Role of the polygalacturonate network on the iron (III) reduction by caffeic acid

This communication reports the role of polygalacturonate network on the Fe(III) reduction by caffeic acid. The effect of phosphate ions on the redox reaction is also considered

Health decentralization at a dead-end: towards new recovery plans for Italian hospitals

The recent introduction by the central government of recovery plans (RPs) for Italian hospitals provides useful insights into the recentralization tendencies that are being experienced within the country’s decentralized, regional health system. The measure also contributes evidence to the debate on whether there is a long-term structural shift in national health strategy towards more centralized stewardship. The hospital RPs aim to improve the clinical, financial and managerial performance of public-hospitals, teaching-hospitals and research-hospitals through monitoring trends in individual hospitals' expenditure and tackling improvements in clinical care. As such they represent the central governments recognition of the weaknesses of the decentralization process in the health sector. The opponents of the reform argue that financial stability will be restored mainly through across-the-board reductions in hospital expenditure, personnel layoffs and closing of wards, with considerable negative effects on the most vulnerable groups of patients. While hospital RPs are comprehensive and complex, unresolved issues remain as to whether hospitals have the necessary managerial skills for the development of effective and achievable plans. Without also devising an overall plan to tackle the long-standing managerial weaknesses of public hospitals, the objectives of the hospital RPs will be undermined and the decentralization process in the health system will gradually reach a dead-end

Efficiency and Optimal size of Italian Public Hospitals: Results from Data Envelopment Analysis

Background: One of the major issues discussed in the literature about hospital efficiency is the impact of hospital size on technical efficiency. Many studies have observed that in some cases, hospital technical inefficiency is correlated with an incorrect size. This paper addresses this topic. In particular, we attempt to identify an optimal size of hospitals in terms of beds. Methods: The study is organized as follow: first, we performed the Data Envelopment Analysis in order to calculate the technical and scale efficiency scores for a sample of 41 Italian public hospitals during the period 2010-2013; second, we investigated the impact of size on hospital efficiency, identifying the magnitudes of input reductions needed to make inefficient public hospitals efficient. Finally, we calculated the most productive scale size for each hospital in the sample. According to these results, through an overall observation, we attempted to identify an optimal size for hospitals in terms of beds. Results: Most of the hospitals were inefficient and most of the inefficiency was the results of the presence of waste in terms of input resources. During the period considered, we found that inputs could be reduced by 22% on average. Economies of scale were found around 200 beds for 20.000 discharges per year. Conclusions: The identification of an optimal size of hospitals in terms of beds still requires further efforts in the literature. However, this study contributes to support hospital managers in resource allocation choices through a quantitative approach

Influence of different drying parameters on the composition of volatile compounds of thyme and rosemary cultivated in Sardinia

The shelf life of spices is traditionally extended by drying. Fresh herbs, due to their high water content, undergo microorganism growth and adverse biochemical reactions. On the other hand drying may result in a lot of physical and chemical alterations. Air and oven-dehydration are the main methods used to stabilize spices. During oven drying, in general, losses of volatile compounds are directly dependent on the temperature and time used. This paper deals with the effect of different drying temperatures and air fluxes on the volatiles in rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) and thyme (Thymus officinalis L.) cultivated in Sardinia. Fresh leaves were collected and soon divided in two batches, which were subjected to hydro distillation and GC-MS analysis, the first batch as fresh, the second one after drying in a laboratory pilot dryer. Three drying temperatures were used, 30, 38 and 45°C, and for each one two airflow rates were set. The fresh and dried plant material were hydro distilled for 4 hours using a Clevenger-type apparatus (Italian Official Pharmacopeias X). The oils (liquid and light yellow) were recovered directly from above the distillate without adding any solvent and stored at –20°C before analyses, which were carried out on two replicates of each sample by gas chromatography, using a flame ionization detector. The diluted samples were injected using a split/splitless automatic injector (using 2,6-dimethylphenol as internal standard). Qualitative analysis was done by GC/Mass and mass units were monitored from 10 to 450 at 70 eV. Results of the influence of the different drying conditions on volatile compounds of the two herbs will be reported

Variabilità dei principi attivi in <i>Hypericum perforatum</i> L. vegetante in Sardegna

Vista la grande importanza farmacologica che sta rivestendo l’estratto d’iperico nella cura della depressione (2-3) abbiamo ritenuto interessante indagare la specie spontanea presente in Sardegna. Le analisi sono state effettuate via HPLC

Leptin activates the anandamide hydrolase promoter in human T lymphocytes through STAT3

Physiological concentrations of leptin stimulate the activity of the endocannabinoid-degrading enzyme anandamide hydrolase (fatty acid amide hydrolase, FAAH) in human T lymphocytes up to approximately 300% over the untreated controls. Stimulation of FAAH occurred through up-regulation of gene expression at transcriptional and translational levels and involved binding of leptin to its receptor with an apparent dissociation constant (K(d)) of 1.95 +/- 0.14 nm and maximum binding (B(max)) of 392 +/- 8 fmol x mg protein(-1). Leptin binding to the receptor triggered activation of STAT3 but not STAT1 or STAT5 or the mitogen-activated protein kinases p38, p42, and p44. Peripheral lymphocytes of leptin knock-out (ob/ob) mice showed decreased FAAH activity and expression (approximately 25% of the wild-type littermates), which were reversed to control levels by exogenous leptin. Analysis of the FAAH promoter showed a cAMP-response element-like site, which is a transcriptional target of STAT3. Consistently, mutation of this site prevented FAAH activation by leptin in transient expression assays. Electrophoretic mobility shift and supershift assays further corroborated the promoter activity data. Taken together, these results suggest that leptin, by up-regulating the FAAH promoter through STAT3, enhances FAAH expression, thus tuning the immunomodulatory effects of anandamide. These findings might also have critical implications for human fertility

Determinazione dei residui di Deltametrina nelle ciliegie

This paper describes the determination of residues of the insecticide Deltamethrin in cherries growing in the Bonnanaro area near Sassari (Sardinia - Italy). The analytical procedure for the isolation of the insecticide was developed. The quantitative determinations were carried out by HPLC, with UV detector at 220 nm, on a Perkin-Elmer C18-HS3 column with acetonitrile - water (75: 25) as the mobile phase. A rapid decrease of the concentration of the insecticide with ti me was ascertained; three days after from the treatment the values were significantly lower than those required by the italian law

UCN-01 enhances cytotoxicity of irinotecan in colorectal cancer stem-like cells by impairing DNA damage response

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common and lethal cancers worldwide. Despite recent progress, the prognosis of advanced stage CRC remains poor, mainly because of cancer recurrence and metastasis. The high morbidity and mortality of CRC has been recently ascribed to a small population of tumor cells that hold the potential of tumor initiation, i.e. cancer stem cells (CSCs), which play a pivotal role in cancer recurrence and metastasis and are not eradicated by current therapy. We screened CRC-SCs in vitro with a library of protein kinase inhibitors and showed that CRC-SCs are resistant to specific inhibition of the major signaling pathways involved in cell survival and proliferation. Nonetheless, broad-spectrum inhibition by the staurosporin derivative UCN-01 blocks CRC-SC growth and potentiates the activity of irinotecan in vitro and in vivo CRC-SC-derived models. Reverse-Phase Protein Microarrays (RPPA) revealed that, albeit CRC-SCs display individual phospho-proteomic profiles, sensitivity of CRC-SCs to UCN-01 relies on the interference with the DNA damage response mediated by Chk1. Combination of LY2603618, a specific Chk1/2 inhibitor, with irinotecan resulted in a significant reduction of CRC-SC growth in vivo, confirming that irinotecan treatment coupled to inhibition of Chk1 represents a potentially effective therapeutic approach for CRC treatment

Bioelectrochemical hydrogen production with hydrogenophilic dechlorinating bacteria as electrocatalytic agents

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