Speciation of different forms of Se in bovine blood by enzymatic extraction and HPLC/Photo-Reduction/HG-ICP-OES.

Selenium is essential for the vital functions of the human and animal organism, such as growth, reproduction, prevention, and the protection of its muscular integrity. Although this dependence is well characterized, aspects related to selenium speciation still need to be studied further. This work describes the development of an alternative method for selenium speciation in bovine blood samples using a hyphenated analytical system (HPLC-UV-HG-ICP-OES). The influence of the main parameters related to the detection of Se species, such as separation efficiency, photo-reduction and hydride generation, were studied. Enzymatic reaction with proteinase-K (1 day at 37ºC) was employed for sample preparation. An on-line UV reduction system was adopted to convert the different species of Se to Se(IV). For the chromatographic system, equipped with an anionic exchange column, a phosphate-buffer of 40 mmol L-1 in the pH of 6.0 was used as the mobile phase (flow rate of 1 mL min-1 ) for separation of the different Se species. To increase the sensitivity, hydride generation was used, followed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) analysis. The developed method for Se speciation in bovine blood samples was performed completely on-line. The limits of detection (LODs) were 9.5, 7.2, 5.8, 3.1, 4.4 ?g L-1 and the limits of quantification (LOQs) were 31.4, 23.9, 20.1, 10.5, and 14.5 ?g L-1 for selenomethylselenocysteine, seleno-DL-methionine, Se(IV), and Se(VI), respectively. The recoveries obtained were 96% for Se(IV), 98% for Se(VI), 91% for selenocystamine, 89% for seleno-cysteine, and 84% for seleno-methionine

Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Profiles of Spent Coffee Ground Extracts for the Treatment of Neurodegeneration

Spent coffee grounds (SCGs), waste products of coffee beverage production, are rich in organic compounds such as phenols. Different studies have demonstrated phenol beneficial effects in counteracting neurodegenerative diseases. These diseases are associated with oxidative stress and neuroinflammation, which initiates the degeneration of neurons by overactivating microglia. Unfortunately, to date, there are no pharmacological therapies to treat these pathologies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the phenolic content of 4 different SCG extracts and their ability to counteract oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. Caffeine and 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid were the most abundant compounds in all extracts, followed by 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid and 3,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid. The four extracts demonstrated a different ability to counteract oxidative stress and neuroinflammation in vitro. In particular, the methanol extract was the most effective in protecting neuron-like SH-SY5Y cells against H2O2-induced oxidative stress by upregulating endogenous antioxidant enzymes such as thioredoxin reductase, heme oxygenase 1, NADPH quinone oxidoreductase, and glutathione reductase. The water extract was the most effective in counteracting lipopolysaccharide-induced neuroinflammation in microglial BV-2 cells by strongly reducing the expression of proinflammatory mediators through the modulation of the TLR4/NF-kappa B pathway. On these bases, SCG extracts could represent valuable nutraceutical sources for the treatment of neurodegeneratio

Use of bremsstrahlung radiation to identify hidden weak beta- sources: feasibility and possible use in radio-guided surgery

The recent interest in beta- radionuclides for radio-guided surgery derives from the feature of the beta radiation to release energy in few millimeters of tissue. Such feature can be used to locate residual tumors with a probe located in its immediate vicinity, determining the resection margins with an accuracy of millimeters. The drawback of this technique is that it does not allow to identify tumors hidden in more than few mm of tissue. Conversely, the bremsstrahlung X-rays emitted by the interaction of the beta- radiation with the nuclei of the tissue are relatively penetrating. To complement the beta- probes, we have therefore developed a detector based on cadmium telluride, an X-ray detector with a high quantum efficiency working at room temperature. We measured the secondary emission of bremsstrahlung photons in a target of Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) with a density similar to living tissue. The results show that this device allows to detect a 1 ml residual or lymph-node with an activity of 1 kBq hidden under a layer of 10 mm of PMMA with a 3:1 signal to noise, i.e. with a five sigma discrimination in less than 5 s

State space modelling and data analysis exercises in LISA Pathfinder

LISA Pathfinder is a mission planned by the European Space Agency to test the key technologies that will allow the detection of gravitational waves in space. The instrument on-board, the LISA Technology package, will undergo an exhaustive campaign of calibrations and noise characterisation campaigns in order to fully describe the noise model. Data analysis plays an important role in the mission and for that reason the data analysis team has been developing a toolbox which contains all the functionalities required during operations. In this contribution we give an overview of recent activities, focusing on the improvements in the modelling of the instrument and in the data analysis campaigns performed both with real and simulated data.Comment: Plenary talk presented at the 9th International LISA Symposium, 21-25 May 2012, Pari

The integrated action framework of Rete Natura 2000 Basilicata

Basilicata Natura 2000 network consists of 50 Sites of Community Importance (SCI) and 17 Special Protection Zones (SPZs), covering alltogether more than 17% of the regional area. This network, partially overlapping other forms of land protection, represents a valuable environmental, agricultural and cultural heritage, in which the safeguard of natural resources and landscapes has to be coupled with the needs of the local population; especially in relation to development and social welfare. The Natura 2000 project involved a panel of experts belonging to 15 different institutions, to form a steering committee with the following professional and scientific skills: vegetation, landscape, fauna, geology, agriculture, forestry, sea, architecture and planning, territorial analysis and representation. Along the 4 years project, the steering committee designed and coordinated the activities of over 150 professionals, mostly from Basilicata, who carried out field surveys and data analysis aimed at assessing the environmental conditions in the SCI and SPZs, proposing measures and plans, implementing thematic databases. SCI/SPZ management plans, by themselves, may not be sufficient to fulfill the requirements of an effective environmental policy, which has to go along with the awareness of people, citizens and local administrators about the instances of a sustainable policy. For this reason, the activities of surveying and management have been coupled with a communication project that involves all the experts and a relevant part of professionals who participated to the Natura 2000 project. The communication activity implies the use and the creation of several tools (publishing, video, websites, meetings, photo contests, social networks ...) targeted to different groups: policy makers (local, regional, national, European ), organizations, citizens, schools, farmers, small and medium enterprises (www.natura2000basilicata.it). A further goal is to feature the environmental highlights of Basilicata which are linked to a specific and often surprising integration of an ancient human presence with the natural elements, and the role performed by the traditional farming activities in the maintenance of ecosystem dynamics and services (in particular with agriculture). In fact, a good number of Natura 2000 sites can be considered High Nature Value Farmlands (HNVF, sensu E. Andersen, 2003), in which a virtuous relationship was established a long time ago between traditional practices and the environment itself. In this context, it combines the convergence between the activities carried on the Natura 2000 network and the project Agrival (http://utagri.enea.it/projects/agrival), a research project led by ENEA in Val d'Agri, in order to experimentally contribute to the methodology for the identification of the High Nature Value Farmlands and make them cohabit with the other economic activities in the local context. The process started with the project Basilicata Natura 2000 Network is therefore an interesting methodological model that, in coherence with the financial planning of the European Community for the period 2014-2020 (Brussels, 12.12.2011, COMM. 874) puts together projects on environmental issues to boost the meeting of agricultural, environmental, cultural and productive policies, fostered by the EC, and enhancing the implementation of the "Prioritized Actions Frameworks" (PAF), pointed out by the European Commission as the optimal tools for the management of Natura 2000 networks

Comparative health technology assessment of robotic-assisted, direct manual laparoscopic and open surgery:a prospective study

Background: Despite many publications reporting on the increased hospital cost of robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) compared to direct manual laparoscopic surgery (DMLS) and open surgery (OS), the reported health economic studies lack details on clinical outcome, precluding valid health technology assessment (HTA). Methods: The present prospective study reports total cost analysis on 699 patients undergoing general surgical, gynecological and thoracic operations between 2011 and 2014 in the Italian Public Health Service, during which period eight major teaching hospitals treated the patients. The study compared total healthcare costs of RAS, DMLS and OS based on prospectively collected data on patient outcome in addition to healthcare costs incurred by the three approaches. Results: The cost of RAS operations was significantly higher than that of OS and DMLS for both gynecological and thoracic operations (p < 0.001). The study showed no significant difference in total costs between OS and DMLS. Total costs of general surgery RAS were significantly higher than those of OS (p < 0.001), but not against DMLS general surgery. Indirect costs were significantly lower in RAS compared to both DMLS general surgery and OS gynecological surgery due to the shorter length of hospital stay of RAS approach (p < 0.001). Additionally, in all specialties compared to OS, patients treated by RAS experienced a quicker recovery and significantly less pain during the hospitalization and after discharge. Conclusions: The present HTA while confirming higher total healthcare costs for RAS operations identified significant clinical benefits which may justify the increased expenditure incurred by this approach