Inter-individual variability in the production of flavan-3-ol colonic metabolites: preliminary elucidation of urinary metabotypes.

PURPOSE There is much information on the bioavailability of (poly)phenolic compounds following acute intake of various foods. However, there are only limited data on the effects of repeated and combined exposure to specific (poly)phenol food sources and the inter-individual variability in their bioavailability. This study evaluated the combined urinary excretion of (poly)phenols from green tea and coffee following daily consumption by healthy subjects in free-living conditions. The inter-individual variability in the production of phenolic metabolites was also investigated. METHODS Eleven participants consumed both tablets of green tea and green coffee bean extracts daily for 8 weeks and 24-h urine was collected on five different occasions. The urinary profile of phenolic metabolites and a set of multivariate statistical tests were used to investigate the putative existence of characteristic metabotypes in the production of flavan-3-ol microbial metabolites. RESULTS (Poly)phenolic compounds in the green tea and green coffee bean extracts were absorbed and excreted after simultaneous consumption, with green tea resulting in more inter-individual variability in urinary excretion of phenolic metabolites. Three metabotypes in the production of flavan-3-ol microbial metabolites were tentatively defined, characterized by the excretion of different amounts of trihydroxyphenyl-γ-valerolactones, dihydroxyphenyl-γ-valerolactones, and hydroxyphenylpropionic acids. CONCLUSIONS The selective production of microbiota-derived metabolites from flavan-3-ols and the putative existence of characteristic metabotypes in their production represent an important development in the study of the bioavailability of plant bioactives. These observations will contribute to better understand the health effects and individual differences associated with consumption of flavan-3-ols, arguably the main class of flavonoids in the human diet

Upper and Lower Airways Interaction: Is the United Airway Disease Concept a Reflection of Reality? How Important Is It?

This book examines in detail many rhinologic issues that are not covered in other books, are still not completely understood, and can be difficult to deal with clinically. In each chapter, three authors – a young otorhinolaryngologist, a senior author, and an international expert – elaborate on a specific issue, such as the role of immunotherapy in treating nasal polyps, the management of rhinitis during pregnancy, how rhinitis can differ in adults and children, how to choose between open or endonasal rhinoplasty, the ideal form of anesthesia for nasal surgery, etc. The volume will appeal to a wide readership, from otorhinolaryngologists to allergists and facial plastic surgeons, as well as trainees and students in related fields

A comprehensive review of Toxoplasma gondii biology and host-cell interaction: Challenges for a plant-based vaccine

Toxoplasmosisis a worldwide-distributed infection caused by Toxoplasma gondii, which causes a wide range of clinical syndromesin humans, mammals and birds. T. gondiiis considered a parasite of veterinary and medical importance, because it maycause abortion or congenital disease in its intermediate hosts. Despite theeconomic losses associated with T. gondiiinfection in farm animals and the socio-economic impact caused by this zoonoticdisease in the human population, there is no effective treatment available forhumans or animals able to eliminate the parasite from the host once the chronicinfection has been established. The only commercial vaccine is the S48 strainof attenuated tachyzoites for use in sheep. However, this vaccine causes sideeffects, has a short life time and induces a short-term immunity. So far, noacellular vaccine against toxoplasmosis has been commercialized. In fact, futurechallenges include the development of an effective vaccine to preventtoxoplasmosis. Most parasitologists and vaccinologists agree that futureefforts should be concentrated on developing multi-antigen vaccines and moreefficient delivery systems able to express heterologous proteins abundantly aswell as on searching for immunization schedules and adequate adjuvants toenhance the protective responses. To achieve this, platforms for the productionof acellular vaccines based on the use of plants can have an important role.Fil: Sander, Valeria Analía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Raúl Alfonsín" (sede Chascomús). Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Raúl Alfonsín" (sede Chascomús); ArgentinaFil: Ángel, Sergio Oscar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Raúl Alfonsín" (sede Chascomús). Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Raúl Alfonsín" (sede Chascomús); ArgentinaFil: Clemente, Marina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Raúl Alfonsín" (sede Chascomús). Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Raúl Alfonsín" (sede Chascomús); Argentin

The antecedents and innovation outcomes of firms’ absorptive capacity in global buyer–supplier relationships

This article seeks to address two fundamental questions: (1) Does social capital (SC) embedded in global buyer–supplier (GBS) relationships enhance local firms’ potential absorptive capacity (PAC) and realized absorptive capacity (RAC)? And (2) What are the effects of local firms’ PAC and RAC on their innovation outcomes? Based on survey data collected from 297 Chinese firms engaged in GBS cooperation in China’s Yangtze River Delta region, we test our research hypotheses with the structural equation modelling approach. The empirical findings indicate that both structural and relational SC are important antecedents of PAC and RAC in global buyer–supplier relationships. More specifically, RAC not only improves local suppliers’ new product performance, but also fully mediates the relationship between PAC and new product performance. Our results have two major implications for practicing managers. First, local suppliers in emerging economies need to pay more attention to SC embedded in GBS relationships for it is an important means for them to overcome resource constraints and therefore to improve their new product performance. Second, it is important for managers in local firms to continuously improve their PAC to better assess and assimilate external knowledge, and extend their RAC to upgrade their interpretation and comprehension of commercialization possibilities, which allows for generating synergy of knowledge recombination with existing core competencies