Seasonal Variations in Antioxidant Activity, Total Flavonoids Content, Total Phenolic Content, Antimicrobial Activity and Some Bioactive Components of Ficus carica L. in Palestine

The genus Ficus is one of the largest genera of angiosperms with more than 800 species. This study aimed at investigating the pharmacological properties of Ficus carica linn. Leaves were collected in two seasons (May and October) and were extracted by Soxhlet extractor with different percentages of methanol-water, ethanol-water and pure water solvents. 100% methanol and 95% ethanol offered the highest yield (about 23%). Those extracts were further extracted/partitioned with nbutanol. May samples showed higher TPC, TFC and AA results than October samples. The ethanolbutanol extract had the highest TPC results (150.7±0.5 mg GA/g extract), while methanol-butanol extract showed the highest results for TFC and AA (350±4.3 mg Rutin/g extract and 368.1±1.9 mg FeSO4/g extract, respectively). Ethanol and methanol extracts were weakly active against E. coli, while the extracts showed good inhibition activity against oral flora, where October samples gave higher activity than May samples. Some components of extracts were analyzed by a newly developed HPLCPDA method. Eight compounds were identified: chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, syringic acid, coumaric acid, rutin and trans-cinnamic acid. Quercetin was identified after acid hydrolysis of extracts in all sample extracts, while ferulic acid was present in water extract only

Comparison of extraction yields, antioxidant, antimicrobial activity and concentration of main components of Olea europaea leaf samples at different seasons and of different areas in Palestine

Olea europaea is widely cultivated tree for oil production in the Mediterranean area. The benefits of olive leaves refer to their vital polyphenols components. In this study, the optimum way for the extraction of olive leaves using Soxhlet extractor and various concentrations of ethanol as solvent was examined. In order to find the effect of environmental conditions on the extraction yield and chemical composition of olive leaves, phenolic components of olive leaf extract (Oleuropein and Rutin) were analyzed area-wise and seasonwise by a new and reliable RP-HPLC method. Extracts were screened for two pharmacological effects, namely antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Thus, olive leaves were collected from three different areas in Palestine [south (Hebron), center (Beit Jala) and north (Tulkarm)] at two maturation stages [June 2014 (season 1) and October 2014 (season 2)]. Results showed that 75% EtOH was the best extracting solvent and season 2 gave higher yields of extraction. Beit Jala samples showed higher extracts than the two other areas with higher concentrations of Oleuropein, while Rutin was not detectable. Antioxidant activity was higher for untreated samples and samples of Hebron and Beit Jala had similar values. All samples showed good antimicrobial activity against Gram positive bacteria, while no inhibition was detected against Gram negative bacteria.This work was supported financially by an internal research grant from Bethlehem University. Authors are grateful to the Department of Biology at Bethlehem University for providing bacterial strains and helping in the antimicrobial tests

Prospective, Single-Arm, Longitudinal Study of Biomarkers in Real-World Patients with Severe Asthma

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Long acting β(2 )agonists for stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with poor reversibility: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials

BACKGROUND: The long acting β2-agonists, salmeterol and formoterol, have been recommended, by some, as first line treatment of stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We reviewed evidence of efficacy and safety when compared with placebo or anticholinergic agents in patients with poorly reversible COPD. METHODS: After searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, HealthSTAR, BIOSIS Previews, PASCAL, ToxFile, SciSearch, the Cochrane Library, and PubMed, as well as Web sites, selected journals, reference lists, and contacting drug manufacturers, two reviewers independently screened reports of randomised controlled trials of parallel or crossover design lasting four weeks or longer and including patients with a forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) ≤ 75% of predicted, a ratio of FEV1 to forced vital capacity (FVC) ≤ 88% of predicted, and < 15% improvement from baseline FEV1 after a dose of a β2 agonist. We included trials comparing salmeterol or formoterol with placebo or with ipratropium bromide and reporting one of these outcomes: lung function; exercise capacity; quality of life scores; dyspnea; exacerbations; rescue inhaler use; incidence of tachycardia, hypokalemia, or dry mouth. Two reviewers assessed the quality of included reports using the Jadad scale and allocation concealment, and abstracted data. RESULTS: Twelve trials satisfied our inclusion criteria; eight were high quality (Jadad score >2) and four were low quality (≤ 2). The adequacy of allocation concealment was unclear in all of them. We did not perform a meta-analysis due to differences in trial design and how outcomes were reported. Two trials comparing salmeterol with ipratropium did not detect differences; one trial comparing formoterol and ipratropium described greater improvement with formoterol in morning PEFR (15.3 versus 7.1 l/min, p = 0.040). Of twelve trials comparing long acting β2 agonists with placebo, six reported no improvement in exercise capacity, eleven reported improvements in FEV1 lung function (one reported no improvement), six reported less rescue inhaler usage (one reported no difference) and five reported improved dyspnea scores (two reported no improvement). Differences in quality of life were detected in one salmeterol trial ; however, two salmeterol, and one formoterol trial reported no differences. Adverse effects of interest were not reported. CONCLUSION: In terms of clinical outcomes and safety, we could not find convincing evidence that salmeterol and formoterol have demonstrated advantages to ipratropium, a less expensive drug, for patients with stable COPD and poor reversibility. Compared to placebo, we found evidence of reduced rescue inhaler usage and improved spirometric outcomes without a significant impact on quality of life or exercise capacity

Similarities and differences in the autonomic control of airway and urinary bladder smooth muscle

The airways and the urinary bladder are both hollow organs serving very different functions, i.e. air flow and urine storage, respectively. While the autonomic nervous system seems to play only a minor if any role in the physiological regulation of airway tone during normal breathing, it is important in the physiological regulation of bladder smooth muscle contraction and relaxation. While both tissues share a greater expression of M2 than of M3 muscarinic receptors, smooth muscle contraction in both is largely mediated by the smaller M3 population apparently involving phospholipase C activation to only a minor if any extent. While smooth muscle in both tissues can be relaxed by β-adrenoceptor stimulation, this primarily involves β2-adrenoceptors in human airways and β3-adrenoceptors in human bladder. Despite activation of adenylyl cyclase by either subtype, cyclic adenosine monophosphate plays only a minor role in bladder relaxation by β-agonists; an important but not exclusive function is known in airway relaxation. While airway β2-adrenoceptors are sensitive to agonist-induced desensitization, β3-adrenoceptors are generally considered to exhibit much less if any sensitivity to desensitization. Gene polymorphisms exist in the genes of both β2- and β3-adrenoceptors. Despite being not fully conclusive, the available data suggest some role of β2-adrenoceptor polymorphisms in airway function and its treatment by receptor agonists, whereas the available data on β3-adrenoceptor polymorphisms and bladder function are too limited to allow robust interpretation. We conclude that the distinct functions of airways and urinary bladder are reflected in a differential regulation by the autonomic nervous system. Studying these differences may be informative for a better understanding of each tissue

Penser le nazisme : éléments de discussion

ISBN978-2-296-02852-

A Method for Detection of SNM by Pulsed Neutron Interrogation

We present a method for the detection of special nuclear materials (SNM) in shielded containers which is both sensitive and applicable under field conditions. The method uses an external pulsed neutron source to induce fission in SNM and subsequent detection of the fast prompt fission neutrons. The detectors surrounding the container under investigation are liquid scintillation detectors able to distinguish gamma rays from fast neutrons by means of the pulse shape discrimination method (PSD). One advantage of these detectors, besides the ability for PSD analysis, is that the analogue signal from a detection event is of very short duration (typically few tens of nanoseconds). This allows the use of very short coincidence gates for the detection of the prompt fission neutrons in multiple detectors while benefiting from a low accidental (background) coincidence rate yielding a low detection limit. Another principle advantage of this method derives from the fact that the external neutron source is pulsed. By proper time gating the interrogation can be conducted by epithermal and thermal source neutrons only. These source neutrons do not appear in the fast neutron signal following the PSD analysis thus providing a fundamental method for separating the interrogating source neutrons from the sample response in form of fast fission neutrons. The paper describes laboratory tests with a configuration of eight detectors in the Pulsed Neutron Interrogation Test Assembly (PUNITA). The sensitivity of the coincidence signal to fissile mass is investigated for different sample and configurations and interrogation regimes. For the purpose of estimating performance values for a scaled-up facility for investigation of air cargo, Monte Carlo simulations of both the experimental configuration and the scaled-up facility were carried out. Preliminary results of this study are also reported.JRC.E.8-Nuclear securit

Fissile mass estimation by pulsed neutron source interrogation

Passive methods for detecting correlated neutrons from spontaneous fissions (e.g. multiplicity and SVM) are widely used for fissile mass estimations. These methods can be used for fissile materials that emit a significant amount of fission neutrons (like plutonium). Active interrogation, in which fissions are induced in the tested material by an external continuous source or by a pulsed neutron source, has the potential advantages of fast measurement, alongside independence of the spontaneous fissions of the tested fissile material, thus enabling uranium measurement. Until recently, using the multiplicity method, for uranium mass estimation, was possible only for active interrogation made with continues neutron source. Pulsed active neutron interrogation measurements were analyzed with techniques, e.g. differential die away analysis (DDA), which ignore or implicitly include the multiplicity effect (self-induced fission chains). Recently, both, the multiplicity and the SVM techniques, were theoretically extended for analyzing active fissile mass measurements, made by a pulsed neutron source. In this study the SVM technique for pulsed neutron source is experimentally examined, for the first time. The measurements were conducted at the PUNITA facility of the Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy. First promising results, of mass estimation by the SVM technique using a pulsed neutron source, are presented.JRC.E.8-Nuclear securit