Search results for "Biochemist"
showing 10 items of 20174 documents
Test−Retest Reliability of Isokinetic Ankle, Knee and Hip Strength in Physically Active Adults Using Biodex System 4 Pro
2023
Background: The isokinetic dynamometry is considered a gold standard in muscle strength testing. The reliability of lower limb isokinetic strength measurements has not been thoroughly evaluated. Objective: To examine the test−retest reliability of isokinetic ankle plantar and dorsiflexion, ankle inversion and eversion, knee extension and flexion and hip abduction and adduction strength in physically active adults using Biodex System 4 Pro. Methods: Peak torques (PTs) and average peak torques (APTs) of the dominant and nondominant lower limbs were tested twice in 19 physically active adults 7 to 14 days apart. Results: The intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) values varied from excellen…
Flooding in the Digital Twin Earth: The Case Study of the Enza River Levee Breach in December 2017
2023
The accurate delineation of flood hazard maps is a key element of flood risk management policy. Flood inundation models are fundamental for reproducing the boundaries of flood-prone areas, but their calibration is limited to the information available on the areas affected by inundation during observed flood events (typically fragmentary photo, video or partial surveys). In recent years, Earth Observation data have supported flood monitoring and emergency response (e.g., the Copernicus Emergency Service) thanks to the proliferation of available satellite sensors, also at high spatial resolution. Under this umbrella, the study investigates a levee breach that occurred in December 2017 along t…
Antitumor Effect of Cabozantinib in Bone Metastatic Models of Renal Cell Carcinoma
2021
Background: The presence of bone metastases in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) negatively affects patients’ survival. Data from clinical trials has highlighted a significant benefit of cabozantinib in bone metastatic RCC patients. Here, we evaluated the antitumor effect of cabozantinib in coculture models of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and osteoblasts (OBs) to investigate whether and how its antiproliferative activity is influenced by OBs. Methods: Bone/RCC models were generated, coculturing green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged Caki-1 and 786-O cells with human primary OBs in a “cell–cell contact” system. RCC proliferation and the OB molecular profile were evaluated after the cabozantinib treat…
Analysis of the Effects of Reservoir Operating Scenarios on Downstream Flood Damage Risk Using an Integrated Monte Carlo Modelling Approach
2023
The aim of this study is to analyse the effects of reservoir operating scenarios, for flood damage evaluation downstream of a dam, using a Monte Carlo bivariate modelling chain. The proposed methodology involves a stochastic procedure to calculate flood hydrographs and the evaluation of the consequent flood inundation area by applying a 2D hydraulic model. These results are used to estimate the inundation risk and, as consequence, the relative damage evaluation under different water level conditions in an upstream reservoir. The modelling chain can be summarized as follows: single synthetic stochastic rainfall event generation by using a Monte Carlo procedure through a bivariate copulas ana…
The Missing Member of the Partially O-Alkylated Resorcinarene Family: Synthesis and Conformation of Methyl Tetramethoxy Resorcinarene
2013
An improved Lewis acid catalyzed synthesis method for methyl tetramethoxy resorcinarene is described, which produced the missing lower rim methyl derivative of this partially O-alkylated resorcinarene family. Structural characterization by means of variable temperature NMR experiments and single crystal X-ray diffraction studies furthermore revealed that the resorcinarene core adopts different conformations in the solid state and in solution. peerReviewed
Antioxidant Effects of Dietary Supplements on Adult COVID-19 Patients: Why Do We Not Also Use Them in Children?
2022
Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are very common in children, especially in the first five years of life, and several viruses, such as the influenza virus, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, and Rhinovirus, are triggers for symptoms that usually affect the upper airways. It has been known that during respiratory viral infections, a condition of oxidative stress (OS) occurs, and many studies have suggested the potential use of antioxidants as complementary components in prophylaxis and/or therapy of respiratory viral infections. Preliminary data have demonstrated that antioxidants may also interfere with the new coronavirus 2’s entry and replication in human cells, and that they have a role in …
Regulation of the HTRA2 Protease Activity by an Inhibitory Antibody-Derived Peptide Ligand and the Influence on HTRA2-Specific Protein Interaction Ne…
2021
The mitochondrial serine protease HTRA2 has many versatile biological functions ranging from being an important regulator of apoptosis to being an essential component for neuronal cell survival and mitochondrial homeostasis. Loss of HTRA2 protease function is known to cause neurodegeneration, whereas overactivation of its proteolytic function is associated with cell death and inflammation. In accordance with this, our group verified in a recent study that the synthetic peptide ASGYTFTNYGLSWVR, encoding the hypervariable sequence part of an antibody, showed a high affinity for the target protein HTRA2 and triggered neuroprotection in an in vitro organ culture model for glaucoma. To unravel t…
Low levels of both xanthine dehydrogenase and of cellular retinol binding protein are responsible for retinoic acid deficiency in malignant human mam…
2009
The seeming impairment of retinoid metabolism in human breast tumor cells has been attributed to the lower expression of cellular retinol binding proteins (CRBPs), of alcohol/retinol dehydrogenases, or aldehyde/retinaldehyde dehydrogenases. In a previous study we indicated that xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) is able to oxidize actively both all-trans-retinol (t-ROL) bound to the CRBP (holo-CRBP) and all-trans-retinaldehyde (t-RAL) to all-trans-retinoic acid (t-RA) in human mammary epithelial cells (HMEC). Since both XDH and CRBP are required for the biosynthesis of t-RA, we have inspected their bioavailability in both estrogen-responsive and nonresponsive human mammary epithelial cancer cells…
Charged supramolecular assemblies of surfactant molecules in gas phase
2016
The aim of this review is to critically analyze recent literature on charged supramolecular assemblies formed by surfactant molecules in gas phase. Apart our specific interest on this research area, the stimuli to undertake the task arise from the widespread theoretical and applicative benefits emerging from a comprehensive view of this topic. In fact, the study of the formation, stability, and physicochemical peculiarities of non-covalent assemblies of surfactant molecules in gas phase allows to unveil interesting aspects such as the role of attractive, repulsive, and steric intermolecular interactions as driving force of supramolecular organization in absence of interactions with surround…
Phytochemical investigation of the needles of Abies nebrodensis (Lojac.) Mattei
2019
Abies nebrodensis (Lojac.) Mattei (Pinaceae) is a species living in a very small population only in a confined area of Sicily. In this study, the dichloromethane extract of the leaves was analyzed. Apart from three already known metabolites namely dehydroabietic acid; maltol; and rheosmin, previously detected in other species of Abies, a lanostane derivative was isolated. Its chemical structure was elucidated by means of extensive spectroscopic methods.