Il Culto di Cerere in Sardegna

Il culto rivolto alla dea Cerere in Sardegna in epoca romana è strettamente connesso ai riti della fertilità della terra in una regione destinata, già dal periodo della dominazione cartaginese, alla prevalente coltivazione dei cereali. Le caratteristiche salienti che distinguono la vicenda dell’affermazione del culto nell’isola sono sia la sua prossimità alla più remota memoria culturale e religiosa indigena, sia l’eredità della tradizione cartaginese che introduce nell’isola il culto di Demetra, seppure filtrato a sua volta dalla percezione che ne avevano le popolazioni puniche. Una vicenda complessa, fortemente condizionata dalla sfera di appartenenza alla società contadina di coloro che si rivolgono alla dea

Design and evaluation of dry-coated tablets for colonic delivery of diclofenac sodium

A colonic drug delivery system is required to protect a drug during its transit through the upper gastro-intestinal tract and allow its release in the colon. The aim of this study was the preparation of dry-coated tablets designed for colonic release of the model drug Diclofenac sodium (DS). The system consists of a drug-pectine (PC) mixture as the core and hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) alone or mixed in different ratios with poly(ε-caprolactone) (CL) as the coat layer

Analisi del ruolo fisiopatologico della proteina LRRK2,responsabile della malattia di Parkinson familiare di tipo 8

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, characterized by selective loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Mutations in the gene coding for Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) cause autosomal-dominant Parkinson’s disease (PARK8). LRRK2 is a large multidomain protein of 2527 amino acids composed of different functional domains. The pathological mutations have been associated with increase of LRRK2 kinase activity, although very little is known about its physiological substrates and its role in PD pathogenesis. In this work, using a GST-pull down approach coupled to mass spectrometry, I have identified a putative new interacting protein of LRRK2, the component of exocyst complex Sec8. To examine this possibility, I performed co-immunoprecipitation experiments and in vitro kinase assay to investigate the ability of wild type or mutant LRRK2 to phosphorylate Sec8. I was able to observe a physical interaction between Sec8 and LRRK2 in transfected neuronal cells. Moreover LRRK2 is able to phosphorylate Sec8 both in vitro and in vivo. During my research work I have also investigated the LRRK2 subcellular localization. Using neuronal transfected cell, I found that LRRK2 is associated with outer membrane of mitochondria but is unable to enter into the mitochondria even if we fuse LRRK2 with matrix or intermembrane space localization signals

Contributo dei potenziali evento-correlati (ERPs) e della scintigrafia cerebrale di perfusione (SPECT) 99mTc-HMPAO nella diagnosi clinica e neuropsicologica dei pazienti con Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)

Aim: The aim was to evaluate the contribution of cerebral perfusion SPECT data and ERPs recording as tools to serve the neuropsychological and clinical diagnosis in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Methods: Forty-three patients (age 66.4±7.6; 12 men; MMSE 27.1±2.3; education 10.7±4.1) performed a selective neuropsychological battery to assess general cognitive status, short- and long-term verbal memory, general intelligence, constructional praxia and verbal fluency. All patients underwent ERPs recordings (N400 and P300) and 99mTcHMPAO SPECT. Results: Pathological performances were recorded in the following neurological tests: Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (45.0%), FAB (42.9%), Verbal Span (39.5%), Prose Recall (37.2%). The P300 and N400 were altered in 39.5% and 85.0% of the patients tested, respectively. Overall, a significantly higher regional hypoperfusion incidence was detected in all patients with a special interest of the limbic lobe bilaterally, the left frontal lobe (BA6,8,9,44) and of the left temporal lobe (BA20,22,38). Conclusion: According to our findings, MCI subjects show a significantly altered ERPs and SPECT pattern: the functional impairment is likely to precede detectable structural changes and cognitive deficit. Thus, the use of ERPs and SPECT might be considered as a valuable tool for clinicians to longitudinally screen and monitor subjects with memory disorders, so an early diagnosis of MCI might be able to predict the conversion from MCI to dementia.</br

Aggiornamento sulla scrapie in Toscana

La Scrapie, malattia neurodegenerativa di ovini e caprini compresa nelle Encefalopatie Spongiformi Trasmissibili (TSE), è diventata oggi un obiettivo prioritario dell'UE per l'ipotesi, sperimentalmente plausibile, della circolazione dell'agente della BSE nella popolazione ovi-caprina. La necessità di un'efficace sorveglianza ha portato le autorità sanitarie ad attuare un programma di monitoraggio, in base al quale a partire dal 1° gennaio 2002 alla sorveglianza passiva (SP) in tutta la Comunità Europea è stata affiancata la sorveglianza attiva (S

Development of a specific immunomagnetic capture-PCR for rapid detection of viable <i>Mycoplasma agalactiae</i> in sheep milk samples

Aims: To develop an immunomagnetic capture (IMC) to detect viable Mycoplasma agalactiae in routine ovine milk samples. Methods and Results: Polyclonal antibodies against two M. agalactiae membrane surface proteins (P80 and P55) were covalently conjugated to magnetic beads (MBs) to form MB-Ab80 and MB-Ab55. Mycoplasma agalactiae cells were captured by a specific antigen–antibody reaction and magnetic separation. Immunomagnetic capture (IMC) was used to isolate and concentrate M. agalactiae in serial decimal dilutions and in artificially contaminated milk to facilitate subsequent detection by PCR. A 375-bp fragment of M. agalactiae was amplified using a pair of M. agalactiae-specific primers in PCR. The limit of detection of IMC-PCR method ranged from 10 to 102 CCU ml -1 when mycoplasmas were resuspended in PBS and from 102 to 103 CCU ml-1 when mycoplasmas were resuspended in uncontaminated ovine milk. This study also describes the application of IMC-PCR method to test for M. agalactiae in 516 milk samples collected from sheep with suspected contagious agalactia. Its performance was evaluated relative to culture. Conclusions: This report has demonstrated for the first time, the effective use of rapid and reliable IMC combined with PCR assay for the detection of viable M. agalactiae. Significance and Impact of the Study: The method IMC-PCR provides an alternative to conventional microbiological detection, method and it could be applied to quick detection of M. agalactiae in routine sheep milk samples.</br

<i>In vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i> studies of artichoke extract (<i>Cynara scolymus</i> L.) as ketoprofen skin penetration enhancer

In this study, the enhancing effect of artichoke extract containing cynaropicrin on the in vitro and in vivo percutaneous absorption of ketoprofen from gels has been investigated

Genomic analysis of Sardinian 26544/OG10 isolate of African swine fever virus

Abstract Comparative genomic analysis aims to underscore genetic assortment diversification in distinct viral isolates, to identify deletions and to carry out evolutionary studies. We sequenced the first complete genome of an ASFV p72 genotype I strain isolated from domestic pigs in Sardinia (Italy) using Next-Generation Sequence (NGS) technology. The genome is 182,906 bp long, contains 164 ORFs and has a 99.20% nucleotide identity to the L60 strain. Comparison analysis against the 16 ASFV genomes available in the database showed that 136 ORFs are present in nine ASFV isolates annotated to date. The most divergent ORFs codify for uncharacterized proteins such as X69R and DP96R, which have 51.3% and 70.4% nucleotide identity to the other isolates. A comparison between the Sardinian isolate and the avirulent isolates OURT 88/3, NHV, BA71V was also carried out. Major variations were found within the multigene families (MGFs) located in the left and right genome regions

Sintesi e valutazione biologica di nuovi "lead compounds" per la terapia antitubercolare. Derivati del 2-(benzotriazol-1(2)-il)-3- acrilonitrile e delle chinossaline 1,4-diossido

L'insorgenza sempre più elevata di ceppi di M. tuberculosis chemioresistenti ai farmaci abitualmente impiegati in terapia (MDR) ha spronato la ricerca di nuovi "lead compounds" per lo sviluppo di molecole che, agendo con meccanismo diverso da quello dei farmaci attualmente impiegati in terapia, possano contribuire a superare il problema della farmacoresistenza. In quest'ambito le nostre ricerche si sono orientate verso due differenti direzioni. La prima prende lo spunto dai risultati ottenuti in passato da vari gruppi di ricerca con alcuni derivati di sintesi di sistemi eterociclici aromatici quali benzimidazolo, benzotiazolo, benzoisotiazolo e benzofurano, che avevano dimostrato attività  antimicobatterica in vitro soprattutto nei confronti di ceppi MDR. La seconda linea di ricerca si è basata sulla nota attività  antibatterica e soprattutto antimicotica della chinossalina 1,4-diossido, con la consapevolezza che spesso l'attività  antimicobatterica è associata a quella antifungina