Evaluation of Aglianico grape skin and seed polyphenols astringency by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis of salivary proteins after the binding reaction

SDS–PAGE electrophoresis and densitometry analysis were carried out to evaluate the reactivity of Aglianico red grape skin and seed polyphenols with human salivary proteins in order to find a method able to assess their astringency. Analysis of the supernatant obtained after a tannin/human salivary protein binding assay and sensorial analysis showed that four proteins, lactoferrin, PRPbg1, PRPbg2 and a-amylase, were the proteins best able to distinguish tannin solutions characterised by different levels of astringency. A correlation between densitometric data and tannin concentration was plotted in order to give an indirect measure of astringency. The two sources of Aglianico grape polyphenols differed from each other in astringency power; the seed extract solution was about two-fold more tannic than the skin one. The difference in astringency was also perceived by sensorial analysis. The results from this study show that SDS–PAGE electrophoresis of human salivary proteins after the binding reaction with grape polyphenol extracts, coupled with densitometric analysis and the use of a calibration curve, looks extremely promising as a new approach to evaluate polyphenol astringency

Hubungan Antar Indeks Massa Tubuh terhadap Skor Psoriasis Area And Severity Indeks pada Pasien Psoriasis di RSUD Dr. Soedarso Pontianak

Latar Belakang. Psoriasis merupakan penyakit inflamasi kulit yang disebabkan autoimun, bersifat kronis dan residif.. Skor Psoriasis Area and Severity Indeks (PASI) dapat digunakan untuk menilai derajat keparahan dari psoriasis. Peningkatan faktor-faktor inflamasi juga terjadi pada kondisi orang dengan berat badan berlebih hingga obesitas, keadaan tersebut dapat diukur dengan menghitung indeks massa tubuh (IMT). Tujuan penelitian adalah untuk mengetahui hubungan antara skor PASI dan IMT pada pasien psoriasis di RSUD dr. Soedarso Pontianak. Metode. Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan metode analisis data cross sectional dan menggunakan uji ChiSquare. Subjek penelitian sebanyak 35 dipilih sebagai sampel penelitian dengan menggunakan consecutive sampling. Hasil. Didapatkan skor PASI ringan hingga sedang memiliki IMT underweight–normal berjumlah 19 orang, sedangkan pasien dengan IMT overweight–obesity sebanyak 2 orang. Pasien psoriasis dengan skor PASI berat hingga sangat berat hanya memiliki IMT overweight–obesity sebanyak 14 orang. Kesimpulan. Terdapat hubungan bermakna antara IMT terhadap skor PASI (p=0,000). Hasil ini membuktikan bahwa peningkatan indeks massa tubuh (overweight – obesity) dapat meningkatkan derajat keparahan psoriasis

Cheating and the evolutionary stability of mutualisms

Interspecific mutualisms have been playing a central role in the functioning of all ecosystems since the early history of life. Yet the theory of coevolution of mutualists is virtually nonexistent, by contrast with well-developed coevolutionary theories of competition, predator–prey and host–parasite interactions. This has prevented resolution of a basic puzzle posed by mutualisms: their persistence in spite of apparent evolutionary instability. The selective advantage of 'cheating', that is, reaping mutualistic benefits while providing fewer commodities to the partner species, is commonly believed to erode a mutualistic interaction, leading to its dissolution or reciprocal extinction. However, recent empirical findings indicate that stable associations of mutualists and cheaters have existed over long evolutionary periods. Here, we show that asymmetrical competition within species for the commodities offered by mutualistic partners provides a simple and testable ecological mechanism that can account for the long-term persistence of mutualisms. Cheating, in effect, establishes a background against which better mutualists can display any competitive superiority. This can lead to the coexistence and divergence of mutualist and cheater phenotypes, as well as to the coexistence of ecologically similar, but unrelated mutualists and cheaters

Analisis Perkembangan Produksi Perikanan Budidaya di Kabupaten Rokan Hulu Provinsi Riau

The Research on Analysis of Aquaculture Production Development wasconducted in 31 May – 16 June 2014 at Rokan Hulu Regency of Riau Province.The aims of the study were to determine the aquaculture resource potentialthrough the production development analysis, includes the effect of theaquaculture production and also production estimate for the next five years. Themethod used in this study is a Survey Research Development to view theproduction progress each year to support district development.The result showed that the progress of aquaculture production increasedannually with average of 25% per year, and the impact of aquaculture toproduction about 80,8 %, as well as production estimate for 5 years

Characterization of a defective PbWO4 crystal cut along the a-c crystallographic plane: structural assessment and a novel photoelastic stress analysis

Among scintillators, the PWO is one of the most widely used, for instance in CMS calorimeter at CERN and PANDA project. Crystallographic structure and chemical composition as well as residual stress condition, are indicators of homogeneity and good quality of the crystal. In this paper, structural characterization of a defective PbWO4 (PWO) crystal has been performed by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) and Photoelasticity in the unusual a-c crystallographic plane. XRD and EDS analysis have been used to investigate crystallographic orientation and chemical composition, while stress distribution, which indicates macroscopic inhomogeneities and defects, has been obtained by photoelastic approaches, in Conoscopic and Sphenoscopic configuration. Since the sample is cut along the a-c crystallographic plane, a new method is proposed for the interpretation of the fringe pattern. The structural analysis has detected odds from the nominal lattice dimension, which can be attributed to the strong presence of Pb and W. A strong inhomogeneity over the crystal sample has been revealed by the photoelastic inspection. The results give reliability to the proposed procedure which is exploitable in crystals with other structures.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, revised versio

Diagnosis of centrocestus formosanus infection in zebrafish (Danio rerio) in Italy: A window to a new globalization-derived invasive microorganism

Centrocestus formosanus is a digenetic trematode with a complex life cycle, involving invertebrate and vertebrate hosts, humans included. In particular, it causes gill lesions and mortality in freshwater fish species, and gastrointestinal symptoms in infected humans. Here, we describe the occurrence of C. formosanus infection in zebrafish imported in Italy and propose a newly designed species-specific primer pair to ameliorate the diagnostic investigations for C. formosanus. Gill arches of 30 zebrafish were examined for the presence of encysted metacercariae under a stereomicroscope and processed through molecular analyses targeting the ribosomal internal transcribed sequence 2 (ITS2). Although C. formosanus distribution was originally restricted to Asia, it has been subsequently reported in new countries, revealing itself as an invasive species and raising important concerns for biodiversity, economy, scientific research, as well as animal and public health. Given the crucial role played by the ornamental fish industry in spreading this parasite, there is an urgent need for control measures to prevent the introduction and establishment of C. formosanus in non-endemic areas, including Europe. We also suggest developing new strategies in microbiology and epidemiology to better explore this new globalization-derived invasive species