Pathogenetic Mechanisms of Hypertension–Brain-Induced Complications: Focus on Molecular Mediators

There is growing evidence that hypertension is the most important vascular risk factor for the development and progression of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. The brain is an early target of hypertension-induced organ damage and may manifest as stroke, subclinical cerebrovascular abnormalities and cognitive decline. The pathophysiological mechanisms of these harmful effects remain to be completely clarified. Hypertension is well known to alter the structure and function of cerebral blood vessels not only through its haemodynamics effects but also for its relationships with endothelial dysfunction, oxidative stress and inflammation. In the last several years, new possible mechanisms have been suggested to recognize the molecular basis of these pathological events. Accordingly, this review summarizes the factors involved in hypertension-induced brain complications, such as haemodynamic factors, endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress, inflammation and intervention of innate immune system, with particular regard to the role of Toll-like receptors that have to be considered dominant components of the innate immune system. The complete definition of their prognostic role in the development and progression of hypertensive brain damage will be of great help in the identification of new markers of vascular damage and the implementation of innovative targeted therapeutic strategies.     

The BDNF/TrkB Neurotrophin System in the Sensory Organs of Zebrafish

The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) was discovered in the last century, and identified as a member of the neurotrophin family. BDNF shares approximately 50% of its amino acid with other neurotrophins such as NGF, NT-3 and NT-4/5, and its linear amino acid sequences in zebrafish (Danio rerio) and human are 91% identical. BDNF functions can be mediated by two categories of receptors: p75NTR and Trk. Intriguingly, BDNF receptors were highly conserved in the process of evolution, as were the other NTs’ receptors. In this review, we update current knowledge about the distribution and functions of the BDNF-TrkB system in the sensory organs of zebrafish. In fish, particularly in zebrafish, the distribution and functions of BDNF and TrkB in the brain have been widely studied. Both components of the system, associated or segregated, are also present outside the central nervous system, especially in sensory organs including the inner ear, lateral line system, retina, taste buds and olfactory epithelium.     

A combined approach for characterisation of fresh and brined vine leaves by X-ray powder diffraction,NMR spectroscopy and direct infusion high resolution mass spectrometry

X-ray powder diffraction was combined, for the first time, with Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy and direct infusion mass spectrometry to characterise fresh and brined grape leaves. Covariance analysis of data generated by the three techniques was performed with the aim to correlate information deriving from the solid part with those obtained for soluble metabolites. The results obtained indicate that crystalline components can be correlated to the metabolites contained in the grape leaves, paving the way to the use of X-ray diffraction analysis for food fingerprinting purposes. Moreover it was ascertained that, differently from most of the metabolites present in the fresh vine leaves, linolenic acid (an omega-3-fatty acid) and quercetin-3-O-glucuronide (a polyphenol metabolite) do not undergo sensible degradation during the brining process, which is used as preservative method for the grape leaves.     

Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver: A Possible New Target for Type 2 Diabetes Prevention and Treatment

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disorder worldwide. Several lines of evidence have indicated a pathogenic role of insulin resistance, and a strong association with type 2 diabetes (T2MD) and metabolic syndrome. Importantly, NAFLD appears to enhance the risk for T2MD, as well as worsen glycemic control and cardiovascular disease in diabetic patients. In turn, T2MD may promote NAFLD progression. The opportunity to take into account NAFLD in T2MD prevention and care has stimulated several clinical studies in which antidiabetic drugs, such as metformin, thiazolidinediones, GLP-1 analogues and DPP-4 inhibitors have been evaluated in NAFLD patients. In this review, we provide an overview of preclinical and clinical evidences on the possible efficacy of antidiabetic drugs in NAFLD treatment. Overall, available data suggest that metformin has beneficial effects on body weight reduction and metabolic parameters, with uncertain effects on liver histology, while pioglitazone may improve liver histology. Few data, mostly preclinical, are available on DPP4 inhibitors and GLP-1 analogues. The heterogeneity of these studies and the small number of patients do not allow for firm conclusions about treatment guidelines, and further randomized, controlled studies are needed.     

Special Issue: Water Engineering and Management in a Changing Environment

The paper is the introduction to the special issue Water Engineering and Management in a Changing Environment which presents a set of the most innovative contributions at the EWRA Symposium, held in Catania, Italy on 2011.     

A semantic geo-catalogue for a local administration

The enhancement of the search capabilities of geo-spatial tools occupies one of the highest positions in the agenda of the INSPIRE initiative. This can be done by equipping applications with tools able to understand user terminology. However, this is in contrast with current approaches, which tend to fix in advance the terminology with a consequent rigidity in the way users interact with the system. In this paper we present the work we have done with the Semantic Geo-Catalogue (SGC) project in providing a semantic extension to the geo-catalogue of the Autonomous Province of Trento (PAT) in Italy. This was done through the adoption of a semantic matching tool and a faceted ontology that codifies knowledge about the geography of the PAT and that was created by reorganizing data extracted from the local geographical dataset. Thanks to the semantic extension, queries to the geo-catalogue are expanded with domain specific terms taken from the ontology thus obtaining a higher number of relevant documents in output. We also complied with the Open Government Data (OGD) initiative by publishing in RDF and by linking to relevant dictionaries some useful data taken from the local repository.     

Biodiesel production from Stichococcus strains at laboratory scale

BACKGROUND: This paper reports the results of an experimental campaign of autotrophic cultures of Stichococcus strains aiming at selecting the most promising strain for biofuel production. The strain selected—S. bacillaris 158/11—was cultivated in 1 L lab‐scale bubble column photobioreactors under fed‐batch and semi‐continuous conditions. A Bold basal medium supplemented with NaNO₃ as nitrogen source was adopted. Tests were carried out at 23 °C, 140 µE m^?2 s^?1, and air flow rate ranging between 0.4 and 4 vvm. Cultures were characterized in terms of pH, concentration of total nitrogen, total organic carbon, total inorganic carbon, biomass, lipid fraction and methyl‐ester distribution of transesterified lipids. RESULTS: S. bacillaris 158/11 proved to be the best strain to produce biodiesel. Methyl‐ester distribution was characterized by a large fraction of methyl palmitate, methyl linolenate, methyl linoleate, and methyl oleate along with phytol. The process photosynthetic efficiency—fraction of available light stored as chemical energy ‐ was about 1.5%. Specific biomass productivity was ～60 mg_DM L^?1 day^?1 under the semi‐continuous conditions tested. Total lipid productivity was 14 mg L^?1 day^?1 at a dilution rate of 0.050 L day^?1. CONCLUSION: S. bacillaris 158/11 is a potential strain for massive microalgae cultures for biofuel production. Higher biomass/total‐lipid productivity could be obtained in sunlight. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Involvement of growth factors in thymic involution

The thymus undergoes an age-dependent degenerative process which is mainly characterized by a progressive loss of lymphoid tissue. Thymic involution is particularly important in relation to immunosenescence and its various associated diseases; this fact has prompted many studies aimed at understanding the causes and mechanisms of thymic degeneration which may, ultimately, lead to the possibility of manipulating it. In this sense, one of the aspects which has deserved most attention is the thymic microenvironment, and more precisely, the many growth factors to which the cells present in the organ are exposed. Thus, the levels of several of such factors have been reported to undergo age-dependent changes in the thymus, which may point at an influence on the regression of the organ. In this article we consider which growth factors and growth factor receptors occur in the vertebrate thymus. Then, focusing on those whose influences are better documented, i.e., neurotrophins, cytokines and IGFs, we discuss their potential role in the organ and the possibility of their being involved in thymic involution.     

Mechanically Induced Phase Transformation and Surface Segregation in Bismuth-Doped Tetragonal Zirconia

Compact pressure causes a martensitic transformation of partially stabilized tetragonal bismuth-doped ZrO₂ powders to the monoclinic phase. A similar effect is not observed when pelletization, followed by firing, of amorphous bismuth/ZrO₂ is performed. The stress-induced transition has been monitored via X-ray diffractometry, Raman spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared reflectivity. Surface bismuth segregation, which involves few ionic planes, has been probed by angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The bismuth segregation enthalpy has been evaluated.