Search results for "History"
showing 10 items of 18523 documents
Ancient pigs reveal a near-complete genomic turnover following their introduction to Europe
2019
International audience; Archaeological evidence indicates that pig domestication had begun by ∼10,500 y before the present (BP) in the Near East, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) suggests that pigs arrived in Europe alongside farmers ∼8,500 y BP. A few thousand years after the introduction of Near Eastern pigs into Europe, however, their characteristic mtDNA signature disappeared and was replaced by haplotypes associated with European wild boars. This turnover could be accounted for by substantial gene flow from local Euro-pean wild boars, although it is also possible that European wild boars were domesticated independently without any genetic contribution from the Near East. To test these hyp…
Tony DeCasper, the man who changed contemporary views on human fetal cognitive abilities
2017
Tony DeCasper, the man who changed contemporary views on human fetal cognitive abilities
Genetics and Pathogenetic Role of Inflammasomes in Philadelphia Negative Chronic Myeloproliferative Neoplasms: A Narrative Review
2021
The last decade has been very important for the quantity of preclinical information obtained regarding chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) and the following will be dedicated to the translational implications of the new biological acquisitions. The overcoming of the mechanistic model of clonal evolution and the entry of chronic inflammation and dysimmunity into the new model are the elements on which to base a part of future therapeutic strategies. The innate immune system plays a major role in this context. Protagonists of the initiation and regulation of many pathological aspects, from cytokine storms to fibrosis, the NLRP3 and AIM2 inflammasomes guide and condition the natural hi…
The quality of life in girls with Rett syndrome
2016
Nowadays, quality of life is receiving an increasing attention in all scientific areas. Rett syndrome (RTT) is a rare neurological development, affecting mainly females. The congenital disease affects the central nervous system, and is one of the most common causes of severe intellectual disability. The aim of our study is to evaluate the effect of RTT on the quality of life of people who are affected. Both parents of 18 subjects, all female, diagnosed with RTT, took part in the research. Quality of life was assessed using the Italian version of the Impact of Childhood Illness Scale. This scale consists of 30 questions that investigate the effect of illness on children, parents and families…
Evaluating ancient Egyptian prescriptions today: Anti-inflammatory activity of Ziziphus spina-christi.
2015
Abstract Background Ziziphus spina-christi (L.) Desf. (Christ's Thorn Jujube) is a wild tree today found in Jordan, Israel, Egypt, and some parts of Africa, which was already in use as a medicinal plant in Ancient Egypt. In ancient Egyptian prescriptions, it was used in remedies against swellings, pain, and heat, and thus should have anti-inflammatory effects. Nowadays, Z. spina-christi, is used in Egypt (by Bedouins, and Nubians), the Arabian Peninsula, Jordan, Iraq, and Morocco against a wide range of illnesses, most of them associated with inflammation. Pharmacological research undertaken to date suggests that it possesses anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic, hypotensive and anti-microbial e…
Effects of resveratrol on eNOS in the endothelium and the perivascular adipose tissue
2017
Under physiological conditions, nitric oxide (NO) is produced in the vasculature mainly by the endothelial NO synthase (eNOS). Experiments using gene-disrupted mice have demonstrated that eNOS has antihypertensive, antithrombotic, and antiatherosclerotic effects. Recent studies show that eNOS is expressed not only in the endothelium but also in the perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT). Resveratrol prevents eNOS uncoupling and upregulates eNOS expression and activity. These effects of resveratrol are well established for the eNOS enzyme in the endothelium. Interestingly, resveratrol also improves PVAT function. However, a causal role for eNOS in the effects of resveratrol on PVAT function has …
Clinical Course and Genetic Susceptibility of Primary Biliary Cirrhosis: Analysis of a Prospective Cohort
2016
Background: Natural history of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is partially characterized in patients from the Mediterranean area whose genetic background differs from that of Northern Europeans. Objectives: We aimed to describe genetic susceptibility and clinical course of PBC in patients from Southern Italy. Methods: Socio-demographic, clinical, biochemical and histological data at diagnosis as well as disease progression of 81 PBC consecutive patients were collected. All subjects were treated with Ursodeoxycholic acid at a dose of 15 mg/kg. HLA class II DRB1 alleles were compared with those of 237 healthy control subjects. IL28B genotyping for IL28B rs12979860 C/T and rs80899917 G/T was …
The forgotten tale of Brazilian phage therapy
2020
The use of bacteriophages to treat bacterial infections (known as phage therapy) is considered a possible solution to the antimicrobial resistance crisis. However, phage therapy is not a new concept. The discovery of phages in the early 20th century was closely tied to clinical practice, and phage therapy quickly spread around the world. The use of phage therapy in South America in the previous century is still shrouded in mystery and has been mentioned only briefly in recent scientific literature. Research on Brazilian reference collections of medical texts showed that Brazil was an important, but so far little-known, player of phage therapy, uncovering interesting priority claims and miss…
Systematic ajmaline challenge in patients with long QT 3 syndrome caused by the most common mutation: a multicentre study
2016
Aims Overlap syndromes of long QT 3 syndrome (LQT3) and the Brugada syndrome (BrS) have been reported. Identification of patients with an overlapping phenotype is crucial before initiation of Class I antiarrhythmic drugs for LQT3. Aim of the present study was to elucidate the yield of ajmaline challenge in unmasking the Brugada phenotype in patients with LQT3 caused by the most common mutation, SCN5A-E1784K. Methods and results Consecutive families in tertiary referral centres diagnosed with LQT3 caused by SCN5A-E1784K were included in the study. Besides routine clinical work-up, ajmaline challenge was performed after informed consent. A total of 23 subjects (11 female, mean age 27 ± 14 yea…
New insights on water buffalo genomic diversity and post-domestication migration routes from medium density SNP chip data
2018
Made available in DSpace on 2018-12-11T16:52:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2018-03-02 The domestic water buffalo is native to the Asian continent but through historical migrations and recent importations, nowadays has a worldwide distribution. The two types of water buffalo, i.e., river and swamp, display distinct morphological and behavioral traits, different karyotypes and also have different purposes and geographical distributions. River buffaloes from Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Romania, Bulgaria, Italy, Mozambique, Brazil and Colombia, and swamp buffaloes from China, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Brazil were genotyped with a species-specific medium-dens…