Explore the vast range of titles available.

This paper aims to investigate the dielectric properties of blood for tumor detection and staging. The application of complex thermodynamic models and the study of the trend over time of some thermodynamic functions have allowed us to highlight the generation of displacement currents caused by changes in charge, i.e., by the activation and consequent accumulation of platelets on migrating tumor cells. Although few studies exist to date in this regard, the technique used has provided promising results, especially in terms of building a database. In this context, the evaluation of the dielectric parameters of healthy and cancerous blood can be exploited for the staging of cancer. The main advantages of this method include easy application, non-invasiveness, low cost, and online monitoring.

Molecules of the plant world are proving their effectiveness in countering, slowing down, and regressing many diseases. The resveratrol for its intrinsic properties related to its stilbene structure has been proven to be a universal panacea, especially for a wide range of neurodegenerative diseases. This paper evaluates (in vivo and in vitro) the various molecular targets of this peculiar polyphenol and its ability to effectively counter several neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s diseases and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. What emerges is that, in the deep heterogeneity of the pathologies evaluated, resveratrol through a convergence on the protein targets is able to give therapeutic responses in neuronal cells deeply diversified not only in morphological structure but especially in their function performed in the anatomical district to which they belong.

Over the years, neurons undergo functional changes initially linked to the maturation of the brain and then are progressively linked to normal aging. The curious relationship between brain decay, aging, and neuronal diseases has aroused the interest of numerous studies to better understand and contrast the evolution of these pathologies. The objective of this research is to apply the non-equilibrium thermodynamic theory with the internal variables of the study of the rheological properties of the brain, focusing on the study of viscoelastic properties. After a thermodynamic introduction of the principal rheological phenomena, this paper discusses the results by the application of our mathematical technique, which revealed a prevalence of anelastic properties in the old central nervous system compared to the young one. Furthermore, the entropy production trend tested identifies a greater disorder in the young brain in respect to the old one. The results obtained highlight that a lower stiffness in the old central nervous system may be interpreted with dendritic regression associated with neuronal death, both being potential consequences of an increased production of free radicals due to reduced antioxidant defenses and/or an altered mitochondrial dysfunction in aging.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited hemoglobin disorder that is widespread across the globe. It is characterized by a very complex pathogenesis, but at the basis of the disease is the mutation of the HBB gene, which determines the production of a mutated hemoglobin: sickle cell hemoglobin (HbS). The polymerization of HbS, which occurs when the protein is in a deoxygenated state, and the greater fragility of sickle cell red blood cells (sRBCs) determine the release of iron, free heme, and HbS in the blood, favoring oxidative stress and the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). These features are common to the features of a new model of cell death known as ferroptosis, which is characterized by the increase of iron and ROS concentrations and by the inhibition of glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPx4) and the System Xc−. In this context, this review aims to discuss the potential molecular and biochemical pathways of ferroptosis involved in SCD, aiming to highlight possible tags involved in treating the disease and inhibiting ferroptosis.

Neurodegenerative diseases are a group of diseases that share common features, such as the generation of misfolded protein deposits and increased oxidative stress. Among them, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), whose pathogenesis is still not entirely clear, is a complex neurodegenerative disease linked both to gene mutations affecting different proteins, such as superoxide dismutase 1, Tar DNA binding protein 43, Chromosome 9 open frame 72, and Fused in Sarcoma, and to altered iron homeostasis, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and impaired glutamate metabolism. The purpose of this review is to highlight the molecular targets common to ALS and ferroptosis. Indeed, many pathways implicated in the disease are hallmarks of ferroptosis, a recently discovered type of iron-dependent programmed cell death characterized by increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxidation. Iron accumulation results in mitochondrial dysfunction and increased levels of ROS, lipid peroxidation, and ferroptosis triggers; in addition, the inhibition of the Xc− system results in reduced cystine levels and glutamate accumulation, leading to excitotoxicity and the inhibition of GPx4 synthesis. These results highlight the potential involvement of ferroptosis in ALS, providing new molecular and biochemical targets that could be exploited in the treatment of the disease using polyphenols.

The necessity to produce new biodegradable polymeric materials, to overcome the economic model, based on the linear economy, and to apply the circular economy model is a global problem. As a result, components unutilized derived from industrial processes are becoming increasingly valuable and useful to create new materials. This work focuses on the production of bioplastics based on poly (vinyl) alcohol (PVA) that have been modified with flavonoid fraction, liquid fraction obtained after digestion with cellulase and pectinase, and the solid material remaining after enzyme treatment, obtained from Citrus bergamia by-product (the so-called “pastazzo”). This last one is an almost completely unutilized product, although it is a potential rich source of biological active compounds. Enzymatic and non-enzymatic green extraction protocol have been employed to separate the different fractions and to make it more suitable to functionalize the PVA, suppling new properties to the bioplastics in a dose-dependent manner. Morpho-functional analysis was conducted by SEM, XRD, colorimetry, UV–visible and ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. Regarding optical properties, the obtained results show that transparency of the film in terms of light transmittance (T%) for PVA alone is very high, but when functionalized it had a reduced T%. From the data obtained, the functionalized films acquire antioxidant activity, as well as good mechanical properties, making them good candidates for biodegradable packaging for preserving the shelf life of different fruits and vegetables as confirmed by the food fresh-keeping test performed on apple samples.

Morus alba L. (MA) is a member of the Moraceae family, known as “white mulberry”. Due to the high levels of bioactive compounds, mulberry plants can be considered a good source of nutrients and antioxidant compounds. Our study aims to analyze the effect of MA extract leaves on erythrocytes, focusing on its action on metabolism and membrane integrity. The choice of erythrocytes as a study model is based on their metabolic simplicity and their easy availability. Cell viability, following exposure of the cells to the extract, was evaluated by hemolysis, methemoglobin, caspase 3 activity and flow cytofluorimetric analysis; in addition, the effect of the pretreatment with the MA was detected after incubation of erythrocytes with different stressors. The impact on cell metabolism was evaluated by measuring anion flux kinetics, ATP levels and phosphatase activity. The results obtained show a peculiar (double) effect of the extract, which, on the one hand, probably by exploiting its component with antioxidant properties, protects the cell membrane by accumulating on the bilayer. On the other hand, the alteration of anion exchange could lead to the triggering of apoptosis and consequent cell death. The hypotheses, although excluded by our data, all point toward a beneficial and protective action of the extract on the health and vitality of RBCs.

In recent years, the use of dielectric spectroscopy as an investigation technique to determine the chemical–physical characteristics of biological materials has had a great increase. This study used the non-equilibrium thermodynamics with internal variables theory to test the potential pathological features of lung cancer. After a brief exploration of the dielectric polarization concept highlighting some aspects that were used, some thermodynamic functions were obtained as functions of the frequency, both for lung tumor cells and physiological ones. Variations in the intensity of values but not in the trend of the curves were observed and this was attributed to the perturbing field. The trend of this field explains the behavior of phenomena described by other functions, as related to the frequencies of the perturbing field. Compared to the physiological ones, the cancer cells appeared to be “more predisposed” to conserve their state as characterized by minor entropy production, probably because this helped cells to obtain the required adenosine triphosphate (ATP) from the minimum amount of nutrients.

In this paper, we formulate a thermodynamic model of hemoglobin that describes, by a physical point of view, phenomena favoring the binding of oxygen to the protein. Our study is based on theoretical methods extrapolated by experimental data. After some remarks on the non-equilibrium thermodynamic theory with internal variables, some thermodynamic functions are determined by the value of the complex dielectric constant. In previous papers, we determined the explicit expression of a dielectric constant as a function of a complex dielectric modulus and frequency. The knowledge of these functions allows a new characterization of the material and leads to the study of new phenomena that has yet to be studied. In detail, we introduce the concept of “hemoglobe”, a model that considers the hemoglobin molecule as a plane capacitor, the dielectric of which is almost entirely constituted by the quaternary structure of the protein. This model is suggested by considering a phenomenological coefficient of the non-equilibrium thermodynamic theory related to the displacement polarization current. The comparison of the capacity determined by the mean of this coefficient, and determined by geometrical considerations, gives similar results; although more thermodynamic information is derived by the capacity determined considering the aforementioned coefficient. This was applied to the normal human hemoglobin, homozygous sickle hemoglobin, and sickle cell hemoglobin C disease. Moreover, the energy of the capacitor of the three hemoglobin was determined. Through the identification of displacement currents, the introduction of this model presents new perspectives and helps to explain hemoglobin functionality through a physical point of view.

Dogs, unlike humans, are equipped with a reduced number of sweat glands, which makes it difficult for them to dissipate heat, especially in conditions of intense activity that lead to a significant increase in body temperature. The study aims to investigate the metabolic differences between canine and human red blood cells (RBCs) and the hemoglobin (Hb) functionality focusing on their roles in heat dissipation. In detail, we evaluated the Band 3 protein (AE1) kinetic flux by observing that in canine red blood cells the anion exchange rate is higher than in humans (Rate Constant: 0.0438 min−1 and 0.012 min−1, respectively). Furthermore, we investigated the rate of ATP production and release to evaluate the possible variation of nucleotide concentration in the two species, observing a lower intracellular ATP concentration (101.80 μM and 297.90 μM) but a higher ATP release (3 μM and 2.65 μM) in canine RBCs compared to humans respectively. Subsequently, we evaluated the involvement of canine hemoglobin in heat dispersion; in detail, the ΔH= −5.15 Kcal/mol recorded in dog hemolysate at pH 7.5 shows an exothermic Hb-O2 bond that may be useful for further dispersing heat from the lungs. The peculiar oxygen-binding properties of dog Hb may also promote oxygen release in hyperventilation characterized by alkaline pH.