Estradiol (E(2))-signaling is widely considered to be exclusively mediated through the transcription-regulating intracellular estrogen receptor (ER) alpha and ERbeta. The aim of this study was to investigate transcription-independent E(2)-signaling in mouse IC-21 macrophages. E(2) and E(2)-BSA induce a rapid rise in the intracellular free Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) of Fura-2 loaded IC-2...

BACKGROUND Despite Noroviruses (NV, previously "Norwalk-like viruses") being a leading cause of acute gastroenteritis outbreaks, the impact of NV infection is at present unknown and little information is available about strains circulating in Italy. In April 2002 an outbreak of gastroenteritis occurred in the province of Bari (South-east Italy), involving several households. METHODS A retrosp...

Background: Early diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection is essential to reduce disease spread. Rapid antigen tests have not been sufficiently evaluated in asymptomatic patients be used as massive population screening tools. Methods: Head-to-head evaluation Roche rapid test a tool adults from semi-closed community. Sensitivity, specificity and predictive values were calculated using RT-PCR refere...

The Mannich base containing ciprofloxacin and kojic acid structural units was prepared and evaluated in antitumor activity. The enhancement in antitumor activity was observed both from the Mannich base (IC(50): 103.3±5.0 µM for HepG2, 87.9±8.0 µM for HCT-116 cell) and its copper complex (IC(50): 11.5±1.8 µM for HepG2, 44.4±2.5 µM for HCT-116 cell) compared to the ciprofloxacin and kojic acid. T...

Macrocysts in Dictyostelium discoideum possess prototypic features of sexual reproduction and are useful for understanding the basic mechanisms of the reproductive process. Here, we randomly analyzed 1,071 gamete cDNAs, and then constructed a gamete-specific subtraction library, FC-IC. Nucleotide sequences of all 903 FC-IC clones were determined and clustered into 272 independent genes. Express...