Macromolecular Structure of a Commercial Humic Acid Sample

The molecular structure of a commercial sample of humic acids (HA) was investigated by membrane dialysis experiments (MD) and low-pressure size-exclusion chromatography (LP-SEC). MD showed that HA molecules were retained by dialysis membrane with a cut-off of 6–8 kDa, independently from HA concentration (15 or 150 mg L−1), NaHCO3 concentration (0.005–2.0 mol L−1), and from propan 2-ol (0–5 v/v %). SEC experiments at low pressure gave chromatograms with a broad peak, with an elution volume between those of the globular proteins bovine serum albumin (molecular weight = 66.5 kDa) and lysozyme from egg (molecular weight = 14.4 kDa). The pattern of the chromatogram did not vary with HA concentration, and second-run chromatograms of single eluted fractions showed relatively sharp peaks. From these data, we reveal that the commercial HA sample analysed has a macromolecular structure rather than being a supramolecular aggregate of relatively small molecules, as recently proposed for some samples of HA obtained from different sources

Cr(VI) Sorption from Aqueous Solution: A Review

Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) in water systems is a major hazard for living organisms, including humans. The most popular technology currently used to remove Cr(VI) from polluted water is sorption for its effectiveness, ease of use, low cost and environmental friendliness. The electrostatic interactions between chromium species and the sorbent matrix are the main determinants of Cr(VI) sorption. The pH plays a central role in the process by affecting chromium speciation and the net charge on sorbent surface. In most cases, Cr(VI) sorption is an endothermic process whose kinetics is satisfactorily described by the pseudo second-order model. A critical survey of the recent literature, however, reveals that the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters reported for Cr(VI) sorption are often incorrect and/or erroneously interpreted

Superconducting tunable flux qubit with direct readout scheme

We describe a simple and efficient scheme for the readout of a tunable flux qubit, and present preliminary experimental tests for the preparation, manipulation and final readout of the qubit state, performed in incoherent regime at liquid Helium temperature. The tunable flux qubit is realized by a double SQUID with an extra Josephson junction inserted in the large superconducting loop, and the readout is performed by applying a current ramp to the junction and recording the value for which there is a voltage response, depending on the qubit state. This preliminary work indicates the feasibility and efficiency of the scheme.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

Endothelial progenitor cells, defined by the simultaneous surface expression of VEGFR2 and CD133, are not detectable in healthy peripheral and cord blood

Circulating endothelial cells (CEC) and their progenitors (EPC) are restricted sub- populations of peripheral blood (PB), cord blood (CB) and bone marrow (BM) cells, involved in the endothelial homeostasis maintenance. Both CEC and EPC are thought to represent potential biomarkers in several clinical conditions involving the endothe- lial turnover/remodeling. Although different flow cytometry methods for CEC and EPC characterization have been so far published, none of them have reached consist- ent outcomes, therefore consensus guidelines with respect to CEC and EPC identifi- cation and quantification need to be established. Here, we have carried out a deep investigation of CEC and EPC phenotypes in healthy PB, CB and BM samples, by optimizing a reliable polychromatic flow cytometry (PFC) panel. Results showed that the brightness of CD34 expression on healthy PB and CB circulating cells represents a key benchmark for the identification of CEC (CD45neg/CD34bright/CD146pos) respect to the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) compartment (CD45dim/CD34pos/ CD146neg). This approach, combined to a dual-platform counting technique, allowed a sharp CEC enumeration in healthy PB (n = 38), and CEC counts were consistent with previous reported data (median = 11.7 cells/ml). In parallel, by using rigorous PFC conditions, CD34pos/CD45dim/CD133pos/VEGFR2pos EPC were not found in any healthy PB or CB sample, since VEGFR2 expression was never detectable on the surface of CD34pos/CD45dim/CD133pos cells. Notably, the putative EPC phenotype was observed in all analyzed BM samples (n = 12), and the expression of CD146 and VEGFR2, on BM cells, was not restricted to the CD34bright compartment, but also appeared on the HSC surface. Altogether, our findings suggest that the previously reported EPC antigen profile, defined by the simultaneous expression of VEGFR2 and CD133 on the surface of CD45dim/CD34pos cells, should be carefully re-evaluated and further studies are needed to redefine EPC features in order to translate CEC and EPC characterization into clinical practice

Anticancer effects of novel resveratrol analogues on human ovarian cancer cells

Resveratrol, a naturally occurring phytoalexin, has long been known to play an important regulatory role in key functions in cell physiology. This multifunctional role of resveratrol is explained by its ability to interact with several targets of various cell pathways. In the recent past, synthetic chemical modifications have been made in an attempt to enhance the biological effects of resveratrol, including its anti-cancer properties. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanisms of action of novel trans-restricted analogues of resveratrol in which the C-C double bond of the natural derivative has been replaced by diaryl-substituted imidazole analogues. In ovarian cancer models, the results of in vitro screening revealed that the resveratrol analogues exhibited enhanced anti-proliferative properties compared with resveratrol. We found that the resveratrol analogues also significantly inhibited Akt and MAPK signalling and reduced the migration of IL-6 and EGF-treated cells. Finally, in ascite-derived cancer cells, we demonstrated that the resveratrol analogues reduced the expression of epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers. Collectively, these findings indicate the enhanced anti-cancer properties of the resveratrol analogues

Adherence to the EAU guidelines on Penile Cancer Treatment: European, multicentre, retrospective study

16siPurpose: The European Association of Urology (EAU) guidelines for penile cancer (PC) are exclusively based on retrospective studies and have low grades of recommendation. The aim of this study was to assess the adherence to guidelines by investigating the management strategies for primary tumours and inguinal lymph nodes. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical charts of 176 PC patients who underwent surgery in eight European centres from 2010 to 2016. The stage and grade were assessed according to the 2009 AJCC–UICC TNM classification system. To assess adherence rates, we compared theoretical and practical adherence to the EAU guidelines. Results: Overall, 176 patients were enrolled. Partial amputation was the most frequent surgical approach (39%). 53.7% of tumours were stage Tis-T1b and the remaining 46.3% were stage T2-T4. Palpable lymph nodes were detected in 30.1% of patients and 45.1% underwent lymphadenectomy (LY). A sizeable group of tumours (43.2%) were N0. For primary treatment, adherence to the EAU guidelines was good (66%). In non-adherent cases, reasons for discrepancy were patient’s choice (17%), surgeon’s preference (36%), and other causes (47%). For LY, the guideline adherence was 70%, with either patient’s or surgeon’s choice or other causes accounting for discrepancy in 28, 20, and 52% of non-adherent cases, respectively. Conclusion: Adherence to the EAU guidelines for PC was quite high across the eight European centres involved in the study. This notwithstanding, strategies for further improvement should be developed and evenly adopted.openopenBada M.; Berardinelli F.; Nyirady P.; Varga J.; Ditonno P.; Battaglia M.; Chiodini P.; De Nunzio C.; Tema G.; Veccia A.; Antonelli A.; Cindolo L.; Simeone C.; Puliatti S.; Micali S.; Schips L.Bada, M.; Berardinelli, F.; Nyirady, P.; Varga, J.; Ditonno, P.; Battaglia, M.; Chiodini, P.; De Nunzio, C.; Tema, G.; Veccia, A.; Antonelli, A.; Cindolo, L.; Simeone, C.; Puliatti, S.; Micali, S.; Schips, L

Neurological features of COVID-19 infection: A case series of geriatric patients

The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), which is responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is known to cause substantial pulmonary disease. However, clinicians observed many extrapulmonary manifestations of COVID-19. Neurological manifestations are being recognised increasingly. On the basis of knowledge of other coronaviruses, especially those that caused the severe acute respiratory syndrome and Middle East respiratory syndrome epidemics, cases of central nervous system disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 might be expected to be rare. We report four cases of neurologic manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 in elderly patients who presented to the Geriatric Department of Pescara Hospital (Italy)

Proteomic insights in extracellular microvesicles from multiple sclerosis patients

To date the most important biomarkers for Multiple Sclerosis (MuS) diagnosis are the oligoclonal bands (OCBs) in CSF and Link Index. CSF is the body fluid that might better provide information about the pathological processes occurring in the CNS, because of its proximity. Anyway, it is obtained through an invasive procedure, thus tears, may represent an useful alternative source of biomarkers. Emerging evidences showed that distinct types of brain cells release high number of Extracellular Vesicles (EVs), that play important roles in the CNS, and represent a relevant source of biomarkers, relative free from confounding factors. In the present study, we analysed EVs from MuS patients obtained from tears and CSF samples. In details, 50μl of CSF or 50 μl of tears/sample were processed by a common flow cytometry no-lyse and no-wash method, in order to identify EVs. Exosomes and microvesicles (MVs) were sorted (70 μm nozzle, FACSAria III cell sorter, BD) from pooled CSF samples on the basis of their positivity to specific tetraspainins (for exosomes) or markers identifying each MV subset. Fractions were analysed by electron microscopy and Dynamic Light Scattering. Purified MV fractions undergone to FASP tryptic digestion and nanoLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS based shotgun proteomic approach. Identified MVs proteins were processed by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) and PANTHER - Gene List Analysis. Our data shows the presence of subpopulations of extracellular MVs of neuronal and microglia origins in tears , indicating a cross talk between the two compartment. We also identified 55 proteins (FD

Genetic dissection of the relationships between grain yield components by genome-wide association mapping in a collection of tetraploid wheats

Increasing grain yield potential in wheat has been a major target of most breeding programs. Genetic advance has been frequently hindered by negative correlations among yield components that have been often observed in segregant populations and germplasm collections. A tetraploid wheat collection was evaluated in seven environments and genotyped with a 90K SNP assay to identify major and stable quantitative trait loci (QTL) for grain yield per spike (GYS), kernel number per spike (KNS) and thousand-kernel weight (TKW), and to analyse the genetic relationships between the yield components at QTL level. The genome-wide association analysis detected eight, eleven and ten QTL for KNS, TKW and GYS, respectively, significant in at least three environments or two environments and the mean across environments. Most of the QTL for TKW and KNS were found located in different marker intervals, indicating that they are genetically controlled independently by each other. Out of eight KNS QTL, three were associated to significant increases of GYS, while the increased grain number of five additional QTL was completely or partially compensated by decreases in grain weight, thus producing no or reduced effects on GYS. Similarly, four consistent and five suggestive TKW QTL resulted in visible increase of GYS, while seven additional QTL were associated to reduced effects in grain number and no effects on GYS. Our results showed that QTL analysis for detecting TKW or KNS alleles useful for improving grain yield potential should consider the pleiotropic effects of the QTL or the association to other QTLs