97 research outputs found
The Role of polyphenols in the modulation of plasma Non-Enzymatic Antioxidant Capacity (NEAC)
No full textDietary polyphenols have been shown to scavenge free radicals, modulating cellular redox transcription factors in different in vitro and ex vivo models. Dietary intervention studies have shown that consumption of plant foods modulates plasma Non-Enzymatic Antioxidant Capacity (NEAC), a biomarker of the endogenous antioxidant network, in human subjects. However, the identification of the molecules responsible for this effect are yet to be obtained and evidences of an antioxidant in vivo action of polyphenols are conflicting. There is a clear discrepancy between polyphenols (PP) concentration in body fluids and the extent of increase of plasma NEAC. The low degree of absorption and the extensive metabolism of PP within the body have raised questions about their contribution to the endogenous antioxidant network. This work will discuss the role of polyphenols from galenic preparation, food extracts, and selected dietary sources as modulators of plasma NEAC in humans
Oxidative stress in atherosclerosis development: the central role of LDL and oxidative burst
No full textThe involvement of both oxidative stress and hyperlipaemia in atherosclerosis development is well established. Oxidative burst is an innate immune response to infection, the latter being associated also with marked changes in lipid and lipoprotein metabolism, aimed to neutralize endotoxin toxic effects. On the other hand, lipid overload may increase lipopolysaccharide circulating levels and oxidative stress. Whilst these changes may be beneficial from the perspective of host defense, if they become chronic, they likely increase the risk of atherosclerosis. In particular, oxidation of lipoproteins, resulting from an imbalance of the pro- and antioxidant equilibrium, is involved in the pathologic process of atherosclerosis, changing cellular functions. Lipid oxidation, induced by leukocytes derived reactive oxygen species, can amplify foam cell formation through oxidized low density lipoproteins LDL (oxLDL) formation and uptake. The main enzymes, operating during oxidative burst, involved in LDL oxidation are NADPH oxidase and myeloperoxidase. In vitro studies have shown that oxLDL are able to induce many proatherogenic processes, including modulation of oxidative burst. OxLDL may also induce maturation of dendritic cells and regulate the shift from classical (M1) to alternative (M2) macrophage activation and from T helper 1 to T helper 2 response, suggesting that these could act as a bridge between innate and adaptative immunity, both involved in plaque development. Understanding the relationship between oxLDL and leukocyte oxidative burst helps to explain the involvement of innate immune responses in the early phases of atherosclerosis. The present review focuses on this interplay
DISTRIBUTION AND TEMPORAL EVOLUTION OF CADMIUM COPPER AND LEAD IN THE VENICE LAGOON. RELATION OF THE SPECIATION WITH THE DISSOLVED/PARTICULATE PARTITION
No full textEffect of plant foods and beverages on plasma non-enzymatic antioxidant capacity in human subjects: a meta-analysis.
No full textNon-enzymatic antioxidant capacity (NEAC) represents a sensitive biomarker measuring the in vivo antioxidant potential of vegetable foods. To evaluate the effectiveness of plant-derived foods and beverages on the plasma non-enzymatic antioxidant system, we analysed all literature published upto May 2010. Data were extracted by two authors independently, and the effect size was summarised using standardised mean differences by a random-effects model. For the analysis, eighty-eight studies were included, reporting a total number of 122 interventions and involving 2890 subjects. There was overall evidence of the effectiveness of fruit, vegetables, dietary patterns based on plant foods, red wine and tea in increasing plasma NEAC. No changes were found for chocolate and fruit juices. We observed an overall effect size three times higher in subjects with risk factors when compared with healthy subjects. Total radical-trapping antioxidant parameter, oxygen radical absorbance capacity and ferric-reducing antioxidant power methods showed a similar increase in plasma NEAC following dietary supplementation, whereas Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity did not respond to dietary supplementation. Data from the present meta-analysis show that plant-derived foods represent an effective strategy to enhance an endogenous antioxidant network in humans. This is particularly evident in the presence of oxidative stress-related risk factors
Ciranda de pedra: Manifestations of the Living Statue in Portuguese-language Literatures
No full textAmong the studies of Portuguese-language literature dealing with the simulacrum, there is still a lack of a diachronic perspective on the issues associated with its many possible representations. Our incipient study started from the need to verify how literature outlines figures of the simulacrum in peripheral, contaminated and hybridized cultural areas such as those of the Portuguese-speaking world, and what role it attributes to them in relation to the sphere of the human. In order to answer these questions, however partially, we have focused our research on one of the possible conceptions of the simulacrum – the statue – and we have tried to identify texts that reformulate this theme across various historical phases (classical, Romanticism, Modernism, and Post-modernism) of Portuguese-language literature (in particular, from Portugal, Brazil, Angola). Camões, Melo, Carvalhal, Sá-Carneiro, Clarice Lispector, Pepetela, and Jaime Salazar Sampaio are some of the authors examined in this initial journey through living stones. What emerges is that, beyond the peculiar hybridizations bearing on the conventional love theme, the axis on which the use of the living statue in the Lusophone sphere most insistently pivots is that of social criticism
Ciranda de Pedra: declinazioni della statua viva nelle letterature di lingua portoghese
No full textAmong the studies of Portuguese-language literature dealing with simulacrum, there is still a lack of diachronic perspective on the issues associated with its many possible representations. This incipient study of ours started from the need to verify how literature outlines figures of the simulacrum in peripheral, contaminated and hybridized cultural areas such as those of the Portuguese-speaking world, and what role it attributes to them in relation to the sphere of the human. In order to answer these questions, however partially, we have focused our research on one of the possible conceptions of the simulacrum – the statue – and we have tried, in Portuguese-language literature (from Europe, America and Africa), to identify, for each era (classical, romanticism, modernism and post-modernism), texts that reformulate the theme: Camões, Melo, Carvalhal, Sá-Carneiro, Clarice Lispector, Pepetela, and Jaime Salazar Sampaio are some authors examined in this initial journey among the living stones.Tra gli studi di letteratura in lingua portoghese che si occupano di simulacro manca ancora una prospettiva diacronica su temi connessi alle sue possibili e molteplici rappresentazioni. Questo nostro incipiente studio è partito dalla necessità di verificare come, in zone culturali periferiche, contaminate e ibridate come lo sono quelle di ambito lusofono, la letteratura riproponga figure di simulacro e quale ruolo attribuisca loro, in relazione alla sfera dell’umano.Per rispondere, seppure parzialmente, a questo interrogativo, abbiamo concentrato la ricerca su una delle possibili concezioni di simulacro – la statua – e abbiamo cercato, nelle letterature di lingua portoghese (d’Europa, America e Africa), di individuare per ciascuna epoca (classicismo, romanticismo, modernismo e post-modernismo), testi che ne riformulassero il tema: Camões, Melo, Carvalhal, Sá-Carneiro, Clarice Lispector, Pepetela, Jaime Salazar Sampaio sono alcuni degli autori presi in esame, in questo iniziale viaggio tra le pietre vive
Temporal evolution of cadmium, copper and lead concentration in the Venice Lagoon water in relation with the speciation and dissolved/particulate partition
No full textIn order to study the role of sediment re-suspension and deposition versus the role of organic complexation, we investigated the speciation of cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) in samples collected in the Venice Lagoon during several campaigns from 1992 to 2006. The increment in Cd and Pb concentration in the dissolved phases, observed in the central and northern basins, can be linked to important alterations inside the lagoon caused by industrial and urban factors. The study focuses on metal partition between dissolved and particulate phases. The analyses carried out in different sites illustrate the complex role of organic matter in the sedimentation process. While Cd concentration in sediments can be correlated with organic matter, no such correlation can be established in the case of Pb, whose particulate concentration is related only to the dissolved concentration. In the case of Cu, the role of organic complexation remains unclear
Analisi comparativa del contenuto di metalli in traccia in Nicotiana Langsdorfii naturale e geneticamente modificata sottoposta a stress chimico
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