Oleogels: Uses, Applications, and Potential in the Food Industry.

Oleogels are a subclass of organogels that present a healthier alternative to traditional saturated and trans solid fats in food products. The unique structure and composition that oleogels possess make them able to provide desirable sensory and textural features to a range of food products, such as baked goods, processed meats, dairy products, and confectionery, while also improving the nutritional profiles of these food products. The fact that oleogels have the potential to bring about healthier food products, thereby contributing to a better diet, makes interest in the subject ever-increasing, especially due to the global issue of obesity and related health issues.

Assessment of potential drug-drug interactions in patients with hereditary angioedema from the ITACA cohort: simulations from a real-life dataset considering danazol versus berotralstat.

Background: Danazol is regularly used as a prophylactic treatment in patients with Hereditary angioedema due to C1-inhibitor deficiency (HAE-C1INH). However, this drug is characterized by a risk of drug-drug interactions (DDIs). Berotralstat, the first oral kallikrein inhibitor, has been recently approved for the prevention of HAE attacks.

Addressing gaps in asthma management during childbearing age and pregnancy: insights from a survey of Italian physicians and patients.

Background: Asthma is a common condition among women of childbearing age, requiring careful management, particularly during pregnancy. Despite existing guidelines, significant gaps remain in asthma management during pregnancy, notably for women with moderate-to-severe asthma.

Aim: This study aimed to explore the awareness, limitations, and challenges of asthma management during childbearing age and pregnancy from both asthmatic women (AW) and physician perspectives in Italy.

Patient-reported outcome measures for chronic spontaneous urticaria: a strategy centred on optimizing patient management.

Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a persistent skin condition characterized by itchy weals, angio-oedema, or both, which has a significant impact on patients' quality of life. The absence of identifiable triggers makes diagnosis, monitoring and management particularly challenging. Patient-reported outcomes are direct reports from patients that offer valuable insights into their health and wellbeing, enhancing communication between patients and clinicians and enabling more personalized care and informed decision making.

Improving Bitumen Properties with Chitosan: A Sustainable Approach to Road Construction.

This research explores the utilization of chitosan, a naturally derived biopolymer, as an innovative additive in bitumen for road construction. The experimental procedure for incorporating chitosan into bitumen, in agreement with its thermal stability, is described. Four different types of chitosan (two different degrees of deacetylation: >75 and >90% in free amine groups; molecular weight ranging from 100 to 800 kD) have been considered.

Microstructural modifications in bitumens rejuvenated by oil from pyrolysis of waste tires.

Introduction: Bitumen is the viscoelastic fluid binding the crushed stones and mineral aggregates in the asphalt material used to pave roads around the world. During the paving procedure, the volatile compounds are lost and oxidization occurs with variation of the mechanical characteristics (aging); thus, the material becomes rigid and brittle over time and may need replacement. Instead of being landfilled, aged asphalts can be reused in new pavements after pretreatment with specific additives to restore their original properties.

The Use of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR) to Characterize Bitumen Used in the Road Pavements Industry: A Review.

Bitumen, a vital component in road pavement construction, exhibits complex chemo-mechanical properties that necessitate thorough characterization for enhanced understanding and potential modifications. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy emerges as a valuable technique for probing the structural and compositional features of bitumen. This review presents an in-depth exploration of the role of NMR spectroscopy in bitumen characterization, highlighting its diverse applications in determining bitumen content, group composition, molecular dynamics, and interaction with additives.

Formulation of Antioxidant Gummies Based on Gelatin Enriched with Citrus Fruit Peels Extract.

In this work, the peels of red and blonde oranges as well as lemons were efficiently (5.75-9.65% yield) extracted by hydroalcoholic solution with ultrasound assistance and employed as active molecule sources in the preparation of functional gummies.

New Trends in Biosurfactants: From Renewable Origin to Green Enhanced Oil Recovery Applications.

Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes are technologies used in the oil and gas industry to maximize the extraction of residual oil from reservoirs after primary and secondary recovery methods have been carried out. The injection into the reservoir of surface-active substances capable of reducing the surface tension between oil and the rock surface should favor its extraction with significant economic repercussions. However, the most commonly used surfactants in EOR are derived from petroleum, and their use can have negative environmental impacts, such as toxicity and persistence in the environment.

The efficiency of bio-char as bitumen modifier.

Improving the mechanical properties of bitumen is an important goal for road pavements design. For this reason, new compounds are now being sought for testing as bitumen modifiers. In this work, the authors studied the effect that two different chars have on two 50/70 bitumens with different chemical and physical characteristics.

Starch/PVOH aqueous solutions: a chemical-physical characterization.

This work investigates the relationship between the structure and physicochemical properties of three different starches in starch/polyvinyl alcohol aqueous solutions. For this purpose, accurate nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyses were performed to determine the role that the starch structure plays in the formation of binder solutions. Moreover, a dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) was used to investigate the mechanical properties of the solutions and correlate them with the structure of each starch.

Curcumin-Sodium Alginate and Curcumin-Chitosan Conjugates as Drug Delivery Systems: An Interesting Rheological Behaviour.

The conjugation of polyphenols is a valuable strategy with which to confer tailored properties to polymeric materials of biomedical interest. Within this investigation, we aim to explore the possibility to use this synthetic approach to increase the viscosity of conjugates, thus allowing the release of a loaded therapeutic to be better controlled over time than in neat polyphenols. Curcumin (CUR) was conjugated to sodium alginate (CA) and chitosan (CS) with functionalisation degrees of 9.

Multicentric Observational Study on Safety and Tolerability of COVID-19 Vaccines in Patients with Angioedema with C1 Inhibitor Deficiency: Data from Italian Network on Hereditary and Acquired Angioedema (ITACA).

Angioedema due to C1 inhibitor deficiency (AE-C1-INH) is a rare disease characterized by recurrent and unpredictable attacks of angioedema. Multiple trigger factors, including trauma, emotional stress, infectious diseases, and drugs, could elicit angioedema attacks. The aim of this study was to collect data on the safety and tolerability of COVID-19 vaccines in a population of patients affected by AE-C1-INH.

EGPA Phenotyping: Not Only ANCA, but Also Eosinophils.

Background: Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis (EGPA) is a small-vessel necrotizing vasculitis. The anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies' (ANCA) role in defining clinical EGPA phenotypes is well established. Although the role of eosinophils in disease pathogenesis has been clearly demonstrated, the value of blood eosinophil count (BEC) as a biomarker of disease phenotypes is currently uncertain.

Biomaterials and Their Potentialities as Additives in Bitumen Technology: A Review.

The carbon footprint reduction mandate and other eco-friendly policies currently in place are constantly driving the trend of the synthesis and application of sustainable functional materials. The bitumen industry is not an exception to this trend and, every day, new technologies that facilitate safer, cost effective and more sustainable industrial processes and road paving operations are being researched and brought to light. A lot of research is currently ongoing to improve bitumen's properties due to its use as a binder in road paving processes.

How the Immune System Responds to Allergy Immunotherapy.

IgE-mediated diseases represent a highly diversified and multifactorial group of disorders that can deeply impact the patients' quality of life. Currently, allergy immunotherapy (AIT) still remains the gold standard for the management of such pathologies. In this review, we comprehensively examine and discuss how AIT can affect both the innate and the adaptive immune responses at different cell levels and propose timing-scheduled alterations induced by AIT by hypothesizing five sequential phases: after the desensitization of effector non-lymphoid cells and a transient increase of IgE (phase 1), high doses of allergen given by AIT stimulate the shift from type 2/type 3 towards type 1 response (phase 2), which is progressively potentiated by the increase of IFN-γ that promotes the chronic activation of APCs, progressively leading to the hyperexpression of Notch1L (Delta4) and the secretion of IL-12 and IL-27, which are essential to activate IL-10 gene in Th1 and ILC1 cells.

Baseline Eosinophil Count as a Potential Clinical Biomarker for Clinical Complexity in EGPA: A Real-Life Experience.

Background: Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) is a small-vessel necrotizing vasculitis with multiple organ involvement. Despite improvements in clinical management, biomarkers for organ involvement and disease prognosis are still an unmet need. Methods: EGPA patients referred to our immunology clinic were retrospectively reviewed.

Primary antibody deficiencies represent an underestimated comorbidity in asthma patients: efficacy of immunoglobulin replacement therapy in asthma control.

Objective: Primary antibody deficiencies (PAD) are an underestimated comorbidity in asthma and its treatment could improve disease control.

Methods: a retrospective cohort of asthmatics, affected by IgG subclass deficiency or unclassified antibody deficiency and treated with low-dose intravenous immunoglobulin replacement therapy (IRT) was recruited. Demographic and clinical data, chest CT scan, blood eosinophils, atopy, chronic oral corticosteroid (OCS) therapy were evaluated at baseline.

NMR Spectroscopy Applied to the Metabolic Analysis of Natural Extracts of .

Cannabis sativa is a herbaceous multiple-use species commonly employed to produce fiber, oil, and medicine. It is now becoming popular for the high nutritional properties of its seed oil and for the pharmacological activity of its cannabinoid fraction in inflorescences. The present study aims to apply nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to provide useful qualitative and quantitative information on the chemical composition of seed and flower Cannabis extracts obtained by ultra-sound-assisted extraction, and to evaluate NMR as an alternative to the official procedure for the quantification of cannabinoids.

Orphan Drug Use in Patients With Rare Diseases: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Orphan drugs are used for the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of rare diseases that, in the European Union, are defined as disorders affecting no more than 5 persons in 10,000. So far, a total of around 800 orphan medicinal products have been approved by the European Medicines Agency, however the utilization profile of orphan drugs has yet to be explored. This study aimed at assessing the utilization profile of orphan drugs authorized for marketing by the Italian Medicines Agency using population-based data.

Aging Process Effects on the Characteristics of Vacuum Residue Oxidation Products with the Addition of Crumb Rubber.

This paper considers the effect of aging processes on viscoelastic characteristics of vacuum residue oxidation products modified with crumb rubber. Viscoelastic properties were compared to original bitumen raw material-vacuum residue and vacuum residue oxidation products during short-term and long-term aging. The complex shear modulus of the vacuum residue and its oxidation products decreased with an increase in temperature.