Search results for "STING"
showing 10 items of 3756 documents
Presence of plant hormones in composts made from organic fraction of municipal solid waste
2016
Composting is a process of the biological decomposition of organic matter under aerobic conditions. Composts made from waste may still contain other substances that influence plant growth and development, such as vitamins or plant growth substances (plant hormones). Application of products containing phytohormones has an effect on numerous physiological processes in plants. Among observable results are: improved condition of the root system, increased absorption of nutrients, improved stress and disease resistance and delayed aging. The purpose of the research was to analyse the occurrence of plant hormones in mature composts made from selectively collected organic fraction of household mun…
Havep53gene mutations and protein expression a different biological significance in colorectal cancer?*
2002
p53 alterations are considered the most common genetic events in many types of neoplasms, including colorectal carcinoma (CRC). These alterations include mutations of the gene and/or overexpression of the protein. The aim of our study was to assess whether in 160 patients undergoing resective surgery for primary operable CRC there was an association between p53 mutations and protein overexpression and between these and other biological variables, such as cell DNA content (DNA-ploidy) and S-phase fraction (SPF), and the traditional clinicopathological variables. p53 mutations, identified by PCR-SSCP-sequencing analysis, were found in 68/160 patients (43%) and positive staining for p53 protei…
Surrogate Data Analysis for Assessing the Significance of the Coherence Function
2004
In cardiovascular variability analysis, the significance of the coupling between two time series is commonly assessed by setting a threshold level in the coherence function. While traditionally used statistical tests consider only the parameters of the adopted estimator, the required zero-coherence level may be affected by some features of the observed series. In this study, three procedures, based on the generation of surrogate series sharing given properties with the original but being structurally uncoupled, were considered: independent identically distributed (IID), Fourier transform (FT), and autoregressive (AR). IID surrogates maintained the distribution of the original series, while …
First record of the vulnerable social parasite ant Plagiolepis grassei in Italy (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
2017
The first Italian records of the rare parasitic ant species Plagiolepis grassei Le Masne, 1956 are here reported. This species is considered as “Vulnerable” by the IUCN’s Red List, and was previously recorded from France and Spain only.
Ecological divergence of closely related Diplostomum (Trematoda) parasites.
2006
Parasite life-cycles present intriguing model systems to study divergence in resource use and ecology between parasite taxa. In ecologically similar taxa, consistent selective forces may lead to convergence of life-history traits, but resource overlap and similarity of life-cycles may also promote divergence between the taxa in (1) use of host species or (2) specific niche within a host. We studied the life-history characteristics of 2 sympatric species of Diplostomum parasites, D. spathaceum and D. gasterostei, concentrating particularly on differences in intermediate host use and characteristics of the infective stages between the species. This group of trematodes is a notoriously difficu…
Host–parasite relationship of Ceratomyxa puntazzi n. sp. (Myxozoa: Myxosporea) and sharpsnout seabream Diplodus puntazzo (Walbaum, 1792) from the Med…
2011
Sparidae are economically important fishes to both, fisheries and aquaculture in the Mediterranean. Species diversification is an important strategy for the development of Mediterranean aquaculture. One of the species recently introduced is the sharpsnout seabream Diplodus puntazzo (Walbaum, 1792). During a parasitological study of fish from the Gulf of Valencia and the Mar Menor (Spain), myxozoan spores belonging to the genus Ceratomyxa were found in the gall bladder of D. puntazzo. A morphological description of the spores, which includes histology and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) as well as molecular (SSU ribosomal DNA) data resulted in the erection of a new species, Ceratomyxa…
Determining a healthy reference range and factors potentially influencing PRO-C3 – A biomarker of liver fibrosis
2021
Background & Aims Progressive fibrosis has been identified as the major predictor of mortality in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Several biomarkers are currently being evaluated for their ability to substitute the liver biopsy as the reference standard. Recent clinical studies in NAFLD/NASH patients support the utility of PRO-C3, a marker of type III collagen formation, as a marker for the degree of fibrosis, disease activity, and effect of treatment. Here we establish the healthy reference range, optimal sample handling conditions for both short- and long-term serum storage, and robustness for the PRO-C3 assay. Methods PRO-C3 was measured in 269 healthy volunteers…
Review of Infrared Nanoantennas for Energy Harvesting
2016
The Sun is the greatest source of energy providing a continuous stream of power; its exploitation has stimulated several approaches and technologies to directly or indirectly achieve renewable energy. New devices, which exploit the thermal radiation created by the Sun, that is transferred in the form of electromagnetic waves into free space, and finally absorbed by the surface of the Earth, are under study. The aim of this contribution is to critically compare advantages and disadvantages of new types of suitable antennas operating at nanometers wavelengths, called nanoantennas, for infrared energy harvesting, focusing on the state of the art and its perspectives.
A mid-IR Plasmonic Graphene Nanorectenna-based Energy Harvester to Power IoT Sensors
2022
In this paper, the design of a graphene arrow- bowtie nanoantenna mid-IR energy-harvester to power IOT wireless sensor is presented. For the first time, a sensitivity analysis of the mid-IR nanoantenna resonant frequencies in terms of different graphene number of sheets and chemical potential (μCP) without substrate and on a two-layer substrate composed of SiO2 and Si, is carried out. The obtained simulation results by 3D CST 2020 are useful to design an efficient infrared nanorectenna, composed of the nanoantenna and a rectifying MIM diode inside the gap. The analysis of the complete energy-harvester (EH), composed of an NxM nanorectenna array, a low-pass filter, and a DC-DC converter, is …
Optical Nanoantennas for Energy Harvesting
2016
In the last decade, the increasing demand for renewable energy has been leading to the development of new devices, which overcome the disadvantages of the traditional photovoltaic conversion and exploit the thermal radiation created by the Sun, that is transferred in the form of electromagnetic waves into free space and finally absorbed by the surface of the Earth [1-2]. These new devices, called nanoantennas, have only recently been considered thanks to the development of electron beam lithography and similar techniques. Nanoantennas operate at nanometers wavelengths and their dimensions range from a few hundred nanometres to a few microns. They exhibit potential advantages in terms of pol…