48 research outputs found
Long-term maintenance of dried acellular matrices
No full text[EN] Dried and sterile acellular esophageal matrix was obtained within a new drying process based on the use of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2). Experiments were performed coupling a conventional detergent enzymatic treatment with two different drying methods: (i) SC-CO2 drying alone; (ii) dehydration in ethanol and a subsequent SC-CO2 drying. Long term preservation was achieved for several months after drying, demonstrating the maintenance of extracellular matrix (ECM) structure, mechanical properties and biocompatibility within cell repopulation studies in vitro. Overall, the results highlighted the potential of this novel technology to obtain a dry and sterile acellular matrix that can be easily stored for oesophageal regeneration in patients with emergency need.The research leading to these results received funding from Cassa di Risparmio di Trento e Rovereto (CaRiTRo) within the research project "Supercritical decellularization of engineered tissues for clinical application", biomedical science section, 2013. We thanks Lorenza Lazzari for the donation of BM-MSCs from the Cell Factory Bank (Milan-Italy).Zambon, A.; Giobbe, G.; Vetralla, M.; Michelino, F.; Urbani, L.; Pantano, M.; Pugno, N.... (2018). Long-term maintenance of dried acellular matrices. En IDS 2018. 21st International Drying Symposium Proceedings. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1091-1097. https://doi.org/10.4995/IDS2018.2018.7844OCS1091109
High power ultrasound combined with supercritical carbon dioxide for the drying and microbial inactivation of coriander
No full textThis work explores the use of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) drying in combination with High Power Ultrasound (HPU) to enhance both the dehydration efficiency and the microbial inactivation on coriander leaves. ScCO2 drying process alone was compared with a combined drying process (HPU + scCO2) at different powers (10, 40 and 80 W), different drying times (up to 90 min) and two process temperatures (40 and 50 °C). At the most effective condition tested (40 W; 10 MPa; 40 °C), mesophilic bacteria were reduced up to 4 Log, mesophilic spores up to 1 Log, while yeast and molds were never detected (< 2 log CFU/g). 40 W was identified as the threshold HPU value to achieve a beneficial effect on mesophilic bacterial spores reduction. Besides, the use of HPU enhanced the water loss and lowered the water activity of the samples, compared to the ones processed with scCO2 alone. The appearance and color of the dried samples did not show significant differences after the
two processes. Overall, HPU + scCO2 process resulted a promising technology to enhance both the dehydration and microbial inactivation efficiency compared to scCO2 drying alone
In situ Raman-analysis of supercritical carbon dioxide drying applied to acellular esophageal matrix
No full textSupercritical (SC) carbon dioxide (CO2) drying has shown potential interest on the production of dry decellularized extracellular matrices for tissue engineering. This work explores the feasibility of Raman spectroscopy as in situ analysis for the SC-CO2 drying monitoring of a decellularized esophagus. Esophagus tissue was dried within an optical accessible high pressure CO2 dryer while the Raman signals of the wet tissue were excited at 785 nm.
Two different experimental procedures were explored: i) single step process (SC-CO2 drying alone) and ii) two steps process (water exchange by ethanol followed by SC-CO2 drying). The quantification of the removal of water or ethanol from the tissue during the drying was obtained evaluating the variation of the Raman signal intensity ratio during time. The measurement of water or ethanol removal curves during the drying process can be easily/successfully exploited for the in situ monitoring of the drying process of a general matrix/tissue
El proceso civil de "civil law": Aspectos fundamentales
No full textEn este artículo el autor analiza los sistemas procesales civiles de civil law y de common law desmarcándose de las tradicionales contraposiciones que la doctrina ha acostumbrado utilizar para la explicación de las diferencias fundamentales existentes entre uno y otro modelo. En efecto, a partir de la constatación de la insuficiencia y en ocasiones inutilidad de estas explicaciones para describir la situación actual de ambos modelos procesales, ensaya el autor un discurso que termina por dar luz a la evolución experimentada por estos sistemas y que, como bien apunta, se ha traducido en un acercamiento que se manifiesta de diversas formas como se ocupa de explicarIn this article the author analyses the procedural law systems of civil law and common law outlining the traditional objections that the doctrine is accustomed to using to explain the existing fundamental differences between one and the other model. In fact, it is from the constatation of the insufficiency and, in occasion the uselessness of these explanations in describing the actual situation of both procedural models, that the author attempts a discourse that in the end sheds light on the evolution experienced by these systems and, as he clearly indicates, has translated into an approximation that manifests in different form
Microbial inactivation efficiency of supercritical CO2 drying process
No full textConventional drying of spices, as hot air treatment, often needs an additional downstream inactivation step to decrease the microbial load of the dried product and improve its microbial safety and microbial quality. In this regard, the present work explored the possibility to dry and decontaminate food in a single step using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO(2)) as a drying agent. A case study was focused on the drying of herbs and the antimicrobial effects were evaluated on the naturally present microbiota. For this purpose, experiments were carried out on coriander leaves using a high pressure vessel at 10 MPa, at two different temperatures (40 and 50 degrees C) with drying time of 0 and 150 min to establish the influence of each parameter on the microbial inactivation. Yeasts and molds appeared to be the least resistant to scCO(2) as they could never be detected after the treatment (<2 log CFU/g). Mesophilic bacteria were also significantly reduced, up to 4 log CFU/g, but remained above the limit of quantification. The quality of the dried product was comparable with the quality of air-dried samples in terms of phenolic constituents. Overall, the results indicated that scCO(2) drying was a promising green drying technique combining both drying and microbial inactivation in a single step with a relevant impact on safety and costs
Un nuovo capitolo per la committenza di Filippo Maria Visconti: la cappella di San Martino in Sant’Eustorgio a Milano
No full textStarting from the investigation of the most ancient sources concerning the basilica of Sant’Eustorgio, the article casts light on the historical problems of the patronage of the chapel between the Torriani and Visconti families and focuses on its transfer from Duke Filippo Maria to Giorgio Aicardi.
During the dissertation it is revealed how the initiative of the fifteenth century re-qualification of the sacellum should be plausibly collocated within the ambit of Filippo Maria’s commissions and that it should be related particularly to the Duke’s interest in the church of Sant’Eustorgio in the early twenties of the Quattrocento and in 1438.
This proposal dovetails with the iconographic and stylistic elements of the paintings. Thanks also to the valuable support from old photographic campaigns it has indeed been possible to put forward suggestions to identify each saint depicted on the vault. Furthermore, the examination of important Dominican historical sources, of the early episodes of saint Catherine of Siena’s veneration and of the stigmata controversy arisen at the end of the fourteenth century between the Dominican and the Franciscan order, has allowed the problematic issue of the dating of the cycle that was raised by Maria Luisa Gatti Perer to be solved. Special attention is paid to the damsel represented alongside Mark the Evangelist, so far always interpreted as Bianca Maria Visconti and whose identity here instead goes through a different proposal recognizing her as the link in a series of Visconti’s heraldic representations.
Concerning the style, on the strong substratum of Michelino da Besozzo’s features, it is possible to notice the simultaneous presence of two artistic patterns that would thus reveal a choral work, the former softer and more conventional, the latter akin to the distinctive touch of the subsequent activity of Cristoforo Moretti
In Situ Raman Analysis of CO2-Assisted Drying of Fruit-Slices
No full textThis work explores the feasibility of applying in situ Raman spectroscopy for the online monitoring of the supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) drying of fruits. Specifically, we investigate two types of fruits: mango and persimmon. The drying experiments were carried out inside an optical accessible vessel at 10 MPa and 313 K. The Raman spectra reveal: (i) the reduction of the water from the fruit slice and (ii) the change of the fruit matrix structure during the drying process. Two different Raman excitation wavelengths were compared: 532 nm and 785 nm. With respect to the quality of the obtained spectra, the 532 nm excitation wavelength was superior due to a higher signal-to-noise ratio and due to a resonant excitation scheme of the carotenoid molecules. It was found that the absorption of CO2 into the fruit matrix enhances the extraction of water, which was expressed by the obtained drying kinetic curve
Endocrine therapy in premenopausal women with breast cancer: a critical appraisal of current evidence
No full textNearly 60% of all breast cancer premenopausal women are diagnosed with a hormone receptor positive tumor and, therefore, are candidates for adjuvant hormonal therapy. Treatment with tamoxifen for at least 5 years has been for a long time the standard of care, as it is associated with overall positive clinical outcomes. However, in the last decade, a number of studies on adjuvant endocrine therapy in premenopausal women with hormone receptor positive breast cancer have been published, adding a bulk of evidence to existing knowledge in this field. A critical appraisal of their results appears necessary in order to put the recently collected data into the current framework of treatment, and to discuss the several issues that remain open. Here, we review the most recent evidence on the following: the optimal duration of tamoxifen treatment, results of the studies comparing tamoxifen alone to tamoxifen plus ovarian function suppression (OFS), results of the studies comparing tamoxifen plus OFS to aromatase inhibitors plus OFS
