Bianca Mariani - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Bianca Mariani

European Food Research and Technology, 2010

Listeria and Campylobacter genera include some of the most widely spread human pathogens across E... more Listeria and Campylobacter genera include some of the most widely spread human pathogens across Europe and represent a serious health threat, especially to children, immunocompromised people and pregnant women. Both genera are frequently isolated from farm animals and food; therefore, their rapid detection is important for food safety and to prevent disease outbreaks. A rapid detection approach based on the combination of ligation detection reaction and universal array (LDR–UA) was developed to reveal the presence of Listeria and Campylobacter pathogenic species and to identify the Division (I, II and III) of L. monocytogenes isolates. The approach was tested first on reference strains then on field isolates. The LDR–UA approach showed high sensitivity and high specificity in reliably discriminate target sequences differing in as little as one base pair, thus facilitating the discrimination of closely related strains.

Liquid Crystals, 1993

Abstract Several derivatives with the trans-stilbene oxide moiety as the central chiral core were... more Abstract Several derivatives with the trans-stilbene oxide moiety as the central chiral core were synthesized. With the appropriate substituents, nematic and smectic C phases were observed. One derivative was obtained with an ee of 47 per cent by asymmetric synthesis. ...

Animal Genetics, 2010

Suppressive subtractive hybridization (SSH) was used to analyse the muscle transcriptome and iden... more Suppressive subtractive hybridization (SSH) was used to analyse the muscle transcriptome and identify genes affecting meat quality within an Italian pig population of Large White and Landrace purebred individuals. Seven phenotypes were recorded at slaughter: dorsal fat thickness, ham fat thickness, ham fat coverage, muscle compactness, marbling, meat colour and colour uniformity. Two subtractive libraries were created from longissimus dorsi tissue of selected pigs with extreme phenotypes for meat quality. Eighty-four differentially expressed ESTs were identified, which showed homology to expressed pig sequences and/or to genomic pig sequences produced within the pig genome project. Sixty-eight sequences were mapped on the pig genome, and most of these sequences co-localized with the same chromosomal positions as QTLs that have been previously identified for meat quality. Thirty sequences, including eight matching known genes previously related to muscle metabolic pathways, were selected to statistically validate their differential expression. Association analysis and t-test results indicated that 28 ESTs of the 30 analysed were associated with phenotypes investigated here and have significant differential expression levels (P ≤ 0.05) between the two tails of the phenotypic distribution.

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 2011

Salmonella is a major cause of food-borne disease, and Salmonella enterica subspecies I includes ... more Salmonella is a major cause of food-borne disease, and Salmonella enterica subspecies I includes the most clinically relevant serotypes. Salmonella serotype determination is important for the disease etiology assessment and contamination source tracking. This task will be facilitated by the disclosure of Salmonella serotype sequence polymorphisms, here annotated in seven genes (sefA, safA, safC, bigA, invA, fimA, and phsB) from 139 S. enterica strains, of which 109 belonging to 44 serotypes of subsp. I. One hundred nineteen polymorphic sites were scored and associated to single serotypes or to serotype groups belonging to S. enterica subsp. I. A diagnostic tool was constructed based on the Ligation Detection Reaction—Universal Array (LDR-UA) for the detection of polymorphic sites uniquely associated to serotypes of primary interest (Salmonella Hadar, Salmonella Infantis, Salmonella Enteritidis, Salmonella Typhimurium, Salmonella Gallinarum, Salmonella Virchow, and Salmonella Paratyphi B). The implementation of promiscuous probes allowed the diagnosis of ten further serotypes that could be associated to a unique hybridization pattern. Finally, the sensitivity and applicability of the tool was tested on target DNA dilutions and with controlled meat contamination, allowing the detection of one Salmonella CFU in 25 g of meat.

Italian Journal of Animal Science, 2010

In order to identify candidate genes and molecular mechanisms that influence meat quality and pro... more In order to identify candidate genes and molecular mechanisms that influence meat quality and production in pigs, microarray experiments were carried out to find differences in gene expression levels between two pools of six individuals, constituting the extreme tails of the Gaussian distribution of seven adjusted phenotypes of 100 Landrace and Large White animals. The phenotypes considered in this study were: muscle compactness, marbling, colour uniformity, fat covering, colour, dorsal fat, thickness, ham fat thickness. 437 differentially expressed ESTs (Expressed Sequence Tags) were found, clustering in different pathways according to their ontology. In particular, 73 functional categories were identified and ten of them could have a role in meat quality. Among the ESTs belonging to these pathways, seven of them were selected to be validated in quantitative real-time RT-PCR.

Genetics and Molecular Research, 2008

The suppressive subtractive hybridization technique was previously used by the authors to identif... more The suppressive subtractive hybridization technique was previously used by the authors to identify candidate genes for meat quality in pig. A set of ESTs homologous (>95%) to genes involved in muscle metabolism is reported in the present paper. Four ESTs homologous to MYH1, KALRN, MLC2V, and SNX13 genes plus two genes (AK1, PPIA) used as housekeeping for muscle tissue were assigned to porcine chromosomes using the INRA-Minnesota 7000 rads radiation hybrid panel (IMpRH). Our data confirm and refine the cytogenetic position of the KALRN, AK1, PPIA genes, improve the existing physical map of MYH1 and assign two new genes (MLC2V and SNX13) to swine chromosomes.

Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals, 1996

... BIANCA FLAVIA BONINI, NICOLETTA DOLCI, GIOVANNI GOTTARELLI, STEFAN0 MASIERO*, GIAN PIER0 SPAD... more ... BIANCA FLAVIA BONINI, NICOLETTA DOLCI, GIOVANNI GOTTARELLI, STEFAN0 MASIERO*, GIAN PIER0 SPADA Dipartimento di Chimica Organica "A. Mangini", Universith di Bologna, Via S. Donato 15,I-40127 Bologna, Italy. ...

International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics, 2007

Purpose: To evaluate the incidence of thyroid disorders and dose distribution to the thyroid in p... more Purpose: To evaluate the incidence of thyroid disorders and dose distribution to the thyroid in patients treated with radiotherapy for head-and-neck carcinomas. Methods and Materials: A retrospective evaluation of data from 73 patients treated for head-and-neck cancers in our department was performed. Thyroid function was evaluated mainly by the measurement of thyrotropin (thyroid stimulating hormone [TSH]). A retrospective analysis of treatment plans was performed for 57 patients. Percentages of thyroid glandular volume absorbing 10, 30, and 50 Gy (V10, V30, and V50 respectively) were considered for statistical analysis. Results: A majority of patients (61%) had a normal thyroid function whereas 19 patients (26%) had hypothyroidism. Mean thyroid volume was 30.39 cc. Point 3 (located at isthmus) absorbed lower doses compared with other points (p < 0.0001). Median values of V10, V30, and V50 were 92% (range, 57-100%), 75% (range, 28.5-100%), and 35% (range, 3-83%) respectively. Gender was associated with toxicity (presence of any kind of thyroid disorders) (p < 0.05), with females displaying higher levels of TSHr (relative TSH ‫؍‬ patient's value/maximum value of the laboratory range) (p ‫؍‬ 0.0005) and smaller thyroid volume (p ‫؍‬ 0.0012) compared with male population. TSHr values were associated with thyroid volume, and the presence of midline shielding block in the anterior field was associated with relative free thyroxine (FT4r ‫؍‬ patient's value/maximum value of the laboratory range) values. Conclusions: Gender and thyroid volume seem to play an important role in the occurrence of thyroid toxicity, but further studies on dose-effect relationship for radiotherapy-induced thyroid toxicity are needed.

Molecular and Cellular Probes, 2011

Verocytoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) are zoonotic pathogens whose natural reservoir is represe... more Verocytoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) are zoonotic pathogens whose natural reservoir is represented by ruminants, particularly cattle. Infections are mainly acquired by consumption of undercooked contaminated food of animal origin, contact with infected animals and contaminated environment. VTEC O157 is the most frequently isolated serogroup from cases of human disease, however, other VTEC serogroups, such as O26, O111, O145 and O103, are increasingly reported as causing Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) worldwide. The identification of VTEC is troublesome, hindering the development of effective prevention strategies. In fact, VTEC are morphologically indistinguishable from harmless E. coli and their pathogenic potential is not strictly dependent on the serogroup, but relies on the presence of a collection of virulence genes. We developed a diagnostic tool for VTEC based on the Ligation Detection Reaction coupled to Universal Array (LDR-UA) for the simultaneous identification of virulence factors and serogroup-associated genes. The method includes the investigation of 40 sites located in 13 fragments from 12 genes (sodCF1/F2, adfO, terB, ehxA, eae, vtx1, vtx2, ihp1, wzx, wbdI, rfbE, dnaK) and was evaluated by performing a trial on a collection of 67 E. coli strains, both VTEC and VT-negative E. coli, as well as on 25 isolates belonging to other related species. Results of this study showed that the LDR-UA technique was specific in identifying the target microorganism. Moreover, due to its higher throughput, the LDR-UA can be a valid and cheaper alternative to real time PCR-based (rt-PCR) methods for VTEC identification.

British Journal of Haematology, 1984

Changes in protein C antigen (PC: Ag) have been compared with those in factor 11, VII, IX and X a... more Changes in protein C antigen (PC: Ag) have been compared with those in factor 11, VII, IX and X antigens (1I:Ag; VI1:Ag; 1X:Ag and X:Ag) in 10 patients starting on oral anticoagulant therapy with warfarin, monitored with thrombotest. Between days 0 and 3 of therapy, PC : Ag decreased at the same rate as VII: Ag, whilst Griffi et al(l981) and then confirmed by Bertina et al(l982). In addition, acquired defects are seen in clinical situations predisposing to thrombosis, such as the postoperative state (Mannucci & Vigano, 1982).