Gender medicine as a tool for implementing the right to health.

This paper analyzes the topic of Gender Medicine from a scientific and legal perspective, based on current medical literature and its implementation in the Italian and European legal systems. Gender medicine is the only credible response to sex- and gender-based inequalities affecting the right to health, as it provides tools to address persisting inequalities in prevention and treatment, thus pursuing health for all: women and men. the importance of this path was underlined also by the Summit and the Rome Declaration of 21 May 2021, acknowledging that the topic of sex and gender can no longer be overlooked in focusing a correct and equal healthcare approach

Esseri senzienti e sperimentazione: quali frontiere?

Si tratta di una introduzione per un Forum dedicato ai diritti degli esseri animali e alla sperimentazion

Le “Mille e una notte” del costituzionalismo iraniano. Metodo comparato, teocrazia islamica e Diritti delle donne quali Diritti Universali

Il saggio ripercorre la storia costituzionale dell’Iran al fine di indagare la recente rivolta cominciata dopo l’uccisione della ventiduenne curdo-iraniana Mahsa Jina Amini, “colpevole” di non indossare correttamente il velo. In realtà la contestazione va ben oltre la lotta al velo per mettere in discussione l’impianto della teocrazia iraniana, lontana dalle esigenze della popolazione ma anche da un’interpretazione del Testo Sacro rispettosa del principio di eguaglianza e della protezione dei diritti umani.The essay traces Iran's constitutional history in order to investigate the recent revolt that began after the killing of 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian Mahsa Jina Amini, "guilty" of not wearing the veil properly. In reality, the protest goes far beyond the headscarf to question the structure of Iranian theocracy, insensitive to the needs of the population but also distant from an interpretation of the Sacred Text that respects the principle of equality and the protection of human rights

"Jin, Jîyan, Azadî” - “Donna, vita, libertà”. Riflessioni costituzionali sulla rivolta delle donne iraniane.

Il saggio esamina la storia costituzionale dell’Iran al fine di indagare la recente rivolta delle donne cominciata dopo l’uccisione della ventiduenne curdo-iraniana Mahsa Amini “colpevole” di non indossare correttamente il velo. L’analisi mostra che, in realtà, la lotta al velo è solo una delle molteplici istanze di un femminismo islamico che vuole coniugare il Testo Sacro con la libertà delle donne per dare una nuova impronta al Paese

Il diritto dei cosmetici : regolazione, responsabilità, bio-etica. Breve cronaca del convegno (Roma, Martedì 28 gennaio 2014)

El 28 de enero de 2014, se celebró en Roma (Università degli Studi Roma III) un congreso en dos sesiones, acerca del Derecho de los Cosméticos, centrado en los aspectos de regulación, responsabilidad y Bioética. La Profa. Rescigno participó en el mismo como ponente y publicamos la crónica detallada que ha escrito sobre el evento (texto en italiano). La industria cosmética reviste una gran importancia y no ha experimentado ningún retroceso en los últimos años. Lo más interesante para los lectores, es apreciar cómo la autora subraya que de la prohibición de la experimentación animal en la industria cosmética, recientemente aprobada por la UE, se extrae "…que Europa ha demostrado… que ahora es el momento oportuno para el reconocimiento de la subjetividad de los animales", un paso que permitiría superar la anterior clasificación de los animales como res (cosas) a disposición de los seres humanosOn January 28, 2014, in the University of Rome III, a conference took place over two sessions on the Law and Cosmetics, focusing on Regulations, Responsibilities and Bioethics. As one of the speakers at the conference, Professor Francesca Rescigno of the University of Bologna has created the following chronicle of the conference (text in Italian). Cosmetics are an important industry which has seen no decline in recent years. But what is most interesting for readers here is how the author highlights that one of the EU prohibition on animal testing for cosmetics shows that ¨…Europe has demonstrated…that the time is now ripe for the recognition of animal subjectivity¨, a step which would lead away from the previous classification of animals as res (things) at the disposal of humans

DEVELOPMENT AND SCALE-UP OF 3D ENDOGENOUS HUMAN SKIN EQUIVALENT MODELS AS PLATFORM FOR COSMETICS TESTING

The current necessity of development new biological in vitro models that mimic the characteristics and the complexity of human tissue arises from the need to find a valid alternative to animal models to test and validate new products, and to screen substances and procedures for tissue repair and regeneration. In particular, in the cosmetics field, big multinational companies have developed and devised methods for the realization of testing platforms in large scale, since the European Regulations (Decree 76/768/EEC and the EU Cosmetic Regulation 1223/2009) ban the putting on the market cosmetic products whose ingredients, or parts thereof, have been tested on animal models. in this scenario, researchers have been spent many efforts to develop innovative tissue engineering strategies to create 3D skin equivalent models that faithfully recapitulate the characteristics of human skin in terms of organization, complexity, architecture and responsivity to specific exogenous stimuli. The optimization of the process to produce these skin equivalent represents a crucial step to obtain i) tissue in large scale in order to allow the screening of a large number of molecules/exogenous factor ii) a high-fidelity replica of the native counterpart in order to evaluate the effect of molecules/exogenous factor on the mechanical properties and ECM composition organization and hydration. For this purpose, in my PhD work, after a deep study of the literature, it was developed a method of production of 3D skin equivalent models in large scale with great reproducibility. In the first part of the thesis, there is a description of the principal systems that composed the human skin and a summary about the main arguments of European Regulation related to cosmetics testing, the development of alternatives animal tests and its principal applications. In the second chapter, we exploited a bottom-up tissue engineering approach to build up the skin tissues. Such approach allowed to obtain skin tissues composed of endogenous extracellular matrix (ECM), produced by human dermal fibroblasts and by stratified epithelial cells that constitute a fully differentiated epithelium resembling the human epidermis. In the third chapter, we performed a morphological characterization of our 3D skin tissue by histological, biochemical and mechanical analysis in order to better describe the main features of this human skin equivalent models. Furthermore, to validate the skin produced as testing platform, we induced different kinds of damages (UVA, H2O2) and after evaluating the effect on the tissue, with the aim to study the effectiveness of molecules having antioxidant and photo-protective action. Finally, in the last part of thesis, we described firstly, a comparison between 3D skin models designed by us with the commercially available gold standard models produced by best international companies, and then a scale-up strategy in order to improve the production process of 3D-skin equivalent models with the prospective of realization of a start-up. In this last part, we described phases and all critical steps of human skin equivalent production passing from the realization of skin tissue in small scale to the large scale and the development of a working plan of all activities to better control step by step the quality and the effectiveness of final product. All results reported in my thesis strongly suggested a possible use of the developed skin tissues as a valid alternative to the use of animal models for the testing of new cosmetic compounds

Tyrosinase inhibition: general and applied aspects.

The active site of tyrosinase is described with a view to depicting its interactions with substrates and inhibitors. Occurrence and mechanism(s) of tyrosinase-mediated browning of agrofood products are reviewed, with regard to both enzymic and chemical reactions, and their control, modulation, and inhibition. Technical and applicational implications are discussed

Biological activities and nutraceutical potentials of water extracts from different parts of Cynomorium coccineum L. (Maltese Mushroom)

Maltese Mushroom (Cynomorium coccineum L.) is a non-photosynthetic plant that has been used in traditional medicine for many centuries. In this paper, water extracts from the whole plant, external layer and peeled plant were studied to determine the main components responsible for its biological activities, i.e., its antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-tyrosinase activities; its cytotoxicity against mouse melanoma B16F10 cells; and its pro-erectile activity in adult male rats. The results of electron transfer and hydrogen transfer assays showed that the antioxidant activity was mainly due to anthocyanins in the external layer, whereas the external layer and peeled plant extracts both inhibited the microbial growth of several Gram-positive strains. In contrast, the whole plant extract had the highest anti-tyrosinase activity and exhibited pro-erectile activity when administered subcutane-ously. Overall, this study elucidated which parts of Maltese Mushroom are responsible for its antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-tyrosinase activities and thus which extracts have potential for use in nutraceutical formulation

Evaluation of an integrated physical activity program for pregnant women: WELL-DONE! Study

Background Regular practice of physical activity (PA) during pregnancy has benefits for maternal and fetal health. Therefore, pregnant women (PW) should practice at least 150 minutes of moderate PA per week following the WHO guidelines. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of an adapted physical activity (APA) intervention for PW, to be included in childbirth preparation classes (CPCs) in terms of levels of PA, quality of life, physical performance, self-efficacy, sleep quality and anxious-depressive states