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M Torre

Publications and source records attributed to M Torre.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

Determination by perfusion reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography of the soybean protein content of commercial soybean products prepared directly from whole soybeans.

The use of soybean flour as external standard for the determination of soybean proteins in soybean products directly prepared from whole soybeans is investigated. For that purpose a perfusion reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography method consisting of a linear binary gradient acetonitrile-water (both with 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid) in 3 min at a flow-rate of 3 ml/min, and a temperature of 60 degrees C is used. Samples dissolved in water are directly injected in the chromatographic system. The method is validated by evaluating detection limits, precision, and accuracy and applied to the quantitation of soybean proteins in soybean products directly prepared from whole soybeans.

Calibration↗
PubMed2000

Perfusion chromatography: an emergent technique for the analysis of food proteins.

Perfusion chromatography is a technique arised to overcome the problem associated with mass transfer in the separation of large molecules such as proteins by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Perfusion media are constituted by two set of pores: throughpores (6000-8000 A) and diffusive pores (800-1500 A) which enable better access of macromolecules to the inner of the particle by the combination of convective and diffusive flow. As a consequence, times required for a chromatographic separation are reduced. Perfusion media are available in different chromatographic modes: reversed-phase, ion-exchange, hydrophobic interaction, and affinity. From the theoretical models developed to explain the dynamic of retention of solutes in perfusive supports, it was derived that efficiency of a separation was independent of the flow-rate and only depended slightly on the particle diameter. Furthermore, loading capacity was also independent of the superficial velocity. All these advantages have promoted the use of this chromatographic technique for the separation of biomolecules both in analytical and preparative chromatography. Characteristics of perfusion chromatography make this technique very interesting for the analysis of food proteins. Perfusion chromatography enables the assessment of protein composition of a foodstuff at sufficient speed and low cost to be suitable in routine analysis.

Chromatography, Liquid↗
PubMed2000

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of soya bean proteins in bovine milks.

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method was designed for the quantitation of soya bean proteins in bovine milks. The method consisted of a linear binary gradient, acetonitrile-water-0.1% trifluoroacetic acid, at a flow rate of 1 mL/min and a temperature of 50 degrees C which resulted in a separation time for soya bean proteins of 11 min. Calibration by the external standard method using a soya bean protein isolate as standard was employed, and the method was validated by evaluating precision, accuracy, and robustness. This method was shown to be useful for the analysis of soya bean proteins in bovine milks spiked with soya bean protein isolate; soya bean protein concentrations of approximately 13 microg/g of bovine milk could be detected by using the optimized method. The results obtained for some of the bovine milks were compared with those obtained by the method of standard additions.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Preoperative predictors of the need for allogeneic blood transfusion in lung cancer surgery.

BACKGROUND: The use of blood-saving techniques in elective surgery can produce a favorable cost-benefit ratio only when there is a reasonable likelihood that transfusion will be required. To apply a targeted blood-sparing technique in lung cancer surgery, the patient's preoperative characteristics that predict the use of allogeneic blood transfusion (ABT) in this practice were investigated. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: One hundred seventy-three consecutive patients who underwent primary lung cancer surgery were included in this retrospective study. Clinical and epidemiologic variables, lung tumor extension (TNM staging), and surgery type were analyzed by logistic regression to discover the preoperative predictors of ABT. RESULTS: Thirty patients, 17.3 percent of all who underwent surgery and 19.9 percent of those who underwent resolvent surgery, received ABT. Excluding a patient who needed 18 units of RBCs, the number of ABT units required by transfused patients was 1. 93 +/- 0.88 (mean +/- SD). Extensive surgery, patient's age (< or =64 years), and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (>45 mm/hour) were the preoperative variables that influenced the need for ABT. The definitive predictive model was able to recognize 82.3 percent of patients who received ABT and 95.6 percent of those who did not. CONCLUSION: A predictive model can preoperatively identify patients at risk for needing ABT in lung cancer surgery. The model could be utilized to tailor blood-sparing intervention programs.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

WARD: a pneumatic system for body weight relief in gait rehabilitation.

The paper presents Walking Assistance and Rehabilitation Device (WARD), a system for walking rehabilitation devised to relieve the patient of his/her body weight of a constant and prescribed amount by externally supporting the subject at the upper trunk and pelvis level by means of a harness. The system is based on a pneumatic actuator that has proved to be effective at maintaining a constant relief force. The constancy of this force that should be maintained even under high body weight support (BWS) conditions (70-80% of body weight) seems to be important for a correct motor pattern. A law has been identified that may be useful to adjust walking speed as a function of the prescribed BWS. WARD is simple to construct, practical to use, and has been characterized on healthy subjects.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

GRASP-DNA: a web application to screen prokaryotic genomes for specific DNA-binding sites and repeat motifs.

The ability to control multiple genes at the transcriptional level often relies on the existence of short stretches of well-defined DNA sequences, to which regulatory proteins and transcription factors bind. In this article we present a freely accessible web-based application (GRASP-DNA), that can be used to screen prokaryotic genomes for putative DNA-binding sites of a particular transcription factor or DNA-binding molecule. This application utilizes existing theories, such as information and statistical-mechanical theories, for the calculation of positive weight matrices generated from block aligned binding sites. Using these position weight matrices entire prokaryotic genomes are screened to identify sites that display a high level of sequence similarity to existing binding sites. This application can be used in combination with high-throughput technologies for gene expression analysis and binding site characterization to assist in the elucidation of global regulatory networks.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1999

Analysis of bovine whey proteins in soybean dairy-like products by capillary electrophoresis.

The simultaneous separation of bovine whey proteins [alpha-lactalbumin and beta-lactoglobulin (A+B)] and soybean proteins was performed, for the first time, by capillary electrophoresis. Different experimental conditions were tested. The most suitable consisted of 0.050 M phosphate buffer (pH 8) with 1 M urea and 1.2 mg/ml methylhydroxyethylcellulose, UV detection at 280 nm, 15 kV applied voltage, and 30 degrees C temperature. Quantitation of bovine whey proteins in a commercial powdered soybean milk manufactured by adding bovine whey to its formulation was performed using the calibration method of the external standard. Direct injection of a solution of the powdered soybean milk only enabled quantitation of alpha-lactalbumin in the commercial sample. Detection of beta-lactoglobulin (A+B) required acid precipitation of the solution of the sample in order to concentrate bovine whey proteins in the supernatant prior to the analysis of this protein in the whey obtained. Since alpha-lactalbumin could also be quantitated from the injection of the whey, the simultaneous determination of alpha-lactalbumin and beta-lactoglobulin (A+B) was possible upon acid precipitation of the powdered soybean milk solution. Detection limits obtained were 14 microg/g sol. for alpha-lactalbumin and 52 microg/g sol. for beta-lactoglobulin (A+B) which represent protein concentrations about 60 microg/100 g sample for alpha-lactalbumin and 100 microg/100 g sample for beta-lactoglobulin (A+B).

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Characterization and quantitation of soybean proteins in commercial soybean products by capillary electrophoresis.

Capillary electrophoresis was applied for the first time to determine soybean proteins in commercial soybean products. The most suitable conditions for the analysis of these products in less than 7 min were 0.05 M phosphate buffer (pH 8) with 1 M urea; detection wavelength, 254 nm; applied voltage, 20 kV; and temperature, 30 degrees C. Quantitation of soybean proteins was achieved using referenced conditions by means of the method of standard additions, using as standard a soybean protein isolate. This method was validated and applied to the quantitation of soybean proteins in commercial products derived from soybean protein isolate and soybean seeds.

Buffers↗
PubMed1999

Exclusion of the Sonic Hedgehog gene as responsible for Currarino syndrome and anorectal malformations with sacral hypodevelopment.

Anorectal malformations (ARMs) are common congenital anomalies that account for 1:4 digestive malformations. ARM patients show different degrees of sacral hypodevelopment while the hemisacrum is characteristic of the Currarino syndrome (CS). Cases of CS present an association of ARM, hemisacrum and presacral mass. A gene responsible for CS has recently been mapped in 7q36. Among the genes localized in this critical region, sonic hedgehog (SHH) was thought to represent a candidate gene for CS as well as for ARM with different levels of sacral hypodevelopment according to its role in the differentiation of midline mesoderm. By linkage analysis we confirmed the critical region in one large family with recurrence of CS. In addition, the screening of SHH in 7 CS and in 15 sporadic ARM patients with sacral hypodevelopment allowed us to exclude its role in the pathogenesis of these disorders.

Anal Canal↗
PubMed1999

Pancreatitis caused by duodenal duplication.

The authors present the investigations and surgical treatment of two cases of duodenal cystic duplication. Abdominal pain and gastroesophageal reflux were the most important symptoms and signs associated with an history of recurrent acute pancreatitis. Computed tomography scan, ultrasound examination, and cholangiography confirmed preoperatively the diagnosis, and a transduodenal surgical approach was carried out in both children. A simple marsupialization of the cyst was performed in the former, and a sphincterotomy with papillosphincteroplasty was associated in the latter. The diagnosis was confirmed by microscopy, and both the children are asymptomatic after a 14 and 18 months of follow-up. This report focuses on the importance of the cholangiopancreatography for every child presenting with recurrent, unexplained bouts of acute pancreatitis, and underlines the technical surgical aspects on the basis of the anatomic identification of the malformation.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1999

Anorectal malformations associated with enteric dysganglionosis in Danforth's short tail (Sd) mice.

BACKGROUND: The spontaneous mutant Danforth's short tail (Sd) mouse has been studied over the last 60 years from the morphological, embryological, and genetic point of view. The Sd mutation affects a gene essential to notochordal development, and the Sd mouse phenotype represents an analogue of human caudal regression syndrome. The Sd/Sd mouse presents different types of anorectal malformations (ARM) and was suggested as a simple and cheap model of investigation of ARM morphology and embryology. In the current study, the Sd mouse enteric nervous system (ENS) was thoroughly investigated with specific immunohistochemical markers. METHODS: Macroscopic analysis, normal histology, and immunohistochemical techniques for detecting neurofilaments (NF) and NOS1 were used to study ENS of 138 Sd mice and 25 controls. RESULTS: The surprising results of this study showed that Sd mutation is associated with different degrees of hypoganglionosis and aganglionosis. In 41% of Sd/SD-affected mice, the rectal pouch was aganglionic and in the remaining 58% was severely hypoganglionic. In addition, 4.1% of heterozygous mice presented a distal aganglionosis and 8.3% hypoganglionosis. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that Sd mutation independently affects distinct cell lines during early organogenesis, as notochord cells, ventral hingut endoderm, and neuroblasts migrating from neural crest cells. Comparing the Sd murine model with human pathology, this study confirms that the association between ARM and intestinal dysganglionosis is not rare and underlines the importance of detecting in every ARM patient the innervation abnormalities of rectal pouch and fistulas.

Anal Canal↗
PubMed1999

Ambulation training of neurological patients on the treadmill with a new Walking Assistance and Rehabilitation Device (WARD).

STUDY DESIGN: Patients with neurological walking impairment were rehabilitated with a new system, consisting of an apparatus to constantly relieve the body weight and a treadmill: The Walking Assistance and Rehabilitation Device (WARD). Patients were evaluated before and after rehabilitation with clinical scales and physiological measurements. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of the WARD in improving walking capability in these patients. SETTING: The study was carried out in a clinical environment (IRCCS S. Lucia, Rehabilitation Hospital, Rome, Italy). METHODS: Seven patients (six with spinal cord injuries, one with brain injury) underwent a 1 - 2 month training period with the WARD. During the WARD training the body weight constant unloading (BWCU) applied to the patient through the WARD was regularly evaluated. Oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production and heart rate were measured in order to obtain energy and cardiac costs of walking. These measurements were carried out while walking with the WARD at an appropriate treadmill speed (ATS) and in the open field at the most comfortable speed (MCS). All measurements, in addition to clinical scores related to the walking capability, were carried out at the beginning of the WARD training period (BWT) and at the end (EWT). At the EWT the patients were tested walking with the WARD observing the same BWT conditions (same ATS and BWCU), referred to as beginning conditions second measurements (BCSM). The relationships between physiological costs and ATS were described through second order polynomial regression curves and studied. RESULTS: Comparing the data obtained at the BWT and EWT, the following results were found significantly different: (1) Clinical scores improved; (2) All patients increased their ATS; (3) The BWCU was reduced; (4) The Walking Energy Cost (WEC) and the Walking Cardiac Cost (WCC) measured when walking with the WARD at the ATS improved in all patients; and (5) The WEC and WCC measured in the open field improved in all patients. The WEC vs ATS curve found at the EWT in the BCSM was found significantly different from the BWT curve, demonstrating a major improvement due to the WARD training. CONCLUSION: Despite some limitations due to sample size and functional ambulation scale, this study has demonstrated that the WARD training is effective in improving the walking capability and efficiency of the patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Preoperative enzymo-histochemical diagnosis of dysganglionoses associated with anorectal malformations (ARM) with recto-vestibular and recto-perineal fistula.

The posterior sagittal anorectoplasty (PSARP) is widely recognized as the best technique available today for the surgical treatment of anorectal malformations (ARM). However, different retrospective studies on the functional results of PSARP in the treatment of ARM have shown different postoperative degrees of constipation. In particular, even in patients with normal sacrum, about 70% of operated ARM with vestibular fistula and about 50% with perineal fistula can be complicated by fecal constipation and pseudoincontinence. In order to identify preoperatively whether ARM patients present abnormal innervation patterns of rectal pouch and fistula (as reported by Holschneider et al [7]), we decided to study suction rectal biopsies performed by introducing SBT-100 rectal suction biopsy tool into the fistula at 6, 4, 3 and 2 cm from the meatus. To date, this approach has been adopted in 22 ARM cases (15 females and 7 males, age range 7 days-4 years), 6 of them with recto-vestibular fistula and 13 with recto-perineal fistula. Biopsies were frozen in isopentane at liquid nitrogen temperature and cryostatic sections were studied by acetylcholinesterase (AChE), succinic-dehydrogenase (SDH) and alpha-naphthyl-esterase (ANE) enzymo-histochemical techniques. The results concerning the innervation-type of fistula and proximal rectal pouch were confirmed by the biopsies obtained during PSARP. Our overall incidence of rectal innervation intrinsic disorders was 81.82%. In particular, all our cases of vestibular fistula presented associated dysganglionoses. The incidence of associated Hirschsprung's disease was high, corresponding to 18% of cases. Our results suggest that the high frequency of constipation in low forms of ARMS depends on primary intestinal neuronal malformations and it cannot be ascribed to a denervation secondary to rectal dissection and to PSARP procedure. We propose the introduction of this type of preoperative enzymo-histochemical diagnosis in ARM cases because it can select those patients with severe associated dysganglionoses. In our opinion, if this diagnosis is available preoperatively, PSARP can be performed without using abnormally innervated structures and reducing postoperative functional complications.

Anal Canal↗
PubMed1998

Determination of polychlorinated biphenyls in soybean infant formulas by gas chromatography.

A method previously developed for the analysis of organohalogenated compounds in dairy products is now validated for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) determination in soybean infant formulas. The results of this study are consistent with those found for PCBs in powdered full-fat milk. The methodology is based on a solid-liquid extraction step enabling a semi-selective extraction of the apolar lipids of the matrix without affecting the efficiency for the recovery of PCBs. Mean recoveries for the spiked coplanar congeners studied were in the 88-114% range, with relative standard deviations (R.S.D.s) lower than 9.8%. The R.S.D.s related to the determination of endogenous PCBs were in the 1.5-10.0% range. The validated methodology was applied to the PCB analysis in different trademarks of soybean infant formulas commercialised in Spain. Toxic tetraequivalents of tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin and daily intake corresponding to each one were calculated and compared with values previously published and with those found in literature for human breast milk in different countries.

Chromatography, Gas↗
PubMed1998

Ultrarapid detection of bovine whey proteins in powdered soybean milk by perfusion reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.

A perfusion reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed to simultaneously separate soybean and bovine whey proteins (alpha-lactalbumin and beta-lactoglobulins (A + B)) in a very short analysis time (approximately 5 min). The method consisted of a linear binary gradient water-acetonitrile-0.10% trifluoroacetic acid at a flow-rate of 3 ml/min, with the column thermostated at 60 degrees C, and ultraviolet detection at 254 nm. This method enables the rapid detection of adulterations of powdered soybean milks by addition of bovine whey proteins. When bovine whey proteins were too low to be detected by direct injection of the sample, a previous acidic precipitation step was required in order to concentrate these proteins. Quantitatve analysis of bovine whey proteins was also successfully performed. In fact, it was possible to detect about 1% and 1.3% of alpha-lactalbumin and beta-lactoglobulins, respectively, in a commercial powdered soybean milk in which these proteins were included in its formulation. Results were compared with those obtained by conventional reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

IGF-I enhances survival of embryonic chick ciliary ganglion neurons in a calcium-dependent way.

We have shown that neurons from embryonic chick ciliary ganglia in primary culture possess receptors for insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I). When added to serum- and insulin-free culture medium, the factor potently enhanced neuronal survival as observed after 24 and 48 h of culture. The effect saturated at 5 ng/ml. Laminin was not necessary for the trophic effects of IGF-I; in the absence of the factor, it had no effect on neuronal survival. Insulin exerted a trophic effect similar to that observed with IGF-I, but at higher doses. The trophic effect of IGF-I was sharply and specifically reduced when either a membrane-permeable calcium chelating agent or blockers of voltage-dependent calcium channels were added to the medium.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Gas chromatography determination of polychlorinated biphenyls in powdered and liquid soybean milks.

A method previously validated for the analysis of individual congeners of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in soybean infant formulas is now used to determine PCB levels in dairy-like soybean derivatives, including liquid and powdered soybean milks. Some differences were found among PCB levels and profiles calculated from the different liquid and powdered soybean milks investigated when compared to previously reported for soybean infant formulas, and those most common in dairy-products from Spain and from other countries. PCB levels detected in liquid soybean milks were lower than those found in powdered soybean milks. Levels reported for these two dairy-like derivatives were lower than those detected in soybean infant formulas. The most apparent difference among soybean derivatives and cow's milk was that individual PCB levels detected in the former were lower than those reported for the latter, except for congeners 126 and, specifically, 77, which showed the opposite trend. This feature was common to all soybean products investigated including infant formulas, powdered and liquid soybean milks.

Chromatography, Gas↗