Impact of Freeze-Drying on Cord Blood (CB), Serum (S), and Platelet-Rich Plasma (CB-PRP) Preparations on Growth Factor Content and In Vitro Cell Wound Healing

Blood-based preparations are used in clinical practice for the treatment of several eye disorders. The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of freeze-drying blood-based preparations on the levels of growth factors and wound healing behaviors in an in vitro model. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and serum (S) preparations from the same Cord Blood (CB) sample, prepared in both fresh frozen (FF) and freeze-dried (FD) forms (and then reconstituted), were analyzed for EGF and BDNF content (ELISA Quantikine kit). The human MIO-M1 glial cell line (Moorfield/Institute of Ophthalmology, London, UK) was incubated with FF and FD products and evaluated for cell migration with scratch-induced wounding (IncuCyte S3 Essen BioScience), proliferation with cyclin A2 and D1 gene expression, and activation with vimentin and GFAP gene expression. The FF and FD forms showed similar concentrations of EGF and BDNF in both the S and PRP preparations. The wound healing assay showed no significant difference between the FF and FD forms for both S and PRP. Additionally, cell migration, proliferation, and activation did not appear to change in the FD forms compared to the FF ones. Our study showed that reconstituted FD products maintained the growth factor concentrations and biological properties of FF products and could be used as a functional treatment option.     

Analyzing visually impaired people’s touch gestures on smartphones

Multimedia Tools and Applications - We present an analysis of how visually impaired people perform gestures on touch-screen smartphones and report their preferences, explaining the procedure and...     

Biotransformation of Waste Bile Acids: A New Possible Sustainable Approach to Anti-Fungal Molecules for Crop Plant Bioprotection?

Phytopathogenic fungi are among the main causes of productivity losses in agriculture. To date, synthetic chemical pesticides, such as hydroxyanilides, anilinopyrimidines and azole derivatives, represent the main treatment tools for crop plant defence. However, the large and uncontrolled use of these substances has evidenced several side effects, namely the resistance to treatments, environmental damage and human health risks. The general trend is to replace chemicals with natural molecules in order to reduce these side effects. Moreover, the valorisation of agri-food industry by-products through biotransformation processes represents a sustainable alternative to chemical synthesis in several sectors. This research is aimed at comparing the anti-phytopathogenic activity of waste bovine and porcine bile with secosteroids obtained by biotransformation of bile acids with Rhodococcus strains. The ultimate goal is to apply these natural products on food crops affected by phytopathogenic fungi.     

First data from the EGLE experiment onboard the ISS

EGLE is a wide frequency band search- coil magnetometer designed and built at the Roma Tre University. It has been installed onboard the ISS by the Italian astronaut Roberto Vittori on April 25, 2005 within the LAZIO- EGLE experiment carried out during the ENEIDE Soyuz mission. The scope of the experiment is to test EGLE in space and to investigate geomagnetic field variations. The main applications of EGLE are the study of electromagnetic environment inside the ISS, the correlation of magnetic field data with particle fluxes detected by LAZIO particle detector, and the monitoring of ionospheric perturbations possibly caused by Earth seismic activity. Since continuous electromagnetic field measurements on board the ISS are important for diverse space applications, a magnetometer with a suitable design is requested. Appropriate solutions for these applications, which have been adopted by EGLE, are in particular the use of 1- Wire technology and the possibility to detect by means of a search- coil magnetometer a large portion of the ULF frequency band, usually measured by flux- gate probes. To investigate the topside ionosphere electromagnetic environment and stability of Van Allen radiation belts in relation with seismic and anthropogenic electromagnetic emissions, a specific satellite mission (the ESPERIA project) has been designed for the Italian Space Agency (ASI), and up to now a few instruments of its payload have been built and tested in space. One of them is exactly the EGLE search- coil magnetometer. The first magnetic observations performed by this instrument reveal to be promising and demand for a further and deeper analysis based on a longer time series of data.     

River acid mine drainage: sediment and water mapping through hyperspectral Hymap data

The Odiel River (Huelva, southwest Spain) carries acidic water originating from mine waste contamination, including massive sulphide ore deposits. As the river approaches the coastal estuary, tidal factors influence both sediment and water dynamics. As water velocity decreases, sediment load transport capacity also decreases, building river bars consisting of boulders upstream and sands downstream. Salt water near the estuary affects river water chemistry by neutralizing acidity derived from mine wastes. The occurrence of pyrite mud and hydrated iron sulphate efflorescence, precipitated from acidic waters, is plugged by marine water with chloride, which precipitates from the salt water. Hymap airborne hyperspectral data were used to evaluate tidal influence using spectral features. Grain size variations on river pebble bars, localized crusts of variably hydrated iron sulphate and oxides and cation exchange with chloride salts in the lower river segment as it enters the estuary were spectrally described and mapped. The presence of vegetation proved particularly problematic for the spectral identification of contamination products as well as the precise delineation of inundated areas along the river. The transition from dry to wet zones is the crucial challenge in using spectral imagery to identify and track contaminants in the river and along its flood plain. The use of a reference mineralogical spectral library, developed in the laboratory, requires a careful geological context evaluation to provide efficient environmental information on contamination parameters. Based on hyperspectral analyses of critical spectral features, river locations that may be a key for tracing significant, future contaminant fluctuations were identified.     

Classifications of subjects with the language PROLOG

The logical language PROLOG is used for the definition and characterization of groups of subjects. The groups are firstly defined by sets of variables with comparable scales. Secondly, the single members of the groups are characterized by logically structured combinations of variables which do not necessarily have comparable scales. The performance of the characterizations is estimated by determining the rates sensitivity and specificity. The new classification method is applied in a follow-up study including the assessment of the activity of 76 healthy subjects during two controlled experiments. The classification with PROLOG is then compared with the methods of logistic regression and with discriminant analysis. The comparisons demonstrate that, under similar conditions, the results of a classification with PROLOG parallel the results of statistically based classification procedures. In addition, PROLOG permits characterizations of single subjects based on variables from different scientific disciplines.     

Corrosion behaviour of glass‐bead blasted stainless steel sheets and other sheets with dull surface finish in a chloride solution

Glass‐bead blasted stainless steel sheets are used in recent time for many applications in architecture or design of machines. If chloride can be accumulated on the surface, glass‐bead blasted stainless steel show a worse corrosion behaviour than ground stainless steel. The corrosion behaviour of glass‐bead blasted stainless steel is characterised by electrochemical, topographic and roughness investigations. The results of glass‐bead blasted stainless steel will be compared with results of other surface treated steels like ground, structure rolled, sand‐blasted and electropolished stainless steel. It is shown that not only the roughness parameter R_a has an influence on the corrosion behaviour but also the shape of the valleys and peaks, which are produced during different surface treatments. The investigations lead to advices for the use of these materials in practice.     

Selective outgrowth and differential tropism of amacrine and photoreceptor axons to cell targets during early development in vitro

Plastids of nongreen tissues import carbon as a source of biosynthetic pathways and energy. Within plastids, carbon can be used in the biosynthesis of starch or as a substrate for the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway, for example. We have used maize endosperm to purify a plastidic glucose 6-phosphate/phosphate translocator (GPT). The corresponding cDNA was isolated from maize endosperm as well as from tissues of pea roots and potato tubers. Analysis of the primary sequences of the cDNAs revealed that the GPT proteins have a high degree of identity with each other but share only approximately 38% identical amino acids with members of both the triose phosphate/phosphate translocator (TPT) and the phosphoenolpyruvate/phosphate translocator (PPT) families. Thus, the GPTs represent a third group of plastidic phosphate antiporters. All three classes of phosphate translocator genes show differential patterns of expression. Whereas the TPT gene is predominantly present in tissues that perform photosynthetic carbon metabolism and the PPT gene appears to be ubiquitously expressed, the expression of the GPT gene is mainly restricted to heterotrophic tissues. Expression of the coding region of the GPT in transformed yeast cells and subsequent transport experiments with the purified protein demonstrated that the GPT protein mediates a 1:1 exchange of glucose 6-phosphate mainly with inorganic phosphate and triose phosphates. Glucose 6-phosphate imported via the GPT can thus be used either for starch biosynthesis, during which process inorganic phosphate is released, or as a substrate for the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway, yielding triose phosphates.