Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are the most commonly used polymorphic markers in genetics studies. Among the different platforms for SNP genotyping, Luminex is one of the less exploited mainly due to the lack of a robust (semi-automated and replicable) freely available genotype calling software. Here we describe a clustering algorithm that provides automated SNP calls for Luminex genoty...

  During last two decades, polysaccharides such as alginate (Alg) alone and in combination with other biopolymers are widely used in vaccine and drug delivery systems. The aim of the present work was to investigate the potential utility of microparticles made of alginate (Alg) as new vehicles for improving nasal vaccine delivery. For this purpose, diphtheria toxoid (DT) was chosen as a model an...

BACKGROUND Basiliximab is a chimeric human/mouse monoclonal antibody directed against the alpha chain of the IL-2 receptor, CD25, which has been reported as successfully reducing rejection in adult renal transplant recipients. Reported clinical experience of basiliximab in paediatric renal transplantation is limited. METHODS Using two intravenous doses on day 0 (pre-operatively) and day 4 wit...

RNAi is a gene-silencing phenomenon triggered by double-stranded (ds) RNA and involves the generation of 21 to 26 nt RNA segments that guide mRNA destruction. In Caenorhabditis elegans, lin-4 and let-7 encode small temporal RNAs (stRNAs) of 22 nt that regulate stage-specific development. Here we show that inactivation of genes related to RNAi pathway genes, a homolog of Drosophila Dicer (dcr-1)...

Polyethyleneimine (PEI)-alginate (Alg) nanoparticle (NP) is a safe and effective vector for delivery of siRNA or DNA. Recent studies suggest that autophagy is related to cytotoxicity of PEI NPs. However, contribution of autophagy to degradation of PEI-Alg NPs remains unknown. CD34+VEGFR-3+ endothelial progenitor cells isolated from rat bone marrow were treated with 25 kDa branched PEI modified ...

ALG-2, a 22-kDa penta-EF-hand protein, is involved in cell death, signal transduction, membrane trafficking, etc., by interacting with various proteins in mammalian cells in a Ca2+-dependent manner. Most known ALG-2-interacting proteins contain proline-rich regions in which either PPYPXnYP (type 1 motif) or PXPGF (type 2 motif) is commonly found. Previous X-ray crystal structural analysis of th...

Objective In the present study, the effects of alginate (ALG) concentration and ovarian cells (OCs) on the development and function of follicles were simultaneously evaluated. MaterialsAndMethods In the first step, preantral follicles (100-130 µm in diameter) were mechanically isolated from the ovaries of 2-week-old NMRI mice, encapsulated in the absence or presence of OCs in 0.5, 0.75 and 1% A...

Intonational phrasing and pitch accent distribution (PAD) have been proposed to be interdependent (Portuguese) and independent properties of prosodic systems (Egyptian). This paper examines the relation between intonational phrasing and pitch accent distribution in two center-southern varieties of European Portuguese Alentejo (Ale) and Algarve (Alg). Sentences obtained in a reading task systema...