Search results for "pigments."
showing 10 items of 133 documents
Origin of the natural variation in the storage of dietary carotenoids in freshwater amphipod crustaceans
2020
Carotenoids are diverse lipophilic natural pigments which are stored in variable amounts by animals. Given the multiple biological functions of carotenoids, such variation may have strong implications in evolutionary biology. Crustaceans such as Gammarus amphipods store large amounts of these pigments and inter-population variation occurs. While differences in parasite selective pressure have been proposed to explain this variation, the contribution of other factors such as genetic differences in the gammarid ability to assimilate and/or store pigments, and the environmental availability of carotenoids cannot be dismissed. This study investigates the relative contributions of the gammarid g…
Preliminary Study of the Mural Paintings of Sotterra Church in Paola (Cosenza, Italy)
2022
A multi-analytical approach was employed to study wall paintings located in the Sotterra church at Paola, in the province of Cosenza, Italy. The site is an underground church (hence the name of Sotterra, which means “under the earth”) rediscovered in the second half of the 19th century, during the building works of the Madonna del Carmine church on the same area. This underground church preserves valuable mural paintings having different styles. The construction’s dating and overlapped modifications made until the site was abandoned is also debated. A wall painting, depicting “The Virgin” as part of the “Annunciation and the Archangel Gabriel” prese…
Pigment patterns in mutants affecting the biosynthesis of pteridines and xanthommatin in Drosophila melanogaster.
1986
Eye-color mutants of Drosophila melanogaster have been analyzed for their pigment content and related metabolites. Xanthommatin and dihydroxanthommatin (pigments causing brown eye color) were measured after selective extraction in acidified butanol. Pteridines (pigments causing red eye color) were quantitated after separation of 28 spots by thin-layer chromatography, most of which are pteridines and a few of which are fluorescent metabolites from the xanthommatin pathway. Pigment patterns have been studied in 45 loci. The pteridine pathway ramifies into two double branches giving rise to isoxanthopterin, “drosopterins,” and biopterin as final products. The regulatory relationship among the …
The use of botanical raw materials in hair dyeing
2021
Rynek kosmetyczny bogaty jest w produkty umożliwiające zmianę koloru włosów. Dostępne są trzy możliwości koloryzacji chemicznej zależne od czasu utrzymywania się docelowego koloru. Wśród nich wyróżnia się farbowanie krótkotrwałe, półtrwałe oraz długotrwałe. Przy użyciu składników syntetycznych możliwe jest uzyskanie pełnego przekroju kolorystycznego. Doniesienia o niepożądanych skutkach ubocznych farb chemicznych, zarówno dotyczących skóry głowy jak i struktury włosów przemawiają za powrotem naturalnych sposobów koloryzacji włosów, i za rozwojem tego kierunku. Celem opracowania było przybliżenie możliwości zastosowania surowców roślinnych celem koloryzacji włosów. Scharakteryzowano następuj…
Micro-Raman study of red decorations in French faiences of the 18th and 19th centuries
2006
Obtaining the red color was a technical and economic challenge for the French faience manufactories in the 18th and 19th centuries. The tendency of the red hematite to turn into drab brown during the firing process explains the difficulty in obtaining this color. Red decorations in shards coming from the four production centers of faience manufacturing during this period—Rouen (northwest), Nevers (central), Thiviers (southwest) and Argonne (northeast)—have been studied by means of micro-Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Among them, Thiviers appears to be the leader thanks to a particular reddish sandstone called ‘Gres de T…
Documenting the light sensitivity of Spanish Levantine rock art paintings
2015
[EN] A case study to evaluate the use of microfading spectrometry (MFS) for the study of colored systems found in prehistoric rock art paintings was conducted in the Cova Remígia rock-shelter, Castellón (Spain). This rock shelter is part of the rock art sites of the Mediterranean basin on the Iberian Peninsula included in UNESCO s World Heritage List. Some of the paintings belonging to this group are exposed to environmental factors including natural daylight, wind and rain, depending on the time of the day and the season of the year. Therefore, their preservation is a major concern to stakeholders and researchers responsible for protecting and studying these prehistoric paintings. The expe…
Micro-X-Ray Fluorescence and the Old Masters Non-destructive in situ characterisation of the varnish of historical Low Countries stringed musical ins…
2012
Applied Physics A, 107
Determination of pigments in vegetables
2004
Plant pigments are responsible for the shining color of plant tissues. They are also found in animal tissues and, eventually in transformed food products as additives. These pigments have an important impact on the commercial value of products, because the colors establish the first contact with the consumer. In addition plant pigments may have an influence on the health of the consumers. Pigments are labile: they can be easily altered, and even destroyed. Analytical processes have been developed to determine pigment composition. The aim of this paper is to provide a brief overview of these methods.
The corticotrophin-releasing factor/urocortin system regulates white fat browning in mice through paracrine mechanisms.
2015
Objectives:\ud The corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF)/urocortin system is expressed in the adipose tissue of mammals, but its functional role in this tissue remains unknown.\ud \ud Methods:\ud Pharmacological manipulation of the activity of CRF receptors, CRF1 and CRF2, was performed in 3T3L1 white pre-adipocytes and T37i brown pre-adipocytes during in vitro differentiation. The expression of genes of the CRF/urocortin system and of markers of white and brown adipocytes was evaluated along with mitochondrial biogenesis and cellular oxygen consumption. Metabolic evaluation of corticosterone-deficient or supplemented Crhr1-null (Crhr1−/−) mice and their wild-type controls was performed alo…
Donor-π-acceptors containing the 10-(1,3-dithiol-2-ylidene)anthracene unit for dye-sensitized solar cells
2012
Two donor-acceptor molecular tweezers incorporating the 10-(1,3-dithiol-2-ylidene)anthracene unit as donor group and two cyanoacrylic units as accepting/anchoring groups are reported as metal-free sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells. By changing the phenyl spacer with 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) units, the absorption spectrum of the sensitizer is red-shifted with a corresponding increase in the molar absorptivity. Density functional calculations confirmed the intramolecular charge-transfer nature of the lowest-energy absorption bands. The new dyes are highly distorted from planarity and are bound to the TiO(2) surface through the two anchoring groups in a unidentate binding for…