The optical and structural properties of dense colloidal suspensions in the presence of long-range electrostatic repulsion are determined from both light and small-angle neutron scattering ...experiments. Short-range structural order induces an enhancement of the scattering strength while at the same time the total transmission shows strong wavelength dependence, reminiscent of a photonic crystal. Interestingly, the interplay between diffusive scattering and local order leads to negative values of the scattering anisotropy parameter. The tunable optical properties of these liquids furthermore suggest potential applications such as transparency switches or filters.
Background and purpose:
Recent evidence indicates that carbon monoxide‐releasing molecules (CO‐RMs) exhibit potential anti‐inflammatory properties. In the present study, we have investigated whether ...tricarbonyl dichloro ruthenium(II) dimer (CORM‐2) can control the inflammatory response induced by cytokines in a human colonic epithelial cell line, Caco‐2.
Experimental approach:
Caco‐2 cells were preincubated with CORM‐2 for 30 minutes and then stimulated with interleukin (IL)‐1β, tumor necrosis factor‐α and interferon‐γ for different times. Gene expression was analyzed by real‐time PCR. Protein expression was investigated by Western blot and ELISA. Transcription factor activation was determined by the luciferase method.
Key results:
We have shown that CORM‐2 significantly decreased the mRNA expression of nitric oxide synthase‐2 (NOS‐2) and the production of nitrite, in Caco‐2 cells stimulated with cytokines. IL‐8, IL‐6 and metalloproteinase‐7 (MMP‐7) mRNA and protein were also significantly reduced by CORM‐2. Time‐course and small interfering RNA studies suggest that inhibition of IL‐6 plays a role in the regulation of MMP‐7 expression by CORM‐2. These effects of CORM‐2 can be dependent on the modulation of nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB), activator protein‐1, CCAT/enhancer binding protein and the phosphorylated forms of NF‐κB inhibitory protein‐α, c‐Jun N‐terminal protein kinase 1/2, p38 and extracellular signal‐regulated kinase 1/2.
Conclusions and Implications:
CORM‐2 can regulate a number of genes relevant in intestinal inflammation and cancer progression. These findings provide new insights into the anti‐inflammatory properties and potential applications of this class of compounds.
British Journal of Pharmacology (2007) 150, 977–986. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0707184
Inflammatory status in human hepatic cirrhosis María Martínez-Esparza María Tristán-Manzano Antonio J Ruiz-Alcaraz Pilar García-Pe?arrubia
World journal of gastroenterology : WJG,
11/2015, Letnik:
21, Številka:
41
Journal Article
Odprti dostop
This review focuses on new findings about the inflammatory status involved in the development of human liver cirrhosis induced by the two main causes, hepatitis C virus(HCV) infection and chronic ...alcohol abuse, avoiding results obtained from animal models. When liver is faced to a persistent and/or intense local damage the maintained inflammatory response gives rise to a progressive replacement of normal hepatic tissue by non-functional fibrotic scar. The imbalance between tissue regeneration and fibrosis will determine the outcome toward health recovery or hepatic cirrhosis. In all cases progression toward liver cirrhosis is caused by a dysregulation of mechanisms that govern the balance between activation/homeostasis of the immune system. Detecting differences between the inflammatory status in HCV-induced vs alcoholinduced cirrhosis could be useful to identify specific targets for preventive and therapeutic intervention in each case. Thus, although survival of patients with alcoholic cirrhosis seems to be similar to that of patients with HCV-related cirrhosis(HCV-C), there are important differences in the altered cellular and molecular mechanisms implicated in the progression toward human liver cirrhosis. The predominant features of HCV-C are more related with those that allow viral evasion of the immune defenses, especially although not exclusively, inhibition of interferons secretion, natural killer cells activation and T cell-mediated cytotoxicity. On the contrary, the inflammatory status of alcohol-induced cirrhosis is determined by the combined effect of direct hepatotoxicity of ethanol metabolites and increases of the intestinal permeability, allowing bacteria and bacterial products translocation, into the portal circulation, mesenteric lymph nodes and peritoneal cavity. This phenomenon generates a stronger pro-inflammatory response compared withHCV-related cirrhosis. Hence, therapeutic intervention in HCV-related cirrhosis must be mainly focused to counteract HCV-immune system evasion, while in the case of alcohol-induced cirrhosis it must try to break the inflammatory loop established at the gutmesenteric lymph nodes-peritoneal-systemic axis.
The objective of this research was to analyze the importance of maintaining the net position in men’s and women’s professional padel. The data sample was drawn from 2,756 padel rallies (n = 1,434 ...men’s and n = 1,322 women’s) in matches played during the 2021 season of the World Padel Tour circuit. The results showed that there was no net exchange in 50.7% of the women’s rallies, while in 65.9% of men’s rallies, the servers kept the net. Due to their physical advantages, men servers had more opportunities to finish the rally at the net than women servers, giving them more opportunities to win the rally. However, when either men or women receivers finished the rally at the net, they had more opportunities to win the rally. In addition, both men and women tended to end the rallies with a winner when they were in the net zone and with an error when they were at the back of the court. These findings suggest that wins in padel are closely related to time spent at the net.
Since the 2020 season the World Padel Tour (WPT) has incorporated the golden point rule, which consists of playing a point to decide the game when the score is deuce (40–40). The objective of this ...study was to analyze the characteristics of the golden points and the rest of the points in men's and women's professional padel, as well as to identify the differences between both types of points. A sample of 2752 points (1431 men's and 1321 women's) was used from 394 games identified and finished with a golden point, corresponding to 69 matches played in the 2021 season of the WPT circuit. The variables recorded were the type of point (golden points and non-golden points), player serving, tactical service position, number of net exchanges, effectiveness of the partner serving and effectiveness of the last shot through systematic observation. The results indicate that during the golden points in men's padel, the Australian position is usually used more, while in women's padel the Australian position is more common when the player on the right serves and the traditional one when the player on the left serves. In addition, both in men and women, the most common serves are those directed towards the side wall. On the other hand, except for the errors in women's padel during the golden points, the winning shots are made in areas close to the net and the errors in areas at the back of the court.
Macrophages play an important role in the inflammatory response. Their various biological functions are induced by different membrane receptors, including Toll‐like receptors, which trigger several ...intracellular signaling cascades and activate the inflammasomes, which in turn elicit the release of inflammatory mediators such as cytokines. In this study, we present a novel method for the isolation of human mature peritoneal macrophages. This method can be easily implemented by gynecologists who routinely perform laparoscopy for sterilization by tubal ligation or surgically intervene in benign gynecological pathologies. Our method confirms that macrophages are the main peritoneal leukocyte subpopulation isolated from the human peritoneum in homeostasis. We showed that primary human peritoneal macrophages present phagocytic and oxidative activities, and respond to activation of the main proinflammatory pathways such as Toll‐like receptors and inflammasomes, resulting in the secretion of different proinflammatory cytokines. Therefore, this method provides a useful tool for characterizing primary human macrophages as control cells for studies of molecular inflammatory pathways in steady‐state conditions and for comparing them with those obtained from pathologies involving the peritoneal cavity. Furthermore, it will facilitate advances in the screening of anti‐inflammatory compounds in the human system.
We have optimized a new method to isolate functional and viable mature peritoneal macrophages, the most abundant human peritoneal leukocyte subpopulation in healthy individuals. We also present strong data supporting that these macrophages are distinct from blood monocytes and, in fact, we provide several hints in our method to discriminate peripheral blood monocytes contaminating the peritoneal lavage sample. This methodology will facilitate the advances in the general knowledge of this cell type and in the screening of anti‐inflammatory compounds in the human system. This work also opens the field to study different diseases such as endometriosis, hepatic cirrhosis or obesity, where peritoneal macrophages could play an important role.
Purpose: To investigate how a physical activity education program based on the teaching personal and social responsibility (TPSR) model affected disruptive behaviors in teenagers. Method: A total of ...338 students (13-15 years old) from the 672 recruited completed a 4-month TPSR-model-based program during their physical education lessons. Disruptive behavior was recorded through systematic observation. Results: The students from the TPSR-model-based group reduced their violent behaviors (physical aggressions, verbal aggressions, interrupting, and total behaviors) after the intervention, whereas the control group remained the same. Conclusions: The TPSR school-based intervention was efficient in improving coexistence in terms of decreasing violent behaviors (physical and verbal aggressions) and undisciplined behaviors (continual interruptions of lessons) in students. The novel approach used to objectively assess emerging behaviors enriched the quality and validity of the quantitative data. Future research should address the use of objective assessment when conducting TPSR-model-based programs.
This article investigates the sound absorption coefficient of materials manufactured from natural wastes. Fruit stones from some crops are one of the most available natural wastes in the ...Mediterranean Region. Recycled and vegetable products are becoming an interesting alternative to traditional materials to be used as sound-absorbing panels.
Fruit stones can be profitable for a number of applications, such as biomass to produce energy. This research work intends to demonstrate that one of their applications can be ecological sound absorbers in building acoustics.
Different four fruit stone samples, with different air gap volume percentages, display similar behaviour to multiple Helmholtz resonators (MHRs). By adding a 40 mm-thick rockwool layer, the sound absorption coefficients are compared for each sample.
The experimental results allow establishing some analogies between MHRs and the new absorbing materials according to thickness, fruit type and the air gap volume. These fruit stones have been demonstrated as a good choice from acoustic and sustainable points of view.
Endometriosis is a chronic, inflammatory, hormone-dependent disease characterized by histological lesions produced by the presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity. Despite the fact ...that an estimated 176 million women are affected worldwide by this gynecological disorder, risk factors that cause endometriosis have not been properly defined and current treatments are not efficient. Although the interaction between diet and human health has been the focus of many studies, little information about the correlation of foods and their bioactive derivates with endometriosis is available. In this framework,
crops have emerged as potential candidates for ameliorating the chronic inflammatory condition of endometriosis, due to their abundant content of health-promoting compounds such as glucosinolates and their hydrolysis products, isothiocyanates. Several inflammation-related signaling pathways have been included among the known targets of isothiocyanates, but those involving aquaporin water channels have an important role in endometriosis. Therefore, the aim of this review is to highlight the promising effects of the phytochemicals present in
spp. as major candidates for inclusion in a dietary approach aiming to improve the inflammatory condition of women affected with endometriosis. This review points out the potential roles of glucosinolates and isothiocyanates from
as anti-inflammatory compounds, which might contribute to a reduction in endometriosis symptoms. In view of these promising results, further investigation of the effect of glucosinolates on chronic inflammatory diseases, either as diet coadjuvants or as therapeutic molecules, should be performed. In addition, we highlight the involvement of aquaporins in the maintenance of immune homeostasis. In brief, glucosinolates and the modulation of cellular water by aquaporins could shed light on new approaches to improve the quality of life for women with endometriosis.
In this paper we consider the Multi-Mode Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Problem with makespan minimisation as the objective. We have developed new genetic algorithms, extending the ...representation and operators previously designed for the single-mode version of the problem. Moreover, we have defined a new fitness function for the individuals who are infeasible. We have tested different variants of the algorithm and chosen the best to be compared to different heuristics previously published, using standard sets of instances included in PSPLIB. Results illustrate the good performance of our algorithm.
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