How Can We Improve Vaccination Response in Old People? Part I: Targeting Immunosenescence of Innate Immunity Cells

Vaccination, being able to prevent millions of cases of infectious diseases around the world every year, is the most effective medical intervention ever introduced. However, immunosenescence makes vaccines less effective in providing protection to older people. Although most studies explain that this is mainly due to the immunosenescence of T and B cells, the immunosenescence of innate immunity can also be a significant contributing factor. Alterations in function, number, subset, and distribution of blood neutrophils, monocytes, and natural killer and dendritic cells are detected in aging, thus potentially reducing the efficacy of vaccines in older individuals. In this paper, we focus on the immunosenescence of the innate blood immune cells. We discuss possible strategies to counteract the immunosenescence of innate immunity in order to improve the response to vaccination. In particular, we focus on advances in understanding the role and the development of new adjuvants, such as TLR agonists, considered a promising strategy to increase vaccination efficiency in older individuals.     

Hyporheic Exchange with Gravel Beds: Basic Hydrodynamic Interactions and Bedform-Induced Advective Flows

Stream-subsurface exchange processes are important because of their role in controlling the transport of contaminants and ecologically relevant substances in streams. Laboratory flume experiments were conducted to examine solute exchange with gravel streambeds. Two morphologies were studied: flat beds and beds covered by dune-shaped bedforms. High rates of exchange were observed with flat beds under a wide range of stream flow conditions, indicating that there was considerable turbulent coupling of stream and pore water flows. The presence of bedforms produced additional exchange under all flow conditions. The exchange with bedforms could be represented well by considering solute flux caused by bedform-induced advective pumping. Pumping exchange was enhanced by inertial effects, including non-Darcy flow and turbulent diffusion. For the flat bed case, dye injections showed that exchange also occurred by a combination of advective pore water flow and turbulent diffusion near the stream–subsurface interface. The relative effects of advective and diffusive transport processes could not be separated due to the complex nature of the induced flows in the gravel bed. However, exchange was found to scale with the square of the stream Reynolds number in all cases. Comparison of these results with those obtained with coarser and finer sediments demonstrated that the exchange rate is also proportional to the square of the characteristic bed sediment size. These scaling relationships can be used to improve interpretation of solute transport observed in natural rivers.     

Using a priori information to improve soil moisture retrieval from ENVISAT ASAR AP data in semiarid regions

This paper presents a retrieval algorithm that estimates spatial and temporal distribution of volumetric soil moisture content, at an approximate depth of 5 cm, using multitemporal ENVISAT Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) alternating polarization images, acquired at low incidence angles (i.e., from 15/spl deg/ to 31/spl deg/). The algorithm appropriately assimilates a priori information on soil moisture content and surface roughness in order to constrain the inversion of theoretical direct models, such as the integral equation method model and the geometric optics model. The a priori information on soil moisture content is obtained through simple lumped water balance models, whereas that on soil roughness is derived by means of an empirical approach. To update prior estimates of surface parameters, when no reliable a priori information is available, a technique based solely on the use of multitemporal SAR information is proposed. The developed retrieval algorithm is assessed on the Matera site (Italy) where multitemporal ground and ASAR data were simultaneously acquired in 2003. Simulated and experimental results indicate the possibility of attaining an accuracy of approximately 5% in the retrieved volumetric soil moisture content, provided that sufficiently accurate a priori information on surface parameters (i.e., within 20% of their whole variability range) is available. As an example, multitemporal soil moisture maps at watershed scale, characterized by a spatial resolution of approximately 150 m, are derived and illustrated in the paper.     

Thromboembolic events in beta thalassemia major: an Italian multicenter study

Oxidation of cholesterol (1a) or pregnenolone (1b) with pyridinium dichromate (PDC) in dimethylformamide (DMF) or in dichloromethane (DCM) and pyridinium chlorochromate (PCC) in DCM provided cholest-4-en-3,6-dione (2a) or pregn-4-en-3,6,20-trione (2b). TLC monitoration of the reactions implied that cholest-5-en-3-one (3a) or pregn-5-en-3,20-dione (3b) and cholest-4-en-3-one (4a) or pregn-4-en-3,20-dione (4b) might be intermediates. Individual oxidation of 3a or 3b with PDC and PCC could give 2a or 2b, but 4a or 4b remained unchanged. Further investigation indicated that 4a or 4b was an isomerization product of 3a or 3b on silica gel TLC plate rather than really existence in the reaction mixture. These results shown steroidal 5-en-3-ones were intermediates of the transformation of steroidal 5-en-3 beta-ols to steroidal 4-en-3,6-diones oxidized by PDC and PCC.     

Jack bean urease (EC 3.5.1.5). V. On the mechanism of action of urease on urea, formamide, acetamide, N-methylurea, and related compounds

Acetamide and N-methylurea have been shown for the first time to be substrates for jack bean urease. In the enzymatic hydrolysis of urea, formamide, acetamide, and N-methylurea at pH 7.0 and 38 degrees C, kcat has the values 5870, 85, 0.55, and 0.075 s-1, respectively. The urease-catalyzed hydrolysis of all these substrates involves the active-site nickel ion(s). Enzymatic hydrolysis of the following compounds could not be detected: phenyl formate, p-nitroformanilide, trifluoroacetamide, p-nitrophenyl carbamate, thiourea, and O-methylisouronium ion. In the enzymatic hydrolysis of urea, the pH dependence of kcat between pH 3.4 and 7.8 indicates that at least two prototropic forms are active. Enzymatic hydrolysis of urea in the presence of methanol gave no detectable methyl carbamate. A mechanism of action for urease is proposed which involves initially an O-bonded complex between urea and an active-site Ni2+ ion and subsequently an O-bonded carbamato-enzyme intermediate.     

Surface properties of phenolic compounds and their influence on the dispersion degree and oxidative stability of olive oil O/W emulsions

The surface and interfacial properties of gallic acid, catechin and quercetin, and their effect on the dispersion degree and the oxidative stability of olive oil oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions prepared using β-lactoglobulin and Tween 20 were studied.Gallic acid showed no effect on the surface properties while catechin was proven to be able to accumulate at the air/water interface, decreasing the surface tension values with increasing its concentration. All the phenolic antioxidants caused a decrease in the interfacial tension at the oil/water interface, even though only catechin and quercetin showed a concentration dependent behaviour.In emulsions, gallic acid did not affect the droplet size of the systems, catechin caused the formation of oil droplets bigger than those of the control, whilst quercetin improved the dispersion state of the emulsions with the increasing of its concentration. Gallic acid, despite its partitioning in the water phase due to its polarity, delayed the formation of both the hydroperoxides and TBARs and limited their accumulation. Catechin did not affect the formation of oxidation products whilst quercetin, among the tested antioxidants, caused the lowest formation of both hydroperoxides and TBARs through 33 days of storage.     

Modelling of electricity savings in the Danish households sector: from the energy system to the end-user

In this paper, we examine the value of investing in energy-efficient household appliances from both an energy system and end-user perspectives. We consider a set of appliance categories constituting the majority of the electricity consumption in the private household sector, and focus on the stock of products which need to be replaced. First, we look at the energy system and investigate whether investing in improved energy efficiency can compete with the cost of electricity supply from existing or new power plants. To assess the analysis, Balmorel, a linear optimization model for the heat and power sectors, has been extended in order to endogenously determine the best possible investments in more efficient home appliances. Second, we propose a method to relate the optimal energy system solution to the end-user choices by incorporating consumer behaviour and electricity price addition due to taxes. The model is non-exclusively tested on the Danish energy system under different scenarios. Computational experiments show that several energy efficiency measures in the household sector should be regarded as valuable investments (e.g. an efficient lighting system) while others would require some form of support to become profitable. The analysis quantifies energy and economic savings from the consumer side and reveals the impacts on the Danish power system and surrounding countries. Compared to a business-as-usual energy scenario, the end-user attains net economic savings in the range of 30–40 EUR per year, and the system can benefit of an annual electricity demand reduction of 140–150 GWh. The paper enriches the existing literature about energy efficiency modelling in households, contributing with novel models, methods, and findings related to the Danish case.     

DNA barcoding as a new tool for food traceability

Food safety and quality are nowadays a major concern. Any case of food alteration, especially when reported by the media, has a great impact on public opinion. There is an increasing demand for the improvement of quality controls, hence addressing scientific research towards the development of reliable molecular tools for food analysis. DNA barcoding is a widely used molecular-based system, which can identify biological specimens, and is used for the identification of both raw materials and processed food. In this review the results of several researches are critically analyzed, in order to exploit the effectiveness of DNA barcoding in food traceability, and to delineate some best practices in the application of DNA barcoding throughout the industrial pipeline. The use of DNA barcoding for food safety and in the identification of commercial fraud is also discussed.     

Moulded pulp products manufacturing with thermoforming

For an effective optimization of pulp thermoforming and of the moulded pulp products manufactured by this process, a full understanding of the process physics combined with full knowledge of the pressing equipment is necessary. For this reason, in this Addendum, we clarify how the process parameters “Holding time,” “Vacuum time,” “Cycle time,” and “Temperature” were interpreted and subsequently defined for the analysis of the process and product‐related outputs of the thermoforming experiments.