Search results for " Specificity"
showing 10 items of 2170 documents
Unsupervised recognition of retinal vascular junction points.
2014
Landmark points in retinal images can be used to create a graph representation to understand and to diagnose not only different pathologies of the eye, but also a variety of more general diseases. Aim of this paper is the description of a non-supervised methodology to distinguish between bifurcations and crossings of the retinal vessels, which can be used in differentiating between arteries and veins. A thinned representation of the binarized image, is used to identify pixels with three or more neighbors. Junction points are classified into bifurcations or crossovers according to their geometrical and topological properties. The proposed approach is successfully compared with the state-of-t…
Genetic polymorphism and taxonomic infrastructure of the Pleurotus eryngii species-complex as determined by RAPD analysis, isozyme profiles and ecomo…
2001
The Pleurotus eryngii species-complex includes populations of choice edible mushrooms, growing in the greater Mediterranean area in close association with different genera of plants of the family Apiaceae. Their distinct host-specialization served as the principal criterion for the discrimination of several taxa; however, the genetic relationships among the various P. eryngii ecotypes remain ambiguous. In the present study, 46 Pleurotus strains with a wide range of geographical origins were isolated from Eryngium spp., Ferula communis, Cachrys ferulacea, Thapsia garganica and Elaeoselinum asclepium subsp. asclepium, and were subjected to isozyme and random amplified polymorphic DNA-PCR (RAP…
Superresolved imaging of remote moving targets.
2006
We present a superresolving approach that allows one to exceed the diffraction limit and recover highly resolved contours of moving targets from a sequence of low-resolution images. The presented approach is suitable for remote sensing applications. The resolution decoding algorithm that is used to recover the high-resolution features of the target can be run partially via optical means and that way can be used to reduce the required computational complexity.
Dynamic electric field assisted multi-dimensional liquid chromatography of biological samples
2005
Complex biological samples require very high resolution separation strategies. The platform introduced here capitalises on the hyphenation of liquid chromatographic (LC) and electric potential gradient electrochromatographic multi-dimensional separation genres. First-dimension selectivity is provided by simultaneous size exclusion (SEC) and strong cation exchange (SCX) chromatography modes, while the second dimension comprises reversed phase (RP) characteristics in a dynamic (time-variant) electric field. The time-variant potential gradient with reversal of polarity is applied across the second dimension monolithic capillary throughout the duration of the solvent strength gradient elution. …
ISOLATION OF RAT CDNA CLONES CODING FOR THE AUTOANTIGEN SS-B/LA - DETECTION OF SPECIES-SPECIFIC VARIATIONS
1993
Clones of cDNA coding for the autoantigen La (or SS-B) were isolated from a library made from rat liver. A comparison of the rat La cDNA (encoding from nt 38 to 1281 for rat La protein) with the sequences known for human and bovine La protein resulted in the identification of species-specific inserts. The inserts seem to be the result of multiplication of flanking sequences during evolution. In addition to these variations, we observed that rat La cDNAs exhibit non-canonical polyadenylation sites. Finally, a databank search resulted in the identification of a DNA sequence originally termed as TAG or TSG20X (GenBank accession No. X61893) which represents the C terminus of mouse La/SS-B prote…
An immunoassay for terbutryn using direct hapten linkage to a glutaraldehyde network on the polystyrene surface of standard microtiter plates.
2001
2-Aminobutylamino-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-1,3,5-triazine (ABA-atrazine) has been synthesized and used as a coating hapten in an immunoassay with a monoclonal antibody against terbutryn. Coating was achieved by covalently linking ABA-atrazine to a glutaraldehyde polymer network directly bound to the polystyrene surface of a standard 96-well microtiter plate. The assay was carefully optimized. In particular, the coating hapten concentration had a strong effect on the ELISA sensitivity. By including a pre-incubation step a low test midpoint (IC50-value) of 0.130 microg L(-1) was achieved. As far as we are aware this is the most sensitive ELISA for terbutryn yet reported. The coating-hapt…
POLYPHENOL OXIDASE ACTIVITY FROM THREE SICILIAN ARTICHOKE (CYNARA CARDUNCULUS L. VAR. SCOLYMUS L. (FIORI)) CULTIVARS: STUDIES AND TECHNOLOGICAL APPLI…
2010
Several papers helped with the development of more methods to control browning, or study thermal polyphenol oxidase (PPO) inactivation, but did not provide any solutions to technological process problems and food process improvement. Artichokes [ Cynara cardunculus L. var. scolymus L. (Fiori)] are susceptible to browning; this alteration could affect and reduce the suitability for its use, fresh or processed. Within this study, the catecholase and cresolase activities of PPO from three different Sicilian artichokes cultivar were characterized with regard to substrate specificity and enzyme kinetics, optimum pH and temperature, temperature and pH stability, and inhibitor test; all of the res…
Missing the rarest: is the positive interspecific abundance–distribution relationship a truly general macroecological pattern?
2009
Lepidopterists have long acknowledged that many uncommon butterfly species can be extremely abundant in suitable locations. If this is generally true, it contradicts the general macroecological pattern of the positive interspecific relationship between abundance and distribution, i.e. locally abundant species are often geographically more widespread than locally rare species. Indeed, a negative abundance–distribution relationship has been documented for butterflies in Finland. Here we show, using the Finnish butterflies as an example, that a positive abundance–distribution relationship results if the geographically restricted species are missed, as may be the case in studies based on random…
Cost of host radiation in an RNA virus.
2000
Abstract Although host radiation allows a parasite to expand its ecological niche, traits governing the infection of multiple host types can decrease fitness in the original or alternate host environments. Reasons for this reduction in fitness include slower replication due to added genetic material or modifications, fitness trade-offs across host environments, and weaker selection resulting from simultaneous adaptation to multiple habitats. We examined the consequences of host radiation using vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) and mammalian host cells in tissue culture. Replicate populations of VSV were allowed to evolve for 100 generations on the original host (BHK cells), on either of two …
Changes in epizoic crustacean infestations during cetacean die-offs: the mass mortality of Mediterranean striped dolphins Stenella coeruleoalba revis…
2006
In the summer and autumn of 1990, a cetacean morbillivirus caused a massive epizootic mortality of striped dolphins Stenella coeruleoalba in the western Mediterranean. Previous circum- stantial evidence suggested that the disease could also have increased host susceptibility to infesta- tions with epizoic crustaceans. In this study we provide strong evidence supporting this hypothesis. We examined striped dolphins stranded along the Mediterranean central coast of Spain from 1981 to 2004 (n = 136), and recorded data on prevalence, intensity of infestation, size and reproductive status of 2 sessile crustacean species specific to cetaceans, the phoront cirriped Xenobalanus globicipitis and the…