Publications by authors named "Montanari S"

A significant amount of agri-food by-products is generated by large food industry production lines. Aligned with the principles of a circular economy, this project aims to recycle and valorize legumes, such as beans, green beans and soy by-products characterized by different heat treatments, maturation stages and cultivation methods. The valorization of food waste involved the development of an Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction (UAE) method to isolate polyphenols.

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Marine microalgae are emerging as promising sources of polyphenols, renowned for their health-promoting benefits. Recovering polyphenols from microalgae requires suitable treatment and extraction techniques to ensure their release from the biomass and analytical methodologies to assess their efficiency. This review provides a comprehensive comparison of traditional and cutting-edge extraction and analytical procedures applied for polyphenolic characterization in marine microalgae over the past 26 years, with a unique perspective on optimizing their recovery and identification.

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  • Blueberries have a variety of anthocyanins that give them their blue color, and some types can produce more stable acylated anthocyanins, making them a focus for breeding.
  • This study focused on a specific gene, VcAAT1a, which was found to effectively produce different acylated anthocyanins in various plant systems.
  • The research identified that VcAAT1a only uses acetyl CoA as an acyl donor, and its promoter is activated by certain transcription factors, providing insight into how anthocyanin production is regulated in blueberries.
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Laminectomy and posterior fixation are well-established surgical techniques to decompress nervous structures in case of lumbar spinal stenosis. While laminectomy is suspected to increase the instability of the spine, posterior fixation is associated with some complications such as adjacent segment degeneration. This study aimed to investigate how laminectomy and posterior fixation alter the biomechanics of the lumbar spine in terms of range of motion (ROM) and strains on the intervertebral discs.

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Objective: Childhood trauma is a significant environmental stressor linked to mood disorder. It can affect not only the individuals directly involved but also the next generation through the intergenerational transmission of trauma. This study aimed to investigate, for the first time, the co-occurrence of childhood trauma in youths with mood disorders and their parents.

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Breast milk is the natural source of nutrition for infants, but while it supports their health, it can also be a potential source of toxic inorganic particulate matter, and this applies to both breast milk and industrially produced milk. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the presence of nanoparticles in both breast milk and formula milk samples. We collected and analyzed, via a new electron scanning microscopic procedure, 19 samples of breast milk from Italian women and 19 formula milk samples produced by different companies.

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  • The study examines the Spanish language development of 26 dual language learners in their first preschool year, focusing on changes in lexical and grammatical skills.
  • Results indicate that even with a year of English-only instruction, children's Spanish became more intelligible and diverse, though they still struggled with full sentences and grammar errors.
  • Gender differences showed that girls outperformed boys in Spanish language skills, and mothers who embraced both Latinx and American cultures helped improve their children's Spanish proficiency.
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  • This study investigates how Spanish-English bilingual preschoolers perceive English vowels compared to monolingual peers, focusing on how age and language exposure affect perception.
  • The research involved 60 children aged 3 to 5, using a task to identify vowel sounds like "sheep" and "ship" through audio stimuli and picture matching.
  • Findings reveal that bilingual children can sometimes match monolingual perception patterns for specific vowels, while their overall performance is influenced by the quantity and diversity of English input they receive.
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  • Lithium during pregnancy has been linked to potential foetal malformations, but treatment for maternal psychiatric conditions is often deemed more critical by clinicians.
  • A systematic review analyzed 28 studies, with meta-analysis including data from 1402 newborns and 2595 women, revealing increased risks of cardiac malformations, preterm birth, and being large for gestational age among those taking lithium.
  • Women with bipolar disorder should consider stopping lithium before pregnancy if stable, but if they continue during pregnancy, they should have close monitoring to manage potential risks.
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Monacolin K (MK), in red yeast rice (RYR) in the forms of lactone (LMK) and hydroxy acid (AMK), is known for its anti-hypercholesterolemic activity. Under the rising demand for natural bioactive molecules, we present a green ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) optimization study for MK in RYR. The development and validation of a fast, sensitive, selective, reproducible, and accurate ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) method coupled to diode array detection for LMK and AMK allowed us to evaluate the MK recovery in different extract media.

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Acylcarnitines (ACs) are involved in bioenergetics processes that may play a role in the pathophysiology of depression. Previous genomic evidence identified four ACs potentially linked to depression risk. We carried forward these ACs and tested the association of their circulating levels with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) diagnosis, overall depression severity and specific symptom profiles.

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Hemilaminectomy and laminectomy are decompressive procedures commonly used in case of lumbar spinal stenosis, which involve the removal of the posterior elements of the spine. These procedures may compromise the stability of the spine segment and create critical strains in the intervertebral discs. Thus, this study aimed to investigate if decompressive procedures could alter the biomechanics of the lumbar spine.

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Agri-food by-products, obtained as waste from the food industry, negatively impact the global economy and the environment. In order to valorize waste materials from fruit juices and tomato sauces as upcycled materials rich in health-promoting compounds, they were characterized in terms of polyphenolic and protein content. The results obtained were compared with those collected for their final products.

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Despite recent FDA approvals, Alzheimer's disease (AD) still represents an unmet medical need. Among the different available therapeutic approaches, the development of multitarget molecules represents one of the most widely pursued. In this work, we present a second generation of dual ligands directed toward highly networked targets that are deeply involved in the development of the disease, namely, Histone Deacetylases (HDACs) and Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3β (GSK-3β).

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Background: Lithium stands as the gold standard in treating bipolar disorders (BD). Despite numerous clinical factors being associated with a favorable response to lithium, comprehensive studies examining the collective influence of clinical variables alongside psychopathological dimensions are lacking. Our study aims to enhance comprehension of lithium response in individuals with BD by integrating clinical variables with psychopathological traits and early adverse events.

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Objective: Substance Use Disorders (SUD) are common in adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Although predictors of SUD in this population are relevant for prevention and treatment, they need further clarification. Affective temperaments potentially associated with SUD in adult ADHD patients were explored.

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Background: Acylcarnitines (ACs) are involved in bioenergetics processes that may play a role in the pathophysiology of depression. Studies linking AC levels to depression are few and provide mixed findings. We examined the association of circulating ACs levels with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) diagnosis, overall depression severity and specific symptom profiles.

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  • Bipolar disorder (BD) is classified into Type I and Type II, and the onset polarity (depressive or manic) may influence its clinical course and treatment approaches.
  • A study involving 191 BD patients assessed the relationship between clinical variables and temperament traits, identifying distinct patterns of temperament linked to different onset polarities.
  • Results indicated that depressive onset was associated with dysthymic temperament, while manic onset correlated with hyperthymic traits, highlighting the need for personalized treatment strategies based on an individual’s temperament and onset type.
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Domestication of cranberry and blueberry began in the United States in the early 1800s and 1900s, respectively, and in part owing to their flavors and health-promoting benefits are now cultivated and consumed worldwide. The industry continues to face a wide variety of production challenges (e.g.

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Background And Aims: Selenium hyperaccumulator species are of primary interest for studying the evolution of hyperaccumulation and for use in biofortification because selenium is an essential element in human nutrition. In this study, we aimed to determine whether the distributions of selenium in the three most studied hyperaccumulating taxa (Astragalus bisulcatus, Stanleya pinnata and Neptunia amplexicaulis) are similar or contrasting, in order to infer the underlying physiological mechanisms.

Methods: This study used synchrotron-based micro-X-ray fluorescence (µXRF) techniques to visualize the distribution of selenium and other elements in fresh hydrated plant tissues of A.

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Domestication of cranberry and blueberry began in the United States in the early 1800s and 1900s, respectively, and in part owing to their flavors and health-promoting benefits are now cultivated and consumed worldwide. The industry continues to face a wide variety of production challenges (e.g.

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Reliable and high-throughput genotyping platforms are of immense importance for identifying and dissecting genomic regions controlling important phenotypes, supporting selection processes in breeding programs, and managing wild populations and germplasm collections. Amongst available genotyping tools, single nucleotide polymorphism arrays have been shown to be comparatively easy to use and generate highly accurate genotypic data. Single-species arrays are the most commonly used type so far; however, some multi-species arrays have been developed for closely related species that share single nucleotide polymorphism markers, exploiting inter-species cross-amplification.

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