Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca- Università del Salento
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Comparative Analysis of Highly Purified Sericin and Waste-Derived Sericin: Implications for Biomedical Applications
Get PDF: Sericin, a natural glycoprotein constituting 20–30% of the silk cocoon, has emerged
as a promising biomaterial due to its excellent biological properties, including biocompatibility, antioxidant properties and potential applications in regenerative medicine. The
quality and the features of sericin are strongly dependent on the extraction and purification methods, which can employ mild conditions to preserve the molecular integrity of
the protein or recovery techniques from waste streams produced during the industrial
degumming processes. The silk industry prioritizes fiber yield over protein preservation,
so often harsh alkaline conditions at high temperatures are adopted. These divergent approaches result in fundamentally different products with distinct molecular characteristics
and functional capabilities. This review comprehensively examines the current technological approaches for sericin extraction techniques and for its recovery from textile industry
waste, focusing on how these aspects affect the biological properties of the protein and the
potential applications
Ambient air pollutants and sperm quality in healthy Italian young men: a multicenter prospective cohort study with repeated measures
No full textInfertility is becoming a global public health issue, with male fertility declining worldwide in recent decades. Although air pollution is suspected to affect sperm quality, evidence is still controversial. The objective is to assess the potential relationship between air pollution and male infertility in healthy Italian young men, with a multicenter prospective cohort study. A sample of 345 males was enrolled in 2018–2019 in three polluted areas in North, Central, and South Italy. Participants received repeated examinations of semen quality parameters including sperm concentration, total and progressive motility, volume, and normal morphology. PM2.5, PM10, NO2, and O3 concentrations were used for estimating air pollution exposure during the 0–90, 0–9, 10–14, and 70–90 days before each semen examination. Linear mixed-effects models with subject-specific random intercept were employed, considering several climatic and behavioral factors as potential confounders. A 1 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 during the 10–14 days interval was linked to a 1.3 % rise in sperm concentration and count (95 % Confidence Intervals [CIs]: 0.5 %–2.2 %, 0.4 %–2.2 %), with covariates held unchanged. Similarly, a 1 μg/m3 increase in PM10 during the same interval corresponded to 1.2 % and 1.1 % increases in sperm concentration and count, respectively (95 % CIs: 0.5 %–1.9 %, 0.3 %–2 %). Moreover, an increasing trend emerged in motility and normal morphology with increasing O3 exposure during the 0–90 and 70–90 days intervals. Due to the limited range of variability of outdoor air pollutants observed in this study, larger studies with a wider range of individual exposures are necessary to clarify air pollution's impact on male infertility
Performance measures for endoscopic ultrasound: a European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) Quality Improvement Initiative - Update 2025
No full textThe European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) recommends that endoscopy services across Europe adopt the following six key performance measures for endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) for monitoring and evaluation in daily practice at center and endoscopist level: (1) informed patient consent (100?% of procedures); (2) adequate documentation of landmarks (≥90?% of procedures); (3) structured training and supervision for trainees, preferably using assessment tools (≥20?%); (4) standardized description of pancreatic cystic lesions (≥85?%); (5) diagnostic tissue acquisition with EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration/fine-needle biopsy for solid lesions (≥85?%); (6) adverse events
CGF-Conditioned Medium Modulates Astrocytic Differentiation and Invasiveness in U87MG Glioblastoma Cells
Get PDFBackground: Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly aggressive tumor characterized by elevated plasticity and poor differentiation. Platelet-derived preparations such as Concentrated Growth Factors (CGF) are rich in bioactive molecules, but their effects on tumor biology remain underexplored. Methods: U87MG glioblastoma cells were cultured with a conditioned medium obtained from CGF over 14 days (CGF-CM). We analyzed cell viability, morphology, DNA integrity, migration, proliferation, and expression of astrocytic markers. Results: CGF-CM treatment induced early enhancement of cell viability, followed by decreased proliferation and reduced migration at later time points. Morphological analyses revealed astrocyte-like features. The expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), an astrocytic marker, and its α/δ isoform ratio increased over time, while GBM -GBM-associated markers, such as AQP-4 and S100B, were downregulated. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that CGF-CM modulates the phenotypic plasticity of U87MG cells and promotes differentiation toward an astroglial-like profile. These results provide a basis for future studies on the modulation of GBM aggressiveness using bioactive autologous derivatives
Fabrication and characterization of a piezo-MEMS uniaxial accelerometer as a tool for the monitoring of combustion instability in gas turbine engines
Get PDFThis work is focused on the design, simulation, microfabrication, and characterization of an uniaxial piezoelectric MEMS accelerometer. It investigates the capability of the proposed device to monitor the combustion instability induced by the addition of air into jet-A1 fuel in a combustion chamber. The membrane structure of the accelerometer is modeled using the commercial FEM package COMSOL Multiphysics to optimize the geometrical parameters and validated through both analytical and experimental results. Aluminum nitride (AlN) thin film, deposited by sputtering process and characterized for its nanomechanical properties, was chosen as the active piezoelectric material of the accelerometer thanks to its compatibility with the complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The accelerometer has been characterized in terms of frequency response, sensitivity, and linearity. All experimental results, which are in good agreement with simulations, show that the functional characteristics of the accelerometer are as follows: resonance frequency of about 3.8 kHz; linear bandwidth in the range 0.3 – 1.2 kHz; dynamic sensitivity of 0.25 mV/g with a linearity of 99.1 %. Experiments for the monitoring of the combustion instability were conducted on a liquid-fueled swirling combustor with a nominal power of 300 kW at two global equivalence ratios (Φ), i.e. 0.36 and 0.18. The microfabricated accelerometer was positioned on the combustion chamber structure near the flame in the combustion zone for the measurement of the chamber vibrations. Its response was compared with the one of a commercial pressure sensor to assess its reliability, demonstrating good correlation between the signals coming from the two devices. Mean, variance and Kurtosis data analysis techniques were employed to elaborate signals coming from both sensors to provide a quantitative indicator of the combustion instability. Given its high sensitivity and wide linear bandwidth, the accelerometer can detect subtle variations in chamber vibrations, which are critical for early identification of combustion instability. By providing real-time, high-resolution monitoring, the device offers a non-invasive method for detecting and diagnosing instability phenomena that are often difficult to assess with traditional pressure sensors. The results demonstrate the potential of the realized piezoelectric accelerometer in understanding combustion instability mechanisms in gas turbines. Moreover, together with being a promising non-invasive tool of diagnosis of this phenomenon, the proposed solution is also expected to be a challenge for combustion instability prediction, contributing to the development of more stable combustors
