Search results for "TAXA"
showing 10 items of 268 documents
Orthoptera Tettigoniidae as indicators of biodiversity hotspots in the Guinean Forests of Central and West Tropical Africa
2021
The present paper has two aims: 1) to present the results of the study of selected species of Orthoptera Tettigoniidae collected in the Guinean forests of West Africa and in the important hotspot of Dzanga-Ndoki National Park (Central African Republic); 2) to carry out a check-list of six subfamilies of Tettigoniidae (Pseudophyllinae, Conocephalinae, Hexacentrinae, Phaneropterinae, Mecopodinae and Hetrodinae) living in Central-West tropical Africa, in particular in two main tropical forests, in the subregion of upper Guinea, and in the subregion Nigeria-Cameroon plus the biodiversity hotspots of Central African Republic and Gabon. Many new records are reported and the following new species …
Smoking and long-term labour market outcomes.
2014
Objective To examine the long-term effects of smoking on labour market outcomes using twin data matched to register-based individual information on earnings. Method Twin data for Finnish men born 1945–1957 was used to remove the shared environmental and genetic factors. The results were subjected to extensive robustness testing. Lifetime cigarette consumption was measured by (cumulative) cigarette pack-years in early adulthood. The average of an individual's earnings (and, alternatively, taxable income) was measured over a subsequent 15-year period in later adulthood. Results Smokers have lower long-term income and earnings. For example, controlling for the shared environmental and genetic …
Indicaxanthin from Opuntia ficus-indica Crosses the Blood–Brain Barrier and Modulates Neuronal Bioelectric Activity in Rat Hippocampus at Dietary-Con…
2015
Indicaxanthin is a bioactive and bioavailable betalain pigment from the Opuntia ficus-indica fruits. In this in vivo study, kinetic measurements showed that indicaxanthin is revealed in the rat brain within 1 h from oral administration of 2 μmol/ kg, an amount compatible with a dietary consumption of cactus pear fruits in humans. A peak (20 ± 2.4 ng of indicaxanthin per whole brain) was measured after 2.5 h; thereafter the molecule disappeared with first order kinetics within 4 h. The potential of indicaxanthin to affect neural activities was in vivo investigated by a microiontophoretic approach. Indicaxanthin, administered in a range between 0.085 ng and 0.34 ng per neuron, dose-dependentl…
Inhibition of the mechanical activity of mouse ileum by cactus pear (Opuntia Ficus Indica, L, Mill.) fruit extract and its pigment indicaxanthin.
2010
We investigated, using an organ bath technique, the effects of a hydrophilic extract from Opuntia ficus indica fruit pulp (cactus fruit extract, CFE) on the motility of mouse ileum, and researched the extract component(s) responsible for the observed responses. CFE (10-320 mg of fresh fruit pulp equivalents/mL of organ bath) reduced dose-dependently the spontaneous contractions. This effect was unaffected by tetrodotoxin, a neuronal blocker, N(omega)-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester, a nitric oxide synthase blocker, tetraethylammonium, a potassium channel blocker, or atropine, a muscarinic receptor antagonist. CFE also reduced the contractions evoked by carbachol, without affecting the contrac…
Indicaxanthin from cactus pear fruit exerts anti-inflammatory effects in carrageenin-induced rat pleurisy.
2014
Nutritional research has shifted recently from alleviating nutrient deficiencies to chronic disease prevention. We investigated the activity of indicaxanthin, a bioavailable phytochemical of the betalain class from the edible fruit of Opuntia ficus-indica (L. Miller) in a rat model of acute inflammation. Rat pleurisy was achieved by injection of 0.2 mL of l-carrageenin in the pleural cavity, and rats were killed 4, 24, and 48 h later; exudates were collected to analyze inflammatory parameters, such as nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), interleukin-1b (IL-1b), and tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a); cells recruited in pleura were analyzed for cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), inducible nitric …
Modulation of aflatoxin B1 carcinogenicity, genotoxicity and metabolism in rat liver by dietary carotenoids: evidence for a protective effect of CYP1…
1997
The effects of several carotenoids of vitamin A and of 3-methylcholanthrene have been tested on the initiation of hepatocarcinogenesis by aflatoxin B1, using the sequential protocol of Solt and Farber. AFB1-induced DNA single-strand breaks and AFB1-metabolism were also assessed. The P4501A inducer carotenoids (canthaxanthin, astaxanthin, beta-apo-8'-carotenal) and 3-methylcholanthrene reduce the carcinogenicity of AFB1, divert AFB1-metabolism into the less genotoxic aflatoxin M1 and reduce AFB1-induced DNA single-strand breaks: we conclude that these carotenoids exert their protective effect through the deviation of AFB1 metabolism towards detoxification pathways. beta-Carotene decreased AF…
Dietary carotenoids inhibit aflatoxin B1-induced liver preneoplastic foci and DNA damage in the rat: Role of the modulation of aflatoxin B1 metabolism
1998
To study the effects of carotenoids on the initiation of liver carcinogenesis by aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), male weanling rats were fed beta-carotene, beta-apo-8'-carotenal, canthaxanthin, astaxanthin or lycopene (300 mg/kg diet), or an excess of vitamin A (21000 RE/kg diet), or were injected i.p. with 3-methylcholanthrene (3-MC) (6 x 20 mg/kg body wt) before and during i.p. treatment with AFB1 (2 x 1 mg/kg body wt). The rats were later submitted to 2-acetylaminofluorene treatment and partial hepatectomy, and placental glutathione S-transferase-positive liver foci were detected and quantified. The in vivo effects of carotenoids or of 3-MC on AFB1-induced liver DNA damage were evaluated using diff…
Dietary lycopene decreases the initiation of liver preneoplastic foci by diethylnitrosamine in the rat
1997
To test whether carotenoids can modulate the initiation of liver preneoplasia by diethylnitrosamine (DEN) or by 2-nitropropane (2-NP) in a sequential protocol of hepatocarcinogenesis, male weanling rats were fed for three or four weeks (respectively) diets containing beta-carotene, canthaxanthin, astaxanthin, or lycopene (300 mg/kg diet) or an excess of vitamin A (15,000 retinol equivalents/kg diet) or were treated intraperitoneally with 3-methylcholanthrene. During this period, all rats were injected intraperitoneally with the initiator carcinogen, either 2-NP (6 times at 100 mg/kg body wt) or DEN (once at 100 mg/kg body wt). Three weeks after the termination of carotenoid or vitamin A fee…
Inhibitory effects of indicaxanthin on mouse ileal contractility: analysis of the mechanism of action.
2011
Recently, we have showed that indicaxanthin, the yellow betalain pigment abundant in the fruit of Opuntia ficus indica, has remarkable spasmolytic effects on the intestinal contractility in vitro. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the mechanism of action underlying the observed response. We used organ bath technique to record the mechanical activity of the mouse ileum longitudinal muscle and ELISA to measure the levels of cAMP. Indicaxanthin induced inhibitory effects on spontaneous mechanical activity, which were unaffected by indomethacin, a non-selective inhibitor of cycloxygenase; 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one, a selective inhibitor of nitric oxide-…
Pillar[5]arene-Diketopyrrolopyrrole Fluorescent Copolymer: A Promising Recognition and Adsorption Material for Adiponitrile by Selective Formation of…
2017
Conjugated pillar[5]arene-diketopyrrolopyrrole copolymer (P1) is synthesized by the copolymerization of a difunctionalized pillar[5]arene and a diketopyrrolopyrrole-based monomer, which shows large extinction coefficients (1.1 × 104 m-1 cm-1 ) at 519 nm and strong emission at 587 nm. P1 exhibits very strong host-guest binding affinity towards adiponitrile but low binding affinity towards 1,4-dihalobutane and 1,4-bis(imidazol-1-yl)butane. Such an enhanced selectivity is first found in the polypseudorotaxane between pillararene and neutral guests in organic solution and is successfully used for the recognition and adsorption of adiponitrile by the formation of a P1-adiponitrile polypseudorota…