119 research outputs found
Dataset for "Dielectric characterization of Plasmodium falciparum infected red blood cells using microfluidic impedance cytometry" article
No full textThe dataset contains the experimental data and Matlab codes needed to generate the figures of the article 'Dielectric characterization of Plasmodium falciparum infected red blood cells using microfluidic impedance cytometry' by C. Honrado, L. Ciuffreda, D. Spencer, L. Ranford-Cartwright and H. Morgan in Royal Society Interface.</span
Peroxynitrite production and NOS expression in astrocytes U373 incubated with lipoproteins from Alzheimer patients.
No full textSynthesis of modified purine nucleosides and related compounds mediated by adenosine deaminase (ADA) and adenylate deaminase (AMPDA)
No full textAdenosine deaminase (ADA) and adenylic acid deaminase (AMPDA) are enzymes that catalyze the hydrolytic deamination of various purine nucleosides. In light of recent reports, ADA and AMPDA may be considered as valuable biocatalysts in nucleoside chemistry. Here, they can find many synthetic applications in the transformation of purine nucleosides that are modified in the base or the ribose moiety. Their use can be extended to carbocyclonucleosides or acyclonucleosides as well
Updates on medically assisted suicide in Italy: Approval of first regional law in February 2025
No full text: In Italy, the issue of medically assisted suicide is addressed by the sentence number 242 of the Constitutional Court (22nd November 2019). Further indications of organisational nature are needed, which are under the responsibility of the Italian Parliament and each regional health administration. Recently, the sentence number 135 of the Constitutional Court (1st July 2024) has provided further specifications regarding 'life-support treatment', which still remains controversial. Regional differences in Italy regarding medically assisted suicide are reported in this article, showing that, on the date of 11th February 2025, Tuscany is the first and only Italian region to have passed a regional law on medically assisted suicide. One possible approach to discussion and management of this sensitive and controversial issue could be cooperative forms of regionalism while waiting for a national law. To date, after the first Italian case, which refers to Marche region and occurred on 16th June 2022 (Federico Carboni, also known as 'Mario'), four more individuals in Italy have resorted to medically assisted suicide: 'Gloria' in Veneto, 'Anna' in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, a man in Emilia Romagna, and 'Vittoria' in Veneto. It is hoped that a national law will be approved soon, as strongly urged by the Constitutional Court; if not, efforts should be made to identify and implement shared and standardised procedures throughout the Italian territory, encouraging cooperative forms of regionalism. This would allow patients to know that the request is followed by unambiguous responses from the authorities, within a reasonable time
Dielectric characterization of Plasmodium falciparum infected red blood cells using microfluidic impedance cytometry
No full textAlthough malaria is the world’s most life-threatening parasitic disease, there is no clear understanding of how certain biophysical properties of infected cells change during the malaria infection cycle. In this article, we use microfluidic impedance cytometry to measure the dielectric properties of Plasmodium falciparum-infected red blood cells (i-RBCs) at specific time-points during the infection cycle. Individual parasites were identified within i-RBCs using Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) emission. The dielectric properties of cell sub-populations were determined using the multi-shell model. Analysis showed that the membrane capacitance and cytoplasmic conductivity of i-RBCs increased along the infection time-course, due to membrane alterations caused by parasite infection. The volume ratio occupied by the parasite was estimated to vary from <10% at earlier stages, to ~90% at later stages. This knowledge could be used to develop new label-free cell sorting techniques for sample pre-enrichment, improving diagnosis
Selective lipase-catalyzed preparation of diol monobenzoates by transesterification and alcoholysis reactions in organic solvents
No full textLipases from Mucor miehei (MML) and Candida antarctica (CAL) are able to catalyze the monobenzoylation of the primary hydroxy group of 1,2- 1,4- or 1,5-diols with vinyl benzoate in an organic solvent, the reaction proceeding with high regioselectivity and moderate enantioselectivity. The lipase-catalyzed debenzoylation of 1,2-propanediol dibenzoate by alcoholysis with I-octanol most satisfactorily occurred with Pseudomonas cepacia lipase absorbed onto celite that allowed also to prepare (R)-1-benzoyloxy-2-methylpropan-3-ol from 2-methyl-1,3-propanediol dibenzoate, a result complementary to MML-catalyzed benzoylation of 2-methyl-1,3-propanediol that affords the (S)-monobenzoate
Development of a Sensor-Based Ecosystem for Measuring Comfort and Activities in a Multi-Resident Context: the Age-SenseAI Project
No full textThe aging population is rapidly growing, increasing the demand for innovative solutions to support elderly individuals while minimizing the burden on caregivers. This paper presents the Age-SenseAI project, a novel measurement ecosystem designed to monitor comfort and activities in multi-resident environments. The system integrates a network of non-invasive environmental and physiological sensors, combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data fusion techniques, to assess daily activities, indoor comfort, and potential health risks. A co-design approach involving professionals was adopted to define technical requirements, ensuring compliance and ethical considerations. The proposed sensor network collects real-Time data, enabling personalized comfort assessments and detection of behaviour. Two primary use cases were developed: Activity recognition in multi-resident contexts and indoor comfort assessment, integrating both objective environmental parameters and subjective user feedback. The architecture leverages cloud-based processing and AI-driven analytics to provide real-Time insights and adaptive control mechanisms, enhancing elderly autonomy and safety. Future research will focus on improving personalization, deep learning models, and validating the ecosystem in real-world multi-resident scenarios. The Age-SenseAI project represents a significant step toward scalable, intelligent monitoring solutions for elderly care
Scenari australiani, scenari di mondi: The Great World di David Malouf
No full textSe esistono un Vecchio ed un Nuovo Continente, che collocazione può trovarvi l’Australia? L’elaborato intende fornire una lettura su quanto incisive siano la geografia e la storia nel determinare lo sviluppo cognitivo del singolo, nonché la propria ricerca identitaria. “The Great World” di David Malouf, pubblicato nel 1990, sospeso tra storia e poesia, segue il percorso esistenziale dei due protagonisti, la cui vita sarà profondamente segnata dalla Seconda Guerra Mondiale. Qui, il conflitto si configura come il pretesto imprescindibile da cui avviare quella ricerca identitaria che imporrà ai protagonisti continui interrogativi su quale sia il rapporto che essi intrattengono con la realtà che li circonda, e quali siano il posto ed il ruolo che il mondo ha loro affidato. Gli interrogativi si tradurranno in un dialogo tra la propria dimensione interiore e il mondo esterno che li accompagnerà per tutta la vita, trascendendo i confini del tempo e della persona, finendo così per assumere contorni e toni decisamente più universali ed estendibili anche alla collettività. In questo modo, la ricerca identitaria si estende anche al paese, l’Australia, il “Nuovissimo Continente”, la cui identità e coscienza nazionali, nella stessa misura in cui accade per i personaggi del romanzo, vanno delineandosi in funzione di risposte a quegli interrogativi che il mondo e la storia pongono
Biophysical characterisation of P. falciparum infected-red blood cells: consequences for diagnosis
No full textDiagnosis of malaria in asymptomatic individuals is hampered by the lack of tools able to detect very low parasite densities. Microfluidics is emerging as a possible approach to address this issue. In particular, label-free sorting (i.e. exploiting the cell biophysical properties) of P. falciparum-infected red blood cells (iRBCs) from uninfected cells, and subsequent enrichment of parasite-infected RBCs within a blood sample may be an efficient and cost-effective way to increase the sensitivity of available methods used for malaria diagnosis in the field. However, the development of any sorting device based on cell biophysical properties requires a priori knowledge of when the difference in these properties between infected and uninfected RBCs (uRBCs) occurs. By the employment of leading-edge techniques in the field (real-time deformability cytometry (RT-DC) and microfluidic impedance cytometry (MIC)), the mechanical and dielectric properties of infected and uRBCs were studied over the P. falciparum-intraerythrocytic life cycle in vitro. Significant differences in biophysical properties between iRBCs and uRBCs occurred at around 12 hours post-invasion (hpi). Furthermore, the parasite age (defined as hpi) of P. falciparum parasites in vivo was also studied using a newly-developed method. This method applied real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) of three time-specific genes which are differentially expressed over the ring stage of the parasite, the only stage present in the peripheral blood of an infected person. Results obtained from the RT-qPCR analysis of highly synchronised in vitro grown ring-stage parasites at different times post-invasion were used to generate a predictive model which allowed the estimation of parasite ages (hpi). Moreover, discrimination between synchronous (with a single parasite age) or asynchronous (with multiple parasite ages) infections was achieved in naturally infected individuals. This novel method was further utilised to estimate parasite age and synchronicity status in samples from patients with uncomplicated malaria collected in Accra, Ghana. By coupling the results obtained from the study of the biophysical properties in vitro and parasite ages in vivo it was possible to determine the potential of mechanical and dielectric properties for label-free sorting of P. falciparum-infected and uninfected RBCs
Risk and protective factors of quality of life for children with autism spectrum disorder and their families during the COVID-19 lockdown. An Italian study
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