La metrologia negli edifici pubblici e privati della Sicilia romana: persistenze e innovazioni nei centri di Agrigentum, Lilybaeum e Tyndaris

La presente tesi studia la metrologia relativa ad alcuni edifici chiave, sia pubblici, sia privati, dei centri romani di Agrigentum, Lilybaeum e Tyndaris, cercando di cogliere persistenze o sviluppi nell'uso dei sistemi metrici adoperati. Unendo a questo tipo di ricerca un'analisi storica, politica e architettonica dei tre centri, si cerca di cogliere chi fossero i committenti e quali le maestranze per cui fu utilizzato un dato sistema di misurazione

Nutritional Factors Modulating Alu Methylation inan Italian Sample from The Mark-Age StudyIncluding Offspring of Healthy Nonagenarians

Alu hypomethylation promotes genomic instability and is associated with aging and age-related diseases. Dietary factors affect global DNA methylation, leading to changes in genomic stability and gene expression with an impact on longevity and the risk of disease. This preliminary study aims to investigate the relationship between nutritional factors, such as circulating trace elements, lipids and antioxidants, and Alu methylation in elderly subjects and offspring of healthy nonagenarians. Alu DNA methylation was analyzed in sixty RASIG (randomly recruited age-stratified individuals from the general population) and thirty-two GO (GeHA offspring) enrolled in Italy in the framework of the MARK-AGE project. Factor analysis revealed a different clustering between Alu CpG1 and the other CpG sites. RASIG over 65 years showed lower Alu CpG1 methylation than those of GO subjects in the same age class. Moreover, Alu CpG1 methylation was associated with fruit and whole-grain bread consumption, LDL2-Cholesterol and plasma copper. The preserved Alu methylation status in GO, suggests Alu epigenetic changes as a potential marker of aging. Our preliminary investigation shows that Alu methylation may be affected by food rich in fibers and antioxidants, or circulating LDL subfractions and plasma copper

Do people living with HIV experience greater age advancement than their HIV-negative counterparts?

OBJECTIVES: Despite successful antiretroviral (ARV) therapy, people living with HIV (PLWH) may show signs of premature/accentuated aging. We compared established biomarkers of aging in PLWH, appropriately-chosen HIV-negative individuals, and blood donors, and explored factors associated with biological age advancement. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis of 134 PLWH on suppressive ARV therapy, 79 lifestyle-comparable HIV-negative controls aged ≥45 years from the Co-morBidity in Relation to AIDS (COBRA) cohort, and 35 age-matched blood donors (BD). METHODS: Biological age was estimated using a validated algorithm based on ten biomarkers. Associations between 'age advancement' (biological minus chronological age) and HIV status/parameters, lifestyle, cytomegalovirus (CMV), hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections were investigated using linear regression. RESULTS: The average (95% CI) age advancement was greater in both HIV-positive [13.2 (11.6, 14.9) years] and HIV-negative [5.5 (3.8, 7.2) years] COBRA participants compared to BD [-7.0 (-4.1, -9.9) years, both p's < 0.001)], but also in HIV-positive compared to HIV-negative participants (p < 0.001). Chronic HBV, higher anti-CMV IgG titer and CD8 T-cell count were each associated with increased age advancement, independently of HIV-status/group. Among HIV-positive participants, age advancement was increased by 3.5 (0.1, 6.8) years among those with nadir CD4 < 200 cells/μL and by 0.1 (0.06, 0.2) years for each additional month of exposure to saquinavir. CONCLUSIONS: Both treated PLWH and lifestyle-comparable HIV-negative individuals show signs of age advancement compared to BD, to which persistent CMV, HBV co-infection and CD8 T-cell activation may have contributed. Age advancement remained greatest in PLWH and was related to prior immunodeficiency and cumulative saquinavir exposure

Cognitive function and drivers of cognitive impairment in a European and a Korean cohort of people living with HIV

Although cognitive impairments are still prevalent in the current antiretroviral therapy era, limited investigations have compared the prevalence of cognitive disorder in people living with HIV (PLWH) and its determinants in different regions and ethnicities. We compared cognitive performance across six domains using comparable batteries in 134 PLWH aged ≥45 years from the COBRA study (Netherlands, UK), and 194 PLWH aged ≥18 years from the NeuroAIDS Project (South Korea). Cognitive scores were standardized and averaged to obtain domain and global T-scores. Associations with global T-scores were evaluated using multivariable regression and the ability of individual tests to detect cognitive impairment (global T-score ≤45) was assessed using the area-under-the-receiver-operating-characteristic curve (AUROC). The median (interquartile range) age of participants was 56 (51, 62) years in COBRA (88% white ethnicity, 93% male) and 45 (37, 52) years in NeuroAIDS (100% Korean ethnicity, 94% male). The rate of cognitive impairment was 18.8% and 18.0%, respectively (p = 0.86). In COBRA, Black-African ethnicity was the factor most strongly associated with cognitive function (11.1 [7.7, 14.5] lower scores vs. white ethnicity, p < 0.01), whereas in NeuroAIDS, age (0.6 [0.1, 1.3] per 10-year, p<0.01) and education (0.7 [0.5, 0.9] per year, p<0.01) were significantly associated with cognitive function with anemia showing only a weak association (−1.2 [−2.6, 0.3], p=0.12). Cognitive domains most associated with cognitive impairment were attention (AUROC = 0.86) and executive function (AUROC = 0.87) in COBRA and processing speed (AUROC = 0.80), motor function (AUROC = 0.78) and language (AUROC = 0.78) in NeuroAIDS. Two cohorts of PLWH from different geographical regions report similar rates of cognitive impairment but different risk factors and cognitive profiles of impairment

Monitoring of exposure of weakeners of the Dutch population. A feasibility study

Based on data from literature, an evaluation was made wether it is possible to monitore the exposure of weakeners to the general Dutch population as urinary metabolites. The exposure, which mainly occurred by food, could only be estimated with data from foreign countries and by a number of assumptions. Based on existing qualitative and partially estimated data, only DEHP and DEHA are suitable for monitoring from analytical standpoint. From toxicological point of view, only DEHA is possibly interesting for monitoring, because the exposure closely approaches the tolerable daily intake.GH

Beeldverwerking van elektroforese gelpatronen I. Algemene principes en mogelijkheden

Een beeldanalyse systeem voor de kwalitatieve en kwantitatieve analyse van elektroforese gels wordt beschreven. Dit nieuwe systeem met krachtige beeldverwerkings software is snel, goedkoop en geschikt voor zowel ontwikkelingswerk als routinematige metingen. Het is onder andere mogelijk om een plaatselijke achtergrondcorrectie toe te passen en om zwakke eiwitbanden of -vlekken in Coomassie blauw gekleurde gels goed zichtbaar te maken. Indien gewenst kan het oplossend vermogen sterk verhoogd worden door geavanceerde filtreertechnieken toe te passen. Eenvoudige toepassingen worden getoond van de analyse van complexe SDS-polyacrylamide gels, iso-elektrische focussering gels en twee-dimensionale gels, inclusief automatische herkenning van spots en drie dimensionale afbeeldingen.RIV

Surveillance for the presence of anabolics in cattle urine. The period January-April 1983

2067 monsters runderurine werden via celite-RIA onderzocht op de aanwezigheid van DES, DE en/of HEX. In 82 monsters was deze aanwezigheid geindiceerd. In 81 van deze monsters werd via GCMS de aanwezigheid van DES bevestigd. HEX werd eenmaal aangetroffen. Het gehanteerde onderzoeksmodel bleek zeer betrouwbaar. In een steekproef van het totaal aantal monsters werd ook op de aanwezigheid van trenbolon, zeranol, nortestosteron en methyltestosteron gecontroleerd. Soms werden deze anabolica aangetroffen. Uit het kleine aantal onderzochte monsters kan geconcludeerd worden dat ook xenobiotische androgenen gebruikt worden in de rundermesting.VHIRIV

Analysis of complex proteinmixtures with iso-electric focussing

In dit rapport staan een aantal uitvoeringen van de iso-elektrische focussering beschreven. Deze techniek heeft een zeer groot oplossend vermogen doordat de eiwitten gescheiden worden door verschillen in hun iso-elektrische punt (netto lading = 0). Een aantal parameters zijn gevarieerd om een zo optimaal mogelijke scheiding te verkrijgen van een monster van ratte serumeiwitten. Het effect van amfoline mengsels is onderzocht voor het verkrijgen van een optimale pH-gradient. De invloed van amfolines van verschillende firma's op de scheiding is onderzocht. De invloed van detergentia op de scheiding is uitgebreid bekeken. Verder zijn een aantal kleuringsmethoden onderzocht op hun bruikbaarheid. De optimale uitvoering van de iso-elektrische focussering voor de scheiding van ratte serumeiwitten staat gedetailleerd beschreven in de vorm van een "standard operating procedure" in de bijlage.RIV

Immunochemical detection method after western blotting of cytochrome P-450 iso-enzyme

In this report a number of staining techniques on Western blots have been compared with respect to sensitivity, background staining, practical applicability and cost aspects. After electrophoresis of a rat microsomal liver sample followed by blotting, an incubation was performed of a primary antibody against a purified cytochrome P-450 fraction. Enzyme-labelled second antibodies with horseradish peroxidase, alkaline phosphatase and xanthine oxidase were used for detection. Both colorimetric and chemiluminescent methods were investigated. It appeared that chemiluminescence detection of horseradish peroxidase was the most sensitive method. followed by chemiluminescence detection of xanthine oxidase. Horseradish peroxidase with colorimetric detection was also fairly sensitive and easier to use than chemiluminescence detection. Alkaline phosphatase gave the least sensitive method with both colorimetric and chemiluminescence detection. Both horseradish peroxidase and especially alkaline phosphatase showed heavy background staining, in contrast to xanthine oxidase, where no background was observed even after overnight exposure. A number of blot experiments on nylonmembrane, for a more sensitive detection of alkaline phosphatase, did not give better results in sensitivity. Both colorimetric and chemiluminescence detection showed heavy background staining on nylonmembrane. The heavy background staining after chemiluminescence detection of horseradish peroxidase was less by using the second antibody in smaller concentration. The colorimetric detection of horseradish peroxidase gave better photographic reproduction when a substrate of diaminobenzidine and chloronaphthol was used for staining.RIV