Tissue-enhanced plasma proteomic analysis for disease stratification in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Motor Neurone Disease Association (Malaspina/Apr13/817–791). Wellcome Trust support to a parallel study (Pathfinder Award, grant number 103208)

Telomeres and Cell Senescence - Size Matters Not

Telomeres are protective structures present at the ends of linear chromosomes that are important in preventing genome instability. Telomeres shorten as a result of cellular replication, leading to a permanent cell cycle arrest, also known as replicative senescence. Senescent cells have been shown to accumulate in mammalian tissue with age and in a number of age-related diseases, suggesting that they might contribute to the loss of tissue function observed with age. In this review, we will first describe evidence suggesting a key role for senescence in the ageing process and elaborate on some of the mechanisms by which telomeres can induce cellular senescence. Furthermore, we will present multiple lines of evidence suggesting that telomeres can act as sensors of both intrinsic and extrinsic stress as well as recent data indicating that telomere–induced senescence may occur irrespectively of the length of telomeres

Chlorinated Hydrocarbons Liquid Wastes: Steam Extraction in Place of Incineration

A process was devised to extract high levels (2000 ppm) of chlorinated and aromatic solvents from liquid wastes generated by our synthesis processes. It consists basically in introducing the wastes at the top of a column, appropriately filled, and injecting steam at the bottom. The resulting “cleaned” wastes get out of the system with less tham 0.5 ppm. The extracted solvents are absorbed on charcoal filters that can be regenerated. The system consists in collecting liquid wastes in 3 m3 vessels. After the pH is adjusted, the incoming wastes are heated in two heat exchangers (12 m2 each), then they are injected at the top of a steel column (heights 4.8 m, diameter: 0.6 m ), with a flow of 1.5 m3/h. Steam is injected at the bottom of the column with a flow of 200 kg/h and a pressure of 4 kgf/cm2. The outcoming “cleaned” wastes get out at 100°C and are cooled on the two heat exchangers already mentioned. As can be seen the outcoming wastes are used to heat the incoming ones. Then this solution is collected in a 15 m3 vessel where it is neutralised and cooled to 40/50°C. The vapors of the extracted solvents that get out at 85°C are condensed in a heat exchanger of 12 m2 and the resulting mixture goes into a “F1orentino” vessel to separate the water phase from the solvents. The water phase goes back to the 3 m3 vessel to be mixed with the incoming wastes. The separated organic phase is put in drums. The heat exchangers and the “Florentino” vents are connected to a charcoal filter (0.1 m3 ) where the chlorinated vapors are trapped. This filter is reactivated every three days, and the solvents are again separated in the “Florentino” vessel.</jats:p

Potential of curcumin-loaded cubosomes for topical treatment of cervical cancer

Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers affecting women worldwide. There are an estimated 570.000 new cases of cervical cancer each year and conventional treatments can cause severe side effects. In this work, we developed a platform for vaginal administration of lipophilic drugs for cervical cancer treatment. We formulated mucoadhesive cubosomes for the delivery of curcumin, a lipophilic drug for cervical cancer treatment, to increase its bioavailability and local absorption. This study tests the use of cubosomes for vaginal drug administration and assesses their potential efficiency using the CAM (chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane) model. SAXS (small-angle X-ray scattering), cryo-TEM (cryo-transmission electron microscopy), and dynamic light scattering (DLS) were employed to characterise the system. With ex vivo permeation and retention studies, we find that the curcumin released from our system is retained in the vaginal mucosa. In vitro cytotoxicity assay and cellular uptake showed an increased cytotoxic effect of curcumin against HeLa cell line when incorporated into the cubosomes. The curcumin-loaded cubosomes also demonstrated an antiangiogenic effect evaluated in vivo by the CAM model