SCHOOL FOOD SERVICE, HOSPITAL AND HEALTCARE: NEW GUIDELINES ON NATIONAL LAW AND VETERINARY 488/99

The author reviews the guidelines of the National school catering, hospital and health care, recently published. Show only the aspect of Article 59 of the Law n.488/99, given the complexity of the issue and the rampant protectionism dictated more by ethnic and ethical and environmental claims, which has prompted some governments to fear the food self-sufficiency, in sharp contrast with European free trade rules. The issues related to Article 59 of Law No 488 of 23 December 1999 and the amendment to Article 123 of Law 388/2000, concerning the development of organic farming and quality, are commented in relation to the cd Procurement Code, in particular the legislative decree n.163 dated 12 April 2006 and subsequent amendments and additions, noting criticism of the check up as required by Article 59 and the low involvement of the veterinary hygienist

ACRYLAMIDE, FOOD AND EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES RECOMMENDATION

The exposure, often deceitful, to the acrylamide has determined notable apprehension in many consumers, so much that the Committee of the European Communities has financed the project HEATOX and has emanated the recommendation 2007/331. It is ascertained that proposed strategies have not brought to great changes in the food process chains, and neither in the traditional catering and housewife, for which more incisive measures are wished

SCHOOL FOOD SERVICE, HOSPITAL AND HEALTCARE: NEW GUIDELINES ON NATIONAL LAW AND VETERINARY 488/99

The author reviews the guidelines of the National school catering, hospital and health care, recently published. Show only the aspect of Article 59 of the Law n.488/99, given the complexity of the issue and the rampant protectionism dictated more by ethnic and ethical and environmental claims, which has prompted some governments to fear the food self-sufficiency, in sharp contrast with European free trade rules. The issues related to Article 59 of Law No 488 of 23 December 1999 and the amendment to Article 123 of Law 388/2000, concerning the development of organic farming and quality, are commented in relation to the cd Procurement Code, in particular the legislative decree n.163 dated 12 April 2006 and subsequent amendments and additions, noting criticism of the check up as required by Article 59 and the low involvement of the veterinary hygienist

TNF-α blocker effect of Naringenin-loaded Sericin microparticles that are potentially useful in the treatment of psoriasis

This study aims to evaluate the effect of combined use of the racemic flavanone Naringenin (NRG) and the protein sericin as TNF-α blockers. Sericin (SMs) and (R/S) NRG-loaded Sericin (SNRGMs) microparticles were prepared by spray-drying, characterized in terms of morphology and particle size distribution, and encapsulation efficiency was determined. Concerning morphology and particle size distribution of microparticles, results indicated that they were not affected by the presence of NRG. The encapsulation efficiency was almost quantitative (93%), thus proving that sericin can be advantageously loaded with (R/S) NRG. Biological evaluation of (R/S) NRG, SMs and SNRGMs was then performed in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (hPBMC). SNRGMs resulted cytotoxic at the higher dose used (200 μg/mL) and the effect was greater than (R/S) NRG alone. Moreover, even if sericin alone was not effective in suppressing LPS-induced serum TNF-α levels, SNRGMs loaded with 9.3% of (R/S) NRG were significantly more potent than (R/S) NRG alone. In summary, this study provides the proof of concept that sericin-based microspheres loaded with TNF-α-blockers could contribute to the down regulation of the cytokine and represents the starting point for the development of new topical formulations for the treatment of middle-stage psoriasis

Integration of three-dimensional rotational angiography in radiosurgical treatment planning of cerebral arteriovenous malformations

Purpose: Accuracy in delineating the target volume is a major issue for successful stereotactic radiosurgery for arteriovenous malformations. The aim of the present study was to describe a method to integrate three-dimensional (3D) rotational angiography (3DRA) into CyberKnife treatment planning and to investigate its potential advantages compared with computed tomography angiography (CTA) and magnetic resonance angiography. Methods and Materials: A total of 20 patients with a diagnosis of cerebral arteriovenous malformation were included in the present study. All patients underwent multislice computed tomography and 3D-volumetric CTA, 3DRA, and 3D magnetic resonance angiography. The contouring of the target and critical volumes was done separately using CTA and thereafter directly using 3DRA. The composite, conjoint, and disjoint volumes were measured. Results: The use of CTA or 3DRA resulted in significant differences in the target and critical volumes. The target volume averaged 3.49 +/- 3.01 mL measured using CTA and 3.26 +/- 2.93 mL measured using 3DRA, for a difference of 8% (p < .05). The conjoint and disjoint volume analysis showed an 88% volume overlap. The qualitative evaluation showed that the excess volume obtained using CTA was mostly tissue surrounding the nidus and venous structures. The mean contoured venous volume was 0.67 mL measured using CTA and 0.88 mL (range, 0.1-2.7) measured using 3DRA (p < .05). Conclusions: 3DRA is a volumetric angiographic study that can be integrated into computer-based treatment planning. Although whether 3DRA provides superior accuracy has not yet been proved, its high spatial resolution is attractive and offers a superior 3D view. This allows a better 3D understanding of the target volume and distribution of the radiation doses within the volume. Additional technical efforts to improve the temporal resolution and the development of software tools aimed at improving the performance of 3D contouring are warranted. (c) 2011 Elsevier Inc