2,129 research outputs found
Telomere Length Diversity in Cattle Breeds
No full textTelomeres are specialized nucleoprotein structures that have two important functions: (i) protection of the chromosomal ends from deleterious events such as chromosome fusion and degradation; (ii) counteraction of the “end replication problem” by allowing telomerase-dependent or, more rarely, telomerase-independent telomere elongation. The DNA sequences underlying these activities are short simple tandem repeats, which in vertebrate consist of a variable number of TTAGGG. Telomeres dysfunction may be caused either by the absence of telomerase activity or by mutations in telomeric proteins involved in telomere length and structure regulation. Additionally, increasing experimental evidence suggests that telomeres take part in the complex network regulating cell proliferation. Accordingly, telomeres are involved in biological process such as aging and tumor progression. In this study we determined the telomere length in two bovine Italian cattle breeds, Chianina and Maremmana, which are characterized by high longevity and range breeding. In order to account for possible variation among different tissues, we have determined telomere length in different organs such as spleen, lung and liver. Overall, the median telomere length was significant lower in Chianina (11 ± 0.69 kb) than in Maremmana (12.05 ± 1.57 kb). Moreover, telomere length variation among individuals was very low in Chianina but rather high in Maremmana. These data suggest that telomere length is influenced by the breeds. This hypothesis is confirmed by the different history of these Italian breeds. Indeed, Chianina has a long history and its size was maintained by the Breeders Association without necessity to crossbreed with other breeds, whereas the population of Maremmana underwent a dramatic shrinkage in the recent past. Therefore, breeders have crossed Maremmana with other breeds, like Charolais, and have relaxed the rules for the inclusion in the herd book
Design and validation of siRNAs and shRNAs
No full textRNAi is a highly conserved intracellular mechanism, whereby dsRNA strands conduct post-transcriptional modulation of gene expression through a degradation or inhibition of the translation of target mRNA. Since its discovery in 1998, RNAi has been identified in many different organisms, including mammals, and this mechanism has provided new approaches for studies in cellular and molecular biology, functional genomics and drug discovery. siRNAs can be predicted by sequence and thermodynamic features, and the wide and proficient application of RNAi relies on the ability to select the most active siRNAs from among numerous predicted molecules. Recently, the first-generation prediction algorithms based on the characteristics of siRNAs, short hairpin (sh)RNAs and micro-(mi)RNAs have been improved by the use of computational models that account for the experimentally determined activities of large numbers of siRNAs/shRNAs and miRNAs. These second-generation algorithms differ from the first-generation algorithms in the computational tools that are used for the prediction of siRNA efficacy; although these new algorithms improve the design of effective siRNAs, they do not eliminate the requirement for an experimental evaluation of the activities of siRNAs. This review reports on the most significant second-generation algorithms of siRNA and shRNA characteristics, as well as on recently designed systems for the experimental evaluation of siRNA activities. © Thomson Reuters (Scientific) Ltd
Downregulation of the human and murine ENaC channel by RNA interference
No full textPresentazione oral
Non invasive genetic prenatal diagnosis from maternal blood using stem cells.
No full textN.167.ab.FC 406.
"The love that made hell, paradise." Ouida re-writing the Paolo and Francesca theme in Held in Bondage
No full textThe bestselling Victorian author Ouida reveals in her novels, and, in particular, Held in Bondage, an extraordinary knowledge od Dante, by using characters and themes from the Commedia. The Paolo and Francesca theme actually constitutes part of the plot of the novel and is to be found in many of her other works, short stories and non-fiction writing
HERStory Makers 2023: Francesca Fotheringham
No full textFrancesca Fotheringham is a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Edinburgh studying educational psychology with a focus on neurodiversity. She took part in HERStory Makers 2023.What is HERStory Makers?HERStory Makers is a social media competition for female-identifying early career researchers to share their research, their career journeys, and to inspire the next generation. Winners are selected by public vote. HERStory Makers is also part of EXPLORATHON, Scotland's contribution to European Researchers' Night.In 2022-23, EXPLORATHON Francescasupported by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council [grant number EP/X020762/1].Author contributions to contentFrancesca conceived, planned, and recorded the video content. Kirsty Ross edited the video content to insert HERStory Maker credits, added subtitles, and reduce video length to below Twitter/X limit of 2 mins and 20 secs.</p
Medicina illuminata. La Biblioteca Lancisiana di Roma
No full textL'articolo presenta i codici miniati della Biblioteca Lancisiana di Roma. La prima parte, del coautore, è dedicata alla Biblioteca. La seconda parte, di F. Manzari, tratta dei manoscritti miniati, costituiti da due codici con le opere di Avicenna e dal Liber fraternitatis della Confraternita dell'Ospedale di Santo Spirito in Sassia a Roma.The article introduces the illuminated manuscripts of the Biblioteca Lancisiana in Rome. The first part of the article, by the co-author, is dedicated to the Library. The second part, by Francesca Manzari, illustrates the manuscipts; these are two manuscripts with the works of Avicenna and the Liber fraternitatis of the Confraternity of the Hospital of Santo Spirito in Sassia in Rome
A DH-Leavened Musicological Toolbox
No full textGraduate-level training in music research methodologies tends to ignore digital humanities work and overlook the use of digital tools created in support of new forms of reading. Training instead focuses on source material in the student’s area of interest. This material includes secondary and primary (archival) resources, as well as information resources, such as: monuments of music and critical editions; indexes; bibliographies and thematic catalogs; dictionaries and encyclopedias; digital libraries of scores or editions; and databases of period-specific newspapers or journals. Graduate students taking research methods courses already have a toolbox built from their experiences as musicians and students of music, including the ability to read and interpret music notation, to understand theoretical and analytical concepts in music, as well as a command of music history, including the canon of musical works.
Digital humanities has become a major area of academic endeavor at the “interface of technological development, epistemological change and methodological concerns." An important characteristic of digital humanities research has been its interdisciplinarity. We argue that graduate training in musicology needs to include coverage of methodologies applied by digital humanists in support of new forms of reading, not only to broaden the canon of research topics in musicology, but also to build common ground with researchers of other disciplines. We propose that librarians are well positioned to provide this expertise and training
A Twitter Case Study for Assessing Digital Sound
No full textAcademic and cultural heritage institutions around the world have made measurable strides in the development of digital sound archives oriented towards research and access, but their impact on scholarship and society has been little studied. Traditionally, impact has been measured by citations; yet these are problematic metrics for non-traditional outputs like sound recordings. Social media data provide a promising avenue of investigation for measuring scholarly as well as societal impact. Twitter in particular has been shown to provide a high number of references for cultural and research outputs in all disciplines. This study analyzes Twitter references pertaining to the collections of five digital sound archives: British Library Sounds, Europeana Sounds, the Internet Archive Audio Archive, PennSound and UbuWeb. Using text analysis methods to identify high frequency events and trends, and labeling them with a rubric designed for measuring the impact of digital heritage resources, this study provides preliminary insights on user values as they relate to digital sound collections. Despite the limitations of using social media data, the evidence gathered in this case study characterizes aspects of the use of digital sound collections, and may point to future priorities for the digital preservation of sound.Peer reviewe
Against the Grain: Reading for the Challenges of Collaborative DH Pedagogy
No full textThis article provides a critical review of the past five years of literature in digital humanities pedagogy and faculty-librarian collaboration, commingled with reflections on personal practice, which extend findings from the literature. Faculty-librarian partnerships in DH pedagogy reflect a rapidly evolving area of engagement calling for expertise in teaching, subject knowledge, scholarly communication, digital technologies, and DH research methodologies. Although there is a rapidly expanding body of literature on these partnerships, the challenges of the work tend to be minimized. This article expands upon commonly encountered difficulties, and it points to potential solutions and best practices.Peer reviewe
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