Genotoxicity and mutagenicity of Echinodorus macrophyllus (chapéu-de-couro) extracts

Echinodorus macrophyllus, commonly known as chapéu-de-couro, is a medicinal plant used in folk medicine to treat inflammation and rheumatic diseases. In this work, we used short-term bacterial assays based on the induction of SOS functions to examine the genotoxicity and mutagenicity of an aqueous extract of E. macrophyllus leaves. Whole extract and an ethyl acetate fraction showed similar genotoxicity and caused an ~70-fold increase in lysogenic induction. The extract also gave a positive result in the SOS chromotest with an increase of 12-fold in β-Galactosidase enzymatic units. There was a strong trend towards base substitutions and frameshifts at purine sites in the mutations induced by the extract in Escherichia coli (CC103 and CC104 strains) and Salmonella typhimurium test strains (22-fold increase in histidine revertants in TA98 strain). Since reactive oxygen species may be implicated in aging process and in degenerative diseases, we used antioxidant compounds as catalase, thiourea and dipyridyl in the lysogenic induction test. All this compounds were able to reduce the induction factor observed in the treatment with chapéu-de-couro, thus suggesting that the genotoxicity and mutagenicity were attributable to the production of reactive oxygen species that targeted DNA purines

Does the history of food energy units suggest a solution to "Calorie confusion"?

The Calorie (kcal) of present U.S. food labels is similar to the original French definition of 1825. The original published source (now available on the internet) defined the Calorie as the quantity of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kg of water from 0 to 1°C. The Calorie originated in studies concerning fuel efficiency for the steam engine and had entered dictionaries by 1840. It was the only energy unit in English dictionaries available to W.O. Atwater in 1887 for his popular articles on food and tables of food composition. Therefore, the Calorie became the preferred unit of potential energy in nutrition science and dietetics, but was displaced when the joule, g-calorie and kcal were introduced. This article will explain the context in which Nicolas Clément-Desormes defined the original Calorie and the depth of his collaboration with Sadi Carnot. It will review the history of other energy units and show how the original Calorie was usurped during the period of international standardization. As a result, no form of the Calorie is recognized as an SI unit. It is untenable to continue to use the same word for different thermal units (g-calorie and kg-calorie) and to use different words for the same unit (Calorie and kcal). The only valid use of the Calorie is in common speech and public nutrition education. To avoid ongoing confusion, scientists should complete the transition to the joule and cease using kcal in any context

Trypacidin, a Spore-Borne Toxin from Aspergillus fumigatus, Is Cytotoxic to Lung Cells

Inhalation of Aspergillus fumigatus conidia can cause severe aspergillosis in immunosuppressed people. A. fumigatus produces a large number of secondary metabolites, some of which are airborne by conidia and whose toxicity to the respiratory tract has not been investigated. We found that spores of A. fumigatus contain five main compounds, tryptoquivaline F, fumiquinazoline C, questin, monomethylsulochrin and trypacidin. Fractionation of culture extracts using RP-HPLC and LC-MS showed that samples containing questin, monomethylsulochrin and trypacidin were toxic to the human A549 lung cell line. These compounds were purified and their structure verified using NMR in order to compare their toxicity against A549 cells. Trypacidin was the most toxic, decreasing cell viability and triggering cell lysis, both effects occurring at an IC50 close to 7 µM. Trypacidin toxicity was also observed in the same concentration range on human bronchial epithelial cells. In the first hour of exposure, trypacidin initiates the intracellular formation of nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). This oxidative stress triggers necrotic cell death in the following 24 h. The apoptosis pathway, moreover, was not involved in the cell death process as trypacidin did not induce apoptotic bodies or a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential. This is the first time that the toxicity of trypacidin to lung cells has been reported

Acute reduction of serum 8-iso-PGF2-alpha and advanced oxidation protein products in vivo by a polyphenol-rich beverage; a pilot clinical study with phytochemical and in vitro antioxidant characterization

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Measuring the effects of the acute intake of natural products on human biomarker concentrations, such as those related to oxidation and inflammation, can be an advantageous strategy for early clinical research on an ingredient or product.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>31 total healthy subjects were randomized in a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, acute pilot study with post-hoc subgroup analysis on 20 of the subjects. The study examined the effects of a single dose of a polyphenol-rich beverage (PRB), commercially marketed as "SoZo^®", on serum anti-inflammatory and antioxidant markers. In addition, phytochemical analyses of PRB, and <it>in vitro </it>antioxidant capacity were also performed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At 1 hour post-intake, serum values for 8-iso-PGF2-alpha and advanced oxidation protein products decreased significantly by 40% and 39%, respectively. Additionally, there was a trend toward decreased C-reactive protein, and increased nitric oxide levels. Both placebo and PRB treatment resulted in statistically significant increases in hydroxyl radical antioxidant capacity (HORAC) compared to baseline; PRB showed a higher percent change (55-75% versus 23-74% in placebo group), but the two groups did not differ significantly from each other.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>PRB produced statistically significant changes in several blood biomarkers related to antioxidant/anti-inflammatory effects. Future studies are justified to verify results and test for cumulative effects of repeated intakes of PRB. The study demonstrates the potential utility of acute biomarker measurements for evaluating antioxidant/anti-inflammatory effects of natural products.</p

Male, National, and Religious Collective Narcissism Predict Sexism

Results of three cross-sectional studies indicate that sexism in Poland is associated with collective narcissism—a belief that one’s own group’s (the in-group’s) exaggerated exceptionality is not sufficiently recognized by others—with reference to three social identities: male, religious, and national. In Study 1 (n = 329), male collective narcissism was associated with sexism. This relationship was sequentially mediated by precarious manhood and traditional gender beliefs. In Study 2 (n = 877), Catholic collective narcissism predicted tolerance of violence against women (among men and women) over and above religious fundamentalism and in contrast to intrinsic religiosity. In Study 3 (n = 1070), national collective narcissism was associated with hostile sexism among men and women and with benevolent sexism more strongly among women than among men. In contrast, national in-group satisfaction—a belief that the nation is of a high value—predicted rejection of benevolent and hostile sexism among women but was positively associated with hostile and benevolent sexism among men. Among men and women collective narcissism was associated with tolerance of domestic violence against women, whereas national in-group satisfaction was associated with rejection of violence against women

Production of ϒ(nS) mesons in Pb + Pb and pp collisions at 5.02 TeV

A measurement of the production of vector bottomonium states, ϒ(1S), ϒ(2S), and ϒ(3S), in Pb + Pb and pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of 5.02 TeV is presented. The data correspond to integrated luminosities of 1.38 nb-1 of Pb + Pb data collected in 2018, 0.44 nb-1 of Pb + Pb data collected in 2015, and 0.26 fb-1 of pp data collected in 2017 by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The measurements are performed in the dimuon decay channel for transverse momentum pμμT < 30 GeV, absolute rapidity |yμμ| < 1.5, and Pb + Pb event centrality 0-80%. The production rates of the three bottomonium states in Pb + Pb collisions are compared with those in pp collisions to extract the nuclear modification factors as functions of event centrality, pμμT, and |yμμ|. In addition, the suppression of the excited states relative to the ground state is studied. The results are compared with theoretical model calculations

Differential cross-section measurements of the production of four charged leptons in association with two jets using the ATLAS detector

Differential cross-sections are measured for the production of four charged leptons in association with two jets. These measurements are sensitive to final states in which the jets are produced via the strong interaction as well as to the purely-electroweak vector boson scattering process. The analysis is performed using proton-proton collision data collected by ATLAS at s = 13 TeV and with an integrated luminosity of 140 fb−1. The data are corrected for the effects of detector inefficiency and resolution and are compared to state-of-the-art Monte Carlo event generator predictions. The differential cross-sections are used to search for anomalous weak-boson self-interactions that are induced by dimension-six and dimension-eight operators in Standard Model effective field theory

Search for new phenomena in multi-body invariant masses in events with at least one isolated lepton and two jets using √s = 13 TeV proton–proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector

A search for resonances in events with at least one isolated lepton (e or μ) and two jets is performed using 139 fb −1 of s = 13 TeV proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Deviations from a smoothly falling background hypothesis are tested in three- and four-body invariant mass distributions constructed from leptons and jets, including jets identified as originating from bottom quarks. Model-independent limits on generic resonances characterised by cascade decays of particles leading to multiple jets and leptons in the final state are presented. The limits are calculated using Gaussian shapes with different widths for the invariant masses. The multi-body invariant masses are also used to set 95% confidence level upper limits on the cross-section times branching ratios for the production and subsequent decay of resonances predicted by several new physics scenarios. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Measurement of the VH,H → ττ process with the ATLAS detector at 13 TeV

A measurement of the Standard Model Higgs boson produced in association with a W or Z boson and decaying into a pair of τ-leptons is presented. This search is based on proton-proton collision data collected at s=13 TeV by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb−1. For the Higgs boson candidate, only final states with at least one τ-lepton decaying hadronically (τ→hadrons+ντ) are considered. For the vector bosons, only leptonic decay channels are considered: Z→ℓℓ and W→ℓνℓ, with ℓ=e,μ. An excess of events over the expected background is found with an observed (expected) significance of 4.2 (3.6) standard deviations, providing evidence of the Higgs boson produced in association with a vector boson and decaying into a pair of τ-leptons. The ratio of the measured cross-section to the Standard Model prediction is μVHττ=1.28−0.29+0.30(stat.)−0.21+0.25(syst.). This result represents the most accurate measurement of the VH(ττ) process achieved to date

Search for direct production of electroweakinos in final states with one lepton, jets and missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Searches for electroweak production of wino-like chargino pairs, χ~1+χ~1−, and of wino-like chargino and next-to-lightest neutralino, χ~1±χ~20, are presented. The models explored assume that the charginos decay into a W boson and the lightest neutralino, χ~1±→W±χ~10. The next-to-lightest neutralinos are degenerate in mass with the chargino and decay to χ~10 and either a Z or a Higgs boson, χ~20→Zχ~10 or hχ~10. The searches exploit the presence of a single isolated lepton and missing transverse momentum from the W boson decay products and the lightest neutralinos, and the presence of jets from hadronically decaying Z or W bosons or from the Higgs boson decaying into a pair of b-quarks. The searches use 139 fb−1 of (Formula presented.) TeV proton-proton collisions data collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider between 2015 and 2018. No deviations from the Standard Model expectations are found, and 95% confidence level exclusion limits are set. Chargino masses ranging from 260 to 520 GeV are excluded for a massless χ~10 in chargino pair production models. Degenerate chargino and next-to-lightest neutralino masses ranging from 260 to 420 GeV are excluded for a massless χ~10 for χ~20→Zχ~10. For decays through an on-shell Higgs boson and for mass-splitting between χ~1±/χ~20 and χ~10 as small as the Higgs boson mass, mass limits are improved by up to 40 GeV in the range of 200–260 GeV and 280–470 GeV compared to previous ATLAS constraints