688 research outputs found
Not only enthalpy: large entropy contribution to ion permeation barriers in single-file channels.
Feasibility and advantages of normothermia in patients with acute cerebral damage: preliminary results of a prospective randomised study
Métodos de processamento na ensilagem e qualidade das silagens de capim-elefante (Pennisetum purpureum Schum. cv. Cameroon).
O Capim-Elefante foi ensilado aos 75 dias do estabelecimento da cultura e submetido a diferentes tratamentos: a) sem emurchamento; b) com emurchamento; c) sem emurchamento + 8% de grão de sorgo moÃdo e d) com emurchamento + 8% de grão de sorgo moÃdo. Os tratamentos foram analisados estatÃsticamente em um delineamento completamente casualizado, com cinco repetições.bitstream/item/110448/1/METODOS-DE-PROCESSAMENTO.pd
Lovastatin enhances the replication of the oncolytic adenovirus dl1520 and its antineoplastic activity against anaplastic thyroid carcinoma cells.
Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is one of the most aggressive solid tumors and shows morphological features of a highly malignant, undifferentiated neoplasm. Patients with ATC have a poor prognosis with a mean survival time of 2-6 months; surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy do not improve survival. Gene therapy approaches and oncolytic viruses have been tested for the treatment of ATC. To enhance the antineoplastic effects of the oncolytic adenovirus dl1520 (Onyx-015), we treated ATC cells with lovastatin (3-hydroxy-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitor), a drug used for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia, which has previously been reported to exert growth-inhibitory and apoptotic activity on ATC cells. Lovastatin treatment significantly increased the effects of dl1520 against ATC cells. The replication of dl1520 in ATC cells was enhanced by lovastatin treatment, and a significant increase of the expression of the early gene E1A 13 S and the late gene Penton was observed in lovastatin-treated cells. Furthermore, lovastatin treatment significantly enhanced the effects of dl1520 against ATC tumor xenografts. Lovastatin treatment could be exploited to increase the efficacy of oncolytic adenoviruses, and further studies are warranted to confirm the feasibility of the approach in ATC patients
COVID-19 vaccine mRNABNT162b2 elicits human antibody response in milk of breastfeeding women
Objective: The objective of this research is to demonstrate the release of SARS-CoV-2 Spike (S) antibodies in human milk samples obtained by patients who have been vaccinated with mRNABNT162b2 vaccine. Methods: Milk and serum samples were collected in 10 volunteers 20 days after the first dose and 7 seven days after the second dose of the mRNABNT162b2 vaccine. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S antibodies were measured by the Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S ECLIA assay (Roche Diagnostics AG, Rotkreuz, Switzerland), a quantitative electrochemiluminescence immunometric method. Results: At first sample, anti-SARS-CoV-2 S antibodies were detected in all serum samples (103.9 ± 54.9 U/mL) and only in two (40%) milk samples with a low concentration (1.2 ± 0.3 U/mL). At the second sample, collected 7 days after the second dose, anti-SARS-CoV-2 S antibodies were detected in all serum samples (3875.7 ± 3504.6 UI/mL) and in all milk samples (41.5 ± 47.5 UI/mL). No correlation was found between the level of serum and milk antibodies; the milk antibodies/serum antibodies ratio was on average 2% (range: 0.2–8.4%). Conclusion: We demonstrated a release of anti-SARS-CoV-2 S antibodies in the breast milk of women vaccinated with mRNABNT162b2. Vaccinating breastfeeding women could be a strategy to protect their infants from COVID-19 infection
Mobility of a One-Dimensional Confined File of Water Molecules as a Function of File Length.
Lovastatin induces apoptosis of k-ras-transformed thyroid cells via inhibition of ras farnesylation and by modulating redox state.
Transformation of thyroid cells with either K-ras or H-ras viral oncogenes produces cell types with different phenotype and different response to the inhibition of the prenylation pathway by 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase or farnesyltransferase inhibitors. These inhibitors induce apoptosis in K-ras-transformed FRTL-5 cells (FRTL-5-K-Ras) whereas cell cycle arrest is induced in H-ras-transformed FRTL-5 (FRTL-5-H-Ras). In FRTL-5-K-Ras cells, the product of K-ras gene is implicated in the scavenging of reactive oxygen species (ROS) through the activation of extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 kinases. We observed that lovastatin blocked ras activation through inhibition of farnesylation and induced apoptosis, increasing ROS levels through inhibition of ERK1/2 signaling and Mn-SOD expression. Lovastatin-induced apoptosis was due to intracellular ROS increase since both, the antioxidant compound pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate or the SOD-mimetic compound, antagonized apoptosis. Moreover, both p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and nuclear factor kappaB pathways, activated as a consequence of high ROS levels, are involved in the apoptotic effect, indicating that cell death induced by lovastatin was dependent on oxidative stress. Lovastatin antitumor efficacy in K-ras-dependent thyroid tumors was further confirmed in vivo, proposing a new therapeutic strategy for those tumor diseases that are sustained by an inappropriate K-ras expression
Colorimetric Test for Fast Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Nasal and Throat Swabs
Mass testing is fundamental to face the pandemic caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 discovered at the end of 2019. To this aim, it is necessary to establish reliable, fast, and cheap tools to detect viral particles in biological material so to identify the people capable of spreading the infection. We demonstrate that a colorimetric biosensor based on gold nanoparticle (AuNP) interaction induced by SARS-CoV-2 lends itself as an outstanding tool for detecting viral particles in nasal and throat swabs. The extinction spectrum of a colloidal solution of multiple viral-target gold nanoparticles-AuNPs functionalized with antibodies targeting three surface proteins of SARS-CoV-2 (spike, envelope, and membrane)-is red-shifted in few minutes when mixed with a solution containing the viral particle. The optical density of the mixed solution measured at 560 nm was compared to the threshold cycle (Ct) of a real-time PCR (gold standard for detecting the presence of viruses) finding that the colorimetric method is able to detect very low viral load with a detection limit approaching that of the real-time PCR. Since the method is sensitive to the infecting viral particle rather than to its RNA, the achievements reported here open a new perspective not only in the context of the current and possible future pandemics, but also in microbiology, as the biosensor proves itself to be a powerful though simple tool for measuring the viral particle concentration
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