Sesquiterpenoids Lactones: Benefits to Plants and People

Sesquiterpenoids, and specifically sesquiterpene lactones from Asteraceae, may play a highly significant role in human health, both as part of a balanced diet and as pharmaceutical agents, due to their potential for the treatment of cardiovascular disease and cancer. This review highlights the role of sesquiterpene lactones endogenously in the plants that produce them, and explores mechanisms by which they interact in animal and human consumers of these plants. Several mechanisms are proposed for the reduction of inflammation and tumorigenesis at potentially achievable levels in humans. Plants can be classified by their specific array of produced sesquiterpene lactones, showing high levels of translational control. Studies of folk medicines implicate sesquiterpene lactones as the active ingredient in many treatments for other ailments such as diarrhea, burns, influenza, and neurodegradation. In addition to the anti-inflammatory response, sesquiterpene lactones have been found to sensitize tumor cells to conventional drug treatments. This review explores the varied ecological roles of sesquiterpenes in the plant producer, depending upon the plant and the compound. These include allelopathy with other plants, insects, and microbes, thereby causing behavioural or developmental modification to these secondary organisms to the benefit of the sesquiterpenoid producer. Some sesquiterpenoid lactones are antimicrobial, disrupting the cell wall of fungi and invasive bacteria, whereas others protect the plant from environmental stresses that would otherwise cause oxidative damage. Many of the compounds are effective due to their bitter flavor, which has obvious implications for human consumers. The implications of sesquiterpenoid lactone qualities for future crop production are discussed.     

Protection of neuronal cells from apoptosis by Hsp27 delivered with a herpes simplex virus-based vector

Overexpression of the gene encoding the 70-kDa heat shock protein (hsp70) has previously been shown to protect neuronal cells against subsequent thermal or ischemic stress. It has no protective effect, however, against stimuli that induce apoptosis, although a mild heat shock (sufficient to induce hsp synthesis) does have a protective effect against apoptosis. We have prepared disabled herpes simplex virus-based vectors that are able to produce high level expression of individual hsps in infected neuronal cells without damaging effects. We have used these vectors to show that hsp27 and hsp56 (which have never previously been overexpressed in neuronal cells) as well as hsp70 can protect dorsal root ganglion neurons from thermal or ischemic stress. In contrast, only hsp27 can protect dorsal root ganglion neurons from apoptosis induced by nerve growth factor withdrawal, and hsp27 also protects the ND7 neuronal cell line from retinoic acid-induced apoptosis. However, hsp70 showed no protective effect against apoptosis in contrast to its anti-apoptotic effect in non-neuronal cell types. These results thus identify hsp27 as a novel neuroprotective factor and show that it can mediate this effect when delivered via a high efficiency viral vector.     

The distribution of magnesium and silicon across the as-cast interface of aluminum laminates produced via the Novelis Fusion™ process

Novelis Inc. recently introduced a multi-alloy, multi-layered, aluminum ingot solidification technology that allows the production of a variety of engineered clad products on a commercial scale. The technology allows selection of the appropriate combinations of clad and core alloys to produce desired mechanical properties as well as forming and surface characteristics superior to either monolithic material alone. It has been shown that the Novelis Fusion™ interface is oxide film and porosity free. This article analyzes the interplay of the aforementioned alloy combinations giving particular attention to the cast intermetallics, the diffusion of silicon and magnesium, the population of secondary phase particles (dispersoids) at the interface, and the rate of diffusion.     

“通电”新方式

我曾经探讨过各种试图将乱麻一般的电线规整得井井有条的方法.然而任何解决方案都非完美,我得第一个跳出来承认我在这方面做得很糟糕.不过现在有了一种新方法:一种名为Eubiq的产品.     

Research in the clinical area: the ethical issues

Healthcare professionals have a duty to undertake research, say the authors of this article, yet the patient's perspective is rarely considered. Here, they review the ethical aspects of clinical research.