Showing papers by "Sapienza University of Rome published in 1982"
239 citations
TL;DR: The results suggest that the “spontaneous” hardening in cultured ovarian oocytes is not due to a cortical reaction, and that a diffusible factor is produced by follicle cells that protect the ZP from hardening.
Abstract: Culture in vitro causes a slow, progressive hardening of the zona pellucida (ZP) of fully grown dictyate oocytes isolated from the mouse ovary. Hardening cannot be prevented by inhibitors of peroxidase or by a tyrosine analogue. Culture in anaerobic conditions is very effective in preventing ZP hardening. If the oocyte is cultured surrounded by its own follicle cells or in contact with cumuli oophori obtained from superovulated females, hardening is much reduced. The results suggest that the “spontaneous” hardening in cultured ovarian oocytes is not due to a cortical reaction, and that a diffusible factor is produced by follicle cells that protect the ZP from hardening.
153 citations
TL;DR: The results suggest that even though different factors may contribute to calculation disorders, left posterior lesions are particularly prone to produce an impairment in calculating abilities which is partially independent from the above disorders.
132 citations
TL;DR: It is suggested that branched-chain amino acids may reverse coma either by competing with brain entry of the aromatic amino acid or by metabolically decreasing free tryptophan and ammonia.
Abstract: A controlled study was carried out in two groups of 20 patients with cirrhosis of the liver and deep coma in order to compare the efficacy of intravenous branched-chain amino acid solutions in 20% glucose (group A) vs lactulose plus glucose in isocaloric amount (group B). There were 3 drop-outs from each group. Plasma amino acids and ammonia were assayed at fixed intervals throughout the 10-day observation period. Routine tests were assayed daily. Complete mental recovery was obtained in 70% of patients in group A and in 47% in group B. The difference was not significant, likely due to the lack of placebo group. With the exception of free tryptophan/all competing amino acids ratio, the modifications in plasma amino acid levels showed no correlation with the clinical course under either treatment. Ammonia, like free tryptophan, decreased significantly upon mental recovery, paralleling the clinical course throughout the study. In conclusion, branched-chain amino acids are at least as effective as lactulose in deep hepatic coma. It is suggested that branched-chain amino acids may reverse coma either by competing with brain entry of the aromatic amino acid or by metabolically decreasing free tryptophan and ammonia.
128 citations
TL;DR: The European longtailed house mouse in the Rhaetian Alps and Lombardia presents a complex system of Robertsonian (Rb) variation and karyotype diversity, several adjoining populations homozygous for multiple Rb metacentric chromosomes, sites of coexistence of different Rb types, and zones of hybridization with non-Rb populations.
Abstract: The European longtailed house mouse (M. m. brevirostris and domesticus) in the Rhaetian Alps and Lombardia presents a complex system of Robertsonian (Rb) variation and karyotype diversity, several adjoining populations homozygous for multiple Rb metacentric chromosomes, sites of coexistence of different Rb types, and zones of hybridization with non-Rb populations. The original "tobacco mouse" is just one of many local Rb variants, such as those from other Alpine areas (e.g., Orobian Alps) or from Central Lombardia, where a relatively large region within which the population is homogeneous for multi-Rb metacentrics is found. The present study is based strictly on material in which the chromosome arms were identified by G-banding, so that karyotypes within the areas under investigation could be compared. Altogether 111 mice were studied.
91 citations
TL;DR: An assessment was made of the upper body low frequency steady-state vibration in five normal male subjects during level walking in a straight line to yield a consistent indication of the characteristics of the vibration stimulus to which the human body may be adapted.
90 citations
TL;DR: The good correlation between glutamine and the sum of neutral amino acids found in the cerebrospinal fluid only in the presence of encephalopathy supports the hypothesis that brain glutamine may stimulate neutral amino acid transport across the blood-brain barrier.
Abstract: Plasma and cerebrospinal fluid amino acid levels were measured in 12 cirrhotic patients in grade 0 hepatic encephalopathy and 17 in grade 3–4 hepatic encephalopathy. In 5 of these patients amino acid determinations were performed during the evolution of the encephalopathy. No correlation was found between the degree of hepatic encephalopathy and the plasma amino acid imbalance. In the CSF of cirrhotic patients without encephalopathy, a significant increase was found in nearly all amino acids, including those known to not easily cross the blood-brain barrier; this suggests the presence of a nonspecific modification of the blood-brain barrier permeability. In patients with severe hepatic encephalopathy, the further increase only in cerebrospinal fluid aromatic amino acids and methionine levels suggests the presence of a selective stimulation of the neutral amino acid transport system across the blood-brain barrier. Finally, the good correlation between glutamine and the sum of neutral amino acids found in the cerebrospinal fluid only in the presence of encephalopathy supports the hypothesis that brain glutamine may stimulate neutral amino acid transport across the blood-brain barrier.
72 citations
TL;DR: Isernia La Pineta as discussed by the authors is an extensive open-air archaeological site of early Lower Palaeolithic aspect, which was discovered during recent road-building operations at 4 m below surface near the city of Isernia.
Abstract: Isernia La Pineta central Italy is an extensive open-air archaeological site of early Lower Palaeolithic aspect. Radiometric and palaeomagnetic dating place it in the Matuyama reversed epoch, hence before 0.73 Myr. Its early date, stratified context, abundant stone tool industry of choppers and flakes and rich faunal remains make it one of the most important localities for the question of the earliest human colonization of Europe. The archaeological horizons (Fig. 1) were discovered during recent road-building operations at 4 m below surface near the city of Isernia (Upper Volturno Basin, Province of Molise; see Fig. 2). Excavations in 1979 and 1980 carried out in two areas (sectors I and II; Fig. 2) revealed dense scatters of limestone choppers, flint flakes and disarticulated bones of large mammals. Similar occurrences have been found elsewhere in the valley. Previous accounts1,2 are revised herein.
70 citations
TL;DR: Amine oxidases are enzymes widely distributed among living organisms that catalyze the oxidative deamination of many biologically important amines with the formation of the corresponding aldehyde, hydrogen peroxide and ammonia.
Abstract: Amine oxidases are enzymes widely distributed among living organisms They catalyze the oxidative deamination of many biologically important amines with the formation of the corresponding aldehyde, hydrogen peroxide and ammonia according to the equation RCH2NH2 + O2 + H2O → RCHO + H2O2 + NH3
69 citations
TL;DR: FSH, after stimulation of intracellular cAMP, induces an increase in a high affinity phosphodiesterase and, therefore, an increased cAMP turnover in the Sertoli cell, which might be a relevant phenomenon in the control of the responsiveness of this cell to gonadotropin.
Abstract: The regulatory role of FSH on phosphodiesterase was studied in immature Sertoli cells in culture. Cells were prepared from 15-day-old immature rats, cultured for 3 days in defined medium, and then stimulated for 24 h with gonadotropin or with other factors known to regulate Sertoli cell cAMP. All agents that increased cAMP intracellular levels also had an effect on the total phosphodiesterase activity of cell homogenates, FSH and dibutyryl cAMP being the most potent stimulators. Further, stimulation was more evident when phosphodiesterase was measured at cAMP concentrations below micromolar. With 1 microM cGMP as substrate, no modification of the activity could be detected. Reversal of phosphodiesterase activation was observed at 24 or 40 h when dibutyryl cAMP was removed from the incubation medium. Separation of the isoenzymes present in the soluble fraction of Sertoli cell made it possible to demonstrate a selective stimulation of one isoenzyme. FSH and dibutyryl cAMP increased 10- and 50-fold, respectively, the activity of a high affinity cAMP phosphodiesterase, while the Ca2+-dependent cGMP hydrolyzing enzymes were not apparently affected. The enzyme regulated by FSH and dibutyryl cAMP had an apparent Km for cAMP of 2 microM, was Ca2+ and calmodulin insensitive, and migrated on sucrose density gradients with a sedimentation coefficient of 5.5S. These results indicate that FSH, after stimulation of intracellular cAMP, induces an increase in a high affinity phosphodiesterase and, therefore, an increased cAMP turnover in the Sertoli cell. This, in turn, might be a relevant phenomenon in the control of the responsiveness of this cell to gonadotropin.
69 citations
TL;DR: The release of hydrogen peroxide from human blood platelets after stimulation with particulate membrane-perturbing agents has been determined by fluorescence using scopoletin as the detecting agent by measuring the difference of oxygen uptake in the presence and absence of catalase.
TL;DR: In this article, the characteristics of concentration cells based on two electrodes having different lithium activity have been evaluated by examining the performance of various systems and the results indicate that with the selection of appropriate electrode materials, lithium "rocking chair" cells having high voltage and good discharge and cycling behaviour can be developed.
TL;DR: A new augmented Lagrangian function is introduced for solving nonlinear programming problems with inequality constraints that enables one to obtain the solution of the constrained problem by a single unconstrained minimization of a continuously differentiable function, so that standard unconstrains minimization techniques can be employed.
Abstract: In this paper, a new augmented Lagrangian function is introduced for solving nonlinear programming problems with inequality constraints. The relevant feature of the proposed approach is that, under suitable assumptions, it enables one to obtain the solution of the constrained problem by a single unconstrained minimization of a continuously differentiable function, so that standard unconstrained minimization techniques can be employed. Numerical examples are reported.
TL;DR: A new method for the purification of bovine plasma amine oxidase is described, and specific activity is the highest described for this enzyme.
TL;DR: It is concluded that CT of the chest, brain, and upper abdomen is a reliable procedure for staging lung cancer.
TL;DR: The catalytic properties of several serine proteases acting on cationic substrates (bovine of beta-trypsin, bovine thrombin, human urinary kallikrein, and human urokinase) and noncationic substrATES have been compared in steady-state and pre-steady-state experiments by using ester and anilide synthetic substrates.
Abstract: The catalytic properties of several serine proteases acting on cationic substrates (bovine of beta-trypsin, bovine thrombin, human urinary kallikrein, and human urokinase) and noncationic substrates (bovine alpha-chymotrypsin) have been compared in steady-state and pre-steady-state experiments by using ester and anilide synthetic substrates. Arginine and lysine derivatives are equally good substrates for b. beta-trypsin; b. thrombin and h.u. kallikrein prefer substrates containing arginine side chains; h. urokinase prefers substrate containing lysine. The preference of the various enzymes for the guanidinium or ammonium group in reflected by the different promotor effect that acetamidine or ethylamine has on the catalyzed hydrolysis of neutral substrates. Pre-steady-state data, analyzed in the framework of the three-step model, show that for b. beta-trypsin, b. thrombin, h.u. kallikrein, and h. urokinase the acylation step (k2) is rate limiting above pH 6 and the deacylation step (k3) below pH 4 in the hydrolysis of ZLysONp and of ZAlaONp in the presence of acetamidine or ethylamine. In the catalyzed hydrolysis of ZAlaONp, in the absence of acetamidine or ethylamine, the acylation step (k2) is rate limiting all over the pH range from 3 to 8. The change in the rate-limiting step with pH is always absent, for the same substrates, in the b. alpha-chymotrypsin catalysis. The results of kinetic and spectral measurements indicate that b. beta-trypsin, b. thrombin, h.u. kallikrein, and h. urokinase, but not b. alpha-chymotrypsin, contain a similarly located ionizable group with a pKa of 4.50 +/- 0.1, in the free enzyme, the ionization of which affects the binding of cationic substrates and ligands, the spectral properties of the pancreas, and the rate of the acylation step in catalysis.
TL;DR: The overall responsiveness to pain and the antinociceptive effects of morphine were clearly increased in comparison to the patterns evident in the L-D condition, and the administration of naloxone decreased the nociception thresholds, thus indicating an involvement of the endogenous opioid peptides.
TL;DR: The N-dealkylation of atrazine herbicide by Nocardia, a soil bacterium previously shown to degrade the herbicide to 4-amino-2-chloro-1,3,5-triazine, has been studied as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The metabolism of atrazine herbicide by Nocardia, a soil bacterium previously shown to degrade the herbicide to 4-amino-2-chloro-1,3,5-triazine, has been studied. The primary route of the metabolism appeared to be N-dealkylation and was similar to that found in several fungi. The data suggested that the isolated dealkylated metabolites were precursors of 4-amino-2-chloro-1,3,5-triazine. The supposed metabolites 4-alkylamino-2-chloro-1,3,5-triazines were synthesized but there was not direct proof of their involvement in the degradation process.
TL;DR: Investigation of activities of cytoplasmic enzymes acting as a defense against ‘oxygen radicals’ are affected by feeding hypolipidemic drugs shows that both enzymes are significantly de- creased in rat liver during treatment with clofibrate and procetofene.
TL;DR: In this paper, the coordinate ring of the affine space a of dimension 2(m x n) is identified with the variety of pairs of matrices (Y, x) with entries in R, X being an m X n matrix, Y an II X m matrix, such that x.X=Omx, Y.
TL;DR: The authors maintain that the damage caused by the operation affects not only the detrusor but also the normal sphincter function as suggested, in fact, by the symptoms observed in the patients (dysuria and stress incontinence).
TL;DR: It is concluded that a significant (30–40%) deficiency of superoxide dismutase, when associated to normal values of H 2 O 2 -removing enzymes, does not affect the antioxidative defense capability of erythrocytes, even in conditions of augmented oxidative injury.
TL;DR: The loss of sensitivity toCFM during in vitro culture is not related to the concomitant spontaneous resumption of meiosis, since the oocyte becomes resistant to CFM even if germinal vesicle breakdown is prevented by the addition of dibutyryl cAMP to the culture medium.
TL;DR: Cryopreserved human peripheral blood mononuclear cells proved to be excellent controls for determining the day-to-day variability of the NK assay and for selecting optimum conditions for this test in the clinical immunology laboratory.
Abstract: Cryopreserved human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were tested for natural killer (NK) and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) and for high-affinity (29 degrees C) and total (4 degrees C) rosette formation with sheep erythrocytes. PBMC produced variable NK activity following freezing and thawing, but consistently reacted well in ADCC. A significant correlation was found between low NK activity and a decreased percentage of low-affinity rosette-forming cells. On the contrary, the number of large granular lymphocytes (LGL), among which NK cells are restricted, and the reactivity with the monoclonal antibody OKT10, which recognizes the majority of LGL in the peripheral blood, were not significantly altered by cryopreservation. Cryopreserved cells proved to be excellent controls for determining the day-to-day variability of the NK assay and for selecting optimum conditions for this test in the clinical immunology laboratory.
TL;DR: The ovarian surface and associated germ cells have been studied in human fetuses from 12 weeks of age until near term, using light, TEM and SEM techniques as discussed by the authors, and the results indicate that both the proliferating cords and surface epithelium may contribute to the formation of early follicles.
Abstract: The ovarian surface and associated germ cells have been studied in human fetuses from 12 weeks of age until near term, using light, TEM and SEM techniques. The surface epithelium and related cords proliferate extensively, especially at midterm. The cords in the ovarian cortex appear to be linked with ingrowths from the surface epithelium, and both structures have a common basal lamina. Germ cells are always interspersed among the somatic cells of the surface epithelium and associated cords. These results indicate that both the proliferating cords and surface epithelium may contribute to the formation of early follicles. Furthermore, the occurrence, of elements having some of the features of primitive steroidogenic cells in the regions of cordsurface epithelium continuity, suggests that both structures (surface epithelium and cords) contribute somatic cells, which in addition to becoming granulosa cells, might also contribute to the provision of primitive interstitial cells. Gonocytes tend to migrate through the developing ovarian tissue towards the surface where they become extruded into the peritoneal cavity. This phenomenon might contribute to the reduction in the number of germ cells at birth and parallels the atretic processes within the ovary.
TL;DR: The new opioid heptapeptide dermorphin has been localized immunohistochemically in nerve cell bodies and nerve fibers of the arcuate-periarcuate region, around the organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis and in the subfornical organ of the rat brain.
Abstract: The new opioid heptapeptide dermorphin, first isolated from frog skin, has been localized immunohistochemically in nerve cell bodies and nerve fibers of the arcuate-periarcuate region, around the organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis (OVLT) and in the subfornical organ of the rat brain. A role of dermorphin in modulating LHRH release is suggested.
TL;DR: The hairy root regenerants show the same overall morphological characteristics of normal plants and are susceptible to infection with both Agrobacterium rhizogenes and Agrobacteria tumefaciens, but their flowers are all characteristically modified in that they show pistils much longer than the stamens (heterostyly).
TL;DR: Results show that integrity of the active site is not the sole factor playing a role in the enzyme mechanism and that the ionic strength effect is related to electrostatic interactions between O− 2 and surface charges of the protein.
Vanderbilt University1, Cornell University2, Princeton University3, Alcatel-Lucent4, Ithaca College5, Harvard University6, Fermilab7, University of Rochester8, Collège de France9, Ohio State University10, Rutgers University11, University of Oklahoma12, Syracuse University13, Xerox14, Sapienza University of Rome15
TL;DR: In this article, the mean charged multiplicity in B-meson decay was measured at the UPSILON(4S) and a value of 5.75 +- 0.2 and 6.3 +-0.2 were obtained for semileptonic and nonleptonic charged multiplicities, respectively.
Abstract: The charged multiplicity has been measured at the UPSILON(4S) and a value of 5.75 +- 0.1 +- 0.2 has been obtained for the mean charged multiplicity in B-meson decay. Combining this result with the measurement of prompt letpons from B decay, the values 4.1 +- 0.35 +- 0.2 and 6.3 +- 0.2 +- 0.2 are found for the semileptonic and nonleptonic charged multiplicities, respectively. If b..-->..c dominance is assumed for the weak decay of the B meson, then the semileptonic multiplicity is consistent with the recoil mass determined from the lepton momentum spectrum.
TL;DR: Calcitonin injection resulted in a potentiation of haloperidol-induced catalepsy and a partial prevention of apomorphine-induced hyperactivity and induced a significant decrease in nigral GAD activity but no change in striatal DA and DOPAC concentration or G AD activity.