Promoting conservation culture through exchange in training on traditional and contemporary lining methods

Conservation training is much influenced by the culture context in which it is developed. Depending on the country of origin, structural treatment of canvas paintings widely varies, reflecting climate conditions but also training traditions. Via an Erasmus Programme, traditional and contemporary lining techniques used in Belgium, Italy and Portugal were compared, bringing together teachers and students from École Supérieure des Arts Saint-Luc de Liège, the Universitá degli Studi Urbino “Carlo Bo” from Urbino and the Escola das Artes, Universidade Católica Portuguesa

A Lower Sodium Neapolitan Pizza Prepared with Seawater in Place of Salt: Nutritional Properties, Sensory Characteristics, and Metabolic Effects

Seawater is rich in minerals which may help confer good palatability to foods, favouring the use of smaller amounts of salt, a recognized measure of cardiovascular prevention. The aim of this study was to investigate the nutritional properties, sensory characteristics and metabolic effects of a typical Neapolitan pizza prepared with seawater (SWP) in place of common salt, in comparison with Standard traditional Pizza (StP). The nutritional characteristics and the chemical profile of the SWP and StP were assessed by chemical analyses and the use of Food Composition Tables. Twelve healthy volunteers were recruited for a Randomized Controlled Trial, with the consumption of one StP and one SWP using a balanced crossover design. The satiating power and palatability of the two pizzas were tested by the administration of Visual Analogue Scales. Serum glucose, insulin and sodium were measured every 30 min and 3 h urines were collected after each meal. SWP contained nearly 50% less NaCl and a larger amount of micronutrients compared with StP. No significant differences were detected between the two pizzas with regard to satiating power, pleasantness and glycemic and insulinemic response. However, a significant difference was found in the urine volume collected over the 3 h after the two meals (194 mL after StP vs. 292 mL after SWP, p = 0.018) and in the 3 h sodium balance (+1.6 g after StP vs. +0.5 g after SWP, p = 0.002). Conclusions: SWP appears to be a food with favourable nutritional characteristics, very good acceptability and healthy metabolic properties: these results warrant confirmation by a larger intervention trial

The LHX2-OTX2 transcriptional regulatory module controls retinal pigmented epithelium differentiation and underlies genetic risk for age-related macular degeneration.

Tissue-specific transcription factors (TFs) control the transcriptome through an association with noncoding regulatory regions (cistromes). Identifying the combination of TFs that dictate specific cell fate, their specific cistromes and examining their involvement in complex human traits remain a major challenge. Here, we focus on the retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE), an essential lineage for retinal development and function and the primary tissue affected in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness. By combining mechanistic findings in stem-cell-derived human RPE, in vivo functional studies in mice and global transcriptomic and proteomic analyses, we revealed that the key developmental TFs LHX2 and OTX2 function together in transcriptional module containing LDB1 and SWI/SNF (BAF) to regulate the RPE transcriptome. Importantly, the intersection between the identified LHX2-OTX2 cistrome with published expression quantitative trait loci, ATAC-seq data from human RPE, and AMD genome-wide association study (GWAS) data, followed by functional validation using a reporter assay, revealed a causal genetic variant that affects AMD risk by altering TRPM1 expression in the RPE through modulation of LHX2 transcriptional activity on its promoter. Taken together, the reported cistrome of LHX2 and OTX2, the identified downstream genes and interacting co-factors reveal the RPE transcription module and uncover a causal regulatory risk single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the multifactorial common blinding disease AMD

Dyslipidemia in Transplant Patients: Which Therapy?

Cardiovascular disease is the most important cause of death worldwide in recent years; an increasing trend is also shown in organ transplant patients subjected to immunosuppressive therapies, in which cardiovascular diseases represent one of the most frequent causes of long-term mortality. This is also linked to immunosuppressant-induced dyslipidemia, which occurs in 27 to 71% of organ transplant recipients. The aim of this review is to clarify the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying dyslipidemia in patients treated with immunosuppressants to identify immunosuppressive therapies which do not cause dyslipidemia or therapeutic pathways effective in reducing hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, or both, without further adverse events

Standardization of the Teratoma Assay for Analysis of Pluripotency of Human ES Cells and Biosafety of Their Differentiated Progeny

<div><p>Teratoma tumor formation is an essential criterion in determining the pluripotency of human pluripotent stem cells. However, currently there is no consistent protocol for assessment of teratoma forming ability. Here we present detailed characterization of a teratoma assay that is based on subcutaneous co-transplantation of defined numbers of undifferentiated human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) with mitotically inactivated feeder cells and Matrigel into immunodeficient mice. The assay was highly reproducible and 100% efficient when 100,000 hESCs were transplanted. It was sensitive, promoting teratoma formation after transplantation of 100 hESCs, though larger numbers of animals and longer follow-up were required. The assay could detect residual teratoma forming cells within differentiated hESC populations however its sensitivity was decreased in the presence of differentiated cells. Our data lay the foundation, for standardization of a teratoma assay for pluripotency analysis. The assay can also be used for bio-safety analysis of pluripotent stem cell-derived differentiated progeny.</p> </div

Kinetics of Teratoma Formation after Transplantation of Various Specific Numbers of Undifferentiated HES-1 Cells.

<p>Specific numbers of undifferentiated HES-1 cells were mixed with MMC-treated foreskin fibroblasts (to a total of 1×10⁶ cells) and Matrigel, and transplanted s.c. into NOD/SCID mice. The transplanted animals were monitored weekly for the appearance of tumors, and for the progression of tumor size. The endpoint of the experiments was when the tumors reached a size of ≥ 1 cm³ or 30 weeks after transplantation. (<b>A</b>): Efficiencies of teratoma tumor formation after transplantation of decreasing numbers of undifferentiated HES-1 cells. The trendline is depicted in dotted line. (<b>B</b>): A Kaplan-Meier plot showing the percentage of surviving mice transplanted with decreasing numbers of hESCs, at various time-points (1 W–30 W) during the transplantation experiments. The mice were sacrificed when the tumors reached a volume of ≥ 1 cm³. (<b>C</b>): The average time interval between transplantation and the detection of tumors. (<b>D</b>): The average volume of the teratomas at the time of animal sacrifice. All data relate to animals that developed teratomas. Data presented as mean ± SEM.</p

Histological Analysis of Teratomas Formed after Transplantation of undifferentiated HES-1 Cells.

<p>Images of sections of teratomas, formed after s.c. transplantation of undifferentiated hESCs with their feeders and Matrigel into NOD/SCID mice. (<b>A–C</b>): A teratoma formed from transplantation of 5×10⁵ hESCs. (A) A lower magnification (× 4) of a section of a teratoma showing derivatives of all three germ layers. (B–C) A higher magnification (× 20) of regions of (A) showing ectodermal, and endodermal structures (B) and mesodermal and endodermal structures (C). (<b>D–G</b>): A teratoma formed from transplantation of 100 hESCs. (D) A lower magnification (× 1.25) of a section of a teratoma showing derivatives of all three germ layers (E–G) a higher magnification (× 20) of regions of (D) showing ectodermal structures (E), mesodermal structures (F) and endodermal structures (G).</p

Histological Analysis of Teratomas formed after Transplantation of RPE Cells Spiked with Undifferentiated HES-1 Cells.

<p>(<b>A–B</b>): H&E staining of a section of a teratoma and an RPE graft generated after transplantation of 5×10⁵ HES-1-derived RPE cells spiked with 1×10⁴ undifferentiated HES-1 cells. (<b>C</b>): Efficiency of teratoma formation after transplantation of 5×10⁵ HES-1-derived RPE cells spiked with decreasing numbers of undifferentiated HES-1 cells.</p