Anticancer Activity of Two Novel Hydroxylated Biphenyl Compounds toward Malignant Melanoma Cells

Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is still one of the most difficult cancers to treat despite recent advances in targeted and immune therapies. About 50% of advanced melanoma do not benefit of such therapies, and novel treatments are requested. Curcumin and its analogs have shown good anticancer properties and are being considered for use in combination with or sequence to recent therapies to improve patient outcomes. Our group previously published the synthesis and anticancer activity characterization of a novel curcumin-related compound against melanoma and neuroblastoma cells (D6). Here, two hydroxylated biphenyl compounds—namely, compounds 11 and 12—were selected among a small collection of previously screened C2-symmetric hydroxylated biphenyls structurally related to D6 and curcumin, showing the best antitumor potentiality against melanoma cells (IC₅₀ values of 1.7 ± 0.5 μM for 11 and 2.0 ± 0.7 μM for 12) and no toxicity of normal fibroblasts up to 32 µM. Their antiproliferative activity was deeply characterized on five melanoma cell lines by performing dose-response and clonal growth inhibition assays, which revealed long-lasting and irreversible effects for both compounds. Apoptosis induction was ascertained by the annexin V and TUNEL assays, whereas Western blotting showed caspase activation and PARP cleavage. A cell cycle analysis, following cell treatments with either compound 11 or 12, highlighted an arrest in the G2/M transition. Taking all this evidence together, 11 and 12 were shown to be good candidates as lead compounds to develop new anticancer drugs against malignant melanoma.     

Influence of structural properties and kinetic constraints on Bacillus cereus growth

The influence of structural properties and kinetic constraints on the behavior of Bacillus cereus was investigated on agar media. Dimensional criteria were used to study the growth in bacterial colonies. The architecture of the agar gel as modified by the agar content was found to influence the colony size, and smaller colonies were observed on media containing 50 to 70 g of agar liter-1. Except at low nutrient levels, colonies responded to nutrient gradients by decreasing in size the farther away they were from the nutrient source, and the decrease in colony size was influenced by the agar content. The diffusivities of glucose and a protein (insulin-like growth factor) were not affected by the gel architecture, suggesting that other factors, such as mechanical factors, could influence microbial growth in the agar systems used. Increasing the viscosity of the liquid phase of the agar media by adding polyvinylpyrrolidone resulted in a reduction in colony size. When the agar concentration was increased, the colony areas were not influenced by the viscosity of the system.     

Electrochemical behaviour of new cathodic materials usable in lithium batteries: AgBi(CrO4)2 and Bi2O(CrO4)2

An examination of the electrochemical behaviour of two new chromates, AgBi(CrO₄)₂, and Bi₂O(CrO₄)₂, has been investigated with experimental thin electrodes in PC lM LiCl₄, vs. the lithium electrode. The reduction of these two compounds occurs in two main steps, the second one being partially reversible, especially in the case of AgBi(CrO₄)₂. Silver reduction takes place for this material in the same voltage range as the first chromium reduction step. The energy density obtained with AgBi(CrO₄)₂ associated with the lithium anode and the very good stability of the components, makes this electrochemical couple a good system for a high energy density cell with long life applications.     

CONVECTIVE CURRENTS IN NUCLEATE POOL BOILING

An experimental investigation was conducted to examine the effects of convection currents in nucleate pool boiling and to determine the changes in critical heat flux caused by varying the diameter of horizontal flat plate heating surfaces. Trichlorotrifluoroethane (Freon 113) was boiled from flat circular copper surfaces at one atmosphere absolute pressure.

Convection currents across the heating surface were produced by auxiliary heaters located to the side of the main healer. Bubbles escaping from the auxiliary heaters caused a circular flow pattern across the test surface. It was shown that increasing this flow over the surface increased the critical flux.Three test surface diameters were studied: 2.0, 3.3, and 5.0 cm. Critical fluxes were obtained independent of auxiliary heater effects. These fluxes decreased from approximately 74,800 Btu/hr/sqft (236,000 W/sqm) for the 2.0 cm surfaces to 69,500 Btu/hr/sqft (219,000 W/sqm) for the 5.0 cm. Critical flux was correlated in an exponential relationship and approached an asymptotic value of about 65,000 Btu/hr/sqft (205,000 W/sqm) at a diameter of about 20.0 cm.     

Effects of herbs on hydrolytic and oxidative degradation of olive oil in canned tomatoes

The effects of adding mixtures of herbs such as garlic, laurel, and marjoram on selected chemical indices of olive oil from canned dried tomatoes were studied for various storage periods of up to 1 yr. Conventional analytical indices measured included acidity, PV, and p-anisidine value. Flavored samples showed kinetic constant values that were significantly (P=0.001) higher than unflavored ones, whereas oligopolymer and oxidized TG and DG contents were similar to or slightly higher than in the unflavored samples compared with those with herbs. The addition of the mixture of herbs slowed polymerization reactions but did not inhibit TG oxidation. Discrepancies between the results obtained by conventional analyses and high-performance size-exclusion chromatography indicated that the former approaches were insufficient to determine oxidative degradation of oil as a result of interferences from compounds in the food matrix.     

Impact of diet supplemented with microencapsulated condensed tannins on cow milk nutritional profile

Feed production systems should consider more sustainable solutions to reduce the pressure on earth's finite resources. In this work, we investigated the effect of microencapsulated condensed tannins (MCTs)-enhanced diet on the cow milk characteristics. The diet reduced the urea content, while preserved and the n-3 and n-6 portion of fatty acids. Aside from the rising of vitamin C level, MCTs had a negative effect on the amount of B group vitamins. MCTs may be considered a promising feed supplement that offers a good trade-off in terms of milk chemical quality while increasing the environmental sustainability of cattle livestock.     

Phase-Sensitive Reflective Imaging Device in the mm-wave and Terahertz Regions

Two Free Electron Laser sources have been developed at ENEA-Frascati for a variety of applications: A Compact Free Electron Laser (C-FEL) that provides coherent radiation in the frequency range between 90 and 150 GHz Gallerano et al. (Infrared Phys. and Techn. 40:161, 1999), and a second source, FEL-CATS, which utilizes a peculiar radio-frequency structure to generate coherent emission in the range 0.4 to 0.7 THz Doria et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett 93:264801, 2004). The high peak power of several kW in 15 to 50 ps pulses, makes these sources particularly suitable for the assessment of exposure limits in biological systems and for long range detection. In this paper we present a phase-sensitive reflective imaging device in the mm-wave and THz regions, which has proven to be a valuable tool in the biological Ramundo-Orlando et al. (Bioelectromagnetics 28:587–598, 2007), environmental Doria et al. (2005) and art conservation fields Gallerano et al. (2008). Different setups have been tested at different levels of spatial resolution to image objects from a few centimeter square to larger sizes. Images have been compared to identify and characterize the contrast mechanism.     

A mass spectrometry and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy study of the interaction between linear carbon chains and noble metals

Linear carbon chains (LCCs) contain sp hybridization either as alternating triple and single bonds (polyynes) or with consecutive double bonds (cumulenes). They are detected here in solution by a combined mass spectrometry (MS) and surface enhanced Raman scattering approach, and new insight into the carbon structures, formed after performing pulsed laser ablation of a polycrystalline graphite rod in water stabilized by the presence of metals is given. The possibility to establish a LCC-metal bond is also investigated by carrying out atmospheric pressure matrix assisted laser desorption ionization MS experiments on copper and silver polyynides. It was found that while the interaction of metal colloids with LCCs results mainly in a weak bond, polyynides appear as true organometallic compounds in which the metal is covalently bonded to the LCCs.     

Trace elements bioaccumulation in Porcellionides pruinosus (Brandt, 1833) and related biomarkers of exposure

In the last years, the increase of anthropogenic activities has led to a progressive pollution of ecosystems. Oniscidean isopods are a group of terrestrial animals known as excellent bio‐indicators and bio‐accumulators, because of their capacity to accumulate contaminants and to implement appropriate strategies of detoxification. For this study, we collected Porcellionides pruinosus from two different sites in the Corinth region (Greece), a polluted site and a control site, to assess the heavy metal pollution status. We conducted an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS) analysis for the detection of trace elements in animals' hepatopancreas and soil; we performed also immunohistochemistry for detection of metallothioneins 1 (MT1) and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70s). The results suggest a great capacity of the species in trace elements bioaccumulation and the high degree of pollution of the area near Agioi Theodoroi where the metal pollution index (MPI) is threefolds higher than the control site, due to the presence of significantly higher concentration of arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, manganese, molybdenum, and lead found in hepatopancreas and soil. The environmental stress is confirmed by the expression of the relative biomarkers of exposure MT1 and HSP70. Our study, with a multimarker approach, consents getting a complete analysis of environmental quality and the effect of pollution on organisms and shows for the first time the heavy metals contamination status in certain Greece area. Furthermore, P. pruinosus proved to be an appropriate indicator of pollution in terrestrial ecosystems.