134 research outputs found
Mucuna pruriens for Parkinson's disease: Low-cost preparation method, laboratory measures and pharmacokinetics profile
Abstract Background Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurological condition. Levodopa (LD) is the gold standard therapy for PD patients. Most PD patients in low-income areas cannot afford long-term daily Levodopa therapy. The aim of our study was to investigate if Mucuna pruriens (MP), a legume with high LD content that grows in tropical regions worldwide, might be potential alternative for poor PD patients. Methods We analyzed 25 samples of MP from Africa, Latin America and Asia. We measured the content in LD in various MP preparations (dried, roasted, boiled). LD pharmacokinetics and motor response were recorded in four PD patients, comparing MP vs. LD+Dopa-Decarboxylase Inhibitor (DDCI) formulations. Results Median LD concentration in dried MP seeds was 5.29%; similar results were obtained in roasted powder samples (5.3%), while boiling reduced LD content up to 70%. Compared to LD+DDCI, MP extract at similar LD dose provided less clinical benefit, with a 3.5-fold lower median AUC. Conclusion Considering the lack of a DDCI, MP therapy may provide clinical benefit only when content of LD is at least 3.5-fold the standard LD+DDCI. If long-term MP proves to be safe and effective in controlled clinical trials, it may be a sustainable alternative therapy for PD in low-income countries
A special road to AdS vacua
We apply the techniques of special Kaehler geometry to investigate AdS_4
vacua of general N=2 gauged supergravities underlying flux compactifications of
type II theories. We formulate the scalar potential and its extremization
conditions in terms of a triplet of prepotentials P_x and their special Kaehler
covariant derivatives only, in a form that recalls the potential and the
attractor equations of N=2 black holes. We propose a system of first order
equations for the P_x which generalize the supersymmetry conditions and yield
non-supersymmetric vacua. Special geometry allows us to recast these equations
in algebraic form, and we find an infinite class of new N=0 and N=1 AdS_4
solutions, displaying a rich pattern of non-trivial charges associated with
NSNS and RR fluxes. Finally, by explicit evaluation of the entropy function on
the solutions, we derive a U-duality invariant expression for the cosmological
constant and the central charges of the dual CFT's.Comment: 41 pages; v2, v3: minor improvements, references added, published
versio
Quantum critical lines in holographic phases with (un)broken symmetry
All possible scaling IR asymptotics in homogeneous, translation invariant
holographic phases preserving or breaking a U(1) symmetry in the IR are
classified. Scale invariant geometries where the scalar extremizes its
effective potential are distinguished from hyperscaling violating geometries
where the scalar runs logarithmically. It is shown that the general critical
saddle-point solutions are characterized by three critical exponents (). Both exact solutions as well as leading behaviors are exhibited.
Using them, neutral or charged geometries realizing both fractionalized or
cohesive phases are found. The generic global IR picture emerging is that of
quantum critical lines, separated by quantum critical points which correspond
to the scale invariant solutions with a constant scalar.Comment: v3: 32+29 pages, 2 figures. Matches version published in JHEP.
Important addition of an exponent characterizing the IR scaling of the
electric potentia
Evidence for the classical integrability of the complete AdS(4) x CP(3) superstring
We construct a zero-curvature Lax connection in a sub-sector of the
superstring theory on AdS(4) x CP(3) which is not described by the
OSp(6|4)/U(3) x SO(1,3) supercoset sigma-model. In this sub-sector worldsheet
fermions associated to eight broken supersymmetries of the type IIA background
are physical fields. As such, the prescription for the construction of the Lax
connection based on the Z_4-automorphism of the isometry superalgebra OSp(6|4)
does not do the job. So, to construct the Lax connection we have used an
alternative method which nevertheless relies on the isometry of the target
superspace and kappa-symmetry of the Green-Schwarz superstring.Comment: 1+26 pages; v2: minor typos corrected, acknowledgements adde
To respond or not to respond - a personal perspective of intestinal tolerance
For many years, the intestine was one of the poor relations of the immunology world, being a realm inhabited mostly by specialists and those interested in unusual phenomena. However, this has changed dramatically in recent years with the realization of how important the microbiota is in shaping immune function throughout the body, and almost every major immunology institution now includes the intestine as an area of interest. One of the most important aspects of the intestinal immune system is how it discriminates carefully between harmless and harmful antigens, in particular, its ability to generate active tolerance to materials such as commensal bacteria and food proteins. This phenomenon has been recognized for more than 100 years, and it is essential for preventing inflammatory disease in the intestine, but its basis remains enigmatic. Here, I discuss the progress that has been made in understanding oral tolerance during my 40 years in the field and highlight the topics that will be the focus of future research
Consistent truncations of supergravity and 1/2-BPS RG flows in 4d SCFTs
With the purpose of holographically describing flows from a large family of
four dimensional and conformal field theories, we
discuss truncations of seven dimensional supergravity to five dimensions. We
write explicitly the reduced gauged supergravity and find BPS equations for
simple configurations. Lifting these flows to eleven dimensions or Massive IIA
supergravity, we present string duals to RG flows from strongly coupled
conformal theories when deformed by marginal and/or relevant operators. We
further discuss observables common to infinite families of and
QFTs in this context.Comment: 28 pages plus appendixes. JHEP versio
Recruitment of the mitotic exit network to yeast centrosomes couples septin displacement to actomyosin constriction
The Mitotic Exit Network (MEN) promotes mitotic exit and cytokinesis but if and how MEN independently controls these two processes is unclear. Here, the authors report that MEN displaces septins from the cell division site to promote actomyosin ring constriction, independently of MEN control of mitotic exit
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