Evolution of fermenting microbiota in tarhana produced under controlled technological conditions

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the evolution of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and yeasts during the fermentation of tarhana produced with some pasteurised ingredients and carried out at 30 and 40 °C. The chemical parameters were those typical for tarhana production. Coliform bacteria were not detected during fermentation, while LAB and yeasts were in the range 10⁷-10⁸ colony forming units (CFU) g⁻¹. Plate counts showed an optimal development of both fermenting microbial groups and the differences in cell concentrations were not significant (P > 0.05). LAB were isolated during fermentation and grouped on the basis of phenotypic and polymorphic characteristics. LAB isolates were identified by a combined genetic approach consisting of 16S/23S rRNA intergenic spacer region (ITS) and partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing as Pediococcus acidilactici, Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus brevis. Hence, the pasteurisation of the vegetable ingredients, excluded wheat flour, enhanced the hygienic conditions of tarhana without influencing the normal evolution of LAB. However, the fermentation at 40 °C favoured pediococci, while the production at 30 °C was mainly characterised by lactobacilli. Yeasts, identified by the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of the 5.8S ITS rRNA gene, were mainly represented by the species Saccharomyces cerevisiae in both productions.     

Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of Oenococcus oeni strains isolated from Italian wines

A phenotypic and genotypic characterization of 84 Oenococcus oeni isolates from Italian wines of different oenological areas was carried out. Numerical analysis of fatty acid profiles grouped the isolates into two clusters at low level of similarity (63%), the minor cluster containing seven isolates besides the type and the reference strains. Forthy-eight O. oeni isolates, representative of the two clusters, showed no differences in their metabolic properties (heterolactic fermentation pattern, citrate degradation capability and formation of some secondary metabolites). Moreover, the analysis of species-specific randomly amplified polymorphic DNA and 16S-23S rDNA intergenic spacer region polymorphism as well as the sequence-specific separation of V3 region from 16S rDNA by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis demonstrated a substantial homogeneity among the isolates. On the basis of ApaI Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) restriction patterns, the 84 isolates were grouped into five different clusters at 70% similarity, but no correlation with the phenotypic groups could be demonstrated. However, by combining phenotypic and genotypic data, the 84 O. oeni isolates grouped into eight phenotypic-genotypic combined profiles and a relationship between the origin of the isolates and their combined profile became evident, so that a sort of strain specificity can be envisaged for each wine-producing area.     

Industrial districts,urban areas or both? The location behaviour of foreign and domestic firms in an Italian manufacturing region

The Annals of Regional Science - The present paper aims at exploring the location behaviour of manufacturing firms, according to their ownership: domestic firms (henceforth DOMs) and inward foreign...     

Peptide-Lipid Interactions: Experiments and Applications

The interactions between peptides and lipids are of fundamental importance in the functioning of numerous membrane-mediated cellular processes including antimicrobial peptide action, hormone-receptor interactions, drug bioavailability across the blood-brain barrier and viral fusion processes. Moreover, a major goal of modern biotechnology is obtaining new potent pharmaceutical agents whose biological action is dependent on the binding of peptides to lipid-bilayers. Several issues need to be addressed such as secondary structure, orientation, oligomerization and localization inside the membrane. At the same time, the structural effects which the peptides cause on the lipid bilayer are important for the interactions and need to be elucidated. The structural characterization of membrane active peptides in membranes is a harsh experimental challenge. It is in fact accepted that no single experimental technique can give a complete structural picture of the interaction, but rather a combination of different techniques is necessary.     

Continuous‐Flow Asymmetric Hydrogenation of the β‐Keto Ester Methyl Propionylacetate in Ionic Liquid–Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Biphasic Systems

A continuous‐flow process for the asymmetric hydrogenation of methyl propionylacetate as a prototypical β‐keto ester in a biphasic system of ionic liquid and supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) is presented. An established ruthenium/2,2′‐bis(diphenylphosphino)‐1,1′‐binaphthyl (BINAP) catalyst was immobilised in an imidazolium‐based ionic liquid while scCO₂ was used as mobile phase transporting reactants in and products out of the reactor. The use of acidic additives led to significantly higher reaction rates and enhanced catalyst stability albeit at slightly reduced enantioselectivity. High single pass conversions (>90%) and good enantioselectivity (80–82% ee) were achieved in the first 80 h. The initial catalyst activity was retained to 91% after 100 h and to 69% after 150 h time‐on‐stream, whereas the enantioselectivity remained practically constant during the entire process. A total turnover number of ∼21,000 and an averaged space‐time yield (STY_av) of 149 g L⁻¹ h⁻¹ were reached in a long‐term experiment. No ruthenium and phosphorus contaminants could be detected via inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP‐OES) in the product stream and almost quantitative retention by the analysis of the stationary phase was confirmed. A comparison between batch‐wise and continuous‐flow operation on the basis of these data is provided.     

Lipid Droplet Biosynthesis Impairment through DGAT2 Inhibition Sensitizes MCF7 Breast Cancer Cells to Radiation

Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer in women worldwide and late diagnosis often adversely affects the prognosis of the disease. Radiotherapy is commonly used to treat breast cancer, reducing the risk of recurrence after surgery. However, the eradication of radioresistant cancer cells, including cancer stem cells, remains the main challenge of radiotherapy. Recently, lipid droplets (LDs) have been proposed as functional markers of cancer stem cells, also being involved in increased cell tumorigenicity. LD biogenesis is a multistep process requiring various enzymes, including Diacylglycerol acyltransferase 2 (DGAT2). In this context, we evaluated the effect of PF-06424439, a selective DGAT2 inhibitor, on MCF7 breast cancer cells exposed to X-rays. Our results demonstrated that 72 h of PF-06424439 treatment reduced LD content and inhibited cell migration, without affecting cell proliferation. Interestingly, PF-06424439 pre-treatment followed by radiation was able to enhance radiosensitivity of MCF7 cells. In addition, the combined treatment negatively interfered with lipid metabolism-related genes, as well as with EMT gene expression, and modulated the expression of typical markers associated with the CSC-like phenotype. These findings suggest that PF-06424439 pre-treatment coupled to X-ray exposure might potentiate breast cancer cell radiosensitivity and potentially improve the radiotherapy effectiveness.     

Continuous-time estimation of an endogenous growth model of an open economy

Most recent theoretical research on endogenous economic growth has been conducted with continuous-time models that embody the assumption of an intertemporally optimizing representative agent. Yet virtually none of these models has been confronted with empirical data. In this paper we make use of a model of an open economy recently developed by Turnovsky to demonstrate one approach to the estimation and analysis of such models. We present the results of the estimation, analyze the estimated model's stability properties around its steady-state solution, and explore the model's behavior in response to alternative tax policies.     

Immobilization of Lathyrus cicera Amine Oxidase on Magnetic Microparticles for Biocatalytic Applications

Amine oxidases are enzymes belonging to the class of oxidoreductases that are widespread, from bacteria to humans. The amine oxidase from Lathyrus cicera has recently appeared in the landscape of biocatalysis, showing good potential in the green synthesis of aldehydes. This enzyme catalyzes the oxidative deamination of a wide range of primary amines into the corresponding aldehydes but its use as a biocatalyst is challenging due to the possible inactivation that might occur at high product concentrations. Here, we show that the enzyme’s performance can be greatly improved by immobilization on solid supports. The best results are achieved using amino-functionalized magnetic microparticles: the immobilized enzyme retains its activity, greatly improves its thermostability (4 h at 75 °C), and can be recycled up to 8 times with a set of aromatic ethylamines. After the last reaction cycle, the overall conversion is about 90% for all tested substrates, with an aldehyde production ranging between 100 and 270 mg depending on the substrate used. As a proof concept, one of the aldehydes thus produced was successfully used for the biomimetic synthesis of a non-natural benzylisoquinoline alkaloid.     

Determination of 210pb and 212pb in water and their radiological impact to the public via drinking water

A sensitive and accurate method for determining ultra low-level 210Pb and 212Pb in water samples through double measurements was developed.Pb was pre-concentrated as hydroxides,separated from alkaline earth elements as PbS precipitate,purified by an anion exchange resin chromatography column,precipitated as PbSO4 for source preparation and counted by a low background β-counter.The procedure was checked with IAEA reference materials,and the results agreed well with the recommended values.Theminimum detectable activity was 0.062 mBq·L-1 for 210Pb and 0.053 mBq·L-1 for 212Pb with a 48 L water sample.Seventeen drinking water samples were analyzed,with a Pb recovery of 88.8?5.5%,and the typical activity concentrations were 0.191?15.1 mBq·L-1 for 210Pb and of 1.12?5.77 mBq·L-1 for 212Pb.The estimated committed effective doses to adult members of the public in Italy due to intake of 210Pb and 212Pb in drinking water were 0.096?7.59 μSv·a-1 and 0.005?0.025 μSv·a-1,respectively.