Potential medicinal value of some South African seaweeds

Eleven macroalgae were collected from the KwaZulu-Natal coast and nineteen species from the cooler Western Cape coast in March and April 2000. Ethanolic and aqueous extracts were made and tested for biological activity in the Cox-1 anti-inflammatory assay, in a nematode mortality bioassay for anthelminthic activity, an IC50 anticancer assay and a MIC antimicrobial assay. The ethanolic extracts were very active in the Cox-1 anti-inflammatory assay for almost all of the species tested. The aqueous extracts were not active. No anthelminthic mortality was detected in extracts from any of the species tested. Many of the extracts had cytotoxic activity against three cancer cell lines tested, with those from representative species of the Chlorophyta and Rhodophyta being the most effective. The extracts had much lower cytotoxic activity when tested on normal mouse fibroblasts (NIH3T3). Extracts from only a few species had antimicrobial activity with those of the Chlorophyta tested being the most effective against both the Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria

Synthesis and Antiproliferative Activity of Sulfa-Michael Adducts and Thiochromenes Derived from Carbohydrates

The Michael addition reactions of carbohydrate-derived nitroalkenes with ethyl thioglycolate and 2-mercaptobenzyl alcohol were studied. Reactions were conducted under mild, solvent-free conditions with DABCO as a catalyst, affording the corresponding adducts in good yields. Furthermore, compounds resulting from the addition with 2-mercaptobenzyl alcohol were used as starting materials for the synthesis of chiral 3-nitro-2H-thiochromenes. For some of the compounds synthesized herein, the antioxidant and antiproliferative activities against a panel of human solid tumor cell lines were assayed and compared with those of carbohydrate-nitroalkene substrates.Junta de Extremadura GR15022Unión Europea FP7-REGPOT-2012-CT2012-31637-IMBRAI

One loop photon-graviton mixing in an electromagnetic field: Part 2

In part 1 of this series compact integral representations had been obtained for the one-loop photon-graviton amplitude involving a charged spin 0 or spin 1/2 particle in the loop and an arbitrary constant electromagnetic field. In this sequel, we study the structure and magnitude of the various polarization components of this amplitude on-shell. Explicit expressions are obtained for a number of limiting cases.Comment: 31 pages, 3 figure

Antecedents and outcomes of consumer environmentally friendly attitudes and behaviour

With the intensification of problems relating to the environment, a growing number of consumers are becoming more ecologically conscious in their preferences and purchases of goods. This paper presents the results of a study conducted among 500 Cypriot consumers, focusing on the factors that shape consumer environmental attitudes and behaviour, as well as on the resulting outcomes. The findings confirmed that both the inward and outward environmental attitudes of a consumer are positively influenced by his/her degree of collectivism, long-term orientation, political involvement, deontology, and law obedience, but have no connection with liberalism. The adoption of an inward environmental attitude was also found to be conducive to green purchasing behaviour that ultimately leads to high product satisfaction. On the other hand, an outward environmental attitude facilitates the adoption of a general environmental behaviour, which is responsible for greater satisfaction with life. The findings of the study have important implications for shaping effective company offerings to consumers in target markets, as well as formulating appropriate policies at the governmental level to enhance environmental sensitivity among citizens

Materializing digital collecting: an extended view of digital materiality

If digital objects are abundant and ubiquitous, why should consumers pay for, much less collect them? The qualities of digital code present numerous challenges for collecting, yet digital collecting can and does occur. We explore the role of companies in constructing digital consumption objects that encourage and support collecting behaviours, identifying material configuration techniques that materialise these objects as elusive and authentic. Such techniques, we argue, may facilitate those pleasures of collecting otherwise absent in the digital realm. We extend theories of collecting by highlighting the role of objects and the companies that construct them in materialising digital collecting. More broadly, we extend theories of digital materiality by highlighting processes of digital material configuration that occur in the pre-objectification phase of materialisation, acknowledging the role of marketing and design in shaping the qualities exhibited by digital consumption objects and consequently related consumption behaviours and experiences

An economic evaluation of the randomized controlled trial of topical corticosteroid and home-based narrowband ultraviolet B for active and limited vitiligo (the HI-Light Vitiligo Trial)

Background: Economic evidence for vitiligo treatments is absent. Objectives: To determine the cost-effectiveness of (i) handheld narrowband ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) and (ii) a combination of topical corticosteroid (TCS) and NB-UVB compared with TCS alone for localized vitiligo. Methods: Cost-effectiveness analysis alongside a pragmatic, three-arm, placebo-controlled randomized controlled trial with 9 months’ treatment. In total 517 adults and children (aged ≥ 5 years) with active vitiligo affecting < 10% of skin were recruited from secondary care and the community and were randomized 1: 1: 1 to receive TCS, NB-UVB or both. Cost per successful treatment (measured on the Vitiligo Noticeability Scale) was estimated. Secondary cost–utility analyses measured quality-adjusted life-years using the EuroQol 5 Dimensions 5 Levels for those aged ≥ 11 years and the Child Health Utility 9D for those aged 5 to < 18 years. The trial was registered with number ISRCTN17160087 on 8 January 2015. Results: The mean ± SD cost per participant was £775 ± 83·7 for NB-UVB, £813 ± 111.4 for combination treatment and £600 ± 96·2 for TCS. In analyses adjusted for age and target patch location, the incremental difference in cost for combination treatment compared with TCS was £211 (95% confidence interval 188–235), corresponding to a risk difference of 10·9% (number needed to treat = 9). The incremental cost was £1932 per successful treatment. The incremental difference in cost for NB-UVB compared with TCS was £173 (95% confidence interval 151–196), with a risk difference of 5·2% (number needed to treat = 19). The incremental cost was £3336 per successful treatment. Conclusions: Combination treatment, compared with TCS alone, has a lower incremental cost per additional successful treatment than NB-UVB only. Combination treatment would be considered cost-effective if decision makers are willing to pay £1932 per additional treatment success

Equus (1978)

Director: E. Glendon Gabbard Set Design: Bruce K. Morriss Costume Design: Nancy Paulehttps://thekeep.eiu.edu/productions_1970s/1174/thumbnail.jp