Search results for " DNA"

Taxidermal Preparations of an Extinct Sicilian Wolf Population (Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758): Biological Studies and Restoration

2022

In last decades, biotechnologies have enabled a deep development of knowledge in all fields of life sciences, allowing the collection of a wide range of data. Furthermore, the relationship between scientific investigations and conservation actions of cultural heritage is increasingly consolidated and now it is one of the peculiar points both for sustainable restoration and use of the cultural asset, also evaluating the cultural assets as source of biological information. In this study, Sicilian wolf (Canis lupus) specimens conserved in Sicilian Natural Museums, become a source of biological information on Sicilian biodiversity, establishing specific conservative protocol developed cooperati…

Museomics Provides Insights into Conservation and Education:The Instance of an African Lion Specimen from the Museum of Zoology “Pietro Doderlein”

2023

Innovative technological approaches are crucial to enhance naturalistic museum collections and develop information repositories of relevant interest to science, such as threatened animal taxa. In this context, museomics is an emerging discipline that provides a novel approach to the enhancement and exploitation of these collections. In the present study, the discovery of a neglected lion skeleton in the Museum of Zoology “Pietro Doderlein” of the University of Palermo (Italy) offered the opportunity to undertake a multidisciplinary project. The aims of the study consisted of the following: (i) adding useful information for museographic strategies, (ii) obtaining a new genetic data repositor…

R-Rescovitine (Seliciclib) inhibits DNA damage-induced Cyclin A1 up-regulation and hinders non-homologous end joining: a rationale for therapeutic co…

2011

Detection of the norovirus variants GGII.4 hunter and GGIIb/hilversum in Italian children with gastroenteritis.

2006

Noroviruses (NoVs) are important enteric pathogens of humans. Although they exhibit an impressive genetic diversity, few NoV strains appear to predominate worldwide. Limited epidemiological data are available on NoV gastroenteritis in Italy. In this study, we assessed the prevalence of human NoV in Italian children with gastroenteritis by using a reverse-transcription nested polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay specific for the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) on faecal samples collected throughout the 2004 surveillance activity in Palermo, Italy. NoVs were detected in 47% of the stool samples obtained from children <5 years age, admitted to hospital with acute non-bacterial gastroen…

Mucosal Neuroma Syndrome without mutations of the RET-protooncogene: A histologic study on a case, supported by molecular genetic analysis.

2010

Mucosal neuromas are nerve hamartomas of the digestive tract and larynx, usually observed in the setting of Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 2B (MEN2B), i.e. in the presence of typical mutations and in association with medullary thyroid carcinoma, pheochromocytoma and marfanoid habitus. Exceptionally, they arise without the accompanying mutations and endocrine tumors, and in this paper we are reporting a histologic study on a case lacking the specific mutations. The patient was an adolescent girl with marfanoid habitus, with a left-sided epidermal nevus of the neck, and a bulging left upper lip and cheek. The left side of her tongue was considerably enlarged and studded with multiple protr…

Development of S/MAR plasmid vector for persistent expression and maintenance in vivo

2007

An ideal gene therapy vector should enable persistent transgene expression without limitations of safety and reproducibility. Here we report the development of a non-viral episomal plasmid DNA (pDNA) vector that appears to fulfil these criteria. This pDNA vector combines a scaffold/matrix attachment region (S/MAR) with a human liver-specific promoter (a1-antitrypsin (AAT)) in such a way that long-term expression is enabled in murine liver following hydrodynamic injection. Long-term expression is demonstrated by monitoring the longitudinal luciferase expression profile for up to 6 months by means of in situ bioluminescent imaging. We conclude that the combination of a mammalian, tissue-speci…

Analisi di Polimorfismi STR nella Sicilia Occidentale

2006

Application of DNA techniques for identification using human dental pulp as a source of DNA

1992

Dental pulp tissue could be obtained in most cases from materials obtained under experimental conditions and from forensic casework (air accidents, burned and putrefied bodies). Teeth extracted during dental treatment (n = 30) were stored for 6 weeks and 4 years at room temperature. In addition teeth (n = 10) extracted from jaw fragments that had been stored for 15 years at room temperature, and teeth extracted post mortem from actual identification cases (n = 8) were investigated. Following extraction from dental pulp tissue the DNA concentration was measured by fluorometry. The amount of DNA obtained from the dental pulp tissue of a single tooth varied from 6 micrograms to 50 micrograms D…

Low rate of oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in women screened for cervical HPV infection in Southern Italy: A cross-sectional study of 140 …

2009

Even though the natural history of cervical and oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection has been investigated intensely, the possibility that HPV may infect both sites in the same subject is not well documented. This study investigated the frequency of concurrent oral and cervical HPV infection in southern Italian women, in the light of some selected socio-behavioral variables. One hundred forty women (mean age: 36 years), with known cervical HPV status, were analyzed for oral HPV. Age, smoking/drinking habits, clinical and socio-behavioral history were assessed by personal interviews. Oral mucosal cells were collected by oral brushing and HPV DNA was sought by the use of nested PCR ampli…

Two Patients With History of STEC-HUS, Posttransplant Recurrence and Complement Gene Mutations

2013

Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is a disease of microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia and acute renal failure. About 90% of cases are secondary to infections by Escherichia coli strains producing Shiga-like toxins (STEC-HUS), while 10% are associated with mutations in genes encoding proteins of complement system (aHUS). We describe two patients with a clinical history of STEC-HUS, who developed end-stage renal disease (ESRD) soon after disease onset. They received a kidney transplant but lost the graft for HUS recurrence, a complication more commonly observed in aHUS. Before planning a second renal transplantation, the two patients underwent genetic screening for aHUS-associat…