Presence of orexin A and orexin 1 receptor in the buffalo prostate

The orexins A and B are two peptides discovered initially in the rat lateral hypothalamus involved in the regulation of some body functions such as food intake, sleep/wake cycle, arterial pressure and heart rate. They interact with two receptors defined "orexin receptors 1 and 2", the first of which shows high selectivity for orexin A and the second binds both the peptides. In this preliminary study the presence of orexin A and orexin 1 receptor in the prostate of the buffalo Bubalus bubalis has been described utilizing the immunohistochemical avidin-biotin technique. The orexin A- and orexin 1 receptor- positive prostatic cells are very numerous and belong to the normal exocrine cytotype which makes up the glandular parenchyma. The role played by orexin A in the genital tract is poorly known. The peptide is retained to stimulate testosterone secretion and to inhibit spermatogonia proliferation in the rat testis

Protein Gaussian Image (PGI): A protein structural representation based on the spatial attitude of secondary structure

A well-known shape representation usually applied for 3D object recognition is the Extended Gaussian Image (EGI) which maps the histogram of the orientations of the object surface on the unitary sphere. We propose to adopt an analogous “abstract” data-structure named Protein Gaussian Image (PNM) for representing the orientation of the protein secondary structures (e.g. helices or strands) which combines the characteristics of the EGI and the ones of needle maps. The “concrete” data structures is the same as for the EGI, with a hierarchy that starting with a discretization corresponding to the 20 orientations of the icosahedron facets, it is iteratively refined with a factor 4 at each new level (80, 320, 1280, . . . ) up to the maximum precision required. However, in this case to each orientation does not correspond the area of the patches having that orientation but the features of the protein secondary structures having that direction. Among the features we may include the versus (origin versus surface or vice versa), the length of the structure (e.g. the number of amino acids), biochemical properties, and even the sequence of the amino acids (stored as a list). We consider this representation very effective for a preliminary screening when looking in a protein data base for retrieval of a given structural block, or a domain, or even an entire protein. In fact, on this structure it is possible to identify the presence of a given motif, or also sheets (note that parallel or anti-parallel β-sheets are characterized by common or opposite directions of ladders). Herewith some known proteins are described with common typical motifs easily marked in the PGI

Neuroendocrine cells in the urogenital tract of the buffalo

Neuroendocrine cells or paraneurons are cytotypes producing biogenic amines and/or hormonal peptides, scattered in the glandular and lining epithelia of the body. In this study the presence of chromogranin A-, serotonin- and somatostatin-immunoreactive neuroendocrine cells has been described immunohistochemically in the urethro- prostatic complex and female urethra of subjects of the buffalo Bubalus bubalis. The chromogranin A- containing neuroendocrine cells resulted the most numerous cytotype, the serotonin- containing ones the most irregular in shape for the presence of dendritic-like cytoplasmic extensions and the somatostatin- containing the rarest. The role played by the amine serotonin in the genital tract has been related to the determinism of sexual climax and to the contraction of smooth muscle. The function played by the neuroendocrine genital somatostatin is unknown. Analogically to what described for the same gastrointestinal hormone, it could inhibit both exocrine and endocrine secretions

Analysis and interpretation of the impact of missense variants in cancer

Large scale genome sequencing allowed the identification of a massive number of genetic variations, whose impact on human health is still unknown. In this review we analyze, by an in silico-based strategy, the impact of missense variants on cancer-related genes, whose effect on protein stability and function was experimentally determined. We collected a set of 164 variants from 11 proteins to analyze the impact of missense mutations at structural and functional levels, and to assess the performance of state-of-the-art methods (FoldX and Meta-SNP) for predicting protein stability change and pathogenicity. The result of our analysis shows that a combination of experimental data on protein stability and in silico pathogenicity predictions allowed the identification of a subset of variants with a high probability of having a deleterious phenotypic effect, as confirmed by the significant enrichment of the subset in variants annotated in the COSMIC database as putative cancer-driving variants. Our analysis suggests that the integration of experimental and computational approaches may contribute to evaluate the risk for complex disorders and develop more effective treatment strategie

Balancing selection, genetic drift, and human-mediated introgression interplay to shape MHC (functional) diversity in Mediterranean brown trout

The extraordinary polymorphism of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes is considered a paradigm of pathogen-mediated balancing selection, although empirical evidence is still scarce. Furthermore, the relative contribution of balancing selection to shape MHC population structure and diversity, compared to that of neutral forces, as well as its interaction with other evolutionary processes such as hybridization, re mains largely unclear. To investigate these issues, we analyzed adaptive (MHC-DAB gene) and neutral (11 microsatellite loci) variation in 156 brown trout (Salmo trutta complex) from six wild populations in central Italy exposed to introgression from do mestic hatchery lineages (assessed with the LDH gene). MHC diversity and structur ing correlated with those at microsatellites, indicating the substantial role of neutral forces. However, individuals carrying locally rare MHC alleles/supertypes were in bet ter body condition (a proxy of individual fitness/parasite load) regardless of the zygo sity status and degree of sequence dissimilarity of MHC, hence supporting balancing selection under rare allele advantage, but not heterozygote advantage or divergent allele advantage. The association between specific MHC supertypes and body condi tion confirmed in part this finding. Across populations, MHC allelic richness increased with increasing admixture between native and domestic lineages, indicating intro gression as a source of MHC variation. Furthermore, introgression across populations appeared more pronounced for MHC than microsatellites, possibly because initially rare MHC variants are expected to introgress more readily under rare allele advan tage. Providing evidence for the complex interplay among neutral evolutionary forces, balancing selection, and human-mediated introgression in shaping the pattern of MHC (functional) variation, our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the evolution of MHC genes in wild populations exposed to anthropogenic disturbance

Prosody and synchronization in cognitive neuroscience

We introduce our methodological study with a short review of the main literature on embodied language, including some recent studies in neuroscience. We investigated this component of natural language using Recurrence Quantification Analysis (RQA). RQA is a relatively new statistical methodology, particularly effective in complex systems. RQA provided a reliable quantitative description of recurrences in text sequences at the orthographic level. In order to provide examples of the potential impact of this methodology, we used RQA to measure structural coupling and synchronization in natural and clinical verbal interactions. Results show the efficacy of this methodology and possible implications

Subsurface structure of the Solfatara volcano (Campi Flegreicaldera, Italy) as deduced from joint seismic-noise array,volcanological and morphostructural analysis

The joint application of different seismological techniques for seismic noise analysis, and the results of a volcanological and morphostructural survey, have allowed us to obtain a detailed and well constrained image of the shallow crustal structure of the Solfatara volcano (Campi Flegrei caldera, Italy). Horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios, inversion of surface wave dispersion curves and polarization analysis provided resonance frequencies and peak amplitudes, shear wave velocity profiles and polarization pattern of coherent ambient noise. These results, combined in a unique framework, indicate that the volcanic edifice is characterized by lateral and vertical discontinuities and heterogeneities in terms of shear wave velocity, lithological contrasts and structural setting. The interpretation of the seismological results, with the volcanological and morphostructural constraints, supports the hypothesis that the volcano has been characterized by a complex and intense activity, with the alternation of constructive and destructive phases, during which magmatic and phreatomagmatic explosions built a complex tuff-cone, later reworked by atmospheric agents and altered by hydrothermal activity. The differences in the velocity structure between the central and eastern parts of the crater have been interpreted as resulting from a possible eastward migration of the eruptive vent along the deformational features affecting the area, and to the presence of viscous lava and lithified tuff bodies within the feeding conduits, which are buried under a covering of reworked materials of variable thickness. The observed fault and fracture systems, partially inherited from regional structural setting and exhumed during volcanism and ground deformation episodes also seems to strongly control wave propagation, affecting the noise polarization properties

Acquisizione di rumore sismico nell'Appennino Reggiano Modenese 11-15 aprile 2006

Tra l’11 e il 15 aprile 2006 è stata condotta una campagna di acquisizione di rumore sismico in alcuni siti in frana dell’Appennino Settentrionale. Lo scopo dell’esperimento è quello di stimare gli effetti di sito su corpi franosi tipici dell’Appennino Modenese e Reggiano, nonché di studiare il comportamento delle frane quando sono soggette ad eventi sismici. Le registrazioni di rumore sono state effettuate con stazioni equipaggiate con sensori a corto periodo a tre componenti. Per la stima dell’amplificazione locale è stata scelta una serie di siti caratterizzati da litologie diverse. Inoltre, in siti omogenei e ben studiati dal punto di vista strutturale, sono state effettuate delle misure di rumore in configurazione di array per la stima di un modello di velocità superficiale, allo scopo di confrontare i risultati sperimentali con le funzioni di trasferimento teoriche. La durata delle registrazione non è stata inferiore ad un’ora per ogni sito. Le misure sono state effettuate sulle frane di Ca’ Lita (MO), Cavola (RE) e La Lezza Nuova (RE). Tutte e tre sono frane da colata, caratterizzate dalla presenza in superficie di strati di argille, e sono state studiate dal punto di vista strutturale, tra l’altro attraverso pozzi di sondaggio ed esperimenti di sismica attiva