Search results for "modi"

Genetically modified seeds and plant propagating material in Europe: potential routes of entrance and current status

2019

Genetically modified organisms (GMO), mainly crop plants, are increasingly grown worldwide leading to large trade volumes of living seeds and other plant material both for cultivation and for food and animal feed. Even though all the traded GMOs have been assessed for their safety with regards to human and animal health and the environment, there still are some concerns regarding the potential uncontrolled release in the environment of authorized or unauthorized GM plants. In this review, we identify the possible entrance routes of GM seeds and other propagating plant material in the EU which could be linked to unauthorized release of GMOs in the environment. In addition, we discuss the sit…

Stable radical anions generated from a porous perylenediimide metal-organic framework for boosting near-infrared photothermal conversion

2019

Radical anions of electron-deficient systems are widely used, but are easily reoxidized upon exposure to air. Therefore, the stabilization of radical anions under ambient conditions is of great significance, but still remains a scientific challenge. Herein, perylenediimide is employed to prepare a crystalline metal-organic framework for stabilizing radical anions without extensive chemical modification. The porous, three-dimensional framework of perylenediimide can trap electron donors such as amine vapors and produce radical anions in-situ through photo-induced electron transfer. The radical anions are protected against quenching by shielding effect in air and remain unobstructed in air fo…

DeepWAS: Multivariate genotype-phenotype associations by directly integrating regulatory information using deep learning

2020

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identify genetic variants associated with traits or diseases. GWAS never directly link variants to regulatory mechanisms. Instead, the functional annotation of variants is typically inferred by post hoc analyses. A specific class of deep learning-based methods allows for the prediction of regulatory effects per variant on several cell type-specific chromatin features. We here describe “DeepWAS”, a new approach that integrates these regulatory effect predictions of single variants into a multivariate GWAS setting. Thereby, single variants associated with a trait or disease are directly coupled to their impact on a chromatin feature in a cell type. Up to…

Management of hepatitis C virus infection in patients with chronic kidney disease: position statement of the joint committee of Italian association f…

2018

Abstract Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is now considered a systemic disease due to the occurrence of extra-hepatic manifestations. Among these, the renal involvement is frequent. HCV infection, in fact, is strongly associated with proteinuria and chronic kidney disease (CKD) and negatively affects the prognosis of renal patients. In the last few years, availability of more specific and effective drugs against HCV has dramatically changed the clinical course of this disease. These drugs may provide further advantages in the CKD population as a whole by reducing progression of renal disease, mortality rate and by increasing the survival of graft in renal transplant recipients. The strict …

Schlafen-11 (SLFN11): a step forward towards personalized medicine in small-cell lung cancer?

2018

Purpose Both temozolomide (TMZ) and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors are active in small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). This phase II, randomized, double-blind study evaluated whether addition of the PARP inhibitor veliparib to TMZ improves 4-month progression-free survival (PFS). Patients and Methods A total of 104 patients with recurrent SCLC were randomly assigned 1:1 to oral veliparib or placebo 40 mg twice daily, days 1 to 7, and oral TMZ 150 to 200 mg/m

Optogenetics: a new method for the causal analysis of neuronal networks in vivo

2012

Abstract The causal analysis of neuronal network function requires selective manipulations of ge­netically defined neuronal subpopulations in the intact living brain. Here, we highlight the method of optogenetics, which meets those needs. We cover methodological aspects, limitations, and practical applications in the field of neurosciences. The fundamentals of optogenetics are light-sensitive transmembrane channels and light-driven ion pumps, which can be genetically encoded, without requir­ing the application of exogenous cofactors. These opsins are expressed in neurons by means of viral gene transfer and cell-specific promoters. Light for stimulation can be non- or minimally invasively de…

Modulating allergic response by engineering the major Parietaria allergens.

2017

Identification of potential therapeutic compounds for Parkinson's disease using Drosophila and human cell models.

2017

Abstract Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer's disease. It is caused by a loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta, leading to a decrease in dopamine levels in the striatum and thus producing movement impairment. Major physiological causes of neurodegeneration in PD are oxidative stress (OS) and mitochondrial dysfunction; these pathophysiological changes can be caused by both genetic and environmental factors. Although most PD cases are sporadic, it has been shown that 5–10% of them are familial forms caused by mutations in certain genes. One of these genes is the DJ-1 oncogene, which is involved in an early…

Synthesis of Thymoquinone–Artemisinin Hybrids: New Potent Antileukemia, Antiviral, and Antimalarial Agents

2017

[Image: see text] A series of hybrid compounds based on the natural products artemisinin and thymoquinone was synthesized and investigated for their biological activity against the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 strain, human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), and two leukemia cell lines (drug-sensitive CCRF-CEM and multidrug-resistant subline CEM/ADR5000). An unprecedented one-pot method of selective formation of C-10α-acetate 14 starting from a 1:1 mixture of C-10α- to C-10β-dihydroartemisinin was developed. The key step of this facile method is a mild decarboxylative activation of malonic acid mediated by DCC/DMAP. Ether-linked thymoquinone–artemisinin hybrids 6a/b stood out as the most…

A conditional inducible JAK2V617F transgenic mouse model reveals myeloproliferative disease that is reversible upon switching off transgene expressio…

2019

Aberrant activation of the JAK/STAT pathway is thought to be the critical event in the pathogenesis of the chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms, polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia and primary myelofibrosis. The most frequent genetic alteration in these pathologies is the activating JAK2V617F mutation, and expression of the mutant gene in mouse models was shown to cause a phenotype resembling the human diseases. Given the body of genetic evidence, it has come as a sobering finding that JAK inhibitor therapy only modestly suppresses the JAK2V617F allele burden, despite showing clear benefits in terms of reducing splenomegaly and constitutional symptoms in patients. To gain a better …