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Andersson Mathis posted an update 2 days, 3 hours ago
Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) is an N-acylethanolamide produced on-demand by the enzyme N-acylphosphatidylethanolamine-preferring phospholipase D (NAPE-PLD). Being a key member of the larger family of bioactive autacoid local injury antagonist amides (ALIAmides), PEA significantly improves the clinical and histopathological stigmata in models of ulcerative colitis (UC). Despite its safety profile, high PEA doses are required in vivo to exert its therapeutic activity; therefore, PEA has been tested only in animals or human biopsy samples, to date. To overcome these limitations, we developed an NAPE-PLD-expressing Lactobacillus paracasei F19 (pNAPE-LP), able to produce PEA under the boost of ultra-low palmitate supply, and investigated its therapeutic potential in a murine model of UC. The coadministration of pNAPE-LP and palmitate led to a time-dependent release of PEA, resulting in a significant amelioration of the clinical and histological damage score, with a significantly reduced neutrophil infiltration, lower expression and release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress markers, and a markedly improved epithelial barrier integrity. We concluded that pNAPE-LP with ultra-low palmitate supply stands as a new method to increase the in situ intestinal delivery of PEA and as a new therapeutic able of controlling intestinal inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease.A method of forming an Mg/Al intermetallic compound coating enriched with Mg17Al12 and Mg2Al3 was developed by heat treatment of electrodeposition Al coatings on Mg alloy at 350 °C. The composition of the Mg/Al intermetallic compounds could be tuned by changing the thickness of the Zn immersion layer. The morphology and composition of the Mg/Al intermetallic compound coatings were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD). Nanomechanical properties were investigated via nano-hardness (nHV) and the elastic modulus (EIT), and the corrosion behavior was studied through hydrogen evolution and potentiodynamic (PD) polarization. The compact and uniform Al coating was electrodeposited on the Zn-immersed AZ91D substrate. After heat treatment, Mg2Al3 and Mg17Al12 phases formed, and as the thickness of the Zn layer increased from 0.2 to 1.8 μm, the ratio of Mg2Al3 and Mg17Al12 varied from 11 to 41. The nano-hardness increased to 2.4 ± 0.5 GPa and further improved to 3.5 ± 0.1 GPa. Furosemide The Mg/Al intermetallic compound coating exhibited excellent corrosion resistance and had a prominent effect on the protection of the Mg alloy matrix. The control over the ratio of intermetallic compounds by varying the thickness of the Zn immersion layer can be an effective approach to achieve the optimal comprehensive performance. As the Zn immersion time was 4 min, the obtained intermetallic compounds had relatively excellent comprehensive properties.The lipid composition of biomembranes influences the properties of the lipid bilayer and that of the proteins. In this study, the lipidome and the lipid/protein ratio of membranes from High Five™ insect cells overexpressing mouse P-glycoprotein was characterized. This provides a better understanding of the lipid environment in which P-glycoprotein is embedded, and thus of its functional and structural properties. The relative abundance of the distinct phospholipid classes and their acyl chain composition was characterized. A mass ratio of 0.57 ± 0.11 phospholipids to protein was obtained. Phosphatidylethanolamines are the most abundant phospholipids, followed by phosphatidylcholines. Membranes are also enriched in negatively charged lipids (phosphatidylserines, phosphatidylinositols and phosphatidylglycerols), and contain small amounts of sphingomyelins, ceramides and monoglycosilatedceramides. The most abundant acyl chains are monounsaturated, with significant amounts of saturated chains. The characterization of the phospholipids by HPLC-MS allowed identification of the combination of acyl chains, with palmitoyl-oleoyl being the most representative for all major phospholipid classes except for phosphatidylserines, which are mostly saturated. A mixture of POPEPOPCPOPS in the ratio 453520 is proposed for the preparation of simple representative model membranes. The adequacy of the model membranes was further evaluated by characterizing their surface potential and fluidity.Alginate is a representative biocompatible natural polymer with low cost for a variety of biomedical applications, such as wound dressing, drug delivery systems, tissue scaffolds, and 3D bioprinting. Particularly, the rapid and facile gelation of alginate via ionic interactions with divalent cations has been used for in situ 3D hydrogel fiber formation, which is potentially applicable to engineering cell alignment. However, challenges in enhancing the mechanical properties of alginate hydrogel fibers under physiological conditions are unresolved because of their fast dissociation by ion exchange. Herein, we report a stabilization strategy for alginate hydrogel fibers through mussel-inspired catechol chemistry, which involves inter-catechol crosslinking within a few minutes under basic conditions. The fabrication of catechol-tethered alginate hydrogel fibers through wet-spinning enabled the design of mechanically strong 3D constructs consisting of fibers. Catechol-to-quinone oxidation followed by covalent crosslinking enhanced the tensile strength of a single fiber. Additionally, the ‘gluing’ capability of the catechol stabilized the interface among the fibers, thus retaining the shape fidelity of the 3D constructs and encapsulating the cell density during culture. Our findings will be useful for designing bioink materials specialized in fibrous-type tissue scaffolds with mechanical stability.The Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale (BFAS) is widely used, but psychometric evidence by applying Item Response Theory (IRT) is lacking. Considering the advantages of this psychometric approach, the aim of study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the BFAS among adolescents and young adults. Participants were 1134 (50% males, Mean age = 20.7, SD = 3.5, range = 14-33 years) Italian high school students and undergraduates. The unidimensionality of the scale was confirmed (χ2/df = 2.8, CFI = 0.99, TLI = 0.98, and RMSEA = 0.04 [C.I. = 0.02-0.06]) and IRT analysis showed that the scale assesses medium and high levels of the trait, and that it is useful in order to discriminate different levels of Problematic Facebook use (PFU) within this range of trait, in which the scale is sufficiently informative. The relationships of BFAS θ scores with theoretically related constructs provided support to the validity of the scale. In accordance with previous studies, BFAS scores were positively correlated with Problematic Internet use and problematic Social Network use, negatively correlated with self-esteem, and positively related to loneliness.