CD73-Adenosinergic Axis Mediates the Protective Effect of Extracellular Vesicles Derived from Mesenchymal Stromal Cells on Ischemic Renal Damage in a Rat Model of Donation after Circulatory Death

We propose a new organ-conditioning strategy based on mesenchymal stromal cell (MSCs)/extracellular vesicle (EVs) delivery during hypothermic perfusion. MSCs/EVs marker CD73 is present on renal proximal tubular cells, and it protects against renal ischemia-reperfusion injury by converting adenosine monophosphate into adenosine (ADO). In this study, after checking if CD73-silenced EVs (EVsi) would impact in vitro tubular-cell proliferation, we perfused kidneys of a rat model of donation after circulatory death, with Belzer solution (BS) alone, BS supplemented with MSCs, EVs, or EVsi. The ADO and ATP levels were measured in the effluents and tissues. Global renal ischemic damage score (GRS), and tubular cell proliferation index (IPT) were evaluated in the tissue. EVsi did not induce cell proliferation in vitro. Ex vivo kidneys perfused with BS or BS + EVsi showed the worst GRS and higher effluent ADO levels than the MSC- and EV-perfused kidneys. In the EV-perfused kidneys, the tissue and effluent ATP levels and IPT were the highest, but not if CD73 was silenced. Tissue ATP content was positively correlated with tissue ADO content and negatively correlated with effluent ADO level in all groups. In conclusion, kidney conditioning with EVs protects against ischemic damage by activating the CD73/ADO system.     

IRS-III: A broker-based approach to semantic Web services

A factor limiting the take up of Web services is that all tasks associated with the creation of an application, for example, finding, composing, and resolving mismatches between Web services have to be carried out by a software developer. Semantic Web services is a combination of semantic Web and Web service technologies that promise to alleviate these problems. In this paper we describe IRS-III, a framework for creating and executing semantic Web services, which takes a semantic broker-based approach to mediating between service requesters and service providers. We describe the overall approach and the components of IRS-III from an ontological and architectural viewpoint. We then illustrate our approach through an application in the eGovernment domain.     

A new short-path distillation system applied to the reduction of cholesterol in butter and lard

A molecular distillation plant, built particularly to increase the separation efficiency and to obtain safer working conditions, was tested to remove cholesterol from anhydrous butter and lard. A preliminary experiment was carried out with butter to evaluate the fractionation obtained at temperatures between 190 and 250°C and residual pressures between 10⁻³ and 10⁻⁴ torr. A second experiment was carried out at 185°C and at the maximum operational vacuum, evaluating the fractionation achieved within a time scale between 30 and 180 min. Cholesterol was almost completely removed during the second hour with minimal loss of low-molecular weight triglycerides. An experiment was carried out with lard at 250°C and maximum achievable operational vacuum (10⁻⁴ Torr), lasting approximately 6 h, and cholesterol was removed almost completely during the second hour without significant modifications in the triglyceride composition. This situation remained constant throughout the duration of the test.     

Use of compatible blends to fabricate carbon black composite vapor detectors

The aim of this work was the development of materials to be used in the field of gas sensing for the detection of organic vapors. Conductive sensors were prepared with carbon black filled blends of poly(vinyl chloride) and diol‐terminated poly(?‐caprolactone), an oligomeric plasticizer. For comparison, blends with di(2‐ethylhexyl)phthalate, a traditional low‐molecular‐weight plasticizer, were also prepared. All sensors were tested upon exposure to different organic vapors. In general, the plasticizer content affected the response rates of the sensors, and a linear variation of the relative resistance with the analyte concentration was observed. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 1816–1821, 2004     

Molecular characterization of Italian rice cultivars

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) is an efficient tool to detect DNA polymorphisms and to distinguish different clones and cultivars. We have applied the RAPD technique to distinguish, starting from a single rice seed, among some Italian rice cultivars from market and from National Institute for research on food and nutrition, Italy. We also estimated the genomic similarity among the rice cultivars object of this study taking advantage of the amplification patterns. Despite the low genomic variability among Italian rice cultivars, RAPD technique allowed us to distinguish among them. This indicates that RAPD can be used routinely to verify the identity of Italian rice cultivars in order to prevent fraudulent commercial activity.     

Content of phytoestrogens in soy-based dietary supplements

The isoflavone content of 14 soy-based dietary supplements intended to help alleviate perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms on sale in Italy were analysed using HPLC with UV detection. The aim was to quantify soy isoflavones after hydrolysis as aglycones, which are the bioactive part of isoflavone molecules. In the examined products, the amounts of isoflavones were frequently expressed ambiguously, and none of the products stated whether the isoflavone content of the product was expressed as aglycones or as conjugates. Each product revealed a different aglycone concentration profile. These supplements have different “fingerprints”, probably due to different sources of raw materials and to methods used in processing and preparation of extracts. In more than half the supplements tested, the actual values contained were below those stated and below those expected to help alleviate perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms.     

New sinusoidal basis functions and a neural network approach to solve nonlinear Volterra–Fredholm integral equations

Neural Computing and Applications - In this paper, we present and investigate the analytical properties of a new set of orthogonal basis functions derived from the block-pulse functions. Also, we...