Starch films loaded with tannin: the study of rheological and physical properties.

Recently, the research on innovative food packaging has been oriented toward biodegradable materials to lower the environmental impact generated by conventional plastics. The films often carry functional additives interacting with the matrix and modifying its physical properties. In this work tannin, a scarcely exploited active additive, was used to obtain potato starch-based films, and its content was optimized on the basis of mechanical and microscopic tests. Rheological measurements were adopted to evaluate the tannin-starch interaction and the microstructure of the film forming solutions (FFSs). Their thickness, color, thermal conductivity, elastic modulus (Eel), elongation at break (EAB), surface wettability and water solubility were evaluated. Furthermore, microstructure was investigated through Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), polarized light (POM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was observed that all FFSs behave as weak gels and tannin addition weakens the gel structure and decreases the gelatinization temperature from about 60 °C to 57 °C. Plastic and deformable films (Eel = 1.96 MPa and EAB = 189 %) were obtained at low tannin fractions, whereas, at a higher concentration, stiffer films (Eel = 12 MPa and EAB = 10 %), with hydrophobic behavior were produced. Among the tested tannin fractions, an intermediate value of 1.7 % (w/w) was found to be promising for industrial purposes.

Interfacial Rheological Study of ß-Casein/Pectin Mixtures at the Air/Water Interface.

Colloidal food products, such as emulsions, foams, gels, and dispersions, are complex systems that need the presence of stabilizing agents to enable their formation and provide stability. Proteins are often used for food foams and emulsions because of their ability to lower interfacial tension and make viscoelastic interfaces. Generally, to improve the resistance against rupture, polysaccharides are used in association with the proteins. Pectin is a complex polysaccharide that can help to stabilize foams or emulsions. This work aims at studying the mechanical resistance of the interface formed by mixtures of ß-casein and pectin at high and low methoxylation degrees at the air/water interface using dilatational and shear kinematics. Frequency sweep tests, in the linear region, were performed in shear at different aging times and in dilatational mode, and the rheological data were analyzed. The transient data of the surface tension were analyzed by kinetic models to obtain the characteristic rates of the interfacial phenomena. The kinetic mechanisms of the protein/pectin mixed systems are controlled by protein and show a weak gel behavior for short aging times. The interfaces obtained with both pectins in a mixture with ß-casein evolved with time, gelling and showing a solid-like behavior at concentrations of 1 and 10 g/L and after 3.5 h of aging time. The interfacial shear trend obtained suggests a good stabilizing effect of the pectins from citrus with long aging times.

3D-Printed Alginate/Pectin-Based Patches Loaded with Olive Leaf Extracts for Wound Healing Applications: Development, Characterization and In Vitro Evaluation of Biological Properties.

Traditional wound dressings may lack suitability for diverse wound types and individual patient requirements. In this context, this study aimed to innovate wound care by developing a 3D-printed patch using alginate and pectin and incorporating Olive Leaf Extract (OLE) as an active ingredient. Different polymer-to-plasticizer ratios were systematically examined to formulate a printable ink with optimal viscosity. The resultant film, enriched with OLE, exhibited a substantial polyphenolic content of 13.15 ± 0.41 mg CAE/g, showcasing significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Notably, the film demonstrated potent scavenging abilities against DPPH, ABTS, and NO radicals, with IC50 values of 0.66 ± 0.07, 0.47 ± 0.04, and 2.02 ± 0.14 mg/mL, respectively. In vitro release and diffusion studies were carried out and the release profiles revealed an almost complete release of polyphenols from the patch within 48 h. Additionally, the fabricated film exhibited the capacity to enhance cell motility and accelerate wound healing, evidenced by increased collagen I expression in BJ fibroblast cells. Structural assessments affirmed the ability of the patch to absorb exudates and maintain the optimal moisture balance, while biocompatibility studies underscored its suitability for biomedical applications. These compelling findings endorse the potential application of the developed film in advanced wound care, with the prospect of tailoring patches to individual patient needs.

Interfacial behavior of vegetable protein isolates at sunflower oil/water interface.

Proteins are widely used in the formation and stabilization of multiphase systems, thanks to their ability to adsorb at the interface reducing the interfacial tension and promoting the formation of viscoelastic layers. Owing to the growing consumer demand, the food industry is moving toward the growing use of plant-based proteins, suitable for consumers who do not eat products of animal origin, for either ethical or health reasons. Nevertheless, the scientific literature lacks information on the surface activity and emulsifying ability of these proteins. In this work, the interfacial properties of soy, hemp and brown rice isolate proteins were investigated at the interface with commercial sunflower oil (O/W) to evaluate their characteristics in view of potential uses in food applications such as emulsions, sauces, dressing, topping and soft foods. Dilatational and shear kinematic, with pendant drop and magnetic rod techniques, respectively, were used. The dilatational analysis was performed in static and dynamic conditions, to obtain the equilibrium adsorption isotherms and the rheological parameters of the interfacial layers under both oscillation and stress relaxation. The interfaces were studied in shear conditions with small amplitude oscillations and creep tests. The obtained results evidenced that all tested proteins are able to build a strong viscoelastic layer with properties comparable to those of animal proteins. Brown rice protein seems particularly effective in reducing the interfacial tension even if shear tests evidence that the interface is weaker than that obtained using hemp or soy protein. Hemp protein seems very promising for potential practical uses yielding intermediate interfacial tensions and strong viscoelastic layers.

Formulation Study on Edible Film from Waste Grape and Red Cabbage.

(1) Background: Recent research on the valorization of agro-industrial waste has attempted to obtain new products. Grape residue is a waste product used in the grape wine industry that is rich in anthocyanins, as well as leaves and waste parts from red cabbage processing. Anthocyanins, thanks to their various functionalities, can be recovered and used as active and intelligent agents in food packaging. Anthocyanins have antioxidant properties that help to prevent cardiovascular disease. (2) Methods: In this study, the process of extracting waste was studied using solvent and supercritical CO2 extraction. The obtained anthocyanins were used in starch-based food film formulations. Several formulations were studied using rheometric techniques and the effect of adding anthocyanins on optimal film formulation was investigated. (3) Results: Solvent extractions resulted in a maximum extraction yield. The extracts obtained were used for the preparation of coating and edible films, optimized in the formulation. (4) Conclusions: The addition of anthocyanins to films resulted in increased sample structuring and mechanical properties that are valid for applications, like dipping using coverage methods. The packaging is also attractive and pH-sensitive.

Oil Extraction from Hemp Plant as a Potential Source of Cannabidiol for Healthy Protein Foods.

In recent years, the increasing demand for alternative foods has shifted research toward new sources enriched with nutraceutical molecules. It is well known that many diseases are caused by oxidative stress; thus, the supplementation of antioxidants has been proposed to reduce it. Cannabis sativa L. is an interesting species that could provide an alternative source of antioxidants. This work aimed to investigate the possibility of optimizing the yield of cannabidiol (CBD) and recovering it from residual biomass (stalks), valorizing the residual biomass, and using this for protein bar preparation. Different extraction methods were used, and High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis was used to analyze the extracts. Antioxidant power was investigated using the 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) assays. The best results in terms of CBD yield were obtained via dynamic maceration after decarboxylation with a quantity of 26.7 ± 2 mgCBD/graw material from inflorescences. The extract also shows good antioxidant power with an IC50 value of 38.1 ± 1.1 µg/mL measured using the DPPH assay. The CBD extract was added to the hemp oil to obtain dough for protein bars. The doughs were studied by taking rheological and technological measurements, and it was found that the protein bars could provide an excellent means for the consumption of products enriched with antioxidants because their CBD anti-inflammatory activity is preserved after cooking.

Emulgels Structured with Dietary Fiber for Food Uses: A Rheological Model.

Emulgels are biphasic emulsified systems in which the continuous phase is structured with a specific gelling agent. In this work, a rheological and microscopic investigation of O/W emulgels prepared by structuring the aqueous (continuous) phase with citrus fiber was carried out with the aim of designing their macroscopic properties for food uses and predicting their characteristics with a rheological model. According to previous investigations, fiber suspensions behave as "particle gels" and, consequently, the derived emulgels' properties are strongly dependent on the fiber concentration and on process conditions adopted to produce them. Therefore, a rotor-stator system was used to prepare emulgels with increasing fiber content and with different levels of energy and power used for mixing delivered to the materials. An investigation of particle gels was then carried out, fixing the operating process conditions according to emulgel results. Furthermore, the effect of the dispersed (oil) phase volume fraction was varied and a modified semi-empirical Palierne model was proposed with the aim of optimizing a correlation between rheological properties and formulation parameters, fixing the process conditions.

An external validation of the Candiolo nomogram in a cohort of prostate cancer patients treated by external-beam radiotherapy.

BACKGROUND: the aim of this study is to perform an external validation for the Candiolo nomogram, a predictive algorithm of biochemical and clinical recurrences in prostate cancer patients treated by radical Radiotherapy, published in 2016 on the journal "Radiation Oncology". METHODS: 561 patients, treated by Radiotherapy with curative intent between 2003 and 2012, were classified according to the five risk-classes of the Candiolo nomogram and the three risk-classes of the D'Amico classification for comparison. Patients were treated with a mean prostatic dose of 77.7 Gy and a combined treatment with Androgen-Deprivation-Therapy in 76% of cases. The end-points of the study were biochemical-progression-free-survival (bPFS) and clinical-Progression-Free-Survival (cPFS). With a median follow-up of 50 months, 56 patients (10%) had a biochemical relapse, and 30 patients (5.4%) a clinical progression. The cases were divided according to D'Amico in low-risk 21%, intermediate 40%, high-risk 39%; according to Candiolo very-low-risk 24%, low 37%, intermediate 24%, high 10%, very-high-risk 5%. Statistically, the Kaplan-Meier survival curves were processed and compared using Log-Rank tests and Harrell-C concordance index. RESULTS: The 5-year bPFS for the Candiolo risk-classes range between 98 and 38%, and the 5-year cPFS between 98 and 50% for very-low and very-high-risk, respectively. The Candiolo nomogram is highly significant for the stratification of both bPFS and cPFS (P < 0.0001), as well as the D'Amico classification (P = 0.004 and P = 0.001, respectively). For the Candiolo nomogram, the C indexes for bPFS and cPFS are 75 and 80%, respectively, while for D'Amico classification they are 64 and 69%, respectively. The Candiolo nomogram can identify a greater number of patients with low and very-low-risk prostate cancer (61% versus 21% according to D'Amico) and it better picks out patients with high and very-high-risk of recurrence, equal to only 15% of the total cases but subject to 48% (27/56) of biochemical relapses and 63% (19/30) of clinical progressions. CONCLUSIONS: the external validation of the Candiolo nomogram was overall successful with C indexes approximately 10% higher than the D'Amico control classification for bPFS and cPFS. Therefore, its clinical use is justified in prostate cancer patients before radical Radiotherapy. Trial registration Retrospectively registered.

Exploring the variability of radiomic features of lung cancer lesions on unenhanced and contrast-enhanced chest CT imaging.

PURPOSE: The aim of this methods work is to explore the different behavior of radiomic features resulting by using or not the contrast medium in chest CT imaging of non-small cell lung cancer. METHODS: Chest CT scans, unenhanced and contrast-enhanced, of 17 patients were selected from images collected as part of the staging process. The major T1-T3 lesion was contoured through a semi-automatic approach. These lesions formed the lesion phantoms to study features behavior. The stability of 94 features of the 3D-Slicer package Radiomics was analyzed. Feature discrimination power was quantified by means of Gini's coefficient. Correlation between distance matrices was evaluated through Mantel statistic. Heatmap, cluster and silhouette plots were applied to find well-structured partitions of lesions. RESULTS: The Gini's coefficient evidenced a low discrimination power, <0.05, for four features and a large discrimination power, around 0.8, for five features. About 90% of features was affected by the contrast medium, masking tumor lesions variability; thirteen features only were found stable. On 8178 combinations of stable features, only one group of four features produced the same partition of lesions with the silhouette width greater than 0.51, both on unenhanced and contrast-enhanced images. CONCLUSIONS: Gini's coefficient highlighted the features discrimination power in both CT series. Many features were sensitive to the use of the contrast medium, masking the lesions intrinsic variability. Four stable features produced, on both series, the same partition of cancer lesions with reasonable structure; this may merit being objects of further validation studies and interpretative investigations.

Cardiac and Metabolic Impact of Functional Foods with Antioxidant Properties Based on Whey Derived Proteins Enriched with Hemp Seed Oil.

The impaired ability to feed properly, evident in oncologic, elderly, and dysphagic patients, may result in malnutrition and sarcopenia. Increasing the consumption of dietary proteins by functional foods and enriching their composition by adding beneficial nutrients may represent an adjuvant therapy. We aimed to evaluate the safety and the positive effects of a standard diet (SD) supplemented with whey-derived protein puddings (WDPP), with appropriate rheological properties, and hemp seed oil (HSO), rich in polyphenols. Rats were assigned to SD, WDPP, WDPP plus hemp seed oil (HSOP), and HSO supplemented diets for eight weeks. "Anthropometric", metabolic, and biochemical variables, oxidative stress, tissue injury, liver histology, and cardiac susceptibility to ischemia/reperfusion were analyzed. All the supplementations did not induce significant changes in biochemical and metabolic variables, also in relation to glucose tolerance, and livers did not undergo morphological alteration and injury. An improvement of cardiac post-ischemic function in the Langendorff perfused heart model and a reduction of infarct size were observed in WDPP and HSOP groups, thanks to their antioxidant effects and the activation of Akt- and AMPK-dependent protective pathways. Data suggest that (i) functional foods enriched with WDPP and HSOP may be used to approach malnutrition and sarcopenia successfully under disabling conditions, also conferring cardioprotection, and that (ii) adequate rheological properties could positively impact dysphagia-related problems.

Key characteristics and modelling of bigels systems: A review.

Bigels are interesting semisolid formulations with better properties for different applications such as cosmetics and pharmaceutical systems. Due to the mixing of two phases of different nature (polar and apolar), bigels possess some interesting features like ability to deliver hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs, better spreadability and water washability, improved permeability of drugs, enhanced hydration of stratum corneum and ability to manipulate the drug release rate. The main objective of this review article is to provide a thorough insight into the important characteristics of bigels together with the discussion on modelling of bigel systems to relate their properties with individual constituents and different parameters. Moreover, some important applications of bigels are also discussed by considering some examples from the literature.

Prostate cancer dose-response, fractionation sensitivity and repopulation parameters evaluation from 25 international radiotherapy outcome data sets.

OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to model the biochemical free survival at 5 years and to evaluate the parameters defining dose-response curve, dose-fractionation radiosensitivity and repopulation. METHODS: It was carried out a literature search on Pubmed to retrieve data sets of patients treated with external beam radiation therapy of 1.8-4.0 Gy per fraction and overall treatment time of 3 to 10 weeks. 10 groups were identified, based on risk class and androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Dose-response curve D50 (dose at 50% probability of control) and g50 (steepness), α/ß (dose-fractionation radiosensitivity), and repopulation parameters, dprolif and Tprolif , were calculated. Bootstrap-based cross-validation was performed and median and 95% CI (confidence interval) were evaluated. RESULTS: 25 data sets, including 20,310 patients, were considered. The median (95% CI) D50 and g50 values were 62 (CI 53 - 66) Gy and 1.6 (0.8 - 2.4). ADT patients showed lower values of D50 and g50 (57 ± 5 Gy and 1.1 ± 0.4) compared to no-ADT patients (65 ± 2 Gy and 2.3 ± 0.6), with p < 0.0001 and p = 0.002. If we did not consider any dependence on overall treatment time, the median (95% CI) value of α/ß was 1.4 (1.0 - 1.9) Gy with p < 0.0001 for all patients. The median values of dproli f and Tprolif were 0.0 to 0.3 Gy/d and 18-40 days. CONCLUSION: Dose-response curve resulted dependent on risk class and ADT, with higher steepness for no-ADT patients. Low values of dose-fractionation radiosensitivity were found, supporting the use of moderate hypofractionated radiotherapy in each risk class. A limited dependence on repopulation was observed. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: Prostate cancer response to moderate hypofractionated radiotherapy was reliably quantified considering risk class and androgen deprivation therapy.

Salvage radiation therapy after radical prostatectomy: survival analysis.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the outcome of patients treated with salvage radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy and to investigate the effects of independent predictors on survival. METHODS: From January 2000 to December 2015, 234 patients with biochemical/clinical recurrences after radical prostatectomy were submitted to salvage radiotherapy (SRT). One hundred and fifty-seven patients (67%) received three-dimensional (3D) conformal radiotherapy while 77 patients (33%) were treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) or IMRT/image-guided radiotherapy by tomotherapy. The median RT dose to prostate bed was 70.2 Gy (range: 66-79 Gy). The investigated endpoints were biochemical relapse-free survival (BRFS), clinical relapse-free survival (CRFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and prostate cancer-specific survival (PCSS). Different covariates were considered to investigate predictors of survival. RESULTS: With a median follow-up of 117 months the BRFS, CRFS, DMFS and PCSS at 10 years were 54%, 84%, 90%, and 94%, respectively. In multivariate analysis (MVA), the pathological Gleason Score (pGS) was the most important factor affecting BRFS, CRFS, DMFS and PCSS (P<0.007, HR>1.55); pathological stage (pT) was predictor of BRFS (P=0.007, HR=1.7) and PCSS (P=0.02, HR=4.2), and the last prostate-specific antigen during follow-up was an important survival predictor of CRFS (P=0.004, HR=1.26) and PCSS (P<0.0001, HR=1.04). The time between surgery and the start of SRT was correlated with BRFS (P<0.0001, HR=0.987) and CRFS (P=0.047, HR=0.989). In univariate analysis (UVA), positive surgical margins at the prostatectomy specimen improved BRFS (P=0.01, HR=0.54), CRFS (P=0.05, HR=0.46) and DMFS (P=0.005, HR=0.13) after SRT. CONCLUSIONS: At long-term follow-up, excellent outcome results of SRT on BRFS, CRFS, DMFS, and PCSS were obtained. Several prognostic factors such as pGS, pT and surgical margin status were found to be predictors of survival.

The blood rheology in renal pathology.

The blood is a viscoelastic material often studied as a Newtonian or non-linear liquid. Some pathologies and extracorporeal blood treatment processes may affect both the liquid and solid blood component. An adequate rheological technique, able to detect these alterations, may provide clinicians with an important diagnostic aid. Creep tests consisting in the application of a constant stress are very promising because they may roughly separate the liquid-like (i.e., at long response times) from the solid-like (i.e., at short response times) component of the blood rheological behaviour. In this paper, some preliminary results obtained in creep tests on healthy and uremic individuals are reported showing the potentiality of this technique.

Prognostic factors in prostate cancer patients treated by radical external beam radiotherapy.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this paper was to analyze, retrospectively, in prostate cancer patients treated in our Centre with external beam radiotherapy, the prognostic factors and their impact on the outcome in terms of cancer-specific survival (CSS), biochemical disease-free survival (BDFS) and clinical disease-free survival (CDFS). METHODS: From October 1999 and March 2012, 1080 patients were treated with radiotherapy at our Institution: 87% of them were classified as ≤cT2, 83% had a Gleason Score (GS) ≤7, their mean of iPSA was 18 ng/mL, and the rate of clinical positive nodes was 1%. The mean follow-up was 81 months. RESULTS: The statistically significant prognostic factors for all groups of patients at both, univariate and multivariate analysis, were the GS and the iPSA. In intermediate- and high- or very-high-risk patients at multivariate analysis other prognostic factors for CSS were positive nodes on computed tomography (CT) scan and rectal preparation during the treatment; for BDFS, the prognostic factors were patient risk classification, positive lymph nodes on CT scan and rectal/bladder preparation; for CDFS, the prognostic factors were the number of positive core on biopsy (P=0.003), positive lymph nodes on CT scan, and radiotherapy (RT) dose. In high/very-high risk patient group at multivariate analysis other prognostic factors for CSS were clinical/radiological stage and RT dose, for BDFS they were adjuvant hormone therapy, clinical/radiological stage, and RT dose >77.7 Gy, and for CDFS they were clinical/radiological stage and RT dose >77.7 Gy. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study confirm the prognostic factors described in the recent literature, with the addition of rectal/bladder preparation, generally known for its effect on toxicity but not yet on outcome.

A Simple PSA-Based Computational Approach Predicts the Timing of Cancer Relapse in Prostatectomized Patients.

Recurrences of prostate cancer affect approximately one quarter of patients who have undergone radical prostatectomy. Reliable factors to predict time to relapse in specific individuals are lacking. Here, we present a mathematical model that evaluates a biologically sensible parameter (α) that can be estimated by the available follow-up data, in particular by the PSA series. This parameter is robust and highly predictive for the time to relapse, also after administration of adjuvant androgen deprivation therapies. We present a practical computational method based on the collection of only four postsurgical PSA values. This study offers a simple tool to predict prostate cancer relapse. Cancer Res; 76(17); 4941-7. ©2016 AACR.

Percentage of positive prostate biopsies independently predicts biochemical outcome following radiation therapy for prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: This work aims to definitely show the ability of percentage of positive biopsy cores (%PC) to independently predict biochemical outcome beyond traditional pretreatment risk-factors in prostate cancer (PCa) patients treated with radiotherapy. METHODS: A cohort of 2493 men belonging to the EUREKA-2 retrospective multicentric database on (PCa) and treated with external-beam radiation therapy (EBRT) as primary treatment comprised the study population (median follow-up 50 months). A Cox regression time to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) failure analysis was performed to evaluate the predictive power of %PC, both in univariate and multivariate settings, with age, pretreatment PSA, clinical-radiological staging, bioptic Gleason Score (bGS), RT dose and RT +/- ADT as covariates. RESULTS: P statistics for %PC is lower than 0.001 both in univariate and multivariate models. %PC as a continuous variable yields an AUC of 69% in ROC curve analysis for biochemical relapse. Four classes of %PC (1-20%, 21-50%, 51-80% and 81-100%) distinctly split patients for risk of biochemical relapse (overall log-rank test P<0.0001), with biochemical progression free survival (bPFS) at 5-years ranging from 88% to 58% and 10-years bPFS ranging from 80% to 38%. CONCLUSIONS: We strongly affirm the usefulness of %PC information beyond main risk factors (PSA, staging and bGS) in predicting biochemical recurrence after EBRT for PCa. The stratification of patients according to %PC may be valuable to further discriminate cases with favourable or adverse prognosis.

The effects of intermolecular interactions on the physical properties of organogels in edible oils.

The microstructure of organogels based on monoglycerides of fatty acids (MAGs) and policosanol and on different edible oils was investigated by using different techniques (calorimetry, nuclear magnetic resonance, infrared spectroscopy, rheology, polarized light microscopy) towards a better understanding and control of the oil gelation phenomena. Dynamic moduli were related via a fractal model to microstructural information such as solid content and fractal dimension. Infrared spectroscopy evidenced that network structure in MAGs gel is mainly due to hydrogen bonding, whereas in policosanol system is mainly given by van der Waals interactions. Because of the different relative contribution of molecular interactions, the investigated organogelators exhibit a distinguished macroscopic behavior. MAGs are sensitive to the utilized oil and structuration occurs quickly, even though at a temperature lower than policosanol. Policosanol organogels exhibit a behavior independent of the used oil and a slower gelation rate, as a result of the weaker van der Waals interactions. Nevertheless, at lower concentration a stronger final gel is obtained, probably due to of the large number of interactions arising among the long alkyl chains of the fatty alcohols. Obtained results evidenced that policosanol is very effective in gelation of different oils and seems promising for potential commercial uses.

A rheological and microstructural characterisation of bigels for cosmetic and pharmaceutical uses.

Bigels are biphasic systems formed by water-based hydrogels and oil-based organogels, mainly studied, in the last few years, for pharmaceutical and cosmetic application focused on the controlled delivery of both lipophilic and hydrophilic active agents. The rheological properties of bigels depend on both the amount and the rheological characteristics of single structured phases. Moreover, it can be expected that, at large fractions of one of the starting gels, systems more complex than oil-in-water or water-in-oil can be obtained, yielding bicontinuous or matrix-in-matrix arrangement. Model bigels were investigated from a microstructural (i.e. microscopy and electrical conductivity tests) and rheological point of view. The hydrogel was prepared by using a low-methoxyl pectin whereas the organogel was prepared by using olive oil and, as gelator, a mixture of glyceryl stearate and policosanol. Model bigels were obtained by increasing the amount of organogel mixed with the hydrogel, and microstructural characterisation evidenced an organogel-in-hydrogel behaviour for all investigated samples, even though at the highest organogel content a more complex structure seems to arise. A semi-empirical model, based on theoretical equations developed for suspensions of elastic spheres in elastic media, was proposed to relate bigel rheological properties to single phase properties and fractions.

Adjuvant helical IMRT by tomotherapy for bulky adrenocortical carcinoma operated with positive margins: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare tumor in the adult. The main therapy is surgery but in some cases radiotherapy may be needed to control the disease locally. METHODS: A patient with a surgically removed bulky ACC and pathologic finding of a positive margin was treated at our center by adjuvant mitotane and radiotherapy using an intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)/image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) technique by tomotherapy. Dose prescriptions were 63 Gy on the surgical bed and 50.4 Gy on the lymphatic drainage in 28 sessions. Patient compliance was good with no evidence of acute or late toxicities. RESULTS: Thirty months after radiotherapy, the patient is alive without evidence of disease checked by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography and without any complication. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with adverse prognostic features, the delivery of adequate adjuvant radiotherapy doses with IMRT and daily IGRT is feasible and safe and could result in an improved outcome for patients with ACC.