Ricerc@Sapienza

Background: Malnutrition in liver surgery is correlated with higher postoperative complications and longer length of hospital stay (LOHS), the same items that ERAS programs try to optimize. However, to date, standardized dietary protocols have not been defined within ERAS programs. Aim of this study was to evaluate the impact on LOHS and postoperative complications, of a personalized nutritional protocol (NutriCatt) with diet and oral branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) supplementation, adopted within the ERAS program.

Accumulation of oxidative insults on molecular and supramolecular levels could compromise renewal potency and architecture in the aging skin.

The local structure of a series of homologous protic ionic liquids (PILs) is investigated using ab initio computations and ab initio-based molecular dynamics. The purpose of this work is to show that in PILs the network of hydrogen bonds may promote like-charge clustering between anionic species. We correlate the theoretical evidence of this possibility with viscosity experimental data. The homologous series of liquids is obtained by coupling choline with amino acid anions and varying the side chain.

The d and l amino acid mediated enantioselective intramolecular aldol reaction of 4-((1-methyl-2,6-dioxo-cyclohexyl)methyl)-pent-4-enal 1 leading, after dehydration, to (-)-(R) and (+)-(S) 4a-methyl-3-methylene-5-oxo-2,3,4,4a,5,6,7,8-octahydro-naphthalene-1-carbaldehyde 2 was explored. It was found that (-)-(R) carbaldehyde 2 is enantioselectively formed in the presence of l-amino acids while (+)-(S) carbaldehyde 2 is enantioselectively formed in the presence of d-amino acids. (-)-(R) Carbaldehyde 2 was then transformed into (+)-22.

Physical frailty and sarcopenia (PF&S) share multisystem derangements, including variations in circulating amino acids and chronic low-grade inflammation. Gut microbiota balances inflammatory responses in several conditions and according to nutritional status. Therefore, an altered gut-muscle crosstalk has been hypothesized in PF&S. We analyzed the gut microbial taxa, systemic inflammation, and metabolic characteristics of older adults with and without PF&S.

The oxidation of a series of N-acetyl amino acid methyl esters with H2O2catalyzed by a very simple iminopyridine iron(ii) complex 1 easily obtainable in situ by self-assembly of 2-picolylaldehyde, 2-picolylamine, and Fe(OTf)2was investigated. Oxidation of protected aliphatic amino acids occurs at the α-C-H bond exclusively (N-AcAlaOMe) or in competition with the side-chain functionalization (N-AcValOMe and N-AcLeuOMe). N-AcProOMe is smoothly and cleanly oxidized with high regioselectivity affording exclusively C-5 oxidation products.

Bile acids are a very important class of natural surfactants, showing themselves and their derivatives as self-assembling materials. The morphology of the aggregates is dependent upon the substituents present both on the rigid steroid backbone and on the side chain. For this reason, they are very suitable for nanochemistry, sensing and drug delivery applications. In the last years, our group has been involved in a project concerning the preparation of bile acid derivatives bearing amino acid moieties either on the C-3 or on the lateral chain of the steroid polycyclic ring.

The C, N and O 1s excitation and ionization processes of 5X-uracil (X = F, Cl, Br, and I) were investigated using near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) and X-ray photoemission (XPS) spectroscopies. This study aims at the fine assessment of the effects of the functionalization of uracil molecules by halogen atoms having different electronegativity and bound to the same molecular site. Two DFT-based approaches, which rely on different paradigms, have been used to simulate the experimental spectra and to assign the corresponding features.

Bioaerosol is commonly defined as aerosolized particles, with a biological origin, spread into the air by a variety of abiotic and biotic
mechanisms. The size of bioaerosol can range from several nanometers to a few hundred micrometres in aerodynamic diameter.

The aim of this study is to prompt the recovery of industrial byproducts through the production of new functional foods; it takes advantage from new throughput technologies with low environmental impact and high economic sustainability. In the field of fish processing, in order to recover the worthy protein-rich fish waste, residues from the production of Anchovies (Engraulis encrasicolus) have been converted into hydrolysate through