postojanja pravnog sustava ne dodaje mnogo objašnjenju pojma prava, pravnorealističko se shvaćanje suočava s ozbiljnim prigovorima glede svoje objašnjavalačke prikladnosti.One of the senses of the term ‘efficacy’ refers to the fact that norm-addresses actually behave as is required of them by legal norms. This sense of the term is one which is generally used within the jurisprudential discussions about whether efficacy is the essential element of the concept of law. According to legal positivism, efficacy is in some cases and in certain ways the condition of legal validity of both legal norms and legal systems. On the other hand, legal realism tends to entirely identify legal validity or reduce it to efficacy. Thus, in both jurisprudential approaches, efficacy tends to play a role in shaping their respective concepts of law. However, while the legal positivistic view does not affect the most standard sense of legal validity of the legal norm (i.e. the legal norms’ membership in the legal system), and does not add much to the explanation of the concept of law by identifying efficacy as the criterion of legal systems’ existence, the legal realistic view is faced with some serious objections regarding its explanatory adequacy

Brettanomyces bruxellensis yeasts: impact on wine and winemaking

Yeasts belonging to the Brettanomyces/Dekkera genus are non-conventional yeasts, which affect winemaking by causing wine spoilage all over the world. This mini-review focuses on recent results concerning the presence of Brettanomyces bruxellensis throughout the wine processing chain. Here, culture-dependent and independent methods to detect this yeast on grapes and at the very early stage of wine production are encompassed. Chemical, physical and biological tools, devised for the prevention and control of such a detrimental species during winemaking are also presented. Finally, the mini-review identifies future research areas relevant to the improvement of wine safety and sensory profiles