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Cannabis sativa and the endogenous cannabinoid system: therapeutic potential for appetite regulation
The herb Cannabis sativa (C. sativa) has been used in China and on the Indian subcontinent for thousands of years as a medicine. However, since it was brought to the UK and then the rest of the western world in the late 19th century, its use has been a source of controversy. Indeed, its psychotropic side effects are well reported but only relatively recently has scientific endeavour begun to find valuable uses for either the whole plant or its individual components. Here, we discuss evidence describing the endocannabinoid system, its endogenous and exogenous ligands and their varied effects on feeding cycles and meal patterns. Furthermore we also critically consider the mounting evidence which suggests non‐tetrahydrocannabinol phytocannabinoids play a vital role in C. sativa‐induced feeding pattern changes. Indeed, given the wide range of phytocannabinoids present in C. sativa and their equally wide range of intra‐, inter‐ and extra‐cellular mechanisms of action, we demonstrate that non‐Δ9tetrahydrocannabinol phytocannabinoids retain an important and, as yet, untapped clinical potential
Imaging crustal structure in South-Central Costa Rica with Receiver Functions
An array of broadband seismometers transecting the Talamanca Range in southern Costa Rica was operated from 2005 until 2007. In combination with data from a short‐period network near Quepos in central Costa Rica, this data is analyzed by the receiver function method to image the crustal structure in south‐central Costa Rica. Two strong positive signals are seen in the migrated images, interpreted as the Moho (at around 35 km depth) and an intra‐crustal discontinuity (15 km depth). A relatively flat crustal and Moho interface underneath the north‐east flank of the Talamanca Range can be followed for a lateral
distance of about 50 km parallel to the trench, with only slight changes in the overall geometry. Closer to the coast, the topography of the discontinuities shows several features, most notably a deeper Moho underneath the Talamanca Mountain Range and volcanic arc. Under the highest part of the mountain ranges, the Moho reaches a depth of about 50 km, which indicates that the mountain ranges are approximately isostatically compensated. Local deviations from the crustal thickness expected for isostatic equilibrium occur under the active volcanic arc and in south Costa Rica. In the transition region between the active volcanic arc and the Talamanca Range, both the Moho and intracrustal discontinuity appear distorted,
possibly related to the southern edge of the active volcanic zone and deformation within the southern part
of the Central Costa Rica Deformed Belt. Near the volcanoes Irazu and Turrialba, a shallow converter occurs, correlating with a low‐velocity, low‐density body seen in tomography and gravimetry. Applying a grid search for the crustal interface depth and vp/vs ratio cannot constrain vp/vs values well, but points to generally low values (<1.7) in the upper crust. This is consistent with quartz‐rich rocks forming the mountain range
Synthesis and characterisation of MOF/ionic liquid/chitosan mixed matrix membranes for CO2/N2 separation
Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) have been prepared by combining a small amount of highly absorbing non-toxic ionic liquid, [emim][Ac] (IL) (5 wt%), a biopolymer from renewable abundant natural resources, chitosan (CS), and nanometre-sized metal-organic framework (MOF) ZIF-8 or HKUST-1 particles to improve the selectivity of the IL-CS hybrid continuous polymer matrix. The TGA revealed that the thermal stability has been enhanced by the influence of both IL and ZIF-8 or HKUST-1 fillers, while keeping a water content of around 20 wt%, which suggests the potential of such materials for developing high temperature water resistant membranes for CO2 separation. The CO2 and N2 single gas permeation performance was tested at temperatures in the range of 25-50 C, to compare with the previously reported IL-CS hybrid membranes. The best CO2 permeability and CO2/N2 selectivity performance is obtained for 10 wt% ZIF-8 and 5 wt% HKUST-1/IL-CS membranes, as high as 5413 191 Barrer and 11.5, and 4754 1388 Barrer and 19.3, respectively. This is attributed to a better adhesion and smaller particle size of ZIF-8 than HKUST-1 nanoparticles with respect to the IL-CS continuous matrix, as interpreted by Hansen solubility parameters and Maxwell-based models, modified to account for rigidification, pore blockage and crystallinity of the CS matrix, with very accurate predictions.Financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) for the project CTQ2012-31229 at the University of Cantabria, and MAT2013-40556-R, at the University of Zaragoza, is gratefully acknowledged. C.C.C. and A.F.B. also thank the MINECO for the Ramon y Cajal contract (RYC-2011-08550) and the post-graduate research grant (BES2013-064266), respectively, at the Universidad de Cantabria. Dr. Sara Sorribas is gratefully thanked for her technical assistance on the XRD, SEM and TEM analyses. The microscopy work was done at the Laboratorio de Microscopias Avanzadas of the Instituto de Nanociencia de Aragon (LMA-INA), and the XRD measurements were carried out at the Servicio General de Apoyo a la Investigacion (SAI) of the Universidad de Zaragoza
Interplay between n-3 and n-6 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and the endocannabinoid system in brain protection and repair.
The brain is enriched in arachidonic acid (ARA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) of the n-6 and n-3 series, respectively. Both are essential for optimal brain development and function. Dietary enrichment with DHA and other long-chain n-3 PUFA, such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) have shown beneficial effects on learning and memory, neuroinflammatory processes and synaptic plasticity and neurogenesis. ARA, DHA and EPA are precursors to a diverse repertoire of bioactive lipid mediators, including endocannabinoids. The endocannabinoid system comprises cannabinoid receptors, their endogenous ligands, the endocannabinoids, and their biosynthetic and degradation enzymes. Anandamide (AEA) and 2-archidonoylglycerol (2-AG) are the most widely studied endocannabinoids, and are both derived from phospholipid-bound ARA. The endocannabinoid system also has well established roles in neuroinflammation, synaptic plasticity and neurogenesis, suggesting an overlap in the neuroprotective effects observed with these different classes of lipids. Indeed, growing evidence suggests a complex interplay between n-3 and n-6 LCPUFA and the endocannabinoid system. For example, long-term DHA and EPA supplementation reduces AEA and 2-AG levels, with reciprocal increases in levels of the analogous endocannabinoid-like DHA and EPA-derived molecules. This review summarises current evidence of this interplay and discusses the therapeutic potential for brain protection and repair
FungalTraits:A user-friendly traits database of fungi and fungus-like stramenopiles
The cryptic lifestyle of most fungi necessitates molecular identification of the guild in environmental studies. Over the past decades, rapid development and affordability of molecular tools have tremendously improved insights of the fungal diversity in all ecosystems and habitats. Yet, in spite of the progress of molecular methods, knowledge about functional properties of the fungal taxa is vague and interpretation of environmental studies in an ecologically meaningful manner remains challenging. In order to facilitate functional assignments and ecological interpretation of environmental studies we introduce a user friendly traits and character database FungalTraits operating at genus and species hypothesis levels. Combining the information from previous efforts such as FUNGuild and Fun(Fun) together with involvement of expert knowledge, we reannotated 10,210 and 151 fungal and Stramenopila genera, respectively. This resulted in a stand-alone spreadsheet dataset covering 17 lifestyle related traits of fungal and Stramenopila genera, designed for rapid functional assignments of environmental studies. In order to assign the trait states to fungal species hypotheses, the scientific community of experts manually categorised and assigned available trait information to 697,413 fungal ITS sequences. On the basis of those sequences we were able to summarise trait and host information into 92,623 fungal species hypotheses at 1% dissimilarity threshold
Iron Behaving Badly: Inappropriate Iron Chelation as a Major Contributor to the Aetiology of Vascular and Other Progressive Inflammatory and Degenerative Diseases
The production of peroxide and superoxide is an inevitable consequence of
aerobic metabolism, and while these particular "reactive oxygen species" (ROSs)
can exhibit a number of biological effects, they are not of themselves
excessively reactive and thus they are not especially damaging at physiological
concentrations. However, their reactions with poorly liganded iron species can
lead to the catalytic production of the very reactive and dangerous hydroxyl
radical, which is exceptionally damaging, and a major cause of chronic
inflammation. We review the considerable and wide-ranging evidence for the
involvement of this combination of (su)peroxide and poorly liganded iron in a
large number of physiological and indeed pathological processes and
inflammatory disorders, especially those involving the progressive degradation
of cellular and organismal performance. These diseases share a great many
similarities and thus might be considered to have a common cause (i.e.
iron-catalysed free radical and especially hydroxyl radical generation). The
studies reviewed include those focused on a series of cardiovascular, metabolic
and neurological diseases, where iron can be found at the sites of plaques and
lesions, as well as studies showing the significance of iron to aging and
longevity. The effective chelation of iron by natural or synthetic ligands is
thus of major physiological (and potentially therapeutic) importance. As
systems properties, we need to recognise that physiological observables have
multiple molecular causes, and studying them in isolation leads to inconsistent
patterns of apparent causality when it is the simultaneous combination of
multiple factors that is responsible. This explains, for instance, the
decidedly mixed effects of antioxidants that have been observed, etc...Comment: 159 pages, including 9 Figs and 2184 reference
Innovative Approaches for Converting a Wood Hydrolysate to High-Quality Barrier Coatings
An advanced approach for the efficient
and controllable production of softwood hydrolysate-based coatings
with excellent oxygen-barrier performance is presented. An innovative
conversion of the spray-drying technique into a coating applicator
process allowed for a fast and efficient coating process requiring
solely aqueous solutions of softwood hydrolysate, even without additives.
Compared to analogous coatings prepared by manual application, the
spray-drying produced coatings were more homogeneous and smooth, and
they adhered more strongly to the substrate. The addition of glyoxal
to the aqueous softwood hydrolysate solutions prior to coating formation
allowed for hemicellulose cross-linking, which improved both the mechanical
integrity and the oxygen-barrier performance of the coatings. A real-time
scanning electron microscopy imaging assessment of the tensile deformation
of the coatings allowed for a deeper understanding of the ability
of the coating layer itself to withstand stress as well as the coating-to-substrate
adhesion
Innovative Approaches for Converting a Wood Hydrolysate to High-Quality Barrier Coatings
An advanced approach for the efficient
and controllable production of softwood hydrolysate-based coatings
with excellent oxygen-barrier performance is presented. An innovative
conversion of the spray-drying technique into a coating applicator
process allowed for a fast and efficient coating process requiring
solely aqueous solutions of softwood hydrolysate, even without additives.
Compared to analogous coatings prepared by manual application, the
spray-drying produced coatings were more homogeneous and smooth, and
they adhered more strongly to the substrate. The addition of glyoxal
to the aqueous softwood hydrolysate solutions prior to coating formation
allowed for hemicellulose cross-linking, which improved both the mechanical
integrity and the oxygen-barrier performance of the coatings. A real-time
scanning electron microscopy imaging assessment of the tensile deformation
of the coatings allowed for a deeper understanding of the ability
of the coating layer itself to withstand stress as well as the coating-to-substrate
adhesion
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