Stereodivergent synthesis of β-trifluoromethyl-α- amino acids by sequential catalytic processes

In this work, a sequential organocatalytic process for the stereodivergent synthesis of β-trifluoromethyl-α-amino acids using Erlenmeyer azlactones as starting material is presented. The strategy developed consists of a sequential catalytic approach, employing two catalysts that act independently to control the absolute configuration of two different stereocenters. The first step is a catalytic asymmetric hydrogen transfer of the activated double bond of the azlactone promoted by a Jacobsen type thiourea and Hantzsch ester as hydride donor. The second step involves a nucleophilic addition of an alcohol to the carbonyl moiety controlled by a chiral bifunctional catalyst typically used in the dynamic kinetic resolution of azlactones. The catalyst structure for the second synthetic step was thoroughly investigated in order to maximize the selectivity. Both products were achieved with a good diastereoselectivity and high enantioselectivity. Taking into account the obtained result it was possible to set up an initial study for the feasibility of straightforward one-pot procedure. In conclusion, with this work it was possible to set up a synthetic strategy for the synthesis of all four diastereoisomers starting from the set of starting material

Transfected poly(I:C) activates different dsRNA receptors leading to apoptosis or immunoadjuvant response in androgen-independent prostate cancer cells

Background: Castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) is refractory to chemo-radiotherapy. Results: Transfection of the synthetic analog of dsRNA poly(I:C) simultaneously stimulates apoptosis and IFN- expression through different pathways in androgen-independent prostate cancer (PCa) cells. Conclusion: Dual parallel pathways triggered by distinct receptors activate direct and immunologically mediated antitumor effects in advanced PCa. Significance: The proapoptotic/immunoadjuvant poly(I:C)-Lipofectamine complex may offer new therapeutic insights into CRPC

Territorial analysis method of socio-economic conflicts between human development and environmental conservation.

This paper focuses on a methodology for analyzing potential territory capacities such as local development and conflict resolution of the use of land natural resources. Ecological economics and landscape ecology are the theoretical origins of this methodology so that it’s possible to give a value to both economic aspects and social-environmental aspects. In this case public stakeholder choices will have many actuation opportunities because they will be based on the sustainable development concept. The aim of our study is to describe the multifunctional role that the agricultural activities carry out within a territory; to do this, it is necessary to find a methodology which can define social functions that characterize the territory of analysis. According to the definitions widely accepted by part of the European scientific community, the agricultural field expresses four kinds of functions: environmental, natural, social and economic. Among these, the role of the forest is particularly important. For every defined function a set of indicators has been chosen that permit the analysis of the various aspects of agricultural activities. The statistical basis was the 2000 Agriculture Census (Istat, 2001). In this document there is present different types of information that are connected to the multifunctional aspects of the field.

The impacts in real estate of landscape values: Evidence from Tuscany (Italy)

Using spatial econometric techniques and local spatial statistics, this study explores the relationships between the real estate values in Tuscany with the individual perception of satisfaction by landscape types. The analysis includes the usual territorial variables such as proximity to urban centres and roads. The landscape values are measured through a sample of respondents who expressed their aesthetic-visual perceptions of different types of land use. Results from a multivariate local Geary highlight that house prices are not spatial independent and that between the variables included in the analysis there is mainly a positive correlation. Specifically, the findings demonstrate a significant spatial dependence in real estate prices. The aesthetic values influence the real estate price throughout more a spatial indirect effect rather than the direct effect. Practically, house prices in specific areas are more influenced by aspects such as proximity to essential services. The results seem to show to live close to highly aesthetic environments not in these environments. The results relating to the distance from the main roads, however, seem counterintuitive. This result probably depends on the evidence that these areas suffer from greater traffic jam or pollution or they are preferred for alternative uses such as for locating industrial plants or big shopping centres rather than residential use. Therefore, these effects decrease house prices

Detección y cuantificación de la especie en harinas proteicas de origen animal mediante el uso de sensores hiperspectrales

Con la aparición de la crisis de la Encefalopatía Espongiforme Bovina, los científicos albergaron sospechas de que la causa de la propagación de la epizootia fuera el consumo por los animales bovinos de MBM. Desde el 1988, se prohibió la utilización de proteínas derivadas de mamíferos en la alimentación de los rumiantes. Para ello, se pidió a la comunidad científica buscar el desarrollo y la validación de métodos analíticos para la detección de especies animales en piensos. Uno de los métodos candidatos, para reemplazar o complementar al método oficial (microscopía óptica) es la espectroscopía NIR-CI que integra la tecnología NIRS con el análisis de imagen. La presente tesis se divide en varios capítulos. El Capítulo 1, recoge una revisión de la legislación sobre el uso de harinas proteicas en piensos animales, una descripción de los actuales métodos analíticos para la detección de MBM y en particular de las características operativas de la tecnología NIR-CI. Los Capítulos 2 y 3 describen la puesta a punto de un protocolo para analizar muestras de harinas animales y crear imágenes hiperespectrales e incluye la identificación de factores influyentes en los valores de reflectancia/absorbancia de diferentes pixeles y la optimización de estos factores. A continuación en el Cap. 4 se realiza una evaluación de métodos de compresión y reducción de datos para la optimización del tamaño y la estructura del set de entrenamiento. Una vez establecidos los parámetros para seleccionar un colectivo de píxeles representativos, se desarrollan y validan modelos quimiométricos para la predicción de composición de harinas animales comparando entre diferentes herramientas de estadística multivariante (Cap. 5). El estudio sucesivo (Cap. 6) incluye la puesta a punto de un protocolo para la determinación cuantitativa de la especie animal en una harina proteica. Finalmente (Cap. 7) se comprueba la viabilidad de la tecnología NIR-CI para la detección de diferentes especies en harinas animales comparando los resultados obtenidos con la tecnología NIR-CI frente a los obtenidos con la espectroscopía NIR tradicional.After the emergence of the crisis of BSE, scientists hosted suspicions that the cause of the spread of the disease was the consumption of MBM by cattle. Since 1988, the use of mammalian derived protein in ruminant feed was banned. For this purpose the scientific community was requested to seek development and validation of analytical methods for the detection of animal species in feedstuffs. One of the candidate methods, to replace or to complement the official method (Optical Microscopy) is NIR-CI which integrates NIRS technology with image analysis. This thesis is divided into several chapters. Chapter 1 provides a review of legislation on the use of protein meals in animal feed, a description of current analytical methods for the detection of MBM and in particular the operational features of NIR-CI technology. Chapter 2 and 3 describe the development of a protocol to analyze samples of animal meal and create hyperspectral images including the identification of factors influencing the values of reflectance / absorbance of different pixels and the optimization of these factors . Then on Chapter 4 an assessment of compression methods and data reduction was performed to optimize the size and structure of the training set. Having established the parameters for selecting a representative group of pixels, chemometric models were developed and validated for predicting the composition of animal meal by comparing different multivariate statistical tools (Chapter 5). The following study (Chapter 6) includes the development of a protocol for the quantitative determination of the species in protein meal. Finally (Ch. 7) the feasibility of NIR-CI to detect different species of animal meal was studied by comparing the results obtained with NIR-CI to those obtained with traditional NIR spectroscopy

Exploring the acceptance of entomophagy: A survey of italian consumers

Insect-based food is not common in Europe, because most people do not consider insects to be edible, but rather a threat and a health risk. Fear and refusal to eat a new food product introduced into a culture is called food neophobia, which results in a hesitation to trying and experimenting with new foods. Although there is significant interest in this novel sector, there is a lack of research on the link between rejection, the level of food neophobia, and consumer behavior related to the introduction of insects into the diet. In this study, through 420 questionnaires, a specific experimental scale of insects was introduced which, together with a neophobia scale, analyzed the probability and the intention of respondents to consume insects. Another issue tested has been their intention to eat food containing insects. We observed that the analyses of the two scales produced different results, confirming the need for a specific scale to measure “insect phobia”. This is important, since knowledge about consumer preferences for and barriers to using insects as human food sources is limited but necessary in order to set up commercialization strategies. The development of insect-based food offers physical health benefits and also improves the sustainability of the food industry