Antiproliferative and Apoptotic Effects Triggered by Grape Seed Extract (GSE) versus Epigallocatechin and Procyanidins on Colon Cancer Cell Lines

Grape seed extract has been proven to exert anticancer effects on different tumors. These effects are mainly ascribed to catechin and procyanidin content. Analytical studies demonstrated that grape seed extract composition is complex and it is likely other components could exert biological activities. Using cell count and flow cytometry assays, we evaluated the cytostatic and apoptotic effects produced by three different grape seed extracts from Italia, Palieri and Red Globe cultivars, on Caco2 and HCT-8 colon cancer cells. These effects were compared to those induced by epigallocatechin and procyanidins, alone or in association, on the same cell lines. All the extracts induced growth inhibition and apoptosis in Caco2 and HCT-8 cells, along the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. On both cell lines, growth inhibition induced by Italia and Palieri grape seed extracts was significantly higher than that it has been recorded with epigallocatechin, procyanidins and their association. In Caco2 cells, the extract from Red Globe cultivar was less effective in inducing growth inhibition than procyanidins alone and in association with epigallocatechin, whereas, in HCT-8 cells, only the association of epigallocatechin and procyanidins triggers a significant proliferation decrease. On both cell lines, apoptosis induced by Italia, Palieri and Red Globe grape seed extracts was considerably higher than has been recorded with epigallocatechin, procyanidins and their association. These data support the hypothesis by which other compounds, present in the grape seed extracts, are likely to enhance the anticancer effects

Neutrinoless double-beta decay with three or four neutrino mixing

Considering the scheme with mixing of three neutrinos and a mass hierarchy that can accommodate the results of solar and atmospheric neutrino experiments, it is shown that the results of solar neutrino experiments imply a lower bound for the effective Majorana mass in neutrinoless double-beta decay, under the natural assumptions that massive neutrinos are Majorana particles and there are no unlikely fine-tuned cancellations among the contributions of the different neutrino masses. Considering the four-neutrino schemes that can accommodate also the results of the LSND experiment, it is shown that only one of them is compatible with the results of neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments and with the measurement of the abundances of primordial elements produced in Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis. It is shown that in this scheme, under the assumptions that massive neutrinos are Majorana particles and there are no cancellations among the contributions of the different neutrino masses, the results of the LSND experiment imply a lower bound for the effective Majorana mass in neutrinoless double-beta decay.Comment: 18 pages including 2 figures, RevTe

Mass and Flavor Mixing Schemes of Quarks and Leptons

We give an overview of recent progress in the study of fermion mass and flavor mixing phenomena. The hints exhibited by the quark and lepton mass spectra towards possible underlying flavor symmetries, from which realistic models of mass generation could be built, are emphasized. A variety of schemes of quark mass matrices at low and superhigh energy scales are described, and their consequences on flavor mixing and CP violation are discussed. Instructive patterns of lepton mass matrices, which can naturally lead to large flavor mixing angles, are explored to interpret current data on atmospheric and solar neutrino oscillations. We expect that B-meson factories and long-baseline neutrino experiments will soon shed more light on the dynamics of fermion masses, flavor mixing and CP violation.Comment: LaTex 81 pages. Minor changes made, typing errors corrected, and references added. Prog. Part. Nucl. Phys. (in printing

Drosophila IAP antagonists form multimeric complexes to promote cell death

Self- and hetero-association of the pro-apoptotic proteins Reaper, Hid, and Grim is required for efficient induction of the cell death program

Neutrino Masses and Mixing: Evidence and Implications

Measurements of various features of the fluxes of atmospheric and solar neutrinos have provided evidence for neutrino oscillations and therefore for neutrino masses and mixing. We review the phenomenology of neutrino oscillations in vacuum and in matter. We present the existing evidence from solar and atmospheric neutrinos as well as the results from laboratory searches, including the final status of the LSND experiment. We describe the theoretical inputs that are used to interpret the experimental results in terms of neutrino oscillations. We derive the allowed ranges for the mass and mixing parameters in three frameworks: First, each set of observations is analyzed separately in a two-neutrino framework; Second, the data from solar and atmospheric neutrinos are analyzed in a three active neutrino framework; Third, the LSND results are added, and the status of accommodating all three signals in the framework of three active and one sterile light neutrinos is presented. We review the theoretical implications of these results: the existence of new physics, the estimate of the scale of this new physics and the lessons for grand unified theories, for supersymmetric models with R-parity violation, for models of extra dimensions and singlet fermions in the bulk, and for flavor models.Comment: Added note on the effects of KamLAND results. Two new figure

Open innovation in the power & energy sector: Bringing together government policies, companies’ interests, and academic essence

The Power and Energy (P&E) sector needs to respond to several challenges fostering investments in research and development. According to the Open Innovation (OI) paradigm, key stakeholders like utilities, vendors, laboratories, universities etc. should take advantage of external knowledge to improve their innovation performance. Several studies have demonstrated that firms adopting the OI paradigm are more likely to innovate. Despite the interest of P&E firms in enhancing their innovation capabilities, surprisingly few articles (usually case studies) described the implementation of the OI paradigm in P&E firms. This article fills the gap by identifying the key drivers that encourage a firm in the P&E sector to embrace the OI paradigm. The authors adopt a hybrid research approach collecting evidence from the literature and through a multiple case-study analysis involving seven British firms and universities operating in the P&E industry. As the drivers of OI have mutual influence, this article describes them with a fuzzy cognitive map. Finally, the authors identify appropriated policies to enhance the OI adoption and, consequently, the sustainability of innovation in the P&E sector. A salient research agenda closes the paper

Adverse events from spinal manipulation in the pregnant and postpartum periods: a critical review of the literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The safety of spinal manipulation during pregnancy and the postpartum periods has been a matter of debate among manual therapists. Spinal manipulative therapy during these periods is a commonly performed intervention as musculoskeletal pain is common in these patients. To date there has not been an evaluation of the literature on this topic exclusively.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A literature search was conducted on PubMed, CINAHL and the Index to Chiropractic Literature along with reference searching for articles published in English and French in the peer-reviewed literature that documented adverse effects of spinal manipulation during either pregnancy or postpartum. Case reports, case series, and any other clinical study designs were deemed acceptable for inclusion, as were systematic reviews. The appropriate Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) tools were used to rate included articles for quality when applicable.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Five articles identifying adverse events in seven subjects following spinal manipulation were included in this review, along with two systematic reviews. The articles were published between 1978 and 2009. Two articles describing adverse effects from spinal manipulation on two postpartum patients were included, while the remaining three articles on five patients with adverse effects following spinal manipulation were on pregnant patients. Injury severity ranged from minor injury such as increasing pain after treatment that resolved within a few days to more severe injuries including fracture, stroke, and epidural hematoma. SIGN scores of the prospective observational cohort study and systematic reviews indicated acceptable quality.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>There are only a few reported cases of adverse events following spinal manipulation during pregnancy and the postpartum period identified in the literature. While improved reporting of such events is required in the future, it may be that such injuries are relatively rare.</p

Superluminal group velocity through near-maximal neutrino oscillations

Recently it was suggested that the observation of superluminal neutrinos by the OPERA collaboration may be due to group velocity effects resulting from close-to-maximal oscillation between neutrino mass eigenstates, in analogy to known effects in optics. We show that superluminal propagation does occur through this effect for a series of very narrow energy ranges, but this phenomenum cannot explain the OPERA measurement.Comment: Reworking includes corrections due to finite width of the wave packet, further references, and comments on other corrections, causality, the new OPERA results, and why the size of neutrino wave packet provides important constraint