Propiedades antioxidantes de algunas plantas que crecen salvajes en Turquía

In this study, the antioxidant activity of 50% aqueous methanol extracts of 38 plants growing in the Afyonkarahisar province of Turkey were evaluated by various antioxidant assay, including free radical scavenging, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) scavenging and metal (Fe2+) chelating activities. The methanolic fruit extracts of the Cornus and Morus species (H2O2 and DPPH scavenging activities, Fe2+ chelating activity) and the methanolic leaf extracts of the Mentha species (DPPH scavenging activities) examined in the assay showed the strongest activities. These antioxidant properties depended on the concentration of samples.En este estudio, la actividad antioxidante de extractos metanólicos al 50% en agua de 38 plantas que crecen en la provincia turca de Afyonkarahisar fueron evaluados con algunos ensayos antioxidantes, incluyendo la actividad capta-dora de radicales libres y de peróxido de oxígeno (H2O2) y la actividad quelatante de metales (Fe2+). Los extractos metanólicos de frutas de las especies Cornus y Morus (actividades captadoras de H2O2 y DPPH y actividad quelatante de Fe2+) y los extractos metanólicos de hojas de especies de Mentha (actividad captadora de DPPH) son los que mostraron una actividad mayor. Estas propiedades antioxidantes dependieron de la concentración de la muestra

Self-organization in dissipative optical lattices

We show that the transition from Gaussian to the q-Gaussian distributions occurring in atomic transport in dissipative optical lattices can be interpreted as self-organization by recourse to a modified version of Klimontovich's S-theorem. As a result, we find that self-organization is possible in the transition regime, only where the second moment is finite. Therefore, the nonadditivity parameter q is confined within the range 1<q<5/3, although whole spectrum of q values i.e., 1<q<3, is considered theoretically possible. The range of q values obtained from the modified S-theorem is also confirmed by the experiments carried out by Douglas et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 110601 (2006)].Comment: 9 pages, 1 fi

A functional variant in the Stearoyl-CoA desaturase gene promoter enhances fatty acid desaturation in pork

There is growing public concern about reducing saturated fat intake. Stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) is the lipogenic enzyme responsible for the biosynthesis of oleic acid (18:1) by desaturating stearic acid (18:0). Here we describe a total of 18 mutations in the promoter and 3′ non-coding region of the pig SCD gene and provide evidence that allele T at AY487830:g.2228T>C in the promoter region enhances fat desaturation (the ratio 18:1/18:0 in muscle increases from 3.78 to 4.43 in opposite homozygotes) without affecting fat content (18:0+18:1, intramuscular fat content, and backfat thickness). No mutations that could affect the functionality of the protein were found in the coding region. First, we proved in a purebred Duroc line that the C-T-A haplotype of the 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (g.2108C>T; g.2228T>C; g.2281A>G) of the promoter region was additively associated to enhanced 18:1/18:0 both in muscle and subcutaneous fat, but not in liver. We show that this association was consistent over a 10-year period of overlapping generations and, in line with these results, that the C-T-A haplotype displayed greater SCD mRNA expression in muscle. The effect of this haplotype was validated both internally, by comparing opposite homozygote siblings, and externally, by using experimental Duroc-based crossbreds. Second, the g.2281A>G and the g.2108C>T SNPs were excluded as causative mutations using new and previously published data, restricting the causality to g.2228T>C SNP, the last source of genetic variation within the haplotype. This mutation is positioned in the core sequence of several putative transcription factor binding sites, so that there are several plausible mechanisms by which allele T enhances 18:1/18:0 and, consequently, the proportion of monounsaturated to saturated fat.This research was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (AGL2009-09779 and AGL2012-33529). RRF is recipient of a PhD scholarship from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (BES-2010-034607). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of manuscript

The Efficacy of Intermittant Low-Dose Systemic Corticosteroid in the Treatment of Alopecia Areata

Alopecia areata (AA) is a common cause of non-scarring alopecia characterized by patchy hair loss. AA is difficult to treat because of its chronic and inflammatory nature. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of low-dose systemic corticosteroids in the treatment of AA. Fifteen patients with AA were included in this study. Systemic prednisolone 10-15 mg/day on 2 consecutive days per week for 6 months was administered. Fourteen patients (93.3%) had patchy alopecia areata. One patient (6.3%) had alopecia universalis. Seven (46.7%) patients showed complete healing, 5 (33.3%) showed partial response and 3 (20%) did not respond to treatment. Low-dose intermittant corticosteroid therapy may be a successful and well tolerated treatment option in AA and also in patients with alopecia totalis and universalis