Therapeutic applications of curcumin nanomedicine formulations in cardiovascular diseases

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) compromises a group of heart and blood vessels disorders with high impact on human health and wellbeing. Curcumin (CUR) have demonstrated beneficial effects on these group of diseases that represent a global burden with a prevalence that continues increasing progressively. Pre- and clinical studies have demonstrated the CUR effects in CVD through its anti-hypercholesterolemic and anti-atherosclerotic effects and its protective properties against cardiac ischemia and reperfusion. However, the CUR therapeutic limitation is its bioavailability. New CUR nanomedicine formulations are developed to solve this problem. The present article aims to discuss different studies and approaches looking into the promising role of nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems to deliver CUR and its derivatives in CVD treatment, with an emphasis on their formulation properties, experimental evidence, bioactivity, as well as challenges and opportunities in developing these systems.This work was supported by CONICYT PIA/APOYO CCTE AFB170007. N. Martins would like to thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT–Portugal) for the Strategic project ref. UID/BIM/04293/2013 and “NORTE2020—Programa Operacional Regional do Norte” (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000012)

Cordyceps spp.: A Review on Its Immune-Stimulatory and Other Biological Potentials

In recent decades, interest in the Cordyceps genus has amplified due to its immunostimulatory potential. Cordyceps species, its extracts, and bioactive constituents have been related with cytokine production such as interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a, phagocytosis stimulation of immune cells, nitric oxide production by increasing inducible nitric oxide synthase activity, and stimulation of inflammatory response via mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. Other pharmacological activities like antioxidant, anti-cancer, antihyperlipidemic, anti-diabetic, anti-fatigue, anti-aging, hypocholesterolemic, hypotensive, vasorelaxation, anti-depressant, aphrodisiac, and kidney protection, has been reported in pre-clinical studies. These biological activities are correlated with the bioactive compounds present in Cordyceps including nucleosides, sterols, flavonoids, cyclic peptides, phenolic, bioxanthracenes, polyketides, and alkaloids, being the cyclic peptides compounds the most studied. An organized review of the existing literature was executed by surveying several databanks like PubMed, Scopus, etc. using keywords like Cordyceps, cordycepin, immune system, immunostimulation, immunomodulatory, pharmacology, anti-cancer, anti-viral, clinical trials, ethnomedicine, pharmacology, phytochemical analysis, and different species names. This review collects and analyzes state-of-the-art about the properties of Cordyceps species along with ethnopharmacological properties, application in food, chemical compounds, extraction of bioactive compounds, and various pharmacological properties with a special focus on the stimulatory properties of immunity.This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No. 2020R1G1A1004667), Republic of Korea

Hybrid Mechanical Systems

We discuss hybrid systems in which a mechanical oscillator is coupled to another (microscopic) quantum system, such as trapped atoms or ions, solid-state spin qubits, or superconducting devices. We summarize and compare different coupling schemes and describe first experimental implementations. Hybrid mechanical systems enable new approaches to quantum control of mechanical objects, precision sensing, and quantum information processing.Comment: To cite this review, please refer to the published book chapter (see Journal-ref and DOI). This v2 corresponds to the published versio

The effects of pesticide mixtures on degradation of pendimethalin in soils

Most agronomic situations involve a sequence of herbicide, fungicide, and insecticide application. On the other hand, use of pesticidal combinations has become a standard practice in the production of many agricultural crops. One of the most important processes influencing the behavior of a pesticide in the environment is its degradation in soil. It is known that due to several pesticide applications in one vegetation season, the pesticide may be present in mixtures with other pesticides or xenobiotics in soil. This study examines the role which a mixture of chemicals plays in pesticide degradation. The influence of other pesticides on the rate of pendimethalin (PDM) degradation in soil was measured in controlled conditions. Mixtures of PDM with mancozeb or mancozeb and thiamethoxam significantly influenced the degradation of pendimethalin under controlled conditions. The second type of mixtures, with metribuzin or thiamethoxam, did not affect the behavior of pendimethalin in soil. Also, we determined the influence of water content on the rate of pendimethalin degradation alone in two soils and compared it to the rate in three pesticide mixtures. We compared two equations to evaluate the predictors of the rate of herbicide dissipation in soil: the first-order kinetic and the non-linear empirical models. We used the non-linear empirical model assuming that the degradation rate of a herbicide in soil is proportional to the difference of the observed concentration of herbicide in soil at time and concentration of herbicide in the last day of measurement

ARPES: A probe of electronic correlations

Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) is one of the most direct methods of studying the electronic structure of solids. By measuring the kinetic energy and angular distribution of the electrons photoemitted from a sample illuminated with sufficiently high-energy radiation, one can gain information on both the energy and momentum of the electrons propagating inside a material. This is of vital importance in elucidating the connection between electronic, magnetic, and chemical structure of solids, in particular for those complex systems which cannot be appropriately described within the independent-particle picture. Among the various classes of complex systems, of great interest are the transition metal oxides, which have been at the center stage in condensed matter physics for the last four decades. Following a general introduction to the topic, we will lay the theoretical basis needed to understand the pivotal role of ARPES in the study of such systems. After a brief overview on the state-of-the-art capabilities of the technique, we will review some of the most interesting and relevant case studies of the novel physics revealed by ARPES in 3d-, 4d- and 5d-based oxides.Comment: Chapter to appear in "Strongly Correlated Systems: Experimental Techniques", edited by A. Avella and F. Mancini, Springer Series in Solid-State Sciences (2013). A high-resolution version can be found at: http://www.phas.ubc.ca/~quantmat/ARPES/PUBLICATIONS/Reviews/ARPES_Springer.pdf. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:cond-mat/0307085, arXiv:cond-mat/020850

Search for Kaluza-Klein Graviton Emission in ppˉp\bar{p} Collisions at s=1.8\sqrt{s}=1.8 TeV using the Missing Energy Signature

We report on a search for direct Kaluza-Klein graviton production in a data sample of 84 ${pb}^{-1}$ of \ppb collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 1.8 TeV, recorded by the Collider Detector at Fermilab. We investigate the final state of large missing transverse energy and one or two high energy jets. We compare the data with the predictions from a $3+1+n$-dimensional Kaluza-Klein scenario in which gravity becomes strong at the TeV scale. At 95% confidence level (C.L.) for $n$=2, 4, and 6 we exclude an effective Planck scale below 1.0, 0.77, and 0.71 TeV, respectively.Comment: Submitted to PRL, 7 pages 4 figures/Revision includes 5 figure

Measurement of the average time-integrated mixing probability of b-flavored hadrons produced at the Tevatron

We have measured the number of like-sign (LS) and opposite-sign (OS) lepton pairs arising from double semileptonic decays of $b$ and $\bar{b}$-hadrons, pair-produced at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. The data samples were collected with the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) during the 1992-1995 collider run by triggering on the existence of $\mu \mu$ and $e \mu$ candidates in an event. The observed ratio of LS to OS dileptons leads to a measurement of the average time-integrated mixing probability of all produced $b$-flavored hadrons which decay weakly, $\bar{\chi} = 0.152 \pm 0.007$ (stat.) $\pm 0.011$ (syst.), that is significantly larger than the world average $\bar{\chi} = 0.118 \pm 0.005$.Comment: 47 pages, 10 figures, 15 tables Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Double Diffraction Dissociation at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider

We present results from a measurement of double diffraction dissociation in $\bar pp$ collisions at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. The production cross section for events with a central pseudorapidity gap of width $\Delta\eta^0>3$ (overlapping $\eta=0$) is found to be $4.43\pm 0.02{(stat)}{\pm 1.18}{(syst) mb}$ [$3.42\pm 0.01{(stat)}{\pm 1.09}{(syst) mb}$] at $\sqrt{s}=1800$ [630] GeV. Our results are compared with previous measurements and with predictions based on Regge theory and factorization.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, using RevTeX. Submitted to Physical Review Letter

Search for Gluinos and Scalar Quarks in ppˉp\bar{p} Collisions at s=1.8\sqrt{s}=1.8 TeV using the Missing Energy plus Multijets Signature

We have performed a search for gluinos (\gls) and squarks (\sq) in a data sample of 84 pb$^{-1}$ of \ppb collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 1.8 TeV, recorded by the Collider Detector at Fermilab, by investigating the final state of large missing transverse energy and 3 or more jets, a characteristic signature in R-parity-conserving supersymmetric models. The analysis has been performed `blind', in that the inspection of the signal region is made only after the predictions from Standard Model backgrounds have been calculated. Comparing the data with predictions of constrained supersymmetric models, we exclude gluino masses below 195 \gev (95% C.L.), independent of the squark mass. For the case \msq \approx \mgls, gluino masses below 300 \gev are excluded.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Diffractive Dijet Production at sqrt(s)=630 and 1800 GeV at the Fermilab Tevatron

We report a measurement of the diffractive structure function $F_{jj}^D$ of the antiproton obtained from a study of dijet events produced in association with a leading antiproton in $\bar pp$ collisions at $\sqrt s=630$ GeV at the Fermilab Tevatron. The ratio of $F_{jj}^D$ at $\sqrt s=630$ GeV to $F_{jj}^D$ obtained from a similar measurement at $\sqrt s=1800$ GeV is compared with expectations from QCD factorization and with theoretical predictions. We also report a measurement of the $\xi$ ($x$-Pomeron) and $\beta$ ($x$ of parton in Pomeron) dependence of $F_{jj}^D$ at $\sqrt s=1800$ GeV. In the region $0.035<\xi<0.095$, $|t|<1$ GeV$^2$ and $\beta<0.5$, $F_{jj}^D(\beta,\xi)$ is found to be of the form $\beta^{-1.0\pm 0.1} \xi^{-0.9\pm 0.1}$, which obeys $\beta$-$\xi$ factorization.Comment: LaTeX, 9 pages, Submitted to Phys. Rev. Letter