Wine production represents one of the most important agro-industrial sectors in Italy. Wine lees are the most significant waste in the winery industry and have high disposal and storage costs and few ...applications within the circular economy. In this study, anaerobic digestion and a microalgae coupled process was studied in order to treat wine lees and waste activated sludge produced within the same facility, with the aim of producing energy and valuable microalgae biomass that could be processed to recover biofuel or biostimulant. Chlorella vulgaris was cultivated on liquid digestate in a semi-continuous system without biomass recirculation. The best growth and phytoremediation performance were achieved applying a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 20 days with a stable dry weight, lipid and protein storage of 1.85 ± 0.02 g l
, 33.48 ± 7.54 % and 57.85 ± 10.14 % respectively. Lipid characterization highlighted the potential use in high quality biodiesel production, according to EN14214 (<12 % v/v linolenic acid). The microalgae reactor's liquid output showed high removal of ammonia (95.72 ± 2.10 %), but low organic soluble matter reduction. Further semi-continuous process optimization was carried out by increasing the time between digestate feeding and biomass recovery at HRT 10. These operative changes avoided biomass wash-out and provided a stable phytoremediation of the digestate with 84.58 ± 4.02 % ammonia removal, 33.01 ± 1.44 % sCOD removal, 38.06 ± 2.65 % of polyphenols removal.
We study the features of a SU(2) Polyakov-Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model that includes wave function renormalization and nonlocal vector interactions. Within this framework we analyze, among other ...properties, the masses, width, and decay constants of light vector and axial-vector mesons at finite temperature. Then we obtain the corresponding phase diagram in a finite density scenario, after characterizing the deconfinement and chiral restoration transitions.
The behavior of π0 meson properties in the presence of a uniform external magnetic field is studied in the context of a nonlocal extension of the Polyakov-Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model. The analysis ...includes the π0 mass, the effective π0-quark coupling and the pion-to-vacuum hadronic form factors, both at zero and finite temperature. Numerical results are compared with previous calculations carried out within the local NJL model, when available. The validity of chiral relations and the features of deconfinement and chiral symmetry restoration transitions are discussed.
We study the behavior of strongly interacting matter under a uniform intense external magnetic field in the context of nonlocal extensions of the Polyakov–Nambu–Jona-Lasinio model. A detailed ...description of the formalism is presented, considering the cases of zero and finite temperature. In particular, we analyze the effect of the magnetic field on the chiral restoration and deconfinement transitions, which are found to occur at approximately the same critical temperatures. Our results show that these models offer a natural framework to account for the phenomenon of inverse magnetic catalysis found in lattice QCD calculations.
Targeting HER2 with antibodies or small molecule inhibitors in HER2-positive breast cancer leads to improved survival, but resistance is a common clinical problem. To uncover novel mechanisms of ...resistance to anti-HER2 therapy in breast cancer, we performed a kinase open reading frame screen to identify genes that rescue HER2-amplified breast cancer cells from HER2 inhibition or suppression. In addition to multiple members of the MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) and PI3K (phosphoinositide 3-kinase) signaling pathways, we discovered that expression of the survival kinases PRKACA and PIM1 rescued cells from anti-HER2 therapy. Furthermore, we observed elevated PRKACA expression in trastuzumab-resistant breast cancer samples, indicating that this pathway is activated in breast cancers that are clinically resistant to trastuzumab-containing therapy. We found that neither PRKACA nor PIM1 restored MAPK or PI3K activation after lapatinib or trastuzumab treatment, but rather inactivated the pro-apoptotic protein BAD, the BCl-2-associated death promoter, thereby permitting survival signaling through BCL-XL. Pharmacological blockade of BCL-XL/BCL-2 partially abrogated the rescue effects conferred by PRKACA and PIM1, and sensitized cells to lapatinib treatment. These observations suggest that combined targeting of HER2 and the BCL-XL/BCL-2 anti-apoptotic pathway may increase responses to anti-HER2 therapy in breast cancer and decrease the emergence of resistant disease.
Arginine depletion is a putative target in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCC often lacks argininosuccinate synthetase, a citrulline to arginine-repleting enzyme. ADI-PEG 20 is a cloned arginine ...degrading enzyme—arginine deiminase—conjugated with polyethylene glycol. The goal of this study was to evaluate this agent as a potential novel therapeutic for HCC after first line systemic therapy.
Patients with histologically proven advanced HCC and Child-Pugh up to B7 with prior systemic therapy, were randomized 2 : 1 to ADI-PEG 20 18 mg/m2 versus placebo intramuscular injection weekly. The primary end point was overall survival (OS), with 93% power to detect a 4–5.6 months increase in median OS (one-sided α = 0.025). Secondary end points included progression-free survival, safety, and arginine correlatives.
A total of 635 patients were enrolled: median age 61, 82% male, 60% Asian, 52% hepatitis B, 26% hepatitis C, 76% stage IV, 91% Child-Pugh A, 70% progressed on sorafenib and 16% were intolerant. Median OS was 7.8 months for ADI-PEG 20 versus 7.4 for placebo (P = 0.88, HR = 1.02) and median progression-free survival 2.6 months versus 2.6 (P = 0.07, HR = 1.17). Grade 3 fatigue and decreased appetite occurred in <5% of patients. Two patients on ADI-PEG 20 had ≥grade 3 anaphylactic reaction. Death rate within 30 days of end of treatment was 15.2% on ADI-PEG 20 versus 10.4% on placebo, none related to therapy. Post hoc analyses of arginine assessment at 4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks, demonstrated a trend of improved OS for those with more prolonged arginine depletion.
ADI-PEG 20 monotherapy did not demonstrate an OS benefit in second line setting for HCC. It was well tolerated. Strategies to enhance prolonged arginine depletion and synergize the effect of ADI-PEG 20 are underway.
www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT 01287585).
We present a multi-analytical in situ non-invasive study of a series of emblematic paintings by Alessandro Milesi (1856–1945) from the collection of the International Gallery of Modern Art Ca' Pesaro ...in Venice. Eight paintings dated from 1897 to 1910 were studied with imaging and spectroscopic techniques. White pigments were characterized by a combination of X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy which traced the presence of zinc-based pigments in Milesi's paintings, Raman Spectroscopy, Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) Spectroscopy and Time-resolved Luminescence Imaging. Time-resolved analysis of luminescence emissions revealed the nanosecond emission from organic compounds and the slower emission from the luminescent inorganic pigment Zinc Oxide that varied between 1.1 and 1.6 microseconds. In this work, data regarding the distribution of luminescent pigments was acquired with a time-gated imaging detector. Furthermore, differences in emission decay kinetics recorded from different paintings can be ascribed to different paint formulations or origins of the Zinc white in paint.
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•application of fluorescence spectroscopy and imaging for the mapping of zinc white based in modern paintings•determination of emission decay kinetics in modern paintings•correlation between emission decay kinetics imaged in paintings linked to different paint formulations containing Zinc white
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been associated to diabetes and obesity, but a possible association with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its potential interaction with hepatitis is open to ...discussion.
We analysed data from an Italian case-control study, including 185 HCC cases and 404 controls. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed from unconditional logistic regression models.
Among the MetS components, diabetes and obesity (i.e, body mass index (BMI)≥30 kg m(-2)) were positively associated to HCC risk, with ORs of 4.33 (95% CI, 1.89-9.86) and 1.97 (95% CI, 1.03-3.79), respectively. The ORs for the MetS were 4.06 (95% CI, 1.33-12.38) defining obesity as BMI≥25, and 1.92 (95% CI, 0.38-9.76) defining it as BMI≥30. The risk increased with the number of MetS components, up to an almost four-fold excess risk among subjects with ≥2 MetS factors. Among subjects without chronic infection with hepatitis B and/or C, the OR for those with ≥2 MetS components was over six-fold elevated. There was no consistent association in subjects with serological evidence of hepatitis B and/or C infection.
This study found that the risk of HCC increases with the number of MetS components in subjects not chronically infected with hepatitis viruses.
Soils and ground water in nature are dominated by chloride and sulphate salts. There have been several studies concerning NaCl salinity, however, little is known about the Na
2SO
4 one. The effects ...on antioxidative activities of chloride or sodium sulphate in terms of the same Na
+ equivalents (25 mM Na
2SO
4 and 50 mM NaCl) were studied on 30 day-old plants of
Ocimum basilicum L., variety Genovese subjected to 15 and 30 days of treatment. Growth, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), relative ion leakage ratio (RLR), hydrogen peroxide (H
2O
2), ascorbate and glutathione contents as well as the activities of ascorbate peroxidase (APX, EC 1.11.1.11); glutathione reductase (GR, EC 1.6.4.2) and peroxidases (POD, EC 1.11.1.7) were determined. In leaves, growth was more depressed by 25 mM Na
2SO
4 than 50 mM NaCl. The higher sensitivity of basil to Na
2SO
4 was associated with an enhanced accumulation of H
2O
2, an inhibition of APX, GR and POD activities (with the exception of POD under the 30-day-treatment) and a lower regeneration of reduced ascorbate (AsA) and reduced glutathione (GSH). However, the changes in the antioxidant metabolism were enough to limit oxidative damage, explaining the fact that RLR and TBARS levels were unchanged under both Na
2SO
4 and NaCl treatment. Moreover, for both salts the 30-day-treatment reduced H
2O
2 accumulation, unchanged RLR and TBARS levels, and enhanced the levels of antioxidants and antioxidative enzymes, thus achieving an adaptation mechanism against reactive oxygen species.
This study presents the mineralogy and strontium isotope ratio (87Sr/86Sr) of 21 pathological biominerals (bladder and kidney stones) collected from patients admitted between 2018 and 2020 at the ...Department of Urology of the San Pio Hospital (Benevento, southern Italy). Urinary stones belong to the calcium oxalate, purine or calcium phosphate mineralogy types. Their corresponding 87Sr/86Sr range from 0.707607 for an uricite sample to 0.709970 for a weddellite one, and seem to be partly discriminated based on the mineralogy. The comparison with the isotope characteristics of 38 representative Italian bottled and tap drinking waters show a general overlap in 87Sr/86Sr with the biominerals. However, on a smaller geographic area (Campania Region), we observe small 87Sr/86Sr differences between the biominerals and local waters. This may be explained by external Sr inputs for example from agriculture practices, inhaled aerosols (i.e., particulate matter), animal manure and sewage, non-regional foods. Nevertheless, biominerals of patients that stated to drink and eat local water/wines and foods every day exhibited a narrower 87Sr/86Sr range roughly matching the typical isotope ratios of local geological materials and waters, as well as those of archaeological biominerals from the same area.
Finally, we conclude that the strontium isotope signature of urinary stones may reflect that of the environmental matrices surrounding patients, but future investigations are recommended to ultimately establish the potential for pathological biominerals as reliable biomonitoring proxies, taking into the account the contribution of the external sources of Sr.
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•87Sr/86Sr ratios of Italian drinking waters and uroliths have been determined.•A general overlap between examined biominerals and drinking waters can be observed.•Slight discrepancies can be explained by additional external Sr inputs.•Patients stating to drink and eat local products delimited narrower 87Sr/86Sr range.•Uroliths could be promising proxies for a reliable biomonitoring purpose.
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