Health benefits of bioactive molecules from spices and aromatic plants

Spices are essentially used to improve the appeal and sensory characteristics of food. The bioactive compounds, which are the key natural flavour and fragrance ingredients of various spices and other aromatic plants play a vital role in healthcare. These are discussed with reference to the recent research carried out in anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritic, neuro-protective, cardiovascular, diabetic support, body weight management, wound healing, antioxidants, antimicrobial as food preservatives, ocular and oral health as well as in aroma-therapy with emphasis on human health and green chemistry. &nbsp

Health benefits of bioactive molecules from spices and aromatic plants

Spices are essentially used to improve the appeal and sensory characteristics of food. The bioactive compounds, which are the key natural flavour and fragrance ingredients of various spices and other aromatic plants play a vital role in healthcare. These are discussed with reference to the recent research carried out in anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritic, neuro-protective, cardiovascular, diabetic support, body weight management, wound healing, antioxidants, antimicrobial as food preservatives, ocular and oral health as well as in aroma-therapy with emphasis on human health and green chemistry. &nbsp

A sentiment analysis software framework for the support of business information architecture in the tourist sector

In recent years, the increased use of digital tools within the Peruvian tourism industry has created a corresponding increase in revenues. However, both factors have caused increased competition in the sector that in turn puts pressure on small and medium enterprises' (SME) revenues and profitability. This study aims to apply neural network based sentiment analysis on social networks to generate a new information search channel that provides a global understanding of user trends and preferences in the tourism sector. A working data-analysis framework will be developed and integrated with tools from the cloud to allow a visual assessment of high probability outcomes based on historical data, to help SMEs estimate the number of tourists arriving and places they want to visit, so that they can generate desirable travel packages in advance, reduce logistics costs, increase sales, and ultimately improve both quality and precision of customer service

Role of defects in ultra-high gain in fast planar tin gallium oxide UV-C photodetector by MBE

We report ultra-high responsivity of epitaxial (SnxGa1-x)2O3 (TGO) Schottky UV-C photodetectors and experimentally identified the source of gain as deep-level defects, supported by first principles calculations. Epitaxial TGO films were grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on (-201) oriented n-type β-Ga2O3 substrates. Fabricated vertical Schottky devices exhibited peak responsivities as high as 3.5×104 A/W at -5V applied bias under 250nm illumination with sharp cutoff shorter than 280nm and fast rise/fall time in milliseconds order. Hyperspectral imaging cathodoluminescence (CL) spectra were examined to find the mid-bandgap defects, the source of this high gain. Irrespective of different tin mole fractions, the TGO epilayer exhibited extra CL peaks at the green band (2.20 eV) not seen in β-Ga2O3 along with enhancement of the blue emission-band (2.64 eV) and suppression of the UV emission-band. Based on hybrid functional calculations of the optical emission expected for defects involving Sn in β-Ga2O3, VGa–Sn complexes are proposed as potential defect origins of the observed green and blue emission-bands. Such complexes behave as acceptors that can efficiently trap photogenerated holes and are predicted to be predominantly responsible for the ultra-high photoconductive gain in the Sn-alloyed Ga2O3 devices by means of thermionic emission and electron tunneling. Regenerating the VGa–Sn defect complexes by optimizing the growth techniques, we have demonstrated a planar Schottky UV-C photodetector of the highest peak responsivity

The Type I NADH Dehydrogenase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Counters Phagosomal NOX2 Activity to Inhibit TNF-α-Mediated Host Cell Apoptosis

The capacity of infected cells to undergo apoptosis upon insult with a pathogen is an ancient innate immune defense mechanism. Consequently, the ability of persisting, intracellular pathogens such as the human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) to inhibit infection-induced apoptosis of macrophages is important for virulence. The nuoG gene of Mtb, which encodes the NuoG subunit of the type I NADH dehydrogenase, NDH-1, is important in Mtb-mediated inhibition of host macrophage apoptosis, but the molecular mechanism of this host pathogen interaction remains elusive. Here we show that the apoptogenic phenotype of MtbΔnuoG was significantly reduced in human macrophages treated with caspase-3 and -8 inhibitors, TNF-α-neutralizing antibodies, and also after infection of murine TNF−/− macrophages. Interestingly, incubation of macrophages with inhibitors of reactive oxygen species (ROS) reduced not only the apoptosis induced by the nuoG mutant, but also its capacity to increase macrophage TNF-α secretion. The MtbΔnuoG phagosomes showed increased ROS levels compared to Mtb phagosomes in primary murine and human alveolar macrophages. The increase in MtbΔnuoG induced ROS and apoptosis was abolished in NOX-2 deficient (gp91−/−) macrophages. These results suggest that Mtb, via a NuoG-dependent mechanism, can neutralize NOX2-derived ROS in order to inhibit TNF-α-mediated host cell apoptosis. Consistently, an Mtb mutant deficient in secreted catalase induced increases in phagosomal ROS and host cell apoptosis, both of which were dependent upon macrophage NOX-2 activity. In conclusion, these results serendipitously reveal a novel connection between NOX2 activity, phagosomal ROS, and TNF-α signaling during infection-induced apoptosis in macrophages. Furthermore, our study reveals a novel function of NOX2 activity in innate immunity beyond the initial respiratory burst, which is the sensing of persistent intracellular pathogens and subsequent induction of host cell apoptosis as a second line of defense

Squamous Papilloma of the Buccal Mucosa with Oral Submucous Fibrosis

The squamous papilloma is a common benign oral epithelial neoplasm [1]. Papilloma usually presents as an exophytic, painless papillary mass [2]. Oral Submucous Fibrosis is a premalignant&nbsp;condition [3]. A 45 year old female patient presented with growth in&nbsp;inner side of left cheek region. Patient had history of gutka chewing for past 6 years. On intra oral examination, the growth was pinkish,&nbsp;strawberry like in appearance with a papillary surface in the right buccal mucosa (Figure 1). Generalized blanching of oral mucosa was present (Figure 2). The growth was not tender on palpation and firm in consistency. The growth was pedunculated with no induration or bleeding on palpation. Palpable fibrotic bands were present in the buccal mucosa. The patient was provisionally diagnosed to have&nbsp;papilloma of right buccal mucosa with oral submucous fibrosis. A differential diagnosis of verruca vulgaris, verrucousleukoplakia and&nbsp;condylomaaccuminatum was considered. After investigations, the patient was subjected to excisional biopsy.</p

Vitamin D and macrophage polarization in epicardial adipose tissue of atherosclerotic swine.

Vitamin D functions as a potent immunomodulator by interacting with many immune cells however, its role in regulating inflammation in the epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is unclear. In the EAT of atherosclerotic microswine that were fed with deficient, sufficient or supplemented levels of vitamin D, we evaluated the phenotype of the macrophages. Vitamin D treatment was continued for 12 months and serum 25(OH)D levels were measured regularly. Infiltration of M1/M2 macrophage was investigated by immunostaining for CCR7 and CD206, respectively in conjunction with a pan macrophage marker CD14. Significant difference in the number of CCR7+ cells was observed in the EAT from vitamin D-deficient swine compared to vitamin D-sufficient or -supplemented swine. Expression of CD206 correlated with high levels of serum 25(OH)D indicating a significant increase in M2 macrophages in the EAT of vitamin D-supplemented compared to -deficient swine. These findings suggest that vitamin D-deficiency exacerbates inflammation by increasing pro-inflammatory M1 macrophages, while vitamin D-supplementation attenuates the inflammatory cytokines and promotes M2 macrophages in EAT. This study demonstrates the significance of vitamin D mediated inhibition of macrophage mediated inflammation in the EAT during coronary intervention in addition to its immunomodulatory role. However, additional studies are required to identify the cellular mechanisms that transduce signals between macrophages and smooth muscle cells during restenosis in the presence and absence of vitamin D