Effects of Lippia citriodora leaf extract on lipid and oxidative blood profile of volunteers with hypercholesterolemia: A preliminary study

Lippia citriodora is a plant traditionally used for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antispasmodic effects, as well as for additional biological activities proven in cell culture, animal studies and a small number of human clinical trials. The plant has also shown a marked improvement in blood lipid profile in some animal species. In the present preliminary study, we investigated the effect of a leaf extract on lipid and oxidative blood profile of hypercholesterolemic volunteers. Twelve adults received Lippia citriodora extract caps, containing 23% phenylpropanoids, (100 mg, once a day) for 16 weeks. Selected blood lipids and plasma oxidative markers were measured at baseline and after 4, 8 and 16 weeks of treatment. Compared with baseline, total cholesterol levels significantly decreased and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol increased, while low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides showed only a downward trend. Oxidative status was improved due to a decrease in the concentration of total oxidant status, reactive oxygen metabolites and malondialdehyde, and a significant increase in ferric reducing ability of plasma, vitamin A and vitamin E. These preliminary results suggest that dietary supplementation with Lippia citriodora extract can improve the lipid profile, enhance blood antioxidant power, and could be a valuable natural compound for the management of human hypercholesterolemia

Increase of proton electrochemical potential and ATP synthesis in rat liver mitochondria irradiated in vitro by helium-neon laser

Mitochondria Laser Transmembrane proton gradient Membrane potential ATP synthesis Oxygen uptake. © 1984

Creating comparability among European neighbourhoods to enable the transition of district energy infrastructures towards positive energy districts

Planning the required energy infrastructure for the energy transition is a crucial task for various neighbourhood concepts, such as positive energy districts. However, energy planning often comes with the challenges of data shortages and a lack of comparability among solutions for different districts. This work aims to enable this comparability by introducing an approach for categorising districts according to parameters that are relevant for the planning of neighbourhood energy infrastructures. Four parameters (climate, floor space index, heating demand and share of residential buildings) and their respective ranges (bands) were derived from the literature. Additionally, this work visualised the combination of all parameter bands across Europe to conveniently showcase districts that are comparable according to the selected parameters. This approach and its visualisation could be used in urban planning to share knowledge from existing energy district projects with those planned in comparable districts

Lippia citriodora (verbascoside) extract supplementation: Effect on rabbit semen quality in vivo and in vitro

Verbascoside, the main component of Lippia citriodora extract, is one of the most powerful free radical scavengers exhibiting a wide biological activity. In in vivo study 20 adult New Zealand white rabbit bucks were divided into two homogeneous groups, one control (CON) and one verbascoside-supplemented (0.1%) in feed mixture (EXP) and later in vitro effects of verbascoside on the motility aspects of rabbit spermatozoa were analysed. The spermatozoa concentration, ejaculate volume, spermatozoa motility, progressive motility, distance parameters, velocity parameters and type of spermatozoa movement were negatively affected by Lippia citriodora leaves extract after the first 4 weeks of dietary treatment, till the end of experiment (8 weeks). Four weeks after the suspension of feed additive supplementation, all spermatozoa traits values returned to the normality, and in line with CON group. For in vitro findings, ejaculates from 10 male New Zealand white bucks were collected using an artificial vagina. Then it was diluted in physiological saline solution containing different concentrations of verbascoside at the concentration of 0, 0.0024, 0.0219, 0.157, 120.0 mg/ml (Ctrl, VB1, VB2, VB3, VB4 groups, respectively), using a dilution ratio of 1: 4. The obtained data proved that verbascoside at the concentration of 0.0024 and 0.0219 mg/ml had no adverse effect on spermatozoa. Additionally, we found that verbascoside at higher concentrations (0.157 and 120.0 mg/ml) significantly altered all the motility parameters analysed in the experiment. In conclusion a possible negative effect of verbascoside supplementation into feed mixture (0.1%) on semen quality parameters in rabbit bucks as well as in vitro can be stated, obviously considering that target organs of antioxidant activities of phenylpropanoid glycosides are various. In addition it has to be emphasized that the extract showed a reversible action, since the semen traits of treated animals returned to the normality after the dietary administration period

Basal cytokines profile in metastatic renal cell carcinoma patients treated with subcutaneous IL-2-based therapy compared with that of healthy donors

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background and purpose</p> <p>Metastatic renal cell carcinoma (MRCC) has a poor prognosis with a median overall survival of about one year. Since only a minority of patients experienced therapeutic benefit to current treatments, several studies have attempted to identify factors that may have an impact on response and survival. Cytokines play a crucial role in the host's immune response by regulating the development and function of a lot of biological compartments. Nevertheless, available data on basal cytokine levels in MRCC are very few and no clear profile of serum cytokines has been identified yet in these patients population. Thus, determining the levels of cytokines in MRCC could not only help in understanding the biological mechanisms of the tumor growth, but also in evaluating if different cytokine profiles are correlated with particular clinical behaviors.</p> <p>Materials and methods</p> <p>In 144 healthy donors and 55 MRCC treated with subcutaneous IL-2-based regimens, we analysed a panel of basal cytokines particularly involved in the neoplastic progression (IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, alpha-TNF) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in order to compare their levels in the two groups, and to verify their impact on patient response and survival.</p> <p>We first compared cytokines levels in patients population and healthy donors. Than, in definite patients group, univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate the correlation existing between each factor considered and clinical outcomes. For these analyses, baseline values were included as dichotomous variables using the median values (above and below) of control group.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In general, higher levels of cytokines were found in patients with respect to those of healthy donors, both in term of percentage of undetectable levels or median values. The impact on response was insignificant, except for higher levels of CRP that were strongly correlated with a worse response (p < 0.001). Within the patients groups, a worse survival was associated with higher values of CRP (8 vs 31 months, p = 0.0000), IL-6 (9 vs 25 months, p = 0.0295), and IL-8 (9 vs 17 months, p = 0.0371). Conversely, higher levels of IL-12 were associated with a better survival (25 vs 15 months, months p = 0.0882). A correlation was found between CRP and IL-6 (p = 0.009) and between CRP and IL-10 (p = 0.038). After multivariate analysis only CRP (p = 0.0035) and IL-12 (p = 0.0371) maintained an independent impact on survival, while IL-6 showed a borderline value (p = 0.0792).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Higher cytokines levels characterize patients population with respect to healthy donors. Moreover, higher basal level of some immunosuppressive cytokines (CRP, IL-6, IL-8) result correlated with a poorer survival, whereas higher levels of IL-12, a cytokine with a potent antineoplastic activity, was associated with a better survival. A wider sample of patients is needed to better clarify if our findings are intrinsically related to patients population or if they are simply an epiphenomenon of disease progression.</p

D4.4 - Report on developed methodologies and models for techno-economic modelling of PEDs and the transition towards their realisation

Executive Summary: In the light of urgent need for decarbonisation of the building sector, techno-economic modelling of energy systems is an essential part of the planning process of urban development. Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) should contribute to this transformation towards less carbon-intensive and more energy independent urban areas. Therefore, this report presents the techno-economic models that have been developed throughout the Smart-BEEjS project to determine the energy infrastructure required to transform current districts into PEDs. This report reviews the existing models that focus on the district and neighborhood energy modelling (Section 2). The literature emphasises that existing models are not sufficient for PED planning, as PED analysis requires a large diversity of data inputs and have very specific modelling requirements. Moreover, it is important to further advance an integrated systems approach that brings together technoeconomic and social aspects with sufficient detail. Four modelling approaches address four different sectors of the PED's energy infrastructure that needsto be included in the planning of the transition from exiting districts to PEDs. The electricity based system, including local renewable energy generation and electricity-based heating and cooling is covered by a mixed integer linear programming approach to guarantee an optimal technology portfolio while ensuring a positive energy balance (Section 3.1). The heating and cooling system is focusing on district solutions such as the 4th generation district heating/cooling with a mathematical approach (Section 3.2). The energy efficiency uptake of the building stock is addressed by agent based modeling (Section 3.3). Finally, the electric vehicle related charging infrastructure is modelled using statistics on real data (Section 3.4). Furthermore, as sector coupling is highly important these days, the interconnections of the presented models are drawn (Section 3.5). The models include important social factors such as affordability, inclusiveness and energy justice that is often not the focus of mainstream techno-economic models. As affordability, inclusiveness and energy justice are cornerstones of the PED concept, the models aim to address those values. The combined model can holistically evaluate what energy infrastructure is needed to transition from current districts to high-performance PEDs

Coexistence of an imbalance of cytokines, chemokines and growth factors serum levels and symptoms of fatigue and pain in long-term breast cancer survivors.

Background: Fatigue, pain and depression are common problems among long-term cancer survivors (BCS) which in some patients may persist for many years after healing and the completion of treatment. Several studies have reported that increased serum levels of chemokines and growth factors are particularly significantly correlated with the coexistence of these disorders in cancer survivors. The aim of this study was to assess whether the altered imbalance of pro-inflammatory cytokines, growth factors and chemokine serum levels are associated to presence of fatigue and pain in long-term breast cancer survivors . Methods: Ninety-three BCS were enrolled in this study and blood samples taken from each. Serum levels of 25 analytes including cytokines, growth factors and chemokines were tested by enzyme immunoassay using the flexible Bio-Plex System. Participants also completed a questionnaire measuring demographic, clinical and behavioral variables. Results: Non-parametric discriminant analysis showed that fatigued BCS had significantly higher serum levels of FGF and lower IL-4 and IL-8 compared to the non-fatigued group, while BCS with pain had an increase in eotaxin serum levels and lower IL-4 and Il-7 compared to the group without pain. Univariate analysis showed a statistically significant difference in both mental and physical qol, with levels lower in the subgroup who presented pain than in those without: p = 0.0003 and p < 0.0001 respectively. A lower value of Rantes (p = 0.0131) in breast cancer survivors with pain compared to the group without pain, and a higher median value of TNF-α (p = 0.054) in the pain group than in those without pain was observed. The level of depression was higher than the score of 50 on the Zung scale in fatigued survivors compared to non-fatigued survivors (p = 0.0006). Conclusions: Our results suggest that an altered balance of chemokines, cytokines and growth factors serum levels may be associated to presence of symptoms such as fatigue and pain in breast cancer survivors at an average of 5 years after diagnosis

D4.3 - Report on infrastructure requirements for developing sustainably PEDs,summarizing the outcome of the techno-economic modelling activities

Implementation of PEDs requires immense infrastructure investments in energy efficiency measures, energy generation, transformation and storage as well as in new mobility solutions. On the other hand, it is crucial to create affordable living arrangements despite the high costs of the aforementioned measures. Thus, this work aims to answer the overarching question of which infrastructure will be required to turn an existing neighbourhood into a PED. As existing districts in Europe are highly heterogeneous and, thus, difficult to analyse, this study uses a case study with a specific district archetype. To address this issue, this study utilises the district comparability tool, a framework created as part of the SMARTBEEjS project to enable technical comparability across districts in Europe. In addition, the cost of the necessary infrastructure is estimated, which leads to the discussion of inclusion and affordability issues as potential barriers of PEDs. An integrated techno-economic modelling consisting of different modelling approaches for the power, heating and cooling and mobility sectors as well as demand-side measures are applied. Those include tailor-made mixed integer linear programming, synPro simulations, agent based modelling and statistical correlations. Using these modelling methods, several plausible transition scenarios are analysed based on the building, climate and socio-demographic data of an archetype district of Griesheim-Mitte in Frankfurt am Main (Germany). The results show that envelope retrofitting is crucial to fulfil the PED requirement of energy positivity and to reduce the capacities of the energy generation and storage technology. Furthermore, the PED concept can be more economical than the business-as-usual scenario of importing the required energy. However, high upfront costs can be a barrier for less wealthy societies. This barrier needs to be reduced by public schemes or smart business models to avoid creating a neighbourhood concept that does not uphold the principles of energy justice and inclusion. This study has its limitations in terms of the scope of the study. Only one district archetype (based on Griesheim-Mitte in Frankfurt am Main and relevant for districts in Nottingham and Amsterdam) is analysed. Further work could look into different archetypes and the transition scenarios for those. Moreover, not all scenarios, i.e. transition measures could be modelled quantitatively within the frame of this work. In particular, the waste heat from data centers in the selected district was not considered. Hence, applying industrial waste heat for powering district heat networks should be investigated more thoroughly in the future

Arterial Properties in Relation to Genetic Variations in the Adducin Subunits in a White Population

Background Adducin is a membrane skeleton protein, which consists of either α- and β- or α- and γ-subunits. We investigated whether arterial characteristics might be related to the genes encoding ADD1 (Gly460Trp-rs4961), ADD2 (C1797T-rs4984), and ADD3 (IVS11+386A>G-rs3731566). Methods We randomly recruited 1,126 Flemish subjects (mean age, 43.8 years; 50.3% women). Using a wall-tracking ultrasound system, we measured the properties of the carotid, femoral, and brachial arteries. We studied multivariate-adjusted phenotype-genotype associations, using a population- and family-based approach. Results In single-gene analyses, brachial diameter was 0.15 mm (P = 0.0022) larger, and brachial distensibility and cross-sectional compliance were 1.55 × 10-3/kPa (P = 0.013) and 0.017 mm2/kPa (P = 0.0029) lower in ADD3 AA than ADD3 GG homozygotes with an additive effect of the G allele. In multiple-gene analyses, the association of brachial diameter and distensibility with the ADD3 G allele occurred only in ADD1 GlyGly homozygotes. Otherwise, the associations between the arterial phenotypes in the three vascular beds and the ADD1 or ADD2 polymorphisms were not significant. In family-based analyses, the multivariate-adjusted heritability was 0.52, 0.38, and 0.30 for brachial diameter, distensibility, and cross-sectional compliance, respectively (P < 0.001). There was no evidence for population stratification (0.07 ≤ P ≤ 0.96). Transmission of the mutated ADD3 G allele was associated with smaller brachial diameter in 342 informative offspring (-0.12 ± 0.04 mm; P = 0.0085) and in 209 offspring, who were ADD1 GlyGly homozygotes (-0.14 ± 0.06 mm; P = 0.018). Conclusions In ADD1 GlyGly homozygotes, the properties of the brachial artery are related to the ADD3 (A386G) polymorphism, but the underlying mechanism needs further clarification. American Journal of Hypertension (2009). doi: 10.1038/ajh.2008.26