scholarly journals Analysis of the Status of the Cutaneous Endogenous and Exogenous Antioxidative System of Smokers and the Short-Term Effect of Defined Smoking Thereon

Antioxidants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 537
Author(s):  
Silke B. Lohan ◽  
Karl Bühring ◽  
Anna-Christina Lauer ◽  
Annette Friedrich ◽  
Jürgen Lademann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Plasma ◽  
Immune Cells ◽  
Epr Spectroscopy ◽  
Radical Scavenging Activity ◽  
Radical Scavenging ◽  
Cigarette Consumption ◽  
Short Term ◽  
The Status ◽  
Β Carotene

The daily consumption of tobacco products leads to a boost in free radical production in tissues, promoting the risk for malignancies, metabolic alterations and chronic-inflammatory diseases. This study aimed to broaden the knowledge of the status of the antioxidative (AO) system in the skin, compared to the blood, of healthy appearing smokers. Both, the basic status compared to non-smokers and the short-term impact of controlled cigarette consumption in smokers were analyzed. Our study showed that the basic level of the AO system of smokers significantly differed from that of non-smokers. As determined by resonant Raman spectroscopy (RRS), the levels of exogenous AOs were decreased in both, the skin, in vivo (β-carotene and lycopene), and blood plasma (β-carotene only). In contrast, the levels of glutathione (GSH), the prototypical endogenous AO, which were analyzed by fluorimetric assays in cutaneous tape strips and blood plasma, were increased in the skin, although unchanged in the blood of smokers. Elevated cutaneous GSH levels were reflected by an elevated overall radical scavenging activity in the skin, as quantified by non-invasive electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Analysis of the expression of selected stress-associated genes in blood immune cells by quantitative RT-PCR in subgroups of non-smokers and smokers additionally demonstrated the downregulation of AKR1C2 in smokers, and its negative correlation with blood plasma levels of the protective immune mediator interleukin-22, assessed by the ELISA technique. Controlled cigarette consumption did not alter exogenous or endogenous AOs in the skin of smokers, but decreased lycopene levels in blood plasma. Moreover, there was a decline in blood IL-22 levels, while no relevant response of blood cell gene expressions was found after the considered short time. Our data therefore demonstrate a strengthened endogenous AO status in the skin of smokers, which may indicate a long-term adaptation to chronic oxidative stress in this specific organ. While this effect was not clearly visible in the blood, this compartment seems to be useful as an immediate indicator of the body’s AO consumption. Moreover, decreased levels of AKR1C2, which we show for the first time to be expressed in immune cells, may be a candidate marker for long-term smoking. In addition, this study demonstrates that the rate constant of a spin probe decline determined by EPR spectroscopy mainly represents the endogenous AO status of a tissue.

scholarly journals Effects of Combination of Antidiabetic Agent and Statin on Alloxan-induced Diabetes with Cardiovascular Diseases in Rats

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 709-720 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. S. Islam ◽  
A. H. M. K. Alam ◽  
M. A. A. Rahman ◽  
Y. Ali ◽  
Al Mamun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radical Scavenging Activity ◽  
Radical Scavenging ◽  
Diabetic Rats ◽  
Free Radical Scavenging ◽  
Scavenging Activity ◽  
Antidiabetic Agent ◽  
Pathological Changes ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Combination Drugs

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of combination drugs (metformin and atorvastatin) on long-term alloxan-induced diabetes with CVD in rats. In short-term alloxan-induced diabetic rats, metformin reduced significant amount of glucose in blood, but it had no significant effect on lipid profile. Atorvastatin significantly reduced TC, TG and LDL-C, whereas it increased significant amount of HDL-C. However, pathological changes of heart were not observed after short-term induction of alloxan in rats. In long-term induction of diabetes by alloxan, LV hypertrophy was observed and cardimyocyte size in rats was increased. Atorvastatin alone and in combination with metformin significantly reduced the LV hypertrophy, cardiomyocyte size, TC, TG and LDL-C level. They increased significant amount of HDL-C level and showed significant DPPH free radical scavenging activity. Present findings may suggest that treatment with combination therapy is more effective than mono-therapy for preventing diabetes with CVD in rats.© 2012 JSR Publications. ISSN: 2070-0237 (Print); 2070-0245 (Online). All rights reserved.doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jsr.v4i3.9974 J. Sci. Res. 4 (3), 709-720 (2012)

scholarly journals Personality dynamics at work: The effects of form, time, and context of variability

2021 ◽  
pp. 089020702110173
Author(s):  
Nadin Beckmann ◽  
Damian P Birney ◽  
Amirali Minbashian ◽  
Jens F Beckmann
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Temporal Stability ◽  
Limited Evidence ◽  
Short Term ◽  
State Data ◽  
The Status ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Trait Variability

The study aimed to investigate the status of within-person state variability in neuroticism and conscientiousness as individual differences constructs by exploring their (a) temporal stability, (b) cross-context consistency, (c) empirical links to selected antecedents, and (d) empirical links to longer term trait variability. Employing a sample of professionals ( N = 346) from Australian organisations, personality state data together with situation appraisals were collected using experience sampling methodology in field and repeatedly in lab-like settings. Data on personality traits, cognitive ability, and motivational mindsets were collected at baseline and after two years. Contingent (situation contingencies) and non-contingent (relative SD) state variability indices were relatively stable over time and across contexts. Only a small number of predictive effects of state variability were observed, and these differed across contexts. Cognitive ability appeared to be associated with state variability under lab-like conditions. There was limited evidence of links between short-term state and long-term trait variability, except for a small effect for neuroticism. Some evidence of positive manifold was found for non-contingent variability. Systematic efforts are required to further elucidate the complex pattern of results regarding the antecedents, correlates and outcomes of individual differences in state variability.

Pandora's Box: Reviewing the Composition of the UN Security Council in the Light of British and French Experience 1945–1963

1997 ◽  
Vol 66 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 273-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Security Council ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Short Term ◽  
French Experience ◽  
Un Security Council ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Foreign Ministries

AbstractThis article aims to throw a light on the problems relating to the proposed enlargement of the composition of the UN Security Council at present by studying the creation of four non-permanent seats in the Security Council in 1963 from the British and the French perspectives. The examination is based on the author's research of original documents in the archives of the British and French foreign ministries and upon information provided to the author by British, French and Finnish diplomats. The author concludes that, as between 1946 and 1963, British and French short term interests are still best served by maintaining the status quo in the Security Council. However, in a long term perspective it is not clear where the interests of these two States lie.

scholarly journals Predicting the cumulative medical load of COVID-19 outbreaks after the peak in daily fatalities

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. e0247272
Author(s):  
Claudius Gros ◽  
Roser Valenti ◽  
Lukas Schneider ◽  
Benedikt Gutsche ◽  
Dimitrije Marković
Keyword(s):  
Phase Space ◽  
Sir Model ◽  
Reaction Model ◽  
Space Representation ◽  
Cumulative Number ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Status ◽  
Short And Long Term

The distinct ways the COVID-19 pandemic has been unfolding in different countries and regions suggest that local societal and governmental structures play an important role not only for the baseline infection rate, but also for short and long-term reactions to the outbreak. We propose to investigate the question of how societies as a whole, and governments in particular, modulate the dynamics of a novel epidemic using a generalization of the SIR model, the reactive SIR (short-term and long-term reaction) model. We posit that containment measures are equivalent to a feedback between the status of the outbreak and the reproduction factor. Short-term reaction to an outbreak corresponds in this framework to the reaction of governments and individuals to daily cases and fatalities. The reaction to the cumulative number of cases or deaths, and not to daily numbers, is captured in contrast by long-term reaction. We present the exact phase space solution of the controlled SIR model and use it to quantify containment policies for a large number of countries in terms of short and long-term control parameters. We find increased contributions of long-term control for countries and regions in which the outbreak was suppressed substantially together with a strong correlation between the strength of societal and governmental policies and the time needed to contain COVID-19 outbreaks. Furthermore, for numerous countries and regions we identified a predictive relation between the number of fatalities within a fixed period before and after the peak of daily fatality counts, which allows to gauge the cumulative medical load of COVID-19 outbreaks that should be expected after the peak. These results suggest that the proposed model is applicable not only for understanding the outbreak dynamics, but also for predicting future cases and fatalities once the effectiveness of outbreak suppression policies is established with sufficient certainty. Finally, we provide a web app (https://itp.uni-frankfurt.de/covid-19/) with tools for visualising the phase space representation of real-world COVID-19 data and for exporting the preprocessed data for further analysis.

scholarly journals Effect of foaming agent concentration and drying temperature on biochemical properties of foam mat dried tomato powder

Food Research ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 291-297
Author(s):  
M.A. Hossain ◽  
S. Mitra ◽  
M. Belal ◽  
W. Zzaman
Keyword(s):  
Radical Scavenging Activity ◽  
Radical Scavenging ◽  
Titratable Acidity ◽  
Biochemical Properties ◽  
Drying Time ◽  
Foaming Agent ◽  
Egg Albumin ◽  
Foam Stabilizer ◽  
Tomato Powder ◽  
Β Carotene

The purpose of the study was to optimize the effective drying conditions and different foaming agent concentrations on the biochemical properties of foam mat dried tomato powder. Foaming was achieved by using egg albumin as foaming agent and sodium salt of Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC) as foam stabilizer with different concentrations. Drying was achieved by using different drying temperatures. The changes in different physicochemical properties of foam mat dried powder viz. total soluble solid (TSS), pH, ascorbic acid, titratable acidity, β-Carotene, DPPH radical scavenging activity were observed. Foams were prepared from different concentrations of egg albumin (3-7% w/w) and sodium salt of Carboxymethyl Cellulose (1%, 0.5%). The drying temperatures were varied from 60°C to 70°C. The drying time changes with different drying temperatures. It was found that the drying time decreased with the increased foaming agent concentrations as well as with higher drying temperature. It takes almost 13 hrs for drying at 70°C. TSS and pH content was increased with the increase of foaming agent concentrations and foam stabilizer’s concentrations but decreased with the increasing temperatures. Ascorbic acid decreased with the increase of foaming agent concentrations and temperatures but increased with CMC concentration. Titratable acidity content of foam mat dried tomato powder was decreased with the increasing foaming agent concentrations but increased with the higher temperatures and decreased CMC concentration. β-Carotene contents increased with the increase of foaming agent concentrations but decreased with the increase of temperatures and foam stabilizer concentration. DPPH free radical scavenging activity increased with the increase of foaming agent, foam stabilizer and temperatures. Based on the maximum retention of physicochemical properties, the optimum treatment of foaming agent was found to be 7% egg white + 1% CMC at 60°C.

Terrorism and Violence

2019 ◽  
pp. 138-180
Author(s):  
Douglas Allen
Keyword(s):  
Complex Analysis ◽  
General Analysis ◽  
The Other ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Absolute Truth ◽  
Relative Truth ◽  
Central Concern ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Status

Ever since 9/11 in the US and 26/11 in India, terrorism has been a central concern. Gandhi is generally assumed to be of little value when confronting terrorism today. At best, he is irrelevant; at worst, he is complicit and contributes to the crisis since he opposes necessary violent responses. This essay argues that while Gandhi does not have all of the answers for dealing with terrorism today, he provides us with a complex analysis essential for understanding and responding to the multidimensional structural crisis. After analyzing the nature and meaning of terrorism, we focus on the following topics: Gandhi’s interactions with terrorists; his means-ends analysis and his short-term and long-term preventative approaches to terrorism; his analysis of absolute truth and relative truth in approaching terrorism; and his general analysis of the status of “the other” in transforming our relations with violent, terrorizing, and terrorized others.

Are Biopharmaceutical Budget Caps Good Public Policy?

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana P. Goldman ◽  
Darius N. Lakdawalla ◽  
James R. Baumgardner ◽  
Mark T. Linthicum
Keyword(s):  
Cost Savings ◽  
Healthcare Spending ◽  
Short Term ◽  
The Past ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The Status ◽  
Pharmaceutical Spending ◽  
Health Returns ◽  
New Research

AbstractMedical innovation has generated significant gains in health over the past decades, but these advances have been accompanied by rapid growth in healthcare spending. Faced with a growing number of high-cost but high-impact innovations, some have argued to constrain prices for new therapies – especially through global caps on pharmaceutical spending and limits on prices for individual drugs. We show that applying this threshold to past innovations would have limited access to many highly valuable drugs such as statins and anti-retrovirals. We also argue that budget caps violate several important principles of health policy. First, budget caps treat healthcare spending as a consumption good, like going to a movie or buying a meal. However, healthcare spending should be viewed as an investment, whose benefits accrue over many years – much like spending on education. Second, budgetary cost is a poor indicator of value, thereby distorting coverage decisions. Third, affordability arguments often use a short-term horizon, thereby missing that long-term health is society’s ultimate goal. Fourth, assessments of benefit should incorporate not just the immediate clinical benefit to patients, but also long-term health improvements, cost savings, and increased productivity. Fifth, global budget caps arbitrarily anchor spending on the status quo, thereby setting too stringent a threshold for socially-desirable innovation. In sum, a solitary focus on short-term costs can be detrimental to population health in the long-run. When medical treatment decisions are properly viewed as investments, budget caps are not the answer; rather, we need to find mechanisms to encourage spending decisions based on long-term value. Only then can we generate health returns to societal investments, while also encouraging the new research and development necessary to extend the gains of recent decades.

Trace Element Status (Zinc, Copper, Selenium, Iron, Manganese) in Patients with Long-Term Home Parenteral Nutrition

2016 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milan Dastych Jr. ◽  
Michal Šenkyřík ◽  
Milan Dastych ◽  
František Novák ◽  
Petr Wohl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trace Elements ◽  
Parenteral Nutrition ◽  
Blood Plasma ◽  
Whole Blood ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Home Parenteral Nutrition ◽  
Control Group ◽  
The Status ◽  
In Blood Plasma

Background: The objective of the present study was to determine concentrations of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), selenium (Se) in blood plasma and manganese (Mn) in the whole blood in patients with long-term home parenteral nutrition (HPN) in comparison to the control group. Patients and Methods: We examined 68 patients (16 men and 52 women) aged from 28 to 68 years on a long-term HPN lasting from 4 to 96 months. The short bowel syndrome was an indication for HPN. The daily doses of Zn, Cu, Fe, Se and Mn in the last 3 months were determined. Results: No significant differences in blood plasma were found for Zn, Cu and Fe in patients with HPN and in the control group (p > 0.05). The concentration of Mn in whole blood was significantly increased in HPN patients (p < 0.0001), while Se concentration in these patients was significantly decreased (p < 0.005). The concentration of Mn in the whole blood of 16 patients with cholestasis was significantly increased compared to the patients without cholestasis (p < 0.001). The Cu concentration was increased with no statistical significance. Conclusion: In long-term HPN, the status of trace elements in the patients has to be continually monitored and the daily substitution doses of these elements have to be flexibly adjusted. Dosing schedule needs to be adjusted especially in cases of cholestatic hepatopathy. A discussion about the optimal daily dose of Mn in patients on HPN is appropriate. For clinical practice, the availability of a substitution mixture of trace elements lacking Mn would be advantageous.

scholarly journals In vitro Cancer Cell Growth Inhibition and Antioxidant Activity of Bombax ceiba (Bombacaceae) Flower Extracts

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 1934578X1400900 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa Tundis ◽  
Khaled Rashed ◽  
Ataa Said ◽  
Francesco Menichini ◽  
Monica R. Loizzo
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Cell ◽  
Antiproliferative Activity ◽  
Human Cancer ◽  
Radical Scavenging Activity ◽  
Antioxidant Properties ◽  
Radical Scavenging ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Bleaching Test ◽  
Β Carotene

The flowers of Bombax ceiba were investigated for their chemical composition, antioxidant effects and antiproliferative activity against seven human cancer cell lines. The antiproliferative responses of diethyl ether (DE) and light petroleum (PE) extracts were evaluated by sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay against MCF-7, HeLa, COR-L23, C32, A375, ACHN, and LNCaP cells in comparison with a human normal cell line, 142BR. Moreover, extracts were characterized by GC-MS analysis and tested for their antioxidant properties by different in vitro systems, namely DPPH, Fe-chelating activity and β-carotene bleaching test. Both PE and DE extracts showed the highest antiproliferative activity against human renal adenocarcinoma (ACHN) in a concentration-dependent manner. PE extract showed the highest radical scavenging activity against the DPPH radical, while DE extract was more active in the β-carotene bleaching test. The presence of β-sitosterol and some fatty acids may contribute to the bioactivity of B. ceiba flower extracts.

Some Determinants of the Oslo Breakthrough

1997 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Mutual Recognition ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Mediation Process ◽  
Palestinian Authority ◽  
Short Term ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Two Sides ◽  
State Of Israel

AbstractThe breakthrough character of the Oslo agreement is attributed to the mutual recognition between the State of Israel and the PLO and the opening of direct negotiations between them. The parties were induced to go to Oslo and negotiate an agreement there by macro-level forces evolving over some time: Long-term changes, going back to the 1967 War, and short-term strategic and domestic-political considerations, resulting from the Gulf War and the end of the Cold War, created new interests that persuaded them of the necessity of negotiating a compromise; and unofficial interactions between the two sides over the course of two decades persuaded them of the possibility of doing so. Once the parties decided to negotiate, the micro-process provided by Oslo, with its peculiar mixture of track-one and track-two elements, contributed to the success of the negotiations. Key elements included secrecy, the setting, the status of the initial participants, the nature of the third party, and the nature of the mediation process. Finally, what made the accord viable were some of its main substantive features, including the exchange of letters of mutual recognition, the distinction between the interim and the final stage, and the territorial base and early empowerment of the Palestinian Authority.

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