Simultaneous Determination of Various Isothiocyanates by RP-LC Following Precolumn Derivatization with Mercaptoethanol

Numerous isothiocyanates (ITCs) are poorly soluble in water which causes their precipitation in aqueous mobile phases used in reversed phase liquid chromatography (RP-LC), thus impacting the accuracy of the quantification. By comparing the amounts of ITCs injected and released from the column, losses could be estimated at 5–32% depending on polarities and concentrations. Results could be dramatically improved in terms of separation and quantification using RP-LC with a mercaptoethanol precolumn derivatization aimed at avoiding ITCs precipitation. The cancer chemoprotective allyl-ITC and sulforaphane were found in cabbage extracts at 1.2 and 2.7 μg g−1 fresh weight, respectively

Characteristic Evolution and Matching

I review the development of numerical evolution codes for general relativity based upon the characteristic initial value problem. Progress in characteristic evolution is traced from the early stage of 1D feasibility studies to 2D axisymmetric codes that accurately simulate the oscillations and gravitational collapse of relativistic stars and to current 3D codes that provide pieces of a binary black hole spacetime. Cauchy codes have now been successful at simulating all aspects of the binary black hole problem inside an artificially constructed outer boundary. A prime application of characteristic evolution is to extend such simulations to null infinity where the waveform from the binary inspiral and merger can be unambiguously computed. This has now been accomplished by Cauchy-characteristic extraction, where data for the characteristic evolution is supplied by Cauchy data on an extraction worldtube inside the artificial outer boundary. The ultimate application of characteristic evolution is to eliminate the role of this outer boundary by constructing a global solution via Cauchy-characteristic matching. Progress in this direction is discussed.Comment: New version to appear in Living Reviews 2012. arXiv admin note: updated version of arXiv:gr-qc/050809

Efficacy of a meal replacement diet plan compared to a food-based diet plan after a period of weight loss and weight maintenance: a randomized controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. It is implicated in the development of a variety of chronic disease states and is associated with increased levels of inflammation and oxidative stress. The objective of this study is to examine the effect of Medifast's meal replacement program (MD) on body weight, body composition, and biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress among obese individuals following a period of weight loss and weight maintenance compared to a an isocaloric, food-based diet (FB).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This 40-week randomized, controlled clinical trial included 90 obese adults with a body mass index (BMI) between 30 and 50 kg/m², randomly assigned to one of two weight loss programs for 16 weeks and then followed for a 24-week period of weight maintenance. The dietary interventions consisted of Medifast's meal replacement program for weight loss and weight maintenance, or a self-selected, isocaloric, food-based meal plan.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Weight loss at 16 weeks was significantly better in the Medifast group (MD) versus the food-based group (FB) (12.3% vs. 6.9%), and while significantly more weight was regained during weight maintenance on MD versus FB, overall greater weight loss was achieved on MD versus FB. Significantly more of the MD participants lost ≥ 5% of their initial weight at week 16 (93% vs. 55%) and week 40 (62% vs. 30%). There was no difference in satiety observed between the two groups during the weight loss phase. Significant improvements in body composition were also observed in MD participants compared to FB at week 16 and week 40. At week 40, both groups experienced improvements in biochemical outcomes and other clinical indicators.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our data suggest that the meal replacement diet plan evaluated was an effective strategy for producing robust initial weight loss and for achieving improvements in a number of health-related parameters during weight maintenance, including inflammation and oxidative stress, two key factors more recently shown to underlie our most common chronic diseases.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01011491</p

Psychoimmunological effects of dioscorea in ovariectomized rats: role of anxiety level

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Anxiety levels in rats are correlated with interleukin-2 (IL-2) levels in the brain. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of dioscorea (wild yam), a Chinese medicine, on emotional behavior and IL-2 levels in the brain of ovariectomized (OVX) rats.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>One month after ovariectomy, female Wistar rats were screened in the elevated plus-maze (EPM) test to measure anxiety levels and divided into low anxiety (LA) and high anxiety (HA) groups, which were then given dioscorea (250, 750, or 1500 mg/kg/day) by oral gavage for 27 days and were tested in the EPM on day 23 of administration and in the forced swim test (FST) on days 24 and 25, then 3 days later, the brain was removed and IL-2 levels measured.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared to sham-operated rats, anxiety behavior in the EPM was increased in half of the OVX rats. After chronic dioscorea treatment, a decrease in anxiety and IL-2 levels was observed in the HA OVX rats. Despair behavior in the FST was inhibited by the highest dosage of dioscorea.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results show that OVX-induced anxiety and changes in neuroimmunological function in the cortex are reversed by dioscorea treatment. Furthermore, individual differences need to be taken into account when psychoneuroimmunological issues are measured and the EPM is a useful tool for determining anxiety levels when examining anxiety-related issues.</p

Binary systems and their nuclear explosions

Peer ReviewedPreprin

Characteristic Evolution and Matching

I review the development of numerical evolution codes for general relativity based upon the characteristic initial value problem. Progress is traced from the early stage of 1D feasibility studies to 2D axisymmetric codes that accurately simulate the oscillations and gravitational collapse of relativistic stars and to current 3D codes that provide pieces of a binary black spacetime. A prime application of characteristic evolution is to compute waveforms via Cauchy-characteristic matching, which is also reviewed.Comment: Published version http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2005-1

Iron Behaving Badly: Inappropriate Iron Chelation as a Major Contributor to the Aetiology of Vascular and Other Progressive Inflammatory and Degenerative Diseases

The production of peroxide and superoxide is an inevitable consequence of aerobic metabolism, and while these particular "reactive oxygen species" (ROSs) can exhibit a number of biological effects, they are not of themselves excessively reactive and thus they are not especially damaging at physiological concentrations. However, their reactions with poorly liganded iron species can lead to the catalytic production of the very reactive and dangerous hydroxyl radical, which is exceptionally damaging, and a major cause of chronic inflammation. We review the considerable and wide-ranging evidence for the involvement of this combination of (su)peroxide and poorly liganded iron in a large number of physiological and indeed pathological processes and inflammatory disorders, especially those involving the progressive degradation of cellular and organismal performance. These diseases share a great many similarities and thus might be considered to have a common cause (i.e. iron-catalysed free radical and especially hydroxyl radical generation). The studies reviewed include those focused on a series of cardiovascular, metabolic and neurological diseases, where iron can be found at the sites of plaques and lesions, as well as studies showing the significance of iron to aging and longevity. The effective chelation of iron by natural or synthetic ligands is thus of major physiological (and potentially therapeutic) importance. As systems properties, we need to recognise that physiological observables have multiple molecular causes, and studying them in isolation leads to inconsistent patterns of apparent causality when it is the simultaneous combination of multiple factors that is responsible. This explains, for instance, the decidedly mixed effects of antioxidants that have been observed, etc...Comment: 159 pages, including 9 Figs and 2184 reference