Oil-in-Water Emulsions Made of Pistachio Oil: Physical and Chemical Properties and Stability.

Pistachio nuts are valued for their sensory qualities, nutritional benefits, and health-promoting properties. Pistachio oil has also gained interest for its bioactive compounds, though these are sensitive to processing and environmental stresses. While pistachio-based products are commercially available, little research has addressed the emulsifying properties of crude pistachio oil or its impact on the stability and bioactive profile of oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions.

Influence of Solvent Polarity on Crocin Content and Surface Properties of Saffron ( L.) Extracts.

The saffron composition is being widely studied for authenticity and traceability, but very few works have been carried out to investigate the relationship between the chemical and physico-chemical properties of saffron solutes and their technological functionality in colloidal systems. This study aims at evaluating the surface properties of saffron extracts obtained using solvents of different polarities to achieve extracts with different compositions in terms of the pattern and content of polar and medium polarity crocins. The air-water surface was evaluated alone and in the presence of Tween 20 at different surfactant-extract ratios.

Perioperative Pain Management in Hemophilic Patient Undergoing Orthopedic Surgery: A Narrative Review.

Background: Hemophilia type A and B is associated with spontaneous bleeding in muscle tissues and joints. Acute hemarthrosis, representing 70-80% of all bleedings in severe hemophilia patients, is extremely painful. When surgical procedures are needed in hemophiliac patients, perioperative management should be planned with a multidisciplinary team.

Lung Recruitment Before Surfactant Administration in Extremely Preterm Neonates: 2-Year Follow-Up of a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: A multicenter randomized clinical trial (RCT) showed a lung recruitment maneuver using high-frequency oscillatory ventilation just before surfactant administration (ie, intubate-recruit-surfactant-extubate [IN-REC-SUR-E]) improved the efficacy of treatment compared with the standard intubate-surfactant-extubate (IN-SUR-E) technique without increasing the risk of adverse neonatal outcomes.

Objective: To examine follow-up outcomes at corrected postnatal age (cPNA) 2 years of preterm infants previously enrolled in an RCT and treated with IN-REC-SUR-E or IN-SUR-E in 35 tertiary neonatal intensive care units.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This was a follow-up study of infants recruited into the primary RCT from 2015 to 2018 at 35 tertiary neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in Italy.

A Survey on Potentially Beneficial and Hazardous Bioactive Compounds in Cocoa Powder Samples Sourced from the European Market.

Cocoa (, L.) represents an important market that gained relevance and became an esteemed commodity thanks to cocoa powder, chocolate, and other related products. This work analyzed 59 cocoa powder samples from the European market.

Microencapsulation of hop bioactive compounds by spray drying: Role of inlet temperature and wall material.

This study explores the effect of spray-drying (SD) inlet temperatures (T 120 and 150 °C) and wall material on the chemical and physico-chemical properties of microencapsulated hop extracts (MHE). Hop extract was formulated with maltodextrin (MD) and gum Arabic (GA) used in single or in combination with β-cyclodextrin (βCD). MHE were evaluated for physical properties, bitter acids (BA), total polyphenol content (TPC) and encapsulation efficiency (TPC EE), and antioxidant capacity (AOC).

The good, the bad and the ugly of pain in haemophilia: Recent evidence on the epidemiology, molecular mechanisms and knowledge gaps preventing optimal treatment.

Introduction: Haemophilia is an inherited, X-linked blood clotting disorder caused by the deficiency of coagulation factors VIII (FVIII, haemophilia A) or IX (FIX, haemophilia B). Spontaneous bleeds are common in severe forms of haemophilia and can also occur in moderate and mild haemophilia. Severe or repeated bleeding at a joint can evolve into chronic haemophilic arthropathy, with functional damage of the joint, disability, and intense chronic articular pain.

Does the Harvest Type Affect Olive Health? Influence of the Harvesting System and Storage Time on the Chemical, Volatile and Sensory Qualities of Extra Virgin Olive Oils.

With the aim of investigating the effect of bruising and its development during the postharvest time, olive fruits (Frantoio and Moraiolo), manually and mechanically harvested, were stored in climatic chambers at two different temperatures (5 °C and 18 °C) for five days. Visual observations highlighted changes in the olive peel with discoloration in the damaged areas and tissue bruising. Olive fruit polyphenols, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other oil quality parameters (phenolic content, free acidity and peroxide index) and sensory assessment were evaluated.

Central sensitization mechanisms in chronic migraine with medication overuse headache: a study of thalamocortical activation and lateral cortical inhibition.

Background: It is unclear whether cortical hyperexcitability in chronic migraine with medication overuse headache (CM-MOH) is due to increased thalamocortical drive or aberrant cortical inhibitory mechanisms.

Methods: Somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP) were performed by electrical stimulation of the median nerve (M), ulnar nerve (U) and simultaneous stimulation of both nerves (MU) in 27 patients with CM-MOH and, for comparison, in 23 healthy volunteers (HVs) of a comparable age distribution. We calculated the degree of cortical lateral inhibition using the formula: 100 - [MU/(M + U) × 100] and the level of thalamocortical activation by analyzing the high frequency oscillations (HFOs) embedded in parietal N20 median SSEPs.

Edible insects and legumes exert an antioxidant effect on human colon mucosal cells stressed with 2,2'-azobis (2-amidinopropane)-dihydrochloride.

Introduction: Edible insects have been recognized as a more sustainable source of nutrients and bio-active compounds than animal-based products, in line with classical vegetable sources such as legumes. In this study, we assessed the antioxidant properties of four edible insects (silkworms, grasshoppers, mealworms and giant worms) and four legume seeds (lentils, chickpeas, peas and grass peas).

Methods: After the aqueous extraction or simulated digestion process, selected products were assessed for: (i) antioxidant capacity through Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) assay; (ii) the ability to reduce free radicals production induced by a pro-oxidant agent in cells of human colonic mucosa.

High pressure homogenization to boost the technological functionality of native pea proteins.

Pea proteins are being increasingly used for the formulation of plant-based products, but their globular structure and the presence of aggregates can affect their technological properties. In this study, the effect of high pressure homogenization (HPH) at different intensities (60 and 100 MPa) was investigated as a pre-treatment to modulate the techno-functional properties of a pea protein isolate (IP) extracted through an alkaline extraction/isoelectric precipitation process. SDS-PAGE, circular dichroism, thermal properties, total free sulfhydryl groups, antioxidant capacity and reducing properties were evaluated along with technological indices as solubility, WHC and OHC, interfacial tension and emulsifying capacity.

Neuropathic pain experience in symptomatic and presymptomatic subjects carrying a transthyretin gene mutation.

Introduction: Pain is a common symptom of hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRv), however, its occurrence in late-onset ATTRv has not been investigated thoroughly. Our aim was to describe the pain experience and its impact on quality of life (QoL) in symptomatic patients and presymptomatic carriers harboring a transthyretin () gene mutation with a late-onset phenotype.

Materials And Methods: Study participants (aged ≥18 years) were consecutively recruited from four Italian centers.

Freeze-Drying Microencapsulation of Hop Extract: Effect of Carrier Composition on Physical, Techno-Functional, and Stability Properties.

In this study, freeze-drying microencapsulation was proposed as a technology for the production of powdered hop extracts with high stability intended as additives/ingredients in innovative formulated food products. The effects of different carriers (maltodextrin, Arabic gum, and their mixture in 1:1 / ratio) on the physical and techno-functional properties, bitter acids content, yield and polyphenols encapsulation efficiency of the powders were assessed. Additionally, the powders' stability was evaluated for 35 days at different temperatures and compared with that of non-encapsulated extract.

Artificial intelligence for differentiating COVID-19 from other viral pneumonias on CT: comparative analysis of different models based on quantitative and radiomic approaches.

Background: To develop a pipeline for automatic extraction of quantitative metrics and radiomic features from lung computed tomography (CT) and develop artificial intelligence (AI) models supporting differential diagnosis between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and other viral pneumonia (non-COVID-19).

Methods: Chest CT of 1,031 patients (811 for model building; 220 as independent validation set (IVS) with positive swab for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (647 COVID-19) or other respiratory viruses (384 non-COVID-19) were segmented automatically. A Gaussian model, based on the HU histogram distribution describing well-aerated and ill portions, was optimised to calculate quantitative metrics (QM, n = 20) in both lungs (2L) and four geometrical subdivisions (GS) (upper front, lower front, upper dorsal, lower dorsal; n = 80).

Effect of heat treatment on phenolic composition and radical scavenging activity of olive leaf extract at different pH conditions: a spectroscopic and kinetic study.

Background: The present study focused on the effect of isothermal treatment (5-90 °C) and pH (2.0-6.0) of aqueous olive leaf phenolic extract solutions on the kinetics of degradation of single and total phenolic compounds and radical scavenging activity, with the objective of predicting and optimizing the thermal treatments in foods enriched with olive leaf extracts.

Unravelling the role of sodium chloride and hydroxytyrosol on the colloidal properties and oxidative stability of olive oil-based o/w emulsions: A multivariate statistical approach.

The individual and combined effect of sodium chloride and hydroxytyrosol on the colloidal properties and the chemical and physical stability of olive oil-in-water emulsions was explored by multivariate statistical analysis. Sodium chloride affected the dispersion degree of the emulsions causing an increase of droplet size and inducing flocculation phenomena; however, during storage, the presence of hydroxytyrosol, when added in combination with 2% and 5% of NaCl, retarded samples physical destabilization. A protective effect of salt on lipid hydroperoxides, over storage, was highlighted, mainly at the highest concentrations used.

Functional properties of edible insects: a systematic review.

Consumption of edible insects has been widely suggested as an environmentally sustainable substitute for meat to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, the novel research field for edible insects relies on the content of bioactive ingredients and on the ability to induce a functional effect in humans. The goal of this manuscript is to review the available body of evidence on the properties of edible insects in modulating oxidative and inflammatory stress, platelet aggregation, lipid and glucose metabolism and weight control.

A single phantom, a single statistical method for low-contrast detectability assessment.

Purpose: The assessment of low-contrast-details is a part of the quality control (QC) program in digital radiology. It generally consists of evaluating the threshold contrast (Cth) detectability details for different-sized inserts, appropriately located in dedicated QC test tools. This work aims to propose a simplified method, based on a statistical model approach for threshold contrast estimation, suitable for different modalities in digital radiology.

An Italian Expert Consensus on the Use of Opioids for the Management of Chronic Non-Oncological Pain in Clinical Practice: Focus on Buprenorphine.

Purpose: The aim of the present work was to evaluate the knowledge and prescriptive habits of clinicians involved in the management of chronic non cancer pain (CNCP), with a special focus on the use of opioids.

Methods: A Delphi method was used. A Board of specialists elaborated and discussed a series of statements, based on available literature and personal clinical expertise, about particularly controversial topics on pain pathophysiology and treatment.

Alginate-based microparticles structured with different biopolymers and enriched with a phenolic-rich olive leaves extract: A physico-chemical characterization.

Encapsulation of olive leaves extracts (OLE), rich of healthy components like Oleuropein, Hydroxytyrosol and Verbascoside, represents a new challenge to improve stability and nutritional value of food as well as a way to recover value added compounds from by-products, contributing to a more sustainable food system. In this context, OLE-loaded microbeads of Na alginate alone or in combination with Pectin, Na Caseinate or Whey protein isolates, were produced by emulsification internal ionotropic gelation. Encapsulation efficiency of the main phenolic compounds (Oleuropein, Hydroxytyrosol, Verbascoside) was carried out along with microparticles morphological characterization by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermal properties by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and color.

Fuel Prediction and Reduction in Public Transportation by Sensor Monitoring and Bayesian Networks.

We exploit the use of a controller area network (CAN-bus) to monitor sensors on the buses of local public transportation in a big European city. The aim is to advise fleet managers and policymakers on how to reduce fuel consumption so that air pollution is controlled and public services are improved. We deploy heuristic algorithms and exhaustive ones to generate Bayesian networks among the monitored variables.

Characterization of Coffee Silver Skin as Potential Food-Safe Ingredient.

By-products from the coffee industry are produced in large amounts each year. Among other wastes, coffee silver skin (CSS) is highly available and more stable due to its lower content of water. This research aimed to characterize coffee silver skin composition and evidence its potentiality for use as a food-safe ingredient in new formulations.