Olive Oil in the Mediterranean Diet and Its Biochemical and Molecular Effects on Cardiovascular Health through an Analysis of Genetics and Epigenetics

Human nutrition is a relatively new science based on biochemistry and the effects of food constituents. Ancient medicine considered many foods as remedies for physical performance or the treatment of diseases and, since ancient times, especially Greek, Asian and pre-Christian cultures similarly thought that they had beneficial effects on health, while others believed some foods were capable of causing illness. Hippocrates described the food as a form of medicine and stated that a balanced diet could help individuals stay healthy. Understanding molecular nutrition, the interaction between nutrients and DNA, and obtaining specific biomarkers could help formulate a diet in which food is not only a food but also a drug. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the role of the Mediterranean diet and olive oil on cardiovascular risk and to identify their influence from the genetic and epigenetic point of view to understand their possible protective effects.     

Master equations for two qubits coupled via a nonlinear mode

A microscopic master equation describing the dynamics of two qubits coupled via a nonlinear mediator is constructed supposing that the two qubits, as well as the nonlinear mode, interact, each with its own independent bosonic bath. Generally speaking the master equation derived in this way represents a more appropriate tool for studying the dynamics of open quantum systems. Indeed we show that it is more complex than the phenomenological master equation, constructed simply adding ad hoc dissipative terms.     

Engineering Design Study on an Innovative Hydrokinetic Turbine with on Shore Foundation

Tidal currents are a resource of great potentiality and not yet fully explored. Several efforts have been made to exploit these resources, but the costs associated to the deployment of tidal plants in marine environments are usually too high. The aim of this work is to present a system able to handle with the above mentioned problems, through the development of a particular hydrokinetic turbine design. In previous works, the authors described a basic turbine configuration achieving interesting performances, although some operational inconveniences were detected. Those problems have been existing so the solution should be optimized and redesigned. As a result, a new design of the turbine is proposed, consisting of a double rotor spinning in opposite directions in order to balance the induced mechanical torque. From preliminary evaluations related to the Messina Strait tidal cycles （Punta Pezzo site, RC, Italy）, a single 12 m diameter turbine can supply a power of about 500 kW with a peak current speed of 3 m/s and deliver up to 450 MWh/year.     

The interphase finite element

Mesomodelling of structures made of heterogeneous materials requires the introduction of mechanical models which are able to simulate the interactions between the adherents. Among these devices is quite popular the zero thickness interface (ZTI) model where the contact tractions and the displacement discontinuities are the primary static and kinematic variables. In some cases the joint response depends also on the internal stresses and strains within the thin layer adjacent to the joint interfaces. The interphase model, taking into account these additional variables, represents a sort of enhanced ZTI. In this paper a general theoretical formulation of the interphase model is reported and an original finite element, suitable for two-dimensional applications, is presented. A simple numerical experiment in plane stress state condition shows the relevant capabilities of the interphase element and allows to investigate its numerical performance. Some defects related to the shear locking of the element are resolved making use of well known numerical strategies. Finally, further numerical application to masonry structures are developed.     

Lactone monomers obtained by enzyme catalysis and their use in reversible thermoresponsive networks

Enzyme-catalyzed transformations have a great potential in both the pharmaceutical and chemical industry to achieve complex and (stereo)selective synthesis under mild reaction conditions. Still, the implementation of biocatalysis in the prerequisite upgrading of inert synthons into activated monomers for polymer applications has not yet been fully realized. In this contribution, we show that scaled-up synthesis of bicyclic norcamphor lactone using an engineered Baeyer–Villiger monooxygenase (BVMO) is feasible to reach complete conversion of the corresponding ketone in 24 h in shake-flask. The lactone monomer obtained by enzyme catalysis was copolymerized with ε-caprolactone via ring-opening polymerization to study the impact of the additional ring on material properties. Moreover, four-arm star-like, homo and block copolymers were designed from ε-caprolactone, ε-decalactone, and norcamphor lactone and characterized for their structural and thermal properties. These newly explored macromolecules were functionalized with furan rings using the enzyme Candida antarctica lipase B which allowed the formation of thermolabile networks via the pericyclic reaction with bismaleimide by means of Diels–Alder chemistry. The bonding/debonding state of these star-like based materials can be tuned by a suitable selection of thermal treatment. The temperature-dependent reversibility was assessed by thermal analysis and solubility test. Our results presented here shed light on the high potential of the use of chemoenzymatic approaches in the synthesis of new functional materials with tuned physiochemical properties. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of Applied Polymer Science published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48949.     

Prevalence of sensitization to Cupressus sempervirens: a 4-year retrospective study

In the last few years Cupressus sempervirens has been identified as the cause of an increasing number of cases of late winter-early spring pollinosis in Mediterranean countries. We conducted a 4-year retrospective study of a large group of subjects with documented allergic respiratory disease in order to determine the prevalence, clinical significance and annual rate of sensitization to C. sempervirens pollen. Anamnestic data and skin prick tests (SPT) with common aeroallergens and C. sempervirens extract were collected from 1397 subjects (712 male and 685 female) resident in Latium, a region in central Italy, with complaints related to upper- or lower-respiratory-tract disorders or conjunctival disease. Two hundred and forty-three subjects (17.4%) showed positive results to C. sempervirens extract; 47 (19.3%) of them were monosensitized. The annual sensitization rate of SPT positivity to C. sempervirens varied from 7.2% in 1995 to 22% in 1998. All the subjects monosensitized to cypress pollen had symptoms from January through April. Our study suggests that sensitivity to C. sempervirens is responsible for respiratory symptoms in an increasing percentage of subjects. Further studies are needed to determine its frequency at the national level.     

High order harmonic generation: The role of the acceleration matrix elements and of the bound and continuum transitions

Abstract

The electromagnetic spectrum emitted by a one-dimensional atom driven by a strong laser field is obtained by use of the acceleration form and interpreted by means of few general properties of the matrix elements of the acceleration operator. We show that the emission occurs essentially in a region near the atomic core where the acceleration is significant and we investigate the role of the various emission channels arising from interference effects between transitions involving the bare atomic levels.     

A Retro-biosynthesis-Based Route to Generate Pinene-Derived Polyesters

Significantly increased production of biobased polymers is a prerequisite to replace petroleum-based materials towards reaching a circular bioeconomy. However, many renewable building blocks from wood and other plant material are not directly amenable for polymerization, due to their inert backbones and/or lack of functional group compatibility with the desired polymerization type. Based on a retro-biosynthetic analysis of polyesters, a chemoenzymatic route from (−)-α-pinene towards a verbanone-based lactone, which is further used in ring-opening polymerization, is presented. Generated pinene-derived polyesters showed elevated degradation and glass transition temperatures, compared with poly(ϵ-decalactone), which lacks a ring structure in its backbone. Semirational enzyme engineering of the cyclohexanone monooxygenase from Acinetobacter calcoaceticus enabled the biosynthesis of the key lactone intermediate for the targeted polyester. As a proof of principle, one enzyme variant identified from screening in a microtiter plate was used in biocatalytic upscaling, which afforded the bicyclic lactone in 39 % conversion in shake flask scale reactions.