This volume is dedicated to the memory of Björn Jawerth. It contains original research contributions and surveys in several of the areas of mathematics to which Björn made important contributions. ...Those areas include harmonic analysis, image processing, and functional analysis, which are of course interrelated in many significant and productive ways.Among the contributors are some of the world's leading experts in these areas. With its combination of research papers and surveys, this book may become an important reference and research tool.This book should be of interest to advanced graduate students and professional researchers in the areas of functional analysis, harmonic analysis, image processing, and approximation theory. It combines articles presenting new research with insightful surveys written by foremost experts.
•Alkaline hot water increased the yield of orange peel extract.•Orange peel extract have higher anti-inflammatory activity than their equivalent flavonoid mixtures.•Nobiletin is a good marker for ...anti-inflammatory potential of orange peel extract.•Xinhui and Sichuan nchenpi have higher bioactivities than conventional chenpi.
Dried citrus peel derived from Citrus reticulata, also called “chenpi”, possesses a complex mixture of flavonoids and has a history of traditional use to treat a variety of digestive disorders. We compared three sources of conventional chenpi from California (USA), Guangxi, Zhejiang, and two sources of “nchenpi”, which contain greater nobiletin content, from Sichuan and Xinhui (China). Xinhui orange peel extract (OPE) had highest content of polymethoxylated flavones, along with greatest capacity to scavenge 2,2-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS), 2,2-diphenyl-1-pcrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and 2,2′-azobis-2-methyl-propanimidamide, dihydrochloride (AAPH) radicals and nitric oxide (NO). OPE also had higher NO, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX-2) inhibitory activity than an equivalent mixture of flavonoids (P<0.05). In conclusion, nobiletin is a good chemical marker for assessing the anti-inflammatory potential of OPE from different sources. Obtaining “nchenpi” from either Sichuan or Xinhui provided potentially superior health benefits compared to conventional chenpi sources.
Surplus nutrient load and complex migration and transformation processes are the challenges for water quality management in the peri-urban coastal watershed, leading to increasing concerns worldwide. ...We investigated the spatio-temporal variation of hydrogeochemical parameters in surface water of Jimei Lake watershed, and distinguished the sources and transformation of nitrate-N (NO3−-N) using dual isotopes of nitrate (δ15N and δ18O in NO3−) with hydrogeochemical indicators. Principal component analysis (PCA) on hydrogeochemical parameters demonstrated that surface water was seriously polluted by nutrients, especially in the southeast of the downstream. There were signs of seawater intrusion and increased wastewater discharge in the mid-lower reaches with high ammonium concentrations. Nitrification occurred throughout the monitoring period with lower δ15N and δ18O values and NO3− derived from mixed pollution sources. Results of Bayesian model showed that dominant NO3− input originated from manure and sewage (M&S, 71% and 76% in the wet and dry season, respectively) and atmospheric deposition (22% and 16%, respectively). This result implied that the controls and treatment of M&S discharges are essential to alleviate of NO3− pollution. The proposed method is helpful to understand the origins of NO3− and may be suitable to develop measures for the reducing of nitrogen loadings in the peri-urban watershed.
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•MixSIAR model revealed no significant seasonal difference in NO3− pollution.•Reveal the degree and difference of water pollution by using PCA in peri-urban area.•Relationships between lower δ15N values and nutrients implied nitrification occurred.•Manure and sewage were the main NO3− sources of Jimei Lake.
Legumes are a good source of bioactive phenolic compounds which play significant roles in many physiological as well as metabolic processes. Phenolic acids, flavonoids and condensed tannins are the ...primary phenolic compounds that are present in legume seeds. Majority of the phenolic compounds are present in the legume seed coats. The seed coat of legume seeds primarily contains phenolic acids and flavonoids (mainly catechins and procyanidins). Gallic and protocatechuic acids are common in kidney bean and mung bean. Catechins and procyanidins represent almost 70% of total phenolic compounds in lentils and cranberry beans (seed coat). The antioxidant activity of phenolic compounds is in direct relation with their chemical structures such as number as well as position of the hydroxyl groups. Processing mostly leads to the reduction of phenolic compounds in legumes owing to chemical rearrangements. Phenolic content also decreases due to leaching of water-soluble phenolic compounds into the cooking water. The health benefits of phenolic compounds include acting as anticarcinogenic, anti-thrombotic, anti-ulcer, anti-artherogenic, anti-allergenic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunemodulating, anti-microbial, cardioprotective and analgesic agents. This review provides comprehensive information of phenolic compounds identified in grain legume seeds along with discussing their antioxidant and health promoting activities.
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•Phenolics are commonly identified in seeds of edible legumes.•These compounds include phenolic acids, flavonoids and tannins.•Distributed differently in seed coat and cotyledon of legumes.•Phenolics exert a wide range of health benefits.
Corrosion scales and deposits formed within drinking water distribution systems (DWDSs) have the potential to retain inorganic contaminants. The objective of this study was to characterize the ...elemental and structural composition of extracted pipe solids and hydraulically-mobile deposits originating from representative DWDSs. Goethite (α-FeOOH), magnetite (Fe
3O
4) and siderite (FeCO
3) were the primary crystalline phases identified in most of the selected samples. Among the major constituent elements of the deposits, iron was most prevalent followed, in the order of decreasing prevalence, by sulfur, organic carbon, calcium, inorganic carbon, phosphorus, manganese, magnesium, aluminum and zinc. The cumulative occurrence profiles of iron, sulfur, calcium and phosphorus for pipe specimens and flushed solids were similar. Comparison of relative occurrences of these elements indicates that hydraulic disturbances may have relatively less impact on the release of manganese, aluminum and zinc, but more impact on the release of organic carbon, inorganic carbon, and magnesium.
The concentration, distribution and ecological risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been investigated in surface sediments near Bhavnagar coast. The concentration of ∑PAHs ranged from ...5.02 to 981.18 μg g−1 dry weight, indicating heavy pollution compared to other historically polluted study sites. It was found to be introduced via mixed origins such as burning of gas, oil, coal, production of petrochemicals, cement, and rubber tires. Domestic fuel burning and motor vehicles are also culprits for air pollution. Industrial effluents and accidental oil spillage can also be considered. PAHs can be exposed through air, water, soil and food sources including ingestion, inhalation, and dermal content in both occupational and non-occupational levels by single or sometimes multiple exposures routes concomitantly. Furthermore, diagnostic ratios, statistical principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) models have confirmed that the sources of PAHs were both - petrogenic and pyrogenic. For both the sites, assessment of ecological risk of the elevated levels of these pollutants has been exercised based on toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) and risk quotient (RQ) methods. The composite results indicated accurately that both the sites, bears potentially acute and chronic health hazards such as decreased immune functionality, genotoxicity, malignancy and developmental malfunctions in humans. The sites studied here and the workers have been exposed to hazardous pollutants for a longer period of time. Evidences indicate that mixtures of PAHs are carcinogenic to humans, based on occupational studies on workers, exposed to these pollutants. Hence, the present study and statistical approaches applied herein clearly indicate the historic mix routes of PAHs that resulted in magnified concentrations leading to high ecosystem risk. Thus, the scientific communities are urged to develop strategies to minimize the concentrations of PAHs from the historically impacted coastlines, thereby concerning for the future investigations and restoration of these sites.
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•Assessment & source identification of PAHs contaminated sites near Bhavnagar coast.•∑PAHs ranged from 5.02 to 981.18 μg g−1 dry weight.•One of the most polluted sites, on comparison with few previous potential studies.•Diagnostic ratios, HCA, PCA, TEFs and RQ were applied as statistical tools.•The results have revealed petrogenic and pyrogenic sources of PAHs contamination.
The study incorporates the first ever report of the distribution, sources recognition, and ecological risk assessment of PAHs at Bhavnagar coast, Gujarat, India.
Tymkiw KD, Thunell DH, Johnson GK, Joly S, Burnell KK, Cavanaugh JE, Brogden KA, Guthmiller JM. Influence of smoking on gingival crevicular fluid cytokines in severe chronic periodontitis. J Clin ...Periodontol 2011; 38: 219–228. 38: 219–228. doi: 10.1111/j.1600‐051X.2010.01684.x.
Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the expression of 22 chemokines and cytokines in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) from smokers and non‐smokers with periodontitis and periodontally healthy control subjects.
Materials and Methods: Forty subjects with generalized severe chronic periodontitis (20 smokers and 20 non‐smokers) and 12 periodontally healthy control subjects participated in this study. Four diseased and two healthy sites were selected from each of the periodontitis subjects. GCF samples were collected and cytokines analysed utilizing a multiplexed immunoassay (Luminex®). Statistical analyses employed non‐parametric tests including the Mann–Whitney and Wilcoxon matched‐pairs signed‐rank tests.
Results: Compared with healthy control subjects, GCF in subjects with chronic periodontitis contained significantly higher amounts of interleukin (IL)‐1α, IL‐1β, IL‐6, IL‐12(p40) (pro‐inflammatory cytokines); IL‐8, macrophage chemotactic protein (MCP)‐1, macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)‐1α, regulated on activation normal T‐cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) (chemokines); IL‐2, IFN‐γ, IL‐3, IL‐4 (Th1/Th2 cytokines); IL‐15 regulator of T‐cells and natural killer (NK) cells. Smokers displayed decreased amounts of pro‐inflammatory cytokines IL‐1α, IL‐6, IL‐12(p40), chemokines (IL‐8, MCP‐1, MIP‐1, RANTES), and regulators of T‐cells and NK cells (IL‐7, IL‐15).
Conclusions: Periodontitis subjects had significantly elevated cytokine and chemokine profiles. Smokers exhibited a decrease in several pro‐inflammatory cytokines and chemokines and certain regulators of T‐cells and NK‐cells. This reflects the immunosuppressant effects of smoking which may contribute to an enhanced susceptibility to periodontitis.
Our objective was to use metabolomics in a toxicological-relevant target tissue to gain insight into the biological processes that may underlie the negative association between air pollution exposure ...and oocyte quality.
Our study included 125 women undergoing in vitro fertilization at an academic fertility center in Massachusetts, US (2005–2015). A follicular fluid sample was collected during oocyte retrieval and untargeted metabolic profiling was conducted using liquid chromatography with ultra-high-resolution mass spectrometry and two chromatography columns (C18 and HILIC). Daily exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone, fine particulate matter, and black carbon was estimated at the women’s residence using spatiotemporal models and averaged over the period of ovarian stimulation (2-weeks). Multivariable linear regression models were used to evaluate the associations between the air pollutants, number of mature oocytes, and metabolic feature intensities. A meet-in-the-middle approach was used to identify overlapping features and metabolic pathways.
Of the air pollutants, NO2 exposure had the largest number of overlapping metabolites (C18: 105; HILIC: 91) and biological pathways (C18: 3; HILIC: 6) with number of mature oocytes. Key pathways of overlap included vitamin D3 metabolism (both columns), bile acid biosynthesis (both columns), C21-steroid hormone metabolism (HILIC), androgen and estrogen metabolism (HILIC), vitamin A metabolism (HILIC), carnitine shuttle (HILIC), and prostaglandin formation (C18). Three overlapping metabolites were confirmed with level-1 or level-2 evidence. For example, hypoxanthine, a metabolite that protects against oxidant-induced cell injury, was positively associated with NO2 exposure and negatively associated with number of mature oocytes. Minimal overlap was observed between the other pollutants and the number of mature oocytes.
Higher exposure to NO2 during ovarian stimulation was associated with many metabolites and biologic pathways involved in endogenous vitamin metabolism, hormone synthesis, and oxidative stress that may mediate the observed associations with lower oocyte quality.
In the real world, there are numerous and various events that occur on and alongside networks, including the occurrence of traffic accidents on highways, the location of stores alongside roads, the ...incidence of crime on streets and the contamination along rivers. In order to carry out analyses of those events, the researcher needs to be familiar with a range of specific techniques. Spatial Analysis Along Networks provides a practical guide to the necessary statistical techniques and their computational implementation. Each chapter illustrates a specific technique, from Stochastic Point Processes on a Network and Network Voronoi Diagrams, to Network K-function and Point Density Estimation Methods, and the Network Huff Model. The authors also discuss and illustrate the undertaking of the statistical tests described in a Geographical Information System (GIS) environment as well as demonstrating the user-friendly free software package SANET. Spatial Analysis Along Networks: Presents a much-needed practical guide to statistical spatial analysis of events on and alongside a network, in a logical, user-friendly order. Introduces the preliminary methods involved, before detailing the advanced, computational methods, enabling the readers a complete understanding of the advanced topics. Dedicates a separate chapter to each of the major techniques involved. Demonstrates the practicalities of undertaking the tests described in the book, using a GIS. Is supported by a supplementary website, providing readers with a link to the free software package SANET, so they can execute the statistical methods described in the book. Students and researchers studying spatial statistics, spatial analysis, geography, GIS, OR, traffic accident analysis, criminology, retail marketing, facility management and ecology will benefit from this book.
The term "superfruit" has gained increasing usage and attention recently with the marketing strategy to promote the extraordinary health benefits of some exotic fruits, which may not have worldwide ...popularity. This has led to many studies with the identification and quantification of various groups of phytochemicals. This contribution discusses phytochemical compositions, antioxidant efficacies, and potential health benefits of the main superfruits such as açai, acerola, camu-camu, goji berry, jaboticaba, jambolão, maqui, noni, and pitanga. Novel product formulations, safety aspects, and future perspectives of these superfruits have also been covered. Research findings from the existing literature published within the last 10 years have been compiled and summarized. These superfruits having numerous phytochemicals (phenolic acids, flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, iridoids, coumarins, hydrolysable tannins, carotenoids, and anthocyanins) together with their corresponding antioxidant activities, have increasingly been utilized. Hence, these superfruits can be considered as a valuable source of functional foods due to the phytochemical compositions and their corresponding antioxidant activities. The phytochemicals from superfruits are bioaccessible and bioavailable in humans with promising health benefits. More well-designed human explorative studies are needed to validate the health benefits of these superfruits.
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