Search results for "Amy"

Serum Amyloid A Is Present in Human Saccular Intracranial Aneurysm Walls and Associates With Aneurysm Rupture

2021

AbstractSaccular intracranial aneurysm (sIA) rupture leads to a disabling subarachnoid hemorrhage. Chronic inflammation and lipid accumulation in the sIA wall contribute to wall degenerative remodeling that precedes its rupture. A better understanding of the pathobiological process is essential for improved future treatment of patients carrying sIAs. Serum amyloid A (SAA) is an acute-phase protein produced in response to acute and chronic inflammation and tissue damage. Here, we studied the presence and the potential role of SAA in 36 intraoperatively resected sIAs (16 unruptured and 20 ruptured), that had previously been studied by histology and immunohistochemistry. SAA was present in all…

MTHFR C677T allelic variant is not associated to plasma and cerebrospinal fluid homocysteine in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

2014

No effect of MTHFR C677T variant on homocysteine metabolism in Amiotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

2014

Oxidation Enhances Human Serum Albumin Thermal Stability and Changes the Routes of Amyloid Fibril Formation

2014

Oxidative damages are linked to several aging-related diseases and are among the chemical pathways determining protein degradation. Specifically, interplay of oxidative stress and protein aggregation is recognized to have a link to the loss of cellular function in pathologies like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Interaction between protein and reactive oxygen species may indeed induce small changes in protein structure and lead to the inhibition/modification of protein aggregation process, potentially determining the formation of species with different inherent toxicity. Understanding the temperate relationship between these events can be of utmost importance in unraveling the molecul…

Unlocked Concanavalin A Forms Amyloid-like Fibrils from Coagulation of Long-lived "Crinkled'' Intermediates

2013

Understanding the early events during amyloid aggregation processes is crucial to single out the involved molecular mechanisms and for designing ad hoc strategies to prevent and reverse amyloidogenic disorders. Here, we show that, in conditions in which the protein is positively charged and its conformational flexibility is enhanced, Concanavalin A leads to fibril formation via a non-conventional aggregation pathway. Using a combination of light scattering, circular dichroism, small angle X-ray scattering, intrinsic (Tryptophan) and extrinsic (ANS) fluorescence and confocal and 2-photon fluorescence microscopy we characterize the aggregation process as a function of the temperature. We high…

The Largest Synthetic Structure with Molecular Precision: Towards a Molecular Object

2010

Pushing the limits: A 200A - 10 Da structurally defined, linear macromolecule (PG5) has a molar mass, cross-section dimension, and cylindrical shape that are comparable to some naturally occurring objects, such as amyloid fibrils or certain plant viruses. The macromolecule is resistant against flattening out on a surface; the picture shows PG5 embracing the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV).

Ierogamie, euritmie e ierotopie mariane in Sicilia. Il "case study" della Madonna dei Miracoli di Caltabellotta (Ag)

2021

Qual’è immagine venerata che resta come traccia mestica nella mente dei fedeli? Quella che tutto l’anno si può osservare sull’altare della chiesa o quella che solo una volta l’anno si può vedere durante la festa patronale? Partendo da queste domande in questo saggio si tracciano le origini di alcune raffigurazioni mariane siciliane, e in particolare del simulacro della Madonna del Soccorso o dei Miracoli di Caltabellotta (AG). È una ricerca ancora in nuce che propone una chiave di lettura dell’iconografia mariana inedita che partendo dall’analisi morfologica e iconografica, passando per la biologia delle immagini di warburghiana memoria, approda all’animismo e alla performance rituali. What…

Convergent synthesis and preliminary biological evaluations of the stilbenolignan (±)-aiphanol and various congeners

2003

Treatment of an equimolar mixture of stilbene 7 and cinnamyl alcohol 8 with silver carbonate in acetone–benzene afforded a ca. 2 : 1 : 2 : 1 mixture of the stilbenolignan (±)-aiphanol (1) and congeners 2–4 each of which show significant anti-angiogenic and COX-2 inhibitory properties.

Coevolution of parental investment and sexually selected traits drives sex-role divergence

2016

Sex-role evolution theory attempts to explain the origin and direction of male–female differences. A fundamental question is why anisogamy, the difference in gamete size that defines the sexes, has repeatedly led to large differences in subsequent parental care. Here we construct models to confirm predictions that individuals benefit less from caring when they face stronger sexual selection and/or lower certainty of parentage. However, we overturn the widely cited claim that a negative feedback between the operational sex ratio and the opportunity cost of care selects for egalitarian sex roles. We further argue that our model does not predict any effect of the adult sex ratio (ASR) that is …

Sex roles and the evolution of parental care specialization

2019

Males and females are defined by the relative size of their gametes (anisogamy), but secondary sexual dimorphism in fertilization, parental investment and mating competition is widespread and often remarkably stable over evolutionary timescales. Recent theory has clarified the causal connections between anisogamy and the most prevalent differences between the sexes, but deviations from these patterns remain poorly understood. Here, we study how sex differences in parental investment and mating competition coevolve with parental care specialization. Parental investment often consists of two or more distinct activities (e.g. provisioning and defence) and parents may care more efficiently by s…