Connexins Signatures of the Neurovascular Unit and Their Physio-Pathological Functions

Central nervous system (CNS) homeostasis is closely linked to the delicate balance of the microenvironment in which different cellular components of the neurovascular unit (NVU) coexist. Intercellular communication plays a pivotal role in exchanges of signaling molecules and mediators essential for survival functions, as well as in the removal of disturbing elements that can lead to related pathologies. The specific signatures of connexins (Cxs), proteins which form either gap junctions (GJs) or hemichannels (HCs), represent the biological substrate of the pathophysiological balance. Connexin 43 (Cx43) is undoubtedly one of the most important factors in glia–neuro–vascular crosstalk. Herein, Cxs signatures of every NVU component are highlighted and their critical influence on functional processes in healthy and pathological conditions of nervous microenvironment is reviewed.     

Evaluation of the effect of carvacrol on the Escherichia coli 555 metabolome by using H-NMR spectroscopy

Cultures of Escherichia coli 555 were grown at four levels of carvacrol (0–2 mM) and the E. coli endo-metabolome was extracted and measured by ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The results show that glucose concentration is going up with concentration of carvacrol and so do formate until the highest concentration is reached, from which point it suddenly decreases. This is interpreted as if the bacteria are increasingly unable to further metabolize glucose and as if the bacteria increasingly shifts with higher levels of carvacrol toward sugar fermentation as carbon source, until the level of carvacrol reaches a level (2.00 mM), where the E. coli must give up. Additionally, the multivariate Principal Component Analysis suggests that the adaptation occurring at sub-lethal doses of carvacrol is different from that occurring at higher doses.     

Migration of α-tocopherol from an active multilayer film into whole milk powder

Antioxidant active packaging is a promising technology for whole milk powder (WMP) protection. In this study, the migration of α-tocopherol from a multilayer active packaging (made of high density polyethylene, ethylene vinyl alcohol and a layer of low density polyethylene containing the antioxidant) to WMP was studied. A model based on the Fick’s diffusion equation was used to calculate the diffusion coefficients (D) of α-tocopherol as 2.34 × 10⁻¹¹, 3.06 × 10⁻¹¹, and 3.14 × 10⁻¹¹ cm² s⁻¹ at 20, 30 and 40 °C, respectively. The D at 20 °C was different from those at 30 and 40 °C (P < 0.05); but it was similar at 30 and 40 °C. This low influence of temperature on the migration of α-tocopherol from 20 to 40 °C assures the release at real storage and commercialization conditions in regions with warm/hot climate. The antioxidant delivering system delayed the lipid oxidation of WMP and it was more effective at 30 and 40 °C since the rate of oxidative reactions was higher at these temperatures than at 20 °C.     

Suitability of high-dynamic-pressure-treated milk for the production of yoghurt

The aim of this work was to evaluate, using the response surface methodology, the effects of different levels of high-pressure homogenization (HPH) on the microbiological and rheological characteristics of yoghurts having different contents of fat and milk solids. The HPH treatment of milk resulted a useful tool to obtain yoghurts having a greater variety of textures associated to a high microbiological quality. In fact, all the yoghurt types obtained by using milk treated with different levels of pressure were characterized by cell loads of the starter cultures higher than 8 log₁₀ cfu ml⁻¹ immediately after the fermentation and than 7 log₁₀ cfu ml⁻¹ after 60 days of storage at 4°C. The HPH treatment seems to favor the growth of Streptococcus thermophilus with respect to that of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, regardless of the level of pressure applied. The use of a Central Composite Design (CCD) and the polynomial models obtained permitted to individuate the levels of the three independent variables (pressure level, milk solids and fat concentration) able to maximize the growth of starters during the fermentation process, to minimize their viability loss during the refrigerated storage as well as to define their effects on the product viscosity.     

Simultaneous Hydrogen Production and Acetic Acid Degradation by Heterogeneous Photocatalysis using a Metallurgical Waste as Catalyst

Topics in Catalysis - This study presents the generation of a renewable fuel using acetic acid as electron donor, copper slag (CS) as photocatalyst and UV–Vis irradiation. The CS was...     

Fibromyalgia: Pathogenesis,Mechanisms, Diagnosis and Treatment Options Update

Fibromyalgia is a syndrome characterized by chronic and widespread musculoskeletal pain, often accompanied by other symptoms, such as fatigue, intestinal disorders and alterations in sleep and mood. It is estimated that two to eight percent of the world population is affected by fibromyalgia. From a medical point of view, this pathology still presents inexplicable aspects. It is known that fibromyalgia is caused by a central sensitization phenomenon characterized by the dysfunction of neuro-circuits, which involves the perception, transmission and processing of afferent nociceptive stimuli, with the prevalent manifestation of pain at the level of the locomotor system. In recent years, the pathogenesis of fibromyalgia has also been linked to other factors, such as inflammatory, immune, endocrine, genetic and psychosocial factors. A rheumatologist typically makes a diagnosis of fibromyalgia when the patient describes a history of pain spreading in all quadrants of the body for at least three months and when pain is caused by digital pressure in at least 11 out of 18 allogenic points, called tender points. Fibromyalgia does not involve organic damage, and several diagnostic approaches have been developed in recent years, including the analysis of genetic, epigenetic and serological biomarkers. Symptoms often begin after physical or emotional trauma, but in many cases, there appears to be no obvious trigger. Women are more prone to developing the disease than men. Unfortunately, the conventional medical therapies that target this pathology produce limited benefits. They remain largely pharmacological in nature and tend to treat the symptomatic aspects of various disorders reported by the patient. The statistics, however, highlight the fact that 90% of people with fibromyalgia also turn to complementary medicine to manage their symptoms.     

Efficient light-scattering calculations for aggregates of large spheres

Calculation of the scattering pattern from aggregates of spheres through the T-matrix approach yields high-precision results but at a high-computational cost, especially when the aggregate concerned is large or is composed of large-size spheres. With reference to a specific but representative aggregate, we discuss how and to what extent the computational effort can be reduced but still preserve the qualitative features of the signature of the aggregate concerned.     

On the regularity of circular splicing languages: a survey and new developments

Circular splicing has been introduced to model a specific recombinant behaviour of circular DNA, continuing the investigation initiated with linear splicing. In this paper we focus on the relationship between regular circular languages and languages generated by finite circular splicing systems. We survey the known results towards a characterization of the intersection between these two classes and provide new contributions on the open problem of finding this characterization. First, we exhibit a non-regular circular language generated by a circular simple system thus disproving a known result in this area. Then we give new results related to a restrictive class of circular splicing systems, the marked systems. Precisely, we review in a graph theoretical setting the recently obtained characterization of marked systems generating regular circular languages. In particular, we define a slight variant of marked systems, that is the g-marked systems, and we introduce the graph associated with a g-marked system. We show that a g-marked system generates a regular circular language if and only if its associated graph is a cograph. Furthermore, we prove that the class of g-marked systems generating regular circular languages is closed under a complement operation applied to systems. We also prove that marked systems with self-splicing generate only regular circular languages.     

Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolase (FAAH) Inhibition Plays a Key Role in Counteracting Acute Lung Injury

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a group of lung illnesses characterized by severe inflammation, with no treatment. The fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) enzyme is an integral membrane protein responsible for the hydrolysis of the main endocannabinoids, such as anandamide (AEA). In pre-clinical pain and inflammation models, increasing the endogenous levels of AEA and other bioactive fatty acid amides (FAAs) via genetic deletion or the pharmacological inhibition of FAAH produces many analgesic benefits in several different experimental models. To date, nobody has investigated the role of FAAH inhibition on an ALI mouse model. Mice were subjected to a carrageenan injection and treated orally 1 h after with the FAAH inhibitor URB878 dissolved in a vehicle consisting of 10% PEG-400, 10% Tween-80 and 80% saline at different doses: The inhibition of FAAH activity was able to counteract not only the CAR-induced histological alteration, but also the cascade of related inflammatory events. URB878 clears the way for further studies based on FAAH inhibition in acute lung pathologies.     

Effect of high pressure homogenisation of milk on cheese yield and microbiology, lipolysis and proteolysis during ripening of Caciotta cheese

The principal aim of this work was to compare Caciotta cheeses obtained from cow milk previously subjected to high pressure homogenisation (HPH) at 100 MPa with those produced from raw (R) or heat-treated (P) cow milk. HPH had both direct and indirect effects on cheese characteristics and their evolution during ripening. In particular, HPH treatment of milk induced a significant increase of the cheese yield; moreover, it affected the microbial ecology of both curd and cheese. Compared with the thermal treatment, the HPH treatment resulted in a decrease of about one log cfu/g of yeast and lactobacilli cell loads of the curd. The initial milk treatment also affected the evolution over time and the levels attained at the end of ripening of all the microbial groups studied. In fact, lactobacilli, microstaphylococci and yeast cell loads remained at lower levels in the cheeses obtained from HPH milk with respect to the other cheese types over the whole ripening period. Moreover, HPH of milk induced marked and extensive lipolysis. Cheeses from HPH milk showed the presence of high amounts of free fatty acids immediately after brining. The electrophoretic patterns of the different cheese types showed that Caciotta made from HPH-treated milk was characterized by a more extensive and faster proteolysis as well as a significant modification of its volatile molecule profile. The results obtained and the sensory analysis indicated that HPH treatment of milk was able to differentiate Caciotta cheese or to modify its ripening patterns.