1,354,316 research outputs found
Preliminary studies on the effect of processing on the allergenicity of tomato products.
No full text
Simultaneous detection of Escherichia coli O175:H7, Salmonella spp., and Listeria monocytogenes by multiplex PCR
No full textThe wide application of nucleic acid amplification techniques and the increasing industrial interest
toward rapid methods has led to the development and application of PCR based methods for the detection
of microbial pathogens in food. In the present paper we describe the development of a multiplex PCR
method for simultaneous detection of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes
and Escherichia coli O157:H7 in a complex food matrix (liquid whole egg).
Four different DNA extraction procedures were evaluated for their application on food and, among
these, Chelex resin combined with a DNA purification step were found to better perform on the food system
considered.
A multiplex PCR system was developed, based on the evaluation and combination of published primer
sets, and applied to the simultaneous detection of the target pathogens plus an internal amplification
control, both in culture media and in a model food system.
The overall system proposed, based on an overnight enrichment step followed by DNA isolation and
multiplex PCR, was satisfactorily tested for its specificity and sensitivity and allowed the detection of
the presence of bacterial DNA and the identification of the target pathogens down to 10 cells/25 g liquid
whole egg
Guidance documents for nutritional and safety assessment of feeds from GM plants.Animal nutrition with transgenic plants
No full textThis chapter discusses the safety and nutritional assessment of transgenic plants and their derived products in the European Union. The nutritional and safety assessment of transgenic plants in other parts of the world is also summarized briefly
The challenges of liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma on cirrhosis
No full textSummary Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major cause of cancer mortality worldwide and liver transplantation (LT) has potentials to improve survival for patients with HCC. However, expansion of indications beyond Milan Criteria (MC) and use of bridging/downstaging procedures to convert intermediate-advanced stages of HCC within MC limits are counterbalanced by graft shortage and increasing use of marginal donors, partially limited by the use of donor-division protocols applied to the cadaveric and living-donor settings. Several challenges in technique, indications, pre-LT treatments and prioritization policies of patients on the waiting list have to be precised through prospective investigations that have to include individualization of prognosis, biological variables and pathology surrogates as stratification criteria. Also, liver resection has to be rejuvenated in the general algorithm of HCC treatment in the light of salvage transplantation strategies, while benefit of LT for HCC should be determined through newly designed composite scores that are able to capture both efficiency and equity endpoints. Innovative treatments such as radioembolization for HCC associated with portal vein thrombosis and molecular targeted compounds are likely to influence future strategies. Accepting this challenge has been part of the history of LT and will endure so also for the future
Personalized molecular targeted therapy in advanced, recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma after liver transplantation : a proof of principle
No full textBackground & Aims: The advent of molecular medicine that targets specific pathways is changing the therapeutic approach to hepatocellular carcinoma. For several aberrantly activated pathways in hepatocarcinoma, surrogate markers of activation can be assessed by immunohistochemistry, although associations with in vivo response to targeted therapies are still lacking. Methods: A patient, who presented with hepatic and extra-hepatic hepatocarcinoma recurrence 11 years after liver transplantation, was assessed for β-catenin, pERK, and pS6 in primary and secondary tumor specimens, in order to define a possible activation of the Wnt, Ras/MAPK and Akt/mTOR pathways and design a personalized targeted therapy in absence of alternative treatment options. Moreover, mutation analysis of the β-catenin gene (CTNNB1) and DNA microsatellite analyses were performed. Results: The identification of the same mutation in the β-catenin gene, as well as the same microsatellite pattern in tumor tissues taken 11 years apart, proved that the observed hepatocarcinoma was a true recurrence. Nuclear β-catenin and pS6 in tumor cells were positive, whereas pERK was positive only in the peritumoral endothelium. This pattern of immunohistochemistry, after failure of sorafenib alone, lead to the choice to add the mTOR inhibitor, everolimus, to sorafenib. Three months later a 50% tumor reduction was observed, and after 6 months a further reduction of tumor vital components was confirmed, while a grade II gastrointestinal bleeding episode occurred. Conclusions: A personalized approach aimed to treat recurrent hepatocarcinoma is possible through analysis of tumoral molecular pathways. Partial success of the selected combination of sorafenib and everolimus supports the pivotal role of mTOR signalling and highlights the importance of reliable biomarkers to route the best molecular-based therapeutic options in HCC
Going 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
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