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Weight loss facilitates reduction of left ventricular mass in obese hypertensive patients: The Campania Salute Network
No full textNanoparticles synthesis in wet-operating stirred media: Preliminary investigation with DEM simulations
No full textCorrection: Ghoreyshi, S.M.; et al. Effects of Dietary Supplementation of L-Carnitine and Excess Lysine-Methionine on Growth Performance, Carcass Characteristics, and Immunity Markers of Broiler Chicken. Animals 2019, 9, 362
No full textL-carnitine as well as lysine and methionine are amino acids of important nutritional and nutraceutical interest and are used in nutritional strategies as diet supplements to improve feed quality characteristics in animals and broiler chicken in particular. This study investigated the effect of different levels of L-carnitine and extra levels of lysine-methionine on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and some immune system markers. Two hundred seventy male Ross 308 broilers were a fed control diet (C) and eight different diets supplemented with an excess of amino acids. In the experimental diets, identified as D1, D2, D3, D4, D5, D6, D7, and D8, extra L-carnitine, lysine, and methionine were added in excess with respect to the American National Research Council (NRC) recommendations: L-carnitine equal to NRC (D1); control diet supplemented with lysine at 30% in excess of NRC, methionine at 30% in excess of NRC, and L-carnitine equal to NRC (D2); control diet supplemented with lysine equal to NRC, methionine equal to NRC, and L-carnitine at 15% in excess of NRC (D3); control diet supplemented control diet supplemented with lysine at 15% in excess of NRC, methionine at 15% in excess of NRC, and L-carnitine at 15% in excess of NRC (D4); control diet supplemented lysine at 30% in excess of NRC, methionine at 30% in excess of NRC, and L-carnitine at 15% in excess of NRC (D5); control diet supplemented with lysine equal to NRC recommendations, methionine equal to NRC recommendations, and L-carnitine at 75% in excess of NRC (D6); control diet supplemented with lysine at 15% in excess of NRC, methionine at 15% in excess of NRC, and L-carnitine at 75% in excess of NRC (D7); and control diet supplemented with lysine at 30% in excess of NRC, methionine at 30% in excess of NRC, and L-carnitine at 75% in excess of NRC (D8). During the starter and growth phases, feed intake was not affected by dietary treatment (p > 0.05). By contrast, body weight and FCR were both affected (p 0.05) (1851.90, 1862.00, 1945.10, and 1872.80 g/pen/day, respectively) and were higher (p 0.05) by the dietary supplementation of amino acids. Duodenum and ileum weights and lengths decreased with amino acid supplementation (p 0.05). Dietary amino acids supplementation did not affect IgM titer after the secondary challenge (p > 0.05) and had a significant effect (p < 0.05) on serum antibody titers in broilers vaccinated against Newcastle disease (NCD) and Gumboro ‘s disease at the 27th and 30th days, respectivel
Cancer Immunotherapy of TLR4 Agonist–Antigen Constructs Enhanced with Pathogen-Mimicking Magnetite Nanoparticles and Checkpoint Blockade of PD-L1
No full textDespite the tremendous potential of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) agonists in vaccines, their efficacy as monotherapy to treat cancer has been limited. Only some lipopolysaccharides (LPS) isolated from particular bacterial strains or structures like monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA) derived from lipooligosaccharide (LOS), avoid toxic overactivation of innate immune responses while retaining adequate immunogenicity to act as adjuvants. Here, different LOS structures are incorporated into nanoparticle-filled phospholipid micelles for efficient vaccine delivery and more potent cancer immunotherapy. The structurally unique LOS of the plant pathogen Xcc is incorporated into phospholipid micelles encapsulating iron oxide nanoparticles, producing stable pathogen-mimicking nanostructures suitable for targeting antigen presenting cells in the lymph nodes. The antigen is conjugated via a hydrazone bond, enabling rapid, easy-to-monitor and high-yield antigen ligation at low concentrations. The protective effect of these constructs is investigated against a highly aggressive model for tumor immunotherapy. The results show that the nanovaccines lead to a higher-level antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) effector and memory responses, which when combined with abrogation of the immunosuppressive programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), provide 100% long-term protection against repeated tumor challenge. This nanovaccine platform in combination with checkpoint inhibition of PD-L1 represents a promising approach to improve the cancer immunotherapy of TLR4 agonists
The bifunctional protein GlmU is a key factor in biofilm formation induced by alkylating stress in Mycobacterium smegmatis.
No full textLiving organisms have developed specific defence mechanisms to counteract hostile environmental conditions. Alkylation stress response mechanisms also occur in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) the pathogen responsible for tuberculosis. The effect of alkylating agents on the cellular growth of MTB was investigated using methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) as methyl donor demonstrating that limited doses of alkylating agents might affect MTB cell viability. A global investigation of M. smegmatis response to alkylating stress was then pursued by differential proteomics to identify the most affected cellular pathways. Quantitative analysis of proteomic profiles demonstrated that most of the proteins upregulated in the presence of alkylating agents are involved in biofilm formation and/or cell wall biosynthesis. Tailored experiments confirmed that under stress conditions M. smegmatis elicits physical defence mechanisms by increasing biofilm formation. Among the upregulated proteins, we identified the GlmU bifunctional enzyme as a possible factor involved in biofilm production. Experiments with both conditional deletion and overexpressing glmU mutants demonstrated that down regulation of GlmU decreased M. smegmatis capabilities to produce biofilm whereas overexpression of the enzyme increased biofilm formation. These results were supported by inhibition of GlmU acetyltransferase activity with two different inhibitors, suggesting the involvment of this enzyme in the M. smegmatis defence mechanisms
Ductility capacity assessment of masonry members strengthened with composites
No full textModels able to assess the effects of composite strengthening on masonry structures are worthy of further developments. This is also evident in modern design codes and guidelines where, for the masonry, there is lack of well-established approaches. In fact, most of the strengthening applications on masonry structures are designed based on suggestions by the manufacturers, missing strict and clear calculations. Such an approach leads, very often, to the execution of large and therefore economically demanding strengthening systems, also not encouraging their diffusion. Furthermore, the use of excessive strengthening often involves an excessive, and above all involuntary, reduction of ductility capacity. It needs also further investigation the impact of peculiar behaviors of composites (e.g. up to trilinear stress strain behavior for FRCM) on the flexural response of masonry. In this paper the behavior of strengthened masonry members is analyzed accounting for the variability of mechanical characteristics of both masonry and the strengthening systems. The behavior of the members is analyzed in terms of the moment-curvature relationships. This approach allows to evaluate both the flexural capacity and the ductility capacity of the strengthened masonry sections. In fact, the ductility is a key aspect in the retrofit of masonry structures. Finally, the process of adimensionalization, allows to extend the results to any case, providing a useful tool not only for verification but also for the design of interventions
Mineral characterization of the biogenic Fe(III)(hydr)oxides produced during Fe(II)-driven denitrification with Cu, Ni and Zn
No full textThe recovery of iron and other heavy metals by the formation of Fe(III) (hydr)oxides is an important application
of microbially-driven processes. The mineral characterization of the precipitates formed during Fe(II)-mediated
autotrophic denitrification with and without the addition of Cu, Ni, and Zn by four different microbial cultures
was investigated by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy equipped
with energy dispersive X-Ray analyzer (SEM-EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray
Powder Diffraction (XRD) analyses. Fe(II)-mediated autotrophic denitrification resulted in the formation of a
mixture of Fe(III) (hydr)oxides composed of amorphous phase, poorly crystalline (ferrihydrite) and crystalline
phases (hematite, akaganeite and maghemite). The use of a Thiobacillus-dominated mixed culture enhanced
the formation of akaganeite, while activated sludge enrichment and the two pure cultures of T. denitrificans
and Pseudogulbenkiania strain 2002 mainly resulted in the formation of maghemite. The addition of Cu, Ni and
Zn led to similar Fe(III) (hydr)oxides precipitates, probably due to the low metal concentrations. However,
supplementing Ni and Zn slightly stimulated the formation of maghemite. A thermal post-treatment performed
at 650 °C enhanced the crystallinity of the precipitates and favored the formation of hematite and some other
crystalline forms of Fe associated with P, Na and Ca
Diversity of dermal fibroblasts as major determinant of variability in cell reprogramming
No full textInstagram as a Pedagogical Tool to Enhance Undergraduate Students’ Critical Thinking on Specialized Knowledge: A Qualitative Experiment
No full textSocial media have become part of students’ daily routines. Using social media for educational purposes can be attractive, given that it is becoming more and more difficult to engage new generations with traditional teaching techniques and methodologies.
Following social semiotic studies of social media (Jones 2009; Adami 2014; Zappavigna 2013, 2016; Zhao / Zappavigna 2017), this paper describes a qualitative and empirical study aimed at exploring how university students can improve their critical thinking on specialized knowledge via social media.
As Instagram is one of the most popular sharing devices in the word, in particular among young generations, a four-month experiment was conducted on 130 undergraduate students from the University of Naples “L’Orientale” (Italy). The study aims at verifying whether the use of Instagram in class can affect students’ learning process and improve their critical skills of specialized discourses and whether this platform can be exploited as a pedagogical tool to apply the theoretical concepts discussed in class.
Academic implications of including Instagram in undergraduate English language curricula are explored, and entail suggestions for using social media to enhance skills in English and thematic development such as the language of advertising and tourism, apart from challenging learners creatively by using the theoretical frameworks studied in class