Supplementation with SCFAs Re-Establishes Microbiota Composition and Attenuates Hyperalgesia and Pain in a Mouse Model of NTG-Induced Migraine

Migraine is a common brain-disorder that affects 15% of the population. Converging evidence shows that migraine is associated with gastrointestinal disorders. However, the mechanisms underlying the interaction between the gut and brain in patients with migraine are not clear. In this study, we evaluated the role of the short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) as sodium propionate (SP) and sodium butyrate (SB) on microbiota profile and intestinal permeability in a mouse model of migraine induced by nitroglycerine (NTG). The mice were orally administered SB and SP at the dose of 10, 30 and 100 mg/kg, 5 min after NTG intraperitoneal injections. Behavioral tests were used to evaluate migraine-like pain. Histological and molecular analyses were performed on the intestine. The composition of the intestinal microbiota was extracted from frozen fecal samples and sequenced with an Illumina MiSeq System. Our results demonstrated that the SP and SB treatments attenuated hyperalgesia and pain following NTG injection. Moreover, SP and SB reduced histological damage in the intestine and restored intestinal permeability and the intestinal microbiota profile. These results provide corroborating evidence that SB and SP exert a protective effect on central sensitization induced by NTG through a modulation of intestinal microbiota, suggesting the potential application of SCFAs as novel supportive therapies for intestinal disfunction associated with migraine.     

Different miRNA Profiles in Plasma Derived Small and Large Extracellular Vesicles from Patients with Neurodegenerative Diseases

Identifying biomarkers is essential for early diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases (NDs). Large (LEVs) and small extracellular vesicles (SEVs) are extracellular vesicles (EVs) of different sizes and biological functions transported in blood and they may be valid biomarkers for NDs. The aim of our study was to investigate common and different miRNA signatures in plasma derived LEVs and SEVs of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Fronto-Temporal Dementia (FTD) patients. LEVs and SEVs were isolated from plasma of patients and healthy volunteers (CTR) by filtration and differential centrifugation and RNA was extracted. Small RNAs libraries were carried out by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). MiRNAs discriminate all NDs diseases from CTRs and they can provide a signature for each NDs. Common enriched pathways for SEVs were instead linked to ubiquitin mediated proteolysis and Toll-like receptor signaling pathways and for LEVs to neurotrophin signaling and Glycosphingolipid biosynthesis pathway. LEVs and SEVs are involved in different pathways and this might give a specificity to their role in the spreading of the disease. The study of common and different miRNAs transported by LEVs and SEVs can be of great interest for biomarker discovery and for pathogenesis studies in neurodegeneration.     

Chemical hardening of glazed porcelain tiles

Glazed ceramic tiles are used for wall and floor covering thanks to their high resistance to chemicals attacks, although big efforts should be done to increase their surfaces resistance to mechanical stresses. This study investigates the applicability of a well-known glass hardening process to glazed ceramic tiles following a rational design based on Design of Experiments technique. A Mixture Design has been carried out to formulate new frits compositions to enhance the ion-exchange process, starting from a commercial product. Vickers Hardness and SEM-EDS techniques have been employed to evaluate the frits and elaborate the model. Results suggest that frits for ceramic tiles are positively affected by ion-exchange process only if an appropriate combination of ions in the starting composition is present, establishing a new category of frit formulations suitable for that purpose. The results have been confirmed employing the optimized frit for the glazing of porcelain stoneware.     

Ultra-flexible PLA-based blends for the manufacturing of biodegradable tamper-evident screw caps by injection molding

Mono-material in the manufacturing of oil-based plastic bottles has been so far not considered because of the poor flexibility of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The undercuts of PET caps (i.e., the threads of the screw caps) would be torn-off during the ejection step of the injection/compression molding processes that are commonly used to fabricate them. In this respect, the present work deals with the design and development of innovative biodegradable polyester-based blends with high flexibility, intended for the manufacturing of screw-cap, being this element the most critical in the implementation of the complete bottle. The blend is based on polylactic acid and it is tailored for injection molding of tamper-evident screw plastic caps by the addition of another biodegradable polyester, that is, polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate. The effect of the addition of a barrier agent, polyvinyl alcohol, on the overall behavior of the blends was also studied in the perspective of the implementation of caps featuring barrier properties against water vapor and oxygen. The same material could be, however, easily tailored for the fabrication of the bottle body and printed label to get to the mono-material bottle. Twin-screw corotating extrusion of the compound, injection molding of the plastic material for the fabrication of the screw caps, and evaluation of the thermophysical and mechanical properties of the screw caps are hereinafter discussed. The biodegradable polyester-based blends are found to be suitable for injection molding of the tamper-evident screw caps, exhibiting adequate flexibility during ejection from the mold. The screw caps can also boast appreciable mechanical strength and impact resistance as well as good thermal stability.     

Glycosyltransferase B4GALNT2 as a Predictor of Good Prognosis in Colon Cancer: Lessons from Databases

Background: glycosyltransferase B4GALNT2 and its cognate carbohydrate antigen Sd^a are highly expressed in normal colon but strongly downregulated in colorectal carcinoma (CRC). We previously showed that CRC patients expressing higher B4GALNT2 mRNA levels displayed longer survival. Forced B4GALNT2 expression reduced the malignancy and stemness of colon cancer cells. Methods: Kaplan–Meier survival curves were determined in “The Cancer Genome Atlas” (TCGA) COAD cohort for several glycosyltransferases, oncogenes, and tumor suppressor genes. Whole expression data of coding genes as well as miRNA and methylation data for B4GALNT2 were downloaded from TCGA. Results: the prognostic potential of B4GALNT2 was the best among the glycosyltransferases tested and better than that of many oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes; high B4GALNT2 expression was associated with a lower malignancy gene expression profile; differential methylation of an intronic B4GALNT2 gene position and miR-204-5p expression play major roles in B4GALNT2 regulation. Conclusions: high B4GALNT2 expression is a strong predictor of good prognosis in CRC as a part of a wider molecular signature that includes ZG16, ITLN1, BEST2, and GUCA2B. Differential DNA methylation and miRNA expression contribute to regulating B4GALNT2 expression during colorectal carcinogenesis.     

Achievable performance of turbo codes over the correlated Rician channel

The performance of turbo codes is evaluated through analysis and simulation over the Rice multiplicative fading channel. The analysis is conducted extending the results presented by A.M. Viterbi and A.J. Viterbi (see Proc. ISIT'98, p.29, 1998) to the Rice multiplicative fading channel case. Simulation results are obtained using an extended version of the improved Jakes' channel simulator, first presented by M.F. Pop and N.C. Beaulieu (see IEEE Trans. Commun., vol.49, p.699-708, 2001).     

Selective immunotoxic lesions of basal forebrain cholinergic cells: Effects on learning and memory in rats.

Male Long-Evans rats were given injections of either 192 IgG-saporin, an apparently selective toxin for basal forebrain cholinergic neurons (LES), or vehicle (CON) into either the medial septum and vertical limb of the diagonal band (MS/VDB) or bilaterally into the nucleus basalis magnocellularis and substantia innominata (nBM/SI). Place discrimination in the Morris water maze assessed spatial learning, and a trial-unique matching-to-place task in the water maze assessed memory for place information over varying delays. MS/VDB-LES and nBM/SI-LES rats were not impaired relative to CON rats in acquisition of the place discrimination, but were mildly impaired relative to CON rats in performance of the memory task even at the shortest delay, suggesting a nonmnemonic deficit. These results contrast with effects of less selective lesions, which have been taken to support a role for basal forebrain cholinergic neurons in learning and memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)