96 research outputs found
Comunità fitoplanctoniche e variabilità ambientale nel mar piccolo di Taranto (mar Ionio)
No full textPhytoplankton assemblages and environmental variability in the Mar Piccolo of Taranto (Southern Italy, Ionian Sea)
No full textVenous thromboembolism in non-small cell lung cancer patients: retrospective analysis of cases treated at the Oncology Day Hospital of Novara, Italy
No full textZero Mile: validation, prototyping and scale up of a system for dishwasher wastewater upcycling
No full textLa crescente richiesta di acqua dolce e il suo massivo consumo, a fronte di una disponibilità limitata, insieme alla consistente produzione di acque reflue che ne riducono la quantità e ne depauperano la qualità rappresentano sfide sociali e ambientali cruciali in tutto il mondo. Date queste sfide, la gestione responsabile delle acque reflue diventa essenziale. Una corretta gestione delle acque reflue, non solo risolve i problemi legati al consumo idrico, ma offre anche possibilità di riciclo e riutilizzo di questa risorsa, aderendo perfettamente al concetto di economia circolare. Le acque reflue degli elettrodomestici, come lavastoviglie e lavatrici, raramente sono considerate una risorsa idrica recuperabile e sfruttabile, sebbene le acque reflue delle lavastoviglie siano ricche di sostanze nutritive (a causa degli avanzi) e contengano bassi livelli di agenti patogeni, metalli pesanti e prodotti farmaceutici. Esse non vengono riutilizzate perché prodotte in piccole quantità e da sorgenti puntiformi. Nell’ambito del progetto The Jetsons’ Kitchen, che si concentra sul riutilizzo e sul riciclo delle acque grigie della cucina, è stato progettato il Sistema Zero Mile dedicato al riuso delle acque reflue delle lavastoviglie. Questo sistema include una lavastoviglie e un orto verticale, che in combinazione consentono di riutilizzare le acque reflue della lavastoviglie sia nel primo risciacquo del successivo ciclo di lavaggio della lavastoviglie, sia nella coltivazione indoor di piante commestibili o ornamentali. Il cuore del Sistema Zero Mile è un biofiltro costituito da un consorzio microbico progettato ad hoc, composto da microrganismi diversi e selezionati per degradare e mineralizzare gli avanzi di cibo. Nello specifico, questo consorzio è composto da due diverse classi di partner microbici: un cianobatterio fotosintetico, filamentoso e azotofissatore (Trichormus variabilis, VRUC168 della Collezione dell'Università di Roma Tor Vergata) e tre ceppi batterici aerobi eterotrofi, isolati dalle acque di scarico di una lavastoviglie. I cianobatteri forniscono ossigeno per le attività catalitiche dei batteri eterotrofi attraverso la fotosintesi, mentre i partner eterotrofi consumano la materia organica, mineralizzando i nutrienti e rilasciando CO2 che a sua volta è utilizzata dai cianobatteri per svolgere l’attività fotosintetica. Questa specifica progettazione conferisce al consorzio proprietà intrinseche che consentono il trattamento biologico delle acque reflue delle lavastoviglie. Il primo studio condotto su questo consorzio ha dimostrato che esso è in grado di vivere e crescere nelle acque reflue delle lavastoviglie riducendone il carico di nutrienti in condizioni di coltura statica in 48 ore. Questo progetto di dottorato industriale è stato dunque dedicato a valutare la robustezza e l’efficienza del consorzio microbico ampliandone progressivamente la scala dal livello di laboratorio a una analoga a quella operativa reale. Simultaneamente, la ricerca è stata svolta oltre che dal punto di vista biologico anche da quello progettuale, in un approccio multidisciplinare. Inizialmente, il progetto si è concentrato sull'eco-fisiologia del consorzio per determinare e ottimizzare le migliori condizioni abiotiche per la sua crescita. Successivamente, è stata valutata la sopravvivenza del consorzio in varie condizioni operative, modificando la fonte di acqua, la lavastoviglie e il detersivo biodegradabile, rispetto al primo studio. Le impostazioni sperimentali sono state poi i) gradualmente modificate per simulare le condizioni operative del Sistema Zero Mile, che implicano l'immissione regolare 3 di acqua reflua nel biofiltro, e ii) progressivamente aumentate di volume per raggiungere condizioni di utilizzo realistiche, da piccoli test di laboratorio al volume totale di refluo scaricato dalla lavastoviglie. È stata valutata anche l'efficienza del consorzio nella rimozione di nutrienti, in particolare azoto e fosforo, alle varie scale sperimentali: l’efficacia del riciclo delle acque reflue biorimediate è tale che possono essere utilmente utilizzate per l’irrigazione di piante commestibili. Quest’ultima fase, integrando la gestione delle acque reflue delle lavastoviglie con la produzione di cibo, realizza il concetto di economia circolare e colloca perfettamente il progetto nel quadro dello sviluppo sostenibile previsto dall’Agenda 2030 (Goal #6 Acqua pulita e Igiene). I risultati biologici hanno offerto spunti cruciali per la progettazione del contenitore del biofiltro, che ospita il consorzio microbico, e dell’intero Sistema Zero Mile.The growing demand of fresh water and its huge consumption, despite its limited availability, along with
the important production of wastewater, represent critical social and environmental challenges worldwide.
Given these challenges, responsible wastewater management becomes essential. Properly managed
wastewater not only addresses water consumption issues, but also opens up possibilities for its recycling
and reuse, in the framework of circular economy.
Wastewater from domestic appliances, such as dishwashers and washing machines, is rarely considered a
recoverable and exploitable water resource. Although dishwasher wastewater is nutrient-rich (due to
leftovers) and have low levels of pathogens, heavy metals, and pharmaceuticals, it is not reused because it
is produced in small amounts and from point sources.
Within the framework of The Jetsons’ Kitchen project, which focuses on reusing and upcycling kitchen
greywaters, starting with dishwasher wastewater, the Zero Mile System was designed. It is a dishwasherintegrated system with an indoor vertical garden, which allows to reuse dishwasher wastewaters both in the
following first dishwasher rinsing and in the indoor cultivation of edible or ornamental plants.
The core of the Zero-Mile system is a biofilter that contains an ad hoc engineered microbial consortium
composed by selected different microorganisms able to process and mineralize the food leftovers.
Specifically, this consortium consists of two different microbial partners: a photosynthetic, filamentous,
and nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium (Trichormus variabilis, VRUC168 from the Tor Vergata Rome
University Collection) and three heterotrophic aerobic bacterial strains, isolated from a dishwasher
wastewater. The cyanobacteria provide oxygen for the catalytic activities of the heterotrophic bacteria
through photosynthesis, while the heterotrophic partners consume the organic matter, mineralizing
nutrients and releasing CO2 that, in turn, is used by the cyanobacteria for its photosynthetic activity. This
specific microbial engineering gives the consortium intrinsic properties for the bioprocessing of dishwasher
wastewater. The first study on this consortium showed that it can thrive in raw dishwasher wastewater and
reduce its nutrient load under batch conditions in 48 hours.
This industrial PhD project was dedicated to evaluate the robustness and efficiency of the microbial
consortium while it was progressively scaled up from laboratory-level to a real operational scale. The
research was conducted simultaneously from both the biological and design perspective, combining a
multidisciplinary approach.
Initially, the project focused on the eco-physiology of the consortium, to determine and optimize the best
abiotic conditions for its growth. Subsequently, the consortium's survival under different operational
conditions was evaluated by changing tap water, dishwasher machine, and biodegradable detergent,
compared to the previous study. The experimental settings were i) gradually modified to simulate the Zero
Mile operational conditions, which imply the regular input of wastewater into the biofilter, and ii)
progressively scaled up to achieve realistic operative conditions, from small lab-batches to the total volume
of discharged dishwasher wastewater.
The project's later stages focused on evaluating the efficiency of bioremediation in nutrient removal,
particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, across the various experimental conditions. Lastly, the bioremediated
wastewater was successfully utilised in edible plants watering.
This last point, integrating the dishwasher wastewater management with the food production, framed the
project in the circular economy and sustainable development framework as focused by the Agenda 2030
(Goal #6 Clean water and Sanitation).
The biological findings offered crucial insights into the design of the biofilter container, which includes the
microbial consortium, and the entire Zero Mile System
Preliminary Results of a Phase II Study with Gemcitabine and Continuous Infusion 5FU in Patients with Advanced or Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer
No full textPTEN deficiency and mutant p53 confer glucose-addiction to thyroid cancer cells: impact of glucose depletion on cell proliferation, cell survival, autophagy and cell migration
No full textProliferating cancer cells oxidize glucose through the glycolytic pathway. Since this metabolism is less profitable in terms of ATP production, cancer cells consume large quantity of glucose, and those that experience insufficient blood supply become glucose-addicted. We have analyzed the response to glucose depletion in WRO and FTC133 follicular thyroid cancer cells, which differ in the expression of two key regulators of the glucose metabolism. WRO cells, which express wild type p53 and PTEN, showed a higher rate of cell proliferation and were much less sensitive to glucose-depletion than FTC133 cells, which are PTEN null and express mutant p53. Glucose depletion slowed-down the autophagy flux in FTC133 cells, not in WRO cells. In a wound-healing assay, WRO cells were shown to migrate faster than FTC133 cells. Glucose depletion slowed down the cell migration rate, and these effects were more evident in FTC133 cells. Genetic silencing of either wild-type PTEN or p53 in WRO cells resulted in increased uptake of glucose, whereas the ectopic expression of PTEN in FTC133 cells resulted in diminished glucose uptake. In conclusion, compared to WRO, FTC133 cells were higher glucose up-taker and consumer. These data do not support the general contention that cancer cells lacking PTEN or expressing the mutant p53R273H are more aggressive and prone to better face glucose depletion. We propose that concurrent PTEN deficiency and mutant p53 leads to a glucoseaddiction state that renders the cancer cell more sensitive to glucose restriction. The present observation substantiates the view that glucose-restriction may be an adjuvant strategy to combat these tumours
The role of haemoglobin level in predicting the response to first-line chemotherapy in advanced colorectal cancer patients
No full textThe purpose of the study was to evaluate the influence of baseline haemoglobin level in predicting response to 5-fluorouracil (5FU)-based first-line chemotherapy in advanced colorectal cancer patients. Data from 631 patients were collected from three different institutions. Globally, overall response rate was 35.8% (226 out of 631). Factors influencing response rate were 5FU dose intensity (high: 43.1%, low: 34.0%, P = 0.03); oxaliplatin (yes: 45.8%, no: 22.9%, P or = 12 g dl(-1): 40.4%, < 12 g dl(-1): 29.2%, P = 0.004). In subgroup analysis significant differences in response rate between anaemic and nonanaemic patients were recorded in those patients treated with infusional chemotherapies (45.7 vs 25.5%, P < 0.0001), with high 5FU dose intensity (50.3 vs 32.7%, P = 0.005), with PS = 0 (49.8 vs 37.9%, P = 0.03), and with liver metastases (44.8 vs 33.8%, P = 0.002), whereas no difference was evident in those subjects treated with bolus schedules or according to gender. Anaemia was a strong predictor for activity of first-line 5FU-based chemotherapy especially in those groups that showed the best responses, for example high performance status, infusionally treated, higher 5FU dose and those with liver secondaries. Patients with higher haemoglobin levels recorded a greater response rate and a longer time to progression and survival than anaemic subjects. Prospective evaluation of role of correcting anaemia on response to therapy is justified by these results
THE ROLE OF HEMOGLOBIN LEVEL IN PREDICTING THE RESPONSE TO FIRST-LINE CHEMOTHERAPY IN ADVANCED COLORECTAL CANCER (ACC) PATIENTS
No full textBackground: Several in vitro studies showed that colorectal cancer cells responding to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) become resistant under hypoxic conditions. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that tumoral tissues are hypoxic in anemic pts. We investigated the impact of hemoglobin levels in predicting response to first-line chemotherapy in
ACC patients.
Methods: We collected data from 394 consecutive patients treated and followed in two centers from 1994 to 2003. Two hundred and forty-five pts were men and 149 women. Median age: 61 years (29–80); WHO performance status (PS) 0/I/II: 279/90/25 pts; number of organs involved 1/2/3: 267/104/23 pts; metastases (mts) in liver were evident in 71% pts; mts in lung in 28% pts; mts in peritoneum in 19% pts; prior adjuvant chemotherapy was administered in 30% pts. All pts were submitted to 5-FU-based first-line chemotherapy. 184 pts received 5-FU ± folinic acid (FA); 195 pts received 5-FU + LOHP ± FA; 15 pts received 5-FU + CPT-11 ± FA. Hemoglobin levels were evaluated before chemotherapy start. Pts with hemoglobin
< 12 g/dl were considered anemic. Response was evaluated every three cycles with CT scan.
Results: Clinical response (CR + PR) was recorded in 136 pts 34.6%), stable disease in 155 (39.9%) and progression in 103 (26.5%). At baseline, 170 pts (43.1%) were anemic. 45/170 anemic pts (26.5%) and 91/224 non-anemic pts (40.6%) responded to chemotherapy (x2 = 8.57; P < 0.003). Anemia maintained its predictive role for disease response even after adjusting for PS, grading, T, or age in multivariate logistic analysis. Patients with normal hemoglobin levels showed a longer time to progression (13.0 months versus 10.1; P < 0.002) and a longer survival (27.6 months versus 17.8; P < 0.0001) than anemic ones. Cox’s multivariate survival analysis confirmed hemoglobin level as an independent predictor of time to progression and survival.
Conclusions: Anemia is a strong predictive factor of activity and efficacy of 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy in advanced colorectal cancer patients
Biweekly irinotecan, oxaliplatin, and infusional 5-FU/LV (FOLFOXIRI) versus FOLFIRI as first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (MCRC): Results of a randomized, phase III trial by the Gruppo Oncologico Nord Ovest (G.O.N.O.)
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