Antiatherogenic effect of Pistacia lentiscus via GSH restoration and downregulation of CD36 rnRNA expression

Pistacia lentiscus var. Chia (Anacardiaceae) grows almost exclusively on Chios Island, Greece, and gives a resinous exudate resin used for culinary purposes by Mediterranean people. We investigated the molecular mechanisms through which total polar extract of the resin inhibits oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) cytotoxic effect on peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC). Cells exposed to oxLDL underwent apoptosis and necrosis, dependent on the duration of exposure. When culturing cells with oxLDL and the polar extract concurrently, we observed inhibition of both the phenomena. Because under oxidative stress the pro-oxidant systems outbalance the antioxidant, potentially producing oxidative damage and ultimately leading to cell death, we measured the levels of intracellular antioxidant glutathione (GSH). Additionally, we measured CD36 expression, a class B scavenger receptor, on CID14-positive cells, as CD36 has been identified as the oxLDL receptor in macrophages and may play a pivotal role in atherosclerotic foam cell formation. oxLDL decreased GSH levels and upregulated CD36 expression. P. lentiscus extract restored GSH levels and downregulated CD36 expression, even at the mRNA level. In order to find out the biologically drastic constituents of the resin’s polar extract, fractions derived from RP-HPLC analysis were examined for their antioxidant effect on oxidatively stressed PBMC. The triterpenoid fraction revealed remarkable increase in intracellular GSH. We suggest GSH restoration and downregulation of CD36 mRNA expression as the pathways via which P. lentiscus triterpenes exert antioxidant/antiatherogenic effect. Additionally, our results provide strong evidence of the resin’s antiatherogenic effect; therefore it is credited with beneficial health aspects. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

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A planning methodology for nonholonomic mobile platforms with manipulators in the presence of obstacles is developed that employs smooth and continuous functions such as polynomials. The method yields admissible input trajectories that drive both the manipulator and the platform to a desired configuration and is based on mapping the nonholonomic constraint to a space where it can be satisfied trivially. In addition, the method allows for direct control over the platform orientation. Cartesian space obstacles are also mapped into this space in which they can be avoided by increasing the order of the polynomials employed in planning trajectories. The additional parameters required are computed systematically, while the computational burden increases linearly with the number of obstacles and the system elements taken into account. Illustrative examples demonstrate the planning methodology in obstacle-free an

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A planning methodology for nonholonomic mobile platforms with manipulators in the presence of obstacles is developed that employs smooth and continuous functions such as polynomials. The method yields admissible input trajectories that drive both the manipulator and the platform to a desired configuration and is based on mapping the nonholonomic constraint to a space where it can be satisfied trivially. In addition, the method allows for direct control over the platform orientation. Cartesian space obstacles are also mapped into this space in which they can be avoided by increasing the order of the polynomials employed in planning trajectories. The additional parameters required are computed systematically, while the computational burden increases linearly with the number of obstacles and the system elements taken into account. Illustrative examples demonstrate the planning methodology in obstacle-free an

Life table invasion models: spatial progression and species-specific partitioning

Biological invasions are increasingly being considered important spatial processes that drive global changes, threatening biodiversity, regional economies, and ecosystem functions. A unifying conceptual model of the invasion dynamics could serve as a useful tool for comparison and classification of invasion processes involving different species across large geographic ranges. By dividing these geographic ranges that are subject to invasions into discrete spatial units, we here conceptualize the invasion process as the transition from pristine to invaded spatial units. We use California cities as the spatial units and a long-term database of invasive tropical tephritids to characterize the invasion patterns. A new life-table method based on insect demography, including the progression model of invasion stage transition and the species-specific partitioning model of multispecies invasions, was developed to analyze the invasion patterns. The progression model allows us to estimate the probability and rate of transition for individual cities from pristine to infested stages and subsequently differentiate the first year of detection from detection recurrences. Importantly, we show that the interval of invasive tephritid recurrence in a city declines with increasing invasion stages of the city. The species-specific partitioning model revealed profound differences in invasion outcome depending on which tephritid species was first detected (and then locally eradicated) in the early stage of invasion. Taken together, we discuss how these two life-table invasion models can cast new light on existing invasion concepts; in particular, on formulating invasion dynamics as the state transition of cities and partitioning species-specific roles during multispecies invasions. These models provide a new set of tools for predicting the spatiotemporal progression of invasion and providing early warnings of recurrent invasions for efficient management

Ultrasonographic features of peritoneal cestodiasis caused by Mesocestoides sp. in a dog and in a cat

Peritoneal infections caused by Mesocestoides spp. are rare in dogs and cats. Little data exist on the role of abdominal ultrasonography for diagnosis and therapy management of the disease. We describe the ultrasonographic features of peritoneal cestodiasis in a dog and in a cat. In the dog, abdominal ultrasound allowed both a presumptive diagnosis and the collection of tissue samples to confirm peritoneal larval infection. Utrasound was also very useful for therapy management. In the second patient the ultrasonographic features of tetrathyridial infection in a cat in which the parasite was observed as an incidental finding during ovariohysterectomy are described