Publications by authors named "Alessio Gnerucci"

Oxidative and inflammatory stresses contribute to the development of many intestinal pathologies. This study characterized the polyphenolic profile and biological activity of a hydroalcoholic extract obtained from the fruit pulp of on HT29 intestinal epithelial cells subjected to oxidative (HO) and inflammatory (cytokines) stress. HPLC-DAD-MS analysis revealed an interesting phenolic composition, rich in hydrolyzable tannins (HHDP-glucose, pedunculagin and other ellagic acid derivatives) and condensed tannins (procyanidin dimers), with a total polyphenol content of 8.

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Fluctuations in emergency department (ED) utilization may be related to pollutant concentration variations that can heighten acute pathologies, exacerbate chronic conditions or indicate increased human activity. This study investigates the association between particulate matter (PM2.5-PM10) concentrations in patients' residential areas and ED visits.

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The effects of the phenolic compounds of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) on AGS cells have never been studied so far, which is the aim of this study. The profiles of the main phenolic components in EVOOs, mainly secoiridoid compounds derived from the transformation of oleuropein during the olive milling process, were evaluated and compared. Oils of different origins were evaluated aiming at verifying whether chemical differences in the phenolic composition of the dry extracts played a role in the metabolism and in maintaining the cellular redox state of AGS cells.

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Pâté is a by-product of olive oil production which represents an abundant source of phenolic compounds and can be used for food formulation, reducing its environmental impact and promoting a circular economy. In this context, the effects of a hydroalcoholic extract of pâté were evaluated for the first time in an AGS human cell line commonly used as model of gastric mucosa. Pâté was obtained from Tuscan olives; the total phenolic content was 16.

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Helicobacter pylori gastric infections are among the most diffused worldwide, suffering from a rising rate of antibiotic resistance. In this context, some of the authors have previously designed an ingestible device in the form of a luminous capsule to perform antibacterial photodynamic inactivation in the stomach. In this study, the light-emitting capsules were tested to verify the safety of use prior to perform clinical efficacy studies.

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Purpose: We investigate, by an extensive quality evaluation approach, performances and potential side effects introduced in Computed Tomography (CT) images by Deep Learning (DL) processing.

Method: We selected two relevant processing steps, denoise and segmentation, implemented by two Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) models based on autoencoder architecture (encoder-decoder and UNet) and trained for the two tasks. In order to limit the number of uncontrolled variables, we designed a phantom containing cylindrical inserts of different sizes, filled with iodinated contrast media.

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Scratch assay is an easy and widely used "in vitro" technique to study cell migration and proliferation. In this work we focus on its modelling and on the capability to distinguish between these two phenomena that the simpler and common models are not able to disentangle. We adapted a model based on reaction-diffusion equation for being used with common microscopy instruments/data and therefore taking place in the gap between simpler modelling approaches and complex ones.

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The objective of this study was to investigate the possible synergy between doxycycline and photodynamic therapy against and to evaluate the possible side effects on adenocarcinoma gastric cells with and without protoporphyrin IX. Three strains (ATCC 700392, 43504 and 49503) were grown on solid medium either with, or without, doxycycline at subinhibitory concentrations, and irradiated for 10, 20 and 30 minutes with a 400 nm-peaked light source. The phototoxicity tests on AGS cells were evaluated by MTT assay.

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This work inserts in the research field regarding the effects of altered gravity conditions on biological plant processes. Pinus pinea seeds germination was studied in simulated microgravity (2x10g) and hypergravity (20g) conditions. The effects of simulated gravity were evaluated monitoring the levels of the key enzymes, involved in the main metabolic pathway during germination process of lipid-rich seeds (oilseeds): isocitrate lyase and malate synthase for glyoxylate cycle, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase for beta-oxidation, isocitrate dehydrogenase for Krebs cycle, pyruvate kinase for glycolysis and glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase for pentose phosphate shunt.

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Cell staining techniques are well established in cell biology and associated with a broad range of dedicated dyes; however, they are accompanied by non-negligible costs, preparation time and unavoidable alterations of the sample with foreign molecules. In this context, we point out and propose the use of darkfield microscopy (DM) combined with different fixation protocols (to be used anyway) to enhance the different cell structures and districts as a timesaving and inexpensive support to the techniques that need staining or immuno-staining protocols and products. In a first step, we have analysed the effect of different fixation protocols on DM images for various human cellular lines.

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Since many years it has been acknowledged that some bacterial species, among which H. pylori, P. aeruginosa, P.

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In the fields of nanomedicine, biophotonics and radiation therapy, nanoparticle (NP) detection in cell models often represents a fundamental step for many in vivo studies. One common question is whether NPs have or have not interacted with cells. In this context, we propose an imaging based technique to detect the presence of NPs in eukaryotic cells.

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Background: The interest for gold nanorods in biomedical optics is driven by their intense absorbance of near infrared light, their biocompatibility and their potential to reach tumors after systemic administration. Examples of applications include the photoacoustic imaging and the photothermal ablation of cancer. In spite of great current efforts, the selective delivery of gold nanorods to tumors through the bloodstream remains a formidable challenge.

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We present a darkfield optical microspectroscopy technique devoted to the disentangled measurement of the absorption and scattering cross sections of nanoparticle (NP) samples with variable concentration. The robustness of the method, including the needed instrumental calibrations, is examined in detail by analyzing and quantifying the major sources of statistic and systematic errors. As an exemplary case, results are presented on a gold NP colloid.

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