Search results for "RAM"
showing 10 items of 35643 documents
Simulation-based estimation of branching models for LTR retrotransposons
2017
Abstract Motivation LTR retrotransposons are mobile elements that are able, like retroviruses, to copy and move inside eukaryotic genomes. In the present work, we propose a branching model for studying the propagation of LTR retrotransposons in these genomes. This model allows us to take into account both the positions and the degradation level of LTR retrotransposons copies. In our model, the duplication rate is also allowed to vary with the degradation level. Results Various functions have been implemented in order to simulate their spread and visualization tools are proposed. Based on these simulation tools, we have developed a first method to evaluate the parameters of this propagation …
Evolutionary distances corrected for purifying selection and ancestral polymorphisms.
2019
Abstract Evolutionary distance formulas that take into account effects due to ancestral polymorphisms and purifying selection are obtained on the basis of the full solution of Jukes–Cantor and Kimura DNA substitution models. In the case of purifying selection two different methods are developed. It is shown that avoiding the dimensional reduction implicitly carried out in the conventional model solving is instrumental to incorporate the quoted effects into the formalism. The problem of estimating the numerical values of the model parameters, as well as those of the correction terms, is not addressed.
Insulin resistance and hyperandrogenism drive steatosis and fibrosis risk in young females with PCOS
2017
Background and aims Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) recognize obesity and insulin resistance (IR) as common pathogenic background. We assessed 1) whether PCOS is a risk factor for steatosis, and 2) the impact, in PCOS patients, of IR and hyperandrogenism on steatosis and fibrosis. Methods We considered 202 consecutive Italian PCOS nondiabetic patients and 101 age-matched controls. PCOS was diagnosed applying the Rotterdam diagnostic criteria. Steatosis was diagnosed if hepatic steatosis index (HSI) >36, while fibrosis by using the FIB-4 score. As surrogate estimate of insulin sensitivity we considered the insulin sensitivity index (ISI). Free an…
Thiazole–amino acids: influence of thiazole ring on conformational properties of amino acid residues
2021
Abstract Post-translational modified thiazole–amino acid (Xaa–Tzl) residues have been found in macrocyclic peptides (e.g., thiopeptides and cyanobactins), which mostly inhibit protein synthesis in Gram + bacteria. Conformational study of the series of model compounds containing this structural motif with alanine, dehydroalanine, dehydrobutyrine and dehydrophenylalanine were performed using DFT method in various environments. The solid-state crystal structure conformations of thiazole–amino acid residues retrieved from the Cambridge Structural Database were also analysed. The studied structural units tend to adopt the unique semi-extended β2 conformation; which is stabilised mainly by N–H⋯N…
Fluorinated Chaperone−β-Cyclodextrin Formulations for β-Glucocerebrosidase Activity Enhancement in Neuronopathic Gaucher Disease
2017
Amphiphilic glycomimetics encompassing a rigid, undistortable nor-tropane skeleton based on 1,6-anhydro-L-idonojirimycin and a polyfluorinated antenna, when formulated as the corresponding inclusion complexes with β-cyclodextrin (βCD), have been shown to behave as pharmacological chaperones (PCs) that efficiently rescue lysosomal β- glucocerebrosidase mutants associated to the neuronopathic variants of Gaucher disease (GD), including the highly refractory L444P/L444P and L444P/P415R single nucleotide polymorphs, in patient fibroblasts. The body of work here presented includes the design criteria for the PC prototype, the synthesis of a series of candidates, the characterization of the PC:βC…
The Italian law on body donation: A position paper of the Italian College of Anatomists
2021
In Italy, recent legislation (Law No. 10/2020) has tuned regulations concerning the donation of one's postmortem body and tissues for study, training, and scientific research purposes. This study discusses several specific issues to optimise the applicability and effectiveness of such an important, novel regulatory setting. Some of these unsolved issues may involve the grantees of teaching and training activities, the role of academic anatomical institutes, the role of family members in the donation process, the universal time limit indicated for any donation, the handling of corpses, and the limited body donation and its subordination to the donation of organs and tissues. Critical issues …
DNA structure-specific sensitization of a metalloporphyrin leads to an efficient in vitro quadruplex detection molecular tool
2016
International audience; The search for convenient molecular probes for detecting DNA and RNA quadruplexes in vitro is marked by a rapid pace of progress, spurred on by the multiple roles these higher-order nucleic acid structures play in many genetic dysregulations. Here, we contribute to this search, reporting on a palladated porphyrin named Pd.TEGPy: its efficiency as quadruplex-selective fluorescent dye relies on a structural design that endows it with attractive supramolecular and electronic properties and makes it an efficient turn-on, quadruplex-selective fluorescent stain thanks to a DNA-mediated sensitization mechanism that ensures a high level of specificity.
Enteric bacteria of food ice and their survival in alcoholic beverages and soft drinks
2017
This study aimed to evaluate the levels of enteric bacteria in ice cubes produced in different environments (home-made, prepared in bars and pubs with ice machines and produced in industrial plants) and to determine their survival in different alcoholic beverages and soft drinks. Members of the Enterobacteriaceae family were found in almost all samples analysed. All industrial and the majority of home-made samples did not contain coliforms. Enterococci were not identified in domestic samples while they were detected in two industrial and three bar/pub samples. The samples collected from bars and pubs were characterized by the highest levels of enteric bacteria. Fourteen strains representing…
3-dimensional Analysis and Literature Review of the Root Canal Morphology and Physiological Foramen Geometry of 125 Mandibular Incisors by Means of M…
2019
Abstract Introduction The aim of this study was to examine the root canal system morphology of mandibular incisors by means of micro–computed tomographic imaging. Methods The root canal configuration, physiological foramina, frequency of accessory and connecting canals, and the size and shape of the physiological foramina of 125 mandibular incisors were investigated by means of micro-CT and 3-dimensional imaging software. Root canal configuration of the coronal, middle, and apical thirds and the physiological foramina number are described by a 4-digit system code. Results The most frequent root canal configurations were 1-1-1/1 (56%), 1-2-1/1 (17.6%), and 1-1-1/2 (10.4%); 9 additional diffe…
Guidelines for the use of flow cytometry and cell sorting in immunological studies
2017
The marriage between immunology and cytometry is one of the most stable and productive in the recent history of science. A rapid search in PubMed shows that, as of July 2017, using “flow cytometry immunology” as a search term yields more than 68 000 articles, the first of which, interestingly, is not about lymphocytes. It might be stated that, after a short engagement, the exchange of the wedding rings between immunology and cytometry officially occurred when the idea to link fluorochromes to monoclonal antibodies came about. After this, recognizing different types of cells became relatively easy and feasible not only by using a simple fluorescence microscope, but also by a complex and some…