This paper looks at the writings of Laura Papo Bohoreta and Gordana KuiC, two extraordinary women, aunt and niece, who successively portrayed the position of Sephardic women and the general ...conditions of Sephardic communities in the Balkans in the second half of the nineteenth century and throughout the twentieth. Papo Bohoreta addressed the myriad challenges faced by Sephardic women during the process of the more or less quick assimilation (depending on the region) of the Sephardim into the majority communities in the Balkans in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In creating her documentary and fictional narratives at the threshold of modernity, she never lost sight of their position as historical subjects in the construction and maintenance of Sephardic Jewish identity. Kuic writes in the second half of the twentieth century about those women and their descendants in the times gone by and the present in which she lives, transposed in her fictional narrative. All the narratives presented herein affirm the relevance of women in the construction of a new understanding of female involvement through history: Women have always been active participants in historical and social change, and their gender identity, which has always stood in direct correlation with their ethnicity, religion, education and social class, has to be recognized as an incentive for any type of social action.
Diabetes mellitus is a frequent endocrine disorder characterized by hyperglycemia. Acrylamide (AA) is food contaminant formed during the high-temperature processing of food rich in carbohydrates and ...low in proteins. Recent human epidemiological studies have shown a potential association between AA exposure and the prevalence of diabetes in the general population. In male rats, AA treatment promoted pancreatic islet remodeling, which was determined by alpha-cell expansion and beta-cell reduction, while in female rats AA caused hyperglycemia and histopathological changes in pancreatic islets. In vitro and in vivo rodent model systems have revealed that AA induces oxidative stress in beta cells and that AA impairs glucose metabolism and the insulin signaling pathway. Animal studies have shown that diabetic rodents are more sensitive to acrylamide and that AA aggravates the diabetic state. In this review, we provide an overview of human epidemiological studies that examined the relation between AA exposure and glucose disorders. In addition, the effects of AA treatment on pancreatic islet structure, beta-cell function and glucose metabolism in animal models are comprehensively analyzed with an emphasis on sex-related responses. Furthermore, oxidative stress as a putative mechanism of AA-induced toxicity in beta cells is explored. Finally, we discuss the effects of AA on diabetics in a rodent model system.
Abstract The skin of newborns is classified as sensitive, with a higher risk of skin barrier disruption and irritation of a diapered area. Despite dermatologist recommendations to use only water and ...a cloth for cleaning, most of the population still relies on the comforts of modern parenting, which includes intensive daily usage of baby wet wipes. Novel baby formulations are designed following the concept of infant skin health, containing a gentle cleanser, suitable emollient, and buffer system enabling a slightly acidic pH value and they are free of ethyl alcohol. Thus, it is important to understand the chemical background of such a complex liquid formulation, with emphasis on its safety. In line with this, the present paper discusses the scientific background of various chemical compounds found in baby wipe formulations to improve the understanding of wet wipe designs and direct them toward more skin‐friendly solutions.
Interactions of coordinated ammonia and C6-aromatic rings were studied by analyzing crystal structures in the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) and by quantum chemical calculations. Interactions ...between coordinated ammonia and C6-aromatic rings in the crystal structures from the CSD can have one, two, or three ammine ligands interacting with the aromatic ring, while the most frequent are the interactions with one interacting ammine ligand. The distance between coordinated ammonia and the aromatic ring is significantly influenced by charges of the species; the shortest distances were observed for interactions with oppositely charged species. The interaction energies were calculated in model systems between the benzene molecule and coordinated ammonia in metal ammine complexes. In the calculations, we studied the influence of the number of interacting ammine ligands, the complex charge, the metal atom size and the coordination number on the strength of the interactions. The results show that the interaction strength increases with an increasing number of interacting ammine ligands, with an increasing complex charge and with a decreasing metal atom size and the coordination number in the ammine complex. For example, the interaction between the Co(NH3)63+ complex and benzene is the weakest in the case of one interacting ammine ligand (−30.82 kcal/mol), stronger in the case of two interacting ammine ligands (−33.61 kcal/mol), and the strongest in the case of three interacting ligands (−34.16 kcal/mol). For metal complexes with charges +1, +2, and +3, the calculated interaction energies with one interacting ammine ligand can be as strong as −10.51, −15.75, and −30.82 kcal/mol. Complexes Ni(NH3)62+ and Cd(NH3)62+ differ by the metal atom size. The interaction is stronger in the case of the smaller Ni(NH3)62+ complex (−15.75 kcal/mol) compared to the larger Cd(NH3)62+ complex (−12.94 kcal/mol). In addition, complexes with coordination number four form stronger interactions than complexes with coordination number six. In the cases with two interacting ammine ligands, the interacting energy in the Pt(NH3)42+/benzene system is −22.09 kcal/mol, while in the Cd(NH3)62+/benzene system, it is −14.93 kcal/mol.
The aim of this study was to establish potentials for the improvement of sales and awareness of Sjenica cheese in both domestic and international markets. Building on a review of the scarce ...promotional activities that have been conducted in this domain up to now, this paper analyzes examples of the development of the cheese's brands in the region and developed European markets. Comparative analysis reveals that other marketing mix instruments (production process, availability at the points of sale and price policy) significantly determine possibilities for an increase in sales. More effective marketing communications have to be used to create brand awareness of Sjenica cheese and to position it as a premium product. Online communications, interesting narratives, more flexible and aesthetic packaging, as well as better organized promotion on foreign markets are recognized as the most important aspects in the process of adjusting Sjenica cheese to market requirements.
High-level ab initio calculations show that the most stable stacking for benzene–cyclohexane is 17% stronger than that for benzene–benzene. However, as these systems are displaced horizontally the ...benzene–benzene attraction retains its strength. At a displacement of 5.0 Å, the benzene–benzene attraction is still ∼70% of its maximum strength, while benzene–cyclohexane attraction has fallen to ∼40% of its maximum strength. Alternatively, the radius of attraction (>2.0 kcal/mol) for benzene–benzene is 250% larger than that for benzene–cyclohexane. Thus, at relatively large distances aromatic rings can recognize each other, a phenomenon that helps explain their importance in protein folding and supramolecular structures.
Acrylamide (AA) toxicity is associated with oxidative stress. During detoxification, AA is either coupled to gluthatione or biotransformed to glycidamide by the enzyme cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1). ...The aim of our study was to examine the hepatotoxicity of AA in vivo and in vitro. Thirty male Wistar rats were treated with 25 or 50 mg/kg b.w. of AA for 3 weeks. Qualitative and quantitative immunohistochemical evaluation of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), CYP2E1, catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), and SOD2 expression in liver was carried out. Bearing in mind that the liver is consisted mainly of hepatocytes, in a parallel study, we used the rat hepatoma cell line H4IIE to investigate the effects of AA at IC20 and IC50 concentrations on the redox status and the activity of CAT, SOD, and glutathione-S-transferase (GST), their gene expression, and CYP2E1 and iNOS expression. Immunohistochemically stained liver sections showed that treatment with AA25mg induced a significant decrease of CYP2E1 protein expression (p < 0.05), while treatment with AA50mg led to a significant increase of iNOS protein expression (p < 0.05). AA treatment dose-dependently elevated SOD2 protein expression (p < 0.05), while SOD1 protein expression was significantly increased only at AA50mg (p < 0.05). CAT protein expression was not significantly affected by AA treatments (p > 0.05). In AA-treated H4IIE cells, a concentration-dependent significant increase in lipid peroxidation and nitrite levels was observed (p < 0.05), while GSH content and SOD activity significantly decreased in a concentration-dependent manner (p < 0.05). AA IC50 significantly enhanced GST activity (p < 0.05). The level of mRNA significantly increased in a concentration-dependent manner for iNOS, SOD2, and CAT in AA-treated H4IIE cells (p < 0.05). AA IC50 significantly increased the transcription of SOD1, GSTA2, and GSTP1 genes (p < 0.05), while AA IC20 significantly decreased mRNA for CYP2E1 in H4IIE cells (p < 0.05). Obtained results indicate that AA treatments, both in vivo and in vitro, change hepatocytes; drug-metabolizing potential and disturb its redox status.
In this research, chicken meat was inoculated with selected microorganisms and subjected to the osmotic dehydration process in two osmotic solutions, in an effort to investigate the effect of storage ...time duration on its microbiological and chemical characteristics. Total viable counts, numbers of Enterobacteriaceae. Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, proteolytic bacteria, psychotropic bacteria, of microbiological, and biogenic amine content, TEARS and DPPH, and chemical analyses were conducted on meat samples stored at 22 °C, during 14 days. During storage, the number of all tested micro-organisms on meat samples decreased. The highest reduction occurred in the first 4 days. The meat dehydrated in molasses achieved better results of microbiological profile during storage. Results of TBARS and DPPH analyses indicated lipid oxidation after 14 days of storage, while the results after 10 days were satisfactory. Developed mathematical models allows good prediction of microbiological and chemical responses of dehydrated chicken meat during the investigated storage duration.
Stacking interactions between six-membered resonance-assisted hydrogen-bridged (RAHB) rings and C6-aromatic rings were systematically studied by analyzing crystal structures in the Cambridge ...Structural Database (CSD). The interaction energies were calculated by quantum-chemical methods. Although the interactions are stronger than benzene/benzene stacking interactions (−2.7 kcal mol−1), the strongest calculated RAHB/benzene stacking interaction (−3.7 kcal mol−1) is significantly weaker than the strongest calculated RAHB/RAHB stacking interaction (−4.7 kcal mol−1), but for a particular composition of RAHB rings, RAHB/benzene stacking interactions can be weaker or stronger than the corresponding RAHB/RAHB stacking interactions. They are also weaker than the strongest calculated stacking interaction between five-membered saturated hydrogen-bridged rings and benzene (−4.4 kcal mol−1) and between two five-membered saturated hydrogen-bridged rings (−4.9 kcal mol−1). SAPT energy decomposition analyses show that the strongest attractive term in RAHB/benzene stacking interactions is dispersion, however, it is mostly canceled by a repulsive exchange term; hence the geometries of the most stable structures are determined by an electrostatic term.
The stacking contacts between two resonance-assisted hydrogen-bridged (RAHB) rings and stacking contacts between RAHB rings and C6-aromatic groups are frequently found at large horizontal ...displacements in the crystal structures found in the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD), particularly in the range of 4.0–6.0 and 5.5–6.5 Å, respectively. Ab initio calculations reveal that interactions at large offsets, although weaker than interactions at smaller offsets, can be significant, since a large portion of interaction energy (in some systems up to 66%) can be preserved upon shifting to larger offset values.
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