Search results for "Micro"
showing 10 items of 23412 documents
In Silico Analysis of Microarray-Based Gene Expression Profiles Predicts Tumor Cell Response to Withanolides
2012
Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal (Indian ginseng, winter cherry, Solanaceae) is widely used in traditional medicine. Roots are either chewed or used to prepare beverages (aqueous decocts). The major secondary metabolites of Withania somnifera are the withanolides, which are C-28-steroidal lactone triterpenoids. Withania somnifera extracts exert chemopreventive and anticancer activities in vitro and in vivo. The aims of the present in silico study were, firstly, to investigate whether tumor cells develop cross-resistance between standard anticancer drugs and withanolides and, secondly, to elucidate the molecular determinants of sensitivity and resistance of tumor cells towards withanolides. Usi…
Development of an ad hoc natural whey starter culture for the production of Vastedda della valle del Belìce cheese
2013
This work was aimed to characterize the autochthonous lactic acid bacteria (LAB) of PDO Vastedda della valle del Belìce cheeses, produced in several dairy factories, for the development of an ad hoc starter culture preparation for the production of this cheese. To this purpose, winter and spring productions were analysed, in order to isolate LAB adapted to perform the fermentation at low temperatures. Plate counts showed the total microbial counts (TMC) till levels of 9 -1almost 10 CFU g and all cheese samples were dominated by coccus LAB. Not all samples were positive for the presence of enterobacteria, but when they were found their concentrations were at similar levels in both seasons. A…
Chemical Ecology of Floral Resources in Conservation Biological Control.
2023
Conservation biological control aims to enhance populations of natural enemies of insect pests in crop habitats, typically by intentional provision of flowering plants as food resources. Ideally, these flowering plants should be inherently attractive to natural enemies to ensure that they are frequently visited. We review the chemical ecology of floral resources in a conservation biological control context, with a focus on insect parasitoids. We highlight the role of floral volatiles as semiochemicals that attract parasitoids to the food resources. The discovery that nectar-inhabiting microbes can be hidden players in mediating parasitoid responses to flowering plants has highlighted the co…
Mechanisms of cell death in canine parvovirus-infected cells provide intuitive insights to developing nanotools for medicine
2010
Jonna Nykky, Jenni E Tuusa, Sanna Kirjavainen, Matti Vuento, Leona GilbertNanoscience Center and Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, FinlandAbstract: Viruses have great potential as nanotools in medicine for gene transfer, targeted gene delivery, and oncolytic cancer virotherapy. Here we have studied cell death mechanisms of canine parvovirus (CPV) to increase the knowledge on the CPV life cycle in order to facilitate the development of better parvovirus vectors. Morphological studies of CPV-infected Norden laboratory feline kidney (NLFK) cells and canine fibroma cells (A72) displayed characteristic apoptotic events. Apoptosis was f…
Fractalkine Signaling and Microglia Functions in the Developing Brain.
2015
Microglial cells are the resident macrophages of the central nervous system (CNS). Besides their classical roles in pathological conditions, these immune cells also dynamically interact with neurons and influence their structure and function in physiological conditions. The neuronal chemokine fractalkine and its microglial receptor CX3CR1 are one important signaling pathway involved in these reciprocal interactions. In the present review, we will discuss recent evidence indicating that fractalkine signaling also determines several functions of microglial cells during normal CNS development. It has been known for a decade that microglial cells influence the neuronal death that normally occur…
EVALUATING THE RISK OF HEPATITIS B REACTIVATION IN PATIENTS WITH HAEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES: IS THE SERUM HEPATITIS B PROFILE RELIABLE?
2009
Background/Aim: Patients with an occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection undergoing deep immunosuppression are potentially at risk of HBV reactivation. In order to assess whether a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for HBV DNA in serum could be used to predict the reactivation of an occult HBV infection, we performed a retrospective study in a cohort of Sicilian patients with oncohaematological diseases. Methods: We studied by a highly sensitive ad hoc nested PCR for serum HBV DNA 75 HBsAg-negative oncohaematological patients requiring chemotherapy. Results: Thirty-three patients (44%) were HBV seronegative (anti-HBc and anti-HBs negative) and 42 patients (56%) were HBV seropositive (a…
Fabrication techniques for developing a functional microfluidic glass device suitable for detection in optical spectroscopy system
2012
Microfluidic devices offer the chance to manipulate and analyze fluids including bioassays and chemical reactions. In this study, a method to develop a microfluidic analysis system is proposed for detection of nanotubes by a Raman acquisition setup. Microchannels where fabricated in sodalime glass substrate by MeV ion beam lithography or electron beam lithography and wet etching. Fusion bonding (550 °C) was used to seal the microchannels. As a result a prototype microfluidic device with 1.6 µm deep channel that exhibit efficient sealing and suitable channel geometry was obtained. The microfluidic device was tested in a Raman spectroscopy detection system and the collected spectra showed the…
Transmisión de señales mecánicas en células indiferenciadas neuroblásticas. Estudios biológicos y preclínicos en modelos in vitro 3D
2023
La biotensegridad es un principio físico de autoequilibrio en el que las fuerzas de tensión y compresión sostienen las estructuras biológicas y permiten la mecanotransducción de señales durante las interacciones célula-célula y célula-entorno. De esta manera, las células y los tejidos responden a las condiciones de su entorno y se adaptan a él. En este sentido, el cáncer muestra sus propios sistemas biotensegrales aberrantes que impulsan la carcinogénesis y la evolución de la enfermedad. La biotensegridad tumoral se define por la intercomunicación entre las poblaciones de células tumorales, los elementos de la matriz extracelular y las estructuras y moléculas del microambiente tumoral. En l…
Nuclear structure and neutrino-nucleus reactions at supernova energies
2015
Supernova-(anti-)neutrino–nucleus scattering is discussed with reference to neutral-current (NC) and charged-current (CC) processes in heavy stable nuclei. The Donnelly-Walecka method with the associated multipole expansion of the nucleonic current has been adopted as the basic framework in deriving the neutrino-nucleus scattering cross sections. The needed nuclear wave functions are computed by using the quasiparticle random-phase approximation (QRPA) for the even-even target nuclei in the NC processes and the proton-neutron QRPA (pnQRPA) has been used to compute the CC processes for the mentioned nuclei. The wave functions of the stable odd-mass target nuclei have been obtained by the use…
Sexual segregation of Echinorhynchus borealis von Linstow, 1901 (Acanthocephala) in the gut of burbot (Lota lota Linnaeus)
2015
Helminths often occupy defined niches in the gut of their definitive hosts. In the dioecious acanthocephalans, adult males and females usually have similar gut distributions, but sexual site segregation has been reported in at least some species. We studied the intestinal distribution of the acanthocephalan Echinorhynchus borealis von Linstow, 1901 (syn. of E. cinctulus Porta, 1905) in its definitive host, burbot (Lota lota Linnaeus). Over 80% of female worms were found in the pyloric caeca, whereas the majority of males were in the anterior two-thirds of the intestine. This difference was relatively consistent between individual fish hosts. Worms from different parts of the gut did not dif…