4,6-Dichloro-5-Nitrobenzofuroxan: Different Polymorphisms and DFT Investigation of Its Reactivity with Nucleophiles

This research focuses on the X-ray structure of 4,6-dichloro-5-nitrobenzofuroxan 1 and of some of its amino derivatives (4a, 4e, 4g, and 4l) and on DFT calculations concerning the nucleophilic reactivity of 1. We have found that by changing the solvent used for crystallization, it is possible to obtain 4,6-dichloro-5-nitrobenzofuroxan (1) in different polymorphic structures. Moreover, the different torsional angles observed for the nitro group in 1 and in its amino derivatives (4a, 4e, 4g, and 4l) are strictly dependent on the steric hindrance of the substituent at C-4. DFT calculations on the course of the nucleophilic substitution confirm the role of the condensed furoxan ring in altering the aromaticity of the carbocyclic frame, while chlorine atoms strongly influence the dihedral angle and the rotational barrier of the nitro group. These results corroborate previous observations based on experimental kinetic data and give a deep picture of the reaction with amines, which proceeds via a “non-aromatic” nucleophilic substitution.     

S100B Protein as a Therapeutic Target in Multiple Sclerosis: The S100B Inhibitor Arundic Acid Protects from Chronic Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

S100B is an astrocytic protein behaving at high concentration as a damage-associated molecular pattern molecule. A direct correlation between the increased amount of S100B and inflammatory processes has been demonstrated, and in particular, the inhibitor of S100B activity pentamidine has been shown to ameliorate clinical scores and neuropathologic-biomolecular parameters in the relapsing-remitting experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis mouse model of multiple sclerosis. This study investigates the effect of arundic acid (AA), a known inhibitor of astrocytic S100B synthesis, in the chronic experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, which is another mouse model of multiple sclerosis usually studied. By the daily evaluation of clinical scores and neuropathologic-molecular analysis performed in the spinal cord, we observed that the AA-treated group showed lower severity compared to the vehicle-treated mice, particularly in the early phase of disease onset. We also observed a significant reduction of astrocytosis, demyelination, immune infiltrates, proinflammatory cytokines expression and enzymatic oxidative reactivity in the AA-treated group. Overall, our results reinforce the involvement of S100B in the development of animal models of multiple sclerosis and propose AA targeting the S100B protein as a focused potential drug to be considered for multiple sclerosis treatment.     

Determination of REE,U,Th,Ba,and Zr in simulated hydrogeological leachates by ICP-AES after matrix solvent extraction

A fast, reliable and precise method for the determination of Ba, Zr, Th, U, La, Ce, Eu, Hf and Gd in leaching solutions containing up to 1 mol/L FeCl3 by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) was described. Liquid-liquid extraction with diethyl ether was applied for selective and quantitative extraction of the iron with a decontamination factor of 65000. The study has enabled the determination of rare earth elements, U, Th Ba, and Zr, from the solution with high iron content with detection limits in the range of 1-24 ng/ml and a precision of 0.9%-4.6 % relative standard deviation. The developed method was simple and was adopted for implementation in a glove box for handling radioactive materials.     

Catalytic effect of the Cu(II)‐ and Fe(III)‐cyclo‐hexanebutyrates on olive oil oxidation measured by Rancimat

In this work the Rancimat technique (temperature 110 °C and air flow 20 l/h) was used in order to test the catalytic effect induced by Cu(II)‐and Fe(III)‐ions on olive oil oxidation. Different amounts of Cu(II)‐ and Fe(III)‐cyclohexanebutyrates were added to a refined olive oil. Copper was shown to be a more active catalyst than iron. In fact, the induction time of the oil was halved by the addition of about 120 ng/g of copper versus 9000 ng/g of iron. The effect of copper and iron was also evaluated on the oil enriched with increasing quantities of caffeic acid (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg). The addition of this phenol induced a significant protective effect which delayed the oxidation of both the control and the oil samples enriched with metals. However, copper‐catalyzed oxidation also in the presence of the antioxidant, thus decreasing the oil oxidative stability approximately three times compared to the control.     

Activity of the Lateral Hypothalamus during Genetically Determined Absence Seizures

(1) Background: Absence seizures (ASs) are sudden, transient lapses of consciousness associated with lack of voluntary movements and generalized 2.5–4 Hz spike-wave discharges (SWDs) in the EEG. In addition to the thalamocortical system, where these pathological oscillations are generated, multiple neuronal circuits have been involved in their modulation and associated comorbidities including the serotonergic system. Neuronal activity in one of the major synaptic input structures to the brainstem dorsal raphé nucleus (DRN), the lateral hypothalamus (LH), has not been characterized. (2) Methods: We used viral tract tracing and optogenetics combined with in vitro and in vivo electrophysiology to assess the involvement of the LH in absence epilepsy in a genetic rodent model. (3) Results: We found that a substantial fraction of LH neurons project to the DRN of which a minority is GABAergic. The LH to DRN projection can lead to monosynaptic iGluR mediated excitation in DRN 5-HT neurons. Neuronal activity in the LH is coupled to SWDs. (4) Conclusions: Our results indicate that a brain area involved in the regulation of autonomic functions and heavily innervating the RN is involved in ASs. The decreased activity of LH neurons during SWDs could lead to both a decreased excitation and disinhibition in the DRN. These results support a long-range subcortical regulation of serotonergic neuromodulation during ASs and further our understanding of the state-dependence of these seizures and some of their associated comorbidities.     

Life Cycle Assessment of a high temperature molten salt concentrated solar power plant

Realizing and installing renewable energy plants have an environmental “footprint” that has to be evaluated to quantify the real impact of renewable technologies on the environment. Nowadays, the most important tool to evaluate this impact of a product is the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).The aim of this work is to present a Life Cycle Assessment of an innovative solar technology, the molten salt concentrating solar power (CSP) plant combined with a biomass Back-Up Burner, developed by Italian Research Centre ENEA and able to produce clean electricity by using solar energy. The Life Cycle Assessment was carried out by means of the SimaPro7 software, one of the most used LCA software in the world.In the second part of the study the environmental performance of the CSP plant was compared with these of conventional oil and gas power plants.     

Detection of buffalo milk adulteration with cow milk by capillary electrophoresis analysis

The addition of cow milk during the production of buffalo mozzarella is a common fraud in dairy industries because of the lower price and greater availability of cow milk throughout the year. The aim of this study was to develop a new, rapid, and robust capillary electrophoresis method for detecting and quantifying cow milk in buffalo milk by exploiting cow α-lactalbumin as a marker of adulteration. In particular, a linear calibration curve was generated, using a training set of calibrators consisting of 7 series of 17 buffalo/bovine whey mixtures, obtained after casein precipitation, with increasing percentages of cow whey. The capillary electrophoresis method showed high linearity (R² = 0.968), repeatability [relative standard deviation (RSD) = 2.11, 3.02, 4.38, and 1.18%, respectively for 5, 10, 20, and 50% of buffalo/bovine whey mixtures], and intermediate precision (RSD = 2.18, 2.49, 5.09, and 3.19%, respectively, for 5, 10, 20, and 50% buffalo/bovine whey mixtures). Moreover, the minimum amount of detectable fraudulent cow milk was 1%, and the limit of quantification was 3.1%.     

Numerical discretization of stationary random processes

The increasing interest of the research community to the probabilistic analysis concerning the civil structures with space-variant properties points out the problem of achieving a reliable discretization of random processes (or random fields in a multi-dimensional domain). Given a discretization method, a continuous random process is approximated by a finite set of random variables. Its dimension affects significantly the accuracy of the approximation, in terms of the relevant properties of the continuous random process under investigation. The paper presents a discretization procedure based on the truncated Karhunen–Loève series expansion and the finite element method. The objective is to link in a rational way the number of random variables involved in the approximation to a quantitative measure of the discretization accuracy. The finite element method is applied to evaluate the terms of the series expansion when a closed form expression is not available. An iterative refinement of the finite element mesh is proposed in this paper, leading to an accurate random process discretization. The technique is tested with respect to the exponential covariance function, that enables a comparison with analytical expressions of the approximated properties of the random process. Then, the procedure is applied to the square exponential covariance functions, which is one of the most used covariance models in the structural engineering field. The comparison of the adaptive refinement of the discretization with a non-adaptive procedure and with the wavelet Galerkin approach allows to demonstrate the computational efficiency of the proposal within the framework of the Karhunen–Loève series expansion. A comparison with the Expansion Optimal Linear Estimation (EOLE) method is performed in terms of efficiency of the discretization strategy.     

Hybrid composite scaffolds prepared by sol–gel method for bone regeneration

This study reports the synthesis and characterization of hydroxyapatite (HA)/polycaprolactone (PCL) hybrid composite materials synthesized by sol–gel method. The fabrication of scaffolds was performed by salt-leaching technique using NaCl as porogen agent. In the first step, the physico-chemical characterization of composite material was performed to evaluate the composition and the interaction between the organic/inorganic phases. In the second step, optimized scaffolds were bioactivated on the surface. The combined effect of scaffold morphology and surface bioactivity is ideal for bone tissue engineering, supporting bone cells adhesion, proliferation and differentiation. Here, a combined strategy involving biomimetic approach, using a supersaturated Simulated Body Fluid (SBF), and salt-leaching technique has been developed to grow hydroxyapatite in composite scaffolds able to regenerate the natural bone.