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Recombinant expression of a maize ribosome-inactivating protein (B32.66) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli
No full textHepatic fibrosis is a result of an imbalance between enhanced matrix synthesis and diminished breakdown of connective tissue proteins, the net result of which is increased deposition of Extra Cellular Matrix. In this concept Matrix Metalloproteinases play an important role because their activity is largely responsible for extra cellular matrix breakdown. In the present study we have tested the influence of curcumin, the active principle of turmeric, on matrix metalloproteinase expression during alcohol and thermally oxidised sunflower oil induced liver toxicity. Male albino Wistar rats were used for the study. The matrix metalloproteinase expressions were found to be increased significantly in alcohol as well as thermally oxidised sunflower oil groups and on treatment with curcumin there was a significant decrease. In alcohol + thermally oxidised sunflower oil group, we found a significant decrease in matrix metalloproteinase activities. Administration of curcumin significantly improved their activities. From the results obtained, we could conclude that curcumin influences the hepatic matrix metalloproteinases and effectively protects liver against alcohol and delta PUFA induced toxicity
Quality evaluation of traditional and aromatic Italian rice varieties
No full textThe cooking quality of rice is the most important characteristic that affects consumer acceptance. Different methodologies have been proposed to evaluate the cooking behaviour of rice; as quality predictors amylose content, alkali spreading scores, paste viscosity and gelatinization temperature are considered. This work reports the results of a collaborative study between the Department of Food Science and Microbiology (University of Milan) and C.R.A. - Experimental Institute for Cereal Crop regarding the quality evaluation of eleven Italian varieties of rice (six traditional and five aromatic) by applying different approaches. Image analysis was used as a tool for measuring the morphological characteristics of the kernel, before and after dehulling. To predict cooking quality, samples were analyzed for protein, starch, damaged starch, amylose and α-amylase content, extent of alkali degradation, and pasting behaviour. The hardness and stickiness of cooked rice were measured via a texture analyser by applying an official methodology. The results were statistically evaluated (Correlation and Principal Components Analysis) in order to find the significant correlations between variables and similarities among samples. The data obtained from the different procedures provide an extensive description of the quality of the eleven varieties examined. The results regarding the set up of an objective procedure for the alkali test and the retrogradation behaviour of pasted gels are reported in two posters. The main results related to the cooking properties are here summarized. The rheological parameters measured on cooked kernel made it possible to differentiate the group of the traditional varieties from the aromatic types; the latter group presented a higher hardness and a lower stickiness, with the exception of cv. Giano, characterized by a lower amylose content, in comparison with the other aromatic samples. The texture characteristics of cooked samples were statistically correlated with the amylographic indices (gelatinisation temperature, maximum viscosity, final viscosity and setback), thus confirming the importance of the latter parameters in predicting cooking behaviour. The PCA analysis showed that discrimination among the samples was based not only on amylose, but also on protein content
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe 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
Studio dell’espressione di geni correlati con lo stress termico nell’ambito del progetto Si.Cer.Me.
No full textEXPRESSION OF THE MAIZE B32 RIP PROTEIN IN WHEAT (TRITICUM AESTIVUM L.) AND ITS IMPLICATIONS AS DEFENCE GENE AGAINST FUNGAL PATHOGENS
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