Interaction of triton X-100 on silica: A relationship between surface characteristics and adsorption isotherms

Adsorption of Triton X-100 on various silica substrates has been investigated. A number of solids, including a natural quartz, this quartz washed with HCl acid and subsequently heated at 1273 K; two aerosils and one Kieselgel silicas were studied. These solids exhibit surface areas in the range of 5 to 430 m² g^?1. All the Triton adsorption isotherms display an S-shape at the adsorption temperatures studied (298 and 308 K). It has been found that the pretreatments of natural quartz (by water washing, impurities removed by acid and/or high temperature calcination) affect considerably the amounts of TX-100 adsorbed. Measurements of surface composition have been made by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) with particular emphasis on the presence of impurities and on the number of OH groups at the surface of the samples. The nature of the surface hydroxyl has also been studied by infrared spectroscopy. Furthermore, the specific number of hydroxyl groups on the surface of the silica samples has been determined by thermogravimetric analysis. Finally an attempt to correlate solid surface characteristics with adsorption isotherms has been developed.     

Effects of temperature, ammonium and glucose concentrations on yeast growth in a model wine system

In enology, alcoholic fermentation is a complex process involving several mechanisms. Slow and incomplete alcoholic fermentation is a chronic problem for the wine industry and factors leading to sluggish and stuck fermentations have been extensively studied and reviewed. The most studied cause of sluggish and stuck fermentation is the nitrogen content limitation. Nevertheless, other factors, such as temperature of fermentation and sugar concentration can affect the growth of yeasts. In this study we modelled the yeast growth‐cycle in wine model system as a function of temperature, sugar and ammonium concentrations; the individual effects and the interaction of these factors were analysed by means of a quadratic response surface methodology. Cell concentrations and weight loss were monitored in the whole wine fermentation process. The results of central composite design show that lower is the availability of nitrogen, higher is the cell growth rate; moreover, initial nitrogen concentration also influences survival time of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.     

Isolation and characterization of ganglioside 9-O-acetyl-GD3 from bovine buttermilk

Bovine buttermilk contains a unique ganglioside, 9-O-acetyl-GD₃. In order to isolate large quantities of this ganglioside, a simplified isolation scheme which consists of several ion-exchange and silica gel column chromatographic procedures was devised. The isolated 9-O-acetyl-GD₃ was characterized on the basis of its thin-layer chromatographic behavior, its immunoreactivity with a specific monoclonal antibody, JONES, and by conversion to authentic GD₃ by mild base treatment.     

Handling causality and schedulability when designing and prototyping cyber-physical systems

Software and Systems Modeling - Cyber physical systems are built upon digital and analog circuits, making it necessary to handle different models of computation during their design and verification...     

Specific Local Predictors That Reflect the Tropism of Endometriosis—A Multiple Immunohistochemistry Technique

Ectopic endometrial epithelium associates a wide spectrum of symptomatology. Their evolution can be influenced by inflammatory and vascular changes, that affect not only the structure and cell proliferation rate, but also symptoms. This prospective study involved tissue samples from surgically treated patients, stained using classical histotechniques and immunohistochemistry. We assessed ectopic endometrial glands (CK7+, CK20−), adjacent blood vessels (CD34+), estrogen/progesterone hormone receptors (ER+, PR+), inflammatory cells (CD3+, CD20+, CD68+, Tryptase+), rate of inflammatory cells (Ki67+) and oncoproteins (BCL2+, PTEN+, p53+) involved in the development of endometriosis/adenomyosis. A CK7+/CK20− expression profile was present in the ectopic epithelium and differentiated it from digestive metastases. ER+/PR+ were present in all cases analyzed. We found an increased vascularity (CD34+) in the areas with abdominal endometriosis and CD3+−:T-lymphocytes, CD20+−:B-lymphocytes, CD68+:macrophages, and Tryptase+: mastocytes were abundant, especially in cases with adenomyosis as a marker of proinflammatory microenvironment. In addition, we found a significantly higher division index-(Ki67+) in the areas with adenomyosis, and inactivation of tumor suppressor genes-p53+ in areas with neoplastic changes. The inflammatory/vascular/hormonal mechanisms trigger endometriosis progression and neoplastic changes increasing local pain. Furthermore, they may represent future therapeutic targets. Simultaneous-multiple immunohistochemical labelling represents a valuable technique for rapidly detecting cellular features that facilitate comparative analysis of the studied predictors.     

Galectin 1—A Key Player between Tissue Repair and Fibrosis

Galectins are ten family members of carbohydrate-binding proteins with a high affinity for β galactose-containing oligosaccharides. Galectin-1 (Gal-1) is the first protein discovered in the family, expressed in many sites under normal and pathological conditions. In the first part of the review article, we described recent advances in the Gal-1 modulatory role on wound healing, by focusing on the different phases triggered by Gal-1, such as inflammation, proliferation, tissue repair and re-epithelialization. On the contrary, Gal-1 persistent over-expression enhances angiogenesis and extracellular matrix (ECM) production via PI3K/Akt pathway activation and leads to keloid tissue. Therefore, the targeted Gal-1 modulation should be considered a method of choice to treat wound healing and avoid keloid formation. In the second part of the review article, we discuss studies clarifying the role of Gal-1 in the pathogenesis of proliferative diabetic retinopathy, liver, renal, pancreatic and pulmonary fibrosis. This evidence suggests that Gal-1 may become a biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of tissue fibrosis and a promising molecular target for the development of new and original therapeutic tools to treat fibrosis in different chronic diseases.     

First Report on Genome Editing via Ribonucleoprotein (RNP) in Castanea sativa Mill.

Castanea sativa is an important tree nut species worldwide, highly appreciated for its multifunctional role, in particular for timber and nut production. Nowadays, new strategies are needed to achieve plant resilience to diseases, climate change, higher yields, and nutritional quality. Among the new plant breeding techniques (NPBTs), the CRISPR/Cas9 system represents a powerful tool to improve plant breeding in a short time and inexpensive way. In addition, the CRISPR/Cas9 construct can be delivered into the cells in the form of ribonucleoproteins (RNPs), avoiding the integration of exogenous DNA (GMO-free) through protoplast technology that represents an interesting material for gene editing thanks to the highly permeable membrane to DNA. In the present study, we developed the first protoplast isolation protocol starting from European chestnut somatic embryos. The enzyme solution optimized for cell wall digestion contained 1% cellulase Onozuka R-10 and 0.5% macerozyme R-10. After incubation for 4 h at 25 °C in dark conditions, a yield of 4,500,000 protoplasts/mL was obtained (91% viable). The transfection capacity was evaluated using the GFP marker gene, and the percentage of transfected protoplasts was 51%, 72 h after the transfection event. The direct delivery of the purified RNP was then performed targeting the phytoene desaturase gene. Results revealed the expected target modification by the CRISPR/Cas9 RNP and the efficient protoplast editing.     

Therapeutic Vaccines for HPV-Associated Oropharyngeal and Cervical Cancer: The Next De-Intensification Strategy?

The rise in human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) has prompted a quest for further understanding of the role of high-risk HPV in tumor initiation and progression. Patients with HPV-positive OPSCC (HPV+ OPSCC) have better prognoses than their HPV-negative counterparts; however, current therapeutic strategies for HPV+ OPSCC are overly aggressive and leave patients with life-long sequalae and poor quality of life. This highlights a need for customized treatment. Several clinical trials of treatment de-intensification to reduce acute and late toxicity without compromising efficacy have been conducted. This article reviews the differences and similarities in the pathogenesis and progression of HPV-related OPSCC compared to cervical cancer, with emphasis on the role of prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines as a potential de-intensification treatment strategy. Overall, the future development of novel and effective therapeutic agents for HPV-associated head and neck tumors promises to meet the challenges posed by this growing epidemic.     

The P2X7R-NLRP3 and AIM2 Inflammasome Platforms Mark the Complexity/Severity of Viral or Metabolic Liver Damage

P2X7R-NLRP3 and AIM2 inflammasomes activate caspase-1 and the release of cytokines involved in viral-related liver disease. Little is known about their role in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steato-hepatitis (NASH). We characterized the role of inflammasomes in NAFLD, NASH, and HCV. Gene expression and subcellular localization of P2X7R/P2X4R-NLRP3 and AIM2 inflammasome components were examined in histopathological preparations of 46 patients with biopsy-proven viral and metabolic liver disease using real-time PCR and immunofluorescence. P2X7R, P2X4R, and Caspase-1 are two- to five-fold more expressed in patients with NAFLD/NASH associated with chronic HCV infection than those with metabolic damage only (p ≤ 0.01 for all comparisons). The AIM2 inflammasome is 4.4 times more expressed in patients with chronic HCV infection, regardless of coexistent metabolic abnormalities (p = 0.0006). IL-2, a cytokine playing a pivotal role during chronic HCV infection, showed a similar expression in HCV and NASH patients (p = 0.77) but was virtually absent in NAFLD. The P2X7R-NLRP3 complex prevailed in infiltrating macrophages, while AIM2 was localized in Kupffer cells. Caspase-1 expression correlated with elastography-based liver fibrosis (r = 0.35, p = 0.02), whereas P2X7R, P2X4R, NRLP3, Caspase-1, and IL-2 expression correlated with circulating markers of disease severity. P2X7R and P2X4R play a major role in liver inflammation accompanying chronic HCV infection, especially when combined with metabolic damage, while AIM2 is specifically expressed in chronic viral hepatitis. We describe for the first time the hepatic expression of IL-2 in NASH, so far considered a peculiarity of HCV-related liver damage.