Luminal endothelialization of small caliber silk tubular graft for vascular constructs engineering

: The constantly increasing incidence of coronary artery disease worldwide makes necessary to set advanced therapies and tools such as tissue engineered vessel grafts (TEVGs) to surpass the autologous grafts [(i.e., mammary and internal thoracic arteries, saphenous vein (SV)] currently employed in coronary artery and vascular surgery. To this aim, in vitro cellularization of artificial tubular scaffolds still holds a good potential to overcome the unresolved problem of vessel conduits availability and the issues resulting from thrombosis, intima hyperplasia and matrix remodeling, occurring in autologous grafts especially with small caliber (<6 mm). The employment of silk-based tubular scaffolds has been proposed as a promising approach to engineer small caliber cellularized vascular constructs. The advantage of the silk material is the excellent manufacturability and the easiness of fiber deposition, mechanical properties, low immunogenicity and the extremely high in vivo biocompatibility. In the present work, we propose a method to optimize coverage of the luminal surface of silk electrospun tubular scaffold with endothelial cells. Our strategy is based on seeding endothelial cells (ECs) on the luminal surface of the scaffolds using a low-speed rolling. We show that this procedure allows the formation of a nearly complete EC monolayer suitable for flow-dependent studies and vascular maturation, as a step toward derivation of complete vascular constructs for transplantation and disease modeling

Desecrating Celebrity. Italian Cases in Cinema, TV Series, Music and Social Media

The theme of “celebrity”, its cultural origins, its social meaning and media propagation, and its effects on the audience, has interested scholars of various disciplines for a long time. Just recently, however, an academic research area called “Celebrity Studies” has been established, with a consolidated tradition mostly in the Anglo-Saxon countries.The article discussed the Italian contribution to this extensive area of investigation started to appear in the second half of the last centur

Cover crops for managing weeds, soil chemical fertility and nutritional status of organically grown orange orchard in Sicily

Cover crops can offer significant advantages in the agronomic management of citrus orchards in Mediterranean environments. Therefore, a three-year research was conducted in eastern Sicily aimed at studying the effects of four cover crop sequences (Sinapis arvensis-Trigonella foenum-graecum-T. foenum-graecum; Medicago scutellata-Avena sativa-Lolium perenne; Vicia faba minor-A. sativa-A. sativa; A. sativa-V. faba. minor-L. perenne) on weeds, major soil chemical properties and nutritional status of an organically grown orange orchard. The results highlighted that, among the studied cover crop sequences, Vicia faba-Avena-Avena was the most beneficial for weeds control within the orchard (92%, of cover crop cover, and 586 and 89 g DW m–2 of cover crop aboveground biomass and weeds aboveground biomass, respectively). Overall, the chemical fertility of the soil was positively influenced. In particular, it was observed an increase of the content of total nitrogen and available phosphorus in the soil by both Sinapis-Trigonella-Trigonella (0.75 g kg–1 and 59.0 mg kg–1, respectively) and Vicia faba-Avena-Avena (0.70 g kg–1 and 56.0 mg kg–1, respectively) cover crop sequences. Medicago-Avena-Lolium sequence seemed to be the most useful to ensure a better nutritional status of the orange orchard

Multi-frequency Black Hole Imaging for the Next-Generation Event Horizon Telescope

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) has produced images of the plasma flow around the supermassive black holes in Sgr A* and M87* with a resolution comparable to the projected size of their event horizons. Observations with the next-generation Event Horizon Telescope (ngEHT) will have significantly improved Fourier plane coverage and will be conducted at multiple frequency bands (86, 230, and 345 GHz), each with a wide bandwidth. At these frequencies, both Sgr A* and M87* transition from optically thin to optically thick. Resolved spectral index maps in the near-horizon and jet-launching regions of these supermassive black hole sources can constrain properties of the emitting plasma that are degenerate in single-frequency images. In addition, combining information from data obtained at multiple frequencies is a powerful tool for interferometric image reconstruction, since gaps in spatial scales in single-frequency observations can be filled in with information from other frequencies. Here we present a new method of simultaneously reconstructing interferometric images at multiple frequencies along with their spectral index maps. The method is based on existing Regularized Maximum Likelihood (RML) methods commonly used for EHT imaging and is implemented in the eht-imaging Python software library. We show results of this method on simulated ngEHT data sets as well as on real data from the VLBA and ALMA. These examples demonstrate that simultaneous RML multi-frequency image reconstruction produces higher-quality and more scientifically useful results than is possible from combining independent image reconstructions at each frequency.Comment: 25 pages, 15 figures. Accepted to Ap

Hydroxytyrosol Reduces Foam Cell Formation and Endothelial Inflammation Regulating the PPARγ/LXRα/ABCA1 Pathway.

Cholesterol accumulation in macrophages leads to the formation of foam cells and increases the risk of developing atherosclerosis. We have verified whether hydroxytyrosol (HT), a phenolic compound with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, can reduce the cholesterol build up in THP-1 macrophage-derived foam cells. We have also investigated the potential mechanisms. Oil Red O staining and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assays were utilized to detect cellular lipid accumulation and cholesterol content, respectively, in THP-1 macrophages foam cells treated with HT. The impact of HT on cholesterol metabolism-related molecules (SR-A1, CD36, LOX-1, ABCA1, ABCG1, PPARγ and LRX-α) in foam cells was assessed using real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) and Western blot analyses. Finally, the effect of HT on the adhesion of THP-1 monocytes to human vascular endothelial cells (HUVEC) was analyzed to study endothelial activation. We found that HT activates the PPARγ/LXRα pathway to upregulate ABCA1 expression, reducing cholesterol accumulation in foam cells. Moreover, HT significantly inhibited monocyte adhesion and reduced the levels of adhesion factors (ICAM-1 and VCAM-1) and pro-inflammatory factors (IL-6 and TNF-α) in LPS-induced endothelial cells. Taken together, our findings suggest that HT, with its ability to interfere with the import and export of cholesterol, could represent a new therapeutic strategy for the treatment of atherosclerotic disease

N-Palmitoyl-D-Glucosamine Inhibits TLR-4/NLRP3 and Improves DNBS-Induced Colon Inflammation through a PPAR-α-Dependent Mechanism

Similar to canine inflammatory enteropathy, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic idiopathic condition characterized by remission periods and recurrent flares in which diarrhea, visceral pain, rectal bleeding/bloody stools, and weight loss are the main clinical symptoms. Intestinal barrier function alterations often persist in the remission phase of the disease without ongoing inflammatory processes. However, current therapies include mainly anti-inflammatory compounds that fail to promote functional symptoms-free disease remission, urging new drug discoveries to handle patients during this step of the disease. ALIAmides (ALIA, autacoid local injury antagonism) are bioactive fatty acid amides that recently gained attention because of their involvement in the control of inflammatory response, prompting the use of these molecules as plausible therapeutic strategies in the treatment of several chronic inflammatory conditions. N-palmitoyl-D-glucosamine (PGA), an under-researched ALIAmide, resulted in being safe and effective in preclinical models of inflammation and pain, suggesting its potential engagement in the treatment of IBD. In our study, we demonstrated that micronized PGA significantly and dose-dependently reduces colitis severity, improves intestinal mucosa integrity by increasing the tight junction proteins expression, and downregulates the TLR-4/NLRP3/iNOS pathway via PPAR-α receptors signaling in DNBS-treated mice. The possibility of clinically exploiting micronized PGA as support for the treatment and prevention of inflammation-related changes in IBD patients would represent an innovative, effective, and safe strategy

Effect of Dewaxed Coffee on Gastroesophageal Symptoms in Patients with {GERD}: A Randomized Pilot Study

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) is multifactorial pathogenesis characterized by the abnormal reflux of stomach contents into the esophagus. Symptoms are worse after the ingestion of certain foods, such as coffee. Hence, a randomized pilot study conducted on 40 Italian subjects was assessed to verify the effect of standard (SC) and dewaxed coffee (DC) consumption on gastroesophageal reflux symptoms and quality of life in patients with gastrointestinal diseases. The assessment of patient diaries highlighted a significant percentage reduction of symptoms frequency when consuming DC and a significant increase in both heartburn-free and regurgitation-free days. Consequentially, patients had a significant increase of antacid-free days during the DC assumption. Moreover, the polyphenolic profile of coffee pods was ascertained through UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS analysis. Chlorogenic acids (CGAs) were the most abundant investigated compounds with a concentration level ranging between 7.316 (DC) and 6.721 mg/g (SC). Apart from CGAs, caffeine was quantified at a concentration level of 5.691 mg/g and 11.091 for DC and SC, respectively. While still preliminary, data obtained from the present pilot study provide promising evidence for the efficacy of DC consumption in patients with GERD. Therefore, this treatment might represent a feasible way to make coffee more digestible and better tolerated

Towards the construction of an educational model for dual career parenting:the EMPATIA project

The European Union supports innovative transnational cooperation and practices between Member States on relevant issues in the field of sports, including a balanced combination of higher education and sporting careers of talented and elite athletes (dual career). Ten European academic and sport institutions aimed to construct an educational programme for parents supporting the dual career of their elite athletes. The innovative methodological approach to the co-construction of a parent education based on evidence and eminence of the actual needs of parents in relation to the age, sex, sport typology, competition and academic levels of student-athletes is described. Finally, the potentially far-reaching effects of digital technologies on adult learning and the innovative aspects of a multi-lingual and demand-driven dual career parenting education are envisaged.</p

Allelopathic potential of leaf aqueous extracts from Cynara cardunculus L. on the seedling growth of two cosmopolitan weed species

The search for sustainable alternatives to synthetic herbicides for weed control, has led the scientific community to an increased interest for plant allelopathic mechanisms. The utilization of plant extracts as possible bioherbicides represents an important solution. In the present study, laboratory experiments were carried out to investigate, for the first time, the differences in the allelopathic activity of the three Cynara cardunculus L. botanical varieties (globe artichoke, cultivated and wild cardoon) leaf aqueous extracts on the seedling growth of Amaranthus retroflexus L. and Portulaca oleracea L. In addition, the autoallelopathic effect on wild cardoon growth and the qualitative profile of the aqueous extract through HPLC analysis were evaluated. Overall, the allelopathic effects were both genotype- and weed species-dependent. Wild cardoon showed the highest allelopathic potential (–23.4%), followed by cultivated cardoon and globe artichoke, and P. oleracea was the most sensitive target species (–32%). Besides, root system length was the most affected parameter (–32.6%). The autoallelopathic effect of wild cardoon extract was also demonstrated on root system length, hypocotyl and epicotyl length and total dry weight. C. cardunculus leaf aqueous extract was characterised by 5 sesquiterpene lactones, 2 caffeoylquinic acids, 6 flavones and 1 lignan. From the HPLC analysis we found that apigenin and luteolin 7-O-glucoronide were detected only in wild cardoon, apigenin 7-O-glucoside was typic of globe artichoke, and 11,13-dihydro-desacylcynaropicrin and 11,13-dihydroxi-8-desoxygrosheimin were characteristics of cultivated cardoon