1,920 research outputs found
Assessment of health claims, content, and safety of herbal supplements containing Ginkgo biloba
Background: European Regulation 1924/2006 states that all health claims made on foods need to be substantiated scientifically. Objective: To apply the PASSCLAIM criteria for the scientific substantiation of health claims on foods to herbal supplements containing Ginkgo biloba. Evaluation of three selected claimed health effects for G. biloba (improvement of blood circulation, improvement of symptoms of old age, and improvement of memory) was achieved through review of publicly available scientific data. A total of 35 human intervention studies were evaluated. Commercially available products claimed to contain mainly G. biloba (N=29) were randomly sampled in the Netherlands and analyzed for their content on ginkgo extract. Also, a toxicological risk assessment was performed. Results: The three selected health claims investigated could not be substantiated. This was mainly because of a lack of data from studies in healthy volunteers. In most studies results performed with a 24% standardized G. biloba extract were described. However, our chemical analysis showed that 25 of the 29 sampled products did not contain the required minimum 24% standardized extract. Moreover, in most preparations the content of substances typical for G. biloba did not conform to what was declared on the label. Since toxicity data for G. biloba are very limited, a safety limit could not be established. Conclusions : Evidence is lacking for three health claims of herbal products with G. biloba. Neither safety nor efficacy can be guaranteed at the recommended daily dose. The multidisciplinary approach described in this paper provides good insight into issues that are relevant for the evaluation of health claims for herbal food supplements
Timing performance of the Timepix4 front-end
A characterisation of the Timepix4 pixel front-end with a strong focus on
timing performance is presented. Externally generated test pulses were used to
probe the per-pixel time-to-digital converter (TDC) and measure the time-bin
sizes by precisely controlling the test-pulse arrival time in steps of 10 ps.
The results indicate that the TDC can achieve a time resolution of 60 ps,
provided that a calibration is performed to compensate for frequency variation
in the voltage controlled oscillators of the pixel TDCs. The internal clock
distribution system of Timepix4 was used to control the arrival time of
internally generated analog test pulses in steps of about 20 ps. The analog
test pulse mechanism injects a controlled amount of charge directly into the
analog front-end (AFE) of the pixel, and was used to measure the time
resolution as a function of signal charge, independently of the TDC. It was
shown that for the default configuration, the AFE time resolution in the
hole-collecting mode is limited to 105 ps. However, this can be improved up to
about 60 ps by increasing the preamplifier bias-current at the cost of
increased power dissipation. For the electron-collecting mode, an AFE time
resolution of 47 ps was measured for a bare Timepix4 device at a signal charge
of 21 ke. It was observed that additional input capacitance from a bonded
sensor reduces this figure to 62 ps
Automated PGP9.5 immunofluorescence staining: a valuable tool in the assessment of small fiber neuropathy?
BACKGROUND: In this study we explored the possibility of automating the PGP9.5 immunofluorescence staining assay for the diagnosis of small fiber neuropathy using skin punch biopsies. The laboratory developed test (LDT) was subjected to a validation strategy as required by good laboratory practice guidelines and compared to the well-established gold standard method approved by the European Federation of Neurological Societies (EFNS). To facilitate automation, the use of thinner sections. (16 µm) was evaluated. Biopsies from previously published studies were used. The aim was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the LDT compared to the gold standard. We focused on technical aspects to reach high-quality standardization of the PGP9.5 assay and finally evaluate its potential for use in large scale batch testing. RESULTS: We first studied linear nerve fiber densities in skin of healthy volunteers to establish reference ranges, and compared our LDT using the modifications to the EFNS counting rule to the gold standard in visualizing and quantifying the epidermal nerve fiber network. As the LDT requires the use of 16 µm tissue sections, a higher incidence of intra-epidermal nerve fiber fragments and a lower incidence of secondary branches were detected. Nevertheless, the LDT showed excellent concordance with the gold standard method. Next, the diagnostic performance and yield of the LDT were explored and challenged to the gold standard using skin punch biopsies of capsaicin treated subjects, and patients with diabetic polyneuropathy. The LDT reached good agreement with the gold standard in identifying small fiber neuropathy. The reduction of section thickness from 50 to 16 µm resulted in a significantly lower visualization of the three-dimensional epidermal nerve fiber network, as expected. However, the diagnostic performance of the LDT was adequate as characterized by a sensitivity and specificity of 80 and 64 %, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study, designed as a proof of principle, indicated that the LDT is an accurate, robust and automated assay, which adequately and reliably identifies patients presenting with small fiber neuropathy, and therefore has potential for use in large scale clinical studies
Transition probabilities in the X(5) candidate Ba
To investigate the possible X(5) character of 122Ba, suggested by the ground
state band energy pattern, the lifetimes of the lowest yrast states of 122Ba
have been measured, via the Recoil Distance Doppler-Shift method. The relevant
levels have been populated by using the 108Cd(16O,2n)122Ba and the
112Sn(13C,3n)122Ba reactions. The B(E2) values deduced in the present work are
compared to the predictions of the X(5) model and to calculations performed in
the framework of the IBA-1 and IBA-2 models
Low-energy Coulomb excitation of Fe and Mn following in-beam decay of Mn
Sub-barrier Coulomb-excitation was performed on a mixed beam of Mn and
Fe, following in-trap decay of Mn at REX-ISOLDE,
CERN. The trapping and charge breeding times were varied in order to alter the
composition of the beam, which was measured by means of an ionisation chamber
at the zero-angle position of the Miniball array. A new transition was observed
at 418~keV, which has been tentatively associated to a
transition. This fixes the relative
positions of the -decaying and states in Mn for
the first time. Population of the state was observed in Fe
and the cross-section determined by normalisation to the Ag target
excitation, confirming the value measured in recoil-distance lifetime
experiments.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figure
Single-conformation spectroscopy of hydrogen bonding networks: Solvation, synthetic foldamers, and neurodegenerative diseases
The hydrogen bond is one of the most important interactions in natural processes ranging from protein folding to chemical reactions. Two complementary methodologies are applied to understanding this important interaction: top-down and bottom-up. Top-down methods use large molecules, such as proteins, revealing secondary structure information. Bottom-up experiments are performed on small molecules, utilizing high-resolution spectroscopy to reveal underlying quantum mechanical effects. The complexity gap is formed between these two experimental regimes; between large and small molecules; between bulk and individual solvent molecules; between classical mechanics calculations and quantum chemical calculations. This dissertation will focus on the application of gas phase, single-conformation ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) spectroscopies to the study of molecules and clusters in the size and solvation complexity gap, with the goal of bridging the gulf between the two experimental approaches.
Single-conformation spectroscopy is perfectly suited to study solvation. Solvent molecules, in many instances water, can be frozen onto the solute in a stepwise manner. Here, we solvate a prototypical flexible bichromophore—1,2-diphenoxyethane (DPOE)—by stepwise addition of water molecules. Single-conformation spectroscopy reveals both the structural perturbations associated with water molecule addition and their effect on DPOE’s pair of closely spaced excited electronic states. These experimental studies provide excellent insight into solvent effects on vibronic and excitonic coupling, and can be used to further develop the models used to describe such processes.
Similarly, single-conformation spectroscopy can reveal the effects of conformational flexibility on the innate conformational preferences and hydrogen bonding motifs in peptides. Results obtained from a study of a cyclically constrained γ peptide, γACHC, reveal that increased conformational flexibility can be controlled by synthetic chemists in order to direct folding into pre-programmed secondary structures and that these structures are stabilized with intramolecular rather than intermolecular hydrogen bonds. This theme of conformational flexibility is continued in studies of glutamine containing peptides. Glutamine—with its flexible, hydrogen bond forming sidechain—is intimately involved with neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington’s disease. Single-conformation studies help reveal the delicate interplay between three different types of hydrogen bonds within the molecule: backbone-backbone, sidechain-backbone, and sidechain-sidechain hydrogen bonds. The importance of these competing hydrogen bonds on the conformational preferences will be discussed both locally and within the larger context of disease pathogenesis
Observation of isotonic symmetry for enhanced quadrupole collectivity in neutron-rich 62,64,66Fe isotopes at N=40
The transition rates for the 2_{1}^{+} states in 62,64,66Fe were studied
using the Recoil Distance Doppler-Shift technique applied to projectile Coulomb
excitation reactions. The deduced E2 strengths illustrate the enhanced
collectivity of the neutron-rich Fe isotopes up to N=40. The results are
interpreted by the generalized concept of valence proton symmetry which
describes the evolution of nuclear structure around N=40 as governed by the
number of valence protons with respect to Z~30. The deformation suggested by
the experimental data is reproduced by state-of-the-art shell calculations with
a new effective interaction developed for the fpgd valence space.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Search for the electric dipole excitations to the multiplet in Sn
The odd-mass Sn nucleus was investigated in nuclear resonance
fluorescence experiments up to an endpoint energy of the incident photon
spectrum of 4.1 MeV at the bremsstrahlung facility of the Stuttgart University.
More than 50 mainly hitherto unknown levels were found. From the measurement of
the scattering cross sections model independent absolute electric dipole
excitation strengths were extracted. The measured angular distributions
suggested the spins of 11 excited levels. Quasi-particle phonon model
calculations including a complete configuration space were performed for the
first time for a heavy odd-mass spherical nucleus. These calculations give a
clear insight in the fragmentation and distribution of the , , and
excitation strength in the low energy region. It is proven that the
component of the two-phonon quintuplet built on
top of the ground state is strongly fragmented. The theoretical
calculations are consistent with the experimental data.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
On the Metric Dimension of Cartesian Products of Graphs
A set S of vertices in a graph G resolves G if every vertex is uniquely
determined by its vector of distances to the vertices in S. The metric
dimension of G is the minimum cardinality of a resolving set of G. This paper
studies the metric dimension of cartesian products G*H. We prove that the
metric dimension of G*G is tied in a strong sense to the minimum order of a
so-called doubly resolving set in G. Using bounds on the order of doubly
resolving sets, we establish bounds on G*H for many examples of G and H. One of
our main results is a family of graphs G with bounded metric dimension for
which the metric dimension of G*G is unbounded
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