STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES AND FUNCTIONAL TAILORING OF REFINED OR UNREFINED PLANT-BASED MATERIALS OBTAINED BY EXTRACTION OR BIO-TRANSFORMATION OF AGRO-FOOD WASTES

L\u2019impiego delle risorse in maniera efficiente \ue8 una tematica di interesse globale, sia da un punto di vista ambientale che economico. La produzione di grandi quantit\ue0 di residui agro-alimentari \ue8 una delle principali cause di inefficienza a livello di produzione industriale. Questi materiali hanno ancora un elevato contenuto di materiale organico, ricco in composti naturali preziosi e peculiari strutture che, una volta identificati, possono essere estratti e valorizzati per via fisica, chimica o biotecnologica. Per queste ragioni, negli ultimi anni si osserva un crescente interesse sia scientifico che industriale per il recupero e la valorizzazione di materiali di scarto. In questo contesto, questo progetto di dottorato si propone di investigare le potenzialit\ue0 di ingredienti derivati da residui agro-alimentari per la formulazione alimentare. La caratterizzazione strutturale e funzionale delle matrici considerate ha seguito un approccio tipico della scienza dei materiali, basato sull\u2019analisi quantitativa mediante modelli matematici per promuovere e controllare specifici fenomeni e modificazioni in grado di migliorare le propriet\ue0 funzionali del sistema formulato. Nella presente tesi di dottorato sono stati considerati quattro diversi materiali. La cellulosa nano cristallina \ue8 stata caratterizzata da un punto di vista reo-ottico per meglio comprendere quale sia relazione esistente tra l\u2019organizzazione nematica e lo stato cineticamente arrestato. Gli estratti di parete vegetale (CWM) sono stati studiati nell\u2019ottica di un loro impiego come sistemi per il trasporto di composti bioattivi, agendo soprattutto sull\u2019organizzazione della matrice polimerica di parete con lo scopo di poter meglio controllare il rilascio dei composti di interesse. Le frazioni di farina di semi di canapa sono state valutate in termini di capacit\ue0 texturizzante e strutturante. La cellulosa batterica si \ue8 dimostrata invece un eccellente supporto per la ritenzione di molecole volatili.The efficient exploitation of resources is a topic of concern worldwide, from both an environmental and economic point of view. The production of large amounts of agro-food residues is one of the main causes for the inefficiency of industrial-scale food production. These are materials of high organic load, where valuable natural compounds and structures can be identified and extracted in order to valorize wastes via physical, chemical or biotechnological processing. For this reason, an intensive investigation for the recovery of materials with improved functional properties has been carried out in the last years. In this framework, this PhD doctoral project aimed to explore the potentiality of residue-derived ingredients for the food formulation. Structural and functional characterization of the proposed matrices was performed with a material science point of view, based on the quantitative analysis through mathematical models to promote and control adequate changes which can improve some functional properties in the food. In the present thesis, four different materials were considered. Cellulose nanocrystals were characterized with a rheo-optical approach in order to provide an insight into the relationship between nematic ordering and kinetic arrest. Cell wall materials were studied as carrier of bioactive compounds, with the purpose of tuning the wall matrix organization to obtain a sustained release. Hemp seed meal fractions were evaluated because of their texturing and structuring abilities. The use of bacterial cellulose as support for the retain of volatile molecules was also investigated, along with its thickening ability

Fine structural analyses of pancreatic acinar cell nuclei from mice fed on genetically modified soybean

We carried out ultrastructural morphometrical and immunocytochemical analyses on pancreatic acinar cell nuclei from mice fed on genetically modified (GM) soybean, in order to investigate possible structural and molecular modifications of nucleoplasmic and nucleolar constituents.We found a significant lowering of nucleoplasmic and nucleolar splicing factors as well as a perichromatin granule accumulation in GM-fed mice, suggestive of reduced post-transcriptional hnRNA processing and/or nuclear export. This is in accordance to already described zymogen synthesis and processing modifications in the same animals

Frequency-dependent modulation of cerebellar excitability during the application of non-invasive alternating current stimulation

Background: it is well-known that the cerebellum is critical for the integrity of motor and cognitive actions. Applying non-invasive brain stimulation techniques over this region results in neurophysiological and behavioural changes, which have been associated with the modulation of cerebellar-cerebral cortex connectivity. Here, we investigated whether online application of cerebellar transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) results in changes to this pathway. Methods: thirteen healthy individuals participated in two sessions of cerebellar tACS delivered at different frequencies (5Hz and 50Hz). We used transcranial magnetic stimulation to measure cerebellar-motor cortex (M1) inhibition (CBI), short-intracortical inhibition (SICI) and short-afferent inhibition (SAI) before, during and after the application of tACS. Results: we found that CBI was specifically strengthened during the application of 5Hz cerebellar tACS. No changes were detected immediately following the application of 5Hz stimulation, nor at any time point with 50Hz stimulation. We also found no changes to M1 intracortical circuits (i.e. SICI) or sensorimotor interaction (i.e. SAI), indicating that the effects of 5Hz tACS over the cerebellum are site-specific. Conclusions: cerebellar tACS can modulate cerebellar excitability in a time- and frequency-dependent manner. Additionally, cerebellar tACS does not appear to induce any long-lasting effects (i.e. plasticity), suggesting that stimulation enhances oscillations within the cerebellum only throughout the stimulation period. As such, cerebellar tACS may have significant implications for diseases manifesting with abnormal cerebellar oscillatory activity and also for future behavioural studies

Demonstration of early functional compromise of bone marrow derived hematopoietic progenitor cells during bovine neonatal pancytopenia through in vitro culture of bone marrow biopsies

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Bovine neonatal pancytopenia (BNP) is a syndrome characterised by thrombocytopenia associated with marked bone marrow destruction in calves, widely reported since 2007 in several European countries and since 2011 in New Zealand. The disease is epidemiologically associated with the use of an inactivated bovine virus diarrhoea (BVD) vaccine and is currently considered to be caused by absorption of colostral antibody produced by some vaccinated cows (“BNP dams”). Alloantibodies capable of binding to the leukocyte surface have been detected in BNP dams and antibodies recognising bovine MHC class I and β-2-microglobulin have been detected in vaccinated cattle. In this study, calves were challenged with pooled colostrum collected from BNP dams or from non-BNP dams and their bone marrow hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) cultured <it>in vitro</it> from sternal biopsies taken at 24 hours and 6 days post-challenge.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Clonogenic assay demonstrated that CFU-GEMM (colony forming unit-granulocyte/erythroid/macrophage/megakaryocyte; pluripotential progenitor cell) colony development was compromised from HPCs harvested as early as 24 hour post-challenge. By 6 days post challenge, HPCs harvested from challenged calves failed to develop CFU-E (erythroid) colonies and the development of both CFU-GEMM and CFU-GM (granulocyte/macrophage) was markedly reduced.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study suggests that the bone marrow pathology and clinical signs associated with BNP are related to an insult which compromises the pluripotential progenitor cell within the first 24 hours of life but that this does not initially include all cell types.</p

Evolutionary-new centromeres preferentially emerge within gene deserts

A study identifying genomic restructuring and the absence of genes as conditions permissive for the seeding of new centromeres in primate

Dark Matter searches using gravitational wave bar detectors: quark nuggets and newtorites

Many experiments have searched for supersymmetric WIMP dark matter, with null results. This may suggest to look for more exotic possibilities, for example compact ultra-dense quark nuggets, widely discussed in literature with several different names. Nuclearites are an example of candidate compact objects with atomic size cross section. After a short discussion on nuclearites, the result of a nuclearite search with the gravitational wave bar detectors Nautilus and Explorer is reported. The geometrical acceptance of the bar detectors is 19.5 $\rm m^2$ sr, that is smaller than that of other detectors used for similar searches. However, the detection mechanism is completely different and is more straightforward than in other detectors. The experimental limits we obtain are of interest because, for nuclearites of mass less than $10^{-5}$ g, we find a flux smaller than that one predicted considering nuclearites as dark matter candidates. Particles with gravitational only interactions (newtorites) are another example. In this case the sensitivity is quite poor and a short discussion is reported on possible improvements.Comment: published on Astroparticle Physics Sept 25th 2016 replaced fig 1

Feeding and growth of a dyke-laccolith system (Elba Island, Italy) from AMS and mineral fabric data

Dykes feed laccoliths and sills; however, the link between feeder and intrusion is rarely observed. The felsic San Martino laccolith displays a clear feeder–intrusion link, allowing reconstruction of the influence of the size and location of feeder dykes on magma flow during formation of subhorizontal intrusions. This work uses anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) combined with mineral shape-preferred orientations of sanidine megacrysts to examine magma flow pathways through feeders into a laccolith. Strong correlation between AMS and K-feldspar datasets indicates that alteration affecting the paramagnetic mineralogy did not influence AMS results. The well-established field relationships between feeder and laccolith provided a robust ‘geo-logical’ model for flow pathways that we have used as a framework to aid interpretation of AMS data. The position and size of the main feeder dyke helped to predict the flow paths in the overlying laccolith. Our results show that magma spread laterally from the feeding system and built the laccolith layers with propagating and inflating divergent flow where tabular particles became aligned perpendicular to the magma displacement direction. The lack of internal discontinuities indicates that the magma was injected as a single pulse or a series of quickly coalescing pulses