antioxidant and anticandidal activities of the tunisian haplophyllum tuberculatum forssk a juss essential oils

Abstract Haplophyllum tuberculatum Forssk. is a medicinal plant growing in Tunisia. It is widely used in traditional medicine against gastro-intestinal problems, fevers, ear infections and rheumatisms. The present investigation evaluated the effects of leaves, stems and leaves + stems essential oils of Haplophyllum tuberculatum Forssk. and of their pure compounds on free radicals as well as their anticandidal activities. Screening for the antioxidant activity of the oils, R-(+)-limonene, S-(−)-limonene and 1-octanol was conducted by DPPH, ABTS and β-carotene/linoleic acid radical scavenging assays. The essentials oils and their compounds were screened for antifungal activity against four Candida species: Candida albicans ATCC 90028; Candida glabrata ATCC 90030; Candida parapsilosis ATCC 27853 and Candida krusei ATCC 6258. When compared with ascorbic acid as standard, it was found that the essential oils have a significant inhibition in scavenging free radicals, resulting in an important IC50. The pure compounds were inactive against the free radicals. The anticandidal test results showed that leaves, stems and leaves + stems oils strongly inhibited the growth of Candida krusei at 30 μg/mL leaves oils and 70 μg/mL for other oils and that moderately of the 3 other Candida species. The pure compound, 1-octanol, was active one against the candida species, with MIC-values between 0.07 and 1.25 mg/mL. In all in vitro assays, a significant correlation existed between the concentrations of the essential oils, the percentage inhibition of free radicals and of the growth inhibitory of tested candida species. The results indicate the essential oils may be applied for treating diseases related to free radicals, potentially to prevent cancer development and as an antifungal agent against Candida

Inhibitory Activity of Leaves Extracts of Citrullus colocynthis Schrad. on HT29 Human Colon Cancer Cells

Aims: Citrullus colocynthis is a plant endemic in Asia, Africa and in the Mediterranean basin. It is used in folk medicine against infections, inflammations and cardiovascular and immune-related diseases. There are further evidences of the use of Citrullus colocynthis Schrad in the treatment of cancer in traditional practices. The present study aimed to determine the potential antiproliferative effects of different Citrullus colocynthis leaf extracts on human cancer cells. Methodology: Antiproliferative and antioxidant effects on HT-29 human colon cancer cells were detected by MTS assay and a modified protocol of the alkaline Comet assay. In vitro antioxidant activities of different leaf extracts were evaluated through DPPH, \u3b2-carotene/linoleic acid and reducing power assays. Results: The leaf chloroform extract exhibited the higher cell growth inhibitory activity without induction of DNA damage; it showed to be able to significantly decrease DNA damage induced by H2O2 (100 M). This antioxidant activity seems to be comparable to that of vitamin C (1 mM). Ethyl acetate, acetone and methanol leaf extracts showed to be the most effective in reducing the stable free DPPH radical (IC50 =113 g/ml), in transforming the Fe3+ to Fe2+ (IC50 = 134 \ub5g/ml) and in inducing linoleic acid oxidation with an inhibition of 31.9 %. Conclusion: Our results confirm the antiproliferative potential of Citrullus colocynthis Schrad. on human cancer cells

Psychosocial health among immigrants in central and southern Europe.

Migration exposes people to a number of risks that threaten their health, including those related to psychosocial health. Self-perceived health is usually the main indicator used to assess psychosocial health. Electronic databases were used to examine the literature on the psychosocial health of immigrants in Europe and of North Africans living in their own countries. Immigrants of various ethnic groups show a similar risk of psychosocial disorders but generally present a higher risk than the local population. This risk is related to gender (being higher in women), poor socio-economic status and acculturation, discrimination, time elapsed since migration and age on arrival in the new country. Although the stressors and situations the different ethnic groups experience in the host country may be shared, the way they deal with them may differ according to cultural factors. There is a need to collect detailed data on psychosocial health among the various immigrant groups in Europe, as well as to monitor this aspect in North African residents who lack access to specific services

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Positive Symptoms in Schizophrenia: A Systematic Review

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been proposed as a potential treatment add-on for positive symptoms in schizophrenia. To summarize the current evidence for its efficacy, we reviewed clinical trials from the last 20 years that investigated TMS for positive symptoms. We performed a search on the PubMed database for clinical trials that used TMS for the treatment of positive symptoms published in peer-reviewed journals. We excluded reviews, case reports, and opinion papers. Of the 30 studies included, the majority (n = 25) investigated auditory verbal hallucinations. Twelve studies found evidence for a positive treatment effect of TMS on positive symptoms, while 18 did not find enough evidence to conclude that TMS is effective for positive symptoms. However, the small sample size of the majority of studies is a limiting factor for the reliability of previous findings. In conclusion, evidence for an effect of TMS on positive symptoms was mixed. Since most of the studies were performed in patients with auditory verbal hallucinations, further research of TMS for other positive symptoms including thought disorder and delusions is warranted

14-Bromo-12-chloro-2,16-dioxapentacyclohenicosa-3(8),10,12,14-tetraene-7,20-dione

In the title compound, C19H16BrClO4, both the fused xanthene rings and one of the cyclohexane rings adopt envelope conformations, while the other cyclohexane ring is in a chair conformation. In the crystal, molecules are linked by C-H...O hydrogen bonds, forming infinite chains running along [10-1] incorporating R22(16) ring motifs. In addition, C-H...[pi] interactions and weak [pi]-[pi] stacking interactions [centroid-centroid distance = 3.768 (3) Å] help to consolidate the packing

Visual Diagnosis: Pearling: a case study

We present the case of a patient who attempted to perform a type of body modification known as "pearling" or "genital beading" while in prison. This patient unfortunately caused severe trauma to his penis, requiring surgical intervention. Photographs of the traumatic injuries are presented

Diffeomorphic random sampling using optimal information transport

In this article we explore an algorithm for diffeomorphic random sampling of nonuniform probability distributions on Riemannian manifolds. The algorithm is based on optimal information transport (OIT)---an analogue of optimal mass transport (OMT). Our framework uses the deep geometric connections between the Fisher-Rao metric on the space of probability densities and the right-invariant information metric on the group of diffeomorphisms. The resulting sampling algorithm is a promising alternative to OMT, in particular as our formulation is semi-explicit, free of the nonlinear Monge--Ampere equation. Compared to Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods, we expect our algorithm to stand up well when a large number of samples from a low dimensional nonuniform distribution is needed.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure

Functionalizing building envelopes for greening and solar energy: Between theory and the practice in Egypt

The building sector is one of the most resource-intensive industries. In Egypt, buildings consume 60% of electricity, produce 8% of CO2 emissions, and anthropize agricultural land, peri-urban and urban landscapes. To compensate for these consumption patterns, building envelopes can become productive in terms of greening and energy production. This encompasses the implementation of productive building systems that include (a) greening systems such as building-integrated vegetation and agriculture systems and (b) solar energy systems such as building-applied and integrated photovoltaics. For Egypt, the transformation toward more productive buildings still lacks a holistic understanding of their status and implementation requirements. This paper undergoes a comprehensive analysis of the two systems’ classifications, benefits, challenges, and implementation aspects based on a thorough assessment of 121 studies and 20 reports addressing them. This is coupled with a contextual analysis using questionnaires (n = 35) and semi-structured interviews (n = 13) with Egyptian experts and suppliers. Results showed that a large variety of systems is studied in literature and exists in the local market. Among the most purchased productive building systems in the Egyptian market, according to experts, are hydroponics (selected by 75% of respondents), planter boxes/pots (50%), roof-mounted photovoltaic panels (95%), and solar water heaters (55%). The main benefits of greening and solar energy systems are identified as enjoying the greenery view (95%) and reducing energy expenses (100%), respectively. The high initial cost was considered the main barrier for both systems. Multiple commonalities between the two systems in terms of spatial and environmental applicability aspects (e.g., accessibility and safety, net useable area, sun exposure, wind exposure) and environmental performance aspects (e.g., energy demand and emissions reduction, heat flow reduction) were identified. Lastly, we highlight the importance of analyzing integrated solutions that make use of the identified synergies between the systems and maximize the production potentials

On dimension reduction in Gaussian filters

A priori dimension reduction is a widely adopted technique for reducing the computational complexity of stationary inverse problems. In this setting, the solution of an inverse problem is parameterized by a low-dimensional basis that is often obtained from the truncated Karhunen-Loeve expansion of the prior distribution. For high-dimensional inverse problems equipped with smoothing priors, this technique can lead to drastic reductions in parameter dimension and significant computational savings. In this paper, we extend the concept of a priori dimension reduction to non-stationary inverse problems, in which the goal is to sequentially infer the state of a dynamical system. Our approach proceeds in an offline-online fashion. We first identify a low-dimensional subspace in the state space before solving the inverse problem (the offline phase), using either the method of "snapshots" or regularized covariance estimation. Then this subspace is used to reduce the computational complexity of various filtering algorithms - including the Kalman filter, extended Kalman filter, and ensemble Kalman filter - within a novel subspace-constrained Bayesian prediction-and-update procedure (the online phase). We demonstrate the performance of our new dimension reduction approach on various numerical examples. In some test cases, our approach reduces the dimensionality of the original problem by orders of magnitude and yields up to two orders of magnitude in computational savings