Search results for "virus"
showing 10 items of 5024 documents
Structure‐ and Interaction‐Based Design of Anti‐SARS‐CoV‐2 Aptamers
2022
Aptamer selection against novel infections is a complicated and time-consuming approach. Synergy can be achieved by using computational methods together with experimental procedures. This study aims to develop a reliable methodology for a rational aptamer in silico et vitro design. The new approach combines multiple steps: (1) Molecular design, based on screening in a DNA aptamer library and directed mutagenesis to fit the protein tertiary structure; (2) 3D molecular modeling of the target; (3) Molecular docking of an aptamer with the protein; (4) Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the complexes; (5) Quantum-mechanical (QM) evaluation of the interactions between aptamer and target with …
WRKY gene family drives dormancy release in onion bulbs
2022
Onion (Allium cepa L.) is an important bulb crop grown worldwide. Dormancy in bulbous plants is an important physiological state mainly regulated by a complex gene network that determines a stop of vegetative growth during unfavorable seasons. Limited knowledge on the molecular mechanisms that regulate dormancy in onion were available until now. Here, a comparison between uninfected and onion yellow dwarf virus (OYDV)-infected onion bulbs highlighted an altered dormancy in the virus-infected plants, causing several symptoms, such as leaf striping, growth reduction, early bulb sprouting and rooting, as well as a lower abscisic acid (ABA) level at the start of dormancy. Furthermore, by compar…
Modeling epidemics through ladder operators
2020
Highlights • We propose an operatorial model to describe epidemics. • The model describes well the asymptotic numbers of the epidemics. • Ladder operators are used to model exchanges between the “actors” of the system.
The interplay between maternal homework involvement, task-avoidance, and achievement among adolescents.
2021
This study examined three aspects of maternal homework involvement (i.e., the quantity, quality, and source of initiative) and their direct and indirect associations with adolescents’ task-avoidant behavior in homework situations and academic achievement. The sample consisted of Finnish mothers and their adolescents who were transitioning from primary to lower secondary school. Mothers rated the quantity of their homework involvement (i.e., monitoring and help), quality of their homework involvement (i.e., autonomy support and psychological control), and source of initiative (i.e., mother- vs. adolescent-initiated monitoring and help) at the beginning of Grade 6. They also reported on adole…
Expression of p63, p53 and ki-67 in patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia
2017
Objective: Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) is a dysplastic process in cervical squamous epithelium and carries a risk of progression to cervical cancer. The aim of this study was to compare expression of three biomarkers named p53, p63 and Ki-67 in patients with various grades of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and in a control group. Material and Method: 58 patients were enrolled in the study. Each patient underwent a colposcopy-guided biopsy of the cervix. Immunostaining for markers (p53, p63 and Ki-67) was performed on tissue samples of normal cases (n=10), CIN I (n=20), CIN II (n=14), and CIN III (n=14). Results: Our study showed a significant increase of the expression of t…
Gender differences in the battle against COVID‐19: Impact of genetics, comorbidities, inflammation and lifestyle on differences in outcomes
2020
Abstract It has been over six months now since the entire globe was struck by the new Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID‐19; aka severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [SARS‐CoV‐2]), which has affected 215 nations. The medical and scientific communities continue to search for and study potential treatments for COVID‐19 as well as an effective vaccine. As of 21 June 2020, 11.4 million cases have been confirmed worldwide, with approximately 530,000 deaths. A large number of scientific papers have been produced, hundreds of thousands of patients have been hospitalized and studied, several treatments and vaccines are being tested in randomized clinical trials, social distancing regulation…
Effetti del Papillomavirus genitale sulla riproduzione umana
2009
Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are agents of the most common sexually transmitted disease that can infect both females and males. More than 100 HPV-genotypes are known, of these, 40 genotypes infect the low genital tract. Based on their association with cervical cancer and precursor lesions, genital HPVs can also be grouped to high-risk and low-risk HPV-types. Diagnosis of HPV infection is sometime difficult because the infection is often transient and asymptomatic. High-risk HPV types are more likely to persist than are low-risk HPV types. It’s the inability of the immune system to spontaneously clear HPV that leads to development of precancerous cervical lesions. It is generally assumed th…
Human papilloma virus vaccination in teenage girls: a focus group evaluation
2014
Objetivo La obtención de niveles de cobertura bajos frente a la vacunación contra el virus del papiloma humano, ha planteado la necesidad de analizar las causas que están afectando a la toma de decisiones sobre la administración de la vacuna, a partir de las manifestaciones de aquellas directamente implicadas, las adolescentes. Métodos Por tanto, se ha planteado la realización de una evaluación mediante la utilización de la metodología de grupos focales. Se han realizado un grupo piloto y cuatro grupos focales en el Instituto Tirant lo Blanc de Gandía con adolescentes pertenecientes a distintas poblaciones del departamento, incluyendo en los mismos adolescentes vacunadas, no vacunadas y con…
Experimental evolution of an RNA virus in cells with innate immunity defects
2015
Experimental evolution studies have shown that RNA viruses respond rapidly to directional selection and thus can adapt efficiently to changes in host cell tropism, antiviral drugs, or other imposed selective pressures. However, the evolution of RNA viruses under relaxed selection has been less extensively explored. Here, we evolved vesicular stomatitis virus in mouse embryonic fibroblasts knocked-out for PKR, a protein with a central role in antiviral innate immunity. Vesicular stomatitis virus adapted to PKR-negative mouse embryonic fibroblasts in a gene-specific manner, since the evolved viruses exhibited little or no fitness improvement in PKR-positive cells. Full-length sequencing revea…
Evidence for Positive Selection in the Capsid Protein-Coding Region of the Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus (FMDV) Subjected to Experimental Passage Regi…
2001
We present sequence data from two genomic regions of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) subjected to several experimental passage regimens. Maximum-likelihood estimates of the nonsynonymous-to-synonymous rate ratio parameter (dN/dS) suggested the action of positive selection on some antigenic sites of the FMDV capsid during some experimental passages. These antigenic sites showed an accumulation of convergent amino acid replacements during massive serial cytolytic passages and also in persistent infections of FMDV in cell culture. This accumulation was most significant at the antigenic site A (the G-H loop of capsid VP1), which includes an Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) cellular recognition motif. Our …