Lipofilling in Breast Oncological Surgery: A Safe Opportunity or Risk for Cancer Recurrence?

Lipofilling (LF) is a largely employed technique in reconstructive and esthetic breast surgery. Over the years, it has demonstrated to be extremely useful for treatment of soft tissue defects after demolitive or conservative breast cancer surgery and different procedures have been developed to improve the survival of transplanted fat graft. The regenerative potential of LF is attributed to the multipotent stem cells found in large quantity in adipose tissue. However, a growing body of pre-clinical evidence shows that adipocytes and adipose-derived stromal cells may have pro-tumorigenic potential. Despite no clear indication from clinical studies has demonstrated an increased risk of cancer recurrence upon LF, these observations challenge the oncologic safety of the procedure. This review aims to provide an updated overview of both the clinical and the pre-clinical indications to the suitability and safety of LF in breast oncological surgery. Cellular and molecular players in the crosstalk between adipose tissue and cancer are described, and heterogeneous contradictory results are discussed, highlighting that important issues still remain to be solved to get a clear understanding of LF safety in breast cancer patients.     

Pulsed laser deposition of organic and biological materials

We report on the deposition of soft matter thin films by Matrix Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation (MAPLE). In particular, thin layers of biological material (Bovine Serum Albumin) and polymers (polyfluorene) for medical and optoelectronic applications, were realized by laser irradiating a frozen solution containing a low amount of material diluted in a laser absorbing volatile solvent. The depositions were carried out varying different parameters as solvent–solute concentration, solvent nature, laser fluencies, etc. The optical, morphological, structural and spectroscopical properties were detected by means of different analyses as FTIR, photoluminescence, AFM and SDS.     

Apoptotic DNA fragmentation can be revealed in situ: An ultrastructural approach

A common pattern of apoptotic death is DNA cleavage, initially producing large fragments (50 kbp), followed by the production of nucleosomic/oligonucleosomic fragments. Nevertheless, apoptosis without DNA fragmentation, at least of the nucleosomic type, has been reported. To investigate the spatial relationship between DNA cleavage and chromatin condensation, we applied the TUNEL technique to the ultrastructural analysis of apoptotic cells. A modified method, utilizing a gold‐conjugated antidigoxigenin antibody, was carried out on U937 versus Molt‐4 cells, both exposed to UVB radiation or staurosporine treatment. Gold particle density in the different domains of apoptotic cells was evaluated by a four‐way ANOVA test. Gold labelling was more strongly localised in condensed chromatin than in the diffuse chromatin. U937 cells, which evidenced in vitro oligonucleosomic fragmentation after both UVB and staurosporine treatments, revealed a significantly higher gold particle density, when compared with Molt‐4, which did not show, on the other hand, oligonucleosomic cleavage even in the presence of ≤50 kbp cleavage. Thus, a correlation between DNA fragment sizes and gold particle density appears. TUNEL applied to electron microscopy is an effective approach to study the relationship between apoptotic chromatin condensation and DNA cleavage. Both these events indeed appear in the apoptotic nucleus, but their reciprocal correlation is still greatly unknown. Microsc. Res. Tech. 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

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.     

Mortality of Tribolium confusum J. du Val (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) in controlled atmospheres at different oxygen percentages

Since the 1990s an ecologically friendly alternative to insecticide treatments for controlling stored-product insect pests has been available: the methods of modified and controlled atmospheres, which involve reducing the quantity of oxygen (O₂) in the air in order to kill insects by anoxia. This study examines the effect of treatments with controlled atmospheres, considering the time necessary to obtain total mortality of insects at percentages of O₂ higher than those normally used in controlled atmospheres and estimating the possible positive influence of a temperature increase in order to compensate for the effects of the reduced anoxia.Adult populations of Tribolium confusum J. du Val were treated at various O₂ percentages (1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10%) and temperatures (23, 26, 29, 32, 35, 37 and 40 °C). The relative humidity was very low (<18%) in all the treatments considered.Lethal exposure times varied from less than one day to a week (longer times were not considered).A multiple regression procedure was applied to the experimental data, considering the time necessary to obtain total mortality as the dependent variable. The analysis provided a good fit to the experimental data and indicated a positive correlation with the percentage of O₂ and an inverse one with temperature.     

Relevant chiroptical and thermal properties in optically active methacrylic copolymers containing carbazole and azoaromatic chromophores in the side-chain

Novel optically active methacrylic copolymers, bearing carbazole and azoaromatic moieties linked to the main chain with a rigid (S)-hydroxysuccinimide residue of one prevailing absolute configuration, have been prepared and characterized with the aim to establish the effects of the chiral group and of the dipolar interactions between the two side-chain chromophores on their properties.In particular, the observed chiroptical properties suggest the presence of ordered chiral conformations at least for chain segments of the macromolecules. Spectroscopic, thermal and chiroptical characterizations of these copolymers demonstrate the occurrence of significant electronic interactions between carbazole chromophores and azobenzene moieties. These interactions are related to the unusual partially alternating structure of the investigated copolymers and the relevant chiroptical and thermal properties. In fact, the polymeric derivates show high glass transition temperatures and good thermal stability, thus opening the way to a variety of potential applications based on photoconductive and optoelectronic properties.     

Sulfur containing polymers

Summary Copolymers containing -S-CO-S-and/or -O-CO-S-groups have been synthesized mainly by interfacial polycondensation.Different chemical structures were obtained by reacting 1,3-benzene dithiol (BDT) respectively with phosgene alone, phosgene and bisphenol-A (BPA), bischloroformate of BPA, BPA polycarbonate oligomers and by reacting phosgene with the products of BPA polycarbonate degraded with BDT. The chemical structures of the copolymers were investigated by IR, ¹H-NMR and ¹³C-NMR; molecular weights were determined by viscometry and vapor pressure osmometry. Although no attempt was made to find the optimum conditions for high molecular weight, some copolymers with fairly high mol. weight were obtained.     

Role of surface-inoculated Debaryomyces hansenii and Yarrowia lipolytica strains in dried fermented sausage manufacture. Part 2: Evaluation of their effects on sensory quality and biogenic amine content

The aim was to study the effects of Debaryomyces hansenii and Yarrowia lipolytica strains, used with lactic acid starter cultures (Lactobacillus plantarum), in the manufacture of dried fermented sausages in order to understand their effects on volatile profile, biogenic amine content and sensory properties. The experimental data showed that every yeast strain produced a specific profile of volatile metabolic products. The yeasts also gave sausages with distinctive sensory properties. The degree of mincing also influenced these properties, but none of these factors had significant influence upon the accumulation of biogenic amines.     

Ultraviolet B (UVB) Irradiation-Induced Apoptosis in Various Cell Lineages in Vitro

Ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation acts as a strong apoptotic trigger in many cell types, in tumor and normal cells. Several studies have demonstrated that UVB-induced cell death occurs through the generation of reactive oxygen species. The consequent oxidative stress includes the impairment of cellular antioxidants, the induction of DNA damage and the occurrence of apoptosis. In this review, we investigated UVB apoptotic action in various cell models by using ultrastructural, molecular and cytofluorimetric techniques. Myeloid leukemia HL-60, T-lymphoblastoid Molt-4 and myelomonocytic U937 human cells, generally affected by apoptotic stimuli, were studied. Human chondrocytes and C2C12 skeletal muscle cells, known to be more resistant to damage, were also considered. All of them, when exposed to UVB radiation, revealed a number of characteristic apoptotic markers. Membrane blebbing, cytoplasm shrinkage and chromatin condensation were detected by means of electron microscopy. DNA cleavage, investigated by using agarose gel electrophoresis and TUNEL reaction, was observed in suspended cells. Differently, in chondrocytes and in skeletal muscle cells, oligonucleosomic DNA fragmentation did not appear, even if a certain TUNEL positivity was detected. These findings demonstrate that UVB radiation appears to be an ideal tool to study the apoptotic behavior.     

Nanostructured TiO2-based mixed metal oxides prepared using microemulsions for carbon monoxide detection

Nanostructured powders of Nb-doped TiO₂ (TN) and SnO₂ mixed with Nb-doped TiO₂ in two different atomic ratios—10 to 1 (TSN 101) and 1 to 1 (TSN 11)—were synthesized using the reverse micelle microemulsion of a nonionic surfactant (brine solution/1-hexanol/Triton X-100/cyclohexane). The powders were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Thick films were fabricated for gas sensors and characterized by XRD analysis and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The effects of the film morphology and firing temperature in the range 650–850 °C on CO sensitivity were studied. The best gas response, expressed as the ratio between the resistance in air and the resistance under gas exposure (R _air/R _gas), was measured for TSN 11 at 11 for 1,000 ppm CO exposure. All types of sensors showed good thermal stability. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements were performed in different gas atmospheres (air, O₂, CO and NO₂) to better understand the electrical properties of the nanostructured mixed metal oxides.