One of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Method's (ICCVAM) top priorities is the development and evaluation of non-animal approaches to identify potential skin sensitizers. The complexity of biological events necessary to produce skin sensitization suggests that no single alternative method will replace the currently accepted animal tests. ICCVAM is evaluat...

We present a molecular dynamics study of force patterns, tensile strength and crack formation in a cohesive granular model where the particles are subjected to swelling or shrinkage gradients. Non-uniform particle size change generates self-equilibrated forces that lead to crack initiation as soon as strongest tensile contacts begin to fail. We find that the coarse-grained stresses are correctl...

To the Editor: Alcohol induced hepatic oxidative stress and inflammation is known to cause liver injury. An increase in reactive oxidative species (ROS) from alcohol consumption leads to oxidative stress [1]. This can activate the inflammatory cytokines, IL-6 and TNF-α which promote liver injury. Both IL-6 and TNF-α are activated and transcribed by the inflammatory molecule, NFκB [2]. We read t...

The process of transformation of table olives from tree to table is the result of complex biochemical reactions that are determined by the interactions between the indigenous microflora of the olives, together with a variety of contaminating microrganisms from different sources [fiber-glass fermenters, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tanks, pipelines, pumps, and water], with the compositional characte...

Fifteen sourdoughs produced in western Sicily (southern Italy) were analysed by classical methods for their chemico-physical characteristics and the levels of lactic acid bacteria (LAB). pH and total titratable acidity (TTA) were mostly in the range commonly reported for similar products produced in Italy, but the fermentation quotient (FQ) of the majority of samples was above 4.0, due to the l...

BACKGROUND Acrylamide (ACR) produces cumulative neurotoxicity in exposed humans and laboratory animals through a direct inhibitory effect on presynaptic function. OBJECTIVES In this review, we delineate how knowledge of chemistry provided an unprecedented understanding of the ACR neurotoxic mechanism. We also show how application of the hard and soft, acids and bases (HSAB) theory led to the ...

in the early 90’s, donkeys were in danger of extinction as species. in italy, there were counted few heads of many breeds but, unfortunately, others had already been extinct. with the donkey in danger, there was a risk of disappearance of a part of ecosystem, a biodiversity particularly significant as it represents humans’ history. all countries around the mediterranean sea, countries of southe...

In the aim of testing tools for tracing cell trafficking of exogenous cholesterol, two fluorescent derivatives of cholesterol, 22-nitrobenzoxadiazole-cholesterol (NBD-Chol) and 21-methylpyrenyl-cholesterol (Pyr-met-Chol), with distinctive chemico-physical characteristics, have been compared for their cell incorporation properties, using two cell models differently handling cholesterol, with two...

Typical food and geographical indicaTions Over the past decades, traditional food systems have evolved from poorly coordinated networks to globalized complexes of regulated trade, and the geographical indications (GIs) agro-food market size is approximately $50 billion. Belonging to the intellectual property law as collective property rights, the “GI is a sign used on goods that have a specific...

The cerebral cortex is a distinctive part of the mammalian nervous system, displaying a spatial variety in cyto-, chemico-, and myelinoarchitecture. As part of a rich history of histological findings, pioneering anatomists von Economo and Koskinas provided detailed mappings on the cellular structure of the human cortex, reporting on quantitative aspects of cytoarchitecture of cortical areas. Cu...