A Sustainable Process for the Production of Varnishes Based on Pelargonic Acid Esters

This work demonstrates the possibility of using pelargonic acid (PA) esters as solvents for vegetable-based varnishes. First, PA was efficiently produced through a chemocatalytic cleavage of oleic acid, practicing an optimized scale-up of previously developed conditions. PA was then esterified with several alcohols ROH (R = Me, i-Pr, n-Bu, n-Hex, 2-ethylhexyl, and sec-octyl) and the products were formulated with a commercial rosin (Phenolic Modified Rosin Esters). Dynamic light scattering (DLS) measures and determination of rheological parameters of the corresponding varnishes disclosed their suitability for applications in offset, coldset, heatset printing inks, and coatings. Furthermore, inks obtained were used to efficiently produce preliminary industrial offset prints.     

Development of antibacterial silver treatments on HDPE nets for agriculture

The defense mechanism of crops associated with the use of polymeric nets and fabrics is only physical and, hence, ineffective against the bacterial contaminations. The presence of an antibacterial agent associated with the use of conventional agro‐textiles can represent a great advantage in the prevention of plant diseases and for food safety. The aim of this work was the development of antibacterial silver‐coated HDPE nets for an innovative application such as agriculture. Antibacterial coatings on high‐density polyethylene nets were obtained by a patented nanosilver deposition technique based on the in situ photo‐reduction of a silver solution. The concentration of silver deposited was defined by testing different silver solutions from a biological point of view. Moreover, in order to improve the adhesion of the silver coating to the substrate, the nets underwent low‐pressure plasma treatment before the silver deposition. The materials were characterized in terms of quality of the coating through scanning electron microscopy, and in terms of antibacterial capability on Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria through qualitative and quantitative microbiological tests. The most effective process parameters were defined and the importance of performing plasma pretreatment on this specific substrate was assessed. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41623.     

The interactions of typical and atypical antipsychotics with the (-)2, 5,-dimethoxy-4-methamphetamine (DOM) discriminative stimulus

The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that atypical, but not typical, antipsychotics produce a functional in vivo blockade of 5-HT2A receptors. The magnitude of functional in vivo 5-HT2A receptor blockade elicited by representative compounds from each of the six major structural classes of typical antipsychotics, and the representative atypical antipsychotics clozapine and risperidone, was indicated by their respective abilities to block the stimulus effects of the phenylalkylamine hallucinogen (-)DOM in the rat. Chlorpromazine, thioridazine, fluphenazine, thiothixene and haloperidol did not produce a significant antagonism of the (-)DOM stimulus. The benzoxapine, loxapine (60%), and the atypical dibenzodiazepine, clozapine (62%), partially blocked and risperidone fully blocked (100%) the (-)DOM stimulus. None of these agents elicited significant levels of (-)DOM-appropriate responding when administered alone. These results indicate that the typical antipsychotics, with the exception of lozapine, fail to produce effective in vivo antagonism of 5-HT2A receptors at doses compatible with the preservation of operant behavior. In contrast, the atypical antipsychotics clozapine and risperidone elicit effective in vivo antagonism of 5-HT2A receptors without severe behavioral disruption. Thus, these data are supportive of the hypothesis that the mechanism of action of atypical, but not typical, antipsychotics involves the antagonism of 5-HT2A receptors in vivo.     

Dietary lipids and their oxidized products in Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the commonest form of dementia in the elderly, characterized by memory dysfunction, loss of lexical access, spatial and temporal disorientation, and impaired judgment. A growing body of scientific literature addresses the implication of dietary habits in the pathogenesis of AD. This review reports recent findings concerning the modulation of AD development by dietary lipids, in animals and humans, focusing on the pathogenetic role of lipid oxidation products. Oxidative breakdown products of ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-6 PUFAs), and cholesterol oxidation products (oxysterols), might play a role in favoring β-amyloid deposition, a hallmark of AD's onset and progression. Conversely, ω-3 PUFAs appear to contribute to preventing and treating AD. However, high concentrations of ω-3 PUFAs can also produce oxidized derivatives reacting with important functions of nervous cells. Thus, altered balances between cholesterol and oxysterols, and between ω-3 and ω-6 PUFAs must be considered in AD's pathophysiology. The use of a diet with an appropriate ω-3/ω-6 PUFA ratio, rich in healthy oils, fish and antioxidants, such as flavonoids, but low in cholesterol-containing foods, can be a beneficial component in the clinical strategies of prevention of AD.     

Chebyshev approximation of recursive digital filters having specified amplitude and phase characteristics

The design of an IIR filter of prescribed amplitude and phase characteristics can be reduced to an approximation problem for complex valued functions. An algorithm for the solution of this problem is given and some numerical results are presented.     

Neuroprotective Effects of Citicoline in in Vitro Models of Retinal Neurodegeneration

In recent years, citicoline has been the object of remarkable interest as a possible neuroprotectant. The aim of this study was to investigate if citicoline affected cell survival in primary retinal cultures and if it exerted neuroprotective activity in conditions modeling retinal neurodegeneration. Primary retinal cultures, obtained from rat embryos, were first treated with increasing concentrations of citicoline (up to 1000 μM) and analyzed in terms of apoptosis and caspase activation and characterized by immunocytochemistry to identify neuronal and glial cells. Subsequently, excitotoxic concentration of glutamate or High Glucose-containing cell culture medium (HG) was administered as well-known conditions modeling neurodegeneration. Glutamate or HG treatments were performed in the presence or not of citicoline. Neuronal degeneration was evaluated in terms of apoptosis and loss of synapses. The results showed that citicoline did not cause any damage to the retinal neuroglial population up to 1000 μM. At the concentration of 100 μM, it was able to counteract neuronal cell damage both in glutamate- and HG-treated retinal cultures by decreasing proapoptotic effects and contrasting synapse loss. These data confirm that citicoline can efficiently exert a neuroprotective activity. In addition, the results suggest that primary retinal cultures, under conditions inducing neurodegeneration, may represent a useful system to investigate citicoline neuroprotective mechanisms.