TANGAEON: Tangible Interaction to Support People in a Mindfulness Practice

Recently, Tangible and Embodied Interaction (TEI) approaches to support people in mindfulness practices have been proposed in the literature, but they have scarcely explored the use of real natural elements in the interaction. In this article, we first present TANGAEON, a TEI system that augments the AEON mindfulness mobile app with an interactive, water-filled glass container. Second, we evaluate TANGAEON by contrasting it with two traditional mindfulness techniques and with AEON. TANGAEON obtained better results in terms of achieved mindfulness, perceived level of difficulty, and degree of pleasantness than the two traditional techniques. Moreover, considering all techniques, participants achieved the highest level of mindfulness with TANGAEON, and rated it as the most pleasant and preferred approach to practice. These results suggest that the use of TEI based on a natural element can offer a novel and effective way to help people approach and practice mindfulness, and to augment existing mindfulness apps.     

Coupling of Carbon Dioxide with Epoxides Efficiently Catalyzed by Thioether‐Triphenolate Bimetallic Iron(III) Complexes: Catalyst Structure–Reactivity Relationship and Mechanistic DFT Study

A series of dinuclear iron(III)^I complexes supported by thioether‐triphenolate ligands have been prepared to attain highly Lewis acidic catalysts. In combination with tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB) they are highly active catalysts in the synthesis of cyclic organic carbonates through the coupling of carbon dioxide to epoxides with the highest initial turnover frequencies reported to date for the conversion of propylene oxide to propylene carbonate for iron‐based catalysts (5200 h⁻¹; 120 °C, 2 MPa, 1 h). In particular, these complexes are shown to be highly selective catalysts for the coupling of carbon dioxide to internal oxiranes affording the corresponding cyclic carbonates in good yield and with retention of the initial stereochemical configuration. A density functional theory (DFT) investigation provides a rational for the relative high activity found for these Fe(III) complexes, showing the fundamental role of the hemilabile sulfur atom in the ligand skeleton to promote reactivity. Notably, in spite of the dinuclear nature of the catalyst precursor only one metal center is involved in the catalytic cycle.

     

Therapeutic Potential of the Natural Compound S-Adenosylmethionine as a Chemoprotective Synergistic Agent in Breast,and Head and Neck Cancer Treatment: Current Status of Research

The present review summarizes the most recent studies focusing on the synergistic antitumor effect of the physiological methyl donor S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) in association with the main drugs used against breast cancer and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), two highly aggressive and metastatic malignancies. In these two tumors the chemotherapy approach is recommended as the first choice despite the numerous side effects and recurrence of metastasis, so better tolerated treatments are needed to overcome this problem. In this regard, combination therapy with natural compounds, such as AdoMet, a molecule with pleiotropic effects on multiple cellular processes, is emerging as a suitable strategy to achieve synergistic anticancer efficacy. In this context, the analysis of studies conducted in the literature highlighted AdoMet as one of the most effective and promising chemosensitizing agents to be taken into consideration for inclusion in emerging antitumor therapeutic modalities such as nanotechnologies.     

Diversity of traditional Caciocavallo cheeses produced in Italy

This paper presents the results of a survey carried out in 68 dairies in southern Italy on the manufacturing processes of traditional Italian Caciocavallo cheese varieties. Following a study of the relevant literature, the various cheesemaking processes were analysed and the implications of different cheesemaking procedures were explored. The manufacturing variations able to influence the organoleptic characteristics of Caciocavallo cheese were milk and rennet types, procedures for curd acidification and stretching, salting and ripening conditions, and smoking treatment. This survey is designed to guide producers and consumers alike with respect to the perceivable effects of manufacturing variants on cheese quality.     

The impact of chaotic advection on the microstructure of polymer‐modified bitumen

Owing to the high viscosity of the materials involved, mixing is often a critical step when processing polymer‐modified bitumen (PMB), directly influencing the microstructure and the stability of final products. We provide experimental evidence suggesting that laminar chaotic advection may prove a valuable strategy for obtaining a homogeneous and finely interdispersed polymer‐bitumen mixture in affordable time. As a case study, we investigate the mixing performance of a lab‐scale flat‐bottomed cylindrical vessel stirred by a radial impeller, either located symmetrically or eccentrically with respect to the vessel axis. The same geometries with a flat‐disk impeller are also considered for comparison. The Mix‐Norm is used in combination with image analysis as an objective measure of mixing performance. Results of mixing performance are independently validated by rheological tests. The experiments pinpoint kinematic chaos as the fundamental transport mechanism enhancing both the dispersion process and the microstructural quality of the resulting PMBs mixture. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 1870–1879, 2014     

Thermal and mechanical properties of oxymethylene linked polymers

A series of novel polymers has been prepared by linking together copolymers of oxyethylene and oxypropylene with an oxymethylene link. Oxymethylene linked (OML) polymers have been made by a step polymerization reaction. Three different OML polymers have been synthesized starting from three different short chain triblock (ABA) copolymers of poly(oxyethylene) (A) and poly(oxypropylene) (B). These polymers have been characterized by gel permeation chromatography, differential scanning calorimetric analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The mechanical properties of the cast films and the rheological properties of aqueous solutions of these new polymers have been studied. It has been observed that it is possible to modulate the thermal and mechanical properties of these polymers by changing the starting materials. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry     

Conjugated linoleic acid and oxidative stress

At the present time, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is the subject of a growing number of studies since it has been demonstrated to possess anticarcinogenic and antiatherogenic activities in experimental animal models and to increase in some pathological states in humans. In both situations, CLA has been claimed to be involved in oxidative stress, as an antioxidant in the first case and as a primary product of a free-radical attack on polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in the other. The controversial results are due mostly to a lack of a suitable methodology because the presence of conjugated dienes (CD) in lipid moiety has been taken for years as evidence of lipid peroxidation due to the occurrence of this structure in fatty acid hydroperoxides. We have recently developed a new methodology that consists of the extraction of fatty acids, including CD fatty acid hydroperoxides, by mild saponification and their separation and identification by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector. Fatty acid analyses of liver homogenate, oxidized in vitro either with Fe-ADP or t-butyl hydroperoxide (t-ButylHP), of lamb and rats fed CLA at levels known to prevent carcinogenesis, showed that CLA and its metabolites steadily decreased during oxidative stress and that they are more prone to oxidation than their corresponding methylene-interrupted fatty acids. No significant antioxidant effect of CLA was detected in any model tested. However, CD fatty acid hydroperoxides increased in the t-ButylHP model but not in the Fe-ADP model, owing probably to the degradation of CD fatty acid hydroperoxides induced by this oxidative agent. In conclusion, CLA and its metabolites seem to behave, under oxidative stress, as regular PUFA. Thus, it is highly unlikely that the peculiar effects of CLA are directly related to interference in lipoperoxidative processes.     

The Rocky Road from Preclinical Findings to Successful Targeted Therapy in Pleural Mesothelioma

Pleural mesothelioma (PM) is a rare and aggressive disease that arises from the mesothelial cells lining the pleural cavity. Approximately 80% of PM patients have a history of asbestos exposure. The long latency period of 20–40 years from the time of asbestos exposure to diagnosis, suggests that multiple somatic genetic alterations are required for the tumorigenesis of PM. The genomic landscape of PM has been characterized by inter- and intratumor heterogeneity associated with the impairment of tumor suppressor genes such as CDKN2A, NF2, and BAP1. Current systemic therapies have shown only limited efficacy, and none is approved for patients with relapsed PM. Advances in understanding of the molecular landscape of PM has facilitated several biomarker-driven clinical trials but so far, no predictive biomarkers for targeted therapies are in clinical use. Recent advances in the PM genetics have provided optimism for successful molecular strategies in the future. Here, we summarize the molecular mechanism underlying PM pathogenesis and review potential therapeutic targets.