Seismic and thermal precursors of crater collapses and overflows at Stromboli volcano.

Lava overflows are highly hazardous phenomena that can occur at Stromboli. They can destabilize the crater area and the "Sciara del Fuoco" unstable slope, formed by several sector collapses, which can generate potentially tsunamigenic landslides. In this study, we have identified precursors of the October-November 2022 effusive crisis through seismic and thermal camera measurements.

Exploring microstructure and petrophysical properties of microporous volcanic rocks through 3D multiscale and super-resolution imaging.

Digital rock physics offers powerful perspectives to investigate Earth materials in 3D and non-destructively. However, it has been poorly applied to microporous volcanic rocks due to their challenging microstructures, although they are studied for numerous volcanological, geothermal and engineering applications. Their rapid origin, in fact, leads to complex textures, where pores are dispersed in fine, heterogeneous and lithified matrices.

Data analysis of the unsteadily accelerating GPS and seismic records at Campi Flegrei caldera from 2000 to 2020.

Ongoing resurgence affects Campi Flegrei caldera (Italy) via bradyseism, i.e. a series of ground deformation episodes accompanied by increases in shallow seismicity.

Geophysical precursors of the July-August 2019 paroxysmal eruptive phase and their implications for Stromboli volcano (Italy) monitoring.

Two paroxysmal explosions occurred at Stromboli volcano in the Summer 2019, the first of which, on July 3, caused one fatality and some injuries. Within the 56 days between the two paroxysmal explosions, effusive activity from vents located in the summit area of the volcano occurred. No significant changes in routinely monitored parameters were detected before the paroxysmal explosions.

Continuous radon monitoring during seven years of volcanic unrest at Campi Flegrei caldera (Italy).

This is a seven-year study (1/7/2011-31/12/2017) of radon monitoring at two sites of Campi Flegrei caldera (Neaples, Southern Italy) that in the last 70 years experienced repeated phases of volcanic unrest. The sites are equipped with devices for radon detection, based on the spectrometry analysis of the α-particles of radon daughters. A hybrid method, as combination of three known methods, is applied for the identification of residuals (anomalies) and trends of the time series of Radon.

Volcanoes in Italy and the role of muon radiography.

Cosmic-ray muon radiography (muography), an imaging technique that can provide measurements of rock densities within the top few 100 m of a volcanic cone, has now achieved a spatial resolution of the order of 10 m in optimal detection conditions. Muography provides images of the top region of a volcano edifice with a resolution that is considerably better than that typically achieved with other conventional methods (i.e.

Discovery of arginine-containing tripeptides as a new class of pancreatic lipase inhibitors.

Aim: The inhibition of pancreatic lipase (PL) represents one of the most promising strategies in the search for novel antiobesity drugs. We propose here a pioneering course by exploring tripeptide scaffolds in the way to selective PL inhibitors.

Methodology/results: The peptide series exhibited good PL inhibitory properties in vitro, with all the strongest inhibitors sharing a central arginine, shown in silico to be relevant for the active site-directed activity.

Effects of Kisspeptin-10 on Hypothalamic Neuropeptides and Neurotransmitters Involved in Appetite Control.

Besides its role as key regulator in gonadotropin releasing hormone secretion, reproductive function, and puberty onset, kisspeptin has been proposed to act as a bridge between energy homeostasis and reproduction. In the present study, to characterize the role of hypothalamic kisspeptin as metabolic regulator, we evaluated the effects of kisspeptin-10 on neuropeptide Y (NPY) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene expression and the extracellular dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE), serotonin (5-hydroxytriptamine, 5-HT), dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIIA) concentrations in rat hypothalamic (Hypo-E22) cells. Our study showed that kisspeptin-10 in the concentration range 1 nM⁻10 μM was well tolerated by the Hypo-E22 cell line.

Novel Fubinaca/Rimonabant hybrids as endocannabinoid system modulators.

The discovery of novel modulators of the cannabinoid system is a current topic in medicinal chemistry. In this paper, we report nine novel carboxamides designed as hybrids of Fubinaca family compounds and Rimonabant. These hybrids were obtained by linking the 1-benzyl-2,5-dichloroindazole-3-carboxylic acid to different amino acids bearing a hydrophobic side chain and three different C-terminus.

Polyphenolic composition, enzyme inhibitory effects ex-vivo and in-vivo studies on two Brassicaceae of north-central Italy.

In this study, three different extracts (soxhlet, microwave and decoction) from two species of broccoli: Brassica oleracea L. convar. Italica botrytis (L.

Effects of central RVD-hemopressin(α) administration on anxiety, feeding behavior and hypothalamic neuromodulators in the rat.

Background: The endocannabinoid (eCB) system is strongly involved in the regulation of anxiety and feeding behavior. RVD-hemopressin(α) [RVD-hp(α)], a N-terminally extended form of hemopressin, is a negative allosteric modulator of the cannabinoid (CB) 1 receptor and a positive allosteric modulator of CB2 receptor which has been recently reported to exert anxiolytic/antidepressant and anorexigenic effects after peripheral administration in rats. Pharmacological evidences reported a possible link between brain hypocretin/orexin, monoamine and eCB systems, as regards appetite and emotional behavior control.

Cyclic biphalin analogues with a novel linker lead to potent agonist activities at mu, delta, and kappa opioid receptors.

In an effort to improve biphalin's potency and efficacy at the µ-(MOR) and δ-opioid receptors (DOR), a series of cyclic biphalin analogues 1-5 with a cystamine or piperazine linker at the C-terminus were designed and synthesized by solution phase synthesis using Boc-chemistry. Interestingly, all of the analogues showed balanced opioid agonist activities at all opioid receptor subtypes due to enhanced κ-opioid receptor (KOR) activity. Our results indicate that C-terminal flexible linkers play an important role in KOR activity compared to that of the other cyclic biphalin analogues with a hydrazine linker.

Impact of different geographical locations on varying profile of bioactives and associated functionalities of caper (Capparis spinosa L.).

Capparis spinosa L. (caper), is a traditionally used medicinal plant and widely studied for its biological properties. We aimed for the first time to compare the biological and phenolic fingerprints of C.

Combinatorial peptide library screening for discovery of diverse α-glucosidase inhibitors using molecular dynamics simulations and binary QSAR models.

Human α-glucosidase is an enzyme involved in the catalytic cleavage of the glucoside bond and involved in numerous functionalities of the organism, as well as in the insurgence of diabetes mellitus 2 and obesity. Thus, developing chemicals that inhibit this enzyme is a promising approach for the treatment of several pathologies. Small peptides such as di- and tri-peptides may be in natural organism as well as in the GI tract in high concentration, coming from the digestive process of meat, wheat and milk proteins.

Five- and Six-Membered Nitrogen-Containing Compounds as Selective Carbonic Anhydrase Activators.

It has been proven that specific isoforms of human carbonic anhydrase (hCA) are able to fine-tune physiological pathways connected to signal processing, and that decreased CAs expression negatively influences cognition, leading to mental retardation, Alzheimer's disease, and aging-related cognitive dysfunctions. For this reason, a small library of natural and synthetic nitrogen containing cyclic derivatives was assayed as activators of four human isoforms of carbonic anhydrase (hCA I, II, IV and VII). Most of the compounds activated hCA I, IV and VII in the micromolar range, with s ranging between 3.

Anorexigenic effects induced by RVD-hemopressin(α) administration.

Background: Hemopressin, VD-hemopressin(α) and RVD-hemopressin(α) are hemoglobin α chain derived-peptides which have been found in mouse brain, and where they modulate cannabinoid (CB) receptor function. The nonapeptide hemopressin has been reported to inhibit feeding after both central and peripheral administration, possibly playing a role of antagonist/inverse agonist of CB1 receptors, and consequently blocking the orexigenic effects of endogenous cannabinoids. VD-hemopressin(α) and RVD- hemopressin(α), are N-terminal extended forms of hemopressin.

Emotional disorders induced by Hemopressin and RVD-hemopressin(α) administration in rats.

Background: The endocannabinoid (eCB) system plays an important role in regulating emotional disorders, and is involved, directly or indirectly, in psychiatric diseases, such as anxiety and depression. Hemopressin, a hemoglobin α chain-derived peptide, and RVD-hemopressin(α), a N-terminally extended form of hemopressin, act as antagonist/inverse agonist and negative allosteric modulator of the cannabinoid 1 (CB1) receptor, respectively.

Methods: Considering the possible involvement of these peptides on emotional behaviour, the aim of our study was to investigate the behavioural effects of a single intraperitoneal (ip) injection of hemopressin (0.

Cyclic Biphalin Analogues Incorporating a Xylene Bridge: Synthesis, Characterization, and Biological Profile.

In this work we enhanced the ring lipophilicity of biphalin introducing a xylene moiety, thus obtaining three cyclic regioisomers. Novel compounds have similar activity as the parent compound, but one of these () shows a remarkable increase of antinociceptive effect. Nociception tests have disclosed its significant high potency and the more prolonged effect in eliciting analgesia, higher than that of biphalin and of the disulfide-bridge-containing analogue ().

Fluorescent-labeled bioconjugates of the opioid peptides biphalin and DPDPE incorporating fluorescein-maleimide linkers.

Aim: The conjugation of fluorescent labels to opioid peptides is an extremely challenging task, which needs to be overcome to create new classes of probes for biological assays.

Materials & Methods: Three opioid peptide analogs of biphalin and [D-Pen2,5]-Enkephalin (DPDPE) containing a fluorescein-maleimide motif were synthesized.

Results & Discussion: The biphalin analog 17 binds to opioid receptors with K = 530 ± 90 nM and K = 69.

Opioid Receptor Activity and Analgesic Potency of DPDPE Peptide Analogues Containing a Xylene Bridge.

d-Pen,d-Pen enkephalin (DPDPE) is one of the most selective synthetic peptide agonists targeting the δ-opioid receptor. Three cyclic analogues of DPDPE containing a xylene bridge in place of disulfide bond have been synthesized and fully characterized as opioid receptors agonists. The activity was investigated showing a good affinity of - for μ- and δ-receptors.

An assessment of the nutraceutical potential of Juglans regia L. leaf powder in diabetic rats.

In this study, we evaluated the nutraceutical potential of Juglans regia L. (a dietary supplement and food-additive) by evaluating the in-vitro anti-diabetic potential and by assessing the in-vivo anti-hyperglycaemic, anti-hyperlipidaemic, and organ-protective effects of freshly-dried and powdered leaves of J. regia L.

Exploring the first Rimonabant analog-opioid peptide hybrid compound, as bivalent ligand for CB1 and opioid receptors.

Cannabinoid (CB) and opioid systems are both involved in analgesia, food intake, mood and behavior. Due to the co-localization of µ-opioid (MOR) and CB1 receptors in various regions of the central nervous system (CNS) and their ability to form heterodimers, bivalent ligands targeting to both these systems may be good candidates to investigate the existence of possible cross-talking or synergistic effects, also at sub-effective doses. In this work, we selected from a small series of new Rimonabant analogs one CB1R reverse agonist to be conjugated to the opioid fragment Tyr-D-Ala-Gly-Phe-NH.