scholarly journals Fucoidan Supplementation Restores Fecal Lysozyme Concentrations in High-Performance Athletes: A Pilot Study

Marine Drugs ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 412
Author(s):  
Amanda J. Cox ◽  
Allan W. Cripps ◽  
Phillipa A. Taylor ◽  
J. Helen Fitton ◽  
Nicholas P. West
Keyword(s):  
High Performance ◽  
Immunoglobulin A ◽  
Team Sport ◽  
Healthy Adults ◽  
Professional Athletes ◽  
Population Groups ◽  
Supplementation Period ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Immune Health ◽  
Nutritional Strategies

Nutritional strategies to help promote immune competence are of particular interest for a range of population groups. This study aimed to assess the potential impacts of fucoidan, a seaweed-derived bioactive polysaccharide, on gut markers of immunity and inflammation. A group of professional team-sport athletes were selected for inclusion in the study given the recognized potential for intense physical activity to induce alterations in immune function. A retrospective analysis was performed on stored fecal samples which had been collected from professional team-sport athletes (n = 22) and healthy adults (n = 11) before and after seven days of supplementation with fucoidan (Fucus vesiculosus/Undaria pinnatifida extract, 1 g/d). Fecal concentrations of calprotectin, secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) and lysozyme were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The supplement was well tolerated by participants with no adverse events reported. At baseline, fecal lysozyme concentrations were ~73% higher in the healthy adults compared to the professional athletes (p = 0.001). For the professional athletes, a significant (~45%) increase in fecal lysozyme was observed following the supplementation period (p = 0.001). These data suggest that fucoidan supplementation may have the potential to promote the secretion of antimicrobial peptides in specific population groups and contribute to the regulation of mucosal immune health.

Effects of Chai Hu (Radix Burpleuri) Containing Formulation on Plasma β-endorphin, Epinephrine and Dopamine in Patients

2005 ◽  
Vol 33 (05) ◽  
pp. 737-745 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jia-Xu Chen ◽  
Bo Ji ◽  
Zhao-Lin Lu ◽  
Li-Sheng Hu
Keyword(s):  
High Performance ◽  
Clinical Status ◽  
Immunoglobulin A ◽  
Deficiency Syndrome ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Plasma Norepinephrine ◽  
Spleen Deficiency ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Spleen Deficiency Syndrome ◽  
Experimental Group

Chai Hu (Radix Burpleuri), a major ingredient in many traditional Chinese medicine formulas, such as Xiao Yao Wan, is used in the treatment of liver stagnation and spleen deficiency syndrome (LSSDS). The objectives of this study were to examine the effects of Xiao Yao Wan containing Chai Hu on the changes of plasma indices in patients with LSSDS. Fifty-eight cases of LSSDS were randomly divided into two groups: 41 cases in the experimental group were treated with Xiao Yao Wan containing Chai Hu and 17 cases in the control group were treated with Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan for one consecutive month in a single blind design. Before and after treatment, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was applied to determine the changes of plasma norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (E) and dopamine (DA). Radioimmunoassay was performed to measure the amount of plasma β-endorphin (β-EP), adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH), estradiol (E2) and testosterone (T), and laser nephelometry was also conducted to measure plasma immunoglobulin A (Ig A) and G (Ig G). Compared to baseline levels, plasma β-EP was significantly increased ( p < 0.01), while E and DA were markedly decreased ( p < 0.01) after the administration of Xiao Yao Wan in the experimental group. The other indices did not change. This is the first evidence showing that the effect of Xiao Yao Wan containing Chai Hu on the treatment of patients with LSSDS may be through enhancing plasma β-EP and decreasing E and DA release. We conclude that Xiao Yao Wan containing Chai Hu regulates nervous and endocrine systems and contributes to the improvement of the clinical status of patients with LSSDS.

scholarly journals Validating Anti-Infective Activity of Pleurotus Opuntiae via Standardization of Its Bioactive Mycoconstituents through Multimodal Biochemical Approach

Coatings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 484
Author(s):  
Aprajita Tiwari Pandey ◽  
Ishan Pandey ◽  
Anurag Kanase ◽  
Amita Verma ◽  
Beatriz Garcia-Canibano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bioactive Compounds ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Colorimetric Assay ◽  
Diffusion Method ◽  
Therapeutic Effects ◽  
Medication Regimen ◽  
Methanol Extracts ◽  
Retention Factors ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Solvent Systems

Mushrooms produce a variety of bioactive compounds that are known to have anti-pathogenic properties with safer and effective therapeutic effects in human disease prognosis. The antibacterial activity of ethanol and methanol extracts of Pleurotus opuntiae were checked against pathogenic microorganisms viz. Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Proteus mirabilis NCIM 2300, Proteus vulgaris NCIM 5266, Serratia marcescens NCIM 2078, Shigella flexeneri NCIM 5265, Moraxella sp. NCIM 2795, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 by agar well diffusion method at different concentrations of the extracts. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) of the extracts was determined by INT (Iodonitrotetrazolium chloride) colorimetric assay. Extracts were standardized by thin layer chromatography (TLC) in different solvent systems. The Retention factors (Rf) of different compounds were calculated by high performance TLC (HPTLC) fingerprinting at UV 254, 366, and 540 nm before and after derivatization. The ethanol and methanol extracts of P. opuntiae showed bactericidal activity against all the test pathogens at MIC values of 15.6 to 52.08 mg/mL and 20.81 to 52.08 mg/mL respectively. Whereas the MBC values for ethanol and methanol extract of P. opuntiae against all pathogens were recorded as 26.03 to 62.5 mg/mL and 125 mg/mL respectively. Preliminary mycochemical screening of both the extracts revealed high contents of bioactive compounds. Amongst all the solvent systems used in TLC, the best result was given by chloroform + hexane (8:2) which eluted out 5 different compounds (spots). HPTLC results revealed spots with different Rf values for all the 24 compounds present. Thus, it can be inferred from the present investigation that the mycoconstituents could be an alternative medication regimen and could play a role in new drug discoveries against different infections. Further, the antimicrobial components of these mushrooms can be transformed to bioengineered antimicrobial coatings for surfaces, drug and other hybrid systems for public health implications in combating persistent infections.

Adaptive Precision Block-Jacobi for High Performance Preconditioning in the Ginkgo Linear Algebra Software

2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Goran Flegar ◽  
Hartwig Anzt ◽  
Terry Cojean ◽  
Enrique S. Quintana-Ortí
Keyword(s):  
Linear Algebra ◽  
Graphics Processing Units ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Numerical Algorithms ◽  
Mixed Precision ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Memory Accesses ◽  
Specialized Hardware ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Graphics Processing

The use of mixed precision in numerical algorithms is a promising strategy for accelerating scientific applications. In particular, the adoption of specialized hardware and data formats for low-precision arithmetic in high-end GPUs (graphics processing units) has motivated numerous efforts aiming at carefully reducing the working precision in order to speed up the computations. For algorithms whose performance is bound by the memory bandwidth, the idea of compressing its data before (and after) memory accesses has received considerable attention. One idea is to store an approximate operator–like a preconditioner–in lower than working precision hopefully without impacting the algorithm output. We realize the first high-performance implementation of an adaptive precision block-Jacobi preconditioner which selects the precision format used to store the preconditioner data on-the-fly, taking into account the numerical properties of the individual preconditioner blocks. We implement the adaptive block-Jacobi preconditioner as production-ready functionality in the Ginkgo linear algebra library, considering not only the precision formats that are part of the IEEE standard, but also customized formats which optimize the length of the exponent and significand to the characteristics of the preconditioner blocks. Experiments run on a state-of-the-art GPU accelerator show that our implementation offers attractive runtime savings.

scholarly journals Mobility Trends before and after the Pandemic Outbreak: Analyzing the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona through the Lens of Equality and Sustainability

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7908
Author(s):  
Lucía Mejía-Dorantes ◽  
Lídia Montero ◽  
Jaume Barceló
Keyword(s):  
Metropolitan Area ◽  
Spatial Arrangement ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Mobility Patterns ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Temporal Dimension ◽  
Population Groups ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Before And After

The spatial arrangement of a metropolis is of utmost importance to carry out daily activities, which are constrained by space and time. Accessibility is not only shaped by the spatial and temporal dimension, but it is also defined by individual characteristics, such as gender, impairments, or socioeconomic characteristics of the citizens living or commuting in this area. This study analyzes mobility trends and patterns in the metropolitan area of Barcelona before and after the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, with special emphasis on gender and equality. The study draws on multiple sources of information; however, two main datasets are analyzed: two traditional travel surveys from the transport metropolitan area of Barcelona and two coming from smartphone data. The results show that gender plays a relevant role when analyzing mobility patterns, as already highlighted in other studies, but, after the pandemic outbreak, some population groups were more likely to change their mobility patterns, for example, highly educated population groups and those with higher income. This study also highlights that e-activities may shape new mobility patterns and living conditions for some population segments, but some activities cannot be replaced by IT technologies. For all these reasons, city and transport planning should foster sustainable development policies, which will provide the maximum benefit for society.

scholarly journals Fast Preparation of High-Performance Wood Materials Assisted by Ultrasonic and Vacuum Impregnation

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 567
Author(s):  
Hong Yang ◽  
Mingyu Gao ◽  
Jinxin Wang ◽  
Hongbo Mu ◽  
Dawei Qi
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Mechanical Tests ◽  
Vacuum Impregnation ◽  
Natural Forests ◽  
Ultrasonic Pretreatment ◽  
Fast Growing ◽  
Before And After ◽  
New Material ◽  
Ft Ir

In the absence of high-quality hardwood timber resources, we have gradually turned our attention from natural forests to planted fast-growing forests. However, fast-growing tree timber in general has defects such as low wood density, loose texture, and poor mechanical properties. Therefore, improving the performance of wood through efficient and rapid technological processes and increasing the utilization of inferior wood is a good way to extend the use of wood. Densification of wood increases the strength of low-density wood and extends the range of applications for wood and wood-derived products. In this paper, the effects of ultrasonic and vacuum pretreatment on the properties of high-performance wood were explored by combining sonication, vacuum impregnation, chemical softening, and thermomechanical treatments to densify the wood; then, the changes in the chemical composition, microstructure, and mechanical properties of poplar wood before and after treatment were analyzed comparatively by FT-IR, XRD, SEM, and mechanical tests. The results showed that with ultrasonic pretreatment and vacuum impregnation, the compression ratio of high-performance wood reached its highest level and the MOR and MOE reached their maximums. With the help of this method, fast-growing softwoods can be easily prepared into dense wood materials, and it is hoped that this new material can be applied in the fields of construction, aviation, and automobile manufacturing.

Reactivity of bilirubin photoisomers on the measurement of direct bilirubin using vanadic acid method

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 296-298
Author(s):  
Hitoshi Okada ◽  
Susumu Itoh ◽  
Shohei Kawamoto ◽  
Miyo Ozaki ◽  
Takashi Kusaka
Keyword(s):  
High Performance ◽  
Light Emitting Diode ◽  
Direct Bilirubin ◽  
Acid Oxidation ◽  
Albumin Solution ◽  
Light Emitting ◽  
Oxidation Method ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Vanadic Acid ◽  
Human Serum Albumin Solution

Objective Investigation of the reactivity of fractions of bilirubin photoisomers with the vanadic acid oxidation method. Methods Bilirubin photoisomers were prepared by irradiating a bilirubin/human serum albumin solution with blue light emitting diode. Direct bilirubin and bilirubin fractions were measured using the vanadic acid oxidation method and high-performance liquid chromatography in the sample before and after irradiation. Results Direct bilirubin was increased in the solution containing bilirubin photoisomers. ( EE)-/( EZ) -cyclobilirubin-IXα and ( ZE)-/( EZ)-bilirubin-IXα completely disappeared after the addition of vanadic acid. Conclusion Bilirubin photoisomers reacted as direct bilirubin in the vanadic acid oxidation method.

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