Mitochondrial alterations and autofluorescent conversion of Candida albicans induced by histatins

The mechanism of the candidacidal activity of histatins 3 and 5 (Hst) is still a matter of debate. Previous studies have indicated that Hst induce cell permeabilization, generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by mitochondria, inhibition of the respiratory chain, and energy-dependent cytotoxic release of ATP. On the other hand, the multiplicity of effects and the apparent contrast between experimental data continue to render the mechanism of Hst-induced killing of C. albicans unclear. In this investigation, using fluorescent probes (the potential-sensitive mitochondrial probe tetramethylrhodamine methyl ester perchlorate, TMRM; the ROS-sensitive probe dihydrofluorescein diacetate, DHF; the membrane-impermeant probe, calcein) and autofluorescence data we observed that Hst induce ROS generation by mitochondria undergoing a high energy swelling condition, accompanied by oxidation of cytosolic NAD(P)H and mitochondrial flavoproteins. ROS generation and swelling, attributable to an inhibition of the respiratory chain and to impairment of the K/H-exchanger, were followed by mitochondrial depolarization. Mitochondrial changes were accompanied by massive calcein influx, indicative of cell permeabilization, and prominent alterations of the cell size, shape, and optical density. The loss of proliferative activity was correlated, on a single cell basis, to the acquisition of a lipofuscin-like autofluorescence.     

Oxidative stability of virgin olive oil enriched with carnosic acid

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the addition of carnosic acid on the oxidative stability of virgin olive oil. Two different amounts of carnosic acid (0.01 and 0.1 g/100 g oil) and two different temperatures (accelerated aging temperature, 60 °C; deep frying temperature, 180 °C) were considered. The influence of carnosic acid and heating time on the stability of the oils was studied by experimental design. The results obtained at 60 °C showed a dose dependent inhibition in the formation of primary and secondary oxidation products and a dose dependent enhancement of radical scavenging activity, which was only less significantly influenced by heating time. On the contrary, at 180 °C no protective effect against lipid oxidation was observed and the radical scavenging activity was practically zeroed by heating, probably as a consequence of a fast decomposition of carnosic acid.     

Political yardstick competition among Italian municipalities on spending decisions

We investigate the presence of political yardstick competition on current spending decisions in a sample of Italian municipalities. We find significant evidence of yardstick competition when we explicitly account for the domestic stability pact (DSP), a fiscal rule introduced to limit the budget deficit of local administrations. First, we estimate a static specification of a spatial panel model, and then we check for the robustness of our results with a dynamic specification. The static analysis shows that municipalities engage in yardstick competition during pre-election years, regardless of whether they are subject to the DSP or not. The dynamic analysis shows that the yardstick hypothesis remains robust only for municipalities not constrained by the DSP.     

The effects of microwave heating on edible oils and lipid‐containing food

Lipids and lipid‐containing foods are particularly sensitive to microwave heating as the specific heat of lipids is low and thus they are quickly warmed up. Microwave heating mainly promotes lipid oxidation, but it can also cause lipolysis and polymerization. This cooking method can differently impact lipid oxidation depending on the treatment conditions used (power, temperature and time), as well as on food composition. This review provides a picture of the main degradation effects of microwave heating on vegetable oils and lipid‐containing foods with emphasis on both fatty acids and cholesterol oxidation.     

The state of strain in single GaN nanocolumns as derived from micro-photoluminescence measurements

In the present paper, studies on the state of strain in single and ensembles of nanocolumns investigated by photoluminescence spectroscopy will be presented. The GaN nanocolumns were either grown in a bottom-up approach or prepared in a top-down approach by etching compact GaN layers grown on Si(111) and sapphire (0001) substrates. Experimental evidence for strain relaxation of the nanocolumns was found. The difference and development of the strain value for different nanocolumns could be verified by spatially resolved micro-photoluminescence on single nanocolumns separated from their substrate. A common D0X spectral position at 3.473 eV was found for all separated single GaN nanocolumns independent of the substrate or processing technique used, as expected for a relaxed system.     

Worsening of the Toxic Effects of (±)Cis-4,4′-DMAR Following Its Co-Administration with (±)Trans-4,4′-DMAR: Neuro-Behavioural,Physiological, Immunohistochemical and Metabolic Studies in Mice

4,4’-Dimethylaminorex (4,4’-DMAR) is a new synthetic stimulant, and only a little information has been made available so far regarding its pharmaco-toxicological effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the systemic administration of both the single (±)cis (0.1–60 mg/kg) and (±)trans (30 and 60 mg/kg) stereoisomers and their co-administration (e.g., (±)cis at 1, 10 or 60 mg/kg + (±)trans at 30 mg/kg) in mice. Moreover, we investigated the effect of 4,4′-DMAR on the expression of markers of oxidative/nitrosative stress (8-OHdG, iNOS, NT and NOX2), apoptosis (Smac/DIABLO and NF-κB), and heat shock proteins (HSP27, HSP70, HSP90) in the cerebral cortex. Our study demonstrated that the (±)cis stereoisomer dose-dependently induced psychomotor agitation, sweating, salivation, hyperthermia, stimulated aggression, convulsions and death. Conversely, the (±)trans stereoisomer was ineffective whilst the stereoisomers’ co-administration resulted in a worsening of the toxic (±)cis stereoisomer effects. This trend of responses was confirmed by immunohistochemical analysis on the cortex. Finally, we investigated the potentially toxic effects of stereoisomer co-administration by studying urinary excretion. The excretion study showed that the (±)trans stereoisomer reduced the metabolism of the (±)cis form and increased its amount in the urine, possibly reflecting its increased plasma levels and, therefore, the worsening of its toxicity.     

Quality adaptive end-to-end packet scheduling to avoid playout interruptions in Internet video streaming systems

In Internet multimedia streaming, the quality of the delivered media can be adapted to the Quality of Service provided by the underlying network, thanks to encoding algorithms. These allow a fine grained enhancement of a low quality base layer at streaming time. The main objective that should be satisfied in such systems is to avoid the starvation of the decoding process and consequent playout interruptions. In this work, we tackle the problem using a control theoretic approach. In particular, we design and implement the novel end-to-end Quality Adaptive Scheduler for properly distributing the network available bandwidth among base and enhancement layers. The developed solution can be adopted in many contexts given that it has been designed without assumptions on the delivered media nor on the protocol stack. Anyway, to test its effectiveness, we have casted it in a H.264/AVC SVC based video streaming architecture for unicast Internet applications. The performance of the scheduler has been experimentally evaluated in both a controlled testbed and several “wild” Internet scenarios, including also UMTS and satellite radio links. Results have clearly demonstrated that our Quality Adaptive Scheduler is able to significantly improve the performance of the video streaming system in all operative conditions.