1,096 research outputs found
In vitroandin vivoassessment of the effect ofLaurus novocanariensisoil and essential oil in human skin
Laurus novocanariensis is an endemic plant from the Madeira Island forest that derives a fatty oil, with a strong spicy odour, from its berries that has been used for centuries in traditional medicine to treat skin ailments. This work aimed to investigate the effect of the application of both the oil and its essential oil on normal skin, to assess their safety and potential benefits. Diffusion studies with Franz cells using human epidermal membranes were conducted. The steady-state fluxes of two model molecules through untreated skin were compared with those obtained after a 2-h pre-treatment with either the oil or the essential oil. Additionally, eleven volunteers participated in the in vivo study that was conducted on the forearm and involved daily application of the oil for 5 days. Measurements were performed every day in the treated site with bioengineering methods that measure erythema, irritation and loss of barrier function. Slightly higher steady-state fluxes were observed for both the lipophilic and the hydrophilic molecule when the epidermal membranes were pre-treated. Nevertheless, such differences had no statistical significance, which seems to confirm that neither the oil nor the essential oil impaired the epidermal barrier. Results collected with the Chromameter, the Laser Doppler Flowmeter and the visual scoring are in agreement with those established in the in vitro study. They indicate that the repeated application of the oil did not cause erythema, because the results observed in the first day of the study were maintained throughout the week. Application of the oil did not affect the skin barrier function, because the transepidermal water loss remained constant throughout the study. The stratum corneum hydration was slightly reduced on days 4 and 5. This work shows that both the oil and the essential oil were well tolerated by the skin and did not cause significant barrier impairment or irritation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Compostos bioativos e atividade antioxidante em cálices de hibísco (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.).
bitstream/item/31489/1/comunicado-213.pd
Effects of hydroxycinnamic acids on the glycolysis pathway
Glycolysis is a metabolic pathway vital to the production of energy and some organisms rely on it solely to meet
their energy requirements. It is also a central pathway in the metabolism of carbohydrates and a source of
therapeutic targets against diabetes and cancer. Caffeoylquinic acids (CQAs) have been extensively studied for
their role in the treatment and prevention of diabetes (and cancer) but their mechanisms of action remain mostly
unknown. As such, molecular docking was used to find possible targets of CQAs in the glycolysis pathway. The
molecular docking assays showed that CQAs were docked preferably to the Rossman fold (nicotinamide adenine
dinucleotide — NAD(H) binding site) of oxidoreductases, that use NAD(H) as a cofactor, than to any other site.
In-vitro assays were then performed using two NAD(H) dependent oxidoreductases from glycolysis (alcohol
dehydrogenase and L-lactate dehydrogenase) in order confirm if CQAs would compete with the cofactor to
inhibit the reaction. The results from these assays indicate that CQAs can act as both inhibitors and activators
of NAD(H) dependent oxidoreductases of the glycolysis pathway.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Porosity of clay catalysts for biomass conversion: a comparative study
A detailed description of the porosity, in particular of microporosity, was reported and allowed a clear comparison of the effects on the porosity of chemical treatments on clays from the Source Clays Repository (USA) and SD clay from Porto Santo (Portugal)
Restoring observed classical behavior of the carbon nanotube field emission enhancement factor from the electronic structure
Experimental Fowler-Nordheim plots taken from orthodoxly behaving carbon
nanotube (CNT) field electron emitters are known to be linear. This shows that,
for such emitters, there exists a characteristic field enhancement factor (FEF)
that is constant for a range of applied voltages and applied macroscopic fields
. A constant FEF of this kind can be evaluated for classical CNT
emitter models by finite-element and other methods, but (apparently contrary to
experiment) several past quantum-mechanical (QM) CNT calculations find
FEF-values that vary with . A common feature of most such
calculations is that they focus only on deriving the CNT real-charge
distributions. Here we report on calculations that use density functional
theory (DFT) to derive real-charge distributions, and then use these to
generate the related induced-charge distributions and related fields and FEFs.
We have analysed three carbon nanostructures involving CNT-like nanoprotrusions
of various lengths, and have also simulated geometrically equivalent classical
emitter models, using finite-element methods. We find that when the
DFT-generated local induced FEFs (LIFEFs) are used, the resulting values are
effectively independent of macroscopic field, and behave in the same
qualitative manner as the classical FEF-values. Further, there is fair to good
quantitative agreement between a characteristic FEF determined classically and
the equivalent characteristic LIFEF generated via DFT approaches. Although many
issues of detail remain to be explored, this appears to be a significant step
forwards in linking classical and QM theories of CNT electrostatics. It also
shows clearly that, for ideal CNTs, the known experimental constancy of the FEF
value for a range of macroscopic fields can also be found in appropriately
developed QM theory.Comment: A slightly revised version has been published - citation below -
under a title different from that originally used. The new title is:
"Restoring observed classical behavior of the carbon nanotube field emission
enhancement factor from the electronic structure
Synergistic antimycobacterial activities of sesquiterpene lactones from Laurus spp
The aim of this study was to determine the antimycobacterial potential of laurel oil, its fractions and its two sesquiterpene lactones against several mycobacterial strains and clinical isolates, and to establish the possibility of occurrence of some synergistic effects between those lactones using a modification of the fluorometric Alamar Blue microassay (FMABA).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
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