117,306 research outputs found
Beauvericin Immunotoxicity Prevention by Gentiana lutea L. Flower In Vitro
No full textBeauvericin (BEA) is an emerging mycotoxin produced by some species of Fusarium genera that widely contaminates food and feed. Gentiana lutea is a protected medicinal plant known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which are attributed to its rich content of bioactive compounds. In order to evaluate the beneficial effects of G. lutea flower against BEA cytotoxicity, the aim of this study is to evaluate changes in protein expression after Jurkat cell exposure through a proteomics approach. To carry out the experiment, cells were exposed to intestinally digested G. lutea flower alone or in combination with the BEA standard (100 nM) over 7 days. Differentially expressed proteins were statistically evaluated (p G. lutea alone, and 139 proteins when exposing the cells to the combined exposure. Bioinformatic analysis revealed processes implicated in mitochondria, ATP-related activity, and RNA binding. After careful analysis of differentially expressed proteins, it was evident that G. lutea attenuated, in most cases, the negative effects of BEA. Furthermore, it decreased the presence of major oncoproteins involved in the modulation of immune function
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Mitochondrial transcriptional study of the effect of aflatoxins, enniatins and carotenoids in vitro in a blood brain barrier model
No full textC. maxima (var. Delica), a variety of pumpkin, is well known for its high concentration on carotenoids, possessing dietary benefits and antioxidant properties. Aflatoxins and enniatins are common mycotoxins present in food and feed with an extended toxicity profile in humans and animals. Both types of substances reach a wide range of tissues and organs and have the capability to penetrate the blood brain barrier. Since carotenoids and mycotoxins have been reported to modify diverse mitochondrial processes individually, transcriptional in vitro studies on human epithelial cells ECV 304 were conducted to analyze the relative expression of 13 mitochondria related genes. ECV 304 cells were differentiated for 9 days and treated for 2 h with: a) pumpkin (500 nM); b) aflatoxins (100 nM); c) enniatins (100 nM); d) aflatoxins (100 nM) and pumpkin (500 nM); e) enniatins (100 nM) and pumpkin (500 nM). Even at low concentrations, dietary carotenoids activity on mitochondrial genes expression reported a beneficial effect and, for most of the genes studied across the Electron Transport Chain (ETC), developed a protective effect when mixed with aflatoxins (AFs) or enniatins (ENs)
Square Dancing with the Stars to Enhance Dynamic Hirschman Linkages?
No full textIn this Presidential Address, the author takes the reader on a reconnaissance of his life and time as a regional scientist. He points out scenery he found scintillating along the way, hoping that some may pick up the banner and chew on a few of the ideas for a while. He suggests a revisit to Albert O. Hirschman’s notion of key sectors and more empirical analysis related to Marcus Berliant’s and Masahisa Fujita’s notion of knowledge creation and transfer.Presidential Address, San Antonio, Texas, March 29, 2014 (53rd Meetings of the Southern Regional Science Association
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
No full textWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Allium sativum L. var. Voghiera Reduces Aflatoxin B1 Bioaccessibility and Cytotoxicity In Vitro
No full textThe present work focuses on the evaluation of AFB1's bioaccessibility and cytotoxicity in vitro using bread (naturally contaminated) enriched or not enriched with fresh Voghiera garlic (2%). Two different experiments were carried out: experiment 1 (E1), with low-AFB1-concentration breads (1.6-1.7 mg/kg); and experiment 2 (E2), with high-AFB1-concentration breads (96.4-102.7 mg/kg). Eight breads were prepared, four for E1 (experiment 1) and another four for E2 (experiment 2), with each experiment having a control group (C), a garlic-enriched group (2%) (G), an AFB1 group (A), and an AFB1 + garlic group (A + G). Simulated digestion was performed on each type of bread, and gastric and intestinal digests were obtained. AFB1 content in flours, baked bread, and gastric and intestinal digests was measured by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled to Fluorescence Detection. The results demonstrate dose-dependent AFB1 bioaccessibility and that the presence of garlic contributed to its reduction in both doses (7-8%). Moreover, garlic's presence in AFB1-contaminated bread increased cell viability (9-18%) in differentiated Caco-2 cells and mitigated the arrest of S and G2/M phases provoked by AFB1 on Jurkat T cells and reduced apoptosis/necrosis, cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), and mitochondrial ROS by 16%, 71%, and 24% respectively. The inclusion of garlic as a functional ingredient helped relieve the presence and effects of AFB1
Letter from unknown writer to Jesse L. Boyce
No full textLetter to Jesse L. Boyce from unknown author (possibly Jack) about the investigation into the powder magazine located in the Grand Canyon. Some personal news is included in the letter such as the writer's marriage to the daughter of C.A. Taylor, former Supervisor of Cochise County
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
Protective Effects of Carotenoid-Loaded Nanostructured Lipid Carriers Against Ochratoxin-A-Induced Cytotoxicity
No full textOchratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin produced by Aspergillus ochraceous and various Penicillium species, which are known for contaminating agricultural products and posing significant health risks, which include immunotoxicity. This study aims to evaluate the potential of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) loaded with a carotenoid-enriched extract from pumpkin peel (Cucurbita maxima L.) in mitigating the toxic effects of OTA. To address the poor bioavailability and instability of carotenoids, nanoencapsulation techniques were employed to enhance their delivery and efficacy. NLCs were formulated using hydrogenated sunflower oil, pumpkin oil, and soy lecithin using hot high-pressure homogenization. The in vitro study involved co-digesting OTA-contaminated bread with an NLC formulation and assessing the impact of the encapsulated carotenoid on OTA bioaccessibility, bioavailability, and cellular toxicity using Caco-2 and Jurkat T cells. Even though no significant influence was observed on the bioaccessibility and bioavailability of OTA, carotenoid-loaded NLCs exhibited cytoprotective effects by improving cell viability and mitigating OTA-induced toxicity in both Caco-2 and Jurkat T cells. Particularly, the flow cytometry analysis highlighted the ability of carotenoids to mitigate OTA-induced cellular damage by decreasing ROS production and limiting mitochondrial mass changes. The study suggests that the encapsulation of carotenoids in NLCs represents a promising strategy to enhance their protective effects against OTA toxicity, potentially offering a novel approach to food safety and public health protection. The study underscores the potential of nanotechnology in improving the bioavailability and efficacy of natural antioxidants to mitigate mycotoxin-induced damage
Sarah L. Blum Author Visit - Warrior Nurse: PTSD and Healing
No full textHear Sarah L. Blum, author of Women Under Fire: Abuse in the Military, discuss her newest book, Warrior Nurse: PTSD and Healing followed by a Q&A and book signing.
Sarah L. Blum is a decorated Vietnam veteran who served as an operating room nurse during the intense fighting of 1967. In recognition of her service, she was awarded the Army Commendation Medal.
Sponsored by CWU Veterans Center and CWU Libraries.https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/libraryevents/1252/thumbnail.jp
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