Characterization of quality indices on storage of puree of mutant (dg and og^c) and normal tomatoes

The investigations carried out so far on high pigment tomatoes are confined to their nutritional aspects only. We present the comparative results of the first study on the kinetics of changes in chemical and sensory quality attributes in puree prepared from two colour mutants [dark green (dg) and old gold crimson (ogc)] and seven normal tomato genotypes during storage. Puree of mutant tomatoes BCT-115 and BCT-119, carrying dg and ogc genes, showed the less significant changes in TSS (7.52 and 6.02 °Brix), acidity (3.16 and 3.05%), pH (4.04 and 4.03), total sugar (12.4 and 11.13%), ascorbic acid (20.74 and 19.69 mg/100 g), lycopene (7.78 and 542 mg/100 g), and β-carotene (3.08 and 2.26 mg/100 g) during two months storage at 25 °C. Nevertheless, puree prepared from Berika and BCT-115 (dg) had higher colour (7.63 and 7.13), taste (7.4 and 7.37) and flavour (7.3 and 7.37) sensory scores during two months of storage at 25°C. These results provide new data on the effect of genotypes on the stability of quality for storage of tomato puree and insist on the utilization of these genotypes for breeding new processing cultivars in the near future

Antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of byproduct extracts of mango fruit

Byproducts of fruit processing could have higher content of phenolic compounds that can act as antimicrobial and antioxidant agents. In this context, the main objective of this study was to obtain extracts from peel, seed, and unused flesh of Haden, Ataulfo and Tommy Atkins mango varieties, in order to measure their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. The extraction was performed using different methods, such as methanolic-polar, methanolic-non-polar, ethanolic-polar, ethanolic-non-polar and water infusion. The total phenolic content of the ethanolic-non-polar extract from seed of mango Haden showed 875.06 mg/g, DPPH EC50: 0.04 mg/mL, cau-sing a 100 % inhibition of bacteria pathogens applying 25 mg/mL and inhibition of 89.78 % against Alternaria applying 6.25 mg/mL. The flesh always showed the lowest content and bioactivity of the tested parameters. These results demonstrate the antimicrobial and antioxidant potential uses of fruit byproducts as sources of bioactive compounds

Recognizing the Diverse Roles of Community Health Workers in the Elimination of Health Disparities: From Paid Staff to Volunteers

Abstract The community health worker (CHW) model has been successfully used to promote health and reduce adverse health outcomes in under-served communities. Although there is a general consensus that involvement of natural helpers from the targeted communities is a promising approach in the elimination of health disparities, there is less agreement on their responsibilities, scope of work, and reimbursement for their services (ranging from paid staff to unpaid volunteers). These differences in pay structure stem from philosophical differences, programmatic needs, and financial realities. Based on our experience with both the paid and volunteer approaches, we provide some lessons learned on how the CHW model can be integrated in our efforts to eliminate health disparities

Síndrome de WALLENBERG en Paciente Femenina de 65 Años, con Antecedente Patológico de Importancia. Reporte de Caso

Wallenberg syndrome is the most common vascular syndrome of the posterior circulation, which triggers a clinical picture characterized by damage to the lateral portion of the medulla where the affected structures are the spinal branch of the trigeminal nerve, the spinothalamic pathway, the nucleus ambiguus of the vagus, the inferior cerebellar peduncle and the descending sympathetic fibers, which manifests itself with easily recognizable signs of posterolateral injury. The risk factors for developing this syndrome are embolisms, atherosclerosis, and aneurysms. The bulb in its lateral region has a variable irrigation, for the most part it is irrigated by branches of the intracranial vertebral artery, followed in frequency by a dual irrigation by branches of the intracranial vertebral artery and the posteroinferior cerebellar artery and in a smaller proportion irrigation is provided only by the posterior inferior cerebellar artery. A case is reported of a 65-year-old female patient who reports nausea that leads to vomiting on several occasions (no number is reported) of food content, in addition to a very intense holocranial headache (Eva 10/10), pulsating type.El síndrome de Wallenberg es el síndrome vascular más frecuente de la circulación posterior, que desencadena un cuadro clínico caracterizado por daño de la porción lateral del bulbo donde las estructuras afectadas son la rama espinal del trigémino, la vía espinotalámica, el núcleo ambiguo del vago, el pedúnculo cerebeloso inferior y las fibras simpáticas descendentes, lo que se manifiesta con signos de lesión posterolateral fácilmente reconocibles. Los factores de riesgo para desarrollar este síndrome son embolias, ateroesclerosis, aneurismas. El bulbo en su región lateral tiene una irrigación variable, en su mayor parte es irrigada por ramas de la arteria vertebral intracraneal, le sigue en frecuencia una irrigación dual por ramas de la arteria vertebral intracraneal y de la arteria cerebelosa posteroinferior y en una proporción menor la irrigación está a cargo solamente por la arteria cerebelosa posteroinferior. Se Reporta un caso de una paciente femenina de 65 años que refiere nauseas que llegan al vomito por varias ocasiones (no refieren número) de contenido alimentario, además de cefalea holocraneana de gran intensidad (Eva 10/10), tipo pulsátil

Is Lamarckian evolution relevant to medicine?

BACKGROUND: 200 years have now passed since Darwin was born and scientists around the world are celebrating this important anniversary of the birth of an evolutionary visionary. However, the theories of his colleague Lamarck are treated with considerably less acclaim. These theories centre on the tendency for complexity to increase in organisms over time and the direct transmission of phenotypic traits from parents to offspring. DISCUSSION: Lamarckian concepts, long thought of no relevance to modern evolutionary theory, are enjoying a quiet resurgence with the increasing complexity of epigenetic theories of inheritance. There is evidence that epigenetic alterations, including DNA methylation and histone modifications, are transmitted transgenerationally, thus providing a potential mechanism for environmental influences to be passed from parents to offspring: Lamarckian evolution. Furthermore, evidence is accumulating that epigenetics plays an important role in many common medical conditions. SUMMARY: Epigenetics allows the peaceful co-existence of Darwinian and Lamarckian evolution. Further efforts should be exerted on studying the mechanisms by which this occurs so that public health measures can be undertaken to reverse or prevent epigenetic changes important in disease susceptibility. Perhaps in 2059 we will be celebrating the anniversary of both Darwin and Lamarck

The Genomics of Speciation in Drosophila: Diversity, Divergence, and Introgression Estimated Using Low-Coverage Genome Sequencing

In nature, closely related species may hybridize while still retaining their distinctive identities. Chromosomal regions that experience reduced recombination in hybrids, such as within inversions, have been hypothesized to contribute to the maintenance of species integrity. Here, we examine genomic sequences from closely related fruit fly taxa of the Drosophila pseudoobscura subgroup to reconstruct their evolutionary histories and past patterns of genic exchange. Partial genomic assemblies were generated from two subspecies of Drosophila pseudoobscura (D. ps.) and an outgroup species, D. miranda. These new assemblies were compared to available assemblies of D. ps. pseudoobscura and D. persimilis, two species with overlapping ranges in western North America. Within inverted regions, nucleotide divergence among each pair of the three species is comparable, whereas divergence between D. ps. pseudoobscura and D. persimilis in non-inverted regions is much lower and closer to levels of intraspecific variation. Using molecular markers flanking each of the major chromosomal inversions, we identify strong crossover suppression in F1 hybrids extending over 2 megabase pairs (Mbp) beyond the inversion breakpoints. These regions of crossover suppression also exhibit the high nucleotide divergence associated with inverted regions. Finally, by comparison to a geographically isolated subspecies, D. ps. bogotana, our results suggest that autosomal gene exchange between the North American species, D. ps. pseudoobscura and D. persimilis, occurred since the split of the subspecies, likely within the last 200,000 years. We conclude that chromosomal rearrangements have been vital to the ongoing persistence of these species despite recent hybridization. Our study serves as a proof-of-principle on how whole genome sequencing can be applied to formulate and test hypotheses about species formation in lesser-known non-model systems

Effect of having private health insurance on the use of health care services: the case of Spain

Background: Several stakeholders have undertaken initiatives to propose solutions towards a more sustainable health system and Spain, as an example of a European country affected by austerity measures, is looking for ways to cut healthcare budgets. Methods: The aim of this paper is to study the effect of private health insurance on health care utilization using the latest micro-data from the European Community Household Panel (ECHP), the Spanish National Health Survey (SNHS) and the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC). We use matching techniques based on propensity score methods: single match, four matches, bias-adjustment and allowing for heteroskedasticity. Results: The results demonstrate that people with a private health insurance, use the public health system less than individuals without double health insurance coverage. Conclusions: Our conclusions are useful when policy makers design public-private partnership policie

RNAi screen for NRF2 inducers identifies targets that rescue primary lung epithelial cells from cigarette smoke induced radical stress

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a highly prevalent condition characterized by inflammation and progressive obstruction of the airways. At present, there is no treatment that suppresses the chronic inflammation of the disease, and COPD patients often succumb to the condition. Excessive oxidative stress caused by smoke inhalation is a major driving force of the disease. The transcription factor NRF2 is a critical player in the battle against oxidative stress and its function is impaired in COPD. Increasing NRF2 activity may therefore be a viable therapeutic option for COPD treatment. We show that down regulation of KEAP1, a NRF2 inhibitor, protects primary human lung epithelial cells from cigarette-smoke-extract (CSE) induced cell death in an established in vitro model of radical stress. To identify new potential drug targets with a similar effect, we performed a siRNA screen of the 'druggable' genome using a NRF2 transcriptional reporter cell line. This screen identified multiple genes that when down regulated increased NRF2 transcriptional activity and provided a survival benefit in the in vitro model. Our results suggest that inhibiting components of the ubiquitin-proteasome system will have the strongest effects on NRF2 transcriptional activity by increasing NRF2 levels. We also find that down regulation of the small GTPase Rab28 or the Estrogen Receptor ESRRA provide a survival benefit. Rab28 knockdown increased NRF2 protein levels, indicating that Rab28 may regulate NRF2 proteolysis. Conversely ESRRA down regulation increased NRF2 transcriptional activity without affecting NRF2 levels, suggesting a proteasome-independent mechanism

Pin1 Modulates the Type 1 Immune Response

BACKGROUND/ABSTRACT: Immune responses initiated by T cell receptor (TCR) and costimulatory molecule mediated signaling culminate in maximal cytokine mRNA production and stability. The transcriptional responses to co-stimulatory T cell signalling involve calcineurin and NF-AT, which can be antagonized by interference with the cis-trans peptidyl-prolyl isomerases (PPIase), cyclophilin A and FKBP. Signalling molecules downstream of CD28 which are essential for the stabilization of cytokine mRNAs are largely unknown. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We now show that Pin1, a third member of the PPIase family mediates the post-transcriptional regulation of Th1 cytokines by activated T cells. Blockade of Pin1 by pharmacologic or genetic means greatly attenuated IFN-γ, IL-2 and CXCL-10 mRNA stability, accumulation and protein expression after cell activation. In vivo, Pin1 blockade prevented both the acute and chronic rejection of MHC mismatched, orthotopic rat lung transplants by reducing the expression of IFN-γ and CXCL-10. Combined transcriptional and post-transcriptional blockade with cyclosporine A and the Pin1 inhibitor, juglone, was synergistic. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These data suggest Pin1 inhibitors should be explored for use as immunosuppressants and employed with available calcineurin inhibitors to reduce toxicity and enhance effectiveness