Search results for "Marker"

HepatomiRNoma: The proposal of a new network of targets for diagnosis, prognosis and therapy in hepatocellular carcinoma

2015

Abstract: The diagnosis and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) underwent a huge advancement in the last years. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have been also studied to provide a new tool for early diagnosis of high risk patients, for prognostic classification to identify those patients who benefit cancer treatment and for predictive definition to select the right targeted drug. In this review we revised all the available data obtained to explore the role of miRNAs in HCC. This analysis led to identification of miRNAs which could gain a diagnostic, prognostic or predictive role. The results of studies on miRNAs involved in HCC are initial and far from providing scientific evidences to…

Bioactive glass ions induce efficient osteogenic differentiation of human adipose stem cells encapsulated in gellan gum and collagen type I hydrogels

2019

Abstract Background Due to unmet need for bone augmentation, our aim was to promote osteogenic differentiation of human adipose stem cells (hASCs) encapsulated in gellan gum (GG) or collagen type I (COL) hydrogels with bioactive glass (experimental glass 2-06 of composition [wt-%]: Na2O 12.1, K2O 14.0, CaO 19.8, P2O5 2.5, B2O3 1.6, SiO2 50.0) extract based osteogenic medium (BaG OM) for bone construct development. GG hydrogels were crosslinked with spermidine (GG-SPD) or BaG extract (GG-BaG). Methods Mechanical properties of cell-free GG-SPD, GG-BaG, and COL hydrogels were tested in osteogenic medium (OM) or BaG OM at 0, 14, and 21 d. Hydrogel embedded hASCs were cultured in OM or BaG OM fo…

Accuracy of cotinine serum test to detect the smoking habit and its association with periodontal disease in a multicenter study

2016

Background The validity of the surveys on self-reported smoking status is often questioned because smokers underestimate cigarette use and deny the habit. It has been suggested that self-report should be accompanied by cotinine test. This report evaluates the usefulness of serum cotinine test to assess the association between smoking and periodontal status in a study with a large sample population to be used in studies with other serum markers in epidemiologic and periodontal medicine researches. Material and Methods 578 patients who were part of a multicenter study on blood biomarkers were evaluated about smoking and its relation to periodontal disease. Severity of periodontal disease was …

The Sicilian peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch) germplasm: Evaluation of genetic diversity using SSRs

2006

The decrease in worldwide consumption of peaches due to the poor flavour quality of the fruit has increased the demand for new tasty cultivars. The availability of plant genetic resources is an important prerequisite for improving fruit quality by breeding. In Sicily there is a large collection of local cultivated peaches, whose production fills a niche in the local markets, but which is at risk of disappearing. Their characteristics include highly aromatic fruit and late ripening. Because of their important agronomic characteristics, the Department of Colture Arboree of Palermo University has collected the most interesting accessions to safeguard them and to use the indigenous resources in…

Citrus biotechnology

2020

Agricultural crops that can better withstand the changing climatic and pathogen landscape have been produced through natural selection throughout the millennia and, in recent years, through the process of human-assisted plant breeding and selection. However, a lack of genetic diversity in many commercially cultivated crops (due to monoculture) has made them more vulnerable to biotic and abiotic stresses (Esquinas-Alcazar, 2005; Keneni et al., 2012). Citrus, belonging to the Rutaceae family, is one of the most important commercial woody fruit crops in the tropical and subtropical areas of the world. The origin of citrus is traced back to parts of tropical and subtropical Southeast Asia (Wu e…

Recovery and genotyping ancient Sicilian monumental olive trees

2023

The long-lived and evergreen olive tree dominates the Mediterranean landscape, representing an agroecological and cultural symbol and a genetic heritage of inestimable value. Sicily, for historical, geographical, and cultural reasons, has a very rich and distinctive olive germplasm. In this work, a large survey was conducted to discover, collect, and characterize the genetic diversity of centennial monumental olive trees from historical sites, such as the Greek Temple Valley (Agrigento), ancient gardens, or farmland present in the western part of the island. Trees were chosen based on their height, trunk, stump size, and presumed age; particularly, only olive trees with an age estimated at …

Genetic Characterization of Tunisian Olive Table Cultivars (Olea europaea L.): Inventory Based on Microsatellite Analysis

2010

Olive (Olea europaea L.) is an ancient crop which spread from the Middle East towards the westem Mediterranean region. In addition lo its agronomical and economical importance, the olive industry has a great social and cultural interest as part of our heritage. In order to characterize and to study the genetic relationship among cultivars, five polymorphic microsatellite loci were used in this study and were generated a total of 56 polymorphic alleles with an average of 11 alleles by locus. For all genotypes, the highest number of polymorphic alleles was obtained by the locus UD0043 and GAPU 103. The polymorphism index content ranged from 0.836 for the locus ssrOeUADCA-04 and 0.919 for the …

Genetic variability of Girgentana goat breed using molecular markers

2014

Assessing genetic diversity of local breeds through the information provided by neutral molecular markers, allows determination of their extinction risk and to design strategies for their management and conservation. The aim of this work was to quantify the levels of genetic variability in Girgentana goat breed using microsatellite markers and genetic polymorphisms at the casein genes. A total of 264 individuals were genotyped for 20 microsatellites, selected as suggested by ISAG and FAO. Moreover, the same individuals were characterized for the casein loci (CSN1S1, CSN2, CSN1S2, and CSN3) using PCR and sequencing protocols. Several genetic diversity indexes were estimated. A total of 130 a…

Genetic diversity of Mediterranean cattle breeds related to geography and climate

2015

In recent decades, changes in climate have caused impacts on natural and human systems. Mediterranean countries will be particularly affected by this phenomenon, with growing temperatures and reduced rainfall. Understanding how species and ecosystems respond to climate change has become a crucial focus in biodiversity conservation and management. The genome-wide SNP panels allows providing background information on genome structure in domestic animals, opening new perspectives to livestock genetics. The International Project GALIMED "Genetic Adaptation of Bovine Livestock and production systems in MEDiterranean region", develops an integrated approach that combines the analysis of SNP marke…

Comparison of Genome Wide Association Studies for milk production traits in Valle del Belice dairy sheep

The great achievements in livestock species selection during the last 50 years largely relied on quantitative genetic theory and infinitesimal genetic model. In the last 20 years, due to the application of advanced techniques in molecular genetics and statistics, several chromosomal regions that influence quantitative traits have been discovered. Combinations of molecular and classical quantitative information in a composite selection index have been proposed to increase the accuracy of selection. Nowadays, many genotyping arrays for thousands of SNPs are available for several livestock species, such as: cattle, sheep, pigs, horses, goat and chickens. The overall aim of this thesis is the c…