117,381 research outputs found
Characterization of five clones of Uva di Troia vine
No full textFive clones of "Uva di Troia" vine were compared in Southern Italy. The wine produced from "Uva di Troia", is of high quality. Ampelographic characteristics of cluster and of grape were observed at harvest time. Must and wine composition were measured at six months of elaboration The data were submitted to the analysis of variance and the Duncans's Multiple Range Test was adopted for the mean separation using MSTAT-C software. In conclusion, each clone showed good ampelographic and enological characteristics, that were influenced by agronomical factors
Platelet serotonin pathway in menstrual migraine
No full textIn order to understand the possible 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT) anomalies in migraine, particularly in the period before the headache attack, we compared the levels of 5HT, its stable metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5HIAA) and platelet monoaminoxidase (MAO) activity in patients with menstrual migraine with those of healthy female controls. In every subject, blood samples were drawn during both follicular and late luteal phases of the menstrual cycle. In controls, platelet 5HT levels remained stable, whereas 5HIAA levels and MAO activity were higher in the luteal than in the follicular phase, suggesting an increased catabolism of 5HT which occurs physiologically just before menses. In menstrual migraine 5HIAA levels and MAO activity showed similar changes with higher values in the luteal than in the follicular phase. The luteal phase values were significantly higher than those of controls. Also, and in contrast to controls, 5HT levels decreased in the luteal phase. These data suggest that 5HT availability is reduced in menstrual migraine, possibly due to an increased catabolism and/or to a reduced synthesis, and hence predisposes patients to migraine attacks
Caratteristiche qualitative dell'olio d'oliva vergine monovarietale pugliese della cultivar "Leccino"
No full textAltered gene expression in the human airways during oxidative stress
No full textThe atmospheric accumulation of pollutant gases, such as N02 and ozone, has been associated with an increased airways hyper-reactivity within the healthy population. Moreover, those with conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases generally experience an exacerbation of their symptoms upon exposure to these noxious gases.Cells lining the respiratory tract can be considered as the primary target for the potential toxic effects of airborne chemicals, but the molecular mechanisms behind the injury occurring in these cells upon gas inhalation remain to be fully elucidated. It has been hypothesised that the toxicity of these gases relies on their reactivity towards macromolecules in the lining fluid of the lung and the formation of reactive secondary products, which cause a situation of oxidative stress.Cells posses a well-developed defence against reactive species, but when this defence is overwhelmed damage can occur to important cellular components, including DNA and proteins. The major aim of this thesis was to study the effects of oxidative stress on the redox-sensitive machinery of gene expression in human lung cells. Cells are able to sense oxidative damage, as well as changes in the cellular redox status and adapt their gene expression profiles in a manner either promoting protection against the insult, or taking the decision to induce cell death to prevent propagation of damaged genetic templates.The pulmonary defence against inhaled antigens is based on the activation of immunological events, most of them dependent on cytokine signalling. Analysis of human alveolar macrophages exposed to N02 in vitro revealed inhibition of transcription and release of some inflammation-modulating cytokines. The inhibition was more pronounced in macrophages from habitual smokers. The effects of ozone on mRNA profiles were studied in human alveolar macrophages exposed to low-concentration of ozone in vivo. Large-scale screening of these events resulted in the detection of a discrete number of ozone-responsive genes belonging to disparate biological pathways, including nucleic acids synthesis and repair, inter- and intra-cellular signal transduction, cytoskeletal organisation, inflammation and protein modification. These findings also report on considerable biochemical effects of ozone in the lung at levels close to the safety limits recommended by international air quality guidelines and standards.Exposure of cells to the thiol-oxidising agent diamide in vitro, lead to increased mRNA levels and expression of stress responsive-genes and to the oxidation of GSH with the concomitant S-glutathionylation of cellular proteins. In contrast, in vitro exposure of cells to hydrogen peroxide failed to induce many of the diamide-responsive genes, significant oxidation of GSH or formation of protein-GSH mixed disulphides. Thus, redox-sensitive alteration of gene expression could be correlated to the oxidation of GSH and the concomitant formation of mixed protein-GSH disulphides. In addition, induced expression of protein and DNA chaperones, including heat shock proteins, by diamide exposure, resulted in cytoprotection against both heath shock and the DNA-damaging pro-oxidant potassium bromate.Exposure of the human A549 lung epithelial cell line to sub-toxic levels of hydrogen peroxide caused sustained arrest in cell cycle progression and activation of apoptotic events, including activation of caspase-3 and the augmentation of TRAIL-dependent caspase-3 activation. These effects may be in consequence of the DNA damage caused by the oxidant. Hydrogen peroxide treatment lead also to the alteration in mRNA profiles for a variety of genes, many of them known to be p53-dependent and other not previously associated with changes in cellular redox states. These alterations could be functionally related to cell cycle arrest, apoptosis and DNA damage.In summary, airborne pollutants and their secondary oxidant products can damage important components of lung cells and alter their gene expression profiles. The results of these studies contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms of oxidative stress in human lung cells, as well as provide evidence for co-ordination in the regulation of the redox-sensitive machinery of gene expression.List of scientific papersI. Dandrea T, Tu B, Blomberg A, Sandstrom T, Skold M, Eklund A, Cotgreave I (1997). Differential inhibition of inflammatory cytokine release from cultured alveolar macrophages from smokers and non-smokers by NO2. Hum Exp Toxicol. 16(10): 577-88. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9363475II. Dandrea T, Bjorklund C, Blomberg A, Sandstrom T, Warngard L, Cotgreave I (2003). The identification of a novel ozone-responsive gene cluster in human alveolar macrophages following low-level in vivo exposure on individuals. [Manuscript]III. Dandrea T, Bajak E, Warngard L, Cotgreave IA (2002). Protein S-glutathionylation correlates to selective stress gene expression and cytoprotection. Arch Biochem Biophys. 406(2): 241-52. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12361712IV. Dandrea T, Hellmold H, Jonsson C, Zhivotovsky B, Hofer T, Warngard L, Cotgreave I (2003). The transcriptosomal response of human A549 lung cells to hydrogen peroxide: Relationship to DNA damage, cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. [Manuscript]</p
The role of OCT- angiography in predicting anatomical and functional recovery after endoscopic endonasal pituitary surgery: A 1-year longitudinal study
No full textPurpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in structural spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), OCT Angiography (OCTA) parameters, and visual acuity, 1 year after endoscopic endonasal approach for the removal of an intra-suprasellar pituitary adenoma compressing optic chiasm and compare outcomes with 48 hours postoperative data. Methods Sixteen eyes of eight patients (4 males, 4 females, mean age 52 ± 11 years) were enrolled in this prospective study. The primary outcome was to evaluate the changes over time before and after surgery, analyzing the Best Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA), Ganglion Cell Complex (GCC), Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer (RNFL) thicknesses, the retinal vessel density (VD) of Superficial Capillary Plexus (SCP), Deep Capillary Plexus (DCP), Radial Peripapillary Capillary (RPC) and the Foveal Avascular Zone (FAZ). The secondary outcome was to identify potential biomarkers that could predict visual acuity changes after 1-year follow-up. Results When comparing SD-OCT and OCTA measurements obtained after 1 year with those observed 48 hours after surgery, GCC and RNFL were significantly improved. After a significant reduction at 48 hours, GCC thickness showed a significant increase at 1 year after surgery (p = 0.007), while a significant restoration of RNFL thickness was found at 1 year (p = 0.005), as well as the VD of SCP, DCP, and RPC values. FAZ area did not change over time. BCVA significantly improved at each time after surgery (p = 0.037, p = 0.013). A statistically significant correlation was found between the preoperative BCVA, VD of SCP, DCP, RPC, and the postoperative BCVA at 1 year (p = 0.017, p = 0.029, p = 0.031, p = 0.023). Conclusion SD-OCT and OCTA provide helpful information to identify the retinal structural and vascular improvements 1 year after surgery. OCTA parameters could serve as potential predictive markers for visual acuity recovery at long-term follow-up
“Negro Amaro: caratteristiche ampelografiche ed enologiche di tre cloni allevati in Puglia”
No full text“Primitivo: caratteristiche ampelografiche ed enologiche di tre cloni allevati in Puglia”
No full textGoing Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Square Dancing with the Stars to Enhance Dynamic Hirschman Linkages?
No full textIn this Presidential Address, the author takes the reader on a reconnaissance of his life and time as a regional scientist. He points out scenery he found scintillating along the way, hoping that some may pick up the banner and chew on a few of the ideas for a while. He suggests a revisit to Albert O. Hirschman’s notion of key sectors and more empirical analysis related to Marcus Berliant’s and Masahisa Fujita’s notion of knowledge creation and transfer.Presidential Address, San Antonio, Texas, March 29, 2014 (53rd Meetings of the Southern Regional Science Association
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