University of Naples Federico II

About: University of Naples Federico II is a education organization based out in Naples, Campania, Italy. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Cancer. The organization has 29291 authors who have published 68803 publications receiving 1920149 citations. The organization is also known as: Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II & Naples University.

RFLP maps of potato and their alignment with the homoeologous tomato genome

Abstract: An RFLP linkage map of the potato is presented which comprises 304 loci derived from 230 DNA probes and one morphological marker (tuber skin color) The self-incompatibility locus of potato was mapped to chromosome I, which is homoeologous to tomato chromosome I By mapping chromosome-specific tomato RFLP markers in potato and, vice versa, potato markers in tomato, the different potato and tomato RFLP maps were aligned to each other and the similarity of the potato and tomato genome was confirmed The numbers given to the 12 potato chromosomes are now in accordance with the established tomato nomenclature Comparisons between potato RFLP maps derived from different genetic backgrounds revealed conservation of marker order but differences in chromosome and total map length In particular, significant reduction of map length was observed in interspecific compared to intraspecific crosses The distribution of regions with distorted segregation ratios in the genome was analyzed for four potato parents The most prominent distortion of recombination was found to be caused by the self-incompatibility locus

FLOTAC: new multivalent techniques for qualitative and quantitative copromicroscopic diagnosis of parasites in animals and humans.

Abstract: Accurate diagnosis of parasitic infections is of pivotal importance for both individual patient management and population-based studies, such as drug efficacy trials and surveillance of parasitic disease control and elimination programs, in both human and veterinary public health. In this study, we present protocols for the FLOTAC basic, dual and double techniques, which are promising new multivalent, sensitive, accurate and precise methods for qualitative and quantitative copromicroscopic analysis. These various methods make use of the FLOTAC apparatus, a cylindrical device with two 5-ml flotation chambers, which allows up to 1 g of stool to be prepared for microscopic analysis. Compared with currently more widely used diagnostic methods for parasite detection in animals (e.g., McMaster and Wisconsin techniques) and humans (e.g., Kato-Katz and ether-based concentration techniques), the FLOTAC techniques show higher sensitivity and accuracy. All FLOTAC techniques can be performed on fresh fecal material as well as preserved stool samples, and require approximately 12-15 min of preparation time before microscopic analysis.

H1‐antihistamines: inverse agonism, anti‐inflammatory actions and cardiac effects

Abstract: This review addresses novel concepts of histamine H1-receptor function and attempts to relate them to the anti-inflammatory effects of H1-antihistamines. Furthermore, the molecular mechanisms underlying the cardiotoxic effects of H1-antihistamines are discussed. H1-receptors are G-protein-coupled-receptors (GPCRs), the inactive and active conformations of which coexist in equilibrium. The degree receptor activation in the absence of histamine is its 'constitutive activity'. In this two-state model, histamine acts as an agonist by combining with and stabilizing the activated conformation of the H1-receptor to shift the equilibrium towards the activated state. Drugs classified previously as antagonists act as either inverse agonists or neutral antagonists. Inverse agonists combine with and stabilize the inactive conformation of the receptor to shift the equilibrium towards the inactive state. Thus, they may down-regulate constitutive receptor activity, even in the absence of histamine. Neutral antagonists combine equally with both conformations of the receptor, do not affect basal receptor activity but do interfere with agonist binding. All H1-antihistamines examined to date are inverse agonists. As the term 'H1-receptor antagonists' is obviously erroneous, we suggest that it be replaced by 'H1-antihistamines'. The observations that H1-receptors modulate NF-kappaB activation and that there are complex interactions between GPCRs, has allowed us to postulate receptor dependent-mechanisms for some anti-inflammatory effects of H1-antihistamines, e.g. inhibition of ICAM-1 expression and the effects of bradykinin. Finally, the finding that blockade of HERG1 K+ channels is the mechanism by which some H1-antihistamines may cause cardiac arrhythmias has allowed the development of preclinical tests to predict such activity.

High-Throughput Sequencing and Metagenomics: Moving Forward in the Culture-Independent Analysis of Food Microbial Ecology

Abstract: Following recent trends in environmental microbiology, food microbiology has benefited from the advances in molecular biology and adopted novel strategies to detect, identify, and monitor microbes in food. An in-depth study of the microbial diversity in food can now be achieved by using high-throughput sequencing (HTS) approaches after direct nucleic acid extraction from the sample to be studied. In this review, the workflow of applying culture-independent HTS to food matrices is described. The current scenario and future perspectives of HTS uses to study food microbiota are presented, and the decision-making process leading to the best choice of working conditions to fulfill the specific needs of food research is described.