Search results for "beta"

Polymorphisms of β-defensin genes in Valle del Belice dairy sheep

2011

The aim of this work was to study β-defensin 1 (SBD1) and β-defensin 2 (SBD2) genes in Valle del Belice dairy sheep in order to identify polymorphisms that can be utilized as markers of the analyzed genes, and search for the functional effects and roles of the identified polymorphisms (variation of the amino acid sequence of the protein and stability of mRNA molecule). The study was conducted on 300 randomly selected animals belonging to four flocks. A total of seven SNPs were identified, two in SBD1 and five in SBD2. The two SNPs identified in SBD2 coding region, at position 1659 and position 1667, were non-synonymous, leading to amino acid changes in the protein product. Nevertheless, the…

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on urological practice in emergency departments in Italy

2020

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) and the disease it causes, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), are causing a rapid and tragic health emergency worldwide [1,2]. Italy was the first European country to experience a virus outbreak, starting on 21 February 2020. It resulted in a national quarantine, and the official lockdown of the country’s non-essential businesses and services began on 9 March 2020. Although several reports are available in the literature providing recommendations for the reorganization of clinical and surgical activities [3–7], to our knowledge, no data are available on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the outcomes of other medical conditi…

Generalized Bayesian pursuit: A novel scheme for multi-armed Bernoulli bandit problems

2011

Published version of a chapter in the book: IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology. Also available from the publisher at: http;//dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-23960-1_16 In the last decades, a myriad of approaches to the multi-armed bandit problem have appeared in several different fields. The current top performing algorithms from the field of Learning Automata reside in the Pursuit family, while UCB-Tuned and the ε -greedy class of algorithms can be seen as state-of-the-art regret minimizing algorithms. Recently, however, the Bayesian Learning Automaton (BLA) outperformed all of these, and other schemes, in a wide range of experiments. Although seemingly incompatible, in…

Effects of acute b-alanine supplementation on countermovement jump performance after a 4x400 m fatigue protocol: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-…

2022

This study aimed to examine the effect of acute beta-alanine (β-alanine) supplementation on jump performance after a strenuous fatigue protocol. Twelve healthy young men (age 21.4±0.5 years, body height 180.2±5.8 cm, body mass 76.6±9.2 kg) volunteered to participate in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. The experimental group ingested 3.2 g of β-alanine (separated into two 1.6 g dosages) mixed with 23 g of glucose, whereas the placebo group ingested two dosages containing 23 g of glucose. Following the supplementation intake, participants completed a jump protocol involving countermovement jump (CMJ) and four consecutive countermovement jumps (CMJ-4). Subsequently, a 4…

Characterization of field isolates of Trichoderma antagonistic against Rhizoctonia solani.

2010

The aim of the present study was to characterize sixteen isolates of Trichoderma originating from a field of sugar beet where disease patches caused by Rhizoctonia solani were observed. Use of both molecular and morphological characteristics gave consistent identification of the isolates. Production of water-soluble and volatile inhibitors, mycoparasitism and induced systemic resistance in plant host were investigated using in vitro and in vivo tests in both sterilized and natural soils. This functional approach revealed the intra-specific diversity as well as biocontrol potential of the different isolates. Different antagonistic mechanisms were evident for different strains. The most antag…

Post H1N1 vaccination narcolepsy–cataplexy with decreased CSF beta-amyloid

2012

Why have consumers opposed, postponed, and rejected Innovations during a pandemic? A Study of mobile payment Innovations

2021

The highly infectious nature of the COVID-19 virus has made the use of contactless payment methods a health exigency. Yet, consumers are resisting using mobile payments (m-payments) during the pandemic, a confounding behavior that needs to be better understood. The present study explicates this behavior by examining consumer resistance to m-payments during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, it provides more granular findings by measuring three levels of resistance/non-adoption, namely, postponement, opposition, and rejection. In this way, the study adds depth to the literature, which has largely examined resistance at an aggregate level to yield generic findings. Toward this end, the study…

Beta-blockers for preventing variceal bleeding

1990

ASTROCYTES SHED EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES THAT CONTAIN FIBROBLAST GROWTH FACTOR-2 AND VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTOR.

2007

An important component of the pathogenic process of multiple sclerosis (MS) is the blood-brain barrier (BBB) damage. We recently set an in vitro model of BBB, based on a three-cell-type co-culture system, in which rat neurons and astrocytes synergistically induce brain capillary endothelial cells to form a monolayer with permeability properties resembling those of the physiological BBB. Herein we report that the serum from patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) has a damaging effect on isolated neurons. This finding suggests that neuronal damaging in MS could be a primary event and not only secondary to myelin damage, as generally assumed. SPMS serum affects the perme…

NEURONS PRODUCE FGF-2 AND VEGF SECRETE THEM AT LEST IN PART BY SHEDDING EXTRACELLULAR VESCICLES

2007

Abstract We previously found that neurons are able to affect the ability of brain capillary endothelial cells to form in vitro a monolayer with properties resembling the blood-brain barrier. We then looked, by immunofluorescence and western analysis, for factors, produced by neurons, with the potential to influence growth and differentiation of endothelial cells. In the present paper, we report that neurons produce both vascular endothelial growth factor and fibroblast growth factor 2, two well-known angiogenic factors. More interestingly, we gained evidence that both factors are released by neurons, at least in part, by shedding of extracellular vesicles, that contain β1 integrin, a membra…