Ce-MBGs Loaded with Gentamicin: Characterization and In Vitro Evaluation

Mesoporous Bioactive Glasses (MBGs) are biomaterials widely used in tissue engineering, particularly for hard tissue regeneration. One of the most frequent postoperative complications following a biomaterial surgical implant is a bacterial infection, which usually requires treatment by the systemic administration of drugs (e.g., antibiotics). In order to develop biomaterials with antibiotic properties, we investigated cerium-doped MBGs (Ce-MBGs) as in situ-controlled drug delivery systems (DDSs) of gentamicin (Gen), a wide spectrum antibiotic commonly employed against bacteria responsible of postoperative infections. Here we report the optimization of Gen loading on MBGs and the evaluation of the antibacterial properties and of retention of bioactivity and antioxidant properties of the resulting materials. The Gen loading (up to 7%) was found to be independent from cerium content, and the optimized Gen-loaded Ce-MBGs retain significant bioactivity and antioxidant properties. The antibacterial efficacy was verified up to 10 days of controlled release. These properties make Gen-loaded Ce-MBGs interesting candidates for simultaneous hard tissue regeneration and in situ antibiotic release

The new European regulation on personal data protection: significant aspects for data processing for scientific research purposes

On 27 April 2016, after a troubled gestation,, Regulation 2016/6791 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data was finally published. The Regulation is to have a two-year transitional period, meaning it will actually enter into force in the first half of 2018

Legal aspects regarding the use and integration of electronic medical records for epidemiological purposes with focus on the Italian situation

The "Observational Studies" working group of the Italian Association of Medical Statistics and Clinical Epidemiology (SISMEC) has undertaken to study the impact of recent healthcare sector regulations on the legal and organisational aspects of managing all EMR databases with emphasis on Legislative Decree No. 196/2003 (the Italian Personal Data Protection Law). This paper examines six issues relating to theirs legal implications. The first section, “Confidentiality”, provides definitions and the regulatory context for the terms "confidentiality" and "personal data". In the second, “Nature of data held in electronic medical record archives”, we discuss the problem of sensitive data and procedures to make the identification code anonymous. In “Data ownership” we highlight the difference between the data controller and the database controller. The fourth section, “Conditions for processing”, discusses problems associated with using research data from one study in other investigations. In the fifth, “Patient consent”, we address the problems related to patient consent. Finally in “Penalties” we outline the main civil and criminal liability issues applied in case of non-compliance with the provisions of the Personal Data Protection Code. Where possible, we provide suggestions on how to comply with the legal requirements of managing medical record archives in order to make it easier for researchers to remain in compliance with the relevant provisions

On the asymmetry of Nathair Facula, Mercury

Nathair Facula is the largest and most spectrally distinct of nearly 200 ‘bright red’ spots (faculae) on Mercury’s surface, most of which are accepted to be deposits from explosive volcanic eruptions. Like most of Mercury’s faculae, it hosts a non-circular central pit (in this case nearly 40 km wide and 3 km deep). However, the center of this facula does not coincide with its central pit’s midpoint. Quantitative analysis of two sets of spectral data shows that the facula’s midpoint is offset by 10-30 km northwards or northeastwards, and probably lies outside the pit. The pit area is almost certainly a ‘compound vent’, within which the locus of eruption has migrated between eruptive episodes. The asymmetry of the facula and the texture of the vent floor are consistent with the most energetic and/or the most recent eruptions having occurred from the northeastern part of the compound vent, but evidence that the center point of the facula lies outside the vent indicates that it may be necessary to invoke an additional factor such as asymmetric eruption fountains

Microbial inactivation of raw chicken meat by supercritical carbon dioxide treatment alone and in combination with fresh culinary herbs

The objective of the present study was to assess the potential synergistic effect between supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) and fresh culinary herbs (Coriandrum sativum and Rosmarinus officinalis) on the microbial inactivation of raw chicken meat. The microbiological inactivation was performed on Escherichia coli and natural flora (total mesophilic bacteria, yeasts, and molds). High pressure treatments were carried out at 40\ub0C, 80 or 140 bar from 15 to 45 min. Microbial inactivation had a strong dependence on treatment time, achieving 1.4 log CFU/g reduction of E. coli after 15 min, and up to 5 log after 45 min, while a pressure increase from 80 up to 140 bar was not significant on the microbial inactivation. Mesophilic microorganisms were strongly reduced (>2.6 log CFU/g) after 45 min, and yeasts and molds were below the detection limits of the technique (<100 CFU/g) in most cases. The combination of fresh herbs together with SC-CO2 treatment did not significantly increase the inactivation of either E. coli or natural flora, which was similar to the SC-CO2 alone. The synergistic effect was obtained on the inactivation of E. coli using a proper concentration of coriander essential oil (EO) (0.5% v/w), while rosemary EO did not show a significant effect. Color analysis after the treatment showed an increment of lightness (L*), and a decrease of redness (a*) on the surface of the sample, making the product visually similar to cooked meat. Texture analysis demonstrated the modification of the texture parameters as a function of the process pressure making the meat more similar to the cooked one

Northwest Africa 6232: Visible-near infrared reflectance spectra variability of an olivine diogenite

Visible and near-infrared (VNIR) reflectance is an important spectroscopic technique to identify minerals, and their associations, on planetary body surfaces. Howardites, eucrites, and diogenites (HED) are a class of igneous-like meteorites whose genetic connection with asteroid 4 Vesta has since long been inferred and recently confirmed by Dawn mission results. Pyroxene and olivine are the two major mafic minerals present in HED which can be identified with VNIR reflectance measurements. Thus, studying the compositional variability of those phases and their mixtures by means of laboratory spectroscopic measurements on different diogenitic or eucritic samples is one of the prime methods to better understand the evolution of 4 Vesta's crust. Here, we report the VNIR reflectance spectral analysis of a harzburgitic olivine diogenite, Northwest Africa 6232 (probably paired with Northwest Africa 5480), containing variable amounts of olivine as small grains or aggregates. We found that the olivine diogenite spectral parameters (e.g., band position) of powdered samples and polished slabs are in agreement. Moreover, the olivine diogenite band position shifts from synthetic orthopyroxene in accordance with the presence of olivine and chromite. In particular, the presence of a large olivine clast permits us to determine a linear variation of the band position from synthetic orthopyroxene and olivine, but underestimates the presence of olivine in the olivine diogenite spot

Supercritical CO2 for the drying and microbial inactivation of apple's slices

Supercritical CO2 (Sc-CO2) drying has been recognized as a promising low temperature drying technique for food products. In this regard, this work focuses on the feasibility of Sc-CO2 drying of apple’s slices: both the microbiological stability and mechanical behavior of the test product after the process have been investigated in dependence from different process parameters, namely drying time, pressurization time, and depressurization time. The microbiological stability was determined for both inoculated pathogenic bacteria (Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and Listeria monocytogenes) and naturally present microorganisms (yeasts and molds, mesophilic bacteria and spores and Enterobacteriaceae). Results demonstrated a complete inactivation of pathogenic bacteria under the detection limit (&lt;1 CFU/g) just after the pressurization (10 min) and depressurization (20 min) phases. After the same steps, a strong reduction of vegetative bacteria and yeasts and molds was also observed in comparison with air drying and freeze drying samples. As regards the mechanical behavior, the Young Modulus, measured before and after the CO2 processes to provide a measurement of samples’ stiffness, resulted dependent from the final water activity, but independent from the length of pressurization and depressurization phases at longer drying time. Overall, these results are promising to foster the development of the technology at industrial level

On the asymmetry of Nathair Facula

Nathair Facula is the largest and most spectrally distinct of nearly 200 ‘bright red’ spots on Mercury’s surface. Most are accepted to be deposits from explosive volcanic eruptions. Nathair Facula hosts a central pit, but the mid-point of this facula is displaced about 20 km northwards from the middle of the pit. This poses unresolved questions about the eruption mechanism. The vent area is almost certainly a ‘compound vent’ where the eruption site migrated between eruptive episodes. It is unclear how a consistent asymmetry could be repeatedly engendered and reinforced by a series of eruptions rather than averaging out to a symmetrical distribution

Variations in the amount of water ice on Ceres' surface suggest a seasonal water cycle.

The dwarf planet Ceres is known to host a considerable amount of water in its interior, and areas of water ice were detected by the Dawn spacecraft on its surface. Moreover, sporadic water and hydroxyl emissions have been observed from space telescopes. We report the detection of water ice in a mid-latitude crater and its unexpected variation with time. The Dawn spectrometer data show a change of water ice signatures over a period of 6 months, which is well modeled as ~2-km2 increase of water ice. The observed increase, coupled with Ceres' orbital parameters, points to an ongoing process that seems correlated with solar flux. The reported variation on Ceres' surface indicates that this body is chemically and physically active at the present time