Anti-Obesity Effects Evaluation of a Blackcurrant Leaf Standardized Hydro-Alcoholic Extract in Wistar Rat Subjected to a High-Fat Diet.

Blackcurrant (BC) extract was reported to exert anti-obesity effects. However, it is unknown whether BC extract with a composition close to the totum differentially affects obesity when compared to one of its active compounds. We evaluated the anti-obesity effects of a BC standardized hydro-alcoholic leaf extract (BC-HLE) in an HFD-induced obesity rat model and compared them with quercetin (QUE).

Investigating two consecutive catastrophic breeding seasons in a large king penguin colony.

Large-scale breeding failures, such as offspring die-offs, can disproportionately impact wildlife populations that are characterized by a few large colonies. However, breeding monitoring-and thus investigations of such die-offs-is especially challenging in species with long reproductive cycles. We investigate two unresolved dramatic breeding failures that occurred in consecutive years (2009 and 2010) in a large king penguin Aptenodytes patagonicus colony, a long-lived species with a breeding cycle lasting over a year.

Plasma cell leukemia: Retrospective review of cases at Monter Cancer Center/Northwell Health Cancer Institute, 2014-2019.

Plasma cell leukemia (PCL) is an aggressive malignancy and an area of unmet need. The diagnostic criteria for PCL are in flux and the molecular basis of disease is complex. Due to its fulminant course and lack of prospective clinical trials in PCL, the optimal therapeutic approach remains controversial.

Application of the Life Cycle Management of Analytical methods concept to a HPTLC-DPPH assay method for acteoside content in industrial extracts of Plantago lanceolata L.

Analytical methods used for quality control of plants and plant extracts are based on the identification and quantification of chemical markers to manage batch reproducibility and efficacy. The aim of this work was to assess the performance of a High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) method developed for quality control of industrial dry extracts of ribwort plantain (P. lanceolata L.

Fine-scale structures as spots of increased fish concentration in the open ocean.

Oceanic frontal zones have been shown to deeply influence the distribution of primary producers and, at the other extreme of the trophic web, top predators. However, the relationship between these structures and intermediate trophic levels is much more obscure. In this paper we address this knowledge gap by comparing acoustic measurements of mesopelagic fish concentrations to satellite-derived fine-scale Lagrangian Coherent Structures in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean.

Effect-Directed Profiling of 17 Different Fortified Plant Extracts by High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography Combined with Six Planar Assays and High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry.

An effect-directed profiling method was developed to investigate 17 different fortified plant extracts for potential benefits. Six planar effect-directed assays were piezoelectrically sprayed on the samples separated side-by-side by high-performance thin-layer chromatography. Multipotent compounds with antibacterial, α-glucosidase, β-glucosidase, AChE, tyrosinase and/or β-glucuronidase-inhibiting effects were detected in most fortified plant extracts.

Antarctic petrels 'on the ice rocks': wintering strategy of an Antarctic seabird.

There is a paucity of information on the foraging ecology, especially individual use of sea-ice features and icebergs, over the non-breeding season in many seabird species. Using geolocators and stable isotopes, we defined the movements, distribution and diet of adult Antarctic petrels from the largest known breeding colony, the inland Svarthamaren, Antarctica. More specifically, we examined how sea-ice concentration and free-drifting icebergs affect the distribution of Antarctic petrels.

The Use of Natural Agents to Counteract Telomere Shortening: Effects of a Multi-Component Extract of Bunge and Danazol.

A link between telomere shortening and oxidative stress was found in aging people and patients with cancer or inflammatory diseases. Extracts of spp. are known to stimulate telomerase activity, thereby compensating telomere shortening.

Correction: Benefits of the ipowder® extraction process applied to Melissa officinalis L.: improvement of antioxidant activity and in vitro gastro-intestinal release profile of rosmarinic acid.

Correction for 'Benefits of the ipowder® extraction process applied to Melissa officinalis L.: improvement of antioxidant activity and in vitro gastro-intestinal release profile of rosmarinic acid' by Valérie Bardot et al., Food Funct.

Benefits of the ipowder® extraction process applied to Melissa officinalis L.: improvement of antioxidant activity and in vitro gastro-intestinal release profile of rosmarinic acid.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the benefits of a new extraction process, the ipowder® technology, applied to Melissa officinalis L. Compared to M. officinalis ground dry leaves, the ipowder® had a similar phytochemical fingerprint but contained twice the concentration of rosmarinic acid (by HPTLC and HPLC) and had a two-fold greater antioxidant activity (DPPH* method).

Skeletal muscle relaxant effect of a standardized extract of L. after acute administration in mice.

L. root extracts are traditionally taken for their sedative and anxiolytic properties and are also used for muscle relaxation. Relaxant effects were clearly observed on smooth muscle whereas data on effects on skeletal muscle are scarce and inconsistent.

Peritoneal B-1b and B-2 B-cells confer long-term protection from pneumococcal serotype 3 infection after vaccination with Prevnar-13 and are defective in sickle cell disease mice.

Long-term immunity after inoculation with the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (Prevnar-13) is impaired in sickle cell disease (SCD) mice. We sought to determine which B-cell subsets are defective in SCD mice after vaccination with Prevnar-13, yet confer long-term immunity in wild-type (WT) mice. We vaccinated WT and SCD mice three times at three week intervals with Prevnar-13.

Cancer and the metastatic substrate.

Seventy percent of cancer patients have detectable metastases when they receive a diagnosis and 90% of cancer deaths result from metastases. These two facts emphasise the urgency for research to study the mechanisms and processes that enable metastasis. We need to develop a greater understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that cause metastasis and also we need to do more.

Oceanic circulation models help to predict global biogeography of pelagic yellow-bellied sea snake.

It is well recognized that most marine vertebrates, and especially tetrapods, precisely orient and actively move in apparently homogeneous oceanic environments. Here, we investigate the presumptive role of oceanic currents in biogeographic patterns observed in a secondarily marine tetrapod, the yellow-bellied sea snake (Hydrophis [Pelamis] platurus). State-of-the-art world ocean circulation models show how H.

[Contamination, endocrine disruptors and cancer].

Since the mid-twentieth century, many species, very different from each other and located in all areas and comers of the planet, began presenting various alterations, many of which suggested to be related to endocrine disorders. Research has shown that such alterations were caused by exposure to various chemical contaminants that could affect the health and cause serious illnesses. Among them stands a diverse and large group of compounds, with very different chemical structures, capable of altering the hormonal balance, act at very low doses and with different mechanisms of action, that are called "endocrine disrupting chemicals".

Tumour progression and metastasis.

The two biological mechanisms that determine types of malignancy are infiltration and metastasis, for which tumour microenvironment plays a key role in developing and establishing the morphology, growth and invasiveness of a malignancy. The microenvironment is formed by complex tissue containing the extracellular matrix, tumour and non-tumour cells, a signalling network of cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and proteases that control autocrine and paracrine communication among individual cells, facilitating tumour progression. During the development of the primary tumour, the tumour stroma and continuous genetic changes within the cells makes it possible for them to migrate, having to count on a pre-metastatic niche receptor that allows the tumour's survival and distant growth.

Poor Long-Term Efficacy of Prevnar-13 in Sickle Cell Disease Mice Is Associated with an Inability to Sustain Pneumococcal-Specific Antibody Titers.

Background: One of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality in children with sickle cell disease (SCD) is infection with the pneumococcal bacterium (Streptococcus pneumoniae). Unfortunately, the polysaccharide-conjugate vaccine appears to be less effective in individuals with SCD when compared to the general population. We sought to better understand the relative efficacy of pneumococcal vaccination in a SCD mouse challenge model.

Large-scale climatic anomalies affect marine predator foraging behaviour and demography.

Determining the links between the behavioural and population responses of wild species to environmental variations is critical for understanding the impact of climate variability on ecosystems. Using long-term data sets, we show how large-scale climatic anomalies in the Southern Hemisphere affect the foraging behaviour and population dynamics of a key marine predator, the king penguin. When large-scale subtropical dipole events occur simultaneously in both subtropical Southern Indian and Atlantic Oceans, they generate tropical anomalies that shift the foraging zone southward.

Biology of colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer is a serious health problem, a challenge for research, and a model for studying the molecular mechanisms involved in its development. According to its incidence, this pathology manifests itself in three forms: family, hereditary, and most commonly sporadic, apparently not associated with any hereditary or familial factor. For the types having inheritance patterns and a family predisposition, the tumours develop through defined stages ranging from adenomatous lesions to the manifestation of a malignant tumour.

[Stem cells and cancer].

Surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are universally recognized as the most effective anti-cancer therapies. Despite significant advances directed towards elucidating molecular mechanisms and developing clinical trials, cancer still remains a major public health issue. Cancer stem cells are a subpopulation of the cells that form the tumor.

[Limbal deficiency syndrome].

The cornea, the transparent tissue of the eye, is formed by an epithelium of five distinct layers that is in continual renewal through a population of limbocorneal stem cells located in the basal layer. Its normal activity depends on a variety of intrinsic and extrinsic factors, that altered, can lead to partial or total loss of progenitor cells leading to a progressive loss of vision. This article reviews the importance of this crippling disease, constituting a major health problem.

Frigatebird behaviour at the ocean-atmosphere interface: integrating animal behaviour with multi-satellite data.

Marine top predators such as seabirds are useful indicators of the integrated response of the marine ecosystem to environmental variability at different scales. Large-scale physical gradients constrain seabird habitat. Birds however respond behaviourally to physical heterogeneity at much smaller scales.

[Hypoxia in cancer malignity. Review].

Hypoxia is a common characteristic of solid tumors. It contributes to local and systemic tumor progression, as well as the lack of response to radio and chemotherapy, therefore increasing the probability of tumor recurrence. The HIF-1 transcription factor is the main regulator of tumor adaptation to hypoxia stress, stimulating the expression of many genes that allow cells to survive under these conditions.