Oleic acid modulation of the immune response in wound healing: a new approach for skin repair.

Injury triggers inflammatory responses and tissue repair. Several treatments are currently in use to accelerate healing; however, more efficient formulations are still needed for specific injuries. Since unsaturated fatty acids modulate immune responses, we aimed to evaluate their therapeutic effects on wound healing. Skin wounds were induced in BALB/c mice and treated for 5 days with n-3, n-9 fatty acids or vehicle (control). n-9 treated mice presented smaller wounds than control and n-3 at 120 h post-surgery (p.s.). Collagen III mRNA, TIMP1 and MMP9 were significantly elevated in n-9 group compared to n-3 or vehicle at 120 h p.s. Among the inflammatory mediators studied we found that IL-10, TNF-α and IL-17 were also higher in n-9 treated group compared to n-3 or vehicle at 120 h p.s. Interestingly, COX2 had decreased expression on wound tissue treated with n-9. Inflammatory infiltrate analysis revealed diminished frequency of CD4(+), CD8(+) and CD11b(+) cells in n-9 wounds at 24 and 120 h p.s., which was not related to cell death, since in vitro apoptosis experiments did not show any cell damage after fatty acids administration. These results suggested that unsaturated fatty acids, specifically n-9, modulate the inflammation in the wound and enhance reparative response in vivo. n-9 may be a useful tool in the treatment of cutaneous wounds.

A role for adsorption in lead leachability from MSWI bottom ASH.

Owing to its high porosity and large surface area, bottom ash from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) has been previously suggested as an adsorbent for removing heavy metals from wastewater. However, since lead leachability is not clearly understood, this study reports the behavior of lead for leaching from MSWI bottom ash, classified as NH, W and H. Leaching kinetics show a sorption/desorption mechanism producing equilibrium in the leachates. Adsorption experiments reveal a similarly high saturation coverage for NH, W and H bottom ash, demonstrating a considerable adsorption capacity. Adsorption mainly reflects an ion exchange mechanism. Successive leaching experiments prove that at least two species of lead can be stripped from bottom ash: one is Pb(OH)(4)(2-) and the second, identified by XAS, is a lead complex sorbed on the surface of Fe colloïd or FeOOH polymers.

[Evaluation of the accuracy of precipitation methods for HDL cholesterol determination]. / Valutazione dell'accuratezza dei metodi di precipitazione per il dosaggio del colesterolo delle HDL.

Several methods for HDL-Cholesterol determination have been proposed; the over-floating cholesterol evaluation after non-HDL lipoproteins precipitation by polyanions with bivalent cations or neutral polymers is practical and not expensive, but it's accuracy and precision must be strictly control led. The Authors, after a review and a quality-check of the most used methods, conclude that the best accuracy for HDL-Cholesterol determination is provided by Dextransulphate-Mg-chloride and Phosphotungstate-Mg-chloride at pH 7,5.

[Relationships between programmed physical activity and risk factors in atherosclerosis]. / Osservazioni sui rapporti tra attivita' fisica programmate e fattori di rischio dell'aterosclersoi.

The lipidemic pattern has been evaluated in 40 systematically trained subjects and in 43 subjects of same age and BMI sedentary ones. The mean CT concentration of active subjects was not different from that of the sedentary group, whereas HDL-C was significantly higher and TG significantly lower, CT/HDL-C was significantly lower in active subjects. The obtained results show that systematic physical activity, even if not at agonistic level, can induce antiatherogenic modifications of the lipidemic pattern.

[Influence of alcohol intake and smoking on plasma HDL cholesterol in active and sedentary subjects]. / Interferenza dell'assunzione di alcool e del fumo sulla concentrazione plasmatica del colesterolo HDL in soggetti attivi e sedentari.

The effect of physical activity, of smoking habit and alcohol assumption on plasma HDL-cholesterol has been evaluated in 40 normolipidaemic male active subjects and in 43 non-active ones. The comparison have been performed after covariance adjustment for potentially confounding variables. Physical activity increases and smoking habit decreases HDL-cholesterol plasma levels; no effects depending on alcohol consumption have been found.