Publications by authors named "M Ravera"

Due to the lack of effective therapeutic approach, glioblastoma (GBM) remains one of the most malignant brain tumour. By in vitro investigations on primary GBM stem cells, we highlighted one of the underlying mechanisms of drug resistance to alkylating agents, the DNA damage responses. Here, flow cytometric analysis and viability and repopulation assays were used to assess the long-term cytotoxic effect induced by the administration of a fourth-generation platinum prodrug, the (OC-6-44)-acetatodiamminedichlorido(2-(2-propynyl)octanoato) platinum(IV) named Pt(IV)Ac-POA, in comparison to the most widely used Cisplatin.

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Background: Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) lower ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus; whether the same holds true in diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is unknown. This information is critical to the knowledge of mechanisms of nephroprotection and safety of this therapy.

Methods: This multicenter prospective study evaluates the changes in ABP after 12 weeks of dapagliflozin 10 mg/day in a cohort of patients with type 2 DKD and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) >25 mL/min/1.

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In this work, 37 enological tannins of different classes were studied to investigate whether linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) could be a method to determine the family of a sample and its antioxidant capacity. A "wholistic" approach was used, combining LSV data with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), polyphenol quantification (Folin-Ciocalteu method and gravimetric analysis), antiradical activity (DPPH assay), and reducing capacity (FRAP assay). Voltammetric data were processed with statistical techniques and the results show the clustering of tannins in three different classes: ellagitannins, gallotannins, and condensed tannins.

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Malignant mesothelioma is a rare tumor associated with asbestos exposure. Mesothelioma carcinogenesis is related to enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and iron overload. Despite the recent advances in biomedical sciences, to date the only available treatments include surgery in a small fraction of patients and platinum-based chemotherapy in combination with pemetrexed.

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In recent years, the coordination chemistry of high-spin Fe(III) complexes has increasingly attracted interest due to their potential as effective alternatives to Gd(III)-based MRI contrast agents. This paper discusses the results from our study on Fe(III) complexes with two EDTA derivatives, each modified with either one (EDTA-BOM) or two (EDTA-BOM) benzyloxymethylene (BOM) groups on the acetic arm(s). These pendant hydrophobic groups enable the complexes to form noncovalent adducts with human serum albumin (HSA), leading to an observed increase in relaxivity due to the reduction in molecular tumbling.

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