Critical Review on Fatty Acid-Based Food and Nutraceuticals as Supporting Therapy in Cancer

Fatty acids have an important place in both biological and nutritional contexts and, from a clinical point of view, they have known consequences for diseases’ onset and development, including cancer. The use of fatty acid-based food and nutraceuticals to support cancer therapy is a multidisciplinary subject, involving molecular and clinical research. Knowledge regarding polyunsaturated fatty acids essentiality/oxidizability and the role of lipogenesis-desaturase pathways for cell growth, as well as oxidative reactivity in cancer cells, are discussed, since they can drive the choice of fatty acids using their multiple roles to support antitumoral drug activity. The central role of membrane fatty acid composition is highlighted for the application of membrane lipid therapy. As fatty acids are also known as biomarkers of cancer onset and progression, the personalization of the fatty acid-based therapy is also possible, taking into account other important factors such as formulation, bioavailability and the distribution of the supplementation. A holistic approach emerges combining nutra- and pharma-strategies in an appropriate manner, to develop further knowledge and applications in cancer therapy.     

The Potential Role of SP-G as Surface Tension Regulator in Tear Film: From Molecular Simulations to Experimental Observations

The ocular surface is in constant interaction with the environment and with numerous pathogens. Therefore, complex mechanisms such as a stable tear film and local immune defense mechanisms are required to protect the eye. This study describes the detection, characterization, and putative role of surfactant protein G (SP-G/SFTA2) with respect to wound healing and surface activity. Bioinformatic, biochemical, and immunological methods were combined to elucidate the role of SP-G in tear film. The results show the presence of SP-G in ocular surface tissues and tear film (TF). Increased expression of SP-G was demonstrated in TF of patients with dry eye disease (DED). Addition of recombinant SP-G in combination with lipids led to an accelerated wound healing of human corneal cells as well as to a reduction of TF surface tension. Molecular modeling of TF suggest that SP-G may regulate tear film surface tension and improve its stability through specific interactions with lipids components of the tear film. In conclusion, SP-G is an ocular surface protein with putative wound healing properties that can also reduce the surface tension of the tear film.     

Speciation of organometallic compounds in environmental samples by gas chromatography after flow preconcentration on fullerenes and nanotubes

The development of a simple speciation method for the determination of lead (trimethyllead(I), dimethyllead(II), triethyllead(I), and diethyllead(II)), mercury (methylmercury(I), ethylmercury(I), mercury(II)), and tin (n-butyltin(III), di-n-butyltin(II), tri-n-butyltin(I), tin(IV)) compounds in environmental samples was described. The potential of C70 fullerenes and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) as sorbents was investigated for the first time; this study revealed that there are no significant differences between them in terms of sensitivity, selectivity, precision, and reusability. Comparative studies showed that MWNTs and C60 and C70 fullerenes were superior to graphitized carbon black and RP-C18 for the extraction of the 11 compounds studied. The accuracy of the MWNT method was evaluated from recovery values with two standard reference coastal sediments, and good concordance in the results were obtained. Detection limits of 0.5-2 pg/mL were obtained when using a sorbent column containing 160 mg of MWNTs (sample breakthrough, 50 mL of water). The method was successfully applied to the determination of lead, mercury, and tin compounds in water and coastal sediment samples with satisfactory results.     

Characterization of transient currents in HfO2 capacitors in the short timescale

We present a detailed experimental investigation of transient currents in HfO₂ capacitors in the short timescale. We show that the transient currents flowing through the capacitor plates when the gate voltage is reset to zero after a low voltage stress period follow a power-law time dependence t^−α (with α ? 1) over more than eight decades of time and down to the μs timescale. As transient currents in HfO₂ are largely increased with respect to the SiO₂ case, these results confirm that transient effects can be a severe issue for the successful integration of high-k dielectrics.     

Electrochemical study of corrosion inhibition of steel reinforcement in alkaline solutions containing phosphates based components

The aim of this study is to investigate the viability of use of sodium phosphate (Na₃PO₄: SP), tetrasodium pyrophosphate (Na₄P₂O₇: TSPP) and hydroxyethylidene-diphosphonic acid (C₂H₈O₇P₂: HEDP) as a non-toxic corrosion inhibitors of steel bars in alkaline media which simulate the electrolyte in the concrete pores. The effectiveness of these phosphate compounds as corrosion inhibitors was investigated by measuring the corrosion potentials, the polarization curves, the corrosion current densities, and the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy of steel bars immersed for 30 days in saturated Ca(OH)₂ solutions with and without chlorides. At the completion of the tests, the mass losses were determined in order to verify the reliability of the electrochemical results. The results showed that phosphate compounds form a protective layer on the steel surface when immersed in alkaline solution without chlorides. In the presence of chloride ions, the SP acts as an anodic inhibitor and reduces the corrosion activity on steel. The HEDP shows lower efficiency, probably due to the decrease of the pH and to the high [Cl⁻]/[inh] ratio used. Results obtained by electrochemical and gravimetric methods are in quite reasonable agreement.     

Worst-case estimation for econometric models with unobservable components

A worst-case estimator for econometric models containing unobservable components, based on minimax principles for optimal selection of parameters, is proposed. Worst-case estimators are robust against the averse effects of unobservables. Computing worst-case estimators involves solving a minimax continuous problem, which is quite a challenging task. Large sample theory is considered, and a Monte Carlo study of finite-sample properties is conducted. A financial application is considered.     

Mark Maybury (Author), Intelligent Multimedia Information Retrieval

User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction -     

Mean gain of avalanche photodiodes in a dead space model

Based on a first order expansion of the recursive equations, we derive approximate analytical expressions for the mean gain of avalanche photodiodes accounting for dead space effects. The analytical solutions are similar to the popular formula first obtained in local approximation, provided that the ionization coefficients, α and β, are replaced with suitable effective ionization coefficients depending on dead space. The approximate solutions are in good agreement with the exact numerical solutions of the recursive equations for p-i-n devices as well as for photodiodes with nonconstant electric field profile. We also show that dead space causes non negligible differences between the values of the effective ionization coefficients entering in carrier continuity equations, the carrier ionization probability per unit length and the ionization coefficients derived by experimenters from multiplication measurements     

Production of a yogurt-like product from plant foodstuffs and whey. Substrate preparation and fermentation

A mixed substrate composed of soya milk, oat flour and dried cheese whey (82, 11 and 7% respectively) had a content of lactose and protein similar to that of milk used for yogurt manufacture. Heat treatment for 20 min at 80°C resulted in a viscosity similar to that of yogurt whilst removing coliform and mesophilic aerobic bacteria, moulds and yeasts. Fermentation with traditional yogurt bacteria did not increase viscosity further, and the final product had similar acidity and texture to yogurt. Acid development, carbohydrate consumption, proteolysis and starters counts were followed during fermentation. The fermentation profile of the mixed substrate was very similar to that of milk.