Courage and representations of death in patients who are waiting for a liver transplantation

Context: In the last decade, a wide literature has highlighted the importance of religiosity as support of severe illnesses, especially the oncological ones, and in the end of life. In the field of the liver transplant there is a lack of similar research. This article aims to bridge this gap and presents an exploratory study on the relationships between fear of death, courage and religiosity among patients who wait for liver transplant. Method: Sixty-two participants awaiting a liver transplant were interviewed with regard to their quality of life, religiosity, ontological representations and fear of death, courage and fear of intervention, donor-related thoughts. The following instruments were utilized: a specific interview; the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36); the Testoni Death Representation Scale (TDRS) and the Courage Measure. Results: Patients reporting higher levels of fear for intervention showed less courage and were more likely to avoid the surgery. They also tended to be non-believers, to have a lower quality of life, and to represent death as an absolute annihilation. Conclusions: The less death was represented as a passage, the stronger the avoidance behaviour and the fear of transplant were. Since it is possible to develop a positive thought about death, the study underlined how the spiritual support could be useful to manage fear of transplantation

A non‐covalent “click chemistry” strategy to efficiently coat highly porous MOF nanoparticles with a stable polymeric shell

Background Metal-organic framework nanoparticles (nanoMOFs) are biodegradable highly porous materials with a remarkable ability to load therapeutic agents with a wide range of physico-chemical properties. Engineering the nanoMOFs surface may provide nanoparticles with higher stability, controlled release, and targeting abilities. Designing postsynthetic, non-covalent self-assembling shells for nanoMOFs is especially appealing due to their simplicity, versatility, absence of toxic byproducts and minimum impact on the original host-guest ability. Methods In this study, several β-cyclodextrin-based monomers and polymers appended with mannose or rhodamine were randomly phosphorylated, and tested as self-assembling coating building blocks for iron trimesate MIL-100(Fe) nanoMOFs. The shell formation and stability were studied by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), spectrofluorometry and confocal imaging. The effect of the coating on tritium-labeled AZT-PT drug release was estimated by scintillation counting. Results Shell formation was conveniently achieved by soaking the nanoparticles in self-assembling agent aqueous solutions. The grafted phosphate moieties enabled a firm anchorage of the coating to the nanoMOFs. Coating stability was directly related to the density of grafted phosphate groups, and did not alter nanoMOFs morphology or drug release kinetics. Conclusion An easy, fast and reproducible non-covalent functionalization of MIL-100(Fe) nanoMOFs surface based on the interaction between phosphate groups appended to β-cyclodextrin derivatives and iron(III) atoms is presented. General significance This study proved that discrete and polymeric phosphate β-cyclodextrin derivatives can conform non-covalent shells on iron(III)-based nanoMOFs. The flexibility of the β-cyclodextrin to be decorated with different motifs open the way towards nanoMOFs modifications for drug delivery, catalysis, separation, imaging and sensing. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled “Recent Advances in Bionanomaterials” Guest Editors: Dr. Marie-Louise Saboungi and Dr. Samuel D. Bader

Creating Value via the Circular Economy: Practices in the Tourism Sector

Among major international research and practice issues, the issue of the circular economy has emerged recently as “an alternative economic paradigm” to address the current needs of the present and to search for innovative solutions for the future. The objective of this paper is to explore the initiatives and practices of the circular economy that could be actuated by tourism firms with the aim of understanding the value that could be created and its contribution to sustainable development based on decarbonization, energy efficiency, and the use of renewable sources. To achieve this objective, an in-depth, qualitative case study of a tourism resort is presented and analyzed to identify the key CE practices activated, with the aim of creating greater value and contributing to sustainable production and consumption. The results show that the main CE practices implemented focus primarily on enhancing resource efficiency, reducing emissions, and minimizing environmental impacts. This research also emphasizes the benefits that the CE provides in terms of economic, environmental, and social efficiency. The study enriches the relevance of CE and the sustainability approach for the tourism sector by highlighting the main value opportunities that tourism firms could grasp from the application of CE. Also, the paper contributes to providing practical suggestions regarding possible initiatives and practices that tourism managers could adopt for deploying CE practices

Creating value via the circular economy: Practices in the tourism sector

Among major international research and practice issues, the issue of the circular economy has emerged recently as "an alternative economic paradigm" to address the current needs of the present and to search for innovative solutions for the future. The objective of this paper is to explore the initiatives and practices of the circular economy that could be actuated by tourism firms with the aim of understanding the value that could be created and its contribution to sustainable development based on decarbonization, energy efficiency, and the use of renewable sources. To achieve this objective, an in-depth, qualitative case study of a tourism resort is presented and analyzed to identify the key CE practices activated, with the aim of creating greater value and contributing to sustainable production and consumption. The results show that the main CE practices implemented focus primarily on enhancing resource efficiency, reducing emissions, and minimizing environmental impacts. This research also emphasizes the benefits that the CE provides in terms of economic, environmental, and social efficiency. The study enriches the relevance of CE and the sustainability approach for the tourism sector by highlighting the main value opportunities that tourism firms could grasp from the application of CE. Also, the paper contributes to providing practical suggestions regarding possible initiatives and practices that tourism managers could adopt for deploying CE practices

Ecological genetics of Italian peach-potato aphid (Myzus persicae) populations in relation to geography, dispersal and insecticide resistance as studied using microsatellite and resistance markers

1 Eight polymorphic microsatellites and two insecticide resistance markers (kdr and R81T) were used to investigate the population genetics and demography of resistance mechanisms in field populations of the peach-potato aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer), a global crop pest, in several areas of Italy, notably the north-east, aiming to determine whether these parameters are linked to population structuring resulting from insecticide selective sweeps. 2 Individuals collected directly from peach orchards (main primary host) in the spring, especially after control failure, revealed 90 microsatellite alleles, of which approximately one-third were rare. 3 Many populations deviated from Hardy\u2013Weinberg expectations, in a few instances as a result of null alleles. FIS values were on average negative (indicating heterozygote excess), whereas FST values (mean=0.137) reflected moderate interpopulation gene flow, with nonstructured populations having an estimated higher level than insecticide-treated ones. Population assignment and Mantel testing showed a non-homogenous pattern, with some populations isolated genetically. Linkage disequilibrium was detected in four of the microsatellites and both resistance markers. Contrasting FST patterns with resistance status supported the view that some populations were indeed structured. 4 Neighbour-joining trees revealed some populations to have similar insecticide resistance profiles, independent of geographical origin. 5 Overall, the findings reveal that the natural M. persicae populations investigated in the present study, living within an intensively cultivated agro-ecosystem, bear the signature of such management in terms of population structuring, as well as possibly also dynamics

"Expanded Video". Arti elettroniche in metamorfosi

Una riflessione sulla situazione della videoarte alla luce della riflessione teorica e critica e della produzione recente, per evidenziare come il "video" si stia espandendo e la nozione stessa di videoarte si stia modificando

Widening the Therapeutic Perspectives of Clofazimine by Its Loading in Sulfobutylether \u3b2-Cyclodextrin Nanocarriers: Nanomolar IC50Values against MDR S. epidermidis

Clofazimine (CLZ) is an antibiotic with a promising behavior against Gram-positive bacteria; however, the drug is completely insoluble in water and accumulates in fat tissues. We explored nanocarriers, labeled and not labeled with rhodamine, consisting of negatively charged sulfobutylether-\u3b2-cyclodextrins for CLZ loading. A new oligomeric carrier was obtained cross-linking \u3b2CyD with epichlorohydrin followed by sulfonation in a strongly alkaline aqueous medium. The oligomeric carrier has a MW of 53 kDa and forms small nanoparticles of a few tens of nm. With aqueous solutions containing a 25 mg/mL oligomeric carrier, we loaded up to 0.5 mg/mL of drug. The oligomers exhibited a 10-fold better loading capacity compared to monomers and formed nanoparticles with a size in the 20-60 nm range after drug loading. Circular dichroism confirmed encapsulation of the CLZ in the nanocarriers. All carriers with or without CLZ are not cytotoxic up to 1 \u3bcM, while CLZ alone is highly cytotoxic at the same concentration. The drug has IC50values below 100 nM against S. epidermidis. The same holds true also for clinical isolates of S. epidermidis, some displaying MDR. So, the selectivity index significantly increased for CLZ/carrier systems compared to the drug alone. Taken all together, our results open new avenues for the clinical application of this antibiotic

Determinants of endothelial function in patients with COPD

COPD is associated with increased cardiovascular mortality. Endothelial dysfunction may underpin this association. This cross-sectional study aims to determine the impact of airflow obstruction, systemic inflammation, oxidative stress, sympathetic activation, hypoxemia and physical activity on endothelial function in COPD.In stable COPD patients assessments of endothelial function by flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), cardiovascular risk (Pocock-score), airflow obstruction (FEV1), systemic inflammation (hsCRP, Interleukin-6), oxidative stress (malondialdehyde), sympathetic activation (baroreflex-sensitivity), hypoxemia (Pa,O2), hypercapnia (Pa,CO2), physical activity (steps per day) and exercise capacity (6-minutes walking distance) were performed. Associations between FMD and potential determinants were assessed in univariate and multivariate analysis.106 patients (35% GOLD stage I/II, 25% III, 40% IV) were included. In multivariate analysis FEV1 was positively associated with FMD, independent of other significant FMD determinants from univariate analysis (gender, smoking, combined inhaled long-acting β-adrenergic and steroid medication, heart rate, baroreflex-sensitivity, Pa,CO2) and adjusted for potential confounders (cardiovascular risk, age). In addition, the FMD and FEV1 association was modified by physical activity.The findings of this study demonstrate that the severity of airflow obstruction is a significant determinant of endothelial function in patients with COPD. A high level of physical activity seems to have a favourable effect on this association