Perspectives on Improving the Working Conditions of NTT Faculty

Perspectives on Improving the Working Conditions of NTT Faculty discusses issues in working conditions for NTT (non-tenure track) faculty

Formulation of novel Functional Foods and Nutraceutical Products from Annurca apple with healthy human effects

The present thesis work aimed to the in vitro and in vivo evaluation of the nutraceutical potential of whole fruit or only of its polyphenolic fraction mainly obtained from a specific apple Malus pumila Miller cv Annurca. This apple fruit is used in various manners, the whole fruit is enabled to produce a functional food, while the polyphenolic extract is used to design and project different nutraceutical formulations and vegetal extract innovative using as potential medical device. Various healthy human bioactivities of Annurca apple formulations have been investigated, from the cholesterol-lowering effect, atherosclerosis prevention to anticancer activity. Particularly, the whole fruit Annurca apple is used to the preparation of probiotic apple puree, a probiotic juice, with various purposes: no dairy probiotic product, with higher bioaccessibility (percentage increases of 40.12% of TC, and of 11.89%of antioxidant activity) and consequently higher bioavailability of phenolic compounds than in simple puree. Additionally preliminary in vivo study, has shown a reduction of TMAO blood levels (63,12%), due to the combined effects of probiotic and Annurca apple polyphenols daily intake. Industrial scale-up of row lab scale polyphenolic Annurca apple extract, resulting in two products AMS (polyphenolic extract microencapsulated with maltodextrins (400mg)) and AMSbz (polyphenolic extract microencapsulated with maltodextrins (400 mg), biotin (0.20 mg), selenomethionine (80.0 µg), and zinc acetate (21.0 mg)). From randomized clinical trial, was obtained on average, after two months of treatment a % increase of hairs growth, weight and keratin content by 118.3, 37.3, and 35.7%. After, in vitro treatment of HaCaT cells (human keratinocyte cell line) increased the keratin expression of three fold against the control. These effects are ascribable a dimeric procyanidin. The same compound is responsible of interaction at duodenal level, with intestinal micelle, particularly interacting with phosphatidylcholine determine a breakage micellar system, causing the cholesterol precipitation, limiting its intestinal absorption. Finally, lab and industrial scale of polyphenolic Annurca apple extracts were tested on in vitro cultures of cells carrying FAP (Familial Adenomatous Polyposis) mutations and on ex vivo biopsies of FAP patients, the WNT inhibitory activity of Annurca was studied. Duodenal digested apple extract has shown no inhibitory activity on WNT pathway, the signaling via responsible of FAP, but stronger inhibitory activity has been shown by industrial-scale product, based on another apple cultivar named “Limoncella” Malus Domestica cv Limoncella. This effect was ascribable to the quercetin content of Limoncella’s industrial product higher than the equivalent Annurca version

A sampling strategy of the radiation operator in near-zone based on an asymptotic kernel

In this paper, we address the problem of discretizing the singular system of the radiation operator concerning the case of a magnetic strip current whose radiated field is observed in near-zone on a bounded line parallel to the source. This question has been already addressed in previous articles with the limitation that the extension of the observation domain does not overcome the source size. In this article, we remove such limitation, hence, we provide a discrete model that well approximates the singular values of the radiation operator in the case where the observation domain is larger than the source

On the Singular Spectrum of the Radiation Operator for Multiple and Extended Observation Domains

The problem of studying how spatial diversity impacts on the spectrum (singular values) of the radiation operator is addressed. This topic is of great importance because of its connection with the so-called number of degrees of freedom concept which in turn is a key parameter in inverse source problems as well as to the problem of transmitting information by waves from a source domain to an observation domain. The case of a bounded rectilinear source with the radiated field observed over multiple bounded rectilinear domains parallel to the source is considered. Then, the analysis is generalized to two-dimensional extended observation domains. Analytical arguments are developed to estimate the pertinent singular value behavior. This allows highlighting the way observation domain features affect spectrum behavior. Numerical examples are shown to support the analytical results

Scattered Far-Field Sampling in Multi-Static Multi-Frequency Configuration

This paper deals with an inverse scattering problem under a linearized scattering model for a multi-static/multi-frequency configuration. The focus is on the determination of a sampling strategy that allows the reduction of the number of measurement points and frequencies and at the same time keeping the same achievable performance in the reconstructions as for full data acquisition. For the sake of simplicity, a 2D scalar geometry is addressed, and the scattered far-field data are collected. The relevant scattering operator exhibits a singular value spectrum that abruptly decays (i.e., a step-like behavior) beyond a certain index, which identifies the so-called number of degrees of freedom (NDF) of the problem. Accordingly, the sampling strategy is derived by looking for a discrete finite set of data points for which the arising semi-discrete scattering operator approximation can reproduce the most significant part of the singular spectrum, i.e., the singular values preceding the abrupt decay. To this end, the observation variables are suitably transformed so that Fourier-based arguments can be used. The arising sampling grid returns several data that is close to the NDF. Unfortunately, the resulting data points (in the angle-frequency domain) leading to a complicated measurement configuration which requires collecting the data at different spatial positions for each different frequency. To simplify the measurement configuration, a suboptimal sampling strategy is then proposed which, by an iterative procedure, enforces the sampling points to belong to a rectangular grid in the angle-frequency domain. As a result of this procedure, the overall data points (i.e., the couples angle-frequency) actually increase but the number of different angles and frequencies reduce and lead to a measurement configuration that is more practical to implement. A few numerical examples are included to check the proposed sampling scheme

Effects of different vegetation types on burnt soil properties and microbial communities

The intensive wildfires recurring in the Mediterranean area modify soil physico-chemical properties, in turn inducing changes in soil microbial abundance and activity. Soils were sampled from burnt and adjacent unburnt sites within Vesuvius National Park 1 year after a large wildfire occurred in summer 2017. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the effects of fires on soil characteristics and to investigate whether different plant types contribute to mitigating or enhancing these effects. The results showed lower organic matter and water content and a higher C/N ratio in burnt than in unburnt soils. In particular, this trend was the same for all the plant types investigated, with the exception of soils covered by black locust tree and holm oak, which showed a higher C/N ratio in unburnt than in burnt soils. In soils covered by holm oaks, a shift in the bacterial and fungal fractions occurred between burnt and unburnt soils, whereas the amount of ammonia oxidisers was notably higher in burnt than in unburnt soils covered by black locusts; the highest N concentration was also measured in burnt soils covered by black locusts. The burnt soils showed a lower metabolic quotient and a higher rate of organic carbon mineralisation compared with unburnt soils, and this trend was particularly evident in soils under herbaceous plants. The findings suggest that soils covered by herbaceous species are more sensitive to fire effects and less able to restore their functionality compared with soils covered by trees

Investigating women’s awareness and perceptions on human papillomavirus infection and oropharyngeal cancer in Italy

IntroductionThis study explored knowledge, attitudes and behaviors toward human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) among women attending primary care services.MethodsThe cross-sectional study was conducted from September to December 2022 in adult women attending three primary care services in Italy, who were invited to complete a self-administered questionnaire.ResultsOverall, 34.7% of participants know that OPC is HPV-associated; knowledge was higher among women who had personal, familiar or friends’ experience of cancer, and who reported to often seek dental care, whereas it was lower in older women. The perception of risk of developing OPC was high for 26.4% of women and was higher in those who had experienced STD, who knew that early sexual debut is a risk factor for OPC, and who considered useful the role of dentists on the provision of information about OPC. Only 22.5% had received HPV vaccination, but 62% intended to receive it in the future. Moreover, 63.2% believe that HPV vaccination is very useful to prevent OPC and only 27% are concerned about health consequences of HPV vaccination.ConclusionThese findings indicate that women’s awareness of the role of HPV infection in the development of OPC is not satisfactory and underline the role that dentists might have in improving their patients’ awareness on HPV related OPC

Resolvin D1 Modulates the Intracellular VEGF-Related miRNAs of Retinal Photoreceptors Challenged With High Glucose

Stimulation of retinal photoreceptors with elevated glucose concentration (30 mM) for 96 h, served as diabetic retinopathy in vitro model to study Resolvin D1 (50 nM) effects on neovascularization. VEGF and anti-angiogenic miR-20a-3p, miR-20a-5p, miR-106a- 5p, and miR-20b expression was assessed either in photoreceptors exposed to HG or in exosomes released by those cells. High glucose increased VEGF levels and concurrently decreased anti-angiogenic miRNAs content in photoreceptors and exosomes. RvD1 reverted the effects of glucose damage in photoreceptors and exosomal pro-angiogenic potential, tested with the HUVEC angiogenesis assay. By activating FPR2 receptor, RvD1 modulated both the expression of anti-angiogenic miRNA, which decrease VEGF, and the pro-angiogenic potential of exosomes released by primary retinal cells. HUVEC transfection with miR-20a-3p, miR-20a-5p, miR-106a-5p, and miR-20b antagomirs, followed by exposure to exosomes from photoreceptors, confirmed the VEGF-related miRNAs mechanism and the anti-angiogenic effects of RvD1

Association of Trimethylamine N-Oxide (TMAO) with the Clinical Severity of Hidradenitis Suppurativa (Acne Inversa)

: In this case-control, cross-sectional, observational study, we evaluated circulating trimethylamine n-oxide (TMAO) levels, a gut-derived metabolite associated with inflammation and cardiometabolic risk, in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), a highly disabling inflammatory skin disease associated with an elevated prevalence of comorbidities, especially cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. In this study, we enrolled 35 naive-treatment patients with HS and 35 controls, matched for sex, age, and body mass index (BMI). HS Sartorius score was 49.0 (33.0-75.0), while according to the Harley system 12 and 23 patients presented grade 1 and grade 2 severity, respectively. HS patients had a lower adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) (p = 0.002), lower phase angle (PhA) (p < 0.001), and higher circulating TMAO levels (p < 0.001) than the control group. HS patients with grade 2 rather than grade 1 of Harley grade severity showed a higher BMI (p = 0.007), waist circumference (p = 0.016), total energy intake (p = 0.005), and lower PhA (p < 0.001) and adherence to the MD (p = 0.003). Of interest, patients with Hurley grade 2 of severity exhibited higher circulating TMAO levels (p < 0.001) compared to grade 1. Circulating TMAO levels showed a positive correlation with HS Sartorius score even after adjustment for confounding covariates, including BMI, waist circumference, adherence to the MD, total energy intake, and PhA (r = 0.570, p = 0.001). Using a linear regression model, circulating TMAO levels and PhA were the main predictors of the clinical severity of HS