Correlation between sensory and instrumental properties of Canestrato Pugliese slices packed in biodegradable films

This paper compares the performance of three novel biodegradable films having different gas and water vapour permeabilities to the performance of a multilayer film made of polyethylene and EVOH and having high barrier properties. As model food C. Pugliese cheese was chosen. The samples were stored for 28 days and, once a week, they were analysed using sensory and instrumental tests. Sensory data showed samples packed in high permeable biodegradable film were different from fresh cut samples after only 7 days of storage, whereas the other biodegradable films having intermediate water vapour permeability allowed the cheese to keep its sensory properties unchanged for 21 days. The only film which maintained the sensory properties of cheese, with except for texture, during all the investigated time, was the high barrier film. The sensory data are confirmed by acceptability scores

La valorizzazione del <<capitale umano>>.

La crisi che ha colpito tutte le aree del Paese non ha risparmiato il Mezzogiorno le cui difficoltà rischiano di risultare aggravate dalla crisi internazionale

Functional characterization of the sea urchin sns chromatin insulator in erythroid cells

Chromatin insulators are regulatory elements that determine domains of genetic functions. We have previously described the characterization of a 265 bp insulator element, termed sns, localized at the 3' end of the early historic H2A gene of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus. This sequence contains three cis-acting elements (Box A, Box B, and Box C+T) all needed for the enhancer-blocking activity in both sea urchin and human cells. The goal of this Study was to further characterize the sea urchin sns insulator in the erythroid environment. We employed colony assays in human (K562) and mouse (MEL) erythroid cell lines. We tested the capability of sns to interfere with the communication between the 5HS2 enhancer of the human beta-globin LCR and the gamma-globin promoter. We found that the sns sequence displays directional enhancer-blocking activity. By the use of antibodies against known DNA binding proteins, in electrophoretic mobility shift assays, we demonstrated the binding of the erythroid-specific GATA-1 and the ubiquitous Oct-1 and Sp1 transcription factors. These factors bind to Box A, Box B, and Box C+T, respectively, in both K562 and MEL nuclear extracts. These results may have significant implications for the conservation of insulator function ill evolutionary distant organisms and may prove to be of practical benefit in gene transfer applications for erythroid disorders such as hemoglobinopathies and thalassemias

Gynoecium size and ovule number are interconnected traits that impact seed yield

Angiosperms form the biggest group of land plants and display an astonishing diversity of floral structures. The development of the flowers greatly contributed to the evolutionary success of the angiosperms as they guarantee efficient reproduction with the help of either biotic or abiotic vectors. The female reproductive part of the flower is the gynoecium (also called pistil). Ovules arise from meristematic tissue within the gynoecium. Upon fertilization, these ovules develop into seeds while the gynoecium turns into a fruit. Gene regulatory networks involving transcription factors and hormonal communication regulate ovule primordium initiation, their spacing on the placenta, and ovule development. Ovule number and gynoecium size are usually correlated and several genetic factors that impact these traits have been identified. Understanding and fine-tuning the gene regulatory networks influencing ovule number and pistil length opens up strategies for crop yield improvement, which is pivotal in light of a rapidly growing world population. In this review, we present an overview of the current knowledge of the genes and hormones involved in determining ovule number and gynoecium size. We propose a model for the gene regulatory network that guides the developmental processes that determine seed yield

The impact of the number of episodes on the outcome of Bipolar Disorder

Background: Bipolar disorder is a highly recurrent severe psychiatric dis- order. The number of episodes has been found consistently associated with poor outcome. It has been suggested that bipolar patients with long duration of illness and highly recur- rent course show great impairment of global functioning. Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess the clinical course and outcome of patients with bipolar disorder I and II with a high number of mood episodes. Methods: We compared a group of bipolar I and II subjects whose number of episode w as higher than ten (N = 167) with a similar-size representative sample of bipolar patients whose number of episodes was lower or equal than ten (N = 131). Results: Bipolar patients with more than 10 episodes have a more severe outcome of bipolar disorder. Qualification and occupational status was clearly worse for the highly recurrent group which showed a predominance of depressive polarity. Conclusions: These data suggest that bipolar patients with a highly recurrent course have significant functional impairment. With the passing of time, bipolar illness tends to be ruled by depressive features. Treatment strategies may need to address this issue

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 on elective surgical volume in Tuscany: effects on local planning and resource prioritization

No abstract availabl

Antinociceptive effects of tetrazole inhibitors of endocannabinoid inactivation: Cannabinoid and non-cannabinoid receptor-mediated mechanisms

Background and purpose: Tetrazoles were recently developed as inhibitors of the cellular uptake of the endocannabinoid anandamide or of its hydrolysis by fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), but were proposed to act also on non-endocannabinoid-related serine hydrolases. Experimental approach: We tested, in a model of inflammatory pain induced in mice by formalin, five chemically similar inhibitors: (i) OMDM119 and OMDM122, two potent carbamoyl tetrazole FAAH inhibitors with no effect on anandamide uptake; (ii) LY2183240, a carbamoyl tetrazole with activity as both FAAH and uptake inhibitor; (iii) OMDM132, a non-carbamoyl tetrazole with activity only as uptake inhibitor and iv) OMDM133, a non-carbamoyl tetrazole with no activity at either FAAH or uptake. Results: All compounds (2.5-10 mg kg -1, i.p.) inhibited the second phase of the nocifensive response induced by intraplantar injection of formalin. The effects of OMDM119, OMDM122 and OMDM133 were not antagonized by pretreatment with cannabinoid CB 1 receptor antagonists, such as rimonabant or AM251 (1-3 mg kg -1, i.p.). The effects of LY2183240 and OMDM132 were fully or partially antagonized by rimonabant, respectively, and the latter compound was also partly antagonized by the CB 2 receptor antagonist, AM630. Conclusions and implications: (i) non-FAAH hydrolases might be entirely responsible for the antinociceptive activity of some, but not all, tetrazole FAAH inhibitors, (ii) the presence of a carbamoylating group is neither necessary nor sufficient for such compounds to act through targets other than FAAH and (iii) inhibition of anandamide uptake is responsible for part of this antinociceptive activity, independently of effects on FAAH. © 2008 Macmillan Publishers Limited All rights reserved

Early Blockade of CB1 Receptors Ameliorates Schizophrenia-like Alterations in the Neurodevelopmental MAM Model of Schizophrenia

In agreement with the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia, prenatal exposure of Sprague-Dawley rats to the antimitotic agent methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) at gestational day 17 produces long-lasting behavioral alterations such as social withdrawal and cognitive impairment in adulthood, mimicking a schizophrenia-like phenotype. These abnormalities were preceded at neonatal age both by the delayed appearance of neonatal reflexes, an index of impaired brain maturation, and by higher 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) brain levels. Schizophrenia-like deficits were reversed by early treatment [from postnatal day (PND) 2 to PND 8] with the CB1 antagonist/inverse agonist AM251 (0.5 mg/kg/day). By contrast, early CB1 blockade affected the behavioral performance of control rats which was paralleled by enhanced 2-AG content in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). These results suggest that prenatal MAM insult leads to premorbid anomalies at neonatal age via altered tone of the endocannabinoid system, which may be considered as an early marker preceding the development of schizophrenia-like alterations in adulthood