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Antioxidant, Enzyme andMolecular Docking Tyrosinase Inhibitory Activities of Major Polyphenols in Boscia coriacea Graells, Grewia erythraea (Schweinf.) Chiov., Ochradenus baccatus Delile, and Orthosiphon pallidus Royle Ex Benth.
No full textBoscia coriacea Graells (BC), Grewia erythraea (Schweinf.) Chiov. (GE), Ochradenus baccatus Delile (OB), and Orthosiphon pallidus Royle ex Benth. (OP) are medicinal plants used in Djibouti. They were evaluated to determine their total phenolic
content (TPC), flavonoid content (TFC), and phytochemical profile using HPLC–MS/MS. Additionally, their antioxidant capacity was assessed through five various methods. Enzymatic activities were also measured, focusing on acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and tyrosinase. OP extract had the highest TPC and exhibited the best antioxidant capacity, whereas OB and BC extracts had the highest TFC. Twenty-seven compounds were identified and quantified by LCMS. GE extract demonstrated the highest AChE activity, whereas OP extract had the highest BChE activity. BC was most active against α-amylase and α-glucosidase, and only GE and OP extracts showed tyrosinase inhibition in vitro. In silico analysis, the compounds were optimized and docked to the human tyrosinase-related protein 1 using AutoDock Vina, with absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination to evaluate their suitability based on key therapeutic criteria. Chlorogenic, neochlorogenic, gallic acids, and quercetin emerged as promising tyrosinase inhibitors. These plants can be a viable source in the prevention and treatment related to tyrosinase enzyme inhibition
Riflessioni sulla continuità d’uso dei materiali lapidei: il caso del travertino ascolano (Lapis Asculanus)
No full textThe contribution aims to analyze the theme of fragment citation, to develop a reflection on the complex relations – immaterial and material – that exist between the single element and its context. In particular, the meaning of the fragment with aesthetic and compositional autonomy is deepened, in relation to the whole of which it was part or in relation to other fragments. The role of these tangible presences in the multi-layered physical reality of Ascoli Piceno is verified as an example of the continuity in the use of travertine stone from the Roman period
Fungi in Multi-Taxon Analysis: the experience of PRIN project MultiForDiv
No full textTemperate forests across Europe provide vital ecosystem services, including carbon storage, water regulation, and habitat provision. However, these forests face significant threats due to global changes, such as climate shifts and human-induced disturbances. Biodiver
sity conservation is a central goal of national and international policies, yet many aspects of forest diversity, particularly those of understorey plants, fungi, included lichenized fungi (or lichens), remain poorly understood. These organisms are crucial for ecosystem function
ing and highly sensitive to environmental and anthropogenic pressures on both short,- and long-term scales. The aim of the project is to understand patterns and drivers of multi-taxon forest diversity (lichens, vascular plants, fungi, etc.) of the Italian forests, through the sites belonging to the International Co-operative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests LII network. This study focuses on the functional diversity of soil fungi, key players in nutrient cycling and forest resilience. Soil samples from various italian plots were collected and analyzed using dilution plating to quantify and identify fungal strains. Functional traits, such as xerotolerance, thermotolerance, and solubilization of phosphates, were assessed to explore their ecological roles and responses to environmental variables. To understand patterns and drivers of multi-taxon diversity, we integrated data on microclimate conditions, soil properties, forest structural characteristics, and lichenized
fungi diversity. This functional approach, which goes beyond traditional species-based indicators, recognizes the diverse ecological roles that different species play. So far, a total of four plots have been sampled, with 1018 colony forming units counted, corresponding to
121 morphotypes. The results aim to provide a more comprehensive understanding of forest biodiversity, supporting conservation strategies and sustainable forest management in the face of global change. This research was carried out within the framework of the PRIN 2022 MultiForDiv Project cod 2022A42HL4
Application of Citizen Science to Sheep as a Model to Sensitize Young Citizens to Biodiversity, Animal Welfare and the Social Utility of Research
No full textCitizen science activities were performed using sheep as an animal model and involving 252 students aged between 9 and 11 years. The study focused on three pillars: hill/mountain landscape biodiversity, animal welfare and the social utility of research. Two types of tests—“attitude questionnaires” (AQs) and “maximum performance tests” (MPTs)—were administered. The AQ was administered before and at the end of the project to compare the children’s sensitivity to the treated topics and to assess their awareness of the project’s pillars. For each AQ item children expressed their agreement/disagreement by choosing from five response modes. The MPT aim was to evaluate if children had understood the explained topics by true/false options in respect to a sentence. The correlations between MPT scores and school evaluations for science subjects were analyzed. Among the fifteen AQ items specific to the pillars, four items related to biodiversity, three items related to animal welfare and two items related to the social utility of research, showing a significant difference (p < 0.05) for the second AQ’s responses. Two items showed sex-related differences. The analysis of the data from the MPT showed that the didactic methodology used was effective and improved the position of most children by bringing them into higher science evaluation groups
LAR - Large Animal Review
No full textLarge Animal Review is a bimonthly scientific journal published by SIVAR (Italian Society of Farm Animals Veterinary Practitioners) for scientific updating of veterinarians who deal with animals in livestock production and the supply chain control in the production
of food industry. The topics of main interest for the journal are those of internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics, animal nutrition, zootechnics, infectious and parasitic diseases, food safety and security, animal welfare, prevention and management
mRNA expression, tumor heterogeneity, and response to therapy in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma treated with immune-based combinations (ARON-1α)
No full textBackground: Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) represents a spectrum of tumors, characterized by heterogeneous growth patterns, histology and response to immune-based combinations. Objectives: The aim of the present retrospective analysis was to investigate the mRNA expression of 32 genes associated with RCC carcinogenesis and their potential involvement in patients treated with first-line immune-based combination therapies. Additionally, we examined the role of tumor heterogeneity by comparing mRNA expression levels between primary renal tumors and metastatic sites in a group of patients included in the ARON-1 study. Patients and methods: The study included patients with advanced RCC treated with first-line immune-based therapies. Total RNA was extracted from fixed paraffin-embedded tissue slices using the RNeasy FFPE Mini Kit. Quantitative RT-PCR was performed using the IQ5 Multicolor real-time PCR detection system. Coefficient of variations were calculated for each gene and compared between primary and metastatic samples. Results: 17 patients were included in this analysis; 9 of them had both primary and metastatic samples available. Three of the 4 patients showing the highest mRNA expression levels of the 32 analyzed genes reported complete remissions, while 2 of the 3 patients with the lowest expression levels were primary refractory to first-line therapy. As for tumor heterogeneity, VEGFA was the only gene significantly deregulated in the paired comparison. Conclusions: We showed differences in mRNA expression between primary and metastatic sites, and proposed a possible link to the response to first-line immune combination therapies. Additional research is required to clarify their potential as prognostic or predictive biomarkers
Architetto o scultore? Le celebrazioni del 1964 e il dibattito sull’architettura di Michelangelo
No full textLe numerose iniziative del quarto centenario della morte di Michelangelo Buonarroti videro un ampio concorso di studiosi italiani, con esiti brillanti sul piano critico e quasi impalpabili su quello storiografico.
Nell’ossessiva volontà di attualizzala, l’architettura buonarrotiana venne estirpata dal suo vivo contesto storico e ridotta a un insieme di modi formali caricati di valori profetici della contemporaneità. Al contempo, storici e critici italiani ― pur appartenenti a indirizzi diversi ― cercarono di affermare l’autonomia dell’architettura buonarrotiana per sottrarla ai pregiudizi che la volevano una sottoforma dell’opera scultorea; intento lodevole, ma che si risolse nell’affiancare alle categorie ottico-tattili wölffliniane la Raumgestaltung di Schmarsow: l’architettura di Michelangelo restava dunque una pura arte visiva. Resta da discutere il senso da attribuire all’architettura nel quadro dell’espressione
buonarrotiana, riassumibile in un quesito semplice da formulare ma di ardua risposta: Michelangelo è mai stato un vero architetto, opporre la sua architettura è quella scultura spazializzata, di matrice anatomica, che la critica novecentesca ha celebrato? Quesito che rimane sorprendentemente aperto, a dispetto dei notevoli progressi filologici.The numerous initiatives of the fourth centenary f Michelangelo Buonarroti's death saw a large number of Italian scholars participating,
with brilliant results on a critical level and almost intangible ones on a historiographical level. In an obsessive desire to bring it up to date, Buonarroti's architecture was uprooted from its historical context and reduced to a set of formal modes charged with prophetic values of contemporaneity. At the same time, Italian historians and critics ― despite belonging to different schools of thought ― sought to affirm the autonomy of Buonarroti's architecture Buonarroti's architecture in order to remove it from the prejudices that wanted it to be a subform of sculptural work; a laudable intention, but one that resulted in Schmarsow's Raumgestaltung being added to Wölfflin's
optical-tactile categories: Michelangelo's architecture thus remained a purely visual art. It remains to be discussed what meaning should be attributed to architecture in the context of Buonarroti's expression, which can be summarised in a question that is simple to formulate but difficult to answer: was Michelangelo ever a true architect, or is his architecture
that spatialised sculpture, of anatomical origin, which 20th-century critics have celebrated? This question remains surprisingly open, despite considerable philological progress
ITV-net: a dataset of intraspecific leaf traits data across major Italian habitats
No full textOver the last decades plant ecology has greatly benefited from open data on functional traits. Nowadays, several national and international trait databases are available, but trait data from Southern European countries are generally missing or underrepresented. In addition, most of the available databases lack detailed trait information at the intraspecific level, an important source of trait variation linked to species potential for adaptation. Data were gathered from 21 Italian research groups. Individual measurements of leaf area (LA) and specific leaf area (SLA) for the most abundant vascular plant species were provided at the plot level using standardised protocols of trait measurement. The ITV-net dataset includes 8,518 records of leaf area (LA) and specific leaf area (SLA) in 1,043 georeferenced plots spanning most of the Italian peninsula and eight EUNIS habitat types. Individual LA and SLA measurements are available for 709 native and alien species (77 families, 353 genera). The ITV-net dataset is freely available in the Zenodo repository and will contribute to expanding research on a largely underrated source of trait variation and on its ecological consequences
Investigation of Surface Properties and Antibacterial Activity of 3D-Printed Polyamide 12-Based Samples Coated by a Plasma SiOxCyHz Amorphous Thin Film Approved for Food Contact
Get PDFMicrobial contamination and biofilm formation on food contact materials (FCMs) represent critical challenges within the food supply chain, compromising food safety and quality while increasing the risk of foodborne illnesses. Traditional materials often lack sufficient microbial resistance to contamination, creating a high demand for innovative antimicrobial surfaces. This study assessed the effectiveness of a nanosized deposited SiOxCyHz coating approved for food contact on 3D-printed polyamide 12 (PA12) disk substrates, aiming at providing antimicrobial and anti-biofilm functionality to mechanical components and packaging material in the food supply chain. The coating was applied using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and characterized through Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and contact angle measurements. Coated PA12 samples exhibited significantly enhanced hydrophobicity, with an average water contact angle of 112.9°, thus improving antibacterial performance by markedly reducing bacterial adhesion. Microbiological assays revealed a significant (p < 0.001) bactericidal activity (up to 4 logarithms after 4 h, ≥99.99%) against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including notable foodborne pathogens such as L. monocytogenes, S. aureus, E. coli, and S. typhimurium. SiOxCyHz-coated PA12 surfaces exhibited strong antibacterial activity, representing a promising approach for coating additive-manufactured components and equipment for packaging production in the food and pharmaceutical supply chain able to enhance safety, extend product shelf life, and reduce reliance on chemical sanitizers