A Recent Insight Regarding the Phytochemistry and Bioactivity of Origanum vulgare L. Essential Oil

Origanum vulgare L. is a widely used aromatic plant, especially due to its content in essential oil, mainly rich in carvacrol and thymol. The ethnopharmacological uses of Origanum vulgare L. essential oil (OEO) comprise digestive, respiratory, or dermatological disorders. The review focuses on the increasing number of recent studies investigating several biological activities of OEO. The bioactivities are in tight relation to the phytochemical profile of the essential oil, and also depend on taxonomic, climatic, and geographical characteristics of the plant material. The antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, skin disorders beneficial effects, next to antihyperglycemic and anti-Alzheimer activities were reported and confirmed in multiple studies. Moreover, recent studies indicate a positive impact on skin disorders of OEO formulated as nanocarrier systems in order to improve its bioavailability and, thus, enhancing its therapeutic benefits. The review brings an up to date regarding the phytochemistry and bioactivity of Origanum vulgare L. essential oil, underlining also the most successful pharmaceutical formulation used for skin disorders.     

Enhanced Suppression of Immune Cells In Vitro by MSC Overexpressing FasL

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) display several mechanisms of action that may be harnessed for therapeutic purposes. One of their most attractive features is their immunomodulatory activity that has been extensively characterized both in vitro and in vivo. While this activity has proven to be very efficient, it is transient. We aimed to enhance it by transforming MSC to overexpress a first apoptosis signal (Fas) ligand (FasL). In this study, our goal was to induce FasL overexpression through adenoviral transduction in MSC to improve their immunomodulatory activity. We characterized the impact of FasL overexpression on the morphology, proliferation, viability, phenotype, multilineage differentiation potential and immunomodulation of MSC. Moreover, we determined their suppressive properties in mixed reactions with A20 cells, as well as with stimulated splenocytes. Our findings demonstrate that FasL-overexpressing MSC exhibit improved immunosuppressive properties, while maintaining their MSC-characteristic features. In conclusion, we establish, in a proof-of-concept set-up, that FasL-overexpressing MSC represent good candidates for therapeutic intervention targeted at autoimmune disorders.     

Geographically weighted evidence combination approaches for combining discordant and inconsistent volunteered geographical information

There is much interest in being able to combine crowdsourced data. One of the critical issues in information sciences is how to combine data or information that are discordant or inconsistent in some way. Many previous approaches have taken a majority rules approach under the assumption that most people are correct most of the time. This paper analyses crowdsourced land cover data generated by the Geo-Wiki initiative in order to infer the land cover present at locations on a 50 km grid. It compares four evidence combination approaches (Dempster-Shafer, Bayes, Fuzzy Sets and Possibility) applied under a geographically weighted kernel with the geographically weighted average approach applied in many current Geo-Wiki analyses. A geographically weighted approach uses a moving kernel under which local analyses are undertaken. The contribution (or salience) of each data point to the analysis is weighted by its distance to the kernel centre, reflecting Tobler’s 1^st law of geography. A series of analyses were undertaken using different kernel sizes (or bandwidths). Each of the geographically weighted evidence combination methods generated spatially distributed measures of belief in hypotheses associated with the presence of individual land cover classes at each location on the grid. These were compared with GlobCover, a global land cover product. The results from the geographically weighted average approach in general had higher correspondence with the reference data and this increased with bandwidth. However, for some classes other evidence combination approaches had higher correspondences possibly because of greater ambiguity over class conceptualisations and / or lower densities of crowdsourced data. The outputs also allowed the beliefs in each class to be mapped. The differences in the soft and the crisp maps are clearly associated with the logics of each evidence combination approach and of course the different questions that they ask of the data. The results show that discordant data can be combined (rather than being removed from analysis) and that data integrated in this way can be parameterised by different measures of belief uncertainty. The discussion highlights a number of critical areas for future research.     

Study of a Stirling engine used for domestic micro‐cogeneration. Thermodynamic analysis and experiment

One of the aims of this work is the study of the geometry of a micro‐cogenerator using a Stirling engine with four double effect pistons. The complex geometry of the heat exchangers was determined by optical measurements. Results of three thermodynamic models: Direct Method from Finite Speed Thermodynamics (FST), isothermal model (Schmidt), and adiabatic model (Finkelstein) are confronted to experimental ones. Direct Method consists of the study and the evaluation of the irreversibilities of thermal machines by analyzing the cycle, step by step, and directly integrating the equation of the First Law for processes with finite speed combined with Second Law of Thermodynamics, for each process of the cycle. The expression of efficiency and power, depending on the speed of the processes and geometric and functional parameters, is then obtained in a straightforward manner. The isothermal and adiabatic models are based on the division of Stirling engine in 3, respectively 5 control volumes, for which the ideal gas law and the equations of mass and energy balance are applied. Analysis of the process of heat transfer and flow of the working gas, taking place in the Stirling engine, is carried out taking into account instantaneous representation of the working fluid volume in the engine. A system of differential equations is solved by iteration using Matlab/Simulink software. The theoretical results are compared to experimental ones. This comparison allows to point out a good accuracy of the Direct Method and the Adiabatic Model, for the thermal operating parameters of the system, noting the different assumptions of each analysis. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Measurement of weak electric currents in copper wire phantoms using MRI: influence of susceptibility enhancement

The use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based methods for the direct detection of neuronal currents is a topic of intense investigation. Much experimental work has been carried out with the express aim of establishing detection thresholds and sensitivity to flowing currents. However, in most of these experiments, magnetic susceptibility enhancement was ignored. In this work, we present results that show the influence of a susceptibility artefact on the detection threshold and sensitivity. For this purpose, a novel phantom, consisting of a water-filled cylinder with two wires of different materials connected in series, was constructed. Magnitude MR images were acquired from a single slice using a gradient-echo echo planar imaging (EPI) sequence. The data show that the time course of the detected MR signal magnitude correlates very well with the waveform of the input current. The effect of the susceptibility artefacts arising from the two different wires was examined by comparing the magnitudes of the MR signals at different voxel locations. Our results indicate the following: (1) MR signal enhancement arising from the magnetic susceptibility effect influences the detection sensitivity of weak current; (2) the detection threshold and sensitivity are phantom-wire dependent; (3) sub-μ A electric current detection in a phantom is possible on a 1.5-T MR scanner in the presence of susceptibility enhancement.     

A methodology of computation,design and optimization of solar Stirling power plant using hydrogen/oxygen fuel cells

The objective of this paper is to develop a methodology to determine how many houses could be fueled from the solar energy captured by a number of solar Stirling modules (with a fixed dish area per module) and also to determine the minimum necessary area of the fuel cell to ensure the amount of power needed to meet daily energy use requirements. The detailed method includes the effect of the fuel cell efficiency function on the power consumption of the user. Experimental data from our laboratory are used to determine the fuel cell efficiency as a function of the electric current density for a specific power demand. As an illustrative example, the analysis is applied to a residential area having a specific electrical demand. Using the developed method, the number of houses that could be fueled directly by the stored hydrogen is determined, and also the minim fuel cell area required.     

Effect of certain diuretics on thyroid function in rats

The effects of isolated protein fractions from rabbit uteri (prealbumin, albumin, uteroglobin, and beta-glycoprotein), unfractionated uterine proteins, progesterone, oestradiol-17beta, and prostaglandin F-2a on the development of rabbit embryos in vitro were investigated. When exposed to individual protein fractions obtained from Day-6 uteri, 8-cell embryos did not develop into early blastocysts; morulae readily developed into early blastocysts, but further development was retarded. Progesterone (10(-5)-10(-11)M) and prostaglandin F-2a (0-1-10 ng/ml) added to the medium slowed development of blastocysts to advanced stages. Growth of 8- to 16-cell embryos, morulae, and Day-4 blastocysts was stimulated by unfractionated uterine proteins obtained from Day-5 uterine flushings. Although embryos cultured in medium containing BSA had similar rates of blastocyst formation and, ultimately similar blastocyst expansion as did the embryos cultured in medium with unfractionated proteins, the radial and immediate expansion of the early blastocysts cultured in the latter approximated that found in utero.     

Modeling electromigration as a fluid–gas system

In this paper two problems in modeling electromigration are addressed. The first problem is an issue of principle concerning counting the number of variables and the number of equations for formulating a well-posed mathematical problem. The second problem deals with setting up a system of equations which are sufficiently detailed for performing computer simulations of the local dynamics governing electromigration phenomena, and which also keep the CPU consumption within acceptable limits. A model for electromigration, which is based on a fluid–gas picture for the material transport, is proposed for dealing with both questions. The flow of matter is described as a combined flow of lattice sites and a flow of vacancies. The gas component is used to describe the vacancy flux.     

Treatment with Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Overexpressing Fas-Ligand Ameliorates Acute Graft-versus-Host Disease in Mice

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) has the potential to cure malignant and non-malignant hematological disorders, but because of the serious side effects of this intervention its applications are limited to a restricted number of diseases. Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) is the most frequent complication and the leading cause of mortality and morbidity following allo-HCT. It results from the attack of the transplanted T cells from the graft against the cells of the recipient. There is no clear treatment for this severe complication. Due to their immunomodulatory properties, mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) have been proposed to treat GvHD, but the results did not meet expectations. We have previously showed that the immunomodulatory effect of the MSC was significantly enhanced through adenoviral-mediated overexpression of FasL. In this study, we have tested the properties of FasL-overexpressing MSC in vivo, in a mouse model for acute GvHD. We found that treatment with FasL-overexpressing MSC delayed the onset of the disease and increased survival of the mice.     

Friends with Benefits: Chemokines,Glioblastoma-Associated Microglia/Macrophages,and Tumor Microenvironment

Glioma is the most common primary intracranial tumor and has the greatest prevalence of all brain tumors. Treatment resistance and tumor recurrence in GBM are mostly explained by considerable alterations within the tumor microenvironment, as well as extraordinary cellular and molecular heterogeneity. Soluble factors, extracellular matrix components, tissue-resident cell types, resident or newly recruited immune cells together make up the GBM microenvironment. Regardless of many immune cells, a profound state of tumor immunosuppression is supported and developed, posing a considerable hurdle to cancer cells’ immune-mediated destruction. Several studies have suggested that various GBM subtypes present different modifications in their microenvironment, although the importance of the microenvironment in treatment response has yet to be determined. Understanding the microenvironment and how it changes after therapies is critical because it can influence the remaining invasive GSCs and lead to recurrence. This review article sheds light on the various components of the GBM microenvironment and their roles in tumoral development, as well as immune-related biological processes that support the interconnection/interrelationship between different cell types. Also, we summarize the current understanding of the modulation of soluble factors and highlight the dysregulated inflammatory chemokine/specific receptors cascades/networks and their significance in tumorigenesis, cancer-related inflammation, and metastasis.