Long-term treatment of psychotic (delusional) depression with fluvoxamine: an open pilot study

The aim of this open pilot study was to evaluate the efficacy of fluvoxamine in the continuation as well as in the maintenance therapy of delusional depression. Thirty patients with recurrent, unipolar depression (DSM-IV criteria) were selected who had at least one depressive episode during the 18 months preceding the delusional depressive index episode and were treated with fluvoxamine 300 mg/day. Twenty-five of them had a sustained response to this short-term treatment and agreed to enter into the 30-month follow up study. All participants completed the follow up period. No relapse was observed during the 6 months of continuation therapy. During the further 24 months of maintenance therapy, 80% of the patients remained well, whereas 20% (five out of 25) had a single recurrence. Based on these observations, fluvoxamine might be a promising drug for long-term therapy of delusional depression. Further controlled studies are required to confirm this finding.     

Oxidative stability and dietary treatment with vitamin E, oleic acid and copper of fresh and cooked pork chops

Research has been conducted on the effects of feed supplementation with vitamin E, oleic acid (sunflower oil) and copper on some quality characteristics of pork chops. The study was based on the measurement of pH 45' and 24 hr post mortem, proximate composition, colour both objective and sensory, colour stability after packing in oxygen permeable film and protective atmosphere, copper and iron contents, vitamin E content in fresh and cooked chops, peroxide and TBARS value in raw and cooked meat, total cholesterol, cholesterol oxides and aldehydes in cooked meat, sensory evaluation of the eating quality of cooked chops and iodine number of subcutaneous fat. Vitamin E content was significantly higher with oil and vitamin supplementation. No variation has been observed in copper and iron contents. A higher stability of the colour of meat packed under modified atmosphere has been observed with increasing vitamin E content, but the same did not apply with meat packed in oxygen permeable film. No differences have been observed on fatty acid oxidative stability of fresh m. longissimus dorsi and cooked chops (peroxide and TBARS values), on cholesterol oxidation and aldehydes production of cooked chops with increasing vitamin E content. Iodine number in supplemented animals reached levels normally considered at risk for fat firmness.     

Rapid and Simultaneous Analysis of Xanthines and Polyphenols as Bitter Taste Markers in Bakery Products by FT-NIR Spectroscopy

The food industry has a direct interest into bitter-tasting substances either for the identification of negative off-flavors or for the monitoring of a desired organoleptic quality. A rapid technique, based on Fourier transform-near infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy and able to detect taste molecular markers in bakery commodities, was developed, focusing the attention on biscuits category. Xanthines (caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline) and polyphenols (catechins and epicathechins), considered as mainly responsible for the bitter-taste of coffee\cocoa\chocolate based products, were firstly checked using a confirmatory liquid chromatography (LC)-ESI\mass spectrometry (MS)-MS procedure after hot methanol–water extraction. Correspondent data were used for the calibration of the FT-NIR through PLS regression. Values of the standard errors of prediction (lower than 10 %) were comparable to the values of the standard errors of cross-validation. Coefficients of determination indicated a good predictive power in the calibration model (R ² xanthines?=?0.97, R ² polyphenols?=?0.96) and a satisfying discriminating power among different contents in the validation models (R ² xanthines?=?0.96, R ² polyphenols?=?0.96). A testing phase on the generated model was executed by a comparison of LC-MS and sensory panel data with FT-NIR responses recorded on unknown biscuits: differences between found and predicted levels were generally below 5 % and the best predictability was achievable in chocolate-based biscuits. This methodology is able to work directly on solid products, has the potential to be expanded on other categories of gustative molecular markers (like sugars) and can be conceived as applicable for a routine control of a standardized bitter taste quality in a real industrial production.     

Biogenic amines in traditional fermented sausages produced in selected European countries

Aminogenesis in traditional fermented sausages produced in Europe was studied during manufacturing process taking into account technological, physico-chemical and microbial factors. Tyramine was the major amine, followed by putrescine and cadaverine, although the occurrence of di-amines was much more variable. By principal component analysis, relationships between aminogenesis and the country of origin, physico-chemical parameters, processing conditions and microbial counts, were not found, probably due to the high dispersion observed in those variables. Therefore, biogenic amines occurred irrespectively of physico-chemical changes and technological conditions applied for sausage manufacture. By cluster analysis, five groups of fermented sausages were identified on the basis of their quantitative and qualitative profile of total biogenic amine content. Group A included products from very low to low total amine content (from not detected to 150 mg/kg); group B, products with moderate levels (from 150 to 350 mg/kg) tyramine being the major amine; group C, also with moderate amine contents but cadaverine being the major amine; and groups D and E, comprising products with high (from 350 to 550 mg/kg) and very high (higher than 550 mg/kg) amine content, respectively. Samples with moderate, high or very high levels of biogenic amines could be considered as products of less quality, and their consumption could be unhealthy for sensitive individuals or for those under classical monoamine oxidase inhibitor drug therapy.     

Physico-Chemical Characterization of Sesame Oil Derivatives

Ozone treatment of commercially available vegetable oils gives rise to the formation of chemical species that are responsible for the therapeutic properties of ozonated oil derivatives in dermatological diseases. In the last years, these products have been successfully used as a topical disinfectant in a number of serious skin affections. The medical application of empirically prepared ozonated oil has yielded striking improvements with unexpected and rapid healing, compelling us to begin a long-range study aiming first to define the main characteristics of the most common ozonated vegetable oils, about which there is usually no medical consensus because of the lack of standardization of their technological parameters. Sesame oil was selected because of its great amount of polyunsaturated acyl groups, as well as natural antioxidants. Moreover, we have determined the kinetics and optimal conditions of ozonation (e.g., ozone concentrations, time of exposure, temperature) for obtaining an ozonated oil characterized by well-established technological and physico-chemical properties, namely an accurate peroxide value determination. On the basis of the results, we have gained an understanding of the modifications of the vegetable oils during the ozonation process.     

Direct Regio‐, Diastereo‐, and Enantioselective Vinylogous Michael Addition of Prochiral 3‐Alkylideneoxindoles to Nitroolefins

3‐Alkylidene‐2‐oxindoles represent a simple, yet enabling subfamily of indole alkaloids, and their ability to react as electron‐poor acceptors has largely been investigated. In contrast, their utility as pronucleophilic synthons remains elusive. In this context, the present article describes the successful execution of the direct, organocatalytic asymmetric Michael addition of prochiral 3‐alkylideneoxindoles to nitroolefins. A variety of γ‐substituted alkylideneoxindoles carrying two stereocenters at both the γ‐ and δ‐carbon sites was assembled with excellent stereoselectivity and without olefin isomerization or stereochemical ablation.     

Expression, purification and characterization of GDP-D-mannose 4,6-dehydratase from Escherichia coli

Two separate N-terminal fragments of the 470-amino-acid Escherichia coli DnaB helicase, comprising residues 1-142 and 1-161, were expressed in E. coli. The proteins were extracted in a soluble fraction, purified, and characterised physically. In contrast to the full-length protein, which is hexameric, both fragments exist as monomers in solution, as demonstrated by sedimentation equilibrium measurements. CD spectroscopy was used to confirm that the 161-residue fragment is highly structured (mostly alpha-helical) and undergoes reversible thermal denaturation. The structurally well-defined core of the N-terminal domain of the DnaB helicase is composed of residues 24 to 136, as determined by assignment of resonances from flexible residues in NMR spectra. The 1H NMR signals of the flexible residues are located at random coil chemical shifts, and their linewidths are significantly narrower than those of the structured core, indicating complete disorder and increased mobility on the nanosecond time scale. The results support the idea of a flexible hinge region between the N- and C-terminal domains of the native hexameric DnaB protein.     

Electro-oxidation of chlorophenols on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrene sulphonate) composite electrode

The electrochemical behaviour of chlorinated phenols on Pt/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxy)thiophene,LiClO₄ and on Pt/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxy)thiophene,poly(sodium-4-styrenesulphonate) electrodes has been investigated in phosphate buffer solution. Poly(sodium-4-styrenesulphonate) exerts remarkable effect against the electrode fouling induced by oxidation of chlorophenols, allowing us to record the relevant anodic response even after repeated potential cycles. Hypotheses about the role exerted by poly(sodium 4-styrenesulphonate) are made, on the basis of evidences provided by several techniques, such as cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, electrochemical microgravimetry and atomic force microscopy. Thanks to the fact that different chlorophenols show differences in the voltammetric responses, depending on number and position of the chloro substituents on the aromatic ring, applications of the modified electrode in the analysis of mixtures of chlorinated phenols are possible.     

Au/Pt nanoparticle systems in methanol and carbon monoxide electroxidation

Different Au/Pt bimetallic systems have been synthesised by following the approach suggested by Brust. The nanoparticles have been anchored to glassy carbon surface through a place-exchange reaction involving dithiol molecules. The resulting modified electrode consists of heterogeneous nanostructured Au and Pt patchwork. The different nanoparticles systems developed have been employed for the electroxidation of methanol and carbon monoxide in alkaline aqueous media. The results show that the electrocatalytic activity of the bimetallic systems is enhanced with respect to the single monometallic NP systems.