Operating Parameters Optimization for the Production of Liposomes Loaded with Antibodies Using a Supercritical Fluid-Assisted Process

Encapsulation of antibodies represents a significant advance to protect and deliver these therapeutics in a controlled manner, increasing the stability requested to cover the temporal gap between particle production and their administration. Furthermore, using encapsulation, extracellular, cell surface, and intracellular targets can be reached. This work examines the feasibility of encapsulating mouse IgG isotype control antibodies within phosphatidylcholine-based liposomes using a supercritical fluid-based process called SuperLip (Supercritical-assisted Liposome formation). This process allows a continuous production of both nano- and micrometric liposomes with high encapsulation efficiency working under mild operative conditions. The effect of some operative parameters has been studied on liposome mean diameter, particle size distribution, and antibody entrapment efficiency, comparing these data with those collected working with liposomes obtained by the thin-layer hydration technique. In particular, the effect of water flow rate and of the antibody loading were studied. Antibody-loaded liposomes with mean diameters in the range between 205 and 501 nm have been obtained by using a supercritical fluid-assisted process. High entrapment efficiencies up to 94% have been calculated

Calculation of potential evapotranspiration and calibration of the hargreaves equation using geostatistical methods over the last 10 years in central Italy

Potential evapotranspiration (ET0) is an indicator of great interest for water budget analysis and the agricultural sector. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to make the calculation reliable even if only the temperature data were present. In this research, the ET0 was initially calculated for a limited number of weather stations (12) using the Penman–Monteith method. In some cases, the simplified Penman–Monteith formula was adopted, while in others, as in the case of mountain weather stations, the complete formula was employed to consider the differences in vegetation, deduced from satellite surveys. Subsequently, the ET0 was calculated with the Har-greaves–Samani (HS) formula, calibrating the Hargreaves coefficient, through the spatialization of ET0, by the geostatistical method. The results showed a high reliability of the HS method in comparison with simplified PM (PM) method, and complete Penman–Monteith (cPM) method, with a minimum calibration of the empirical Hargreaves coefficient. In particular, a very good correlation between the results obtained in the mountain environment with the uncalibrated HS method and the cPM method was also observed in this area, while PM showed discordant and much higher results than ET0 compared with the other methods. It follows that this procedure allowed a more accurate estimate of potential evapotranspiration with a view to territory management, both in terms of water resources and the irrigation needs of the vegetation

"Microvascular Free Flaps for Repair of Soft Tissue Oncological Resections"

Microvascular Free Flaps for Repair of Soft Tissue Oncological Resection

Vascularized fibula in tumour reconstruction

Vascularized fibula in tumour reconstructio

Detailed evaluation of angiographic findings in the surgical assessment of resectability for pancreatic cancer.

The role of angiography as a diagnostic approach and surgical assessment of resectability in pancreatic cancer patients is considered. Pre-operative arteriography of the celiac axis and superior mesenteric artery was performed in 27 patients with surgically proved pancreatic cancer. The operatibility of each patient was assessed according to arteriographic findings. The arteriographic features considered to establish tumor unresectability included: neoplastic arterial encasement or displacement, multiple involvement of pancreatic arteries, involvement of portal, splenic or superior mesenteric veins, liver metastasis. Nineteen angiographically predicted unresectable lesions proved to be unresectable at surgery. Of the eight additional patients who showed no remarkable unresectable angiographic features, 6 were confirmed resectable, while 2 were unresectable. Angiography was shown to be very accurate in differentiating resectable from unresectable cancer of the pancreas