Methods to hyperpolarize nuclear spins via dissolution and sublimation DNP at high magnetic field

Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) is, nowadays, the most well-established and widespread Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) hyperpolarization technique. With respect to other methods, the main advantage of DNP is, with no doubt, its versatility. In theory each NMR active nuclear spin species can be polarized via DNP, allowing to obtain enhanced NMR signals from samples in the solid state, liquid state and gas state. Thus its utility ranges from material science to biomedicine. The DNP process efficiency is strongly influenced by experimental conditions (temperature and magnetic field) as well as samples preparation. The fine tuning of these features is often asserted as the key point for practical purposes, where it is desirable to obtain a nuclear polarization as high as possible in a relatively short amount of time. The aim of the present thesis work is to look into some of these aspects, trying to understand up to which point the technique can be improved. Big emphasis is given to the study of the phenomenon at high magnetic field, one of the current hot topics within the DNP community. Moreover the feasibility for the production of hyperpolarized Xe-129 gas is studied, showing that sublimation-DNP represents a promising alternative to the well-established Spin Exchange Optical Pumping (SEOP), when the sample preparation is carefully optimized. The most interesting and innovative part of the thesis is centered around the investigation of a new kind of photo-induced non-persistent radicals. Their use as DNP polarizing agents was tested on several nuclei (C-13, Xe-129, Li-6, H-1) in unfavorable hyperpolarized (HP) solution transfer conditions. It was indeed demonstrated that, the natural recombination of the paramagnetic centers, when the temperature is increased, helps in preserving the highly out-of-equilibrium nuclear spin order of the dissolved sample. Moreover, we believe the UV-radicals unique property of self-quenching could represent the first step towards the development of a simple way to handle and store nuclear polarization, by means of the generation of highly polarized radical-free solid samples

The impact of uterine neoplastic tissue in accurately examined Fallopian tubes in pathological diagnosis and clinical managment

ABSTRACT The presence of intraluminal uterine neoplastic tissue or neoplastic cells in accurately examined Fallopian tubes can pose serious diagnostic problems for pathologists. Indeed, this finding, with the simultaneous presence of neoplastic cells in the intraoperative cytology of peritoneal washing, might suggest the retrograde transtubal spread of a uterine malignancy and, consequently, can be responsible for its upstaging, with an impact on the therapeutic approach. In a comment on our previously paper, in which we demonstrated this unusual mechanism of metastasis in a case of uterine serous carcinoma, and by a mini-review of the retrograde transtubal spread of uterine carcinoma, we discuss the pathological criteria for this findings and its impact on the management of patients affected by all subtypes of minimally invasive uterine carcinomas

Decoding intentions from movement kinematics

How do we understand the intentions of other people? There has been a longstanding controversy over whether it is possible to understand others’ intentions by simply observing their movements. Here, we show that indeed movement kinematics can form the basis for intention detection. By combining kinematics and psychophysical methods with classification and regression tree (CART) modeling, we found that observers utilized a subset of discriminant kinematic features over the total kinematic pattern in order to detect intention from observation of simple motor acts. Intention discriminability covaried with movement kinematics on a trial-by-trial basis, and was directly related to the expression of discriminative features in the observed movements. These findings demonstrate a definable and measurable relationship between the specific features of observed movements and the ability to discriminate intention, providing quantitative evidence of the significance of movement kinematics for anticipating others’ intentional actions

Olive oil industry by-products. Effects of a polyphenol-rich extract on the metabolome and response to inflammation in cultured intestinal cell

Over the past years, researchers and food manufacturers have become increasingly interested in olive polyphenols due to the recognition of their biological properties and probable role in the prevention of various diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease. Olive pomace, one of the main by-products of olive oil production, is a potential low-cost, phenol-rich ingredient for the formulation of functional food. In this study, the aqueous extract of olive pomace was characterized and used to supplement human intestinal cell in culture (Caco-2). The effect on the cell metabolome and the anti-inflammatory potential were then evaluated. Modification in the metabolome induced by supplementation clearly evidenced a metabolic shift toward a “glucose saving/accumulation” strategy that could have a role in maintaining anorexigenic hormone secretion and could explain the reported appetite-suppressing effect of the administration of polyphenol-rich food. In both basal and inflamed condition, supplementation significantly reduced the secretion of the main pro-inflammatory cytokine, IL-8. Thus, our data confirm the therapeutic potential of polyphenols, and specifically of olive pomace in intestinal bowel diseases. Although intervention studies are needed to confirm the clinical significance of our findings, the herein reported results pave the road for exploitation of olive pomace in the formulation of new, value-added foods. In addition, the application of a foodomics approach allowed observing a not hypothesized modulation of glucose metabolism

Sentinel node mapping in endometrial cancer: Tips and tricks to improve bilateral detection rate. The sentitricks study, a monocentric experience.

Abstract Objective The objective of the study is to show some small tricks for bilateral sentinel lymph node (SLN) uptake in endometrial cancer. Materials and methods Each step of the sentinel lymph node technique was analyzed. The cervix was exposed through the use of vaginal valves and by Martin pliers stapling of the anterior cervical lip. Fifty mg Indocyanine Green (ICG) powder was diluted with 10 ml of physiological solution. The spinal needle was marked at 15 mm with a steri-strip. After 20 min from the administration, in case of no LNS identification, an additional 1 ml in the non-detected side was administered in the superficial cervical area. All cervical injections were made by a single (BR) surgeon experienced in oncological gynecology. Results Fifty patients undergoing sentinel lymph node research for endometrial cancer. The uptake of at least one side of the sentinel node was 98% (49 cases). Forty-six (92%) patients had bilateral lymph node uptake and 3 patients (6%) had unilateral uptake. Only one patient with pelvic and metastatic aortic lymph nodes had no sentinel nodal uptake. Conclusions Little tricks can increase the bilateral uptake of the SLN up to 92%. The reinjection could be a key element for the success of the SLN technique. Experienced surgeons could certainly play a fundamental role in raising bilateral SLN detection. Further prospective randomized studies are needed to achieve the best SLN infiltration strategy