117,334 research outputs found
In silico and in vitro analysis of major cannabis-derived compounds as fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibitors
Accumulated evidence suggests that enhancing the endocannabinoid (eCB) tone, in partic-ular of anandamide (N-arachidonoylethanolamine, AEA), has therapeutic potential in many human diseases. Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) is a membrane-bound enzyme principally responsible for the degradation of AEA, and thus it represents a relevant target to increase signaling thereof. In recent years, different synthetic and natural compounds have been developed and tested on rat FAAH, but little is known of their effect on the human enzyme. Here, we sought to investigate six major cannabis-derived compounds to compare their action on rat and human FAAHs. To this aim, we combined an in silico analysis of their binding mode and affinity, with in vitro assays of their effect on enzyme activity. This integrated approach allowed to disclose differences in efficacy towards rat and human FAAHs, and to highlight the role of key residues involved in the inhibition of both enzymes. This study suggests that the therapeutic efficacy of compounds targeted towards FAAH should be always tested in vitro on both rat and human enzymes
Fatty acid amide hydrolase, anandamide, and neurological diseases
he endocannabinoid anandamide (N-arachidonoylethanolamine, AEA) is a bioactive lipid that has been shown to regulate a number of important pathophysiological conditions in humans, including several neurological disorders. AEA acts on cannabinoid receptors, and many studies reported that it may also interact with other targets, such as vanilloid and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors. AEA, together with 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), their molecular targets, biosynthetic and degradative enzymes form the endocannabinoid system (ECS).
The biological activity of AEA depends on a “metabolic control” that modulates the effects of this substance by finely tuning its in vivo concentration. In particular, the major molecular player involved in AEA metabolism is fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH). As such, this enzyme is the subject of numerous studies and clinical trials to investigate about its potential therapeutic role and how it impacts various disease processes that present significant unmet medical needs
Fatty acid amide hydrolase, anandamide, and neurological diseases
The endocannabinoid anandamide (N-arachidonoylethanolamine, AEA) is a bioactive lipid that has been shown to regulate a number of important pathophysiological conditions in humans, including several neurological disorders. AEA acts on cannabinoid receptors, and many studies reported that it may also interact with other targets, such as vanilloid and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors. AEA, together with 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), their molecular targets, biosynthetic and degradative enzymes form the endocannabinoid system (ECS). The biological activity of AEA depends on a “metabolic control” that modulates the effects of this substance by finely tuning its in vivo concentration. In particular, the major molecular player involved in AEA metabolism is fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH). As such, this enzyme is the subject of numerous studies and clinical trials to investigate about its potential therapeutic role and how it impacts various disease processes that present significant unmet medical needs
Reply to discussion of “Permian—Triassic vertebrate footprints from South Africa: Ichnotaxonomy, producers and biostratigraphy through two major faunal crises” by Marchetti, L., Klein, H., Buchwitz, M., Ronchi, A., Smith, R.M.H., DeKlerk, W.J., Sciscio, L., and Groenewald, G.H. (2019)
Our recent comprehensive review of the Permian-Early Triassic tetrapod tracksites from South Africa includes a revision of the ichnotaxonomy and the incorporation of a large quantity of new material. The paper also discusses, in light of the revised ichnotaxonomy and palaeontology of several sites, trackmaker attribution and the biostratigraphy of Permian-Early Triassic tetrapod tracks. Precise information about the fossiliferous localities was provided where possible and when sites were relocated. Three footprint associations were described (FA I-III) and highlight their potential stratigraphic value. The youngest (FA III) was recognized at four different localities and is likely Induan in age. A recent comment by Gastaldo and Neveling (2019) regarded one of these FA III localities, the Bethel tracksite, which received criticism for its unclear geographic placement and its stratigraphic position. Further comments included a discussion of the possible palaeoecological interpretation of this tracksite. In replying to these queries, we provided more precise geographic and stratigraphic information, confirming the occurrence of this tracksite ~15 m above the faunal transition which we consider to be currently coinciding with the Permian-Triassic boundary (PTB). Palaeoecological inferences are herein further clarified
I sistemi antiossidanti sono coinvolti nel controllo della verticilliosi in piante di carciofo micorrizate?
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
The 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
AGE-RELATED EVENTS IN ACTIVE T LYMPHOCYTE DURING MITOGENIC STIMULATION: ELECTRON MICROSCOPY AND FLOW CYTOMETRIC ANALYSIS
Square Dancing with the Stars to Enhance Dynamic Hirschman Linkages?
In 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
We 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
AGE-RELATED EVENTS IN ACTIVE T LYMPHOCYTE SUBPOPULATION. A MORPHOLOGICAL STUDY
The incorporation of 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) into the DNA of active T
lymphocytes from healthy aged donors was evaluated after in vitro PHA stimulation
by means of light microscopy, electron microscopy and flow cytometry. The
percentage of BrdU-labelled cells differed markedly between aged and young donors
after 48 h of PHA stimulation, due to an enlarged early S phase compartment. In
contrast, after 72 h the percentage of positive cells was quite similar in both
age groups and no significant differences in the distribution within S phase nor
changes in the patterns of ultrastructural localization of DNA replicon sites
were observed. Our study provides evidence that an altered synchronization and a
substantial delay in the in vitro cell proliferation occur in this peculiar T
subpopulation as a consequence of the ageing process
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