Sulfur bentonite-organic-based fertilizers as tool for improving bio-compounds with antioxidant activities in red onion.

BACKGROUND: Red onion is popular in cuisines worldwide and is valued for its potential medicinal properties. Red onion is an important source of several phytonutrients such as flavonoids, thiosulfinates and other sulfur compounds, recognized as important elements of the diet. Nowadays, there is the need of producing food enriched in health benefit compounds. In this study, pads of sulfur bentonite (SB) with the addition of orange residue (OR) or olive pomace (OP) were used to improve the quality of red onion. The experiment was conducted for 3 months in the field to evaluate the phytochemicals of differently amended red onion. RESULTS: Treated plants were better in quality than controls. Antioxidant activity, detected as DPPH, ORAC and ABTS, was highest in plants grown in the presence of SB enriched with agricultural wastes, particularly SB-OR. Polyphenols increased in all treated plants. The volatile fraction was clearly dominated by sulfur compounds that are strictly related to the concentration of the aroma precursors S-alkenyl cysteine sulfoxides. The greater amount of thiosulfinates in treated compared with untreated onion evidenced that SB pelletized with agricultural wastes can represent a new formulation of organic fertilizer able to improve the beneficial properties of onion. The results highlighted that the best red onion quality was obtained using SB-OR pads. CONCLUSION: The use of SB bound with agricultural wastes represents a novel strategy to increase bio-compounds with beneficial effects on human health, to enhance the medical and economic values of sulfur-loving crops, with important consequences on the bio and green economy. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Impact of Different Storage Methods on Bioactive Compounds in Arthrospira platensis Biomass.

Arthrospira platensis (spirulina) is considered a source of natural molecules with nutritional and health benefits. As the different storage forms can affect the quantity and quality of bioactive ingredients, the aim of the present work was to evaluate the effects of freezing, oven-drying and freeze-drying on chemical composition of spirulina biomass. Total proteins, photosynthetic pigments and antioxidants, were analyzed and compared to respective quantities in fresh biomass. The frozen sample exhibited the highest content of phycocyanin-C, phenols, and ascorbic acid, also respect to the fresh biomass. The highest total flavonoid amount was in the freeze-dried biomass. HPLC-DAD analysis of phenolic acids revealed the presence of the isoflavone genistein, known for its therapeutic role, in all the spirulina samples. The phosphomolybdenum method (TAC) and DPPH scavenging activity were applied to determine the antioxidant activity of different samples. The highest DPPH scavenging activity was detected in fresh and freeze-dried biomass and it was positively related to carotenoid content. A positive correlation indicated that carotenoids, chlorophyll, ascorbic acid and all phenolic compounds were the major contributors to the TAC activity in spirulina biomass. The results highlighted a different functional value of spirulina biomass, depending on the processing methods used for its storage.

Risk factors for progression in children and young adults with IgA nephropathy: an analysis of 261 cases from the VALIGA European cohort.

BACKGROUND: There is a need for early identification of children with immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) at risk of progression of kidney disease. METHODS: Data on 261 young patients [age <23 years; mean follow-up of 4.9 (range 2.5-8.1) years] enrolled in VALIGA, a study designed to validate the Oxford Classification of IgAN, were assessed. Renal biopsies were scored for the presence of mesangial hypercellularity (M1), endocapillary hypercellularity (E1), segmental glomerulosclerosis (S1), tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis (T1-2) (MEST score) and crescents (C1). Progression was assessed as end stage renal disease and/or a 50 % loss of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (combined endpoint) as well as the rate of renal function decline (slope of eGFR). Cox regression and tree classification binary models were used and compared. RESULTS: In this cohort of 261 subjects aged <23 years, Cox analysis validated the MEST M, S and T scores for predicting survival to the combined endpoint but failed to prove that these scores had predictive value in the sub-group of 174 children aged <18 years. The regression tree classification indicated that patients with M1 were at risk of developing higher time-averaged proteinuria (p < 0.0001) and the combined endpoint (p < 0.001). An initial proteinuria of ≥0.4 g/day/1.73 m2 and an eGFR of <90 ml/min/1.73 m2 were determined to be risk factors in subjects with M0. Children aged <16 years with M0 and well-preserved eGFR (>90 ml/min/1.73 m2) at presentation had a significantly high probability of proteinuria remission during follow-up and a higher remission rate following treatment with corticosteroid and/or immunosuppressive therapy. CONCLUSION: This new statistical approach has identified clinical and histological risk factors associated with outcome in children and young adults with IgAN.

Assessment of Antioxidant and Cytoprotective Potential of Jatropha (Jatropha curcas) Grown in Southern Italy.

Jatropha (Jatropha curcas L.) is a plant native of Central and South America, but widely distributed in the wild or semi-cultivated areas in Africa, India, and South East Asia. Although studies are available in literature on the polyphenolic content and bioactivity of Jatropha curcas L., no information is currently available on plants grown in pedoclimatic and soil conditions different from the autochthon regions. The aim of the present work was to characterize the antioxidant system developed by the plant under a new growing condition and to evaluate the polyphenol amount in a methanolic extract of leaves. Along with these analyses we have also tested the antioxidant and cytoprotective activities on lymphocytes. RP-HPLC-DAD analysis of flavonoids revealed a chromatographic profile dominated by the presence of flavone C-glucosydes. Vitexin is the most abundant identified compound followed by vicenin-2, stellarin-2, rhoifolin, and traces of isovitexin and isorhoifolin. Methanolic extract had high scavenging activity in all antioxidant assays tested and cytoprotective activity on lymphocytes exposed to tertz-buthylhydroperoxide. The results highlighted a well-defined mechanism of adaptation of the plant and a significant content of secondary metabolites with antioxidant properties, which are of interest for their potential uses, especially as a rich source of biologically active products.

Antioxidant Properties and Flavonoid Profile in Leaves of Calabrian Lavandula multifida L., an Autochthon Plant of Mediterranean Southern Regions.

Lavandula multifida is a rare short-lived plant characteristic of Mediterranean basin able to survive in hot and arid climatic conditions on poorly evolved limestone soils. In this work, we characterize the enzymatic antioxidant system and phenolic composition, as well as the antioxidant properties of L. multifida fresh leaves. Enzymatic patterns show high level of peroxidases, ascorbate peroxidase, and dehydroascorbate reductase activities, when compared with L. angustifolia. The same trend is evident in total carotenoids, ascorbic acid, and reduced glutathione, and in the total antioxidant capacity assay. Moreover, RP-DAD-HPLC analyses of EtOH extract, obtained from fresh leaves, reveal main components, carvacrol, vitexin, and 7- or 8-glucoside derivatives of hypolaetin, scutellarein, luteolin, isoscutellarein, apigenin, and chrysoeriol. The analysis of this autochthon plant depicted a series of strategies adopted by L. multifida to survive in its stressful natural habitat and richness in health-promoting compounds that can be a resource for the preservation of this variety in dangerous of extinction.

Oligo(phenylene ethynylene) glucosides: modulation of cellular uptake capacity preserving light ON.

A new family of oligo(phenylene ethynylene) (OPE) glucosides has been prepared and characterized. Our results demonstrate that fine-tuning of their photophysical properties can be obtained by acting on the electronics of the core and molecular skeleton. Modulation of the hydrophobic chain length and substituents on the central moieties influences the bioaffinity too. In particular, introducing a NMe2 group on the aromatic central core affords a highly efficient biocompatible fluorescent probe that can be taken up in cytoplasmic vesicles of HEp-2 cells (cells from epidermoid carcinoma larynx tissue). The photophysical behavior, high quantum yield, and stability open the way to the use of the OPE family as stains for cellular imaging analysis by fluorescence microscopy.

[Semaglutide in Chronic Kidney Disease: Great Enthusiasm. But How Does It Work?] / La Semaglutide nella Malattia Renale Cronica: tanto entusiasmo. Ma come funziona?

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a clinical condition characterized by the progressive loss of kidney function. 10% of the world's population is affected by this condition, which represents the fifth leading cause of death globally. Furthermore, CKD is associated with increased risk of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events, and progression to end-stage renal disease. Over the last twenty years, an exponential growth in its prevalence and incidence has been observed. For this reason, various drugs have been developed and implemented in clinical practice, with various mechanisms, with the aim of reducing and minimizing this dramatic "cardio-renal" risk. These include SGLT2 inhibitors, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, and endothelin receptor antagonists. However, a large proportion of CKD patients do not respond sufficiently to these treatments. GLP-1 receptor agonists represent a class of antidiabetic and nephroprotective drugs that are very promising in improving the prognosis of patients with CKD, especially if associated with one of the above-mentioned classes. In this article, we discuss the direct and indirect mechanisms through which one of the GLP-1 agonists, semaglutide, ensures nephro- and cardioprotection in patients with CKD and type 2 diabetes.

Synthesis of enantiopure sugar-decorated six-armed triptycene derivatives.

A new class of molecules with a triptycene rigid core surrounded by six monosaccharide residues was synthesized. Hexakis(bromomethyl) substituted triptycene was converted into a six-armed triptycene azide (2,3,6,7,14,15-hexakis(azidomethyl)-9,10-dihydro-9,10-[1',2']benzenoanthracene). The key step of the synthesis was the cycloaddition of the azide to 2-propyn-1-yl ß-D-gluco- or galactopyranosides. All products were isolated in good yields and were fully characterized.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of a new class of glycoconjugated disulfides that exhibit potential anticancer properties.

A synthetic strategy, based on the in situ generation of sulfenic acids and their thermolysis in the presence of thiols, was developed for obtaining a collection of polyvalent disulfides in which a benzene scaffold accommodates two or three flexible arms connecting saccharide moieties. Targeting carbohydrate metabolism or carbohydrate-binding proteins may constitute important approaches in the discovery process of new therapeutic anticancer agents. Therefore, a preliminary screening to ascertain the cytostatic/cytotoxic potential of this new class of enantiopure glycoconjugated disulfides has been conducted. Among them, products with two disulfide arms, harbouring galactose rings, induced high levels of apoptosis on U937 histiocytic lymphoma cells, but lower levels of cell death on peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy donors. Further experiments indicated that apoptosis induced by these glycoconjugated bis(disulfides) in U937 cells corresponds to the Bcl-2-sensitive, intrinsic form of apoptotic cell death. The bioinvestigation was extended to a panel of human cancer cell lines with different levels of malignancy and resistance to chemotherapeutic agents. Compounds under study proved to induce detectable levels of cell death towards all the tested cancer cell lines.

[Intestinal and renal transport mechanisms of phosphate]. / Meccanismi di trasporto del fosfato nell'intestino e nel rene.

Since phosphorus plays a critical role in diverse biological processes, regulation of the phosphorus balance and homeostasis are critical to the well-being of the organism. Recent findings point to the presence of a phosphate-sensing mechanism in the various organs and the presence of novel intestinal effectors that alter the renal phosphate excretion after the ingestion of a phosphate-containing meal. Recent studies have provided strong evidence that the sodium-phosphate cotransporter NaPi-IIb is responsible for sodium-dependent phosphate absorption by the small intestine, and this protein might link changes in dietary phosphate to altered renal phosphate excretion in order to maintain the phosphate balance. It has been established that different regions of the small intestine respond differently to acute or chronic changes in dietary phosphate load and that phosphatonins inhibit both renal and intestinal phosphate transport.

Oxygen Extraction and Mortality in Patients Undergoing Chronic Haemodialysis Treatment: A Multicentre Study.

Patients on haemodialysis (HD) suffer a high mortality rate linked to developing subclinical hypoxic parenchymal stress during HD sessions. The oxygen extraction ratio (OER), an estimate of the oxygen claimed by peripheral tissues, might represent a new prognostic factor in HD patients. This study evaluated whether the intradialytic change in OER (ΔOER) identified patients with higher mortality risks. We enrolled chronic HD patients with permanent central venous catheters with available central venous oxygen saturation (ScvO2) measurements; the arterial oxygen saturation was measured with peripheral oximeters (SpO2). We measured OER before and after HD at enrolment; deaths were recorded during two-years of follow-up. In 101 patients (age: 72.9 ± 13.6 years, HD vintage: 9.6 ± 16.6 years), 44 deaths were recorded during 11.6 ± 7.5 months of follow-up. Patients were divided into two groups according to a 40% ΔOER threshold (ΔOER < 40%, n = 56; ΔOER ≥ 40%, n = 45). The ΔOER ≥ 40% group showed a higher incidence of death (60% vs. 30%; p = 0.005). The survival curve (log-rank-test: p = 0.0001) and multivariate analysis (p = 0.0002) confirmed a ΔOER ≥ 40% as a mortality risk factor. This study showed the intradialytic ΔOER ≥ 40% was a mortality risk factor able to highlight critical hypoxic damage. Using a ΔOER ≥ 40% could be clinically applicable to characterise the most fragile patients.

Impact of body mass index on graft loss in normal and overweight patients: retrospective analysis of 206 renal transplants.

BACKGROUND: Excess body mass is increasingly prevalent in transplant recipients. Currently, most investigators consider body mass index (BMI) a categorical variable, which assumes that all risk factors and transplant outcomes will be similar in all patients within the same category. We investigated the effect of categorical and continuous BMI increments on renal transplant outcome in normal weight (NW: BMI 18.5-24.9) and overweight (OW: BMI 25-30) patients. METHODS: We retrospectively studied 206 patients. The mean BMI of our population was 24.3 ± 2.83 kg/m(2) . Patients of each group were similar regarding age, gender, time on dialysis, donor type, cold ischemia time, and number of HLA mismatches. The independent association of BMI with survival was determined using Cox multivariate regression. RESULTS: OW patients showed a higher prevalence of co-morbidities. In patients with graft loss, there was a higher incidence of delayed graft function, chronic allograft nephropathy, acute rejection, and hypertension. Graft survival was significantly lower in OW patients compared to NW patients upon Kaplan-Meier analysis (p = 0.008). In a multivariate Cox regression analysis, the initial BMI, evaluated as a continuous variable, remained an independent predictor of graft loss (hazard ratio 1.21, 95% CI 1.04-1.47). However, with patient stratification into World Health Organization BMI category and, further, into quartiles of initial BMI, no significant correlation between BMI category and graft loss was found. CONCLUSION: We suggest that increasing BMI value, although without categorical variation, may represent an independent risk factor for graft loss. Our retrospective analysis of a small sample population will require further studies to confirm these data.

[Acute renal failure in the course of Hashimoto's thyroiditis]. / Insufficienza renale acuta in corso di tiroidite di Hashimoto.

Hashimoto's thyroiditis is the commonest form of autoimmune thyroiditis in the world. It occurs most frequently in women (female/male ratio, 6:1) in the age group between 30 and 60 years. Here we report the case of a 38-year-old Caucasian man who presented with a few days' history of upper limb paresthesias, widespread joint and muscle pain, and headaches. Laboratory findings showed increased CPK, myoglobin and plasma creatinine levels with acute renal failure. Low free T3 and T4 values associated with a high TSH value, the presence of antithyroid globulin and peroxidase autoantibodies pointed to a diagnosis of hypothyroidism with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Treatment with levothyroxine was initiated and within 2 months normalization of renal function, myoglobin, CPK and thyroid hormone levels was observed.

Effect of Organic Fertilizers on Selected Health Beneficial Bioactive Compounds and Aroma Profile of Red Topepo Sweet Pepper.

Phytochemicals and antioxidant properties of red sweet pepper cv Topepo grown in soil amended with different organic fertilizers were compared with that grown in unamended soil. Organic fertilizers are an environmentally friendly alternative to recovery infertile soils that resulted from the intensified agricultural practices in red Topepo production. The aim was to discriminate the effects of organic fertilizers one from each other on the quality of red Topepo to find out the better sustainable fertilization practice for its cultivation. Results showed that compost from vegetable residues (CV) enhanced the synthesis of total phenols, flavonoids, ascorbic acid, vitamin E, carotenoids, anthocyanins, as well as carbohydrates, antioxidant activities, and aroma profiling, compared to horse manure (HD), compost from olive pomace (CO), and control (CTR). The results indicated a specificity between the quality of red Topepo and compost composition, highlighting that vegetable residues increased the synthesis of secondary metabolites, enhancing sustainably, the nutraceutical, sensorial, and economic value of red Topepo. The fertilizer composition resulted largely responsible for the synthesis of bioactive compounds, flavor, and aroma of this fruit.

Locus heterogeneity of Dent's disease: OCRL1 and TMEM27 genes in patients with no CLCN5 mutations.

Dent's disease is an X-linked renal tubulopathy caused by mutations mainly affecting the CLCN5 gene. Defects in the OCRL1 gene, which is usually mutated in patients with Lowe syndrome, have recently been shown to lead to a Dent-like phenotype, called Dent's disease 2. About 25% of Dent's disease patients do not carry CLCN5/OCRL1 mutations. The CLCN4 and SLC9A6 genes have been investigated, but no mutations have been identified. The recent discovery of a novel mediator of renal amino acid transport, collectrin (the TMEM27 gene), may provide new insight on the pathogenesis of Dent's disease. We studied 31 patients showing a phenotype resembling Dent's disease but lacking any CLCN5 mutations by direct sequencing of the OCRL1 and TMEM27 genes. Five novel mutations, L88X, P161HfsX167, F270S, D506N and E720D, in the OCRL1 gene, which have not previously been reported in patients with Dent's or Lowe disease, were identified among 11 patients with the classical Dent's disease phenotype. No TMEM27 gene mutations were discovered among 26 patients, 20 of whom had an incomplete Dent's disease phenotype. Our findings confirm that OCRL1 is involved in the functional defects characteristic of Dent's disease and suggest that patients carrying missense mutations in exons where many Lowe mutations are mapped may represent a phenotypic variant of Lowe syndrome.

Nerve growth factor and its monocyte receptors are affected in kidney disease.

Nerve growth factor (NGF) plays a critical role in both physiological and pathological conditions. Their biological effects are mediated by two receptors (NGF-R): TrkA and p75. We previously reported NGF and NGF-R overexpression in various renal disorders. The aim of the study was to determinate NGF levels and NGF-R expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from subjects affected by glomerulonephritis (GN) and by end-stage renal disease before and after hemodialysis (HD). We enrolled 48 patients with biopsy-proven diagnosis of GN and 16 patients undergoing chronic HD. 25 subjects were enrolled as controls (C). Quantification of NGF in the serum samples was performed using NGF immunoassay. We demonstrated, for the first time, an increased NGF concentration in GN and HD patients compared to C. HD is able to restore serum NGF concentration. In GN, TrkA is overexpressed, whereas p75 did not show any difference versus C. By contrast in HD, TrkA expression is associated with increased p75 levels. In conclusion, NGF can act as protective factor against cytotoxic injuries. p75 plays a role in both survival and death of cells, depending on absence of ligand, cytoplasmic/ligand interaction and interaction with TrkA. The present findings suggest that cell survival during cellular damage is dependent on co-expression of TrkA and p75 and independent of NGF concentration. Further studies are required to confirm these observations.

Three different methods for turning olive pomace in resource: Benefits of the end products for agricultural purpose.

In Mediterranean countries the olive oil industry produces, yearly, a huge quantity of pollutant wastes in a short time that are phytotoxic for their high content of phenols and wax that affect soil and groundwater quality. With the use of biological processes, we can transform these wastes into fertilizers for a sustainable agriculture. We used three different methods anaerobic digestion, aerobic digestion, and crude agricultural waste management system to produce organic fertilizers. The obtained compounds were chemically analysed to verify if their characteristics fell into the marketability limits permitted by the current Italian regulation. Their effects on soil were subsequently assessed. Results evidenced that all the by-products obtained were suitable as fertilizers. They were able to increase soil organic matter, microbial biomass, and nutrients with beneficial effects on soil fertility, but at different extent. The best effects were in the order: compost, olive pomace-sulphur-bentonite pelletized and digestate. Considering that the three different methodologies dispose different amounts of olive pomace (90% in aerobic digestion, 12% in anaerobic digestion and 5% in sulphur bentonite pelletized) in different time (4months for compost, 1month for anaerobic digestion and 1day for sulphur-bentonite pelletized) and processing set-up, each method can be differently competitive for environment and/or agriculture. Aerobic digestion has economic advantage over other alternatives and has the greatest fertilizer effect even if the production time is longer than the other two. Digestate, coming from anaerobic digestion, reduces the environmental impact of greenhouse gas emissions it is rich in nutrients and can be obtained in a shorter time than compost. Olive pomace-sulphur-bentonite pelletized represents a crude waste management systems that reduce greenhouse gas emission in the atmosphere producing fertilizers able to generate, mainly in alkaline soils, a soluble zone of nutrients while minimizing leaching losses to the environment.

Localization-controlled two-color luminescence imaging via environmental modulation of energy transfer in a multichromophoric species.

We prepared a bichromophoric species 1, made of two different bodipy dyes bridged by a d-galactose unit. 1 exhibits different emission spectra when located in different compartments of biological systems, independently of its concentration. This is an unprecedented feature for a single multicomponent molecule and is due to the dependence on the environment of the photoinduced energy transfer process occurring between its bodipy subunits. Therefore, 1 can give useful information about cell composition and ultimately anomalies without requiring the simultaneous use of several different compounds, paving the way for the use of environment-controlled inter-component energy transfer to gain cell information based on luminescence imaging.

Nerve growth factor (NGF) and NGF-receptor expression in diseased human kidneys.

BACKGROUND: Nerve growth factor (NGF) has been indicated to be critical to normal renal development in rodents. However, little is known about the expression of NGF and the high-affinity NGF receptors in human kidneys which is essential for promoting the biological and functional activities of NGF. The present study examined the presence of NGF, low-affinity (p75) and high-affinity tyrosine kinase A (TrkA) NGF receptor (NGFR) immunoreactivity in diseased human kidneys. METHODS: Renal biopsies were performed in 24 patients (11 females and 13 males, ranging from 12 to 78 years of age), with various renal diseases. Kidney biopsy samples were fixed in Bouin fluid for 24 hours, washed, dehydrated, embedded in paraplast sections (3-micron thick) and immunostained for NGF, TrkA and p75 localization. Immunostained sections were evaluated under a Nikon Eclipse E600 microscope equipped with a x20 objective and a Nikon DMX 1200 digital camera connected to a PC computer, with the aid of a computerized image analysis system. RESULTS: The results demonstrate the existence of NGF and TrkA in tubular and glomerular cells and of p75-positivity in the interstitial and mesangial cells. It also shows colocalization of TrkA and NGF, but not TrkA and p75 in tubular and glomerular cells, implying that the synthesis and utilization of NGF might be autocrinally regulated. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that NGF signaling may be important in human kidney and glomerular response to injury, though to understand the precise functional significance of these NGF elements in the human kidney, further studies need to be done.