Search results for "PERT"
showing 10 items of 7689 documents
Evaluation of Long-Time Decoction-Detoxicated Hei-Shun-Pian (Processed Aconitum carmichaeli Debeaux Lateral Root With Peel) for Its Acute Toxicity an…
2020
Background As a degenerative joint disease with severe cartilage destruction and pain, osteoarthritis (OA) has no satisfactory therapy to date. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Aconitum carmichaeli Debeaux derived Hei-shun-pian (Hsp) has been developed for joint pain treatment. However, it causes adverse events in OA patients. Long-time decoction has been traditionally applied to reduce the aconite toxicity of Hsp and other aconite herbs, but its detoxifying effect is uncertain. Methods Hsp was extracted with dilute decoction times (30, 60, and 120 min) and evaluated by toxicological, chemical, pharmacological assays. Acute toxicity assay and chemical analysis were employed to determi…
Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Citrus bergamia Derivatives: Where Do We Stand?
2016
Inflammatory diseases affect a large portion of the worldwide population, and chronic inflammation is a major risk factor for several dangerous pathologies. To limit the side effects of both synthetic and biological anti-inflammatory drugs, the use of herbal medicines, nutraceuticals and food supplements has increased tremendously as alternative and/or complementary medicine to treat several pathologies, including inflammation. During the last decades, the biological properties of Citrus bergamia (bergamot) derivatives have obtained important scientific achievements, and it has been suggested their use in a context of a multitarget pharmacological strategy. Here, we present an overview of t…
Revealing community structures by ensemble clustering using group diffusion
2018
We propose an ensemble clustering approach using group diffusion to reveal community structures in data. We represent data points as a directed graph and assume each data point belong to single cluster membership instead of multiple memberships. The method is based on the concept of ensemble group diffusion with a parameter to represent diffusion depth in clustering. The ability to modulate the diffusion-depth parameter by varying it within a certain interval allows for more accurate construction of clusters. Depending on the value of the diffusion-depth parameter, the presented approach can determine very well both local clusters and global structure of data. At the same time, the ability …
The Active Inference Approach to Ecological Perception: General Information Dynamics for Natural and Artificial Embodied Cognition
2018
The emerging neurocomputational vision of humans as embodied, ecologically embedded, social agents – who shape and are shaped by their environment – offers a golden opportunity to revisit and revise ideas about the physical and information-theoretic underpinnings of life, mind, and consciousness itself. In particular, the active inference framework (AIF) makes it possible to bridge connections from computational neuroscience and robotics/AI to ecological psychology and phenomenology, revealing common underpinnings and overcoming key limitations. AIF opposes the mechanistic to the reductive, while staying fully grounded in a naturalistic and information theoretic foundation, using the princi…
Improving risk assessments in conservation ecology
2019
Conservation efforts and management decisions on the living environment of our planet often rely on the results from statistical models. Yet, these models are imperfect and quantification of risk associated with the estimate of management-relevant quantities becomes crucial in providing robust advice. Here we demonstrate that estimates of risk themselves could be substantially biased but by combining data fitting with an extensive simulation–estimation procedure, one can back-calculate the correct values. We apply the method to 627 time series of population abundance across four taxa using the Gompertz state-space model as an example. We find that the risk of large bias in population status…
Beneficial Role of Exercise in the Modulation of
2021
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked recessive progressive lethal disorder caused by the lack of dystrophin, which determines myofibers mechanical instability, oxidative stress, inflammation, and susceptibility to contraction-induced injuries. Unfortunately, at present, there is no efficient therapy for DMD. Beyond several promising gene- and stem cells-based strategies under investigation, physical activity may represent a valid noninvasive therapeutic approach to slow down the progression of the pathology. However, ethical issues, the limited number of studies in humans and the lack of consistency of the investigated training interventions generate loss of consensus regarding …
Mixed topological semimetals driven by orbital complexity in two-dimensional ferromagnets
2018
The concepts of Weyl fermions and topological semimetals emerging in three-dimensional momentum space are extensively explored owing to the vast variety of exotic properties that they give rise to. On the other hand, very little is known about semimetallic states emerging in two-dimensional magnetic materials, which present the foundation for both present and future information technology. Here, we demonstrate that including the magnetization direction into the topological analysis allows for a natural classification of topological semimetallic states that manifest in two-dimensional ferromagnets as a result of the interplay between spin-orbit and exchange interactions. We explore the emerg…
Long-range vortex transfer in superconducting nanowires
2019
Under high-enough values of perpendicularly-applied magnetic feld and current, a type-II superconductor presents a fnite resistance caused by the vortex motion driven by the Lorentz force. To recover the dissipation-free conduction state, strategies for minimizing vortex motion have been intensely studied in the last decades. However, the non-local vortex motion, arising in areas depleted of current, has been scarcely investigated despite its potential application for logic devices. Here, we propose a route to transfer vortices carried by non-local motion through long distances (up to 10 micrometers) in 50nm-wide superconducting WC nanowires grown by Ga+ Focused Ion Beam Induced Deposition.…
IL ‐1 signaling is critical for expansion but not generation of autoreactive GM ‐ CSF + Th17 cells
2016
Abstract Interleukin‐1 (IL‐1) is implicated in numerous pathologies, including multiple sclerosis and its animal model experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). However, the exact mechanism by which IL‐1 is involved in the generation of pathogenic T cells and in disease development remains largely unknown. We found that following EAE induction, pertussis toxin administration leads to IL‐1 receptor type 1 (IL‐1R1)‐dependent IL‐1β expression by myeloid cells in the draining lymph nodes. This myeloid‐derived IL‐1β did not vitally contribute to the generation and plasticity of Th17 cells, but rather promoted the expansion of a GM‐CSF + Th17 cell subset, thereby enhancing its encephalitog…
Stem cell therapy. Old challenges and new solutions
2020
Stem cell therapy (SCT), born as therapeutic revolution to replace pharmacological treatments, remains a hope and not yet an effective solution. Accordingly, stem cells cannot be conceivable as a "canonical" drug, because of their unique biological properties. A new reorientation in this field is emerging, based on a better understanding of stem cell biology and use of cutting-edge technologies and innovative disciplines. This will permit to solve the gaps, failures, and long-term needs, such as the retention, survival and integration of stem cells, by employing pharmacology, genetic manipulation, biological or material incorporation. Consequently, the clinical applicability of SCT for chro…