Advances in the analysis of veterinary drug residues in food matrices by capillary electrophoresis techniques

In the last years, the European Commission has adopted restrictive directives on food quality and safety in order to protect animal and human health. Veterinary drugs represent an important risk and the need to have sensitive and fast analytical techniques to detect and quantify them has become mandatory. Over the years, the availability of different modes, interfaces, and formats has improved the versatility, sensitivity, and speed of capillary electrophoresis (CE) techniques. Thus, CE represents a powerful tool for the analysis of a large variety of food matrices and food-related molecules with important applications in food quality and safety. This review focuses the attention of CE applications over the last decade on the detection of different classes of drugs (used as additives in animal food or present as contaminants in food products) with a potential risk for animal and human health. In addition, considering that the different sample preparation procedures have strongly contributed to CE sensitivity and versatility, the most advanced sample pre-concentration techniques are discussed here

Indignazione e affermazione di sé

L’indignazione, specie quando si presenta come reazione emotiva al torto subito da altri, è stata variamente interpretata come sentimento generato da benevolenza e vicinanza nei confronti del prossimo o, al contrario, da risentimento e invidia. Se nella sua accezione positiva l’indignazione sembra legata al possesso di un forte senso del giusto o da rispetto per le norme sociali, nel secondo - come nel caso di Nietzsche - essa sembra presentarsi come passione al confine tra sadismo e masochismo. Seguendo Spinoza e lo sforzo a preservarsi che, per il filosofo olandese, ogni cosa possiede, si sosterrà qui che l’indignazione sia reazione a un desiderio di affermazione di sé disatteso e che essa possa essere educata per fare in modo che tale impulso individuale ed egoistico dia luogo a pratiche di trasformazione e liberazione collettive.Indignation, especially when it manifests itself as an emotional reaction to the injustice suffered by others, has been variably explained as a feeling generated by benevolence and closeness towards others or, on the contrary, by resentment and envy. If, in its positive meaning, indignation seems to be related to the possession of a strong sense of right or of a strong sense of respect for social norms, in its negative one - as for Nietzsche - it seems to present itself as a passion that stands on the line between sadism and masochism. Following Spinoza and the effort to preserve itself that, for the Dutch philosopher, everything possesses, it will be argued that indignation is a reaction to an unfulfilled desire for self-affirmation, and that it can be educated in order to make this individual and selfish impulse able to give rise to practices of collective transformation and liberation. &nbsp

Il filosofo e la città

If the few sources at our disposal on the life and the works of Hypatia of Alexandria leave many unanswered questions about her role on the history of philosophy, her death, brought about a Christian mob, gives space to some possible analogies between the Alexandrine philosopher and Socrates, timeless paradigm of injustice against the wise. This paper, following Leo Strauss’s analyses on classical political philosophy, aims at inquiring this suggestion to reveal the hard, if not impossible, relationship between philosophy, place of an anarchist and irreligious search, and the city, place of an endless struggle between different traditions

A new Italian purple corn variety (Moradyn) byproduct extract: antiglycative and hypoglicemyc in vitro activities and preliminary bioaccessibility studies

The reuse of byproducts from agricultural and food industries represents the key factor in a circular economy, whose interest has grown in the last two decades. Thus, the extraction of bioactives from agro-industrial byproducts is a potential source of valuable molecules. The aim of this work was to investigate the in vitro capacity of byproducts from a new Italian corn variety, named Moradyn, to inhibit the accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) involved in several chronic age-related disorders. In addition, the hypoglycemic effect of Moradyn was tested by in vitro enzymatic systems. A Moradyn phytocomplex and its purified anthocyanin fraction were able to inhibit fructosamine formation and exhibited antiglycative properties when tested using BSA-sugars and BSA-methylglyoxal assays. These properties could be attributed to the polyphenols, mainly anthocyanins and flavonols, detected by RP-HPLC-DAD-ESI-MSn. Finally, a Moradyn phytocomplex was submitted to a simulated in vitro digestion process to study its bioaccessibility. Moradyn could be considered as a promising food ingredient in the context of typical type 2 diabetes risk factors and the study will continue in the optimization of the ideal formulation to preserve its bioactivities from digestion

Introduction

Multiform witness of the power of language, the myth reveals itself as a privileged form of investigation of the human and its transformations. With this introduction we want to start a journey of mythological research that, overcoming the sterile reduction of the myth to mere expression of a pre-scientific and pre-rational mentality, moves in search of the core of truth hidden under the surface of the "fairy tale"

A New Polysaccharide Carrier Isolated from Camelina Cake: Structural Characterization, Rheological Behavior, and Its Influence on Purple Corn Cob Extract’s Bioaccessibility

A polysaccharide fraction obtained from camelina cake (CCP), selected as a carrier to encapsulate purple corn cob extract (MCE), was investigated. A wide population of carbohydrate polymers (with a polydispersivity index of 3.26 ± 0.07 and an average molecular weight of about 139.749 × 103 ± 4.392 × 103 g/mol) with a gel-like behavior and a thixotropic feature characterized the fraction. MCE-CCP combinations (50-50 and 25-75, w/w), selected based on CCP encapsulation efficiency, were tested for their stability and MCE polyphenols' bioaccessibility during digestion (monitored using an in vitro static procedure). During the oral and gastric phases of the digestion process, CCP gradually swelled and totally released MCE polyphenols. MCE-CCP50 had the fastest release. Moreover, anthocyanins were still detectable during the duodenal phase, in both MCE-CCP ingredients. Furthermore, CCP (5 mg/mL) exerted in vitro potential hypocholesterolemic activity via bile salts binding during digestion

Transcranial direct current stimulation: A novel approach in the treatment of vascular depression.

Background: Despite the impact of depression in terms of personal suffering and socioeconomic burden, most currently available treatment options are often ineffective. A particularly difficult-to-treat depressive disorder characteristic of the elderly is vascular depression, a late-life depressive syndrome related to a variety of potential vascular mechanisms. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive and effective somatic approach to depression, also showed positive effects on cognitive deficits. Aim: We performed a double-blind randomized study to investigate the efficacy of tDCS as augmentation strategy to sertraline in the treatment of vascular depression, hypothesizing a positive effect in both depressive symptoms and cognitive functions. Methods: We enrolled 93 inpatients over 60 years of age with a diagnosis of vascular depression. Depressive symptoms were weekly assessed (T0, T1, T2) with the 21-items Hamilton depression rating scale (HDRS). Cognitive functioning was evaluated with the Milan Overall Dementia Assessment (MODA) at baseline and after the treatment protocol. All patients were randomly assigned into three groups, Group I: one tDCS stimulation per day, Group II: two tDCS stimulations per day, Sham group: one sham tDCS stimulation per day. Stimulation was performed for 10 consecutive working days. Results: A significant interaction time∗treatment was observed on HDRS scores (F = 14, p < 0.001). All groups improved at T1 but whereas Group II significantly differed from the Sham group (p < 0.001) we observed no difference between Sham and Group I. At T2 all groups improved but Group II showed the greater improvement (vs. Sham p < 0.001; vs. Group I p < 0.001) and the Sham group the smallest (vs. Group I p = 0.005). A significant interaction time∗treatment was also observed on MODA scores (F = 3.31, p = 0.04). Only subjects treated with tDCS improved at T2 (Group I: p < 0.001; Group II: p = 0.007). However, no difference between Group I and II was shown. Conclusion: tDCS as augmentation treatment of an adequate pharmacotherapy is a potential strategy in the management of vascular depression, a disease known to be often unresponsive to antidepressants only. Non-invasiveness, the absence of severe side effects and the possibility of administering it to outpatients at an affordable price make tDCS an important tool in clinical practice

Reading with method. Exploring the relationship between the Pizzigoni method and the learning of reading and writing

On the current Italian school scene, choosing an effective method for the teaching-learning of reading and writing has become a key priority for teachers. This is reflected in the increasing number of schools offering the Montessori method or with other distinctive approaches, which are well received, and indeed sought after, by parents. The distinctiveness of a given method appears to be perceived as a guarantee of quality teaching-learning, including in the area of reading and writing. In light of these trends, this paper offers an analysis of the method devised by Giuseppina Pizzigoni, for which the annual demand on the part of families exceeds the current supply. The typical practices and methodological peculiarities of the Pizzigoni method are examined by reviewing Pizzigoni’s own writings and comparing her proposals with data on their implementation, obtained by administering questionnaires.   Leggere con “metodo”. Una riflessione sulla relazione tra il metodo Pizzigoni e l’apprendimento della lettura e scrittura Nell’attuale panorama scolastico italiano l’attenzione puntuale alla scelta di un metodo d’insegnamento-apprendimento efficace nell’ambito della lettura e della scrittura è diventato un elemento che interroga fortemente i docenti. In contemporanea si assiste all’aumento dell’offerta in molti istituti scolastici di scuole a metodo Montessori, o ad altre proposte accolte e richieste con molto favore dai genitori. La garanzia di una precisa identificabilità pare essere un elemento che assicura una qualità delle proposte di insegnamento-apprendimento, anche legate alla lettura e alla scrittura. Alla luce di questi cambiamenti il contributo si focalizza sul metodo di Giuseppina Pizzigoni, richiesto ogni anno da moltissime famiglie, ben oltre le sue possibilità di accoglienza. L’indagine osserverà le sue attività e scelte metodologiche in questo ambito, tramite l’analisi degli scritti della pedagogista e il confronto con le evidenze delle sue applicazioni, ottenute grazie a una serie di questionati e interviste con i docenti