620 research outputs found
Iron oxide nanoparticles: a platform for biomolecule conjugation
No full textAmong the nanomaterials, of great interest are iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs), which possess unique magnetic properties, low toxicity and high biocompatibility. For these reason, IONPs are widely used in industrial and biomedical field. Here, IONPs were synthetized via co-precipitation method, obtaining NPs reproducible in shape and size distribution. First, IONPs were used as a platform for the conjugation of two thermophilic enzymes, L-aspartate oxidase and amylase to obtain an effective biocatalyst. Different binding strategies were studied leading to different enzymatic activity due to the different orientations and stretching of the proteins. Next, the NP-enzyme systems were nanoactuated by an alternate magnetic field (AMF) without increasing the overall temperature of the solution. Remarkably, the nano-systems were successfully reused for at three consecutive cycles of AMF with the loss of the 40% of the initial activity. IONPs were also used developed a nano-antibiotic system, using teicoplanin. The antimicrobial efficacy of NP-TEICO was assessed through classical microbiological methods and morphological studies. Results indicate that teicoplanin conjugation confers high and prolonged antimicrobial activity to IONPs toward Gram-positive bacteria, inhibiting also S. aureus biofilm formation, while no antimicrobial activity was detectable towards Gramnegative. Additionally, conjugation of teicoplanin improved the cytocompatibility of IONPs towards two human cell lines. To conclude, IONPs were successfully synthetized, functionalized and employed as a platform for biomolecules conjugation. Indeed two effective different nano-biocatalysts and a nano-antibiotic were obtained
Rezension zu: Ilaria Bignamini/Clare Hornsby, Digging and Dealing in Eighteenth-Century Rome. With additional research by Irma Della Giovampaola and Jonathan Yarker (New Haven and London 2010)
No full textA nanoparticle-L-aspartate oxidase system for D-aspartate production
No full textL-Aspartate oxidase (LASPO) performs the stereospecific oxidative deamination of L-aspartic acid to oxalacetate, ammonia and hydrogen peroxide [1]. LASPO from the thermophilic microorganism Solfolobus tokodaii (StLASPO) possesses very distinctive features that makes it very attractive for biotechnological applications: in particular, it can be used for the production of D-aspartate from a racemic mixture of D,L-aspartate, a molecule employed in the pharmaceutical industry, for parenteral nutrition, as food additive and in sweetener manufacturing [2]. Here, we present the StLASPO conjugation on iron oxide nanoparticles (NP-LASPO) using 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide and hydroxysuccinimide as cross-linking agents. This system presents a better pH and thermal stability than the free enzyme. Indeed, it was used for five times reaching the full L-aspartate conversion with an easy recovery after every cycle. The NP-LASPO system yielded a productivity in terms of L-aspartate conversion that is comparable to the one obtained with the free enzyme or with the enzyme immobilized on classical chromatographic supports. These results indicate that the NP-LASPO system has promising industrial applications [3].
This work is supported by Consorzio Interuniversitario per le Biotecnologie. I. A. is a student of the “Biotechnology, Biosciences and Surgical Technology” PhD course at Università degli studi dell’Insubria.
References:
1. Tedeschi G et al., L-aspartate oxidase from Escherichia coli, European Journal of Biochemistry 1996; 239(2): 427-433.
2. Pollegioni L et al., L-Amino acid oxidase as biocatalyst: A dream too far?, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 2013; 97 (21): 9323–9341.
3. Armenia I et al., L-aspartate oxidase magnetic nanoparticles: synthesis, characterization and L-aspartate bioconversion, RSC Advances 2017; 7 (34): 21136-21143
Data of cost-optimal solutions and retrofit design methods for school renovation in a warm climate
No full textAbstract"Efficient Solutions and Cost-Optimal Analysis for Existing School Buildings" (Paolo Maria Congedo, Delia D’Agostino, Cristina Baglivo, Giuliano Tornese, Ilaria Zacà) [1] is the paper that refers to this article. It reports the data related to the establishment of several variants of energy efficient retrofit measures selected for two existing school buildings located in the Mediterranean area. In compliance with the cost-optimal analysis described in the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and its guidelines (EU, Directive, EU 244,) [2,3], these data are useful for the integration of renewable energy sources and high performance technical systems for school renovation. The data of cost-efficient high performance solutions are provided in tables that are explained within the following sections.The data focus on the describe school refurbishment sector to which European policies and investments are directed. A methodological approach already used in previous studies about new buildings is followed (Baglivo Cristina, Congedo Paolo Maria, D׳Agostino Delia, Zacà Ilaria, 2015; IlariaZacà, Delia D’Agostino, Paolo Maria Congedo, Cristina Baglivo; Baglivo Cristina, Congedo Paolo Maria, D’Agostino Delia, Zacà Ilaria, 2015; Ilaria Zacà, Delia D’Agostino, Paolo Maria Congedo, Cristina Baglivo, 2015; Paolo Maria Congedo, Cristina Baglivo, IlariaZacà, Delia D’Agostino,2015) [4–8]. The files give the cost-optimal solutions for a kindergarten (REF1) and a nursery (REF2) school located in Sanarica and Squinzano (province of Lecce Southern Italy). The two reference buildings differ for construction period, materials and systems.The eleven tables provided contain data about the localization of the buildings, geometrical features and thermal properties of the envelope, as well as the energy efficiency measures related to walls, windows, heating, cooling, dhw and renewables. Output values of energy consumption, gas emission and costs are given for a financial and a macro-economic analysis.This data article provides 288 and 96 combinations for REF1 and REF2, respectively. The output values are obtained using the software ProCasaClima 2015v.2.0
Author Correction: Gluten consumption and inflammation affect the development of celiac disease in at-risk children
No full textThe original version of this Article contained an error in the spelling of the authors Renata Auricchio, Ilaria Calabrese, Martina Galatola, Donatella Cielo, Fortunata Carbone, Marianna Mancuso, Giuseppe Matarese, Riccardo Troncone, Salvatore Auricchio & Luigi Greco which were incorrectly given as Auricchio Renata, Calabrese Ilaria, Galatola Martina, Cielo Donatella, Carbone Fortunata, Mancuso Marianna, Matarese Giuseppe, Troncone Riccardo, Auricchio Salvatore & Greco Luigi. The original article has been corrected
Antibiofilm Activity of Combretum micranthum G. Don Catechin–Sugar Phytocomplex on Pseudomonas aeruginosa
No full textClinicians often have to face infections caused by microorganisms that are difficult to eradicate due to their resistance and/or tolerance to antimicrobials. Among these pathogens, Pseu- domonas aeruginosa causes chronic infections due to its ability to form biofilms on medical devices, skin wounds, ulcers and the lungs of patients with Cystic Fibrosis. In this scenario, the plant world represents an important reservoir of natural compounds with antimicrobial and/or antibiofilm properties. In this study, an extract from the leaves of Combretum micranthum G. Don, named Cm4-p, which was previously investigated for its antimicrobial activities, was assayed for its capacity to inhibit biofilm formation and/or to eradicate formed biofilms. The model strain P. aeruginosa PAO1 and its isogenic biofilm hyperproducer derivative B13 were treated with Cm4-p. Preliminary IR, UV-vis, NMR, and mass spectrometry analyses showed that the extract was mainly composed of catechins bearing different sugar moieties. The phytocomplex (3 g/L) inhibited the biofilm formation of both the PAO1 and B13 strains in a significant manner. In light of the obtained results, Cm4-p deserves deeper investigations of its potential in the antimicrobial field
Environmental policies and social impacts. Suggestions from Europeans cities
No full textAre we really sure that green and sustainable are always good for everyone? Ilaria Beretta tries to go beyond the rhetoric of sustainability to understand more deeply the interconnection between economy, society and environment in urban contexts, in the belief that only empirical research and the analysis of data can lead to a correct reading, which is as objective as possible, of the complex reality in which we live. The author, through a comparison between European and U.S. American cities, focuses in particular on policies related to climate change and land use, showing how these, if not properly monitored in their social effects, risk contributing to the tightening of social inequalities, through processes such as ecological and green gentrification. The volume is structured in three parts. In the first section, she illustrates the main European Union’s sustainability and environmental urban policies, focusing on climate change and land use strategies. The second chapter provides a conceptual framework through the environmental justice paradigm, as it applies in Europe and in U.S. Finally, the third chapter offers an empirical analysis of ecological and green gentrification processes, comparing American and European realities, and highlighting how context-specific differences can have profound effects on the manifestation (or not) of these phenomena
El Tlacuache Núm. 458 (2011). 458 Año 11 (2011) marzo. El Tlacuache
No full textReflexiones sobre la migración en la Costa Chica Oaxaqueña Cuando el teléfono suena...por Alejandra A. Ramírez López. -Fronteras Lugares irreales / lugares hiperreales por Ilaria Bologna
Werner Sombart and the global society. Anticipations from a classic author of sociology
No full textThe article examines the most salient works in which the sociologist Werner Sombart saw the dimension of globality as a social element, constitutive of mo- dernity and its future. The aim is to understand the role of globality, as an idea and a phenomenon, in the constitution in all aspects of society (economic, political, cultural, anthropological). The Works to which the article refers show a global society, one that goes from the time of Sombart to the present day, as the author had already envisioned in all their potentialities and criticalities
Self Portrait of an Italian Historian as a Woman on the Train
No full textThirty years on from publication of her first book, and
amidst epoch-making changes to the university system, especially in Italy, the author reconstructs her own intellectual and professional
story. In this ego histoire Ilaria Porciani goes over the milestones and encounters of her working life, as well as some material and institutional career aspects of an Italian woman historian across the turn of the millennium
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