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Heat stress is a significant challenge in dairy cattle herds, affecting milk production and quality, and generating important changes at the cellular level. Most in vitro research on heat shock (HS) effects on dairy cow mammary cells was focused on medium-long-term effects. In recent years, Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) micro-spectroscopy has been increasingly used to study the effects of several external stresses on different cell lines, down to the level of single cellular components, such as DNA/RNA, lipids, and proteins. In this study, the possible changes at the biochemical and molecular level induced by acute (30 min-2 h) HS in bovine mammary epithelial (BME-UV1) cells were investigated. The cells were exposed to different temperatures, thermoneutral (TN, 37 °C) and HS (42 °C), and FT-IR spectra were acquired to analyse the effects of HS on biochemical characteristics of BME-UV1 cellular components (proteins, lipids, and DNA/RNA). Moreover, cell viability assay, reactive oxygen species production, and mRNA expression of heat shock proteins (HSPA1A, HSP90AA1, GRP78, GRP94) and antioxidant genes (SOD1, SOD2) by RT-qPCR were also analysed. The FT-IR results showed a change already at 30 min of HS exposure, in the content of long-chain fatty acids, which probably acted as a response to a modification of membrane fluidity in HS cells compared with TN cells. After 2 h of HS exposure, modification of DNA/RNA activity and accumulation of aggregated proteins was highlighted in HS cells. The gene expression analyses showed the overexpression of HSPA1A and HSP90AA1 starting from 30 min up to 2 h in HS cells compared with TN cells. At 2 h of HS exposure, also the overexpression of GRP94 was observed in HS cells. Acute HS did not affect cell viability, reactive oxygen species level, and SOD1 and SOD2 gene expression of BME-UV1 cells. According to the results obtained, cells initiate early defence mechanisms in case of acute HS and probably this efficient response capacity may be decisive for tolerance to heat stress of dairy cattle.

Olive oil is the main fat source of the Mediterranean diet. This seasoning ingredient is highly appreciated for its unique taste, functional properties, and positive impact on human health. The determination of chemical composition is a demanding task in order to fully characterize this precious food product, ensure its quality, and prevent fraudulent practices. Among innovative techniques proposed for the oil analysis, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) can be an extremely useful tool for olive oil characterization. In this frame, we have investigated five noncommercial olive oils produced in different parts of South Italy by using a commercial Raman microspectroscopy apparatus and home-made signal-enhancing SERS substrates. A wavelet-based data analysis has allowed us to efficiently remove the background and the noise from the acquired spectra. The analysis of these SERS spectra has enabled the quantification of the relative contents of carotene, oleic acid, and phenols. These relative contents differ in the examined samples. In addition, SERS response in the lipid region has indicated differences in the relative abundance of saturated fatty acids. The present results confirm the validity of the SERS technique as a rapid, nondestructive, and reliable analytical technique for identifying olive oil bioactive components.

La presente investigación busca conocer la percepción de frustración anómica, confianza institucional y bienestar social de los sujetos así como la relación entre estos indicadores. El estudio es descriptivo correlacional, de diseño no experimental transversal, con una muestra no probabilística intencional compuesta por 585 participantes (34.7% hombres y 65.3% mujeres. Edad: M = 28.50; SD = 11.02) de Buenos Aires y otras ciudades de Argentina. Los resultados arrojan una percepción positiva en el bienestar social con un déficit en la confianza en los otros, bajos niveles de confianza en las instituciones y niveles altos de frustración anómica. Se corrobora la validez convergente y surgen diferencias a partir de variables de agrupación.

Para Rokeach (1968), los valores son un concepto clave en las Ciencias Sociales, la principal variable dependiente en los estudios culturales sobre la sociedad y la personalidad y la principal variable independiente en el estudio de las actitudes y la conducta social. Distintas investigaciones en Psicología Política revelan a los valores como importantes para la explicación de los fenómenos políticos (e.g., Barnea & Schwartz, 1998; Caprara & Zimbardo, 2004; Delfino, Fernández & Zubieta, 2007). Las dimensiones postuladas o identificadas en los estudios relevantes sobre valores políticos también pueden ser localizadas dentro del marco de su teoría de los valores humanos. Con el objetivo de conocer el perfil de valores de un grupo de jóvenes y sus variaciones en función del posicionamiento ideológico y de aspectos sociodemográficos, se realizó un estudio descriptivo-correlacional, de diseño no experimental transversal sobre la base de una muestra intencional de 500 estudiantes universitarios. Se detectó una relación interesante entre las metas motivacionales, la orientación política y los valores de igualdad y libertad. Quienes optan por la libertad enfatizan valores de autodirección, hedonismo, logro y poder, mientras que quienes priorizan la igualdad valoran más la tradición y el universalismo. Quienes se inclinan por la libertad muestran mayor tendencia a la apertura al cambio y a la autopromoción -acento en la persona-, en tanto los que eligen la igualdad valoran en mayor medida la conservación y la autotrascendencia mostrando una mayor orientación hacia lo social.

El voto ha sido por mucho tiempo la forma más habitual de participación política, aunque éste es sólo uno más entre los muchos recursos de los que dispone el sujeto para incidir en el mundo político. El repertorio político actual de los individuos hace necesaria una reflexión sobre la extensión y límites de la participación política. Por eso este trabajo propone discutir su concepto y modalidades a través de una revisión bibliográfica que analiza las definiciones que han prevalecido en los últimos 60 años así como de las formas que los distintos autores han identificado. Los estudios muestran la relación positiva entre la participación política convencional y el potencial de protesta o la contingencia de la participación democrática junto con la participación agresiva. La protesta política como estrategia compatible con procedimientos más convencionales habla de una complejidad que hace necesario sortear la dificultad de considerar a la participación política no convencional como un elemento más del abanico de acciones políticas de los sujetos. La revisión realizada permite plantear que aún cuando la distinción convencional - no convencional sigue siendo de gran utilidad, la participación política debe ser vista también como un complejo continuo con una multiplicidad de factores asociados.Vote has been for long time the type of political participation which has received most consideration, even when it is just one of the different resources individuals have to influence in political world. Current individual political repertoire leads to a reflection on the extension and limits of political participation. This text proposes a discussion about it concepts and types through a bibliographical review which analyses the definitions that have prevailed and forms that authors have identified in the last 60 years. Studies show a positive relationship between conventional political participation and protest potential, and a contingency of democratic and aggressive participation. Political protest as a compatible strategy with more conventional procedures present a complexity which stress the necessity of drawing lots of the difficulty of considering non conventional political participation as a relevant element in persons political repertoire. Current review allows to point out that even when conventional and non conventional distinction is still useful, political participation has to be seen also as a complex continual with a multiplicity of associated factors.

En este trabajo se analiza la relación entre: perfil cultural, actitudes políticas y económicas, y comportamiento electoral. Se trabaja con una muestra de 1253 estudiantes de 4 universidades nacionales. Los ítems estudiados fueron: funciones del Estado; evaluación del Gobierno Nacional y de los partidos políticos; importancia asignada al mercado, a la propiedad privada y a las inversiones económicas; intención de voto para las elecciones legislativas del 23/10/05 y razones; actividades culturales realizadas en el tiempo libre. Se analizan los resultados obtenidos y la relación entre perfil cultural e intención de voto.This work analyzed the relationship between: cultural profile, political and economic attitudes, and electoral behaviour, with a sample of 1253 students of 4 national universities. The studied issues were: State functions; National Government and political parties' evaluation; value assigned to the market, to private property and economic investments; vote intention for 10/23/05 legislative elections and reasons; cultural activities carried out during free time. The obtained results and the relationship between cultural profile and vote intention are analyzed.

Se trata de un estudio descriptivo que busca verificar diferencias entre grupos de estudiantes universitarios a partir de una muestra intencional de 1070 sujetos voluntarios. El objetivo era conocer la conceptualización que realizan de la democracia, la evaluación que efectúan del actual funcionamiento de las instituciones cívico-políticas en Argentina y la valoración que presentan del desarrollo individual. Respecto a la calidad actual de la democracia, la mayoría de las respuestas se acercan al polo negativo del continuo de evaluación. Se detectan diferencias en las respuestas en función del tipo de carrera que estudian: presentan una mayor valoración quienes estudian carreras técnico-económicas. Se destaca que los estudiantes de carreras técnico-económicas en general y quienes estudian en universidades privadas presentan una mejor valoración de la iniciativa individual y de la capacitación recibida en sus carreras, así como una percepción más positiva de la relación entre iniciativa privada e interés social.It is a descriptive study that looks forward to verify differences between college students' groups from an intentional sample of 1070 voluntaries. The objective was to know what they understand about democracy, the evaluation they make of the current functioning of the civic-political institutions in Argentina and the valuation they present of the individual development. In relation with the current quality of democracy, most of the answers come closer to the negative pole of the continuous of evaluation. Differences are detected in the answers in function of the career type they study: those studying technician-economic careers present a higher valuation. It is notable that students of technician-economic careers in general and those studying in private universities present a better valuation of the individual initiative and of their careers, as well as a more positive perception of the relationship between private initiative and social interest.

Objective: Malignant pericardial effusions are associated with a poor prognosis. Pericardial fluid cytology and pericardial biopsy are the primary methods for diagnosis. This study aimed to conduct a multi-institutional analysis to compare the diagnostic sensitivity of cytology and biopsy, and to investigate potential explanations for false-negative results in cytology., Methods: A retrospective review of pericardial fluid cytology cases with concurrent biopsy was conducted across four different institutions. Results were compared using standard statistical methods with attention to sensitivity and histologic distribution. False-negative cytology cases were investigated for further exploration., Results: A total of 309 cases were collected, of which 99 (32.0%) were confirmed malignant through repeat sampling or clinical history. Pericardial fluid cytology and biopsy identified 84 and 64 malignant cases, respectively. Our findings confirmed significantly higher sensitivity of cytology compared to biopsy (84.8% vs 65.7%). The most common sites of origin were lung, breast, and gastrointestinal, with adenocarcinoma being the most prevalent histologic subtype. Histologic review of 12 false-negative cytology cases revealed three key explanations; lymphoma was the most common missed diagnosis (33.3%); fibrinous pericarditis obscures neoplastic cells on the pericardial surface; and pericardial involvement can be seen without extension into the pericardial space., Conclusion: This study demonstrated diagnostic superiority of pericardial fluid cytology over biopsy in the evaluation of malignant pericardial effusions. We identified several limitations in fluid cytology causing false negatives. In the context of an underlying malignancy with pericardial effusion, pathologists should consider immunohistochemistry studies to aid on the diagnosis., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Heat stress is a significant challenge in dairy cattle herds, affecting milk production and quality, and generating important changes at the cellular level. Most in vitro research on heat shock (HS) effects on dairy cow mammary cells was focused on medium-long-term effects. In recent years, Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) micro-spectroscopy has been increasingly used to study the effects of several external stresses on different cell lines, down to the level of single cellular components, such as DNA/RNA, lipids, and proteins. In this study, the possible changes at the biochemical and molecular level induced by acute (30 min-2 h) HS in bovine mammary epithelial (BME-UV1) cells were investigated. The cells were exposed to different temperatures, thermoneutral (TN, 37 °C) and HS (42 °C), and FT-IR spectra were acquired to analyse the effects of HS on biochemical characteristics of BME-UV1 cellular components (proteins, lipids, and DNA/RNA). Moreover, cell viability assay, reactive oxygen species production, and mRNA expression of heat shock proteins (HSPA1A, HSP90AA1, GRP78, GRP94) and antioxidant genes (SOD1, SOD2) by RT-qPCR were also analysed. The FT-IR results showed a change already at 30 min of HS exposure, in the content of long-chain fatty acids, which probably acted as a response to a modification of membrane fluidity in HS cells compared with TN cells. After 2 h of HS exposure, modification of DNA/RNA activity and accumulation of aggregated proteins was highlighted in HS cells. The gene expression analyses showed the overexpression of HSPA1A and HSP90AA1 starting from 30 min up to 2 h in HS cells compared with TN cells. At 2 h of HS exposure, also the overexpression of GRP94 was observed in HS cells. Acute HS did not affect cell viability, reactive oxygen species level, and SOD1 and SOD2 gene expression of BME-UV1 cells. According to the results obtained, cells initiate early defence mechanisms in case of acute HS and probably this efficient response capacity may be decisive for tolerance to heat stress of dairy cattle., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Neuroblastoma is the most recurring cancer in childhood and adolescence. The SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell line is generally adopted for elaborating new therapeutical approaches and/or elaborating strategies for the prevention of central nervous system disturbances. In fact, it represents a valid model system for investigating in vitro the effects on the brain of X-ray exposure using vibrational spectroscopies that can detect early radiation-induced molecular alterations of potential clinical usefulness. In recent years, we dedicated significant efforts in the use of Fourier-transform and Raman microspectroscopy techniques for characterizing such radiation-induced effects on SH-SY5Y cells by examining the contributions from different cell components (DNA, proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates) to the vibrational spectra. In this review, we aim at revising and comparing the main results of our studies to provide a wide outlook of the latest outcomes and a framework for future radiobiology research using vibrational spectroscopies. A short description of our experimental approaches and data analysis procedures is also reported., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: The use of ionizing radiations in radiotherapy is an effective and very common cancer treatment after surgery. Although ionizing-radiation DNA damages are extensively investigated, little is known about their effects on the other nuclear components, since their variations when studied in whole cells can be difficult to decouple from those of the cytoplasmatic structures. The organization of nuclear components plays a functional role since they are directly involved in some of the nuclear response to chemical or physical stimuli. For this reason, studying the X-ray effects on nuclear components is a crucial step in radiobiology., Materials and Methods: We have used Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and micro-FTIR to examine the biomechanical and biochemical properties of hydrated fixed nuclei isolated from neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) cells irradiated by 2, 4, 6 and 8 Gy X-ray doses., Results: The experimental results have shown that, already at 2 Gy irradiation dose, the nuclei exhibit not only a DNA damage, but also relevant alterations of lipid saturation, protein secondary structure arrangement and a significant decrease in nuclear stiffness, which indicate a remarkable chromatin decondensation., Conclusions and General Significance: The present work demonstrates that a multi-technique approach, able to disclose multiple features, can be helpful to achieve a comprehensive picture of the X-ray irradiation effects of the nuclear components and distinguish them from those occurring at the level of cytoplasm., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Ines Delfino reports financial support, equipment, drugs, or supplies, and travel were provided by Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste SCpA. Maria Lepore reports a relationship with Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste SCpA that includes: funding grants, non-financial support, and travel reimbursement., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

DNA owes its remarkable photostability to its building blocks-the nucleosides-that efficiently dissipate the energy acquired upon ultraviolet light absorption. The mechanism occurring on a sub-picosecond time scale has been a matter of intense debate. Here we combine sub-30-fs transient absorption spectroscopy experiments with broad spectral coverage and state-of-the-art mixed quantum-classical dynamics with spectral signal simulations to resolve the early steps of the deactivation mechanisms of uridine (Urd) and 5-methyluridine (5mUrd) in aqueous solution. We track the wave packet motion from the Franck-Condon region to the conical intersections (CIs) with the ground state and observe spectral signatures of excited-state vibrational modes. 5mUrd exhibits an order of magnitude longer lifetime with respect to Urd due to the solvent reorganization needed to facilitate bulky methyl group motions leading to the CI. This activates potentially lesion-inducing dynamics such as ring opening. Involvement of the 1 nπ* state is found to be negligible., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Phenolic compounds are particularly dangerous due to their ability to remain in the environment for a long period of time and their toxic effects. They enter in the environment in different ways, such as waste from paper manufacturing, agriculture (pesticides, insecticides, herbicides), pharmaceuticals, the petrochemical industry, and coal processing. Conventional methods for phenolic compounds detection present some disadvantages, such as cumbersome sample preparation, complex and time-consuming procedures, and need of expensive equipment. Therefore, there is a very large interest in developing sensors and new sensing schemes for fast and easy-to-use methods for detecting and monitoring the phenolic compound concentration in the environment, with special attention to water. Good analytical properties, reliability, and adaptability are required for the developed sensors. The present paper aims at revising the most generally used optical methods for designing and fabricating biosensors and sensors for phenolic compounds. Some selected examples of the most interesting applications of these techniques are also proposed.

Lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) are applied in several industrial applications. The nanoprecipitation of LNPs is fast and inexpensive but currently still limited to the use of hazardous organic solvents, making it difficult to apply them on a large scale. Here, we report a scalable nanoprecipitation procedure for the preparation of colloidal lignin nanoparticles (cLNPs) by the use of the green solvents dimethylisosorbide and isopropylidene glycerol. Irrespective of the experimental conditions, cLNPs showed higher UV absorbing properties and radical scavenging activity than parent LNPs and raw lignin. cLNPs were successively used in the preparation of eco-friendly sunscreen formulations (SPF 15, 30, and 50+, as evaluated by the COLIPA assay), which showed high UV-shielding activity even in the absence of synthetic boosters (microplastics) and physical filters (TiO 2 and ZnO). Biological assays on human HaCaT keratinocytes and human skin equivalents demonstrated the absence of cytotoxicity and genotoxicity, associated with an optimal protection of the skin from UV-A damage., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2021 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

COVID-19 has been associated with cardiac injury and dysfunction. While both myocardial inflammatory cell infiltration and myocarditis with myocyte injury have been reported in patients with fatal COVID-19, clinical-pathologic correlations remain limited. The objective was to determine the relationships between cardiac pathological changes in patients dying from COVID-19 and cardiac infection by SARS-CoV-2, laboratory measurements, clinical features, and treatments. In a retrospective study, 41 consecutive autopsies of patients with fatal COVID-19 were analyzed for the associations between cardiac inflammation, myocarditis, cardiac infection by SARS-CoV-2, clinical features, laboratory measurements, and treatments. Cardiac infection was assessed by in situ hybridization and NanoString transcriptomic profiling. Cardiac infection by SARS-CoV-2 was present in 30/41 cases: virus + with myocarditis (n = 4), virus + without myocarditis (n = 26), and virus - without myocarditis (n = 11). In the cases with cardiac infection, SARS-CoV-2 + cells in the myocardium were rare, with a median density of 1 cell/cm 2 . Virus + cases showed higher densities of myocardial CD68 + macrophages and CD3 + lymphocytes, as well as more electrocardiographic changes (23/27 vs 4/10; P = 0.01). Myocarditis was more prevalent with IL-6 blockade than with nonbiologic immunosuppression, primarily glucocorticoids (2/3 vs 0/14; P = 0.02). Overall, SARS-CoV-2 cardiac infection was less prevalent in patients treated with nonbiologic immunosuppression (7/14 vs 21/24; P = 0.02). Myocardial macrophage and lymphocyte densities overall were positively correlated with the duration of symptoms but not with underlying comorbidities. In summary, cardiac infection with SARS-CoV-2 is common among patients dying from COVID-19 but often with only rare infected cells. Cardiac infection by SARS-CoV-2 is associated with more cardiac inflammation and electrocardiographic changes. Nonbiologic immunosuppression is associated with lower incidences of myocarditis and cardiac infection by SARS-CoV-2.