262 research outputs found
Inhibitors of ADP-ribosyl transferase suppress the mitogenic actions exerted by tumour promoters, but not those evoked by peptide mitogens, in primary neonatal rat hepatocytes
No full textA significant stimulation of the 24-h (between day 4 and 5 in vitro) new DNA synthetic activity was elicited in primary neonatal rat hepatocytes kept in low-calcium (0.01 mmol/l) HiWoBa2000 synthetic medium by the addition of a single dose (10(-10) mol/l) of each of several tumour promoters [i.e. 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), phenobarbital, nafenopin, saccharin, teleocidin, benzoyl peroxide butylhydroxytoluene (BHT), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), lindane, clofibrate and melittin]. Even hormones [e.g. epidermal growth factor (EGF), glucagon and insulin at 10(-10) mol/l] and EGF-like acting drugs (i.e. imidazole and indomethacin, at 10(-11) mol/l) similarly enhanced with respect to untreated controls the 24-h flow into S phase of the primary hepatocytes on condition, however, that the cells were incubated in a high- (i.e. 1.8 mmol/l) and not a low-calcium HiWoBa2000 medium. Xenobiotics, peptide mitogens and EGF-like acting drugs also enhanced the in vitro hepatocellular mitotic activity. The growth-stimulatory effects of the aforementioned eleven tumour promoters were entirely suppressed by the simultaneous addition to the growth medium of a fully effective dose (10(-4) - 10(-3) mol/l) of agents, such as 3-aminobenzamide (3-ABA), 3-methoxybenzamide (3-MBA) or nicotinamide (NA), that are known to inhibit the activity of ADP-ribosyl transferase (ADPRT). However, under the same conditions these inhibitors hampered neither the basal DNA synthetic and mitotic activities of spontaneously cycling hepatocytes nor the stimulation of the hepatocellular growth processes evoked by peptide mitogens and EGF-like acting drugs. Quantitative autoradiographic investigations showed that the incorporation of the ADP-ribose precursor and ADPRT substrate [3H]NAD into nuclear macromolecules of gently digitonin-permeabilized hepatocytes was negligible in the untreated cultures, whereas it was strikingly and nearly steadily increased by a 2-, 8- and 24-h exposure to a fully mitogenic dose (10(-10) mol/l) of TPA, thereby revealing that an early, significant and roughly steady activation of the nuclear ADPRT had taken place in the phorbol ester-treated liver parenchymal cells. The simultaneous addition of 3-ABA (10(-4) mol/l) not only fully checked the mitogenic effects of TPA, but even suppressed about two-thirds of the TPA-elicited nuclear incorporation of [3H]NAD by the permeabilized hepatocytes, thus showing that a significant curtailment of the TPA-activated ADPRT did occur is association with the abatement of the mitogenic effects of TPA by this inhibitor.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS
Le strutture del Lazio meridionale e della Sabina dal secolo IX alla fine del secolo XII
No full textHost blood monocytes play an important role, both by themselves and interacting with allo-Langerhans cells, in presenting allo-epidermal cell antigens in vitro.
No full textHost blood monocytes play an important role, both by themselves and interacting with allo-Langerhans cells, in presenting allo-epidermal cell antigens in vitro
PTH1-34 induces the differentiation program in adult human keratinocytes cultured in MCDB 153 medium.
No full textPTH1-34 induces the differentiation program in adult human keratinocytes cultured in MCDB 153 medium
Artificial Intelligence for Automated Design of Elevator Systems
No full textConfiguration and design of complex products represents a challenge
in many application fields. The designer must take into account many
different aspects and make decisions typically driven by experience while
taking into account performance constraints and costs. Methods and tools
for design automation represents a viable solution to such complex decision
problems, giving also the possibility to optimize the performance of the final
product on particular context-driven aspects. Artificial intelligence (AI)
algorithms can help in dealing with complexity and enhance the current
tools by supplying solutions in feasible time.
My research is concerned with the development and testing of different
artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to automate the design of elevators.
Elevator design is a problem with many interesting aspects like the need to
deal with a hybrid search state space (continuous and discrete variables)
constrained by design requirements and safety regulations. The study,
design and integration of AI techniques in this particular application field
can provide the end user with design automation tools that output feasible
solutions within acceptable computation times.
My research considered AI techniques such as special-purpose heuristic
search, genetic algorithms and constraint satisfaction to solve elevator
configuration problems. I tested them considering different setups and
parts of the whole design process. I have also implemented a tool L IFT C REATE ,
available as a web application. L IFT C REATE leverages the findings of
my research to automate the design of elevators and, to the best of my
knowledge, there is currently no similar tool publicly available from either
academia or industry that provides the same level of design automation
Surrogate parameters for the rapid microbial monitoring in a civil protection module used for drinking water production
No full textRapid analyses based on flow cytometry (FCM) and quantitative PCR (qPCR) were proposed and applied in a full-scale mobile water treatment plant (flow rate of 4.4. L/s) utilized as a civil protection module for drinking water production for quasi real-time monitoring. The rapid methods applied here are two cultivation-independent techniques (FCM and qPCR). The microbiological quality of water was monitored on the basis of alternative microbial parameters, detecting cells with an intact and permeabilised membrane (in 20. min), cells with β-. d-galactosidase activity (in 40. min) and Escherichia coli (E. coli, in less than 3. h). These rapid techniques were compared with some conventional culturable bacteria groups (aerobic mesophilic bacteria, total coliforms and E. coli).Although intact bacteria were two orders of magnitude higher than culturable aerobic mesophilic bacteria (due to a large fraction of viable-but-not-culturable cells, but also chemolithotrophic bacteria), they both showed not significant reduction in cells after filtration, 2-3. log of removal after ozonation and a regrowth of about 1. log after granular activated carbon. Cells with β-. d-galactosidase activity (belonging to the group of total coliforms) were higher than culturable total coliforms, due to a large presence of active-but-not-culturable cells, especially in ozone treated water.E. coli quantified by qPCR decreased through filtration and they were under the quantification limit after ozonation, analogously to culturable E. coli. Despite a higher quantification limit for FCM and qPCR, they appear sufficiently accurate and suitable as surrogate microbial parameters, considering their rapidity (about an half hour with FCM). In the case of strong stress conditions such as ozonation, the surrogate microbial parameters, which include viable-but-not-culturable cells, might result more sensible in the evaluation of treatment efficiency
L’ iniziazione intrauterina con dimetilnitrosamina modifica l’espressione (onco)genica degli epatociti postnatali in vivo ed in coltura primaria in vitro
No full textL’ iniziazione intrauterina con dimetilnitrosamina modifica l’espressione (onco)genica degli epatociti postnatali in vivo ed in coltura primaria in vitr
Studio della suscettibilità delle popolazioni trentine di Panonychus ulmi a tre acaricidi del gruppo M.E.T.I. (fenazaquin, fenpyroximate, tebufenpyrad) e a propargite
No full textIndagini sulla espressione della glutatione S-transferasi di tipo placentare in epatociti di Ratto neonato iniziati o meno in epoca prenatale con dimetil nitrosamina.
No full textIndagini sulla espressione della glutatione S-transferasi di tipo placentare in epatociti di Ratto neonato iniziati o meno in epoca prenatale con dimetil nitrosamina
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